I stared at the hole where Soren disappeared. Blood rushed in my ears and I felt numb. I couldn’t hear anything or feel anything. All I could do was stare at the chasm.
Worry crept into my veins. Was it only seconds that passed or had hours gone by? Ti stood still completely and I held my breath, waiting for him to erge.
I didn’t expect to be worried about him but it felt like too much ti had passed. No sounds or movent ca from the darkness.
“Screw it,” I muttered. I was going to go in after him and find out what happened!
I slipped away from Ashley, vaulting over a nearby piece of rubble, and launched myself straight toward the chasm.
A strong arm looped around my waist and pulled to a halt. I lurched, the wind getting knocked out of again.
Gasping and heaving, I tried to catch my breath. All I could do was glare at the person that stopped .
It was Payne this ti.
“Don’t worry. The boss knows what he’s doing. You don’t need to do anything risky,” he warned.
“But...”
“Just wait. He’ll co back. He always does.” There was a strange hint of sarcasm in Payne’s voice.
Together, we stared at the chasm.
Again, it felt like hours could have gone by. I didn’t understand why the rest of Soren’s loyal followers were just standing there.
Didn’t they care about him? Didn’t they want to save him?
Grunting and heavy breathing ca from the chasm.
I clutched my heart as Soren’s large wolf form appeared. He was dragging sothing with his mouth. It was a woman. Her body was limp and unmoving.
Soren dropped her on the ground near my feet. He bowed his head and then disappeared behind so rubble.
“See, he knows what he’s doing. You just have to give him a couple of minutes,” Payne said, nodding.
“A couple of minutes?” I whispered to myself.
I shook my head thinking Soren had been gone a lot longer than that. Hadn’t he?
Looking down at the woman at my feet, I noticed she was very pale. I couldn’t see any wounds on her or sll blood, so I didn’t think Soren had injured her. She was dressed like the residents from Miltern pack and in her early twenties.
“That’s the woman who delivered your flowers. I recognize her cloak and her scent,” Payne said.
“She attempted to attack . I rendered her unconscious,” Soren said. He reappeared from around the rubble, his black clothes on his body again.
“You didn’t hurt her, did you?” I asked, arching an eyebrow.
“She’ll be fine,” Soren assured. “What do you want to do with her?”
Ashley scoffed and put her hands on her hips. She glared at and pouted slightly.
“Why ask Mila? What does she know about anything that’s going on here? She doesn’t even know what those things wanted,” she argued.
“Ashley!” Payne reprimanded.
“Hmph.” Ashley turned away from us.
Apparently, when she didn’t need to protect , she didn’t have much of an opinion of at all. It didn’t bother . I was used to people turning against and not giving any kind of respect or benefit of the doubt.
I kept looking at the woman at my feet. She winced and slowly opened her eyes.
Sitting bolt upright, she stared at us. On her hands and knees, she spun around, her eyes wide. She looked like a cornered wild animal.
“Shh, don’t be afraid,” I said. I crouched down and spoke softly to her. “My na is Mila. What is your na?”
She looked right at and the panic settled. I could tell she was uneasy about the presence of the other shifters but she seed okay with .
“What’s your na?” I asked again, holding her gaze so she could shut out everyone else.
“A-April,” she stuttered.
“You reached out to for help, April. I’m here now. What can I do for you?” I asked.
April glanced at Soren and then at Payne. She shook her head and retreated slightly.
I could tell she didn’t trust them. I’d felt the sa when I first t them. I still didn’t think I could trust them but they were here for and they had my back for the mont. We were working together.
“It’s okay, I promise. These guys are my... my f-friends,” I forced the words out. It barely sounded convincing even to .
I saw Soren shake his head and give a look. I glared at him for a mont and then turned back to April.
Her eyes were still wide as she looked over at Soren.
“But... last night, you two were fighting in the graveyard. I saw you,” she said frantically.
I glanced at Soren and he shrugged casually.
“Right...”
“Well... there’s an explanation for that...”
April turned back to . She waited expectantly for my explanation.
“It was a bit of a misunderstanding, but we’ve worked things out,” I said in a rush.
Yeah, we worked things out all night long in bed...
My cheeks flushed and I chewed the inside of my cheek. Hopefully, April wouldn’t pick up on what I was implying.
“And now, he’s helping . They all are. You trust , right?” I asked.
“Y-yes.” April nodded.
