The month of Aquamora, the 2nd day of Aquisol

Lyra, Eamon, and Sly were just days away from Ledel after more than a week of travel. News of Ethereal Rifts spread like wildfire as people gossiped about Fiend’s acting stranger than usual and otherworldly beasts appearing from it. The Harmony Tax Act also reflected poorly on its citizens as prices for food, like wheat, began to rise exponentially.

There was no word of the Children of Deimos, which meant the people were afraid and did not know how to regulate their anger. Many had started militias and revolutions. There were rumors of a coup in the Empire, but someone removed the information from the records.

The chaos traveled across Aurum, threatening to implode on its people. Sly had decided that her two protégés needed a bit of unwinding.

“Not that I’m complaining, Sly, but… why are we at the beach?” Lyra asked. She sat on the sandy floor next to Sly, who had sunglasses on her face and her bare feet sticking out.

They were still dressed in clothes but exposed their toes and rolled their sleeves to take in the soft sand and cool water.

“I’m a bit skeptical, too,” Eamon asked, walking over to them after getting his feet wet. “There’s so much chaos going on in Aurum. Every Locksmith must be alert, day and night, handling the world’s current issues.”

“Exactly.”

Lyra and Eamon exchanged confused glances at Sly’s comments.

“Uh, Exactly? Can you explain your thought process to us?” Lyra asked her.

Sly removed her glasses and turned slightly to the two eager-eyed Locksmiths.

“It’s as simple as Eamon said, “Locksmith’s will be on speed dial daily. There will be no time to sleep, to eat, or clean yourself.”

Lyra squinched her face at the unsavory thought of not bathing for a day, let alone days.

“I thought a quick relaxation would prepare your minds for what is dangerously close because you won’t get this for a long time until things cool down. This will remind you what you can look forward to by maintaining peace.”

Lyra and Eamon nodded in understanding.

“So what will happen to any of the nations? The conference wasn't what people were expecting–” Eamon started.

“--Yeah, and Chancellor Viktor didn’t make it any better with his speech. It only scared people or pissed more off.”

“When we get to Ledel City, we will receive our orders and learn where we can be stationed. We can also discuss plans for dealing with the Children of Deimos.”

“Do you think it’s right that the Locksmiths hide the truth about the Children of Deimos?” Lyra asked. “Don’t get me wrong; people would be suspicious of that because they haven’t been seen since the Primal Chaos era and are regarded more as legends, children's stories, but… wouldn’t it, at least, ease their worries so they can prepare?”

“But what more can they do?”

Lyra turned her head to Eamon speaking. Piercing eyes at him to explain.

“I mean, think about a hundreds of year-old curse that followed the dark deity Deimos, who caused the Primal Chaos era, is now back, and no one knows their motivations?”

Lyra let the information sink in, and her gut churned in its stomach.

“That would be a total disaster,” she replied with a sigh past her lips.

“Eamon’s right,” Sly said, sitting up from her position. “It would cause worldwide panic around Aurum and would cause far more harm than the Chancellor’s manipulative speech.”

Lyra groaned. “I hate that you’re right. I feel yuck keeping secrets from the people we are supposed to protect. We’re supposed to save and reassure them, not keep secrets!”

“When the time is right, everything will come to light when it needs to be.”

I guess. There's nothing I can do about it anyway.

She stood, brushing sand from her clothes. “I’m going to step in the water for a bit.” She walked off, but not before hearing the mumbled words of Eamon and Sly conversing. The only words she picked up were their concern for her. After that, their voices grew further away as she walked.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

After walking through the burning sand, the cool water was welcoming. The waves brushed her ankles, and she dug her toes into the wet sand. She soaked in the salty sea air and tried to relax.

She would not get many like these, according to Sly. Things would get much, much crazier from here on out. Lyra savored this moment so she could remember it for the next time when they all survived this. She would come back—all of them would. Lyra would even bring her mother and grandfather to experience this. It was time to get to it. She opened her eyes and squinted.

Something was bobbing up and down in the ocean's waters.

“What… is…?” Her eyes widened, and she realized that the ‘something’ was a figure. “Someone’s in the water!”

Sly and Eamon raced toward her, but Lyra had already dove into the cold rush of water. The sharp sting sent her nose on fire, and when she resurfaced, she collected air into her lungs, followed by a splash.

Eamon caught up with her, and the two swam toward the drifting figure.

