Blood in Dust
I slammed the door shut, not even sure if it would hold to keep them out. We were surrounded.
"Gods!" I snapped.
Kumbuye was on his feet in an instant, ready for a fight. "What do we do now?"
"We can't fight them," Corvessa said quickly. "They're our brothers and sisters. There has to be another way."
I rubbed my temple, trying to think through the noise building inside my head. "Just... give me your hands," I said. "I'll get us out of here."
I had never veil-walked with more than two people before and I did not have any particular destination in mind, I just knew we had to leave this place.
"Where?" Kumbuye asked.
"Anywhere but here," I said quietly.
I bent to grab the urn from the floor, clutching it close, then reached for them. Our hands locked together; Kumbuye and Corvessa held onto me, while Soren gripped Corvessa.
A heavy thud hit the door.
I shut my eyes and forced my thoughts to settle. I focused on the tavern from yesterday. The cellar, the smell of ale, the lined barrels, I clung to anything that felt solid and then I reached for the Veil, pulling at it with everything I had.
It dragged on me, my bones felt like they were being squeezed but I pushed harder.
Finally, everything gave way and we were thrown forward, landing hard against the tavern floor.
The air knocked out of my chest as my knees slammed against the wood. For a second, I couldn't move. I just stayed there, my palms flat on the floor, trying to remember how to breathe.
The people who had been here yesterday were still huddled together. They flinched when we appeared, but when they realized it was us, some of that fear eased.
Corvessa let go of me first, already straightening herself from the fall.
But Kumbuye didn't move right away. His grip on my hand tightened slightly before he let go. "Dana..."
"I'm fine," I said quickly, even though I hadn't tried to stand yet.
It took me some time before I pushed myself up, a little too fast.
"Easy," Kumbuye said.
"I said I'm fine."
He didn't argue, but his eyes stayed on me. "You're bleeding."
"What?"
He reached up, brushing his thumb under my nose. When he pulled back, there was red on his skin.
I hadn't even felt it. I wiped it away with the back of my hand. "It's nothing."
"It's not nothing," he said quietly.
Soren glanced over at me, "Are you alright?"
"Yes," I groaned. My head throbbed just thinking about it.
I turned away from them, pressing my fingers harder against my nose until the bleeding slowed. My hands were shaking, perhaps I pushed harder than my body could take.
I crouched and picked up the urn.
"Let's find him," I mumbled.
"I think you should rest a bit, Dana," Kumbuye muttered.
"I told you I'm fine." I lifted the urn. "This will lead us to him."
Neither of them said a word.
We headed for the stairs in silence, climbing toward the cellar door. Just before we left, Corvessa paused and glanced back at the others inside the cellar.
"I'll come back," she said softly. "Stay here. Stay quiet."
We stepped out into the open air. The horse Kumbuye and I had left there yesterday was still tied where we'd left it, shifting slightly, its ears flicking at our approach.
"Thank the heavens it's still here. We won't have to walk," Kumbuye muttered.
"One horse," Corvessa mumbled as her eyes scanned the empty street. "We need another."
"I'll get one," Soren said, already moving.
"No," I barked. "Stay close. We don't split."
He stopped, then gave a short nod.
We moved together toward the stables in this district.
By the time we got there, we took three more horses, and we rode back the same way we came.
Kumbuye had shared a horse with me, so he dismounted from behind me, and climbed onto the horse we'd left tied earlier.
Then we moved on.
My eyes fell on the urn on my hands. Whenever we were on the right path, it pulsed, with a faint glow appearing under my fingers.
I tightened my grip and leaned forward slightly in the saddle.
"This way," I said.
We rode further into another district — one that had clearly been attacked by the Forsaken.
The horses slowed the moment we rode in. I locked my fingers around the reins, looking ahead.
The bodies... too many to count at first glance.
Soren's jaw tightened beside me, his eyes widened at the scene before us. "Gods..." he muttered.
The urn in my hand gave a small pulse, with its light glowing stronger.
"We're close," I whispered.
We continued forward, the horses picking up speed as we drew closer to another district.
"Dana," Corvessa whispered, her voice barely loud over the sound of hooves. "Look at that smoke."
I looked to the direction she pointed. The haze ahead wasn't drifting like smoke from a previous attack. It moved in slow waves, like something was still burning at the exact moment we moved closer.
"Someone is there," I said quietly, pulling my horse to a stop.
The others stopped too. Our gazes were locked on the smoke. Then I got down. My boots hit the ash-covered ground with a soft thud. I led my horse to a broken stall and tied it there. The others did the same with their horses. We moved on foot after that.
We turned a corner and stayed close to the walls, trying not to make noise. The urn in my hand glowed brighter with each step, pulsing more, and guiding us forward.
Ahead of us, there was a ruined structure that rose out of the smoke. Its stairs were cracked and half-collapsed, but still standing. The roof above it had fallen off, leaving gaps where light and smoke slipped through.
We stopped at the base, then began to climb, hoping to reach the top to see what lay beyond the smoke.
At first, I didn't understand what I was looking at.
There were too many people on the ground — forced down on their knees, tied up, and blindfolded. They were spread out like someone had arranged them, and one by one, they were being taken.
These were the people from this district. I didn't even realise when my hand flew to my mouth. I just knew I couldn't breathe properly anymore.
The Forsaken were slaughtering them like it was nothing... just for the fun of it. Right after they kill them, they'll throw the body into the fire to join the other pile of bodies.
Oh gods.
