Dutybound

by Mark Aaron Alvarez

  ***

  As they made their way toward Aldric, night fell quickly, filled with long periods of silence. The night brought with it a heavy mist that hovered over the hills as they moved past and into a low valley filled with dying flowers. Leo thought about his city, wondering if the towering walls of shattered stone smoked, knowing that now they were far behind. After what seemed to be an eternity, at a quarter past midnight, the flowers led to a path that crept further into the fog.

  The path narrowed as the hills rose around them, making the valley seem as if they were falling into the brush, sinking lower as they moved onward. More time had passed. It seemed as if they would never reach the edge of the forest. But as they continued, the flowers turned into vines, and the vines into heavy bushes, until finally they were surrounded by trees within the depths of the dark forest. It seemed they had found some way into the forested mountain, the dimension transformed right before their very eyes.

  “The Pinea hills are so different now,” Lucia started, pushing the vines from her face. She pulled a hood over her head to prevent the branches from snagging her hair as the two made their way through the woods. The clothes Leo had brought her had since made the journey more comfortable. Her cloak was chestnut, draping down her back, protecting her from the chill of the night, while her brown leather stockings protected her legs from the thorns and the stray twigs that would scratch her as she walked through the high grass. Her beige vest hugged a yellow blouse, protecting her torso from anything that might try to pierce her, just as the soles of her boots protected her feet from any sharp rocks she might step on.

  “The forest serves as the border between Pinea and Aldric. Once we’re through here, we’ll be within the Aldric region,” Leo said, peering backwards and squinting to get a better look at Lucia as she hurried behind him. “It gets darker from here on, so I’d stay close.” Leo cut the bush ahead of them with his dagger.

  Lucia watched as streams of moonlight dripped from the canopies of the forest, casting large shadows over them, freezing Lucia’s heart and causing her hands to tremble. The darkness had her right where it wanted her, within the doubts and fears of this ghastly, mysterious forest. She whimpered, reaching for the pendant like she always did to find its comforting glow. Lucia’s eyes hovered briefly, peering beyond the trees and into her mind. She nearly lost herself within it, before the sound of Leo’s voice snapped her back into reality.

  “The farther we go, the more the hills grow. They twist and change as they become more like mountains. It’s like a labyrinth.”

  “Is this your way of saying we’re lost?” Lucia peered forward, understanding what he meant as the path split off around them into a network of different paths—a forest maze made to confuse and deter anyone from crossing. She realized that even the landscape could deceive you, turn against you, betray you. What web of secrets did this forest hold? What was it protecting? “Do you even know where you’re going?”

  “I’ve never actually made a trip to Aldric, but it is said that if you stay to the center and don’t let yourself get distracted by the paths that present themselves, you’ll make it through in no time.” Leo scoffed. “I know it’s just hearsay, but—” His voice became shaky and light as the chill of a thousand needles bristled over his skin.

  There was a crackle of decay beneath each of their steps, and the forest thickened around them. The light of the sky thinned and the air became a tense mass of cold stench. The earth softened below them, drawing their feet deeper into the soil as if it meant to devour them. The forest itself seemed alive. It was alive. All was connected within the trees, the soil, and the very roots themselves. It was as if every leaf was an eye watching them, their prey, as they pressed through.

  Leo finally continued, breaking the silence as they made their way down a steep hill. “It’s all I’ve got. Is it just me or does the forest feel angry to you?”

  Lucia nodded, huddling behind Leo. “Yes. It’s strange, but not as far-fetched as it sounds. You feel it too?”

  Leo peered back at her as she grabbed onto his shirt.

  “Leo, it’s as if I can feel the land’s anguish, and right now, something’s wrong.” The forest was speaking to her, whispering softly beneath the tense moist air, words she could not understand but feel. It wanted her to know the pain it was in as the darkness consumed it. The Light Wings drew in the emotions of the forest, feeding them to Lucia’s mind, and filling her with its many thoughts. So many thoughts, warning her of something—coming. Something terrible. “No,” Lucia muttered, holding on to Leo as she held in a building urge to shriek. She lay her face to his back, feeling as the terror returned just as the forest’s remaining light disappeared. It was nearly black. All Lucia heard were the sounds of her own footsteps. She shivered as nyctophobia—a fear of the night—pinched her insides.

