The Divide

Chapter 6

Kyro

I sat in silence on my bed, looking at my journal that was filled with nightmares and fears of Irus. The thought of him scared, making me shutter as chills rolled down my spine. My stomach growled loudly, but I refused to eat. I let out a sigh as I tossed the notebook across the room, not wanting to think about what was inside. There was a knock seconds later followed by my mothers voice. "Kyro...can you please come out. I'm worried about you and want to know what is bothering you," she said softly through the door. "I'm fine," I muttered back, slowly laying down, "but I don't want to come out". She didn't respond at first, making me think she left. "There's food outside the door if you want it," she said, followed by the sound of her walking down the stairs. I sighed, rolling into my side and slowly falling asleep. Over the last three days, I had slept little due to my nightmares. Each one seemed worse then the last, making it harder to sleep each time. I woke a few hours later, panting heavily while shaking with fear. My stomach growled again as I slowly sat up and looked at my notebook. It's contents haunted me, making me shutter. "How is Kyro doing," I heard Natalia from the bottom of the stairs ask as I froze. "I don't know, he's been locked in his room since you left," my mother said before footsteps came from the stairs. "Kyro, its me," Natalia said as I remained still, watching the door, "can I come in". "No," I muttered, rising to my feet. My legs wobbled from lack of energy as I shuffled to my notebook. "Why not, I'm worried. Your mother is too," she said softly before pausing, "Irus is worried". "Do not say his name," I shouted, feeling significantly weaker after doing it. She fell silent as I picked up my notebook and moved back to the bed. "Kyro...please let me see you," she whimpered behind the door, my chest tightening as she did. "No...you shouldn't see me like this," I muttered, climbing back in bed. She sighed behind the door before going silent. "Ok, hope you get better," she muttered solemnly, followed by the sound of her moving down stairs. I sighed, clenching my jaw as I opened to a clean page of the notebook. There was silence for a few hours after that, breaking from a distant roar that made me shake. "Irus," I muttered when I heard it, dropping the notebook off the bed. Nothing came to mind of what he might be roaring about, just the fear of him. Several more followed before silence fell again, tears in my eyes as each one brought thoughts of my dreams. "Please, no more," I said, laying down and cradling myself. I sobbed for several minutes in fear, wishing to just die before growing too weak to weep. My body was depleted of all energy, the internal growling of my gut that pleaded for any sort of nutrients. Stars formed in my vision as I rolled over to sit up, collapsing on the ground next to my bed. A groan escaped my lips as my head swirled and my eyes grew heavy. I gaged by my weakness, slipping into darkness as someone moved up the stairs. When I came to again, I heard voices talking around me. They were muffled at first before my hearing slowly came back. "I think he's regain consciousness, how long had it been since he ate," a man's voice asked as I groaned. "Four days," my mother replied as I struggled to open my eyes. My head was pounding and my eyes strained in the light. "He should recover quickly then," the man said, "let me know if anything gets worse". "I will, thank you doctor," my mother said, my vision slowly clearing up to see the blurred outlines. The man was in a white hospital coat with a large first aid kit in hand. He left as my mother turned to me, groaning again as my vision cleared. "How are you feeling," she asked, running her hand along the side of my face. "Tired," I replied, feeling my stomach growl again, "hungry". She nodded, looking away for a moment. "Why is your notebook filled with nightmares of Irus," she asked, making me clench my jaw. I had no response, just stared into her eyes. "It that why you locked yourself away," she asked, "to hide from him". I nodded, breaking the stare seconds later. "You know he's worried about you, he has been since your birthday. He would never hurt you, only protect you," she said before slowly stood up and headed for the door, "I'll bring you something to eat in a moment, just relax until I get back". I sighed before shuttering again at the thought of Irus. Thinking about my fear, it was completely irrational, but I couldn't help it. It felt instinctive to fear him, making me hide away without thinking. My mother brought me food some minutes later, helping me sit up so I could eat. She didn't say anything, just watched me closely as I ate. It felt strange, but I acted like it didn't effect me. She took the plate when I finished, leaving the room without a word while I slowly laid back down. I sighed, looking at the window for a moment while wondering if Irus was out there. Shuttering, I turned away while pushing the thought out of my head. My mother returned to the room several hours later with my coat in hand. "Lets go for a walk, the doctor said you need to be on your feet," she said, offering a hand as I sat up. "But Irus," I whimpered, refusing to take her hand. "He's off at his dwelling, he won't be back today," she said softly. I paused, clenching my jaw before taking her hand. She gave me my jacket before leading me downstairs to the front door. My stomach twisted at the thought of leaving the safety of my house. The feeling only intensified when the door opened and a cold breeze blew into the house. "It's fine," my mom said softly, taking my hand and leading me out the door. I looked around in a slight panic, expecting Irus to be hiding around the house. There was nothing, just the soft sound of the winds passing over Gallasia. "See, you're fine," my mother said, leading me down the hill, "nothing to be afraid of". I nodded slightly, still fearfully looking out for Irus. We moved through the settlement, people saying hello as we passed. They seemed unaffected by everything that had happened, making me nervous around them. My mind raced, thinking of all the things that could lead me to facing Irus. "Kyro," my mother said softly, looking at me as she stopped, "relax, no one is going to hurt you". I nodded, looking around before noticing I was shaking uncontrollably. She sighed, looking off into the distance before walking towards Natalia's house. "When are we going home," I muttered behind her, causing her to look over her shoulder. "After we see Natalia and her brother," she replied, hinting we