It started with Zenas running off. This time, though, it stayed on the four that remained.
“Zenas!” Calli tried running after her, but a hand pulled her back again. “Let me go, Umber. I need to make sure she’ll be safe.”
“And I need to make sure you stay safe.” Umber became clearer after talking, now something more than just a blurry figure. He had short, messy brown hair and the mismatched clothing of an entertainer. It looked, mostly, to be made of hand-me-downs rather than anything new. “Let’s go back inside for now. She’ll come around eventually.”
He didn’t give her time to think about it before ushering her inside. “A storm’s coming, and we don’t want to be out there when it happens.”
From there, it seemed to skip several months. Everything around them looked a little different than before; it started losing a bit of its color as it slowly assumed the appearance of every other mountain village. It foretold the possibility that something was wrong before anyone even said it.
Calli was sitting at the table, head down and half-heartedly poking at her breakfast. “You know she has a bad feeling about this, right, Umber? Going out right now, I mean…”
“You need to stop worrying!” Umber paused, thinking about his phrasing a little more. “Er, I guess tell Missa to stop worrying. If that’s how souls work. Can you even really talk to her?”
“Mentally and in dreams,” she replied thoughtfully. “But I can’t really see her. Not in the same way others can, anyway. It’s not strong enough for that.”
He only acted like he understood it for a moment. “Right, right.” Then he grabbed her arm and gently tugged on it, meaning for her to follow him. “Just ignore her. What kind of advice is a dead person gonna give you, anyway? The fresh air will lift your mood, promise.”
“Why don’t I trust you?” she questioned, raising an eyebrow.
“Because you care more about what that little spirit thinks you should do than what I know is better,” was his nonchalant (and nowhere near what she wanted to hear) answer. “Think of it this way. Which one of us is older, and thereby the one you should be listening to?”
“Well, technically, Missa’s older… not only did she die over a thousand years ago, but she was also in her fifties when she died.”
The glare he gave her meant that he wasn’t going to accept that. “Fine, I’ve known you for longer.”
“That’s technically not right either…”
“Just quit arguing and come with me!”
He tugged on her a little more until she got up, then guided her outside. Despite how he tried to rush her earlier, he gave her all the time it took to usher her into the center of town.
It didn’t really feel right, though. While it seemed that somebody had taken the effort into maintaining it, no such people could be seen. There weren’t any true signs of anyone living there except for the five figures they saw in the beginning.
Umber just started trying everything at his disposal in order to make her laugh. Somehow, it was clear that this wasn’t something they’d done recently; something had happened that brought them all apart. Whoever “they” were, aside from the two people that the memory centered around.
Teasingly, he kept going around in the open area, prompting her to follow him as he danced circles around her. He made sure to throw in a few tricks here and there, slowly bringing out a weak smile.
“See? Isn’t this better than just listening to Ki?” His smile was much more confident than hers, something that would be hard to break. “He’d have us in there all day if he could. I’m sure he doesn’t think that we’d be able to handle ourselves out here. Seriously, Takane doesn’t seem to have that much of a problem with it. What’s he thinking he’s protecting us from, anyway?”
This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
“He has his reasons,” Calli mumbled, her smile fading. But whatever confidence she might’ve had in it was gone as she thought it over, soon adding, “Probably.”
“Even you don’t know! I’d say he doesn’t have one if you don’t know about it,” Umber remarked matter-of-factly. “He cares more for you than he does everyone else. Kind of like Haris, but in a brotherly way.” It was purely a thoughtful opinion, with no ill-meaning behind it. Simply an absent-minded kid thinking aloud.
Calli didn’t seem to take it the way he meant. She answered in silence, letting it fill in the air around them.
That is, until three others made their way to where they were. Though, they were like everyone else: their names and appearances were unknown, a piece that should’ve been there but wasn’t.
“So, I’m going to kindly ask you to stop,” a somewhat familiar voice said sheepishly. He practically ran into Calli and Umber in an attempt to lose his pursuers. “And there’s people here. Can you two, uh, help me out a little..?”
Umber took a moment to stare. “Do I know you?”
“I’m a noble in the area,” he responded. He quickly stepped out of the way when a pursuer tried to grab him. “In case you haven’t noticed, I’m kind of in a tough situation here and would really appreciate it if you could help get me out of it. I’ve got a bit of pocket change if that’ll sway you.”
That seemed to do it. Umber pulled out a knife (though it appeared rather dull), grinning at Calli as he told her, “Go back and get Ki. I don’t want you getting hurt.”
She opened her mouth to protest, but quickly closed it again. With a nod, she bolted off and out of sight.
“If I’m gonna be fighting for you, I think I deserve a name.” Umber began to dance around the pursuer as a second showed up. “I’m Umber.”
“Luke. At least, that’s what you’re going to be calling me for the time being.” He drew his own sword, already posing much more of a threat than Umber.
“Not one to share your real name, huh?”
“You learn to avoid it when it only brings more trouble than it's worth.”
“Got family issues?”
“If you’re smart, you’ll stop bantering and worry about not getting killed.” Even as he said that, Luke blocked a hit that would’ve been meant for Umber.
They each took on one of the pursuers, with varying degrees of success. It was clear in a second who was the more experienced fighter; Umber was more concerned with dodging than attacking, meanwhile Luke’s movements were fluent and meant to harm. Luke, however much he tried to hide it, clearly had the technique of any Seothian soldier. But between trying to concentrate and likely never leaving the village, Umber didn’t seem to notice it at all.
It didn’t take too long for Calli to come back with, who could only be assumed to be, “Ki.” At that point, Luke was already taunting his foes to follow him again. He was preparing to bring them away from the village, possibly putting up even more of a fight there. From an outsider’s perspective, it wouldn’t be hard to think that he was a part of their group and was fleeing from possible punishment.
Umber, convinced that the job was done, put his dagger back and triumphantly turned to Calli and Ki. “That wasn’t too—“
Whatever had happened had either been too quick or cloaked to really see. There was no evidence that anything had ever touched him, aside from the growing spot on his chest. He became expressionless, staring at them like they could’ve done anything at this point.
Ki was quicker to restrain Calli than she was to go to Umber’s aid first.
“You’re going to get yourself killed!” The tall, yet truly indistinguishable man was much stronger than she was. He hardly seemed to have any trouble keeping her in place at all.
“But I can—“
Umber chuckled weakly. “You can’t, Calli. You’re just gonna get us both killed and that’s not going to solve anything.” Having staggered over to a side of a building, he started easing himself down. “Promise me something. You’ve got an amazing power, and it shouldn’t be wasted on something that isn’t worth it. Wait until you know what you’re sacrificing yourself for. Make it something you know you won’t regret. I think there’s bigger plans for that ability of yours and it doesn’t involve any of us.”
“Come on.” Ki held back no effort in getting her to move away. “We don’t want to be out past dark.”
…
The daze left much sooner than it had before. Or at least, it didn’t seem as unfamiliar as it did the first time.
“That’s… a kind of harsh way to go,” Lydia remarked after a moment of silence. “What was that, even? The only thing you could see was the blood…”
Dimas was the only one who had even the slightest of answers. “Mávri Mageía, probably. A quick spell that poisons the target. It’s usually not handled that well.”
Kiah clearly bit back a comment of her own.
Imre decided to talk about the mission at hand. “Samone, do you think you can do another one for me?”
“At your will, Prince,” she replied breezily. There was an edge of weariness to it. “Just show me where to go.”
He nodded and wandered to the next area.