The Anima [completed]

5.

5.

"Where are you keeping Lucas?"

"Who?" Lucius laughed, flicking his long hair over his shoulder and flashing his teeth.

I punched him straight in the nose. It broke under my fist. He roared as blood gushed down his chin and onto his white cape. He lunged for me, but his movements were obvious and I was well trained. I shifted my body to the side at the last minute, shoving his back so he landed face first into the dirt. My shin struck his side, perfectly placed to nudge his kidney, where I knew it would hurt. I drew back my leg, only to be enveloped in a tight embrace from behind, restraining me.

Alvar held me tightly as I attempted to escape from his arms, but to no avail. His arms were as solid as cement, encasing me in a position of weakness. His breath hot on my ear, soothing sounds emanated from his mouth, calming my wild heart.

"Lucas," I breathed out, my lips trembling. "Lucas Young. The boy you kidnapped from my school exactly a year ago." I licked my lips and scanned Lucius' eyes, which were still writhing in anger, and saw no sign of recognition. "Where are you keeping him?"

Alvar seemed to believe I would not attack again as his arms fell to his sides. He turned me around to face him, his head cocked to the side as if he was curious about my behaviour.

"Lyra, neither I nor Lucius know of the man you speak of. There are new talent rangers each year so we would not know of any taken for our use. Even so, if it were we that took him, he would have been returned to you no later than three months following a celebration." He explained, keeping his eyes trained on mine. "I am sorry for your loss, but do not hold us accountable."

I nodded, but my eyes remained critical. Our circumstances were too similar, even to the exact day, and I had yet to hear Lucius' side to things. But the men before me were not the ones I was after. I just wanted Lucas to come home, for everything to go back to the way it was.

"Except if the King killed the kid," Lucius spoke harshly, knowing he would evoke more than a physical flinch out of his words, "then you can hold the King accountable."

He laughed, a deep thundering sound that vibrated through the surrounding forest. I lunged for his throat, not caring about the consequence of my actions. But before I could find sweet satisfaction in the life draining from his ghastly face, the arms of Alvar held me back.

"Lucius, enough." Alvar's voice was stern, his arms tightening around my small frame. "I'd like the rest of the trip to be relatively peaceful, if you can manage that."

Lucius rolled his eyes and sighed dramatically. He pranced into the trees; no doubly happy with the discord he had sewed into the seams of my mind. I began to wonder if there was any truth in his words. Ever since I had grasped the possibility of Lucas' survival, I did not want to believe there was any chance of his death.

"Is it true?" I asked Alvar, hoping he would shake his head and tell me there was no chance it was really true. But this was my reality, not a fantasy world catering to my every need.

Alvar stared at the ground for a moment, biting his lip as he debated with himself. After a few moments of silence, he nodded and raked his hand through his long curls.

"There is a chance that this boy may be dead if he displeased the king when he stayed with us. But if he was talented, and made no mistakes, he would have been sent home."

So I would never truly know what exactly happened to Lucas Young. There was nothing in that moment which seemed more disastrous. Focused on nothing except the fate of my beloved friend, for a moment I was fearless. It was as if nothing else truly mattered, like nothing ever would matter again. I did not fear my death, the inevitability of the passing of time that followed me through every step of life. I did not fear the nothingness that awaited me when buried six feet under in an old cemetery on the side of a washed up road. I had forgotten my old fears in the face of new ones.