weren't going anytime soon. I sighed nervously, trying to calm down. Natalia was laying against Axel in the field by their home when we walked up. She was reading book while Axel was sound asleep. Her attention was drawn to us after we passed the house, making her smile as she saw me. "Look who final got out of his room," she said, getting to her feet as Axel slowly woke up. He yawned loudly before sleepily looking up at us. I didn't respond to her comment, still shaking heavily. "Let's walk inside, I'll make some tea," she said, gesturing for us to follow as she passed. She seemed to know something was still wrong, but tried to play it off like there wasn't. I followed closely, not wanting to be caught in the open. "So how have you been since we last saw you," my mother asked as we entered the house, closing the door behind us. "I've been good, just worried about Kyro," she said, looking at me, "what about you Kyro". I gaged slightly, stopping in my tracks at the question for a few seconds. "I've...I've been fine," I muttered, moving to a chair and sitting down without looking towards her. "I see," she said, not convinced of my response as my mom moved to help her with the tea. She muttered something to Natalia, something I couldn't understand before they both fell silent. It made me uneasy, trying to see what they might be doing with their backs to me. A few minute passed of this before my mother moved away from Natalia with a cup in her hand. "What did you do to it," I asked, feeling like they put something in it as she handed it to me. "Nothing was done to it sweetie, it's just tea," she said, turning back to Natalia who hand her a cup, "you need to relax. You seem to think everyone is out to get you". I clenched my jaw, watching her take a sip of hers as Natalia turned around with a cup in her hand. She sipped hers, letting out a sigh when she was done as she set it on the counter. "Is something wrong with your tea, Kyro," she asked, leaning against the counter as my mother moved around to sit next to me. "He's being paranoid. He thinks we did something to it," my mother said sitting next to me. "If you didn't, you take a sip of it," I said, nudging it to her. She gave me a disapproving look before picking up the cup and appeared to take a sip. I wasn't convinced as she let out a sigh and set it in front of me. "See, just ordinary tea," she said before picking up her own, "Nothing was done to it". I sighed, picking up the cup and taking a sip like she wanted me to. It was sweet unlike how my mother usually makes it, but I couldn't taste anything out of place. "So...how is it," Natalia asked as I swallowed, feeling it warm me up slightly. "It's good," I said, slowly letting my guard down as I began to relax slightly. "Good," she said with a smile as she moved around the counter and towards the back door, "I'm going to check on Axel, I'll be right back". I nodded as my mother sipped her tea without acknowledging her. It was a strange act, catching my attention as I drank my tea before feeling suddenly drowsy. My mind told me it was my constant fear that was draining me as well as the walk we had taken, but it slowly intensified until I dropped my cup before collapsing to the ground. I was out for what felt like several minutes, walking up to the sight of Irus standing over me. Fear took over as I tried to get to my feet, finding I was secured to the ground by Natalia and my mother who had tied me down. "It's as I feared," he said softy, bring his snout down over me and sniffing me, "he's been hexed, most likely a fear Hex". I whimpered loudly, struggling underneath my bonds as Irus brought a claw to my right arm. "Natalia, get the first aid kit. He'll need it after we have removed a pint of his blood," Irus said, causing Natalia to leave my side and rush to the house as he placed the claw over my arm to keep me from struggling. "Why do we have to draw blood, is there any other way," my mother asked calmly, making me panic. "It's the only way to remove the Hex...or at least the only method I know of," he replied as Natalia reappeared from the house and stopped by my side. "Whatever happens, keep him down," Irus said, placing the tip of his claw on my arm before pulling it down. I cried out in pain, blood seeping from the fresh cut as he removed his claw. "Wait till he calms. That is when the Hex would have worn off," he replied, sitting down and watching me closely. I struggled even harder in my bonds, feeling my wrists burn under the ropes as my blood drained into the grass. After several seconds, I stopped struggling. My panic and fear vanished and I was left confused. "Wrap the wound," Irus said as I looked at my arm, "the Hex should be gone now". "How do you feel honey," my mother asked as she untied my bonds while Natalia wrapped my arm tightly. "I...I don't really know. I feel in control again, but...I don't know," I muttered, slowly sitting up. "The Hex was most likely placed upon the box by your father, who I could see making a powerful hex like that one," Irus said, turning away. "Why would he do that to his own son," my mother asked as Natalia finished wrapping my arm. "It's either he's just using him against me or he was trying to get Kyro to run away. Either way, he nearly killed Kyro and got ahold of my fragment," Irus said as he looked back at us. "He was here," I asked, looking up at Irus as he looked away. "Yes, two days ago. He defeated me on the edge of the settlement," he replied, tensing slightly as he did, "we need to evacuate towards the southern gates. He can't be stopped...". "How, he's only a Canis," Natalia said as she stood up, causing Irus to look back at us. "No, he is not. He touched an eternal Titan's stone, giving him the strength of a titan without changing him," Irus replied, "his as old as I am because of it". We froze, falling silent as we didn't know how to respond. Irus turned away as he slowly stood up. "I need to go speak with the elders, we need to head south towards Frostpoint within the next two days. I fear that may not be enough time though," he said, heading back towards the settlement. My mind was racing, trying to piece together everything I had heard. "Let's head inside and get you stitched up," my mother said, helping me to my feet and leading me towards the house. I nodded as Natalia walked over to Axel, who had been watching a few meters away in the field. "Does dad even love us," I asked my mother solemnly as we got to the back door, causing her to pause for a moment. "I...I wish I could say yes, but...I don't know anymore," she said softly, leading me into the house.