Masquerade

Chapter Twenty-four

"War" is definitely an accurate way to describe what is going on in Verlockend at this moment.

The whole village is an angry shade of red, painted by the flames that reach up towards the night sky. The environment is chaos, villagers running around in a desperate attempt to escape Grandarbre's wrath. Screams fill the air and mix in with the rancid, smoky smell that blankets the kingdom.

Barlow comes to stand next to me, the image of solemnness. "Do we have permission to take Kendry out into the fray? His magical abilities will come in handy."

Trying my best to forget what Barlow did, I give him a quick nod in response. "I'm also here, available for anyone who needs my help."

"Yes, thank you. I suggest you stay back and help the injured; that is where you will be most useful." I don't miss the hint of scorn in his voice. "Where is Jac? He seemed to be a good fighter."

"He's...detained elsewhere," I say simply.

"Pity." Bored with me, he turns to his nomads and lets out the war cry I heard not too long ago. They echo a war cry in response and charge forward, targeting a particularly dense group of Grandarbren soldiers.

Kendry gives my hand a quick squeeze and heads into war with them, unafraid.

I watch him for a couple of minutes, praying that he not be harmed. I'm surprised when another figure crosses my vision, sprinting into the mess of fighting. Upon closer look, I see that it is Jac. He slashes at a tall soldier who was about to catch Kendry off guard, watching as the man falls to the ground in a heap.

I turn away; thinking about him is not what I need to be doing right now. I run into an untouched store and take some medical items, vowing to come back and pay the vendor once the village is not...well, on fire.

I spend the next hour running around the perimeter of the village, attending to any victims I can find. The war roars around me, and I have to steer clear of any soldiers. They're not hard to find, considering none of them wear masks. It seems as if the Grandarbren king ordered a mass genocide, so no Verlockan is spared. It's senseless and evil, and I find myself having to wipe away tears multiple times.

At one point, I find myself in front of my home. I stare, frozen in time as I think about my parents. Are they inside? Are they out in the middle of the war? Are they hurt? Are they...?

I don't even want to think of any other possible scenario.

Just then a soldier barrels into me, knocking me down to the ground. In one second he is on top of me, laughing and speaking in Grandarbren words I don't understand as he plays with my hair. Messing with an innocent girl is amusing to him; it makes me sick.

I scream for help, but of course no one hears. Thousands of other screams pierce the air, quickly drowning mine out. I shuffle under the soldier's weight, trying to escape. But of course it's pointless; I'm a small girl, and he's a heavy man who has built up muscle. I feel my anger and frustration grow until my head aches.

Suddenly, the soldier is thrust off me by an unknown force. He is a launched far off into the back of a building, where he slumps against the wall and does not stir. I jump up and stare at his body, curious but also afraid of what I just saw, what I just did. Part of me knows that the burst of air came from me, but I have no idea how I did it.

And then Barlow's words from long ago come to mind: You have magic within you. One of the only things he said that wasn't a lie, the whole reason he approached me in the first place. I think about the poison arrow that did not affect me, of the vision I experienced at the containment center where Saffron's essence became one with my infant body.