Haze of Dusk (A trilogy) Page 25

  He strolls down a path, and comes across fighters who try saving me, but this arclaw is unstoppable, and kills with no morals. He saunters down a long path that takes us to an unusual out of place-lake. He throws me inside the lake with many dead floating bodies. I dip in, and briskly swim up to face him. I’m panicking over the blood and the bodies, but it’s his interest towards me that worries me the most. He gravely stares at me. I'm awfully confused. What is he doing to me? Am I dinner? Oh lord, I hope not. A cracking noise draws my eyes away from him. I look all ways. The top layer of the lake turns into ice, gradually closing in on me.

  "See if you like it,” I hear him say over gibberish. Huh, did I just hear him talk? I inhale for air and plunge inside the filthy water before the ice closes on my head. The moment I peep up, I'm struck by fright. I'm stuck. I can’t believe it. The arclaw used my same technique to exterminate me, how intelligent. And what I heard… was it real, or did I hit my head so hard I’m now hearing things. I take out my dagger from my boot, and constantly hit the crust, but it's thick, unbreakable. I strike as many times, praying for a good outcome, until the coldness numbs me, and I'm losing my breath—I can't go on. I drop the dagger, and press both my hands on my mouth. I have to let go. I don’t want to die, but I can’t hold my breath anymore. I shut my eyes… Jorsay, I love you.

  The sound of a crack plucks me from fainting. A part of the ice collapsed, and there is a small opening. I vigorously swim to the gap and tug my head out. I breathe in extendedly, panting.

  “I made it. I made it…” I gulp. I rest on the top layer, exhausted.

  “Grrr!” I’m intimidated by the grumbling behind me. I leisurely turn my head to find the one responsible for breaking the ice. The claws of a female arclaw saved me, and although I should be thankful, I'm petrified by this encounter. She's not happy to see me, more like ready to kill me. I want to pull myself out of the water, but I’m drained, weak by the force I lost. She growls loudly, her wings extending. If I’m not in this uncomfortable situation, I would admit what a beautiful sight, and what a breath-taking arclaw. Her yellow eyes fiercely stare at me. Her red-brown wild hair falls on her face, her skin golden. She is slim but is fairly tone. She looks at me inhuman, grinding her teeth. There is anger in her, but also I see grief as tears run down her eyes. She seems destroyed by life. On her hands, there's a toddler arclaw, bleeding to death. I gasp. I see her pain, her hurting touches me.

  “You!” I hear a voice over her loud growl. I scowl. I’m confused by what I hear. I shake my head in dismay. Did she just talk to me? Or am I seriously mental, could it be because of the blows I’m now hearing things? “You humans killed my baby!!” With another shriek I hear a voice. I stay petrified, not by the arclaw, but by the clear comprehension.

  -25-

  Ally

  I’m staggered by the unique comprehension of her growls. Is it possible to hear or understand them? What’s going on with me? Can it be that I really share a connection with them. She puts down her child, and walks towards me with the intentions of ripping my heart out. She whirs, her mouth moving, speaking gibberish that I strangely comprehend. “You brought us here, and then kill us. Who understands you humans? All we want is to go home, but you kill us instead. Send us home, you monsters!” she shrieks, lifting her hand to strike me.

  “Wait!” I beg. She wrinkles her face, as if she too can comprehend me. “You understand me, don’t you? I understand you too. Why do I understand you?” I say breathless. She rapidly shakes her head. “Ah-ah-uh…” she whirs unnerve.

  “It is odd isn’t.” I gulp noisily, “I know it is. B-but let me help you,” she sneers, repulse by me. She growls. Her rage startles me. She walks closer. Her anger says she isn’t going to collaborate. I glance at her child whose body wiggles, meaning there is life in her. “I-I can save your child. I can heal her. Let me…let me show you I’m not here to hurt you. I can help…” I say as she stands a foot away from me. She tilts her head, grinding her teeth like a ferocious lion. “Let me save her. I can save her,” I persevere. She moans repeatedly, breathing heavily. She clasps my arm, pulls me out of the water, and drags me to her daughter.

  “Do it human, do that thing that heals your kind,” she desperately speaks. I crawl to her child, and look at her wound. A sword slashed her chest. My eyes water, I'm agonized by the child’s pain. Who can possibly hurt her? She’s a baby.

