Designed by Freepik
I sat under the big tree in our yard, reading one of the books I had borrowed from the library. I had to return it when my mother and I went back that day, so I was speeding my way through the last few chapters. It also helped to distract me from the yelling coming from inside the house.
My parents had been fighting all morning. I heard my name several times which usually meant my mother was trying to defy my father's will. Sometimes I wished I could be the warrior my father wanted me to be. It wouldn't be for my father's sake but my mother's so she didn't have to endure the maltreatment from defending me.
"Fine! Just take the boy!"
"The boy has a name!"
"Serin!"
I jumped to my feet when my father called my name. I ran inside, abandoning my books near the tree. I tried to hide my fear as I approached them. My father's cold eyes bore into me like daggers of ice. "Y-yes, Sir?"
"What would you rather do, train with me or go to the library? And don't lie to me. I will know."
I hesitated, glancing at my mother but finding no guidance in her eyes.
"Well?"
My gaze returned to my father as I considered my options as quickly as I could. "You want me to be honest, Sir?"
"That was the point, yes."
I gulped nervously. "Honestly, I want to go to the library. My ribs still ache from our training the other day." That wasn't quite true, but I hoped the excuse would be enough for him.
He narrowed his eyes at me before turning away. "Fine. Go." He stalked out of the front room.
My mother and I both let out our held breaths. She smiled at me. "That was very brave."
I shrugged, my eyes still glued to the doorway my father had left through. "He wanted the truth."
She knelt down and kissed my forehead. "Being honest in the face of adversity is brave, Serin. Are your books still outside?"
We quickly made our way to the library, my mother holding my hand tightly until we were safely in the fortress of knowledge.
Nerif's welcoming smile turned to a concerned frown when he saw how upset my mother was. "Is everything alright, Maria?"
She gave him her best smile as she shooed me toward the book return area. "We can talk about it in a minute. Go return your book and find a new one, honey. I'll let you know when it's time to go."
I left the adult Angels to their conversation, finding a new book in no time and going to my reading corner. I was both surprised and happy to see Lyza already sitting there.
She looked over her book at me and smiled in that way that made my face feel warm. "Hey there, Ser. I was worried you wouldn't make it."
fI sat next to her, my book left unopened on my lap. "I almost didn't make it. My parents were fighting again. My father wanted me to do more physical training today."
"And you stood up to him? I'm impressed."
"It wasn't that impressive. All I did was tell him the truth."
"Yeah, but you stood up to a commander for what you wanted. I don't think I would have been that brave."
I blushed at the compliment and hid my face behind my book despite knowing she had seen my face redden. She laughed in her musical way that always made me shiver a little. We sat in comfortable silence as we both read our books.
"Go back home, Harmen."
My attention was pulled to the counter, surprised to see my father towering over my mother and Nerif. I tried to make myself as small as possible even though my father's full attention was directed at those in front of him.
"I just need to talk to you, Maria."
Nerif stood but was still remarkably shorter than my father. "She said you should leave."
My father glared coldly at the librarian. "Stay out of this. You've disturbed the order of my family enough."
Nerif was not deterred by my father's scowl, about to give a retort until my mother put a hand on his shoulder.
"It's okay, Nerif."
Nerif sat sat down again but kept his glare on my father.
I panicked when my father began leading my mother to my corner. "No, no, no."
Lyza took my hand, pulling my focus to her. "Hey, it's okay. I know a place we can hide until he's gone." She pulled me up and toward a set of shelves I had never ventured to examine. It was filled with books on dangerously dark magic. She glanced around conspiratorially when we reached a shelf against the back wall. She put her finger to her lips as she pulled a black leather bound book. The bookcase swung open to reveal a hidden passage.
I followed her inside and we were plunged into darkness as she closed the secret entrance. "I didn't know this existed." My eyes quickly adapted to the lack of light and I could see we were in a long brick tunnel.
"Almost no one does, I think. I found it on accident the other day. I didn't explore much because I wanted to share that experience with you." She took my hand and led me into the unlit passage.
"Why? What if something dangerous is down here? I don't think I'll be very helpful if we get in a fight."
She laughed with a shake of her head. "Your father has you paranoid, Ser. What kind of physical danger could we really be in under the library?"
Though I could only barely see, it seemed like Lyza knew where she was going. We passed a couple staircases that all led into an inky abyss. She pulled me down one of them and my eyes were unable to adjust any further.
"Where are we going? I can't see anything down here."
"Don't worry, I can see just fine. It's amazing to have the gift of dark vision. I won't let you get hurt, Ser. You know you can trust me."
We stopped at the base of the stairs and Lyza rummaged in her pocket. "I know that key is here somewhere." I heard her slide a key into a lock and the passage was illuminated by the dim lights in the now unlocked room we stood in front of. "Come on. This is where they keep all the stuff they don't want us to see."
