Twelve Realms

Chapter 18

Aerid

The river is quiet here. The water still moves, but not in the rushing, hasty way that it does in other places. Here it just quietly slips by, leaving its surface calm enough that I can see my reflection.

I barely recognize the face that stares back at me. My hair has grown longer, shaggy and unkempt, which is no surprise considering I haven't cut it since I left home. My eyes seem sunken, though that may just be because of the dark circles below them. I've always been thin- I rarely ever had enough to eat, even back home- but now there's practically no fat on my face at all. 

What's worse than my actual physical appearance, though, is just how... dead I look. I stare into my reflection's eyes and see nothing. They're just glassy. Flat. Expressionless. 

When did this happen? I've been so caught up in everything happening, so constantly and consistently distracted that I never stopped to look at myself. To notice how I'm feeling. 

Now that I think about it, I can't even begin to describe how I feel. My life has gone completely off the rails, nothing is certain, and I don't belong anywhere anymore. Each day I remain in this Realm feels like a gamble, and I'm unquestionably living on borrowed time. 

Slowing down like this, taking away the distractions and the adrenaline, makes the sadness set in. I never had the time to let myself feel sad. I never gave myself the time to grieve for what I've lost. What my village lost. 

I needed them. Taking care of them, helping them, it was the one and only thing that made me feel like I was worth something. They made me feel needed. And I'm never going to be able to repay what they've given me. All the other boys my age, they get up and move away. Which means the village is undoubtedly suffering from my absence. They're suffering and there's nothing I can do about it. People are going to get hurt, people are going to have their segments stolen, people are going to go to the river, and it will be my fault because I can't be there to help.

A tear slips from my eye. The action almost surprises me. I can't remember the last time I cried. I haven't had time enough to cry since I've been on the run, and I rarely ever cried at home. I hate crying in front of people. Luckily I'm not really the sobbing type-- it's more that my eyes just leak. 

I turn away from the river so I don't have to see myself crying and try to pull myself together. The last thing I want is for Lucia to see me like this. 

More water begins to slide down my cheeks, but not tears. It's started to rain. Maybe I can use that as an excuse as to why my face is wet. I stare at the river, its once glassy surface now broken as hundreds of raindrops plummet into the water.

A flash illuminates the sky, accompanied by a boom so loud it makes me jump. I turn just in time to see a stroke of lightning recede back into the clouds. I've never been this close to a lightning strike before. The scare of the noise helps me pull myself back together, and I wipe the last of the tears off of my face, though it largely does nothing as it takes little time for raindrops to inhabit the places the tears once were. 

I should get back to the house. Not only is it raining out here and I don't want to get struck by lightning, but I'm running the risk of leaving significant tracks in the mud that's quickly forming on the riverbank. 

I use a stick to smooth out the footprints I've left by the river, and tread as lightly as I can as I walk back towards the house, trying to pinpoint the drier parts of the ground, thought they're becoming fewer and fewer. Luckily the rain starts to lessen, and by stepping as close to tree trunks as I can, I'm actually managing pretty well.

I'm about halfway back when I smell a familiar scent through the thinning rain. Did Lucia start a fire? Maybe she's cooking. I'm impressed that she managed to get a fire going in this rain. 

No, something is wrong. A little campfire wouldn't survive the downpour. Which means something is most certainly wrong. I begin to pick up the pace, walking faster and then jogging. I see a light through the trees. A large spot of light, flickering. I break through the trees and find the abandoned house we were staying in is fully ablaze. 

It must have been struck by the lightning. It was the right spot. But it doesn't matter how it started, because I don't see Lucia out here, which means she's still in there. I gotta get her out of there, but how? All of the entrances are on fire. 

"Lucia!" I yell. No response. Is she even still in this Realm? Or has her segment been stolen already?

I hear crashing from inside and the fire spits out a disturbing amount of sparks. It looks like the floor of the second story has collapsed. That's where Lucia was. 

Is she... 

No. No, she can't be. She has to still be here. Dea wouldn't let her lose a segment now. Would she? 

What am I saying? Of course Dea would. Dea doesn't care what happens to any of us, she's made that abundantly clear. But still... it seems wrong somehow. Lucia didn't hurt anyone. She's trying to help Dea. She's trying to save all of us. And I left her here to burn.

I find myself praying to Dea that Lucia is still here. I don't even know if she'll hear me, but please, please, do not let Lucia's segment be lost. Not when I could've done something to save her. 

I hear more noises from inside. What's collapsing now? The walls? Is there any hope at all?

Suddenly, I spot something in the flames. Is it Lucia? It can't be. Whatever this is is walking directly through the fire. Lucia can't do that. Can she?

I squint, trying to get a better look at whatever it is. It continues forward, paying no mind to the flames that rise higher and higher around it.

And then I see that it is Lucia, somehow miraculously walking directly through fire unharmed, even though parts of her clothing have caught flame. The heat doesn't seem to bother her, though I have no idea how. It looks like something on her wrist has caught fire or something, because it's definitely glowing. And yet she walks on, unbothered. How is she doing that?

Her eyes are glowing. Something is flowing through her, something is letting her defy the laws of nature like this. She walks out of the fire and away from the building. Begins brushing the flames off her clothing with unscathed hands. When all the fire has been put out, she stares straight forward. The glow begins to fade from her eyes. She blinks rapidly, as if coming out of a trance, and then collapses on the ground.