The Forgotten (The Lost Children Series Book 1)

by Jennifer Sivec

  “We need to find food.” Ava said, suddenly turning and walking away.

  “Where are you going?” Jakob asked, frustrated with her already. He didn’t remember much about her, but he had the sense that theirs had always been a fairly contentious relationship, despite their sharing of a womb. “You can’t just walk away. We should all go and find food together.”

  Ava snorted. “I’m hungry, so if you’d like to join me, then we need to leave now.”

  Anabel lifted Saiya onto Brooke’s back and reached for Kell. Before she could help him, he jumped up on Brooke’s back on his own, his eyes never leaving his sister. Anabel watched his face go from adoration to confusion, and Anabel was curious about the change. Saiya patted Kell’s hand as if to comfort him, and Kell smiled sweetly at her as their little party began to move on.

  “Do you know where you are going?” Jakob asked Ava, trying to keep the annoyance out of his voice.

  “No. I came from the West, you came from the East, so we should move to the North,” Ava said matter-of-factly.

  Instead of speaking, Jakob followed. The whole ordeal was strange. Ava seemed familiar, yet she felt like a stranger and Jakob began to question whether she truly ever existed in his life prior to this day.

  As though reading his mind, Ava spoke softly so that only he could hear.

  “I don’t know why this world is so strange, Jakob. Until just now, I didn’t realize you existed. Then I saw you and it was as though there was a piece of me that was missing. I don’t know what it is, but nothing seems real. Not you, not me, not this. It almost feels as though I am dreaming with my eyes open, but I cannot awaken no matter how hard I try,” she said gesturing to the dead forest of trees that surrounded them.

  Jakob hadn’t noticed before that all of the trees were dead. He was certain they hadn’t been before. He rubbed his eyes as he looked around, as though seeing them for the first time.

  “But now,” Ava continued, ”here we all are, and there are others. Other children. I’ve seen them, but not spoken to them. They are dressed like your little female friends, all wandering around and lost. I only engaged with you because you were dressed like me and looked like me. It was like looking in a mirror. But I don’t know where we are or where we came from. I am beginning to question whether or not I am even real.”

  Jakob listened intently, feeling comforted as Ava spoke. “Where did you see others?”

  “They are all around. If you watch and listen, you will see and hear them.” Ava whispered, conspiratorially. “They are everywhere. Hiding.”

  Jakob looked around, straining to see anything out of the ordinary, but saw nothing. “We’ve been looking for others, but haven’t run into anyone.”

  “They’re all afraid.” Ava whispered.

  “We are all afraid,” Jakob corrected her. “We are all lost.”

  Ava turned around and looked at Anabel and the dog, her gaze lingering for a long moment.

  “Not all of us are lost, Jakob,” she said, looking Brooke in the eye. “Not all of us.”

  27

  THE BLOOD

  The blood was going up her nose and she was gagging. She was drowning.

  She kicked hard, harder than she had ever kicked before, blindly fighting the current with her legs and arms. The blood was hard to cut through and she fought it until she felt the fresh air touch her face and make its way into her lungs.

  The blood was salty and thick on her skin and she was desperate to find land.

  She continued to swim against the strong current, exhausted, but determined to get out of it.

  “Emilie,” she heard Will’s voice calling to her, echoing through the air, seemingly from nowhere. “Emilie.”

  The Warrior heard her name as he had said it thousands of times, and she felt the energy flow back into her body. She swam harder and was relieved to see Land. She paddled her legs until they felt as though they would give out, and even still, she paddled harder. Suddenly she felt her hands touch Land and she gave herself one good push and was able to grab the roots of a tree. She held on until she could will herself to pull her entire body onto Land. She lay on the ground, breathing heavily, fighting the urge to pass out.

  “Emilie, Emilie.” Will’s voice echoed again, but this time, the voice was weaker, strained. He sounded farther away, and Emilie was alarmed.

