Chapter Eighteen
Lycurgus looked around with awe. He had never before been in such a large city. People bustled around him, shooting dirty looks at him and the Mai Shashi, who didn’t seem to fit in with their odd clothing. There were blinking lights all around him, overwhelming him-
“Oi! Lick our Gus! You were going to get me treatment!” the Mai Shashi reminded, her voice bringing Lycurgus back to reality.
“Lycurgus,” he corrected.
“Close enough,” the Mai Shashi huffed. “Just ask somebody!”
“Yeah, yeah,” Lycurgus sighed, strolling down the sidewalk, looking for a friendly looking person, but wary of all.
“Pardon me,” Lycurgus said, asking the next person who came by. She was a young girl, no older than ten, dressed in shabby clothing and without shoes. She had matted curly black hair and indigo eyes.
“What is it sir?” the girl asked apprehensively.
“Would you be as kind to guide us to the nearest facility one might find treatment for wounds?” Lycurgus asked.
“If you’re talking about the doctor, then all right! Mister Doctor is nice!” the girl smiled, more trusting of him now. “This way! This way!” she waved, pointing down an alleyway.
Lycurgus followed the girl into the alleyway. She ran ahead, stopping every once in a while to make sure he was still behind her.
Lycurgus followed the young girl, getting more and more tired with each step, almost as if something was sucking his energy from him. It did not seem to have any affect on the girl or on the Mai Shashi, who watched his expression with growing concern.
“Liar, are you all right?” she asked when Lycurgus's face had become a grimace.
The girl spun around and rushed back to them. “Kiri forgot! Kiri forgot! Latte hurts people who aren't from the area!” she exclaimed. “I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm-”
“Calm down,” Lycurgus sighed. “Explain what this Latte is,” he said coolly.
“Latte is a fog that eats people over the age of eight, and sometimes it speaks... but it only affects things that aren't marked, and people are marked at around seven years of age, so if you’re not marked, you can’t be from the area- so, where are you from?”
“Not around here-” Lycurgus said.
“Oh.... but your friend seems not eated, is she from here? What's your ranking?” the girl asked.
“A42!” The Mai Shashi said, not knowing how she knew it.
“Wow, I'm a C21, I have a long ways to go!”
“What are you talking about?” Lycurgus asked. “Are you from here Mai Shashi?”
The Mai Shashi did not know how to answer that. She was not sure how she answered herself. “I might be, I don’t remember everything,” she shrugged.
“Where are we?” Lycurgus asked the little hyper girl.
“Yaer! Yaer is here, Yaer is everywhere!” Kiri smiled.
“Kiri will show you! Kiri knows! Kiri knows! Kiri will take you to the Farm! It's were you become accepted by Latte and then it doesn't hurt anymore!” the girl said, taking Lycurgus by the hand and leading him through a maze of back roads.
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Ashes
Mystery / Thriller"Once a being has been named, it has power. Be sure to take care of yours. I'd know how important it is, because I lost mine." Joshua is always fretting over the "what ifs" in life, but never trusts his gut feeling because it's always wrong... at...
