The room was under the ground, and it was cold and damp. The place where the torches should be placed, where empty, and there was something inside the cell. It sat there silently, waiting for a stimulation – waiting for someone.
As if its waiting was over, there were footsteps coming down the stairs. There were two of them, with the one walking in front carrying the torch. "It's already too late," the woman with him said. "It's time to let go."
In the white glow of the torch, the woman saw that the man was emotionless; just like always when he came in this place. He was younger than her, but taller. The scar on his left brow, his narrow eyes, his lips – nothing moved. "It's not that easy," the man said. His thick locks of hair fell over his eyes and he brushed them away. "She is the only family that I've left."
The man went to the cell and gave the woman the torch. The thing that was inside the cage crawled to the corner of the room, scared of the light. "What need is there for us to come here?" the woman said. "It's not like we've learned anything new."
From the way she talked, it was clear that she was rather pessimistic in life. She had lost way too much, and she did not need hope. The light was white, but her complexion was whiter; as if she was a ghost. Perhaps, she wanted to be one – then there would not be any need for her to see the horrors of the world.
When the man went for the keys in his belt, the chains that came from his arm bracelet to his fingers rang. "Who is going to come down here, besides me?"
The door opened with a shriek. The two walked inside, the man in front with a somber expression and the woman with fear in her eyes. She had one hand on the torch and the other over the hilt of her sword.
The thing in the corner hugged to a ball. "I've come back," he said and sat down. "Sorry for leaving you here, Seraphina."
And then, as if the light was too much for her, or as if she became accustomed to it, she sprung from there and jumped to the man's neck. But she didn't reach there for the chains in her neck and legs stopped her.
Seraphina had the man's hair, but most of it was lost and the scalp that was left behind was leathery. One of her eyes was pale white, and the other was jet black, but neither had life in them. Her rotten teeth clicked, and she looked at him –he was not her brother, he was food.
The woman pulled the man back. "There's no need for us to stay here longer," she pulled the man back to his feet. "You are the leader of the Resistance. You've got more important things to do."
The man looked at Seraphina again. "More important than being with my sister?"
"She is not your sister – not anymore," she said and pulled him out of the cell. She then closed the cage and led him to the stairs.
Natalia and the rest had travelled through the night. They were lucky that the blight didn't attack them again. But the cold and movement didn't give them any sleep.
Pacificia still couldn't get around the fact that the staff had reacted to Natalia. She had seen the place where she lived burst into flames and that made it clear that the girl's mother was a Flamebearer. The cart and two horses now moved through a jungle of broken buildings; a history of the past.
"Do you remember your father?" she finally asked the girl.
Natalia was tired from travel and she was dozing off. It took her a moment to hear that question. "My father?" she tried to remember.
But there was nothing for her to remember. The only times she heard his name was when her mother mistakenly called her. But when Natalia let flames go out of her fingertips, she remembered a man and she remembered a time when the world wasn't only black and white. She even wondered if it was her memory, or if it was an illusion.
The girl had already lost her mother, and two times – she had faced with death. Pacificia saw her distress. "Don't worry about it," she said.
But she couldn't stop wondering. She tried to remember instances where a Flamebearer could've met with a Wildcaller. But she was old and her memory was cloudy.
Birnbaurn came to the side of the cart. "We have a safe house nearby. Let's stop there."
They have traveled through the night, with only the help of moonlight and lanterns. The dawn was breaking, and she wondered what was the point in stopping now. But the horses couldn't keep on moving on and there was no other choice.
Natalia was now wide awake. She tried to remember about her father again, but to no avail. "Why did she ask me that?" she wondered. "Is it because of what happened when I grip that staff?"
She had felt something different when she held that staff, but she couldn't explain that feeling. For a moment, she could even hear the chirps of bugs and the movement of leaves. But more than that, the howling of wolves echoed in her head.
Natalia looked through the gaps in the broken buildings, and pair of slit eyes stared back at her. "Snakes," she thought.
They stopped in front of a broken building, like the rest of the ones that surrounded them. "Doesn't look like much, does it?" Birnbaurn said unmounting his horse.
It was made of dirt blocks, with vines surrounded all around it. But the entrance to it was barricaded with an iron gate. Birnbaurn unlocked it and they all entered. Inside, it was cleaner than Pacificia had expected. There was some salted meat, some ale, and moldy potatoes inside.
"How long till we reach there?" Natalia asked Birnbaurn as he was boiling a pot of soup. This was the most lavish meal she was going to have in a long time, and she tried hard not to show it. But her drool almost dripped down when she asked that question.
Birnbaurn smiled. "Don't worry, girl," he said stirring the pot. "You'll still have food in the fortress."
The meat was rubbery, the potatoes tasted weird, there was too much salt and no seasoning, and the water was turbid. But for Natalia, it was heaven. She chowed down the food and broth as if there was no tomorrow.
After that, they loaded on supplies, and the journey again began.