  “Will!” Emilie’s voice croaked as she fought desperately to speak above a whispered groan. “I’m here. Where are you? I’m here.”

  She heard him call her again, but the voice was much fainter, and she felt tears springing to her eyes.

  “Will! Where are you, my love? I am here! I am here!”

  The voice was silent.

  “Will. I’m here! I’m here! Where are you?”

  The voice refused to acknowledge her, and Emilie pounded the ground in frustration. When she was able, she stood up and staggered, searching for the source of Will’s voice. Searching for Will.

  She expected that she would be covered in blood, but was stunned to see that her clothing and hair were clean. There was no trace of it on her skin, or any sign that she had been drowning in the river of blood that was still rushing behind her. It was the only sound around her, and the farther away she got from it, the quieter the air became. Emilie was afraid to move too far away from the river. She felt it was connected to Will somehow and she imagined that it might even be his though she had no idea how that would be possible. She walked for a short distance and called out his name a few more times, but heard only to the sound of silence.

  She took a few more steps, and then returned back to the bank of the river where she had climbed out. Her gray eyes opened wide in surprise to see that the thick, red river of blood no longer flowed. Instead, the riverbank was completely dry and there was nothing but silence all around her. She wondered if she was in the wrong place, but recognized the gnarled roots that she had grasped to pull herself out of the bloody river.

  She sat on the bank exhausted. Nothing made sense, and she was tired of being alone.

  How can there be no one? I feel I haven’t seen another in days. Where am I? Where did that evil little …

  The loud sound of a branch cracking startled her.

  She looked up to see the brightest set of blue eyes peering at her from some tall grass a few feet from where she sat. The eyes disappeared just as quickly, and Emilie heard the sound of scuttling feet running in the opposite direction. She leapt up and ran in the direction of the feet.

  “Stop, please stop!” She cried. “I won’t hurt you. I promise. Please!”

  Emilie realized she was running into a forest full of barren, empty trees. While there were no leaves, the trees were thick and Emilie had to zip through, careful not to trip. She caught a glimpse of a plain blue dress and fixed her eyes on it.

  “Please! Stop!” Emilie was barely winded but saw the dress was beginning to slow down.

  Emilie continued to run as fast as she could when she realized the dress had completely stopped.

  “P-p-p-please, don’t hurt me,” the girl in the blue dress was huddled against a tree with a terrified look on her face.

  Emilie looked at the girl and she realized that she knew her somehow. “Who are you, girl? What is your name?”

  “H-h-h-hadley,” the young woman trembled.

  “I’m not going to hurt you,” Emilie said, drawing closer to the girl until she was nearly close enough to touch her. Hadley reminded her of a terrified animal, her eyes big, and her entire body trembling in fear.

  “Do you know me?” Hadley asked, her voice so low that Emilie had to strain to hear her.

  “Yes. No. I don’t know … I think I do,” Emilie said, uncertain. She felt as though she might, but her memory had completely escaped her. The girl seemed familiar, her big eyes reminding her of a moment that sat right outside of the edges of her memory, but was out of reach. “I don’t think I know you.”

  “I’m alone,” the girl said, quietly. “All al
one.”

  “I’m alone, too.” Emilie said, gently. “But we’re not alone any longer. We have each other, now.”

  Hadley attempted a smile.

  “We should walk,” Emilie said, glancing around. She felt danger in the air, and was certain they shouldn’t stay in one place. She felt as though they were being watched, though she couldn’t see anyone.

  They walked on for a while in silence until they came to an abandoned old well that looked as though it hadn’t been used in years. It was large and some of the bricks were crumbling around it, the wood splintering and cracking.

  Emilie dared a glance into the well and saw nothing but blackness. She shuddered as a cold chill ran down her spine. She felt Hadley grab her from behind and yank her backward as something flew out of the well, attempting to take a swipe at Emilie’s head. She landed hard on top of Hadley as both of them screamed.

