The Midnight Rebellion

Chapter 3: Lost & Found

A bit over a week later, the gashes on her back had finally crusted over and the fever was beginning to ebb away. Atlas had brought her little things he made for her. One day it was a ham and cheese sandwich. The next day, her favorite wildflowers that grew around her mother's grave. Today he brought her his favorite little dagger that he used for practicing throwing. It was an old dagger with beautiful little carvings. Nyx grinned at him. "You'd really give me your dagger?"

"If it means that you'll finally get healthy again and come out to play, then of course! I need you back at school. If I have to listen to Kevin talk about some weird crap again, I might throw this dagger at his nose instead of punching it. So basically you're safe-keeping the dagger", Atlas smiled mischievously. He sat down next to her on the bed as Georgia came in with yet another cup of tea for Nyx. She sat up, winced and took the cup. Atlas frowned. "Still hurts, huh?" 

Nyx just nodded defeated. She laid in bed all day and still somehow she felt incredibly drained and tired. She despised Kevin and his father. Despised all of the villagers that had let Fred whip her or helped him tie her to the damn whipping post. She was never going to bake cookies for any of them again. She'd make Fred and Kevin pay. Somehow. And definitely not today or tomorrow. But one day, she would get back at them for this. She knew without asking that Atlas would gladly help her. He might have been telling her things in a light tone this past week, but she could see the boiling anger underneath. He hadn't forgiven the villagers, Fred or Kevin either. Was still furious about what happened. 

All of a sudden there was a commotion outside. Atlas stood up and went to the window. "Somethings wrong", he murmured, "Everyone's running to their houses. I should go check on my dad." He turned quickly to the door. "I'll be back in a few. Tell Georgia to bake some cookies for me too!", he called to Nyx before he ran outside. Nyx just laid down and buried her face in her pillow once again. She didn't exactly care what was happening outside. Curious, yes. But not enough to make her get up out of bed and walk to the window. 

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Hector and his men circled above the small village. There weren't a lot of houses. A few farms, a butcher's shop, a blacksmith, a few merchants, a small school building and a couple of smaller family homes. The village was surrounded by fields and pastures. Some fields were ready for the next crops to be planted. Some were just covered in wildflowers. Next to a particular field of wildflowers was a small pasture with two horses on it belonging to a small cottage. On the other side of the field was a terribly halfway plowed field. The plow still stood abandoned in the middle. What a terrible farmer was that?

Somehow he couldn't keep himself from looking at that field of wildflowers. It called to him like a siren song. Flowers. How ridiculous. 

They decided to land in the middle of the village on a bigger space. There were three whipping posts. The people had already run into their houses when they'd seen them circling in the air. Hector breathed in and halted. "Sir", one of his men began to speak. Hector hadn't been the only one to scent it. Nephilim blood. Just a faint trace of it. Hector walked over to the whipping posts and there, on two of them were still some faint splatters of blood. Had the story been true?

Hector looked around. Something about this place called to him and yet he couldn't manage to place it. It was strange. His men pulled their swords. They looked around them. Hector didn't wait another second. "Search the entire village now!", he barked the order and his men were just about to start, when an old lady with a crane appeared. She looked weathered and kind. Her body was slightly shaking and Hector could smell her fear in the air. Her pure terror. Human fear smelled weird. He scrunched his nose. "I believe I know what you're looking for. If I give you the information you seek, will you leave this village in peace?" Her voice was steady and strong. Convincing, if he wouldn't have been able to smell her fear. He was intrigued that this woman even dared to attempt this bargain with him. "Tell me, woman, what do I seek?", he asked her with a predatory grin.