Forsaken

Three

I had spent most of my days resting as much as I could. I would head out behind my little home. There, my favorite spot, sat a river. For the past few days I had decided to lie low, since the encounter I had with the humans left me anxious. 

Luckily, the skies were clear, so I could enjoy a couple days off to myself. I knew not to overwork myself from past experiences. 

The damages to my sword showed how much it had aged through the years. As I examined it, I couldn't help but frown. There were scratches and a few cracks near the incantations. The beautiful shining gold diminished to a coppery color. While the red around the hilt had black spots. Even the magic I could feel from it was weaker than it once was. I never thought this day would come. Magic running out of my lifeline. 

I lied against the grass, watching as the sun began to set. As soon as the moon reached its peek, I grabbed my sword and sat up. My grip on it became tight, a part of my mind tempting me. Maybe I could just patrol the area for a bit...

"Lilit!" Lucy came running toward me. "Your weekly has arrived!" 

I snapped the sword on my back and pet Lucy's head. "Thanks," I said. 

Lucy, a white chihuahua, was left to me as a gift from the previous owner, who passed away.

"No problem," Lucy replied, wagging her tail. 

It was amazing to see how far the technology had gone. Lucy was a creature with the capability to speak human language. Humans implicated tech within certain animals months after they were born. Her mind held information about the world in its current form. 

Lucy ran back inside and I followed behind her, grabbing the package at the door. Every item in there was to preserve what was left of me. My father told me these were essential for my body. 

"Lilit?" 

"Hmm?" 

"Can you take me for a walk in the city?" Lucy wagged her little tail in anticipation. 

"I guess. It does seem safe enough tonight," I said, looking out the window. I pulled my hoodie over my head, trying my best to hide the sword underneath it. I didn't think anyone would be out, but I didn't want to take my chances.

Lucy took her stroll without her leash. Advanced pets, like her, were smart and able to control themselves better than most humans, in my opinion. I had wondered how the previous owner came across something as special as her. Keeping pets during the current age was common, but many of them weren't as exceptional as her.

I kept my eyes on Lucy, the way she enjoyed the fresh air was mesmerizing. Her love for freedom and adventure without a care in the world. I put my hood down when neither of us spotted another person.

She came back around and stood by me. I went down on my knees, letting her relax as I stroked her fur. Lucy had her eyes closed, causing me to close my eyes.

"I didn't think I'd see you again," a female voice said, causing both Lucy and I to jump. 

I stayed silent, eyes locked with a figure in the dark. They walked under the light, making themselves known. Her medium light brown hair tied into a tight ponytail. Her dark eyes staring intensely into mine. She kept a straight face as she tried to examine me, her arms crossed across her chest.

"That little girl said you saved her and I wanted to thank you for that," she said, giving me an expression that was hard to read. My mouth wouldn't move and nothing came out as I gulped. 

Words. Speak. Say something, Lilit.

"You're welcome!" Lucy shouted, wagging her tail. "Lilit is nice and helpful as always." At least one of us was able to communicate. 

"Lilit, huh?" 

"Is that it?" I mumbled, still on my knees, looking up at her. 

"One more thing, if you find children like that again, can you bring them to me? My name is Leila, I watch over children who lose their parents to the storm. Your little friend should know what I do." She nodded her head toward my dog. 

Lucy went and sniffed Leila. "She's telling the truth, Lilit. Her place isn't too far from here." 

"Sure," I replied. Her request seemed simple enough. Now those kids would have a place to go when I rip my sword through the Broken. I didn't want to imagine how many of those kids lost their parents to the storm. Loss was something I was very familiar with.

"Lilit!" Lucy yelled in panic. It took a moment for me to come back to the present, and once I had, I made contact with a Broken. I jumped up and pushed Leila out of the way. She fell on her back and I, with her. 

"Lucy, run home!" Lucy ran as quickly as her little feet could take her. "Leila, just... stay." 

It was impossible to fight with another person nearby. The only solution I could think of was to lure them away. Broken were attracted to me more than any other species. 

As I was running, the Broken began frantically following me from behind. That second I turned to look at them, I tripped and landed on my face. 

My hand quickly flew to the hilt of my sword, pulling it out. I turned and swung at them, chopping their hand off. It screeched in anger at the pain I had caused on their body. With their other hand they clawed, kicked, and wing slapped at my sword, which caused it to fly out of my hand. 

My position must've caused the horrible grip. I rolled until I managed to get away and stand. Without my sword I didn't have a chance against the Broken. My father used to teach incantations that could restrain them, but I never got to that part of my training. 

I searched for my sword as quickly as I could, but it wasn't anywhere in sight. My hands began to tremble at the thought of never holding it again. "This cannot be happening..." 

"Lilit!" I heard Leila shout in the distance. Her hand was wrapped around the hilt of my sword. A huge relief fell over me at the sight of it. Leila tossed it in my direction. Once my hand felt the rough textures, it felt like I was home. 

I sliced through the Broken and watched them disappear before my eyes. Before I could take another breath of relief from this encounter, my body lost all the strength it gained from the sword. I began to tremble as my eyes landed on the weapon. The sword in my hand was missing a piece, causing whatever magic it was engraved with to weaken. 

I dropped the weapon as I fell to my knees.

My hand flew to my chest. "I... can't... bre-"