  Suddenly, something large and wet landed on top of her and knocked the wind out of her. Emilie realized that whatever it was, it was bigger and longer than her, and she struggled to get a good look at it.

  Emilie grabbed its body and rolled off of Hadley, trying to get the Creature as far from the girl as she could. Hadley’s screams pierced through her and Emilie tried to ignore them as she fought desperately with the large Creature that was threatening to crush her. She fought to see the thing she was fighting with as she felt it wrapping around her body and beginning to squeeze.

  She was thankful for the armor she wore, the strong copper plates making it difficult for the Creature to crush her as quickly as it wanted to.

  She caught a glimpse of the Creature’s giant head and glittering green eyes as she pummeled its body over and over with her strong fists. She gasped for air as the Creature found its way to her neck.

  “I’ve finally got you where I waaaant youuuuu,” the Creature hissed.

  Emilie felt her chest beginning to explode as she desperately sought to take in any air she could. Hadley’s screams echoed in her ears, getting farther and farther away from her, like Will’s had. Until finally, Emilie heard and felt nothing else.

  28

  THE ADVISORS

  Aldo and Milo stood at Will’s bed, concerned.

  Will had not resembled himself in days, and the situation in Tamaryn was becoming unbearable. There were no longer Creatures to hunt and the food supply was getting low. They weren’t close yet to the dark season, so there was no time to store food and prepare, and many were getting hungry as the harvest time had not come.

  “Governor, your People need you,” Aldo said to his oldest friend. He had never seen Will’s eyes glazed over, so unable to focus, his mind seemingly so far away. “What is happening with you, Will? You need to wake up.”

  Will stared through him as though Aldo hadn’t spoken at all.

  Kyla sat behind him, silently. “Will, darling, perhaps you should listen to Aldo.”

  Aldo looked at her, thankfully, telling himself to keep the suspicion far from the front of his mind. She will know you don’t trust her. You need her to believe you trust her.

  “Thank you, Governess,” Aldo said, trying to sound as gracious as possible.

  “You are welcome,” Kyla smiled, nodding at him conspiratorially.

  Will seemed to snap out of it, looking at Aldo then Milo, then back to Aldo.

  “How are we going to feed the People?” Will asked almost helplessly as his dull green eyes darted between the two. “What will we do?”

  Neither was accustomed to Will not having any answers and turning the question back on them.

  “That’s what we are asking of you, Governor. The People are getting desperate,” Milo spoke for the first time. “We are worried about an uprising if we don’t do something soon. They aren’t happy and are not accustomed to being hungry.”

  The men talked amongst themselves for a time until Kyla intervened.

  “I know what we can do,” she said, speaking up.

  “We will simply harvest early. We will sacrifice to the Yashwa and ask their blessing on the crops, and we will harvest early.” She spoke confidently as though the idea made perfect sense.

  Milo and Aldo looked at her as though she had lost her mind.

  “How will we sacrifice to the Yashwa? How will we know they will help us?” Milo didn’t attempt to hide his annoyance.

  “I know,” Kyla said, fixing her eyes evenly on his. “I will take care of it. I assure you, we will be ready to harvest the day after tomorrow.”

  Will looked at her gratefully, his hand reaching for hers.

  Milo noted that Will continued to look lost, relying heavily on Kyla for answers. Will’s self-assuredness had all but disappeared.

  “What a wonderful idea, Governess,” Will gushed in a way that was very uncharacteristic of him.

  “Thank you, Governor,” Kyla smiled at him.

  “We will check in with the People,” Milo said pointedly, stepping toward the door.

  “Leave it to me,” Kyla said, her voice low and confident. “I will take care of everything.”

  Both men nodded to her as they exited the Governor’s chambers, neither of them looking at the Governor.

  As they walked in silence away from the room and out of the Governor’s House, they waited until they were a safe distance away until either of them spoke.

  “How does she know about the Yashwa?” Milo asked, still keeping his voice low so even Aldo could barely hear him.