  Leo attempted to keep a pure focus on the central path ahead of them, but even he felt his fear collecting. He was not too sure he could keep himself on the right path, or even protect Lucia when the time came. Not in this blackness. But he paid attention to every action he made, no matter how difficult. Though he struggled to breathe himself, his will drew from within, anchoring onto something and helping him establish a sense of control. Every decision he made was crucial, and for Lucia’s sake, he had to make the right ones. Fortunately for him, this made things easier. It was in that moment of recognizing this truth that Leo realized she was all that mattered to him. He looked back, barely seeing the outline of her hair through the faint glow of the Light Wings around her neck. He recognized it in her gentle face—the tense worry, the horror, and most of all, how every single sound that echoed around them tore at her psyche, nearly destroying her. There was no other way. He had to free her from the chains of fate’s embrace.

  “Are you alright?” Leo asked. His calm, deep voice broke through the tense moist air of the forest.

  “Are you really asking me that?” Lucia asked, with her eyes as low as her voice.

  “You’re worrying me.”

  “Am I?” Lucia asked, parting a bit from him. She did not want to become a burden. The weight around her neck was heavy enough for her to bear on her own; there was no reason drag him down with her. Not after he’d lost so much. She did not want to cause any more pain or bring about any more destruction. She thought of Pinea and imagined all who had already died. In that moment, she prayed for peace—peace of mind. “I’m sorry.”

  Leo’s eyebrows tilted. The words seeped in a bit and played around in Leo’s mind, burning through his emotions like wildfire. There was nothing for her to be sorry for. Everything he did, everything he would do, was for her now, irrevocably so. He hesitated before uttering the words, almost weary of saying them. “I care. I—I care about you.” He pushed forward and slid his dagger into its sheath. Leo couldn’t determine why he couldn’t stop thinking about her, or how she felt about everything happening to her, or how she felt about him or the things that were happening to him. His mind was racing in circles, chasing a far-off fantasy.

  It bugged him. How vulnerable and melancholy she was, just as he hid beneath his woes within the depths his own sorrows. He couldn’t ignore the way Lucia made him feel. There was something about the way she carried herself, something within her reason, that drew him magnetically toward her. Lucia lived with a sincerity that made her appear to be fragile and weak; but no, Lucia’s weakness was her very strength. The desire to stay true to how she felt bound him, making it hard for him to hide his own emotions, to keep his cool as he was known to do. Leo bit his lip as he turned to his side and watched Lucia walk, her head down. He wrapped his hand over hers, sliding his fingers through her soft hands, but Lucia pulled away, crossing her arms, hiding her hands. It was like she didn’t want to him to touch her. She was keeping her distance. This confused him even more, and he bowed his head in disappointment, feeling as though he had failed.

  Lucia locked her g
aze. She was hearing the whispers in her head now, the silent thoughts that invaded her subconscious. The echoes magnified the longer she wore the pendant. The more she prayed to the light, the easier it became to hear the Light Wings. If she prayed long enough, she could understand them. The words became clearer, as if they somehow connected her to another world, within a separate plane of existence. Within every passing moment, their power surged. And even more so in the darkness.

  In the past, each new experience had confused Lucia more than the last; but as they ventured forth, she became more familiar with the Light Wings’ hold over her, and the wisdom that they shared. They brought upon this sense of security, as if the echoes whispered some sort of assurance as she gave in to them. They promised her safety despite the circumstances, despite the pain she felt, the pain she would feel. Lucia could not deny that she was indeed bound—bound to the Light Wings and their purpose. This was a burden she alone had to bear. But maybe she could someday be free? The Light Wings dangled this thought within her mind, sending something electric through her hands and onto her fingertips. “Hope, it lies ahead of you.” Lucia did not know what to make of the voice, but she did not question it. Hope was ahead of them. The answer, and her freedom, lay just outside these hills. She just had to believe.

