ONE (Book 1 in the Amnesia Archives)

Chapter 31

'Prepare for a fight' weren't words which you wanted to hear at any time of day, unless it's the middle of winter and you're throwing snowballs at each other. In this case, it was nearly as cold as winter, but there was no snow in sight. Our surroundings had changed suddenly, and I was under the impression that there was some kind of illusion magic put into place. It wasn't possible for the land to transform from bright and wide, friendly-looking paths to the return of dark and dense trees.

It was even worse when we didn't get any kind of attention from the wildlife or potential monsters who lived in the woods. Senka had made me extremely tense, wondering what was going to attack us and why we needed our weapons. I was so tense that every sound made me move my dagger in that direction. I'd been tempted to get my guitar out and try to sing our way through the strange forest, but I was sure that it wasn't considered 'sane'.

But I didn't like the word 'sane' very much, and so I did get my guitar out. Senka took one look at me and grinned, shaking her head and continuing her path through the forest with her very intricately designed and intimidating sword.

"Who're you planning to fight? Prin's dad?" Sarphi asked with a small huff. She wasn't too pleased about the fact Senka couldn't summon or duplicate a weapon for Prin. I felt sorry for the girl, as her hand was probably bruised by Sarphi's grasp. "You're not going to do much damage with your guitar."

"And deities help us if you break that," Aknon groaned. "That would be part of our income gone, and you will be more insufferable than you already are."

I pouted and shook my head. "It's fine, it'll be fine," I tried to reassure them. "Nothing will happen to my guitar. If anything happens whilst I have it out, I'll stay behind you guys."

It was a response which I'm sure they were used to by now. It was rare we talked seriously, and I would be the first one to throw myself in front of them if anything like that happened. Well, actually we'd probably cause more harm trying to get in front of each other than anything else.

"Besides, if anyone sees Prin's father, they'll be the first one going in for the kill," I added on. I really hated that man, even more so when I had gotten to know Prin and what he'd done to her.

"You got that right," Sarphi muttered in agreement.

The path grew darker, and it felt incredibly stuffy. It was as though we were walking through a room full of smoke, navigating through the rather thin path. Senka didn't seem to have any trouble figuring out where we were headed, eyes not even looking at the ground. Though it was still rather difficult for me to consider her Senka.

Onyx was sniffing the ground again. He seemed a little upset, as he kept whining and whimpering each time he moved towards Senka. Maybe he had the same thoughts that I did. But I did remember the fact that Senka never liked Onyx really, which meant they probably knew each other. That was other than Senka being in the same box as Sarphi's baby rattle.

"So, who put you in the box and sent you here?" I raised an eyebrow, the strumming on my guitar increasing in speed as our pace sped up. "Because I don't think it's that easy to seal up a box from the inside and get yourself to a carrier."

Senka shook her head. "You're going to meet them."

I was getting rather fed up with her answers which weren't really answers. She was avoiding being truthful, something which got under my skin and made me grit my teeth. Maybe she had no other choice, and maybe she had to pretend like she knew nothing, or like there was a spell over her which prevented her from saying the name of her creator and employer. But I didn't like the idea of facing someone who had the power and ability to make a living person. Well, I assume that we're not meeting her father, in the biological sense anyway. That would make things a lot weirder.