Beyond the Void

Chapter 75, I didn't come here to look for you

ANDARIS

Five moons since the Mark of the Other One blossomed. The moon of Verdant Fields has come.

Andaris' hands closed into fists, and it felt like an invisible force squeezed them. His lips were tingling and he could not move, not even a single step. Everything felt cramped and stiff.

He had imagined that he would catch a faint whiff of their presence. That he might have a chance to find them first, but he could not feel a single thing. Maybe they were not really there. However, Becca knew how to use the devourers.

There was a smile on Anna's face as she approached. What was her deal? He glanced towards the window. Sarah and Jess glared at her, although there was fear deeper in their eyes.

"You're alive!" The woman exclaimed. He wanted to back away, to run away. His legs would not obey him. "Come on! Come in! When did you get here?" Anna was dragging him by the arm now and Andaris followed, quietly. Through the inn, up the stairs. Mai was there, waiting at the landing.

"The others are out. It's just the four of us here. We didn't know what happened to you. Becca said you were alive, but the others thought maybe you were dead. There was no sign of you anywhere." Anna was constantly talking. There was a hint of nervousness there, but mostly joy. Why was she this happy?

"The others are out. We are all fine. We're all alive." Andaris had stopped at the doorway of a room for four people. It was a mess. They had been here for a while now. "This is quite something. A shocker." Anna still went on.

Mai slipped past him and sat down on one of the beds. Jess stood by the window, but Sarah was in the middle of the room, with her arms crossed. There was a determined and defiant look on her face.

"Why aren't you saying anything?" Anna asked.

A sense of amusement reached Andaris, and he almost smirked at the idea. -This is going to be amusing.- The guardian's thoughts reached him.

All the women had cut their hair short. Andaris' mind kept telling him to look at random, pointless things. And he could not help it.

"Where's Sten?" Sarah demanded loudly.

"Sarah. Don't. Let him gather himself for a moment." Anna pleaded.

The biggest problem was that this language sounded like complete gibberish to him now. He understood every single word they said, but he could not remember how on earth he had spoken that gibberish.

"You should have let him walk past! Why did you have to run downstairs, you idiot?" Sarah shouted at Anna. But she did not turn her gaze away from Andaris.

"Why? Why are we avoiding him? We have been through so much. I can't treat him like a stranger." Anna's face had changed in an instant.

"The fact that he is standing there, saying nothing, should be enough to imply." Jess mumbled defiantly from the back.

"And are the three of you sure we even have the right person?" Mai blurted. There was an honest frown on her face as his gaze fell on the woman. She genuinely seemed perplexed at the sight of Andaris.

"What do you mean? We didn't just drag in a complete stranger, did we?" Sarah said. But the three other women looked as confused as Mai now.

Should he use this moment to leave? But the thought vanished as Anna's words lingered in Andaris' mind. They had been through a lot.

Andaris closed his eyes and sighed. "It me am." Oh, brilliant. Wonderful even. "Me be this." He tried again. Somewhere he could feel the guardian laugh. It did not help. "It is me!" He barked. "That's it. That's all I can do. I don't remember that language anymore." The room filled with silence. "It is me. Andaris." He added as he saw the confusion on their faces deepen.