Chapter 5
It was quiet in the camp without Laya and Illiya to make conversation with. The ones left were poor conversation partners, worried as they were. Silently they went about their day, trying to distract themselves from the possibilities haunting their minds. Periodically someone looked towards the road leading out of the village, scouting for a small group of people. But when they spotted no one they went back to whatever useless task they were occupying themselves with.
Neera was helping Joell rewrap bandages, and checking the rest of the medical supplies. Frustrated when the bandage tangled for the nth time, Neera left the in Joell’s capable hands to take a walk around the village, looking for more clues. She wondered if people were really stealing each other’s iron. Normally there was enough iron to go around. The empire made sure that the surrounding kingdoms were receiving a steady supply of iron. It would be a catastrophe if there was a mass outbreak of evil spirits after all. The empire were the only ones with iron mines, which was also why it was so easy for them to remain the most powerful force on the continent. The empire was founded around 400 years ago, as a diplomatic alliance between several small states. They realised that they would be more powerful if they came together to dominate the countries around them. The emperor, the great father, came from a family chosen by that alliance. The individual states had since disappeared, and simply became the empire. The church was even older than the empire, with origins unknown, but just as powerful. Together the two ruled the continent with an iron fist, literally. And now Neera was headed to the empire, a place she thought she would never see in her life. If they weren't killed by possessed people on the way. The thought brought Neera back to the reality of the uncertain situation, and she felt a chill run down her spine, like someone was watching her.
“Lady:”
The child from yesterday came running up to Neera, grabbing onto her trousers The child was crying, with big red eyes and a runny nose. He looked panicked and could barely talk through the tears.
“I can’t find my daddy.”
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He sniffled. Neera bent down and pulled him into a hug. He clung onto her like a lifeline, and she frowned trying to figure out how to help him.
“Come, we’ll find your daddy.”
She took his hand, and led him back to the camp where Joell was still pointlessly examining the medical supplies. Joell looked up when he heard the crying child, and concern immediately settled over his features. He ran up to Neera and picked the kid up, holding him close, making soothing sounds
“He can’t find his dad.”
Joell nodded and instantly started asking the child questions about the father. How he looked, his name and so on. The moment the kid had told them everything, Neera started her search. She left the child in Joell’s capable hands, She knew of no one more caring, and walked around the village. She knocked on the houses, but got no answers. She walked up to the few people out in the streets but they immediately sped up when they saw her approach, fleeing into the buildings and locking the door. In her desperation, she strayed further and further out, beyond the edges of the village. The grass was high, almost enough to hide her. And enough to hide her attacker.
She was tackled to the ground by a heavy weight. Her head hit a rock hard, and she felt it pierce the skin and the warm blood in her hair. Through her blurry vision she saw the dark veins covering the face of her attacker and the completely black eyes, devoid of anything human. It was an evil spirit wearing the skin of a human. It snarled and growled at her and she felt drool land on her cheek. Neera screamed with all her might, even though it was hard to catch her breath through the pain. It tried to bite her neck, but she managed to move her head just in time. Its nails pierced her skin. With another scream she used all her force to push the body off her. It barely moved, but she managed to get her arm free.
She quickly reached for the rock under her head, and smashed it against the skull of the evil spirit. Again and again she hit the spirit screaming and trying to gather even more strength with each strike. The spirit seemed to barely register that she’s trying to destroy its skull. It managed to bite her shoulder, but it only brought its head closer to her. With the sharp side of the rock, she plunged the stone into the side of the spirit’s neck. The blood sprayed all over Neera, ice cold and wet. The spirit was weakened for a moment and she managed to push it off her completely. On unsteady legs she got up and ran, screaming and waving her arms over her head. In the distance she saw Joell and the soldiers running towards her. She hurried into Joell’s arms and collapsed. She hears the unmistakable sound of a head being cut off before she loses consciousness entirely..