  “I don’t know how she would know,” Aldo was perplexed. “Nobody knows about the Yashwa. Only the Inner Circle knows about such things.”

  The Inner Circle consisted of the Governor, Aldo, Milo, and a few select members of the Council who made the Blood Bond to keep certain facts sacred. There were sworn secrets passed down from one generation of Leaders to the next, and the Governess was not included in the circle. Both Aldo and Milo knew that Will would never betray the Council and share those secrets with her, no matter how great the love between them. Doing so could mean exposure and danger to Tamaryn, which both men knew Will would never do. Neither man wanted to say what was truly on his mind, for fear someone would hear them and report back to Kyla.

  Milo stroked his long, white beard in deep thought, and Aldo knew he had something on his mind.

  “I don’t know exactly what it is, but something isn’t right with the Governess,” Milo said, quietly. “We need to watch her. I fear she is doing something to the Governor.”

  Aldo nodded in agreement. “I can’t explain it, but nothing feels right. Nothing about the Governor, or Tamaryn, or anything else.”

  “Maybe the Governor knows,” Milo said, his voice barely audible.

  “Knows? Knows what?” Aldo looked around to make sure nobody was near them.

  “Knows about the Inner Circle’s plan to unseat him, and then eliminate him.”

  Aldo’s face turned gray as he remembered the last secret meeting of the Council. The Council had become increasingly unhappy with Will’s generosity to the People, at times using the resources that were reserved for the Council and the Governor’s House, too. The Governor was well known throughout Tamaryn and beyond for his generosity, and there were daily requests of him to give more than what they were required to provide with the Governor rarely saying no. As the backup resources began to deplete, the Council met to determine a plan, without the Governor’s knowledge. Milo had reported to the Council that he had personally and repeatedly urged the Governor to use more discretion and the Governor had refused.

  The Council felt they had no choice. The Council was afraid he would deplete Tamaryn and lead them into starvation and ruination.

  It was in this same meeting that it had been decided that there was no other choice but to kill him.

  29

  YASHWA

  Kyla called to Bella with the ways of her mind, as all Yashwa called to one another.

  She needed her sister, and Bella was the only one she thought would answer. She knew all Yashwa would know
by now that she had abandoned her birthright, putting the Balance of all in danger. A Yashwa had never before abandoned their Pyto. It was their born-calling to heal and balance out the Land. Kyla could feel in her heart the imbalance she had created amongst her kind. She wished that she could feel more regret, but when she thought about Will, she knew that she would do it over and over again if given the chance. She could feel the crushing loss her father, the Great Yashwa, felt as one of his children had chosen the unimaginable.

  But Kyla needed Bella now. Bella appeared instantly and Kyla marveled at her sister’s size. Barely discernible by the Human eye, Kyla realized she could have mistaken her for an insect, if there had been any other flying about.

  I’m here, Kyla. Kyla realized she would never hear her sister’s voice with her Human ears, which saddened her unexpectedly.

  I need your help. I need you to harvest Tamaryn early.

  Kyla could see Bella buzzing about, up and down, as she did when her sister was greatly agitated. She’d done the same thing the last time Kyla was Bella’s size and had seen her. Kyla imagined she could see her colors changing, but she knew she could not. Her heart fell as she realized she could barely see her favorite sister at all.

  Please, Bella. I know you are angry with me. Please do this. I need this to happen in order to save the People now, in order to save the Governor.

  Bella flew close to Kyla’s face and floated several inches from Kyla’s right eye. Kyla squinted, trying to make out the tiny details of her sister’s arms and legs, but could barely see her wings. Bella had stopped flying up and down but clearly remained frustrated.

  Kyla, please do not ask me to do this. If the Great Yashwa finds out what I have done to help you, I do not know what he will do. He is so forlorn we thought his light would go out. But now his anger with you is beyond great, and he has forbidden any of the Yashwa to even mention your name or have any contact with you. If he were to find out I was here, he might banish me. Please do not ask me to harvest early for you.