The night was cold in Midtown. As the night progressed it reassured everyone of the coming of winter. The moon was fading in the clouds. Nira was cold on the floor. Her eyes were heavy. Every part of her body ached as she trembled with hunger. It was three days since she collapsed on the floor and had never gotten up.
She was alone. As she had wished before all the saga between her and her sister, Josh and Silion were out of the town, officially stamping that she was on her own from then as they were. Rats had severely bruised her as they tore apart piece by piece of the clothes she had worn. In that condition, she had preferred death.
Never in her life had she been that miserable and vulnerable. She had never known of pain or weakness. Even when she was sick in the forest and almost died, she was stronger than what she was, lying on the floor like a hibernating reptile.
The house was dark and her eyes had adjusted to it. She strained to open her eyes as she pushed herself to lie on her back, instead of her stomach. After several attempts, she was flat on her back, still shaking as cold pierced through her nerves then her bones. Her heart was slowly beating. Blood had dried on her face and the floor as she had severally vomited blood while still motionless on the floor.
Meanwhile, Josh and Silion arrived at a small town in Merria. It was almost midnight when they did. Josh knew his way around the town as he had been there for almost a year running some errands he had been put to by Nira.
" My sister sent you here yet she did not care what would have happened to you along the way!" Silion said as she got from the horse back.
" She knew I would meet help along the way, may be!" Josh replied as she looked at Silion then to the horse. She tied the horses in a stable then took the hand of Silion as they walked to a nearby hut.
It was a round shaped hut. Not that big but it surely could accommodate at least four people or less. Its walls were made with heavy stones and roof made of grass. It was stunning from the reflection of the moon. It had a strong mahogany door and a little window just after the door. He pushed the door open and they went in.
" Is this yours?" Silion inquired as she looked around it. Not much furniture was in it. It had a bed on one half and a table surrounded by three chairs on the other half. A wooden pole marked the centre of the house, running from the ground to the grass roof. He took a fire stick as he brushed past her ignoring the question and walked outside the hut. He came back a little while, with the fire stick lit and the place brightened up with light. She could see the internal attributes of it clearly now. Everything in the hut was of high quality. She stared into his eyes, begging for an answer at least. Why did she care anyways? I mean, wasn't it enough she had a roof over her head?
***
In Neeka, Nira was struggling. She started seeing spirits of her family. Her father was the first to join her.
" Nira my horror princess!" Edmond's spirit said as he appeared to her and sat on the floor next to where she was.
" What do you want from me? You are dead!" She uttered as she continued to tremble.
" Well if you can see me, it means you are on the same path, I am here to welcome you or stop you, whichever you will decide!"
" I don't need you, I never have!"
" Too bad, you need me now, and I won't go!"
" You abandoned us!"
" I was killed in my sleep!"
" It doesn't matter now, just leave, please!"
" Your sister, she hates you now. She is pregnant I heard!"
" Preg... You are dead, the living does not concern you, just leave!" She screamt as tears bursted from her eyes uncontrollably. She felt as if she was going insane.
Her father's spirit decided to leave her alone. She continued crying. She knew that death was coming for her and that did not worry her, she just wished it had come sooner. She felt as if it tortured her instead of getting on with it. Before she had moved on from her father's spirit, Caleb's joined her.
" You!" She whispered as she stopped crying.
" You left me to die!"
" I did not have a choice. I was sick and smaller, I could not carry you through the river! We would sink!"
" I thought you loved me! At least I loved you!"
" You are not real, you are all in my head, just leave!"
" All in your head... I am alone here, who else was here? Ah let me guess... Your father!"
" Not my father, his spirit, just like what you are!"
" Tell me you didn't love me and I will leave. Tell me the truth of it!"
" We were kids, I was not certain I did. All I know is that I cared for you!"
" You did not-"
" I did! I did care for you! " She said as she continued crying. She struggled to lift her hands and buried her face in her palms. She sobbed for a while and when she removed her hands from the face, Caleb too was gone.
