When Indenuel’s door closed, the itching in his palms returned. He covered his eyes as he paced. Matteo wouldn’t tell him a word, but he would get answers from Andres when they returned. Once he knew they were home, he would interrogate them.
The proof was gone, though. He healed Matteo, and now there was no evidence. He couldn’t show them what he saw, and Andres would absolutely use that against him. Indenuel continued to pace, hands in his hair. How could he not heal Matteo? How could he let the boy spend one more night in pain when he had the power to heal him?
He opened a window, feeling the fresh evening air on his sweaty face. He closed his eyes, the first of the tears starting to fall. He couldn’t wait for Andres and Lola to return. He didn’t know when they would, and he couldn’t sit here waiting for them. It would drive him mad.
He reached out with his powers, searching through the trees throughout the entire city until he found them, walking around in a street far from where he stood.
He opened his eyes, the itching in his wrists grew, fueled by his hatred. He needed to know now what their involvement was in Matteo’s welts and bruises. He couldn’t wait for them.
Indenuel looked around, seeing the gardens emptied. It was getting late, and almost impossible to see without lanterns, but from what Navir taught him, he didn’t need light. He climbed out the window. As soon as he touched the ground, he closed his eyes, fully sensing the tree power within him as he sensed what the trees did.
He ran across the gardens, avoiding the guards standing around the perimeter of the house. Even though he knew Andres and Lola’s location, it would still take too long on foot. He needed another way. The powers suggested another way. If he broke the tree’s will, he could travel through the branches of the trees. The trees in the city were well maintained, and a perfect distance across from each other. Manipulating them was a use of the corruptive powers, but if he was desperate enough, he could do it without too much damage to his soul. He could always confess later.
A rainfall began. He was somewhat certain he was the cause of it. He needed answers. Without opening his eyes, he ran over to the tree. The tree creaked and groaned as a branch came down, circling around his wrist before it lifted him into the air, pulling him to the nearest tree. He kept his eyes closed, focusing on the power, feeling the branch of another tree groan as it came to life and unraveled to meet him. He pushed the power to its limits, sensing the trees’ uncertainty at this, not breaking completely, but enough. The branches wrapped around his wrist to give him support, but they also cut into him. His wrists would be bleeding and bruised after this, but it didn’t matter. He would get his answers.
He didn’t want to be seen. The rain steadily became worse, and he caused a fog to appear. Indenuel traveled through over a dozen trees before he was set down. Andres and Lola’s location was hazy now, most likely because of his use of the corruptive powers, but they couldn’t have gotten far. He rubbed his wrists, shaking off the pain.
Indenuel walked the streets, seeing people inside the houses, he watched for any familiar face. He pushed again with the good tree power, desperate to find them. The streets were emptying with the growing rain. The fog dissipated, now that he wasn’t trying to hide.
The laughter that became a part of his nightmares trickled through the alleyway. He turned his head and spotted them, talking and laughing as they stumbled through the streets. The hatred burned again as he approached them quietly. They took no notice of him as they walked down an alleyway.
“Do we have to go back?” Lola asked.
“Better there than in the streets,” Andres said.
Lola giggled, holding Andres’ hand as she held an umbrella with the other. The slight turn of her head to look at Andres also made her notice Indenuel out of the corner of her eye. She turned to get a full look at him. “Look, mister, if you give us trouble, I’ll have you know we personally know the Warrior.” He moved his head further so she could see exactly who she was talking to. “Oh. Hello, Indenuel.”
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Andres turned, surprised. “What brings you out here?”
Indenuel tried to control his anger before finally opening his mouth. “It’s late. You haven’t returned home. I wanted to personally make sure you were brought back. You never know the kind of people who are out here.”
Andres chuckled. “What a kind host we have, Lola.”
The power strained at his wrists, wanting to be released. It took everything inside him to keep breathing in and out. Andres couldn’t sense the pain. Indenuel had learned how to keep it deeply hidden. One of the skills Mountain Pass had taught him.
