Burial of hearts the black widow's malice

by Parnham, N

  “Avis”. Jonule screamed.

  My expression not changing, he stopped before embracing me in his arms.

  “Are you ok?”.

  “I will be, I hope”.

  “We have been worried about you; we did not know where you had gone. Someone had heard your screams during the night and had gone to inspect; but by the time they had arrived you were running away, being chased by Drailas”.

  “So that was his name, was it?”.

  “Yes, after what he did to you, we forced him to leave Yilesul; his only excuse was the fact he had lost coin on gambling, such a petty reason”.

  “So are you sure you are ok?”. Jonule said with a look of concern upon his face.

  “I have just been through a lot, I just need to get some rest”.

  “We can have Bibi removed from your dwelling if you wish, so you can have a peaceful sleep?”.

  “No, but thank you; I think I just want to go back home”.

  I left Yilesul after first collecting the items I had left behind and made my way back to Malkaretz; it was a long journey, but my mind was absent from what I was doing; it was locked in the sorrow that I had just faced.

  Back home, the town was busier than usually I would expect; I did not care to think why, I just walked through the streets in a daze, ignoring the librarium assistant as he tried speaking to me in his usual manner.

  “Avis, you are back, how did it all go?”. Doris said as I walked into the inn.

  She was stood, holding onto a bunch of flowers; her eyes lighting up upon seeing me. I ran, deep within her arms; she was the one person I could trust. I wept as she wrapped herself around me, cradling me from pain.

  “What is wrong darling?”.

  “I… saw… I did… ”.

  I ran off crying to my room, not able to release my words. Leaving my items upon the floor, I flung myself onto my bed, almost breaking it as I did; Snitzel decided to greet me; jumping up next to me, rubbing her face upon mine; I stroked her with the little strength I had left and then she laid down, purring gently.

  My mind ruthless; it led me on a fast forwarded ride through everything that had just happened to me; the deaths, the pain, especially the happiness I had felt in Alexander’s arms, only to be torn away yet again. My eyes began to ache. I wiped them, silencing my mind and my heart; slipping into a dream world where maybe all the agony would just disappear.

  The hail sailed throughout the sky, rupturing the skulls of the men and women who stood unsheltered. I looked around, there was an ocean affront of me, the tides were riding high, led by ferocious winds, ripping off boats that sat tied to the dock. I walked upon the shore of the island, feeling the sand rise between my feet, as the water slid over, cold as ice, it struck.

  There was a bay close by; I could hear the screams of people as they ran for their lives. Turning, there were shadowy figures upon an embankment; they seemed to be preaching to the water’s edge; among them a large man stood, his face covered in a silver mask; he turned towards me, his eyes golden yellow; he reached out. From the water, shot a creature; riding upon the waves, it devastated all that lay about it, causing even the mountainside to crumble. It roared, deafening me; I leant over and tried to rid of the atrocious noises that repeated in my ears. Looking back up, he was before me; his hand outreached, ferociously he had sought-after me; now within his grasp, I let a smile cross my face, accepting his challenge upon the tides of the abyss.