The Lion and the Brave

Chapter seven

Kynth Llew

Pain radiated from my whole head, my neck and shoulders felt sore and I felt as if I had slept for too long. I didn't recognise where I was when I opened my eyes and had to blink several time until I could see properly. The walls were gray and the ground was black, I could see no door or windows, only a lightbulb hanging from the ceiling. I tried to rub my eyes but my arms were stuck. I looked at them and felt my hair rise. My arms were bound in leather straps against a metallic seat. I tried to move but I soon realized that I was trapped. Several straps were keeping me in place, two for my arms and forearms in addition to two for my shins as well as one for my stomach and a last one for my shoulder. I could feel my heart beat faster, my body aching and my stomach constrict. I did not like what was happening.

I was still coming to terms with the situation when the sound of footsteps echoed behind me. I froze, afraid of what was coming toward me. A woman probably in her thirties was now facing me. She smiled, revealing her perfectly white teeth. There was something deeply unnerving about her. Half of her face was frozen. Her right eye was watching me, but the left one was fixed on something beyond me. She looked somewhat familiar to me even though I had no idea how that was possible.

"So you're finally awake Kynth." I gaped at the mention of my name and my reaction made the woman in front of me laugh.

"Yeah I know who you are. Don't be so surprised, I knew you and your old friend were coming. I've been watching you and all the others since my boy kidnapped Bëor's son." I decided that the wisest decision would be to not say a word and see what she told me next. The woman pouted, visibly disapointed that I did not talk to her.

"You're not the talkative kind, I see. Good thing is, I know how to make people speak." She replaced a strand of black hair behind her ear and went to the back of the room before reapearring with a rolling table.

She placed the rolling table just far enough from my hand so I couldn't touch it. She looked at all the instruments laid on the table and seized a lancet. I felt sweat trickling down my neck as she approached me. As the lancet was getting closer to my arm, I took a deep breath and closed my eyes.

Jierda Einar

I woke up in an empty room. The ground was made of dried soil and the walls were completely white. Also, my right leg was hurting like hell. My blood was staining my pants and when I riped off the fabric, all I saw was some gross flesh, swollen and shining crimson. I touched my wound and used my blood to write down a few runes on the ground : Othala and Uruz. But it didn't seem to work as the soil soaked up my blood. I stood up with difficulty and traced the runes on one of the walls this time. I felt my magic being drained out as the runes started to work. My claymore was soon in my hand and my ankle stopped bleeding. I turned around and put my back against the wall. I had to think this through. How could I possibly get out of this place ? And, more importantly where was I ? And what had happened to Kynth ?

I passed my hand over my face and when I drew it back, someone had appeared a few feet before me. I stood straighter, ignoring the persistent pain in my leg, ang held my claymore tighter.

"Jierda ?" The voice coming from the petite girl in front of me brought back long forgotten memories.

"Kadlin ? Is that you ?" If I was right, this short, brown haired girl dressed in an old linen dress was my deceased youngest sister.

"Jierda it's me !" Kadlin took a few steps forward but I stoped her with my blade.

"No you're not, my sister died when I was a kid. So that was approximately one hundred years ago."

"Jierda it's me I swear ! Why don't you believe me ?" At these words, my sister started crying.

I wanted to take her in my arms and tell her that everything would be okay but I knew that no matter how badly I wanted her back nothing could ever erase the past. Nothing could ever erase what I had done to her. And this girl was not my sister.

"Big brother ! It has been so long and I have done everything to come back... And you're not even happy to see me ? Maybe you actually wanted me to die..."

"You have no right in saying that !" It was my turn to take a step forward, forcing her to back down. "I have done everything in my power to bring you back. EVERYTHING ! But you were dead Kadlin ! And you still are !" Tears of anger and frustration started to fall on my cheeks and I gritted my teeth to refrain from screaming.

"No that's not true ! You killed me ! You lied to me !" Kadlin was shouting too now, her eyes were swollen red and tears were tracing a thin line on both of her cheeks.

"You know that was an accident !"

"No brother it was a lie !" She looked in my eyes as she spoke. "You took me with you in Greyacre's cave ! You were supposed to look after me but you said you would show me something funny !" Her voice was getting deeper. "I went with you and you showed me the runes ! You took a sharp rock and slit your hand ! You showed me how to make magic happen by putting your hand on the runic inscriptions !" Her eyes were getting greyer, deader. "I only wanted to be like you... And you were so captivated by your magic that you didn't see me..." Her voice was a whisper now and her teeth were falling out of her mouth. "I took the sharp rock and opened my wrists... And none of your magic did anything for me..." Her hair was getting sparse, her skin had taken a greenish shade.

"That was a mistake ! I was young too."My voice was trembling, my chest felt painfully hollow and I could taste shame and regret on my tongue. The corpse of my sister was watching me, judging my faults. Then, when I last expected it, her eyeballs fell out of their cavities, leaving two black holes instead. I lowered my weapon, shocked. That's the exact moment my sister's gross kind of zombie launched its black nails at my arm.