The Dark Path

by James M. Bowers

  "Actually, I find it all interesting. I'm glad you feel you can talk to me. I'm so used to people either trying to kill me or running in fear from me.” He laughed. “Its refreshing to just have normal conversation for once. I'll do the dishes for you if you'll keep talking. I could use the manual labor and the company."

  "That sounds like a great idea. Let me just get this last sheet in the oven and I'll help." She went back to putting the dough on the sheet, placed it into the large brick oven, and slid shut the steel edged clay door. "Those will take a while to cook. The sink is over here." She motioned and walked back toward the front of the kitchen. She turned a corner and walked back over to the sink that had dishes stacked upon the floor to near waist height. Gen gave the dishes a wide eyed look. There were so many. She caught his look and laughed. "There always seems to be more dirty ones than I can keep up with. Alisha is too small to help with them much but she does what she can." She reached down and picked up a couple of buckets and handed them to Gen. "Will you go fill these up with water? I'll start sorting the dishes while you go." Gen took the buckets and walked out the back of the kitchen through the dim morning light and to the pump. He filled up the buckets and was halfway back when he remembered the crow temple he had attended, it seemed a life time ago, and the water pipes they had in each room. He should try to make such a setup for Mina in the kitchen. It would save a lot of work and maybe keep the dishes cleaner. He was thinking about how to go about hooking up that kind of pipework when he got back to the kitchen. Mina walked over and took one of the buckets from him and poured it into the sink. "Set the other one over there." She pointed to the floor on her right.

  "Let me do them, Mina," Gen said as he walked back over to the sink. "As I said, I think the work will do me some good."

  "If you must." She shook her head. "I'll go get a chair and peel some potatoes while you do the dishes. That way we can chat some more." She laughed. "Don't run off!" Gen shook his head as she walked back to get a chair. He pulled his arms out of the sleeves of his robes and tied the top half down around his waist so the big sleeves wouldn't get in the way. He began washing the first dish when he heard a sound of something break behind him. He turned quickly to see Mina standing there, a broken bowl that had once held potatoes on the floor in front of her, still holding a chair in her left hand. Her eyes were wide and her mouth was open a bit. Then suddenly, she ran to him and looked at him with concern across her face.

  "What is it? What?" he asked at her odd behavior.

  "What happened to you?" She started to reach up to his chest then stopped and brought her hand back down. Gen reigned in a groan. How could he have forgotten about his scars? He shook his head a bit.

  "It's been a rough life," he shrugged and walked over to fix the broken bowl.

  "Are those lash marks on your back?" she asked. He felt her warm fingers upon his back as they traced along one of the bigger scars. He found that he liked the feeling of her touch. That bothered him more than a bit.

  "Yes," he said. He chanted a single word of magic and the bowl pulled itself back together. He put the potatoes back into it and placed it upon the chair she had brought, then walked back over to the sink. He didn't look at Mina, just went back to cleaning the first dish.

  "I thought I had it rough when Harold used to beat me black and blue." She shook her head. "What happened to you?" she asked again.

  "The whip marks?" he asked.

  "No. Everything. What made you have to go through all of whatever caused those?" She pointed to his scars.

  "The whip marks are from Eremian soldiers. I was captured and enslaved shortly after I landed in Artoria." He was silent after that and placed the clean dish on the counter to his right, then began to scrub the second.

  "Those aren't all from a whip, and you didn't answer my question," Mina stated. She had sat down and was peeling the potatoes but her eyes remained on Gen's scar crossed back.

  "Love...I've been through all this for love," he stated. Tears welled up in his eyes a bit. Why did he say that? He hadn't meant to say that.

  "She must be a goddess to be worth going through that," Mina said with a bitter tone.

  "Would you like to see her?" he asked. What was he doing? This all seemed wrong.

  "Do you have a painting?" she asked.