  I press my hands on her bloody injury. Healing the deep cut will give too much of my energy, perhaps my life. There’s really no way out. I’m not strong enough to fight her, and if her daughter dies, I too will meet death. I lightly let out air, transferring the bit of energy of mine to the child. Her injury gradually begins to close, but the more I boost out my energy, the more my life sucks dry by a force that seizes my breath, and decreases my heartbeat. “Mummy,” I hear the child say. My surrounding loops. Something blocks my throat and nostrils from inhaling air. It tightens my chest. I wheeze…I can’t fight it. My sight blanks, soon, I lose life.

  I can’t feel my arms or legs. I’m numb by a desensitizing force. I read about this before, it’s warned to all magical beings. The consequences of overusing magic: when magic energy is overused, it will kill what creates it, one’s life. This is part of nature’s law, and this law goes to all magical beings. Khysso said it in his class. He insisted for us to go back to shelter if magic is overused. The headmistress too, but I failed again. I strain my eyes open, and gulp nothing. My mouth is dry. I’m dehydrating. I don’t understand why I am still alive. I’m sitting on the ground. My back is against a rocky top. My area is full with large mount rocks. The ground is dry as a bone. My surrounding is lifeless yet there is an unusual round lake nearby. It’s that same filthy lake the big arclaw threw me in. The heat waves of the setting suns quickly melted the ice.

  I moan repeatedly. My throat is crude, drain from liquid. The uncertainty and emptiness within me says I need to fight more to sustain life. I attempt to wiggle my feet and hands but there’s no sensation. I sob; afraid of losing myself. I heard stories of people who never walked, talked, due to magic failure. What if I can never move again? Oh goodness, I rather die in war that live the rest of my life in the hollow.

  The arclaw woman sits by the lake with her child on her lap. They watch sunrise like a normal loving family. “Water…” I say breathless, drawing the mother’s attention. She hurries to me, and whirs as she meets with me. “Water, I need water…” I beg faintly, expecting for her to leave me dead, that way she can devour me. She leaves me; uplifting my expectations. But I’m wrong. She takes a handful of water from the lake and brings it back to me. I stare dumbfounded by her kindness. She pushes her hands to me. Although the water is mucky, and I know of the dead bodies, thirst prevails and I drink from her hands.

  “Thank you,” I’m released from dryness. She gazes at me with tranquil eyes.

  “No, you healed my child. Thank you.” The gibberish that comes out of her mouth, I can easily capture, “I pay you, here, I will protect you,” I strain a smile. I’m relief to know she has no intention of eating me. I sluggishly stare all ways. I must’ve slept plenty for the war is calm and many arclaws fly above us, regaining their lost energies. Like Khysso said, humans don’t attack until sundown, when the arclaws are weaker. “I can’t stay here. I have to go back!” her kind expression changes.

  “And kill more of our kind. You humans keep us here to kill us, for your own pleasure. Send us home!” she screams. I shake my head in dismay.

  “Us humans, I don’t get it, what do you mean home? I thought it was the arclaws who invaded us,” I speak my knowledge.

  “Nooo!” she howls, and hurries to me in exasperation, “it is you humans who took our god and open portal. You bring us here. You humans want us here, and we want home! We want home! Send us home!” she screams at me as if I’m responsible for her pain. She yanks away from me in despair. “We were happy home. No pain home, only happiness. But you take our god…and you bring us here.” She u
tters sadly. I shake my head confuse. By her god does she mean the sun? Oh-goodness, of course, the second sun, it came exactly with their arrival, almost two hundred years. Could it be Papa’s theory was right? A wizard called upon them, but why? Why take them from their homes and then bring destruction? It must’ve been an accident. The haze of dusk, the arrival of the arclaws, and the dryness of our world, it was all a foolish accident, I'm sure of it.

  “I’m so-sorry. But I’m sure all this is a misunderstanding. We are fighting for no reason.” I chuckle, amaze by the truth.

