The Pariah

Chapter 36

Chapter Song: Ellie Goulding - Lights

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It kind of weirded me out when Cohart when just knocked on the large wooden gate leading into the large palace. I mean, this place is huge, what's the chance someone will hear? I don't know, I feel like there should have been a more appropriate way to request entrance into a fucking palace. I'm not expert, but that's just how I feel on the matter. I was even more surprised and weirded out when the wooden gates actually opened up. 

When we entered, I was expecting tons of guards aiming their weapons at us. I was expecting so many people rushing at us to take us to their leader. But when we entered in the courtyard, it was entirely empty. I blinked and searched the empty yard for any possible enemies. I even jumped when I stepped on a twig. The place was just so silent. 

Silent... huh, maybe that's why they call him that. 

"Keep close," Cohart advised, barely looking back at us. "Silent is a man of many, many surprises." 

I continue to search the courtyard and landed my eyes on a weird statue. It made me tilt my head. It looked like my mom, but the statue was burned and the thick layer of soot covering over it was uncanny. I looked down at the alter of the statue and made my way to it, diverging from the group without their knowledge and stopped in front of the alter. 

They kept walking and I wiped at the alter, trying to rid of the soot. Fate's name was engraved in the wood. I trail my fingers over her name. I look back up at the statue again and attempted to get at least a little of the black soot off of her statue. As soon as my hand touched the stone, however, I felt the wind pick up and before I knew what was happening, I was captured in a net. 

It wasn't a net that was made from rope, one I could attempt to cut out or rip up with my left arm, but a rope made from pure energy, which led into the sky, too far for my eyes to reach. I let out a shout of surprise as I was bounded into the air as if I were jumping on a trampoline and then settled into the net. 

Everybody had heard by now and turned to look at me. 

All of their faces drooped into one of annoyance when they saw me dangling there. Well, okay, Myrina looked annoyed. Everybody else just looked at her, like they knew that was what was going to happen. I grasp at the net and yank at it, but it doesn't even shake. It was like it was made of pure steel. But transparent at the same time. 

"Uh, guys, a little help?" I ask. 

"Erin, I told you to stay close." Cohart scolded. 

"Sorry, Cohart. I got distracted by--"

"Your mother?" A shadow crept along the darkest parts of the courtyard. I'm guessing the guy named Silent. Though, I couldn't see his face. Just a shadow sitting in a position I could only describe as relaxed. His leg placed curtly over the other. I could see his back pressing into the walls of his fortress. He had his head down low. "Yes, she hasn't been cleaned off in years."

Cohart turned in the direction the shadow man was sitting. Completely forgetting about me dangling by an unseen force. "Silent, brother..."

Suddenly two bright orbs cut through the blackness that was the shadow. It didn't occur to me until his head raised that they were his eyes. They were without color, his pupils glazed over into a milky white. Much like Cohart's, except you could actually tell apart the iris from the pupil. "Do not 'brother' me, Cohart. What do you want?"

Okay, so these siblings aren't in good terms with each other, I can see. 

But Cohart didn't let it faze him as he made his way even closer to his brother sitting in the dark. "Silent, I'd like to speak with you, please. It's urgent." When his brother didn't budge, Cohart sighed. "I wouldn't come here unless it was important."