“What is wrong? You seem cold,” Andres said.
For all his life Indenuel pretended to treat Andres better than he ever treated him, but he couldn’t anymore. “What happened to Matteo.”
He gave him a curious look, but a realization was there. “Matteo? What are you talking about?”
Indenuel clenched his fists, shaking in anger as a burst of lightning hit not that far away, lighting the sky for a moment. “He had welts all over his back. What happened to him?”
Thunder rumbled close. Lola glanced up at the sky, then back at Indenuel with a pronounced frown on her face. Andres’ face turned just as cold as Indenuel’s tone. “It is none of your business how I raise my orphaned children.”
“It is every bit my business,” Indenuel said. “They were once mine before they were yours.”
Andres scoffed. “They were never yours. You’re just a boy. You couldn’t handle raising three children.”
“Yes, I could,” Indenuel said. “Far better than you! Before I was too afraid to stand up to you. To Martin. I didn’t think I had any power to say no, but things have changed now. I should have realized the vile monster you are. I should have never agreed to come to Santollia City without them in my care!”
“You couldn’t take care of three children! You can’t even save the world!” Lola said.
“You hurt him!” Indenuel screamed. “I knew something like this would happen! I may not have been strong enough to stop it then, but I am now! You will return to Mountain Pass immediately and leave the children with me.”
Andres laughed. “Oh, you think you’re so much stronger now? You think a prophecy is going to change who you are? Make you less selfish?”
“Stop it, Andres,” Indenuel said.
“The High Elders don’t know you. Everyone else may think you’re going to win, but all the citizens in Mountain Pass are preparing for you to lose.”
“I am warning you!” Indenuel said.
“What’s the matter, bastard? Afraid of the truth? That even the most powerful prophet read you wrong? That the woman who raised you was so neglectful she didn’t even tell you who you were?”
Lightning struck and thunder shook the city. Indenuel was grateful for the rain to hide his tears. “You made growing up so much harder than it had to be, you deplorable son of a bitch!”
“You don’t know how the real-world works. You’re just a bastard son of a murderess, and-”
Andres stopped talking. By the look on his face, he had a lot more to say, but he stopped. He stared, confused, before looking down to see the dagger Indenuel had thrust into his stomach. Lola saw it at the same time and screamed. Indenuel threw out his hand, letting every ounce of pain he held back hit the woman square in the chest. She stopped screaming, the pain so great she couldn’t even move. Indenuel felt every inch of where the pain went, and he multiplied it. Her eyes showed the torture she felt as everything else in her body froze in immense pain.
“No,” Andres groaned, grabbing Indenuel’s hand to try and fight him off. Instead Indenuel braced Andres against the wall before twisting the dagger. Andres let out a scream the storm drowned out. Indenuel remembered everything Lola had said to him, the vile gossip she spread, the look of contempt she gave the twins, and flicked his hand upward. The pain traveled straight to her brain. Blood poured from her mouth, nose, eyes, and ears before she collapsed to the ground, stilled.
“It was you!” Andres said, a dribble of blood spilling out of his mouth. “You killed Efano!”
“No,” Indenuel said. “But I wanted to. My mother stopped me before I could.” He took the dagger out before more pain shot out of his wrists. Andres screamed. Indenuel twisted his hands as the pain traveled. He didn’t give Andres nearly as much as Lola, because he wanted to hear him scream. “Unfortunately for you, she’s not here anymore.”
“Please.” It was hardly heard above the din of the storm and his screaming, but he lessened the pain so he could hear Andres begging. “It won’t happen again.”
“No, it won’t.” Indenuel threw all the pain he could at the man. Andres’ body began to convulse before Indenuel flicked his wrist and the corruption went straight to his brain. He collapsed, blood pooling around him. Indenuel turned away, breathing deeply, the rain soaking his clothes. He reached out to a branch, and it lowered at his command. The rain lashed his face as the branch lifted him to the next one as thunder rumbled in the distance.
End of Part One