  Suddenly, Leo saw something in the distance. It was a light at the end of a long tunnel, a bright gate that broke through the green far off in front of them.

  Lucia’s chest pulled toward the threshold as if the Light Wings longed for the daylight to fall within their clear white diamond and be filled with its grace once more. The Light Wings desired to feel and reflect, but more importantly to feed upon light and all its power. Lucia clenched the pendant as her breath was abruptly taken from her. The Light Wings’ anguish broke through her psyche, sending a sharp shrill as she fell to her knees. What is this? Lucia thought desperately as she pulled herself up. The Light Wings flickered as a pain cut through her chest. She groaned a bit, silently, unable to relax as her life was seemingly pulled from her. The loud ringing then rose higher inside her head, and all she could do was hold her breath as she tried to force it to slumber, but the pendant was too strong.

  It became clear that the Light Wings were depleting her of her strength to fuel their own. Deprived of the light, they sought their master even at the expense of Lucia’s life force. Lucia had no choice. She had to run—or die. She threw Leo aside and bolted ahead of him, but the light was still too distant.

  Leo fell onto a knee but caught himself. He jerked his head upward as Lucia stumbled into the high grass far in front of him, struggling to climb uphill. “Lucia, what are you doing now?” he asked through his teeth biting down, his canines sharp, as he prevented himself from losing his temper. He looked ahead of her as he worked to pull his thoughts together. “Are you mad?” he shouted, racing after her, trying to keep a close eye on her and observing for any immediate danger nearby. He hurried behind, hoping she would signal to him that she was indeed all right; but as he paced up toward her, the tense air chilled, condensing the humidity of the forest air, bringing forth a heavy mist closing in behind them. Leo’s hair stood on end as it rippled like a wave through his back. He could almost hear it, the demented snicker of the phantom approaching them.

  At that moment, his worst fears came to present as the fog swirled about. The danger did not lie ahead but rather behind them. He quickened the pace, running at full speed, trying not to trip over the vines and roots of the trees as he jumped ahead. “Lucia, move! Keep going,” he yelled from behind her as the voice echoed through the forest.

  Lucia couldn’t hear Leo’s words. All she could hear was that painful ringing as the very essence of her life was being sucked from her chest. She couldn’t focus on anything but reaching the end of this damned forest. It was consuming every breath, every ounce of energy she had. She had to reach that light. Her adrenaline was pumping, causing her body to move in ways it never had. The Light Wings took full control. This speed and strength had never existed before and came as if from nowhere. As incredible as it was, it still pained her and starved her of her own energy. She hungered. She had to reach the sunlight before the last of her light was depleted.

  Leo heard it now, the darkness ruffling behind them. The sudden growl of wolves emitted through the air as they rose from the ground and poured out from the shades of the forest and into the vast meadow, their eyes glowing like embers within the mist. They flooded from the heavy density of the trees, shrouded by the shadows that created them with their garnet eyes set on the maiden, so helpless and vulnerable ahead of them. They brushed past Leo and towards her and her alone, to the flickering light. He struggled, unable to keep up, the beasts were too fast. They had a power far beyond his own mortal strength, and as they continuously poured around him, he watched as the nightmare gripped him.

  Leo did not cower. He refused to bend to the will of the force that was driven by fear. It would not break him, not again and not like this. He pulled forth his silver dagger and darted forward, lunging downward, slashing at the beasts and tearing his knife into the tar-like dark flesh of the darkness’ illusions. However, the metal of his blade would only split the darkness in two and, with one quick roar, transformed it into a pillar that wrapped around Leo’s arm and tossed him. The darkness reformed to pursue Lucia once more. He clashed into a far tree, stunned when his skull cracked against its bark. He tumble forward, landing face down. He wearily opened his eyes, trying hard to regain his sight, and only managed to yell, “Lucia, they’re behind you!”