“Then I’m telling you that you can trust them, okay?” I pressed.
She nodded.
Suddenly, she dropped onto the ground in a low bow, her forehead and palms pressed to the dirt. The top of her head almost touched my shoes.
“Please, Mila, please save the Miltern pack!” she begged.
“Um... I would love to. But what do I need to save you from?” I asked.
I glanced around nervously. Soren, Payne, and Ashley just stood there. None of them were going to jump in and help.
April lifted her bright green eyes to mine and smiled widely. She nodded and grabbed my hand.
“Thank you, thank you,” she said, kissing the back of my hand.
Tears wet her cheeks. She looked so relieved and happy.
I would have felt warr if I had any idea what she needed my help with. She was awfully happy for soone that didn’t know if I really could help or not. Whatever she needed, she seed convinced I was the one to do it.
Not Soren, not Payne, not any of the other shifters.
.
Did that have to do with my witch heritage? It was the only thing I knew of that set apart from the others.
Slowly, I pulled away. “April, I need you to tell what is going on.”
“Please, I need you to lift the curse on us,” she begged.
“Curse? There’s a curse on Miltern pack?” I asked.
Oh boy, I clearly was in way over my head.
“Can you start from the beginning? I don’t know anything about a curse or what is happening here,” I told her.
April nodded. “Fourteen years ago, sothing... a curse was cast on Miltern pack. It crippled and devastated us. At first, it wasn’t noticeable. But after a few months, we realized that none of us could leave. We were stuck here.”
“No one has been able to leave this village for fourteen years?” Payne asked.
April shook her head. “No. And after that, it got worse. The fog rolled in and it numbed us. No one could feel anything. Everyone went about their regular lives but they were dead inside. No happiness, no emotions, and unable to use their senses beyond basic seeing and hearing.”
“We’ve all felt that in the fog,” Payne muttered.
Soren nodded in agreent.
I glared at the two of them.
“Can you let her finish the story!?” I snapped.
Payne made a motion of zipping up his lips. Soren just closed his mouth, his jaw tensing. With all the interruptions, I was amazed April hadn’t given up on telling us what was happening.
This was the first ti I’d encountered anyone that could answer my questions about magic, and possibly why I’d been called to Miltern in the first place. I didn’t want them to spook her or overwhelm her with their added comntary.
“Everyone lost the aning of life. So, they just go through daily tasks ant for basic survival. There are no dreams, ambitions, or passions. No one falls in love or searches for answers. We are stuck in this never-ending purgatory,” April finished with a sad sigh.
“Who did this to your pack? Who...”
“No one knows,” April jumped in. “It was so strange. As soon as we realized we couldn’t leave anymore, the fog rolled in, like it was waiting for us to realize we were cursed and dood before delivering the final blow.”
Listening to the story of the curse made my stomach rumble. I had felt that sothing wasn’t right from the mont I got here. The people were like zombies. I hadn’t considered it was because of a curse.
For an entire village to be cursed... That had to be a powerful spell. What kind of magic and magic-doers were we dealing with here?
“And that was when everything changed?” I asked.
April nodded. “Yes. It has been like this since.”
“What about you? You seem... normal,” I said.
“Well, I’m a seer. Curses aren’t as strong over seers and healers. I feel it sotis, tugging at and trying to pull into that numbness, but I can fight it,” she explained.
“If you’re a seer, why haven’t you tried to lift the curse?” Ashley asked, glowering.
“Seers can’t lift curses. Neither can healers. That’s why we need you,” April said, keeping her eyes on .
“I don’t know,” I said, shifting my weight from one foot to another. “You might have the wrong person. I have no idea how to break curses! I don’t know anything about magic!”
April’s face fell and she curled her knees to her chest, hugging herself.
“If you don’t know how... no one knows. We really are dood,” she whispered.
That couldn’t be true. I knew for a fact that another powerful witch was in these parts. Helen had lured here herself.
If April really was on my side and trying to help , wouldn’t she know that?
“What about Helen?” I asked, testing her. “Would Helen know what to do?”
April looked up at in surprise. She tilted her head to the side and then shook it.
“My teacher disappeared more than fourteen years ago... before the curse even... If she had been here, this wouldn’t have happened. I know it,” April insisted.
It was my turn to be surprised. I dropped down to my knees and put a hand on April’s shoulder. All my searching and I was finally making progress!
“Helen was your teacher?” I asked.
#
Reviews
All reviews (0)