Zelda sighed and looked at Wara with an expression the lady couldn't quite decipher.
"To get these answers, you have to do something that might kill you or drive you completely insane. You will have to be surrounded by Death."
Wara stared back at Zelda with absolute conviction, the subtle voice telling her to do it. Soon, it was screaming at her and telling her to go ahead.
Zelda turned and started walking back towards where their group had set up camp which Wara took as a cue to follow her.
A little wisp of smoke appeared and suddenly there was a boy in front of the women. "Zelda. Can we go now?" he looked extremely excited and happy. While he had focused on Zelda, he failed to notice the other woman behind him who was beginning to feel angered that the boy had not acknowledged her.
She watched with mild satisfaction as Zelda turned down Fjammi and asked him to go back.
Zelda walked past the camp and walked in between the huge plants that looked like trees. Not once did she ever look back to check if Wara was there.
If Wara had paid more attention, she would have noticed that Zelda never once turned her head while perfectly avoiding a few huge plants. It as if she could see from all sides.
Wara could not notice it but within the short period the voice had started whispering to her, her senses had been dulled. The drive she had had to rescue her son was slowly being dulled. Now, she was only focused on getting everything back without contemplating whether it would be a regrettable event or not.
Zelda never once looked back but soon, she stopped at a barren land where everything had turned to ash.
The voice whispered and Wara spoke. "You did this." It was not a question. The wilted look of the plants and the ground and the ashy mist in the air explained it all. If Zelda had been the cause of the song of Death then this would have been minor.
Zelda did not look at Wara as she spoke. "It is necessary for what we are about to do. Do you remember the consequences?"
The voice, which had been subtly loud before suddenly became silent. Wara immediately looked lost. If she had seen Zelda's face, she would have understood everything. Zelda had the eyes of the beast, the white iris shining so brightly the black sclera became more prominent.
"Sit down."
Wara immediately obeyed and then the mist from the sky dropped and drowned her.
Zelda grinned.
***
Pax stared at the two women going away from them. She knew she should stop them but she was terrified of Zelda.
"How did she know?" She kept wondering to herself as she recalled her wonderful welcome from the existing women a while ago.
Someone sat beside her on the rock she had perched herself on. She thought it was Cloelia but then remembered the wolf had settled herself on her feet after immediately meeting Zelda's silver eyes.
Pax turned to find Sica staring back at the camp.
"She knows you." He started and Pax frowned. She had never heard of Sica before but he looked extremely familiar.
"You want to know who I am." Pax replied cautiously to Guage his reaction. Unfortunately, Sica did not respond with a confirmation.
"I already know who you are. I have seen you in her pictures." This came as a shock to him. Wara never let anyone except children see those pictures.
Sica did not wait for her to respond and continued. "We seemed to be looking at something in the dark sky but I wonder why we would look at the sky when it is bleak. What puzzles me is the expression of hope on our faces. I know you know the answer to this."
He turned to stare at her, deep red eyes which looked brown stared into her soul.
Pax finally understood. He was one of the truly cursed. With that realization,she opened her mouth and answered.
"Stars. We were looking at stars."
Sica nodded and hummed. "I would dismiss it as a mere fantasy but she had drawn my face without ever meeting me." Then he turned to stare in the direction Wara had followed Zelda to and sighed. "She is the one is she not?"
Pax was slightly amazed at how the man had immediately pieced it all together. Not even her had realized it until a year. But she still had to be sure.
"Depends on the one you are talking about."
Sica sighed and faced Pax with an exhausted look. " I have tasted her blood. " He did not react when Pax gasped and continued. "I know. That is why I know you are not one of us. My only problem is, Zelda now knows too."
Pax's expression immediately changed from one of shock to one of utter despair. She shook her head and placed her head in her palms and groaned. "We are doomed."
Sica nodded his head as if agreeing with her.
"Do you know what she wants?" Automatically, Sica had switched to talking about Zelda and Pax knew too. She mumbled out a "No, No one does."
Sica nodded again. "Definitely doomed."
This chapter is short but good news! I have a phone now so updates will be regular now.