Firewind

Chapter 20-Diero

I slowly stepped back with my hands out in front of me in a sign of surrender. The htraephim did not hesitate. One brave one flew towards me with a scream, hands coated in magic and struck my arm. Where it had hit, vines grew and spread, wrapping tighter and tighter. I struggled against their weight and tried to reach for the dagger sheathed at my side. The only problem with ranged weapons like my bow is that they aren't useful for melee. I grasped the hilt and drew it, cutting away at some of the vines. One of the other htraephim saw what I was trying to do and slammed into my hand growing thorns as it did. I dropped the dagger. I tried to shake it off but the thorns were already lodged in place and the tiny htraephim was hanging on fiercely.

I winced at the pain as the thorns sunk in and dug deeper and tighter around my hand. I tried to free myself from the vines and the thorns. They were too tight and I could feel my hands go numb. The vines started wrapping around my neck, crawling up towards my head. The ones around my arms grew tighter and grew thicker and stronger. I struggled against my bounds. The vines crept down my legs, pinning me to the ground and forcing me to my knees. All of it happened so quickly I hardly had time to react.

I looked to where Talkinn was hanging on the branch. He was reaching out towards me, screaming. One of the htraephim tied vines around his mouth to cut off his screams. He ripped them off and loosened the ones around his legs. He rocked himself back and forth more desperately. He fell onto his hands and knees and tried to get up. The htraephim were too busy paying attention to me. He got up and tried to bat the htraephim off of me. They didn't pay attention to him. The vines crept over my eyes and I was greeted by darkness.

I heard some strange sounding voices nattering on and on about something. I couldn't make out what but they sounded frustrated and annoyed. They grew louder and louder until they ended in a long screech. The screech went on and on resounding in my ears painfully. But I couldn't shut it out. Even if I could move my hands, it would still sound. Because the voices I heard were in my head.

The screech began to sound strangled. Next thing I knew it was cut off, making my ears pop. The voices became clearer and I could just barely hear whispers over the ringing in my ears.

"Is he the one?" a low voice asked.

"Yes, yes he is," another voice answered.

"The Master does not want him yet."

"But her Majesty said-"

"I know what her Majesty said!" the low voice growled.

"But-"

"Her Majesty is not our true Master. We must find a way to save him for later."

"Wait, I hear voices getting closer. We must leave!"

The buzzing in my ears left and I felt the vines around my body loosening and then falling away altogether. I shook them off. Leshanna was holding the dagger I had dropped. A concerned Ronan was behind her holding a crying Talkinn, trying to calm him down. I took a deep breath and stood up.

"Well... that was weird."

***

After our run-in with the htraephim, I didn't let Talkinn or Leshanna out of my sight. Leshanna held on tight to Talkinn's hand, much to his dismay, making sure he didn't run off to torment the woodland sprites again. Ronan was very quiet the rest of the day and didn't say anything until we stopped at an inn in a small village that probably wasn't even on the map. He got us a room and went off into the forest to meditate, taking his little drawstring bag with him.

Talkinn was exhausted from the long day and fell asleep before Leshanna and I went down for supper. The inn was fairly small and there weren't many people there.

While Leshanna and I were waiting for our food, a little girl was staring at me intently from the doorway to the kitchen. She had dark dark hair and pale skin. I waved at her and she smiled. She came up to our table and handed me a small slip of paper.

"I know what you are," she whispered. She smiled as if she hadn't said anything and skipped back to the kitchen.

I frowned at the note she had given me. It was on a pure white piece of paper. I had only ever seen slightly yellowed parchment. I opened it to reveal blood-red writing in an elegant script. It said:

You belong to the shadows.

You belong to the dark.

You belong to death.

And it. Will. Find. You.

I felt my heartbeat quicken and I looked around. The girl was nowhere to be seen. The other guests at the inn were laughing and drinking beer. Leshanna was talking to the lady that brought out our meal. I turned to the woman.

"Excuse me, ma'am," I said, "Is there a young girl living here?"

"No there isn't," she answered, "The owners had a daughter but she died when she was 6."

"Diero," Leshanna asked, concerned, "are you alright?"

"Yes," I said turning to my food, "I'm fine."

After we had finished our meal, Leshanna and I returned to our room. She threw a blanket over Talkinn and turned to me. I closed the door to our room and leaned against it.

"Is there something you want to tell me?" she said, raising her eyebrow and putting her hands on her hips. She looked so much like our mom like that. Same expression and everything. I felt a twinge of guilt. I should've run back to help our parents. Then all of this would have never happened.

"So you didn't see that little girl?" I asked cautiously.

"What little girl, Diero?"

"The one with the dark hair that was watching us from the kitchen."

"There wasn't any girl Diero. Are you sure you're feeling alright? Ever since the attack from the htraephim, you've been acting weird."

"I'm fine," I sighed. "Just tired. Its been a long day for us all. You should get some sleep."

I opened the door to our room.

"Where are you going?" she asked.

"Out."

And without another word I left.