  "Something like that." He grinned a bit. He finished cleaning the other dish and put it on the pile then he turned around and faced her. He moved his hands quickly through the air in a series of movements that seemed random but precisely controlled. His deep baritone softly began to sing the enchantment. The light in the kitchen from the many candles seemed to dim and flow into the room between them. Slowly, a form began to grow out of the light. The shape finally pulled together and a translucent image of Meeka stood between Gen and Mina, facing Mina. He walked around to look at his work and see how well it had come out. He hadn't done this spell in a long time, since it had grown too painful. The image was animated. Meeka wore a smile of pure joy and warmth. She wore robes of deep green and a slight breeze seemed to blow her long red-brown hair back. The deep green of her eyes flashed when she blinked.

  "She's beautiful. Where is she?" Mina asked. Gen opened his mouth to speak but the image of Meeka beat him to it. He stared at it in stunned disbelief.

  "I'm dead, or not dead. It's hard to say exactly. My soul is with my body no longer, and though my body is not dead or gone, I cannot join back with it by my power alone."

  "How can you talk?" Mina asked. Gen was still too stunned to say anything. How was his illusion speaking?

  "I cheated a bit." She giggled. "I used Gen's illusion to make contact. It's so very close to being a perfect image that I was able to do so. Thank you, Love." She blew a kiss to Gen.

  "Aaron has your body. I've been told." Gen's voice was cold with anger.

  "Yes he does. I shudder at the things that he is probably doing to it." The illusion did shudder a bit. "I can tell you that it lies near the tower of Invictus upon this isle."

  "I miss you," he said softly.

  "I know, Love. I miss you as well, but we'll be together again. Just don't give up." She turned and looked over her left shoulder. "He's found me! I must go. I love you!" With that word still floating in the air, the illusion ended and the faint smell of burned hematite wafted through the air.

  "Wait!" The word came out after she had vanished. He moaned and fell to his knees on the hard tile floor of the kitchen. Great sobs wracked through his body and tears ran down his cheeks. He felt a hand upon his shoulder and he looked up to see Mina through his eyes flowing with tears. She knelt beside him and hugged him to her. He held onto her and cried and cried into her shoulder, releasing years of pain. A long time later, he began to sob less and regain control of himself. He realized that Mina was still there holding him. He pulled away from her, embarrassed. He wiped his face clean of his tears. Then he walked over to the bucket of water and splashed some of it onto his face.

  "I'm sorry," he said.

  "Don't be." She walked back into the main part of the kitchen and he heard her open the oven and begin to take the bread out.

  A sudden scream came from the area of the ovens, and Gen picked himself up and ran to see what had happened. When he got there, Mina lay twitching in a growing puddle of blood that spurted from a large wound across her neck. He looked up and saw a being made of shadow flow out of the oven and toward him. Gen threw a blue bolt of energy that pierced a hole through the shadow but it kept coming after him. He threw up a shield at the last second but felt a sharp pain rip into his chest. He looked down to see the hilt of a gladius protruding from the wound. He screamed in pain as the blackness overtook him.

  Gen sat up in bed screaming, covered in sweat. He stopped screaming and grabbed at his chest which was whole. Had it been just a dream? He swung his legs over the side of the bed and without putting his robes on, rushed out of the small dorm room and ran to the main hall. He burst through the kitchen door a moment later and a crash s
ounded from a bowl hitting the stones of the floor. Mina looked startled and blushed as she looked at Gen. Gen stood there, confused, wearing only a tattered pair of thin cotton pants.

  "Mina, are you alright?" Gen asked, his face still a mask of confusion and worry.

  "I'm fine, Sir. How do you know my name? Have we met before?" Mina asked, a look of confusion creeping upon her face to combine with her blush.

