Tipping the Scale

Chapter 19: Servants of the Blazing Sun (Part 1)

Cicadas chirped and a warm wind rustled through the overgrown tussac grass surrounding him. Draenai's eyes felt raw and his nose stuffy, as he made his way back home.

Sweat dripped off his back, the midday sun sending out its strongest beams and making him feel as if he was boiling inside.

He knew better than to be out around this time, but his temper had driven him away from the house to cry his angry tears in solitude.

Strangely, he wasn't able to recall what had upset him. He had some sort of argument with his stepfather but couldn't remember the details.

It didn't matter, anyway, he just needed to apologize.

The smell of paint hung in the air, letting him know that he had made it home. His stepfather had recently whitewashed the house to help the structure survive another year now that summer was at its end. The sight of the small white building filled him with unexplainable dread which he ignored as he stepped inside.

Playful screaming welcomed him as his siblings sprinted past, too absorbed in their game to even notice his entrance.

Their joy caused him to grin as he left them to their fun to find his parents in the kitchen.

His feeling of unease grew, and a voice in his head seemed to scream at him to leave, but he didn't. Instead, he crossed the hallway that divided the living room from the kitchen and was about to open the door when a voice made him stop in his tracks.

"... he is becoming more unstable. Something is wrong, Allia."

His stepfather's voice was filled with concern, but his words felt like knives to the young boy. Draenai didn't have to guess, who they were talking about.

"He is just young and going through a rough time ..."

"Stop lying to yourself! Being young doesn't cause a child to have fevers like that, or to have such outbursts of temper. He was about to hit me because I told him to help me paint. That isn't like him."

It became harder to breathe as his chest started to constrict, and his hands tingled while feeling clammy.

His stepfather spoke the truth, he had been different these last few months. But hearing it out of his mouth didn't make Draenai feel any better.

It stayed silent for a moment before his mother answered with a grim note of defeat.

"You think he has magic."

Her admission caused Draenai to frown. Only bad men had magic. Was he destined to become a bad man?

"I know he does. And you do too."

Shivers ran over his body as he tried to consider that possibility. Why was this happening to him? What had he ever done wrong?

He heard his stepfather sigh and the distinctive sound of him rubbing over his bald head.

"We need to send him away."

His determined words caused Draenai's world to fall apart. His breathing turned harsh and he could feel the heat under his skin intensifying.

Still, he grabbed hold of himself. His stepfather could say what he wanted, but his mother would never allow him to be kicked out.

He almost managed to calm down until he heard his mother's saddened response.