21 Reinforcements

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     Quinlan and Iain were nowhere to be found. Kyrael had been looking for the better part of the night. She had been through the grass quarter, up and down the bazaar, and rounded back around several residential areas, but the streets were empty save for the occasional drunk stumbling in the night. It took her several hours, and several times she had to rest to keep her heart from exploding, but she looked through most of town, especially where her mother and brother should have been.

     Her heart was still racing as she came around the corner where she could put eyes on her home. The warm glow of inside candles spilled out from their windows. A part of Kyrael hoped that she would open the door and see them standing there, but something deeper, smarter, and colder told her that it was a fool's hope. She opened the door to see Ser Viir, his bald head shining from sweat, panting in the shop section of her house.

     "Kyrael, I've been everywhere. I found nuffin.'" Viir said in between heavy breaths. "I'm sorry."

     Kyrael closed the door, breathing heavily as well. It was strange, she felt as though she should have had tears welling up from the stress, but she was too stressed to cry. That morning she was certain she wouldn't survive the day. Now, the renewed sense of life she thought she had regained had been ripped out of her heart and replaced with pain.

     She said nothing to Viir. She just plopped her back against the door and slid down it, into a sitting position. Her stare was distant. Things had been delicately placed back together through distraction, but there was no ignoring this.

     "Listen to me, Kyrael," Viir began. "On my honor as a knight, I will not stop lookin' for your family until we find them, do you understand?"

     The words shook Kyrael from her stunned state. She nodded numbly, thoughts eroding in her mind. Each new moment, each fleeting scenario that played out in her mind, seemed to deepen the dread.

     "Bloody 'Ell!" Viir exclaimed. "This is not what we needed right now. Wot else can go wrong?"

     They caught their breaths for a moment before Viir scoffed again. "I 'fink I've come to a decision. I'm not going to keep you from any more information. I don't 'fink this is a coincidence, It can't be. Which means that this now involves your family, which involves you."

     There was a knock at the door.

     Both of them controlled their breath to be quieter, a response to adrenaline.

     Kyrael looked over quickly, but didn't move. Viir said nothing. Perhaps he was too jaded to hold out hope for who might be on the other side.

     Kyrael made her way over to the door, and slowly opened it, hoping beyond hope to see her family. To see her mother, as smothering as she could be, or to see her brother, as annoying as he was.

     There, standing in the doorway was a tall man and a small figure. The tall one was definitely an Elf by his looks, and the figure appeared to be his child.

     "Hello, I'm looking for some people and they appear to be in your home." The Elf said, peering past Kyrael briefly to see what he could see.

     He saw Viir, and smiled slightly. "And there is one of them now. Allow me to introduce myself, I am Sivaal. I do hope they haven't gotten you into too much trouble..." He trailed upwards at the end and gently swept Kyrael's hand from her side in a manner suggesting she introduce herself.

     She blinked a few times, shaking some stress from her mind. "My name is Kyrael."

     "Kyrael!" said Sivaal. "Your name is Elven, I see."

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