  "No...A dream..." Gen muttered. He sat down on the stone floor and turned to his senses. Inside, his energies were not much different. He felt drained, but he knew that he would be. The energy bands coming off three of the four rings he wore were the same as well. The ring that kept him from needing food or water was just a dead ring on his finger and his stomach growled as he noticed its failure. He sent his senses outward toward the ovens that the creature had come from in the dream. Had it been just a dream, or a vision? The ovens felt fine. No sense of darkness or of evil. He lastly turned his senses to Mina. A strong yellow glow pulsed at her center but black bands lined across her body like a web or a net. Gen took a deep breath and studied the pattern of the web. After a few more deep breaths, he reached out and cut one line of the web with a small, sharp bit of blue energy from himself. The web unraveled instantly and he felt Mina sit down heavily upon the floor. He opened his eyes and looked at her.

  "Why am I in the kitchen?" Mina mumbled aloud in a confused tone. Her eyes seemed unfocused and she swayed a bit. Gen looked around and finally spotted Alisha.

  "Go and get a mug of that cranberry juice and some bread," he ordered the small girl. She looked frightened but went to do as he said. When she returned, he handed the bread and the mug to Mina and helped her to drink some. Eventually, her eyes focused and she yelped and pushed herself back away from him and placed her back against the leg of a table. The mug fell and cracked, spilling red juice everywhere.

  "Who are you? Why are you in my kitchen?" Mina asked. Gen started to stand but Mina reached up to the table, and grabbed a knife. She held it before her. "Don't get any closer!" She threatened.

  "My name is Gen Hothman. I was a student here, and you were being controlled. I just broke that spell. You should feel better after a while and the memory loss will go away in a day or two." Gen sat back down on the floor. He turned to his senses again and studied Mina. She glowed yellow still but stronger now with a small outer line of red from her fear and anger. He sent his mind out and found the healer in her small building tending to Thomas. Mentally, he sent her a message to please come to the kitchen. His thoughts returned to find that Mina was now standing with Alisha hiding behind her. She still held the large knife before her. Gen sighed but made no move to get up.

  "I haven't seen you here before, you aren't wearing any robes. Why should I believe you?" She eyed him warily.

  "I have no reason to wish you or your daughter harm. I had a dream, or a vision, in which I met you. Something bad happened and I rushed here without putting my robes on. Though I imagine you would trust me less if I wore them now." He smirked a bit. "The healer should be on her way here. I'll sit here until she arrives, and I'll even let you keep that knife. It seems to make you feel better." Gen sighed again. Why was it every time he tried to help out people they ended up either hating him or fearing him?

  "That's right. You will sit right there." She turned to her daughter. "Go fetch one of the teachers. I can't let this man out of my sight." Alisha seemed to do nothing but cling to her mother's leg but finally she let go and ran out the back.

  Gen sighed once more but made no motion to move. Instead, he closed his eyes and wove a small protection spell around himself. Just in case she tried to attack him for some reason. He sat with his eyes closed till he heard the kitchen door open and felt the healer enter. He looked up at the healer.

  "What's going on in here?" she asked. "Mina! Put that knife down before you cut yourself with it!" Her tone carried command and Mina put the knife down, though she placed it within easy reach.

  "I had a dream that Mina, here, was hurt. When I arrived, I found that she had a spell of control upon her. I removed the spell but then she seemed to think I was here to hurt her or her daughter," Gen explained.

  "Is that what happened?" The healer turned to Mina.

  "I...I don't know." Her hand went to her head. "I remember this man running in here, half dressed and then I remember waking up with him sitting on the floor there, and Alisha looked scared." She shook her head.

  "What type of a control spell was it?" The healer turned back to Gen.

  "Some sort I have not seen before. It was a very complex web of black. It took me a long time to find the pattern to remove it without killing her." Gen shook his head. "I don't think there is anything left of it now. I asked you to come just to make sure."

  "Sit down Mina." The healer motioned to a chair.

  "What are you going to do to me?" Mina asked as she slowly moved away from the table toward the chair. Her eyes darted back to the knife several times.

