Moirai
Chapter 7

It was an unexpected sense of coolness that awoke me. Unexpected because I knew that when I had blacked out, the sun had been beating down heavily upon the world. But, sure enough, the sand beneath me was nearly cool.

I lay on my back. I was relieved to find that the sudden exhaustion was gone. The pain in my leg was also gone. I tried to scour my memory to work out if I’d missed something. The Erking attack wasn’t just a dream, was it? Surely the gash in my leg should be at least aching. But I trusted my memory and what had happened was definitely not a dream.

It slowly sank in that I had used my aura again. Again. And again, it had been an almost undeniable aid. As far as I knew, what I had done could’ve saved our lives. Deep down I couldn’t deny that Mayran would not have been able to get rid of the rest of the Erkings without becoming seriously injured, or worse. I really resented that, because it challenged the belief that had existed within me since I was a child: ‘real’ magic, was nothing but dangerous. But now I had seen several examples of good magic.

An explanation as to why my leg was no longer hurting presented itself to me. Mayran probably healed it with his own aura. Being around him every day, without him really doing anything with his aura, made me forget that he was an auraic as well.

As well…

The thought had formed unbidden. I didn’t like it one bit, but it was true. From now on I had to be more careful. I spent a few more minutes pondering on how the incidents had occurred and came to the conclusion that it had something to do with being in a dangerous situation and that urgent need for survival that made me wish for things, like for the axes and the Erkings to disappear. Perhaps it could be as simple as controlling my thoughts.

Opening my eyes, another thing was also explained. Mayran’s coat was propped up with some sticks as a sort of shelter above me. That was why I felt cooler than expected. I crawled out from underneath it, further registering the lack of pain from my shin, and looked around.

Loni was tending to the horses, who looked quite spooked from their encounter with the Erkings. She didn’t notice me. Mayran was sitting on the top of a dune that began a few metres away, gazing out at Okanto.

I climbed up and sat down next to him. I opened my mouth to accuse bring up his healing of my leg, but stopped when I noticed the expression on his face. His eyes, well, the one I could see, were like deep black pools, contrasting with their pale blue colour. He looked utterly devastated about something.

“Mayran?” I said questioningly.

He closed his eyes briefly and glanced over at me.

“You’re awake. Good. Do you feel alright?” he asked, his voice a dull monotone.

“I’m fine.” I said impatiently. “What’s the matter?”

“Look.” He indicated the city.

I did, and was horrified by what I saw; Okanto had been destroyed. I realised now why the city looked so strange; almost all of the buildings had been razed to the ground, leaving only a metre or two of crumbling stone. And from this distance I could see that it would have once been beautiful, for the city was built out of stone in various shades of orange and red to blend in with the desert surroundings.

Something told me that, somehow, Indina was responsible. No other person, surely, had enough power or enough evil to destroy an entire city and its people.

Mayran confirmed it.

“Indina’s work.” His voice maintained the lack of emotion. “I can tell. I knew someone there.” He added.

“Who?” I asked after a moment’s hesitation.

He looked down and finally a hint of sorrow coloured his blank tone. “A woman who was more of a mother to me than my own parents.”

He didn’t elaborate, so I didn’t push him.

“So…are we still going to pass through?” I asked him.

He sighed. “We must. There’s almost no chance of any survivors…but I couldn’t just go past.”

“Oh! You’re awake, Alnya!”

Loni’s sudden jovial tone startled us both. I turned around sharply to find her grinning as she walked up to us. I could see that the smile didn’t quite reach her eyes, although probably someone who didn’t know her as well wouldn’t have noticed; she had seen the city, she was just trying to cheer Mayran up.

“Leg all cleared up? Mayran did a really good job; you can hardly see a scar. He did say though that some of the internal damage may have been beyond his abilities so if you feel any pain still just say so, don’t try and be a martyr.” She continued in a rapid-fire manner, proving my thought.