  “I do not know why you fight, but we fight to go home to Ecksoll,”

  “Is that…the name of your planet?” She rapidly nods. “I’m sorry this has happened. All this time you fight for home, and we fight to stop you from, eating us,” she sneers, almost in disgust. “Eat! We not eat humans, humans no good. We fight to go home. But you humans fight for bloodshed. We fight you…but no eat you. Home we have food. Home we happy,” I groan, but the leaders say…

  “Then, you will go home. Once I return, and I tell everyone you fight because you want to return, then I’m sure the leaders will stop this war.” I say impatiently. She stares, with a bit of anticipation. “Do you know how to go back home? Do you know how to stop the haze from bringing more arclaws from Ecksoll?”

  “We do not know. We pray but nothing. It is the rhombus that takes over our world in a haze, pulling us by force and brings us here. We do not know how to go back. I think rhombus can take us back. My brothers and sisters miss home. We cry to go home. All we want is home,” my eyes water to her sad tone. It’s obvious what she wants. My body hurts bringing me an agonizing sting. The emotions my mind is portraying doesn’t assist my weakness but worsens it. I wheeze, again I have trouble breathing and swallowing. “You’re not well,” she grumbles. I try shaking my head.

  “I give you food then,” she walks away, and dips into the water. I close my eyes for my head twirls uncontrollably. As my head goes in circle, he comes to my mind. I fear not seeing him ever again. I want to strive mainly to meet with Khysso once more. Yet, it will be a difficult task, for I need a lot more than water and food to survive. I need antidotes. I need rest…if I stay…I will die. Although… in this condition, there is no way out. “Here!” she shoves a wiggling fish in my face, I’m breathing strongly.

  “I don’t, I can’t eat it alive…or raw…” disgusting really. She strangely looks at me, her head tilting both ways. “Humans, so strange…” she narrows her eyes, heating up the fish with her mind abilities. I can feel the heat. What begins to smell tasty suddenly smells like burn. She hands me the burnt fish.

  “Eat!” I force a smile. I have no choice but to eat the fish from her hands. I scowl, as with every bite the bitter taste makes me gag. But I have to eat, at least to stay alive, and perhaps regain the ability to move my legs and arms. That's if it is not severe. I eat timidly. It feels strange to have someone feed me, and to make matters worse, she carefully watches all of my bites. “What is your name?” I ask. I'm trying to avoid the oddity. “Adelena,” she whispers, her reptile eyes on mine. I look at the child who hides behind her. “And you…”

  “Adenena,” Adelena says. I partly smile; I’m stung by how their beautiful names go perfectly with their beautiful faces.

  “What is your name, human?” She asks,

  “Judy…ala,” I murmur more fatigue than ever. My eyes slowly shutting down.

  A tingling in my hands wakes me up from my heavy nap. I fight with my eyes in order to boost them open. Holding my hands, and rubbing it on her face is little Adenena, who shakes uncontrollably. She looks frightened, staring all ways. I gasp, and wiggle my fingers. “I can feel again…my hands…” I say relief. I try moving my feet, but that’s pointless. I'm starting to believe this is severe. The cute arclaw stares at me with large watery eyes. I exhale noisily, “oh-my, you poor thing. You’re afraid.” She throws her little body against mine, and rests her head on my chest. At first, I fear she’ll bite me, but as she lays peacefully on me, emotions kick inside me. I wrap my arms around her tiny body, and press her closely. She is warmer than the normal human; her wings are delightful to feel, soft and leathery. And her wild black hair is softer than a lion’s fur.

  “It’s alright. Nothing bad will happen to you. Where’s your mother?” I gaze around. Night approached us. I’m surprise I slept for so long. No wonder the partly recovery. But if it's night, it means the humans are attacking and Adelena is fighting. She left Adenena alone, to protect her from war. Could it be that’s how she was injured earlier?

  Adenena crawls on my lap and lays on it. “Are you tired?” I ask in a whisper, caressing her hair. What a sweet child, and I dared to fear them. They are no different than us. This is all so wrong… what’s going on?

  A thunderous roar draws our attention. A large heavy arclaw hurries my way, his intention strictly cruel. I struggle for breath, terrified by him. Adenena stands, and runs to face the beast. She growls at him but he jolts her direction, and dashes her to the ground. I drag myself from my spot. I'm defenseless. I can’t fight to protect neither of us. A shriek from above stops the arclaw from reaching me. Adelena flies to land and stands in front of me, her leathery wings open up beautifully, entirely blocking me. “Stop!” she hisses. She fearlessly rushes to him. “She’s mine!”

