The Lost World Of Victa

Chapter 30: Mysterious Spirits

As the days pass by, we traverse across Sororibus, finding our way to Warcaster. Every day of walking is exhausting, and the two hours of training are taking their toll on me. My body, which has always been on the skinny side, has filled out, ripe with muscles forming in my abdomen and upper arms. I realize that the muscles have always been there, and they're just becoming stronger right along with me, but it fills me with a weird feeling in my gut. I can barely recognize myself. After everything I've been through, I'm an entirely different person, and I'm not quite sure that's a good thing.  

Zayn has even taught me how to hunt, because the food he packed only lasted the first two days on the road. My nights have mostly been filled with peaceful, dreamless sleep, but last night was especially rough on my psyche. I saw another vision about Lavender and Lunasila, from their childhood, right in the wake of the split of Illor. The more I see of their past, the more my heart reaches out to them. Perhaps that's what the Keeper, what they, want from me. I need to empathize with Laverna before I tear away everything that she holds dear. 

After a long night of fitful, restless sleep, I can feel myself returning to the waking world. I sit still for a moment, listening to the world hum. I hear the leaves gently swaying in the wind, the animals buzzing with anticipation. 

I open my eyes, sitting up and surveying my surroundings. My eyes search for Zayn, looking over to his cot, but he isn't there, and I stand up, walking slowly around our campsite to find him. Where is he? Is he okay? What happened to him?

I frantically speed up my pace, searching for any sign of a struggle. 

"Zayn?" I call out, my voice tinged with desperation. I need him to get home. 

I feel a pair of hands cover my eyes, and my body flinches. I try to fight back, to get away from the person, but they push me up against a tree, trapping me, using their stature to cage me in.

"If you want to live, I suggest you remain still," the voice says, and I don't recognize it, freezing in panic. 

I continue to struggle against the mysterious person, yearning to get out of their grasp, when they take one of their hands off my eyes. I try to open my eye, the one that's uncovered, but all I'm faced with is tree, and I can't turn my head. My fight continues, even though we can both tell it's in vain. I feel a cold metal object press against my throat, and as I gulp nervously I can feel it cut into my skin, a thin line of blood trailing against my throat. 

The voice, which sounds male, speaks again, his voice filled with impatience, "I said not to move, Lillian." 

I try to speak, to ask how he knows my name, but the moment my throat bobs more blood spills down the front of my throat.

He speaks darkly, "trying to question me, my dear, requires movement. Now, if you'd like a shot at surviving, I'd suggest staying still." 

I breathe heavily, trying to keep my body as still as I can. I don't want to be killed by this stranger, but he has me trapped. 

He takes his remaining hand off my other eye and moves it to my back, keeping my body pushed against the tree. He nearly slits my throat right then and there, and I focus all of my energy into not dying. Nyghtskis may be Immortals, but until they get their adult magic, they can be killed like any regular human, and they don't reincarnate. I'm still a child, in mage's terms. 

The man raises his voice, speaking loud, "I can feel you, Orianna. I know I didn't kill you, so come out and face me if you want her to live." 

I can hear a crunching of leaves, and I want to turn my head, but the knife prevents me from doing so. I stare helplessly at the tree, bile filling my veins. I'm such a failure that I couldn't even protect myself. 

I hear Zayn's voice, though it sounds rough and labored, "Kain, let her go. She's just an ordinary human. She's not involved in any of this."

The man holding me, Kain I presume, laughs bitterly.  He speaks dryly, his disparaging tone chilling me to the core, "she's the center of this, Orianna. You of all people should know that. Now stand down. Aeron will arrive here soon, and if you leave before he gets here, I won't tell him that you've betrayed your queen." 

Aeron? As in Aeron Mortieur? I don't know who this Kain person is, but if he serves Aeron than I know that Laverna will find out that Zayn helped me escape, and he'll be in trouble. Plus, I'll be captured, and it'll take them no time at all to figure out that I'm the child of the prophecy. They may even already know. 

I make my decision right there, and I lean back into Kain, catching him off guard and catapulting us to the ground. I try to get up off the ground, but he quickly takes advantage of the situation, and I land on my back. Kain cages me on the ground now, his legs boxing my sides in as he hovers over me. I finally get a good look at him. 

He has brilliant blue eyes, as pure and dark as the calmest lake on Victa. Dark black hair is pulled loosely into a bun behind his face, a few strands falling into his eyes and framing his face, and the ends of his hair fade into a vibrant violet purple. His dark hair makes his pale skin even paler, and he's got a light dusting of freckles across his face, due to hours spent training in the sun. I glance down at his body, and see that he's wearing all black leather light armor, hugging against his skin tightly. I notice scars trailing over all the parts of his body that I can see, and I imagine there's dozens, maybe even hundreds more underneath. Whoever this boy is, he certainly hasn't had an easy life. He has swords and daggers strapped across various limbs, and I find my eyes flickering back to his face. 

I can feel his dagger cut further into my skin, and I wince as more blood flows from my throat. My hand instinctively reaches up to stop the blood flow, tears pricking at the corners of my eyes, but he stops me with his other hand.  

"If you want to live, Lillian, I would stop struggling. Aeron said I could bring you in dead or alive, but I'd prefer not to kill you if I don't have to," Kain says harshly. 

"And what if I don't want to live, Kain?" I retort, trying to catch him off guard. 

He stares intently at me, searching for something in my face, in my eyes, looking for answers that he's sure I must have. His eyes flash with hesitation for a split second before he's thrown off of me, and I turn to see him and Zayn tackling each other, fighting to take the other one out. I sit up, my hand rushing to my neck, trying to keep the blood in and concentrate on healing myself, but as my eyes lock onto their struggle, I can't get my mind to focus on myself. 

Zayn's sickle is in his hand, and he's slashing at Kain, who is holding his bloody dagger in his hand, shifting back and forth on his feet. Zayn is favoring his left side, and I see blood flowing out from underneath his arm and dripping onto the ground. Zayn slashes at Kain and cuts him, leaving a large gash horizontally across his stomach and abdomen. Kain falls to the ground, clutching his stomach in pain as he bleeds out. I can see the fear in his eyes, and it strikes a chord in me. 

Zayn angles himself, ready to go in for the killing blow, but I reach out my hand towards him, words flying out of my mouth before I even realize I've said them.

"Don't," I command, my voice filled with a sense of regality and finality that sounds foreign to my ears.

Zayn and Kain both look at me, a question on both of their lips, "Why?" but before I can give them an answer, my eyes close, and I fall into unconsciousness. The last thing I remember before hitting the forest floor is the look of fear on Zayn's face as I collapse.