“I feel fine.” I reassured her. Then, realising that I hadn’t acknowledged that Mayran had healed me yet, I turned back to him and said quietly, “Thank you. You didn’t have to.”

The corners of his lips twitched like he wanted to smile, but he didn’t. “It wasn’t too much trouble, and besides, it would have made your leg pretty much unusable for a few days at least.”

There was silence for another few seconds, before he stood up with a sigh. Loni and I took that as our cue, following and mounted our horses.

The ride to Okanto was equally quiet. There wasn’t really anything anyone could say. I could see that the life had just gone from Mayran’s eyes. I wondered who the woman was who he had mentioned and mentally cursed Indina for what she had done. The journey to rescue Renenta from her oppressive ideas suddenly became much more real.

It was late afternoon by the time we entered the outskirts of the now crumbling city. Even now the city still held a strange beauty; the rich reds and browns of the buildings stood out starkly against the golden sand surrounding the city. The roads, now littered with rubble, were otherwise spotless and the sandstone they were made from were all even. Here and there doorways hung open on their hinges, revealing tidy sitting rooms and kitchens still fully furnished, unless the roof had caved in upon the room.

The strangest thing was that even though the city was deserted, there were no bodies. Not in the streets or in the houses could a single prone figure be seen. I didn’t know whether that was a relief or a cause for concern; for if they weren’t here, then where were they? Taken by Indina for her to experiment on, like the beings that attacked Kasanda’s house? Or something, if possible, even more sinister.

The silence was eerie. Once, Loni screamed as a section of a house collapsed right next to her, and the sound seemed to echo throughout the city, coming back to us a million times, a million screams.

All along, Mayran remained mute. His empty eyes glazed over the wreckage as though searching for something that wasn’t there. When we reached what appeared to be the centre of the city, he heaved a great sigh as he looked around and seemed to collapse in on himself.

The charred remains of what was obviously a bustling marketplace surrounded us; scorched carts, the odd fabric or item of jewellery that survived glinting or fluttering in the hot breeze.

I jumped slightly when Mayran spoke. “I remember coming here as a boy. Younger than you two.” He whispered, his voice carrying an air of sacredness. His eyes seemed to be seeing something only he could see. “The colours, the scents, the flavours, the sounds. Yes, this was one of my favourite places. It held such life, and I was nothing more than a young boy who had…” he sighed again, letting the sentence trail off.

A voice finished it for him.

“…come to Okanto with an elderly woman as his only companion, eh?”

I jumped again. It was a rough, old woman’s voice that came from somewhere to the right. I looked, but all I could see were shadows, until the voice’s owner appeared from within them. She was slightly bent over and holding a stiff-looking walking stick, her clothes dull-coloured and draped around her like a cloak.

She peered up at Mayran. “Little runaway, is that possibly you?”

Mayran’s sorrowful mask shattered as though a rock had been thrown at it. Surprise and shock replaced it, followed by an immense relief and an intense array of several other emotions that I couldn’t identify. In a second he was embracing the wizened old woman, such an expression of pure joy on both of their faces that tears sprang to my eyes.

“Eldaline.” He gasped, which I presumed was her name. “Oh, Eldaline, how…why…how is this…”

He was struggling not to cry. Though I had only known him for little over a week, he had not struck me as someone brought easily to tears and that alone impressed onto me the gravity of this moment.

The old woman was smiling and returned the hug, a twinkle in her eye. “Hush, little runaway. Have you grown weak in the many years since we last met?”

He chuckled, but it sounded more like a hiccup. “Not at all, Eldaline. It’s just…” he trailed off once again.

I couldn’t stop the grin that grew on my face as I watched the reunion. Seeing Mayran the happiest I had seen him seemed infectious. He had obviously been through hardship in his life and so I had little doubt that he deserved happiness.