They reached the figure: a little girl, around eight years old, with long white hair and a brown complexion. She was unconscious but alive when Lyra checked her faint but beating pulse.

Lyra removed her jacket and put it on the child's body. They settled her on Eamon’s back and swam back to shore.

“Is she still breathing?” Sly asked as she removed the child from Eamon’s back and laid her on the sand. She pressed her fingers on her neck.

“Faintly, yes. I saw her and scooped her up as fast as possible,” Lyra gasped, taking shallow breaths as her wet hair sopped in front of her face. Eamon beside her panted with his hands on his knee.

“Thank Lumos. I'm going to try and resuscitate her.”

With one hand on top of the other, Sly pressed slightly into the center of the girl's chest and began to apply pressure and pump gently to her midsection.

Anxiously, Lyra and Eamon watched Sly continue to apply pressure, hoping to jolt the child to life.

By the grace of Lumos, the child snapped open her eyes and scanned the world around her.

Sly stopped pushing, and the three looked at the red-eyed, white-haired child covered in Lyra's jacket.

The girl slowly sat up and examined the three of them. She furrowed her brows and parted her lips, only to close them again.

Sly reached out first. “Hello, sweetie. My name is Selene–” but the moment the girl saw the reaction, she jerked back, and the red of her irises brightened.

Sly stiffened. Her eye twitched.

“Sly?” Lyra called out to her.

“My body…I can't move it,” Sly told them. “The girl…something in her eyes is preventing me from moving.”

Lyra and Eamon looked at the fearful, wide-eyed girl, examining her surroundings. Eamon was the closest to her, and she watched him like a hawk.

“Lyra,” Eamon whispered, not making any sudden movements. He had noticed the look she gave him. “I have a feeling, wherever this girl came from, she doesn't take too kindly to adults or men.”

Understanding what he meant, Lyra nodded and carefully inched toward the white-haired child. Her red-eyed gaze lingered on Lyra, and thankfully, her eyes had no malicious intent or brightening.

“I know you're scared. We pulled you out of the ocean when we saw you drifting out there,” Lyra told her, keeping eye contact as she moved slowly toward her. The girl did not look away and waited.

“My name is Lyra Ashbourne. I am a Locksmith. That is someone who helps people–I, we, helped you. Do you think you can help us?”

Lyra was now in front of the girl. She craned her neck up, her wet hair sticking to the brown of her cheeks.

“H-Help?” she finally spoke. Lyra could have missed a soft-whisper reply if she wasn't up close.

Lyra’s eyes widened. She bobbed her head. “Yes, help. Something people do because they are good people, nice people. That wouldn't harm you.”

“Nice. Good,” she whispered. Her eyes wandered, and she looked past Lyra as if recalling a memory.

Lyra looked out the corner of her eye to see Sly and Eamon and then back to the girl who was now looking at her.

“Are you…nice? Good?” she asked Lyra.

“Yes. We all are good. No one would hurt you, ever.” Lyra pressed her lips together and asked, “Did the ‘not good people’ do something to you?”

Her eyes glossed over, and she stared at Lyra for a long time. She needed to speak. Lyra knew that wherever the girl had been prior, it was not a good place with bad people.

“Well, you're safe now, and I, we, will ensure those bad people never touch you again. I solemnly swear that.”

The girl gave a slow blink. Everything stilled for a moment, including the ocean in the background. Lyra could hear her heart in her ears pounding, but she did not dare look away from the troubled look in her eyes.

“Trust. Good. Nice people. You are.”

The little girl released Sly from her paralyzed state of being, and Eamon’s shoulder relaxed from the tension. Lyra took a deep breath, glad that the girl trusted her, but first, they needed to know where the girl was from and where she had come from.

A firm but gentle pressure registered in Lyra’s brain. When she looked down, the girl rested her head on her lap and slept soundly. She must have spent the last reserves of her energy just now.

Lyra’s heart melted. She brushed her hand along the girl's wet hair, nuzzling her cheek into her leg.

“Come on, let's make camp and warm her up,” Sly instructed.

Lyra nodded. She picked up the girl in her arms–she was lighter than she'd expected- and tried to hand her to Sly, but as if the little girl (despite being asleep), a weighted pressure kept the two of them together.

“I think we should let Lyra carry her from here out,” Eamon suggested. Sly agreed as the Locksmiths walked off the sandy shore.