Worlds Apart

Chapter 16

M I R R O R S • D O • N O T • R E F L E C T • L I E S

Sep. 09 2020 13:15 CET

Nøkkel Square, Dalbyen

The bustling city centre was loud, lively. It reminded Riona of the disgustingly high number of events she had had to attend with her parents. At least here no one spared her a second glance. Back upright, she smiled smugly. Blending in was easy.

The pavement tiles clacked under their feet as they headed for the centre of the Square. There stood a dark stone structure, some abstract art piece that didn't quite fit its surroundings, for the Square was lined by cosy little cafés, bakeries, meat shops, and miscellaneous stores, all of them too-brightly coloured for Riona's taste, but she supposed they had their charm.

The detective lady was saying something about 'art nouveau influences', the other one listening to her rather intently. He seemed friendly enough, although talkative and a bit nosy. But at least he balanced out the scrutinising silences and headstrong approach of Daisha's that always put her on edge. She was a teeny bit, very, confrontational. Owen seemed to understand her plight. They must have been close before...no, that wasn't a line of thought Riona wanted to explore.

The nice lady wasn't here. Elin. They had all taken a nice, long break (Riona would've liked longer but apparently 'they were working on a timer', as Daisha asserted earlier), but she said she was too tired to guide them. They had had to ask the inn manager instead. Riona did not like him. Those white gloves that he was constantly adjusting made her feel like she was on an operating table, ready to be cut up.

Riona had assured Owen multiple times since they had arrived—and did even now—that the exhaustion was completely normal. "It might even be worse for her since she doesn't have magic, and more so because she isn't from my homeland." She tried not to look at him too much; it brought a bitter taste in the back of her tongue.

Standing at the foot of the sculpture, Daisha recounted what they knew of the Ihle murders, the bodies dumped only a foot away from where she stood. The area was still cordoned off; a faded crescent moon was painted onto the pavement.

Riona touched her forehead, tracing the mark she knew was under the makeup. The mark of her family. It suddenly seemed to hit her, what her brother was doing. They had killed people, seemingly randomly and in cold blood. Neàl had hunted Elin's family. And for what?

She closed her eyes, clenching her fists around the hem of her coat. Had he always been this cruel?

These targeted killings...they reminded her an awful lot of darker times in Evanos, her home. Back when Egality was still forming, years and years ago, much before she was born. But... she shook her head. It didn't quite fit. Neàl was born with his powers. And Egality was long gone. It took decades to recover from what they did but things were finally normal again and then that breach happened. They feared they were back, or their followers, or someone like them who would tear it all down again. Peace was hard to maintain with groups like those, they tended to lurk around.

"Everything I know is mostly from textbooks and family, though," she was telling them. "I don't really remember it."

"Huh. Now it doesn't sound all that nice," Owen said from near the window, straightening up after checking it for the third time. This was the last of the crime scenes of the non-Ihle murders. "Still—it would be cool to see it." He gave her an excited wink. "Hidden country is definitely a new addition to my travel bucket list."

In all of the houses, they had found no more clues than the police did. Neàl had been careful not to leave any signs, but they had put the family mark anyway.