He released Eldaline and stood up, looking towards us. “Alnya, Loni, this is the woman I told you about. Eldaline raised me and cared for me far more than my real mother did. Eldaline, these are my travelling companions. Alnya is…”

She shushed him fiercely. “Not here! If the rumours I’ve been hearing are true, I think I know who the girl is. Indina’s presence still lingers in the area. If we must speak, and it appears as though we must, then come with me.”

Without another word, she headed back into the shadows from which she had come. With an amused expression and a wary look around, Mayran followed. Loni and I decided we’d better go along as well, but as soon as I saw where we were headed, I dug my heels in, panic rushing through me.

A block of the sandstone that formed the streets had been lifted to reveal a gaping hole descending diagonally under the city. It was black as night. I was not going in there.

“What’s wrong, Alnya?” Mayran asked once he noticed that I had stopped several metres from the entrance.

I didn’t trust myself to say anything coherent, so all I did was shake my head.

Loni, thankfully, rushed to my aid. “Alnya’s claustrophobic.”

Mayran frowned. “She’s what?”

I realised that the whole concept of ‘phobias’ would be alien to Mayran, living his entire life in the ‘book world’. He would possibly think that my ‘irrational phobia’...was literally completely irrational.

Loni also came to that conclusion. “She can’t stand being in enclosed spaces. It freaks her out. Makes her think that she’s going to be trapped. A bit like with her fear of magic, it started when she was very young.”

“Ah.” Mayran frowned, walking over to me. “Alnya, you can’t just stay out here.”

Eldaline, who had heard the conversation, also approached. “Alnya, is it? Well, I can assure you that the tunnel’s the worse bit. There are a few down there who share your fear, but they are fine once they are in the open areas.”

“A few?” Mayran asked, momentarily distracted. “You mean, you aren’t the only survivor?”

“Far from it, boy!” Eldaline snapped. “The entire city’s down there!”

His face filled with even more joy.

I realised that I had no other choice, so despite how much my mind rebelled against the idea, I followed the others into the darkness of the tunnel.

Eldaline lit a torch, which did absolutely nothing to quell the terror that instantly assailed me. It was a nauseating feeling to be surrounded by so much rock, and constantly descending further under it. I couldn’t help but think that it would be so easy for it all to collapse in on itself and kill us all.

My breathing was shallow, but I didn’t realise how loud it was until I felt a hand grab mine and Mayran’s voice whisper, “Calm down. It’s alright.”

“Easy for you to say.” I hissed, squeezing his hand and wanting nothing more than to curl into a tight ball and be taken back to the surface. In fact, after a few minutes, I froze, unable to build up the courage to continue.

I shrank against the wall, closing my eyes tightly and shivering uncontrollably despite the muggy heat. Hands on my shoulders from all sides didn’t help, so I pushed them away.

“Just take me back!” I cried; my voice over-loud in the small tunnel.

“We can’t, girl! We must continue! You’ll be fine in just a few minutes.” Eldaline’s sharp, rough voice sounded from my right.

“Maybe it would be best for her to wait out there. I’ll wait with her. Trust me, I’ve seen this before. She won’t move.” Loni argued. She didn’t say it in an accusing way, but an understanding way.

I felt rather than heard someone move to stand right in front of me, both hands on my shoulders.

“Breathe.” He instructed. “Just calm down and breathe.” Sᴇaʀch Thᴇ Find_Nøvel.ɴet website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

“Mayran, I…”

“Alnya!” his voice cut off my weak excuse. When he spoke again, his voice was strangely calming. “Just breathe.”

I did as he said, slowly inhaling and exhaling. The tightness in my stomach loosened, and my head seemed to reduce its frantic thoughts.

“Good.” He said gently. “Now for phase two.”

His left hand moved down to grip mine, while his right hand slid around to my back where it gently nudged me away from the wall. It was comforting; something I could hold on to in the world that seemed to be dissolving around me. Within less than a minute, he got me walking again, although I kept my eyes shut.

“Well done.” Loni breathed. I obviously wasn’t meant to hear that, but it was difficult to hide anything here.

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