“…just a small house…”
“…surely the magic tower…”
The fragmented sentences, faintly audible, made no sense to Lulu. She peered through a gap in the boarded-up window.
Who are they? Why do they want?
One thing was certain: they were not good people. Their behavior was rougher than the villagers’, and they carried weapons, seemingly ready for an immediate attack.
‘What am I going to do?’
How long could the barrier hold? She’d poured nearly all her remaining mana into it, and there wasn’t much left to give. If the ward fell…
‘Will they kill me?’
The only death Lulu had ever witnessed was the forest witch’s—a peaceful fading, her body turning to dust and returning to the earth, accompanied by a final whispered song. But these people… would they afford her the same mercy?
‘And it’s not just me.’
Her hand went to her swollen belly. If she died, the baby… The thought sparked a fierce, protective instinct in her.
She couldn’t let that happen.
This child, the life she and Er had created together, not through magic but through human means. Lulu was determined to bring it into the world.
Er’s face flashed before her eyes—his warm smile when he gently cradled her stomach each night before they drifted off to sleep, “I wonder what our child will look like. I look forward to it.”
Tears welled in her eyes as Lulu remembered his smiling face after a long time.
Eventually, night fell and the intruders showed no sign of leaving as they built a bonfire near the barrier.
She didn’t dare light a fire inside; it would only draw their attention.
Lulu moved quietly in the darkness, her eyes constantly checking beyond the barrier. Even the scarecrow, usually prone to cause a ruckus, seemed to sense the danger, standing still against the wall in the corner.
Fortunately, the barrier extended around the back of the house, encompassing a small section of the forest. From that direction, her home was invisible.
Sticking to the shadows, Lulu moved as much food and supplies as she could gather into the house.
A day passed, then another, and the intruders still remained.
‘They’re waiting for the barrier to fade.’
Even Lulu could see the shimmering wall, once a vibrant red, was growing fainter. The intruders seemed to sense it and their attacks on the barrier became more frequent.
Soon, it will be gone. And then…
Lulu shuddered. What would they do to her once they broke through?
She recalled something Er had once said. His voice was grim as he spoke what he’d witnessed in war, about things people did to each other and that sometimes death was a mercy. She hadn’t understood then, but now…
‘I have to get out of here.’
Where could she go? Lulu knew nothing of the world outside the forest, except for the small house she sometimes visited.
But they had made it clear she was not welcome there.
Where could she find someone who wouldn’t turn her away? The only person she could think of was Ervandas.
YOU ARE READING
The Seed Thief
RomanceFOR OFFLINE READING PURPOSE ONLY ---------------------------------------- Tired of loneliness, Lulu decided to create a homunculus (a human made of magic). She went to kidnap a human man to get the most crucial ingredient, 'the human seed.' On her...
