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The bell hung from the tower that jutted from the middle of the domed roof. Even now it constantly rang, louder and more prominent but melting into the ambiance. The ma.s.sive door to the temple that usually lay gaping open without any panels, was barred with a makes.h.i.+ft wall of old planks of wood nailed together.
Above the gate, from one of the small windows that showed the darkness inside the structure, Nina watched the figures as they climbed the stairs and stepped onto the foyer one by one in their covered selves. Her dirty face was taut with stress at the sight of them, her cracked lips pressed to a thin line. She hated them, every single one of them.
Walking corpses with no purpose but to keep surviving day to day until they could no longer move. How easily they accepted their fate, not even an attempt to fight and now with them she too would face the same ending.
Her fingers rolled the thick copper medallion, heavy and palm sized with runes and marks of power she didn't recognize but the familiar hum of power was indication enough of its nature.
Was it worth it?
She asked herself. Yes. She answered her own but didn't quite believe it. The boy would die tonight because of her and an innocent's blood would be on her hands. But why was it different how he died, when that was the fate they had all been waiting for? What she did only made sure that it wouldn't be worthless, that he would die helping a cause. Then why was it that she felt so dirty from the inside, despite everything?
She shook her head trying to rid herself of her depressing thoughts and looked below. One by one her gaze followed each of those figures. Today's forage was another failure, not even a dry root among the whole lot of them to boil and make soup out of. How fortunate were they that the temple had a well inside that was yet to be corrupted?
No one had removed their masks and hoods, and under their thick rags even she couldn't tell who was who. Last one to climb the foyer limped favoring his left leg with his hood in his hand. A second later the clammy, wrinkled and gaunt face of Devon appeared. A decent man, in what little decency that could be found here. His towering and muscular physique of a woodsman once intimidated most, but all his height managed now was to give him a deeper hunch.
At least he didn't beat her, she thought and rubbed her sore arm.
Suddenly a jolt pa.s.sed through her, a sharp pain in her head that she almost fell over. Nina grabbed the window sill to keep herself upright as her body s.h.i.+vered violently.
Another episode, she thought and gritted her teeth and waited for it to pa.s.s.
Her reserves were too low, too much she had used earlier. She grimaced at the reminder and all the pain in her body doubled in the memory. It had taken a while before she stabilized and took a deep breath as she stood up straight.
The villagers had already crossed the foyer and were now almost below her, facing the gate. The wooden panels creaked as they were pushed aside to make a small gap for them to enter.
Something moved in the horizon, Nina saw by the corner of her eyes and her heart nearly stopped.
It was too soon... the Sun wasn't even down yet!
Putting both her hands on the sill she peered… where did 'it' go? She knew she saw it, saw something. For a moment she thought it was the boy but chances of that were very slim if not none. After what she had done to him-she had used so much magic that had wiped his name even from her own mind-it would be a surprise if he was here, up and about.
Again she saw it, more clearly, a dark shadow moving behind rocks. She nearly shouted in warning but managed to keep her composure above her hammering heart.
Deep breaths!
She swallowed spit down her dry throat and watched, not letting her mind wander, and try and see for what it was instead of imagining it. The figure left a dark, anch.o.r.ed trail behind as it headed toward the village, and she guessed was approaching their 'temple'.
It took a lot of effort to stay as calm as she was. Her mouth was swollen from the cut inside of her cheek, and she could still taste her blood. Side of her head was tender and she was thankful that there was no visible wound there or anywhere.
Nina for better or for worse looked exactly like she would normally despite the numerous bruises she had acquired earlier that day. It also helped that they wore robes that covered their sick and dying bodies.
Her face however was already as bad as it could look without missing any parts or functioning. Crooked nose and teeth, swelling in eyes and disgustingly dirty ears that even she herself couldn't look at without gagging. The dirt there moved like being eaten by maggots from inside, for her this was 'normal'.
The bell stopped ringing suddenly and she froze. The silence that followed was now almost too hard to bear. Slowly, she looked down to see the others also had frozen in their places, head twitching side to side as if looking for the cause. Whoever was in the bell duty must have seen what Nina saw, and from his vantage point up in the tower, definitely could see more than her. And it was enough to stop his incessant ringing.
Despite how much she hated that bell, the quiet she hated even more.
A person... a girl, oddly dressed and green on her head …and something... someone in her arms.
Running across the village, leaving misty trails in her wake she was heading straight for the temple. Her bright green hair and pale face were a sharp contrast to the dull and dark background and looked completely out of place.
Hope stirred in Nina's heart but she forced herself not to celebrate yet. Just one little girl could not be her solution and on top of that this was someone she didn't know, let alone trust.
The girl disappeared behind the edge of the temple foyer and just as quickly appeared in the air and landed upon it.
Nina recognized the boy by his clothes if not his face; a loose and over-sized grey s.h.i.+rt and dark pants. Unlike the others, he didn't cover himself completely. It could be because he was not as sick as the others or that he was always by himself, not caring how he dressed.
The girl gently dropped him on the floor. He was clearly dazed. His eyes hid behind his dark mop of hair so Nina couldn't see it but had a strong feeling the boy had been blinking in shock. The stranger girl was kneeling beside him, her arm on his back and her head s.h.i.+fting in a skittish manner to look at the gathering crowd.
Everyone was wary and understandably so. And the tension in the air told her that the things may get violent any moment. Nina had no doubt about who was in more danger out there.
The young girl that looked barely in her teens was short and pet.i.te and looked innocent in a way only a child could. Her hair like mature leaves was tied in a loose bun with fringes curtaining the side of her face. Her eyes big and round flashed green in wonder and met Nina's in spite the latter hiding inside the temple. Nina felt the hair in the back of her neck stand. That… was a glare of a predator no matter how young and innocent she looked.
"h.e.l.lo!" Called out the girl, a bit hesitant and confused with the crowd in front of the temple gate that had somehow forgotten about the setting Sun and was watching the girl silently.
No one answered. They didn't even move. What would a young girl do when at least twenty dark hooded figures watched her silently and unmovingly? Clearly not smile in amus.e.m.e.nt like this one. Then the girl stood up, straight like a soldier in training and cleared her throat, still amused.
"Ah… yah! I am Olean of Sharak. I would like to talk to your leader please." She said in a monotone, as if reciting from her memories that didn't seem very easy for her. She subtly to a side made a fist and pumped it in celebration of her "perfect" introduction.
Nina didn't know if she wanted to laugh or cry. Surely they had sent Olean as her help, but a rookie? Could they have misunderstood her message just because it was from a small village in the middle of a mountain? Did They think their plight was something that could be handled by a child? This was bad, for them and for Olean. No matter how dangerous she was, what haunted the village was far worse and in no way a single girl could take care of it.
Nina needed to talk to her, before Olean was met by the elder. Those eyes, so young and naïve, very capable she may be but she was in no way prepared for what the village had in store for her, nor did Nina want her facing it.
She got up and ran for the stairs; the usual sham of a limp she always displayed had been forgotten in all the haste. Good thing no one saw her...
