Of Thorns and Glamour

Hunger

Inchiki's his hand over my chest as leans me back. "You would stoop that low you disgusting maggot," he says with a menacing grin. I realize he wasn't talking to me but to Nuir. My chest burns as colorful bright symbols appear around him with circles and lines that I did not understand. "Lily. I can't take him out yet, but I can lock him away where you won't hear his pathetic voice again. You just have to trust me, because this is going to hurt."

I stare at him, and I could hear Nuir screaming and clawing at me. It must be true, and I didn't care the pain I would be in as long as I never had to hear his voice.

I finally nod and his grin is wider, "Think of a cage, the strongest cage. And make a wish."

It did hurt, and it took everything out of me to the point I lost consciousness again and was falling into the familiar dark abyss.

I faded in and out of consciousness until a loud voice awakes me. "YOU CANNOT SEE HER!" I hear Oberon's voice yell, and then a slam of a door.

"You could stand to be little more quiet," I hear Inchiki say. His voice was right next to me, and I peep my eyes open to silver eyes behind a mask. "Oh did our naughty boy wake you?" I hold my hand up to him, and he grabs it gently.

"Leave. Now Inchiki. She doesn't want to see you." I grip tighter so he wouldn't leave, defying Oberon's order. I find myself glowing slightly and memories of us making love fill my mind. I loved him. Why did my son not want me near him?

"I think otherwise," he chuckles and my cheeks feel warm hearing his laugh. A hand runs down my cheek, his fingers twirling my hair. "Lyra found another shard my star," he tells me. I feel like I'm the only person in the room. That meant we were ignoring our son.

"You don't belong here," Oberon spits at him. I didn't realize how much bad blood ran between them. "Tell me where it is now before I attempt parricide."

"Ah, well son, this time I will need your mother's help. Alas you are too busy running your little kingdom." I didn't know what he meant by that until I was swiftly in his arms.

Our son's eyes turn dark and black veins darken his eyes like ink as he flies towards Inchiki. "LET HER GO!" but Oberon disappears.

Or we did, as we were no longer in a room.

Instead we were in a town, busy and bustling. People passed by us but no one noticed. "Tell me when you sense it," he says looking down at me. I am cradled in his arms. "It might be in someone, or it could be nestled somewhere, but someone would had noticed it by now and probably took your soul shard." He moves quickly as he cast majick to jump through the sky onto roofs of homes that tightly packed together. I look around while gripping onto him and I realize he put me in a cloak with his majick too, covering my head with the hood.

"Please forgive Malphas Lily. He was trying to do the right thing," he says as we jump from tiled covered rooftop to rooftop. I look at Inchiki and then turn my eyes away, feeling the pain in my chest from when Malphas tried ripping my soul back out of me. "It isn't in his nature to be compassionate, but he does love you."

I don't respond to his plead and we continue on.

There was a humming tune in my ear, and I turn towards it.

"That way?" he asks.

I nod and he jumps a giant leap between buildings as the setting sun casts deeper and deeper shadows between the buildings onto the bustling people below. Then lights turn on slowly, as the humming got louder we went into a darker part of the town. I see curly bright red hair and realize it was Lyra, and she looks like she's searching for something too.