DacreA small voice spoke to me. In my head.“I told you already. I am calling in for a favor”I replied as I heard a lazy voice reply to me without much emotion“And what might that be?”I heard the distinct noise of her stifling a yawn so I answered, “I need you to save someone’s life”The laziness was wiped off her voice in an instant and an old woman revealed herself. She had long gray hair, wrinkly hands and her tooth were crooked. “A life debt? Interesting. Do you have the means to pay it back?”She asked and I answered, “I will do anything you ask for, Grendel. Now just do as I asked. I need you to save Clarissa Emerson’s life. She is possibly at the death’s door and she has lost a lot of blood. She is in the ICU in the hospital behind me.”The old lady cackled, “At last. Master will be free. But are you sure young boy that you want to be indebted to him? You know the rules.”I had given it a lot of thought. I knew this would bring me a lot of trouble but for now, I had to sav
ClarissaI felt as if I was suspended in between two worlds, wandering aimlessly. I looked around but there was nothing to help me guess where I was. I looked down and there was nothing.Just a sea of clouds below my feet. I felt as if I walking…no not walking but floating with them. The bones in my body felt like liquid and my skin felt the same.I looked down at the dress I was wearing and subconsciously touched the wound I had receivedBut when I touched there was no wound. Forget the wound there was not even a scar.I then tried to get a look at my shoulder but again there was nothing.The memories of the battle came back to me like a flood that threw me back. The battle…the blood…the deaths.Where was I and where was my family? Where was Dacre?I had been lying on the grass and drenched in blood. I looked around in confusion and rubbed my eyes so as to clear my vision.But, there was nothing around me except empty air for as long as I could see.I wandered around aimlessly before
ClarissaI felt myself being thrown into oblivion and I screamed my lungs out but no sound came. I kept yelling and shouting but it was as if I was traveling down a huge vortex at the speed of a rocket.I could not see anything around me as it was blurred and my eyes felt dizzy.I thought I would throw up when suddenly I was suspended mid air. My eyes tried to focus but the force with which I was being sucked down was too great. It was black all around me as I stopped midair.My body was suspended and I tried to understand what was the reason for me to suddenly come to a halt.I looked around and then I saw a yellowish dot on the very end of the labyrinth I was in. Well, that was what I thought of the place I was.The yellow dot began to grow larger and larger until it turned into the shape of a tennis ball. Then it began to elongate and soon it began to….sizzle?I realized with a start that it was a flame. A small flame had appeared and then it seemed to approach me.I tried to move
DacreI just finished talking to Grendel and the cloud above the small bowl disappears when I feel a tap on my shoulder.“I have been looking for you all over and here you are.”Silas placed his hands on his hips as he glared at meI quickly hid the bowl behind my back and placed it in the small envelope before replying“Just wanted some fresh air”I answered and sneaked the object back into my pockets just when Silas pulled me into an embrace.“I was worried sick about you”He said and I felt the genuine concern in his voice. It was difficult for me to not notice the way his voice cracked a little.“Just why didn’t you call me? I would have come sooner.”He said while holding me by the shoulders.“I needed somebody I could trust back home.”I spoke with a rueful smile and a small smile appeared on his lips as well.“How is everybody?” I asked and his smile disappeared as easily as it had appeared.“They are recovering. It would take some time but they will be fine, I guess.”He answe
acreI patted Clarissa’s head gently and my eyes flicked to the window. I saw her twin poking her head in and I gave her a thumbs up to show that everything was okay.Clarissa smiled and I asked her to rest a bit.It was as if a big weight had been lifted off my chest. She was breathing steadily and a small smile had crept on her lips.She was okay so I was going to be okay.I let out a breath I didn’t even know I was holding and then got up from the bed. When I walked out, I was subjected to questioning glances.Her family was staring at me with hopeful eyes and I just spoke to nobody in particular.“She is doing fine”I heard them all take a collective gasp of breath as the frown lines on their foreheads disappeared.Clarissa’s mom walked over to me and grabbed my hand.“Thank you so much”She leaned a bit and almost touched her forehead to my hands. I felt a bit awkward and Ia had no idea how to reply.So, I just said, “You all need to rest too. Go home and catch on some sleep”I f
DacreI tried to sleep but it evaded me so I spent a few hours tossing and turning in the bed. Having no idea what to do next, I decided to get up from the bed and take a look around. The family was still in the hospital and I did not think many of them were around. They were all too worried about Clarissa and the guy who had escorted us earlier told us that they would probably stay the night there.The coast was clear.I had the entire house ot myself.Thus, I looked around and saw that there was nobody in the home and even the guards were probably catching on some sleep. It was quiet so I tiptoed my way toward their rooms.My brain wanted to go and check her father’s study but my heart decided to go elsewhere. My feet automatically moved in the direction of her room and I slowly approached it.The doors to their room were just closed from the outside and I only needed to twist the doorknob to get in.A soft breeze of wind splashed in my face when I opened the door. There were two b
DacreI tilted my head as the small stem came towards me, hopping over the wines.“Who are you and how did you see me?”The little guy asked as he tried to untangle himself out of the vines that were all around him.The vines were all large and he was having a hard time jumping through the hoops and not getting caught up in the thick vines.He walked up to me and smiled.“Hi, you are known as?”The little guy asked as he raised his eyebrows and I replied,“Dacre Caldwell.”He looked at me with a shrug and bowed a little.“I am known as the stick”I gave an amused smile, “Obviously, you are”He appeared to be proudly smiling as he waved his hand at me. Then he looked at me with a questioning gaze and asked.“How did you know I was watching over Clarissa?”I chuckled and answered, “Well for starters, I don’t think something as delicate as you would harm her, no offense. Plus, the angle of the window looks over to her bed, not Talia’s.”Stem scratched his small head and replied, “I am mo
DacreThe lone warrior I had fought against also felt like he was quite weak physically. He had too attacked me using just swords and then left me with a warning.Had I seen him here? What did he look like?Several questions were swirling through my head and I had no idea what was right and what was wrong anymore.But then I remembered the task at hand. I had a demon to free. Thus, I only squeezed Talia’s shoulder lightly and said, “You should get some rest. You and your entire family have gone through a lot.”Talia bit her lower lip,“I know, it is just that I am too worked up about the situation. I could not concentrate on anything. Then I remembered you were here”She said as she looked at me with a bit of hope and I patted her head.“You need to get some sleep. When are they going to give Clarissa the permission to return home?”I asked without letting my voice break. I did not want to think that I was affected by her a lot.Talia answered, “Oh about that. The doctors were certai