The Hidden Orphan (The Chronicles of Mistar - Book 2)

Twenty-One · · · Dusk

Parlonin Manor, Offland/Blood Valley Library, Blood Valley, Opa

DUSK WAS RIGHT. That night, a skull dog attacked a helpless bystander. Technically, it was the morning but the time, said otherwise. The C.S. news reported that a sixteen-year-old girl had been walking to a friend's house at four in the morning when the beast attacked. The old man who found her said he saw blood and followed the trail to a mangled corpse at the side of the road.

It chilled Dusk to bone. That could have been him. He was glad it wasn't, but he was also sad for the girl. It was Dusty Parich, his class partner. People always made fun of them in grade school because their names were so close. They became best friends but over time they disconnected, grew apart, and met new people.

It was even more saddening because Smolder and Ashen weren't the only twins at their school. Dusty also had a twin brother, Oliver. They both wore glasses but looked nothing alike. Still, Dusk knew that every time he saw Oliver, he would see Dusty too.

Dusk just couldn't believe Dusty was gone. His stomach hurt even more and was unable to eat Lacey's breakfast. He ran out of the kitchen and threw up in the toilet. He ended up sitting there for at least an hour until breathing heavily until a knock sounded the bathroom door.

Dusk grunted in response, wanting whoever it was to go away. He moaned in pain, listening to yells of fighting parents as the screams echoed through the walls. The door creaked open anyway and he wished it was Cadi but if it was, the door would have flown open already and he would be exposed. Dusk knew it couldn't have been her.

When it was finally open, listening to creak on its hinges, Dusk squinted his eyes and saw Dairy. She shuffled in and grabbed Dusk's hand. Personally, he was surprised. Dairy was always scared of him, mostly due to the talk from her mother, but she didn't hesitate as her little body tried to pull him up.

"Water?" Dairy asked, her voice shaking.

Dusk gulped and clung to her hand. He barely knew her, but the little girl was comforting. He couldn't handle any more death. Pike and Butch.

He nodded his head and Dairy lead him to the sink. Dusk felt a film in mouth and when he breathed, he almost puked again smelling the vomit on his tongue. He gagged and doubled over on the sink. Dusk held his stomach where the scar was and ended tracing it with his fingers. Somehow, it was comforting.

Dairy bent down and grabbed a little cup from under the sink. She turned on the faucet and filled the cup, handing it over to Dusk.

"Drink," she ordered softly. Dusk figured she would have sounded like her mother if she acted any harsher.

With shaking hands, Dusk grasped the cup. He threw the water back, letting it trickle down his throat. To him, it felt refreshing, something he needed.

Taking in a few more sighs, Dairy added when he was done, "Someone is waiting for you. A girl."

If it was Cadi, Dairy would have said her name so Dusk knew it wasn't his sister. It had to be one of his friends. It was either Para, Crys, or Ash, though Para was very unlikely. When she wasn't with the friend group as a whole, she was seen with none of them. That meant it was Crys or Ash.

Dusk knew that color anywhere. Ash stood in the hall, hair tied into a messy bun. Her face was tear-streaked and as soon as she saw him, she ran into his arms and cried, her hair getting into Dusk's mouth.

"It hurts," she muttered through fading sobs.

Dusk patted her back and kissed her head. "I know. I know."

When she finally pulled away, Dusk looked back and forth for Dairy. The little girl was nowhere to be seen. She had slipped away.

Ash gripped the back of Dusk's shirt, still crying, making the front side of it damp.