I followed her into the room, my eyes going wide when I saw the dusty cases full of magical objects and shelves of ancient looking books. "I don't think we should be here, Lyza…"
She went over to one of the cases and wiped some of the dust off to better see its contents. "Everything is fine, Ser. Live a little. It isn't like I'm going to take anything out of here. Besides, aren't you curious what hidden knowledge those books hold?"
I glanced at the shelves, unable to deny the pull I felt to examine them. "I guess it can't hurt…" I went to the first shelf and ran my fingers along the spine of each book. "None of them have titles on the spine." I stopped when I reached one that had several almost completely faded symbols on it. "Except this one."
"You should give that one a look. I can almost feel your curiosity from here."
I touched the faded symbols, a static tingle going up my arm.
What harm could it do?
I plucked the book from the shelf, wiping the layer of grime from it. The same unreadable symbols were on the cover. I traced each one with my finger, my breathing speeding up from anticipation. I slowly opened the cover and flipped through the first several pages.
"Ow!" I looked down at my hand to examine the paper cut running down the length of my finger. I tried to stop the bleeding, but wasn't fast enough to prevent spilling my blood on the ancient pages.
"You okay?"
I looked over at my concerned friend and held up my hand. "Just a paper cut."
She gave me a confused look. "I don't see a cut."
I reexamined my hand, perplexed at the injury's disappearance. I looked down at the book only to discover there was no blood on the pages.
"I...guess I imagined it…"
I continued flipping through the pages, this time being more careful of the edges. Realization dawned on me when I finally recognized the symbols.
"This is from the First Era...These are mystical writings. A spell book, I think."
Lyza moved to stand behind me. "Just looks confusing to me. Can you read any of it?"
I traced the symbols on the page I had open. "Maybe. This language has been long dead, lost when the Bloodlines were hunted down. At least, that's what I was told. I only recognize them because I saw Nerif sketching some in his notebook. He briefly explained how to unlock their meaning."
"Well? What does it say then?"
"Give me a minute." I concentrated on the writing, trying to piece together the text from my limited knowledge.
"Time is a cycle.
Fate repeats eternally.
The spark of Creation lights the path.
Wanderers beware the Darkness.
A path taken cannot be returned from.
Bound with blood.
The journey begins."
I felt a surge of power race through me and dropped the book.
"You okay?"
I stared at the open book on the floor, Lyza's words feeling far away. "Yeah...I'm okay."
She frowned and moved toward the door. "We should go, Ser. Your father has probably left by now."
While her back was toward me, I grabbed the book and shoved it into my bag before following her. She took my hand and led me back into the pitch black stairway. We walked in silence as we made our way back to the library.
"Do you smell that?"
"Do I smell what, Ser?"
"It smells like sulfur."
As we got to the slightly more lit portion of the tunnels, we saw smoke billowing up from several of the other stairwells. The acrid smell filled my lungs, making me cough uncontrollably. I tried to block the smell out by pulling my tunic over my nose, but it only helped so much.
"We need to get out of here!"
We both ran as fast as we could toward the secret doorway, horrified to find it engulfed in flames. Lyza grabbed my hand again and pulled me down a side hall. "I know another way out!"
Despite our rapid pace, the smoke wasn't far behind us. I was relieved when another door came into sight. Lyza shoved at the door, but it wouldn't budge.
"Something is blocking it…"
Horror filled me as the smoke caught up with us, making breathing all but impossible. We huddled together in the corner and neither of us hid our terrified tears.
The door suddenly burst open, wood shrapnel flying past us. My mother ran in, scooping me up and pulling Lyza to her feet. She wordlessly ran through the burning library, making a beeline for the only exit not engulfed in flames. As we almost reached salvation, beams collapsed on us and the world went dark.
"Maria! Maria, wake up!"
I startled into consciousness when I heard my father's panicked shouts. I tried to sit up, but my body wouldn't respond. All I could do was let my head roll to the side his muffled voice had come from. He was kneeling over my mother's broken and bloody body. His clothes, hair, and feathers were burned, tears and blood streaming down his face. I had never seen my father cry before.
A healer approached my father cautiously. "Harmen, she's gone. We need to get you and the kids help. Please."
My father stood, somehow seeming smaller than usual. His attention moved to me when I attempted to get up again. "Don't try moving, Serin. I won't lose you too…"
I don't remember the trip to the hospital I woke up in. My entire body ached and it hurt to breathe. To my left was Lyza, unconscious and hooked up to just as many machines as I was. To my right was my father who was staring up at the ceiling with a blank expression.
"F-father?"
He slowly turned his face in my direction. "Go back to sleep, Serin. You and I have much work to do when we are healed."
It was my turn to stare at the ceiling, haunted by the fact that my defender was gone forever.