  "Look, if I meant you any harm that knife would be useless," Gen stated in frustration. He felt a wave of tiredness and his nerves seemed raw. "Here see?" Gen held up his hand and instantly a small ball of lightning appeared in it. Mina gasped and her eyes locked onto the small ball of death. Gen closed his hand over it and it vanished. Her eyes met his though the look of mistrust had now turned to one of pure fear. Gen sighed. "Please just check her out. I'm tired, sore, and hungry as well." He pulled the now useless ring off his finger and tossed it upon the table.

  "Just calm down, Mina. I won't take long." Gen felt the healer extend her senses across Mina and waited. After a few moments, the healer opened her eyes. "It seems you got rid of it all. I can still see where it had been in a few places. Never really seen something like that before. It's a wonder you didn't kill her by removing it." The healer looked at Gen. "You aren't a healer?"

  "No."

  "I didn't think so. Not with those robes you wear, but after seeing this. I wondered."

  "May I leave now?"

  "Mina looked down at the floor."

  "Yes. Go and get some clothes on!" The healer motioned as if shooing a cat.

  "Thank you, Great Healer." He stood up. "Mina, I look forward to the noodles." With that said, he walked out. Though he felt Mina look up at his back when he left and heard her slight gasp. As the door closed, he heard the healer talking to Mina in a low tone.

  "Best get on that one's good side. Never seen robes so black...and a healer too..."

  "Gen smiled a bit as he walked back to his room to put his robes on. He hoped breakfast came soon. His stomach was killing him.

  Gen waited until the sun had risen before leaving his room for the meal hall. The room held about twenty students when he arrived. He looked around and spotted Beth sitting alone at the table furthest from the fire. He walked over and sat across from her.

  “Morning.”

  “Morning.” Beth smiled crookedly. Her eye was still swollen shut but her skin held a healthy pallor.

  “I didn't expect to see you out of bed so soon. How are you feeling?”

  “The healer is good. I feel horrible. What about you? You look like death warmed over.” Her grin turned to a crooked smirk.

  “I think my stomach is stuck to my spine.” Gen laughed a bit. “When is the food served around here?”

  “Any time now. Master Thomas was looking better when I left the healer's. He should be walking in a few days.”

  “He tells me that you are failing his class.”

  “Yeah. Plants seem to hate me.”

  “Oh?”

  “Every time I touch one it grows brown and if I hold it long enough, it dies.” She shrugged.

  “Interesting.” Gen reached out with his senses and truly looked at the girl for the first time. Her inner core of aura pulsed with interwoven black and deep red. Gen had never seen an aura pattern of that sort before.

  “Are you done violating me yet?” she asked dryly.

  “Sorry.
I've never seen an aura pattern like yours before. Any ideas as to why it's like that?” Gen retracted his senses. How had she felt him? This young girl kept getting more and more interesting.

  “I'm not sure. I don't think I'm fully human. I don't know why I feel that way, but something inside just doesn't feel like everyone else.” She shrugged again.

  “Hmm. Do you know anything about your father?”

  “Just that the asshole left when I was an infant. Then mother dumped me off here.” She looked around Gen. “Food's here.”

  “Thank the Gods!” Gen looked back over his shoulder to see Mina carrying a large bowl over to the first table. She made several trips back into the kitchen and finally arrived at their table with a bowl. “Smells great,” Gen said to her as she set the bowl down. Mina averted her eyes and nodded a bit as she rushed off back into the kitchen. Alisha rushed from the kitchen to the tables handing out bowls and spoons. Mina came back out with baskets of the fresh baked bread.

  “You got a thing for her or something?” Beth asked, catching Gen off guard. He had been watching Mina the whole time.

  “No. Just a dream I had last night.”

  “So it was you that woke me up with your screaming.”

  “I'm afraid it was. Sorry about that.” Gen blushed a little bit.

  “You would think a mage wearing master's robes would have more control over himself than that.” Beth's direct words seemed to cut through Gen like a knife.

  “Any particular reason that you're ripping into me this morning?” Gen asked his voice cold.

  “Sorry. Bad habits die hard.” She looked down at the bowl of steaming noodles before her.

  “Thomas told me that you keep yourself away from all the other students.”