Split Blood: The Ancient Codex - Part One (Book #1 ) - COMPLETE

CHAPTER FIVE - FINDERS, KEEPERS (Part 1)

CHAPTER FIVE – FINDERS, KEEPERS

(Part 1)

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My feet sank into the watery mud as we tried to find a shelter before there was another attack. ‘Quickly - let’s go back to the cave you hid in before you came to me,’ Asabi said. We ran in that direction.

Painful memories haunted my mind as we tried to find our bearings and eventually found the cave; nothing had been disturbed and the sticks Rohan had placed over the opening to prevent others finding it were still there. ‘Are you okay?’ Mulogo asked compassionately as I touched the sticks and a tear rolled down my cheek.

I couldn’t speak, but instead nodded and he escorted me into the cave.

Images of happier times - with Rohan - overwhelmed my fragile mind. I had finally had a place in our world, by Rohan’s side, but now I was lost, wandering the desert plains in search of my own mirage.

His face consumed every inch of my imagination.

He was the faint smells of lilies and heather that surrounded me in our favourite field. He was the rain that drenched me through to saturation point. He was the heaven to my hell; my dreams and nightmares blurred into one. For me, his smile was both a precious reminder and a painful memory of the love we once fought to maintain. He was the final piece in my broken shell of a vase.

The small, vital piece which I could not get to fit, no matter how hard I tried. Forcing the part into the empty slot only left the vase weaker; its cracks grew larger and larger, until, one day, the vase could no longer hold itself together without the missing chunk. With a short gust of wind, the lily petals fell upon the broken vase, and the clear, still sky answered the empty vessel’s prayers, smashing it to pieces. It would never be whole again.

I could see no way out of this gloom; anyone within metres of me was captured and absorbed into this dark abyss. I felt I had to make the conscious decision to enjoy the rest of the evening with Asabi, Mulogo and Idony and, when they fell asleep, I would leave them to find my own path and avoid dragging them further into my war with the Elders, and the other circles.

I sat in the corner, opening and closing the locket to see if the images had changed, whilst Asabi fed Idony and Mulogo bled a hedgehog which he’d found outside. ‘Please drink this, Faith. You have to keep your strength up.’ He handed me a mug.

I pushed it away, no longer caring about my strength. ‘If nothing else, the baby needs it!’ Asabi said as she forced the mug to my lips and watched until I drank it all. As they sat round the fire and tried to take in the events of the past few days, I stayed in the corner and began to work through every spell I knew, desperate to bring Rohan back to me.

‘You have to let him go, Faith,’ Mulogo said as he painfully watched my heart break further; the frustration of the spells not working consumed me.

I ignored him and continued.

Asabi eventually came over to me and held my hands. She closed her eyes. ‘You have so much power inside you right now, but I can see your emotions will determine how this power is used. I know you’re angry, upset and devastated at your loss but remember - Rohan gave up his life so you and your baby could live. Don’t let his sacrifice be in vain,’ she whispered.