The Arcane Trilogy: Sins of the Past - Book 2

Chapter 32: Planted Seeds

It seemed that throughout the twenty two years of Vi's life, no matter how hard she tried, everything that could go wrong in any given situation, would in fact go wrong. It was like a ghost that haunted her every decision. It wasn't the fact that Samara and Bartos died when they had volunteered to help them. It wasn't the fact that Caitlyn was wounded by an unknown assassin. It wasn't the fact that their strongest lead pointed them in the wrong direction. It wasn't the fact that Caitlyn had been injured by a savage wolf monster. It was the fact that all of those things happened, one after the other.

The kicker was that, after all of that pain and suffering, they were no closer to actually finding Jinx.

Caitlyn's breaths were incredibly quick and shallow, as the wounded Kirraman switched between pain ridden inhalations and reluctant tears that she did her best to hold back. Her left arm was draped over Vi's shoulder, preventing the recently wounded right hand side of Caitlyn's torso from being stretched to an unnecessary degree. Vi hadn't checked the skin for herself, but from her own experiences of suffering blunt force trauma of varying degrees over her many fights, she could imagine the bruising would paint Caitlyn's skin with a blackened purple shade.

The adrenaline from their fight with that wolfish monster had been trickling out of Vi since she realised how badly Caitlyn had been wounded, meaning that with every passing step, she became more and more aware of just how much pain Caitlyn was in. Vi noticed the lack of strength flowing through Caitlyn's legs. She didn't want to drag Caitlyn too much, in case that aggravated her wounds in some way. It was at that moment she realised that the skin around Caitlyn's slash wound would be being stretched open due to her left arm being wrapped around Vi. She tried to push that out of her mind as she urged them both on, but every tearful moan or grunt of pain that escaped Caitlyn's lips pummelling Vi's confidence into the cobblestones beneath their feet.

As the pair continued to rise out of the Sumps, bringing the two of them closer to their destination, Caitlyn's condition continued to deteriorate. Vi could tell that Caitlyn was trying to remain strong, but more tears began to slowly creep between the faultlines, splashing onto her clothes or the stones below. Vi could feel her own heart beating faster, with waves of heat flooding her body; waves that slowly grew in intensity with each passing minute. Her muscles screamed at her to stop for a rest. She wanted nothing more than to collapse in a heap and suck in as much air as the pungent green veils of mist would allow. However, she knew that could not happen. If she let go of Caitlyn, there would be no guarantee that Vi could lift her up again safely. It seemed they both had to grit their teeth and push on, or at least try.

To make matters worse, the closer the pair got to the surface, the busier the streets got. The occasional group of thugs traversing the streets grew in number, to the point where Vi had to all but ditch the main roads and weave herself and Caitlyn through the various side alleys of the Undercity. Knowing the routes was not the issue, as Vi could snap onto a different path that led to the same destination within the blink of an eye. The issue came from Caitlyn's frail and broken form. If Vi needed to quickly change their direction, Caitlyn would cry out in pain once more, which would be followed by more heavy and pained breaths. Caitlyn knew they needed to remain quiet, but her own wounded body rebelled against her.

Vi quickly realised that she wouldn't be able to drag Caitlyn to the access lift on the quieter side of town, no matter how many reassuring whispers of comfort she uttered, or how careful she was with their sharp turns. Either Vi's fitness or Caitlyn's physical wellbeing would give out, which would spell disaster for both of them.

For all the doom and gloom that shrouded their every breath, a small spark of hope was eventually lit under Vi's feet as the pair drew closer to their destination, and their escape out of the Undercity became a stronger and far more potent reality. As Vi continued to drag Caitlyn through the claustrophobic alleys, she began to recognise how close they were to an escape, with only one more larger pathway separating them from their goal. It opened up from the confines of the alleway like a vast lecture hall, beckoning them out of the darkness that every alleyway seemed to be permanently encased in. Vi began to salivate at the prospect of getting out of the belly of the Undercity. It might have been her childhood home that she knew like the back of her hand, but navigating networks of moist, clammy and rubbish filled alleyways that besieged her nostrils with waves of horrendous odours was not the part of her childhood that she was nostalgic for. She wasn't sure if it was a sense of blissful nostalgia and longing for the simplicities of childhood, or if she was simply misremembering, but the pissfilled stench of the back alleys of the Undercity seemed to have grown stronger when compared to her younger days. She could almost taste the strength of the stench in air that she was forced to inhale.