The Web of Iron

Chapter Five: The Coming of Rioletta

The next morning Kiyora made her way downstairs to find breakfast being cooked. The smell of bacon and eggs was in the air. The sunlight through the white curtains by the kitchen table was nice and bright, especially with how it filtered by the trees outside her yard. Mom was wearing an unusual apron she liked, but nobody else did. Her green-dyed hair was tied behind her head in a ponytail, and Kiyora could smell bacon in the air. From the looks of things, some of the greases had spattered on the glove front.

Dad was just outside, looking super engrossed in a painting he was doing. His eyes looked oddly sad today, though.

"You're up earlier than is usual on the weekends, Kiyora," said Mom.

"Yeah, I've been a bit busy in my dreams lately," said Kiyora. "Figured I'd take a break and leave early."

"Ah, right," said Mom, "breakfast isn't done, so you'll have to wait a bit." She looked like she wanted to say something else.

"No problem," said Kiyora. "Is something wrong, Mom?"

"No. Nothing," said Mom. "Just my daughter communing with unholy spirits every night."

"Mom, they're not unholy," said Kiyora. "And I'm fighting that kind of spirit." Well, not really, but she didn't need to know that.

"That's almost worse," said Mom. "Kiyora, a few months ago, I thought your dreams were harmless. Something you saw without any bearing on the real world. Now I find out that the things you see in them are real and can reach into this world.

"And what's worse is that nobody notices. Nobody talks about when He possessed everyone. When I mention it, I get a blank look before anyone even remembers what I'm talking about. It's like the whole universe is working to make everyone forget."

"Mom, don't worry. Nobody got killed," said Kiyora.

"What about next time?" asked Mom. "And the time after that? I thought people talking about monsters stalking the streets were conspiracy theorists. Now I wonder if they are only some of the time. Maybe... maybe it could happen again.

"I almost killed you, Kiyora. I felt Him in my mind, and he twisted me around until my hands grasped your neck and squeezed."

"Mom, it's okay," said Kiyora. "I'll never let anything like that happen again. I promise."

"I should be saying that to you," said Mom. "You're still a kid. You shouldn't have to worry about things like this."

"Mom, I'm thirty-nine," said Kiyora. "I can make my own decisions. Besides, it isn't exactly real to me, anyway. I'm not as affected by things in that world as I am by things in this one. I think that is part of the Spirit World. It's always shifting, but this world is much more real."

Breakfast was finished, and they sat down to eat it. As they ate, Kiyora looked for some reason to get their minds off her dreams. "So, um, when do you think Dad will get back?"

"It all depends on how well people like his new paintings," said Mom. "They've all been much darker since He came here. Though he doesn't seem too affected."