Chapter six: The Leader of Kai Village

Kai village is within my sight as I breath heavily from my dry throat.

Reina sees me from afar. She comes up to me as I wrap my arms around her.

"Reina!" I cry out while catching my breath.

"Oh darling, "Reina starts as she has me sit down on a nearby bench, "Take a moment to pause before you tell us what happened! You look like your heart is about to burst!"

Nearby villagers gather around for the updated news on this situation about Sommi missing.

Once I barely have enough air in my lungs I muster up the appropriate words that are intermittent with my breathing, "They had someone hiding in the bushes just out of reach-they found out about our plan and swarmed them-they said to prepare for battle."

The crowd rises into exchanges of inquiry with each other. "How many are there?" Asks Thek-kan above the others.

I look to the ground and ponder over what my answer should be. Should I say numerous, or just a few? What will give them hope?

"Vila, answer!" I hear one of the villagers exclaim.

I jolt my head up and stare at the people with a blank mind. "Two..."

The village is silenced, but I'm not sure if it's for calmness, or despair.

"Maybe just one," I decide to mutter out. I look to Reina and see a horrified look on her face. "Reina-kan?" I didn't mean to make her that terrified.

In a trembling voice, she asks me a question, "Did one of them have eyes-like a dragon?"

Is she talking about Vensen? "Y-yes..."

Reina-kan hides away into the crowd with a face full of fear.

What was that all about?

"How long do we have?" One of the villagers asks me.

"Tomorrow morning, apparently."

Before they could go back to asking inquiries to each other, another speaks, "Wait, what happened to the others that went with you earlier?"

Horror strikes me and I look to the gravel again to avoid the gaze of everyone.

"Vila," I hear Thek whisper in a concerned way.

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The face of Arikon and Melek flash through my mind. A couple of tears drop from my eyes as I try to force out the words, "They-They're dead... H-he killed them all."

"Who?"

"The man with the dragon eyes I presume," Reina answers Thek as she steps out of the crowd. She raises her voice for everyone to hear. "If my assumption is correct, one of them is a follower of Beldor*. It's an ancient belief of a demon who serves the god called Vindelos*."

The crowd becomes still once more with fear. Everyone, and I mean everyone, has heard of this name "Vindelos," even if there are only a few people in Fupum who still believe in that gruesome religion. His successors, though, are another story since there are so many.

Reina continues with her reasoning, "I don't know much about the belief myself, but, with the little digging I've been doing lately-I can say that they have incredible power themselves."

"Should we run away then?" Thek wonders in a worried fashion.

"And let the men of my household die in vain!?"

"They died not knowing the extent of this!" I shout with fearful wrath as I jump out of my seat. This time I look at the crowd with more courage. "What we need to do is send a message to the neighboring villages with one of the messenger birds. Until then, we prepare for the worst."

"But both Elana village and Erekin city are over a hundred miles away!" One of the villagers yells.

"Yeah, even if they were to leave right now, it would already be too late!"

The whole village shouts an agreement in unison.

Another person speaks, "And who are you to give orders!? You're not the leader of this village, you haven't even lived here your whole life!"

The village shouts in accordance once more.

Feeling defeated, I drop back down onto the bench with my head hanging low. They have a point, we probably don't have the time to notify Elana or Erekin.I'm not even from here. What should we do then? Should we just run away and hope that they don't find us? How do we hide an entire village of over fifty people?

"I say we need to pack up what we can and flee this place, at least for now." Another speaks.

The thought of running away makes me sick to my core.

I'm done running away from my oppressors!

I stand up again and speak in a tone with more authority, "You can go ahead and run away for all I care!... But I'm gonna face these criminals if it means seeing my father again! I'm gonna stick with this plan for battle whether anyone here will help me or not! If you want to leave for your lives, I don't blame you-but at least tell the people of your fleeting destination that I fought for what I loved the most in this world!" Where did all of that come out of? Was that actually me saying all of it?

They all stare at me with silent amazement. I guess they weren't expecting me to stand for this long.

Reina comes to my side and makes her statement, "Well, I can't be a part of the Vielm family if I don't show some backbone myself."

I'm a bit speechless right now. "Reina-kan-"

"Now Vila, why do you think Arikon married me instead of any other girl?" She responds as she shows off her arm muscle.

"That's right," Thek replies as he comes to my other side, "and I do still owe you for all those times you came in without extra pay."

A smile appears on my face as I begin to blush from embarrassment.

"Well," one of the men says as he scratches the back of his head, "If Reina here trusts you, then I guess there's no harm in giving you a chance."

The villagers gather closer to me with more attention.

"Alright Leader, " Thek says as he pats my back, "Tell us what to do."

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Beldor- This demon is mainly known for its common way of ripping its human prey to shreds before devouring the pieces. Ancient stone carvings have been found to describe this creature along with its discovery.

Vindelos- A god who is the complete opposite of Methel. From wrecked stone carvings, he is known to be cruel, brutal, and powerful. He is ultimately seen as the embodiment of evil itself.