I couldn't hear anything clearly from where we stood, but I saw enough.
Then my eyes caught something when I traced the others lined up for slaughter.
And my breath caught in my throat.
Doya was there.
Blindfolded like the rest, tied and kneeling, but set apart. An iron collar locked around his neck.
"Doya," I whispered.
Beside him was Giselle, also tied up and blindfolded, a collar locked around her neck too. And behind them...
"Jephas."
Heat flared inside me. I tightened my hand to a fist turning my knuckles white.
Kumbuye noticed the change in me. His hand came to my shoulder, holding me before I even realised I was shaking.
"Dana..."
I didn't answer.
The man who took everything from me was just a few steps away. It felt like the world had finally put him in front of me on purpose.
Kumbuye's grip tightened on my shoulders.
"You can't go after him this way," he hissed. "If you go now, you lose Doya."
I heard nothing of what Kumbuye was saying. All I wanted at that moment was his head. I wanted Jephas to suffer for what he did to me. To my parents.
My legs began to move.
"Dana, don't," Kumbuye held me tighter.
"He took everything from me," I growled.
"And you will get him," he said firmly, "but not this way."
"Listen to him, Dana..." Corvessa's voice cut in. "I don't know who you're after, but look out there, we're outnumbered."
"Um..." Soren started, I only turned slightly before he added, "I think we're exposed."
Then the world broke.
A blast tore through the ruined structure. All I saw was stone, smoke, and dust as it exploded outward. The floor dropped out from under us, and we fell. Stone slammed into my back and shoulder when we hit the ground. Shit! My ears rang so loud I couldn't tell if anyone was shouting or if it was just inside my head.
I tried to push myself up. My arms shook. My vision blurred. Dust was in my eyes. In my mouth. Everywhere.
The moment I was about to scream 'Kumbuye', I coughed out.
Through the dust, I saw him push himself up from broken stone. There were cuts across his arms and face, but he didn't seem to notice them. He looked straight at me and reached out.
"Come on," his voice was rough. "Up."
I struggled a little before taking his hand.
I turned, trying to find the others through the haze.
Corvessa was a few steps away, coughing hard with one hand pressed to the other side of her arm. Blood ran down her sleeve, but she didn't seem to notice.
"Soren?" she called, breaking into another cough.
We heard a low, strained sound from behind a slab of fallen stone. It had pinned him underneath.
"Help me," he choked out.
"Soren," I muttered, already moving with the others.
We reached the stone together. It was really heavy. We pushed, but it didn't budge.
Soren winced, "please get it off."
I didn't have much strength in me, so I couldn't channel properly but I forced out a small wave of force, just enough to loosen the stone. Kumbuye reacted immediately, pushing hard on it. Corvessa joined him and together, we pushed until the stone shifted.
Soren pulled himself out, collapsing onto the ground beside us. One of his legs had a deep wound, but there was no time to check him properly.
The Forsaken were coming.
Kumbuye noticed it first. His head snapped toward the dust-covered opening.
"They're coming," he said.
I quickly searched the ground blindly until my hand hit something solid. The urn.
Thank the heavens.
I grabbed it fast and pulled it close to my chest.
"Follow me," Kumbuye muttered, already moving, guiding us away from the ruin.
Corvessa and I held Soren up between us. He was limping badly, but he forced himself forward with us.
We all struggled behind Kumbuye, moving fast despite the pain and exhaustion.
Ahead of us stood another structure that was a bit hidden and half-standing.
"In here," Kumbuye barked low, gesturing us inside.
We all went in quickly, going deeper in to make sure we weren't visible from the entrance. We began to slow down now. Soren was barely holding himself up between Corvessa and me.
When we finally stopped, it was in a tight corner of broken wall that let in very little sunlight.
Soren dropped to the floor gasping as he held onto his wounded leg. Corvessa was already down beside him, tearing a strip from her sleeve. Her arm was still bleeding, but she ignored it, and focused on his wound instead.
"Don't move," she said quietly, wrapping the cloth around his leg.
A short laugh broke out of him. "Not planning to." He hissed.
Kumbuye crouched against a broken wall, listening for any sound from the Forsaken.
"We stay quiet," he said after a moment. "No movement unless we have to."
No one argued. We all just stayed quiet.
Corvessa tightened the cloth around Soren's leg. He flinched but didn't stop her. She glanced up at me for a second, then looked back at his leg.
We were all hurt. All of us.
I finally lowered myself to the ground. I was still trembling, but I forced myself to stay still. Only then did I notice my arms.
There were multiple slashes across my skin — cuts from broken stone. I hadn't even felt them before now. My sleeves were torn, stained with dust and blood.
My back still hurt too. Mostly every time I shifted.
I exhaled slowly through my teeth and leaned my head back against the wall.
"We should use the healing spell on ourselves after we gather some strength," I whispered.
Corvessa nodded while she tied up the injury on her arm. She pulled the cloth tight, biting down on one end to hold it, wrapping it around her arm with her other hand. Her jaw stayed clenched as she finished the knot.
"We'll need a few minutes at least," she said quietly.
Soren made a small sound. Agreement, maybe. Though it was hard to tell if he was even listening.
There were two different pulls tearing at the same place inside me. One was anger. The other was responsibility. I couldn't tell which one was stronger anymore.
I wanted revenge, but something kept dragging me back, like I was responsible for what happened to them. Guilt sat heavy in my chest. I couldn't even be a real guardian for once.
I felt clueless. Weak. Lost.
Why was I doomed to a life like this?