  Lucia’s senses were overloaded as the Light Wings pierced into her heart. The pain sprouted upward like the pull of a knife stuck in her ribs. With its power overwhelming, she couldn’t control it, couldn’t stop it from consuming her. Her will was no longer her own. Her eyes began to sparkle, glittering a bright gold. She must surrender herself to the Light Wings. It was her only choice. “Stop resisting,” they said as they flickered brightly and emitted strikes of white lightning around her. They catapulted Lucia into the air, throwing her forward, her eyes now glowing intensely.

  Leo watched as Lucia propelled into the air, her chest sprouting a huge light that seemed to peel and pull from her body. She fell forward with a thud as the light pulsed through the forest, shattering the waves of beasts emerging from it. They dissolved like shattering stained glass into sparks of many colors. Magenta, violet, cerulean, pale yellow—the orbs of light ascended upwards until there was nothing left.

  Lucia’s body was aching, burning. Her sight was blurring as each of her senses numbed. She had lost every ounce of what energy sent her forward, yet she still felt the pull, the thirst. The Light Wings had taken as much life as they could to protect themselves, but she needed to reach the end so she could feed on the light.

  Leo rushed, his dark hair pulling back over his forehead. He nearly slid as he dropped to her side. Lucia struggled to catch her breath. He quickly scanned her for injuries but found nothing. She gulped for air, unable to speak, as Leo struggled to understand what was happening to her. “Lucia, what’s wrong?” He panicked. “Please, tell me.” His blue eyes teared as she shook. “What do I do?”

  Lucia’s energy continued to seep from her and into the dimming Light Wings. She felt it go as her body went cold. She was dying, or at the very least, she felt like she was; but the burning pull within her chest, the hunger, would not grant her even that mercy. The pendant continued to draw on her spirit, directing it toward the light. It was painful to speak. The words caught like thorns in her throat. Leo’s tears dripped onto her face, merging with her own. “L—light . . .” She pointed her golden gaze toward the exit at the end as the sunlight seeped in.

  At first, Leo could not fully comprehend what Lucia must be telling him; but he picked her up, thinking as much that he should get her away from the dangers of the forest. He held her limp, weary body in his arms. Her body was like a thread connected to her life, lingerin
g in some sort of limbo, bound but far apart.

  Leo hurried, his gaze shrewd. He couldn’t lose her, the only person he had left, his reason for living. He could not imagine going on without her. The world would surely end with the darkness claiming the last piece of his sanity. Victorious.

  He was not far from the opening, just feet away, as he jumped forward and into the light of the sun and clear hills vacant of forest. The sunlight fell over them, and he looked down to Lucia as it hit the Light Wings, sending out a brilliant force reflecting and absorbing the light while finally filling with life. Lucia’s lungs gulped a heavy breath as her sight returned to her. She stared into Leo’s precious jewel-like eyes, seeing how handsome he was, even with smears and smudges of dirt covering his face. Especially now, as Leo put her down and brushed his knuckles to the side of her face.

  Lucia blinked wildly. She hunched on her side and placed a hand to her head as Leo kneeled next to her. She could not yet put into words what had happened, but when the light had touched the Light Wings, her body had returned to her. Her pain receded. It was instantaneous, as if somehow her life and the light were somehow connected, bound to the same place. The Light Wings could not live without the light, so they had nearly taken Lucia’s life—but why? What was she missing? What did she not know?

  “Leo, I don’t understand.” She hesitated, grabbing the wings around her neck. “It was so bizarre. I can’t even explain what happened, or why even, not the slightest bit.”

  “Why did you run?” he asked, palpating her legs, still examining her for any injuries. He wanted to make sure she was okay. He had nearly lost her, and truthfully, there could be nothing more terrifying.

  “I don’t know,” Lucia said, touching her head. “I felt this sudden pain, like hunger, consume me. It was overwhelming and caused me to act without thinking. I lost control. I needed to be in the light as if my life depended on it.” She looked down. “The Light Wings panicked. Without the light, I could feel the pendant drain me as if it needed my life to power its own. It used my strength to defend itself but nearly killed me in the process, because it had no power left to use. It used mine instead.”