The Otori Prophecy

LXV - Breaking Apart

I was still held hours later, no one letting me out of their sight. The images were still fresh in my mind, my heart slowly calming as my senses returned to me. We sat there in that dining room, on edge, awaiting Madek's return. Ludens paced. He chewed on the nail of his thumb, muttering every now and again to himself.

"Do you think he'd attack?" he asked. His eyes held Dad's gaze. Anxious. Seeking comfort and stability from his older brother. I looked over at Dad who sat away from us, back against one of the doors, his eyes were switching from each door in this room. At the moment, Ludens was distracting Dad from what he did best. Guarding. It showed in the way Dad's brow creased, the weariness that lay in his eyes.

Dad looked away from Ludens, not sure what to say, unable to speak what he thought. I'm not sure there was anything to say. Djinar could attack if he wanted to, he knew where this was. He knew what this was.

A heavy silence fell in the air. None of us wanted to think about the possibility of being killed here. "Do you think we could take him?" Ludens asked again, becoming annoyed that Dad looked away. Annoyed that there was no answer for him, no strategy that could be pulled off. If I knew Ludens best, it was his fear of instability that out weighed any fear of heights.

Mum was starting to comb my hair, a distraction for her, giving her worrying hands something to do. Abel and Mathias... They were both staring, still as statues at the door Madek would enter. The one that linked us to the tavern upstairs. It felt like the forest again, all those years ago. Constricted in the confines of safety, never allowed to go further than the edge of the boundary, never actually safe. We could be killed out there. I tried to clear my mind, focus on the brushing, the way the comb tugged gently at my hair but the muscles in my body were wound tight, the adrenaline seeping through every fibre.

"Not think, Ludens, when."

My words came out without me thinking, surprising even me, as everyone turned to look. "Your point?" Ludens asked, his words were full of stress but I could see the fear that my correction brought.

"Our weapons, broken and dull. Our thin clothes would be turned to slithers. We barely have training. None of us are versed in magic. We don't even know this place very well."

I was surprised to hear Abel speak. Normally he had a plan. Both him and Ludens were the ones who came up with everything but even Abel had resigned himself to defeat.

Since Abel had been freed, no, since he was arrested, he'd become a different man. Muted. I feared that he had lost his confidence. Ludens seemed to become enraged at this, slamming his palms onto the table.

"Gilbert is the best swordsman in Terare. Mathias is the best person I've seen other than him. Taika has training. We could send Abel, Emma and Taika with Madek. While I, Mathias and Gilbert hold off Djinar," Ludens muttered, the plan flowing desperately from him. Plans never worked when there was desperation. Too much overthinking, overlooking most dangers. Even the ones in front of our noses.

Abel's chair scraped against the stone floor, his palms flat on the table. The muscles in his arms were coiled tight, he was restraining himself but only barely. I found myself following his arms upwards, to the planes of his face, faring to look at his eyes. They were flinty, nostrils flaring as he tried to keep his anger to himself. I had rarely seen him get angry. Let alone at Ludens. I quickly looked to Dad but he had strayed back to watching the doors. I guess he was letting Ludens dig his hole and get buried in it if he had to.

"What? You've got a better plan?" Ludens jibed, his chin raised slightly in challenge.

Abel grabbed Ludens by the collar of his tunic, pulling him over the table, seething.