  “she’s human!” he says in a voracious growl. She jumps high, and bravely wraps her legs around him. She captures his cheeks, and deeply stares down his face.

  “You hurt her. You pay,” the moment she warns him he calms down. I scoff, impress how she dominates him. As I observe their body language, I grasp that bulky arclaw is her husband, and Adenena is his daughter. He walks to me, and glares. His devious look picks up the hair in my skin. Then, his eyes move back to her. He desirously ogles at her. The erotic stare reminds me of the way Khysso looked at me when in his arclaw body. A stare of desire, want and need. He leans on her, his mouth on her temple. She nods, and walks back to me. “Humans come again to kill. We go stop them,” I slightly shake my head.

  “Run away, just go. Let me find a way to send you back home, but I need time. Run for your lives. They won’t go until you are all dead.”

  “We not run, we fight,” she hisses.

  “But… we don’t have to fight… they fight because they don’t know the truth. Let me tell them you’re on this world searching for your home. We can live in peace. Please Adelena, don’t go. Just run away,” but it’s no use. Adelena’s wings spread widely. She takes her husband and flies away to fight the humans. I look at Adenena, who miserably watches her parents depart. Once they leave our sight, she rushes to me and sits on my lap, again curling her tiny body. I smile, overjoyed with her company. I feel a craving to protect her; a motherly figure grows in me.

  We fall asleep, but it’s not long before the blast of thunders created by sorcerers wakes me up. I hear arclaws growl. The calamity of the war makes poor Adenena tremble, even as she sleeps. My back starts aching. My sitting position is uncomfortable. I pass a hand on Adenena’s back, alerting her I’m here for her. I want to sing to her, like my mother sang to me in my dreams, but my voice is stuffy. If I attempt to do so I’ll probably scare her. “Do you like storytelling?” I whisper, she whirs. I take that as a yes. “I can tell you a story my papa told me when I was little…it is about a girl who walks a wood looking for a magic apple to save her sick mother, but an evil witch…” a crackling noise cuts my story, and fully wakens Adenena. She trembles and her chin shivers. I embrace her. “Shh, it's alright. Don’t be scare," I whisper and gaze at the branches. Behind a long thick trunk there is an odd shadow. I squint, and carefully analyze the sector, when a heavy-warrior steps out startling me. He looks at Adenena and points his sword at her.

  “What the hell is this? Who are you? Is…is that a demon,” he glower. I hold her against my chest. “Leave her alone. Don’t you hurt her, she’s not bad.” I defend. The man stares disgusted by my actions. “Are you…are you d
efending her? What type of person are you. I will kill her before she devours us…”

  “You have to kill me first!” I yell. He chuckles.

  “Not a problem!” he lifts his sword high. I haul down my body, protecting her tiny body with mine. I’m waiting for it. For the sword to pierce my back, but a thunderous growling takes my breath away. I pick myself up to see the unforeseen. Tears run down my cheeks the instant I spot him. It’s impossible to hold my weakness, especially with him. “Khysso,” I whimper. An arclaw Khysso slaps the man, dashing him through the ground, instantly knocking him out. Khysso turns to me. I’m humiliated by my tears, but pleased with his coming. Khysso’s arclaw stare gradually vanishes. His muscles come back down, and his fangs lighten.

  “Khy…” he hurries to me and covers his mouth with mine, taking the bit of breath I have left away.

  -26-

  Discomfort

  There’s no perfect explanation for what I’m feeling as his warm mouth covers mine. I’m delusional; the things he makes me feel smolder me. I’m like a rose at last blooming; combine with the gentle sound of thunders. His lips are lightning, striking me and electrifying me a way I didn’t know it could. The hair on my body crawls. My stomach dances with butterflies and my heart can’t stop racing. Through my blood rushes a hot sensation that touches my most classify body parts, making me desire him a filthy, immoral way. He gently drags away from me, leaving me in a complete trance, but his caring stroke on my cheek wakes me up from my fantastical world. I lick my lips, gulping the bit of him left in me.

  “You have no idea how I worried. How dare you do this to me, how dare you?” He says breathless. I stare at his lips, wanting more. Adenena stands next to me, staring at us oddly, like a normal child would. She's probably questioning our kissing.