" No, come back! Let me see you, please!" She cried desperately to see him again but his spirit was already gone.
***
Welter Westers was growing eager. He sat in his chamber restless throughout the night. It was three days back that Nira had allegedly pledged to work with him yet even him could not tell what had happened. All his life, he had never been in the dark, all information ran through him like blood in his veins yet this time, he could not tell of Nira's fate.
He got up from his bed as he stared into the night. The moon had already faded into the sky. He interlocked his fingers behind his back as he stared blankly through the window. His mind could not stop wandering and wondering why and what may have happened.
It was a simple deal. He hated those who did not honor their end of bargain. Mostly, he had cut their throats or tongues out for lying to him. He was not perfect nor did he expect people to be perfect, he only thought it was wise to hold truth in one's word. Honesty was his prime principle.
He wondered why Nira would trick him like that then walk out on him. Did she herself untouchable? Who did she think she was? He sweared that he could squeeze the life out of her since himself he was immune to her. The clouds were getting heavy at each moment he felt betrayed. Soon thunder echoed through the sky as a strong flash struck. He was angry, at himself and at Nira. She reminded him why he did not make deals with any other special people like her, since a failed ordeal with the very prophetess that had made Nira what she was in haste to save her from death that had came for her in the cursed forest.
Welter was a very cruel man. He had lived 98 years on earth yet his body and face reflected that of a thirty year old. He was a son of a poor man in Belt moon village, the other side of the cursed forest. It was called belt moon since its ancestors believed that the moon relaxed there after hard work in the night. His mother was a priest, who later proclaimed herself prophetess, yes the very prophetess that Nira knew of and that saved her life.
The woman's husband was killed in war by a fellow warrior since the warrior was interested in her and the only way he could claim her was if the husband fell, of which he made it happen. Then, Welter was only five years old. The man was so cruel to them, beating up her mother every now and then, an event that saw Welter tire of him and decided to take action.
In the village, if one felt offended by the other, justice would be done by allowing you to challenge your offender to the death in a swords only fight, regardless of age or age difference. Before the fight, Welter was a normal kid with zero sword experience but just like Nira, he had already shown signs of supernaturality. His mother feared for his life so she created a source of power that drained all her strength for an year to help her son win the trial.
Her son triumphed with her intervention and there was justice, something that could be solved without necessarily killing each other. The villagers felt the justice system of their country so cruel but did they have a way to challenge it? It had not been long before everyone realized that Welter had used dark magic to his advantage and so the king demanded for his head for bending the rules.
They had to flee into the cursed forest and there is where the monster he became was born. At times, he wished he was a normal kid since the beauty of women was all he could ask for, he was so interested in them. Things however, did not work out with his mother in the forest and so they parted ways only to reunite several decades later and he imprisoned his mother for failing to respect his wishes. He had asked his mother not to lead Nira in a dark path, yet she did exactly that, and Nira severally used her powers to torment even the innocent just for looking at her face and he hated it. He had wished that Nira was to be neutralized and stored for the future. If he had the power, he could have switched off her gifts until it was the right time to have them.
As he grew impatient he decided to go to where Nira and her company rested in. He took three guards and marched to the house. He knocked severally but there was no response. His guards had asked him to leave that may be no one was in but he could not. Something did not let him. He instructed the guards to take down the door and they did.
Nira was there on the floor, breathing out her final breathes. She struggled to look at him. She picked a dagger from the floor next to where she was and desperately placed it on her neck. Before she could do anything, Welter raced into the house and snatched it from her. She laughed silently as she stared in his eyes, " I think you will be alone after all, see you on the other side !" She said as if teasing him. He was perplexed by the sight he was having. He turned to the guards and instructed them to take her to his castle as quick as they could. As soon as they were in the castle, he instructed that his mother be brought to him, he had her imprisoned in one of the chambers. Just like him, she was not aging but she could die. Also, she had saved Nira once, meaning she could save her again!