The Maiden of Memories

Chapter 10

Theo was furious.

"Where did you go, Lethe? I gave you only one rule, and that was to stay here, in the hall, and you broke it? I thought you'd be more responsible than this! Alodia and I were so worried! We were searching the streets," Theo gestured to towards the open road they were on, "and we couldn't find you anywhere! And you brought a boy home?"

"He's not just any boy. He's the boy who stole the talisman."

"He's what?"

"Hi," Hyas meekly said from behind Lethe. He smiled, but it quickly faltered when Theo glared at him.

Meanwhile, Alodia watched curiously with wild eyes.

"If he's the thief, then why aren't you ripping off every bit of fabric on him and searching for the talisman? I thought you were extremely dedicated to finding the thief and getting the talisman back? That's why we're stuck here, in the middle of some bloody devastated bit of nowhere that they try to call a city, just because you jumped through a portal for no reason other than blindly chasing a guy for some magical choker. And now he's standing right behind you, and you're not killing him or anything?"

"Well," Lethe said sheepishly as she scratched her head. "Things changed when I was out. Also, we have another addition to the party. His name is Hyas."

"Hyas shmayas, I don't freaking care about him. What happened that made you friends with that idiot?"

"Hey," Hyas said from behind Lethe, "I'm not an idiot."

"Also," Lethe tried to calm Theo down with her hands. "would you let me explain first, before you continue yelling at me? I can't explain if you keep interrupting me."

"Then explain this instant."

"Easy peasy: I saw the thief at the banquet hall. I chased him onto the roof of a house. I nearly fell, but he helped me. Then we made a deal: I get to come with him for the rest of his journey, he'll use the talisman for whatever he needs to do, and then he'll give it back to me. Then I go home, and all is well. Happy?"

"No. Do you believe that he's not going to break his promise and abandon you halfway through the journey, or keep the amulet for himself afterwards?"

"She didn't exactly have a choice," Hyas said. "If she said no, then I would've run."

"Plus," Lethe added. "That's why we're all going to be with him for the rest of the journey. That way, he can't just run off to nowhere."

"Theo," Alodia spoke up from the side. "I'm going to go with Lethe no matter what. There's nothing that's going to stop me from joining her. If she trusts Hyas, then I'll trust Hyas.

Theo sighed, exasperated. "You kids are so troublesome. But, you, thief," Theo walked up to Hyas and jabbed his finger into Hyas' chest. "I don't know how strict merfolk are about vows, but I take oaths very seriously. If you even try to break your promise of giving back the talisman, I will ensure that you will regret everything you have ever done for the rest of eternity. I promise you that your death will be long and painful, skinning you alive then cutting you in half slowly, if you dare go back on your word. Understand?"

Hyas gulped nervously. "I understand."

"Good. Now, where do we go next?"

Lethe looked to Hyas, who said, "I need to find a person first. He'll help me with the minor details of working with this talisman so that I know how to use the thing."

"Who do you need to find?"

"Morpheus, Wanderer of Dreams."

"Oh!" Alodia jumped up and down excitedly. "That's the name we found on the paper! He was the one who made the Talisman of Dreams!"