never really left me, but had been subdued in the whirlpool of others currently swirling throughout my body. Grief rose to the surface more forcefully now, making the small house we were in seem empty without Ralph and Hailey. I was afraid for their safety. That fear reminded me of the energumen. I was afraid of them. That fear, in turn, reminded me of Max. It was a vicious cycle.
“I think he was bitten by a snake,” I responded, rubbing my eyes to ease the sudden headache that blurred my vision.
I heard Clayton push himself up from the table and walk two steps toward the door. “Well, I’m going to go take care of him then. You get some sleep, boy. You look tired.”
My ever-sliding range of emotions wasn’t helped by Clayton’s civility toward me. It was hard to imagine such a man had played part in the destruction of my people. Yet the only hatred I could find for him was in imagining what he would do if he knew who I really was. Could I afford to doubt what would happen if he learned the truth? Could it be possible for him to look at me with understanding? Were humans truly a race of monsters? I had to accept that if my people consisted of both good and bad, then it was possible for humans to fall into the same ratio.
Then again, what kind of compassion would I show an energumen who pretended to be a member of my race, only to reveal to me his true form? If humans viewed me as I viewed them, then fear would win out. No matter the amount of love originally felt, it would be forgotten as soon as truth was spoken.
I waited until I could no longer hear Clayton’s footsteps marching heavily along the cobblestone that twisted to the city gates. I waited a few minutes more to make sure he wouldn’t return. I knew that once he had taken care of Max’s body and returned to discover I was no longer in the house, any trust I might have established with him would be broken. It wouldn’t take long for the entire human population to begin looking for me. There was no coming back this time.
Had I been thinking more clearly I would’ve packed extra food and a change of clothes instead of leaving with nothing but what I had on. The knowledge that I was waiting exactly where Joshua knew I was spurred my feet into action. I would rather face any human as the child they would mistake me for, than face Joshua as the mage he knew I was.
My feet were light and quick on the dark alleys as I made my way to the parliament building. I kept my pace slow enough that anyone watching wouldn’t have reason to suspect I was up to something. I surmised that a boy running through the streets would draw too much attention, so I only allowed myself to sprint briefly through the back passages where the streetlamps’ flickering glow refused to reach.
My heart thudded in my chest as the great white building rose higher the nearer I got to the center of town. I saw the beautiful lawns again. We always kept the grass maintained, but not perfectly, so that it was long enough to ripple in the wind. The trellises of white flowers lining pathways were built as homage to the chaotic yet geometric shapes we found in nature. Now most of the trellises were blackened by fire. The smell of ash was as strong here as it had been in my vision, but a light breeze carried other scents that mingled strangely into a smell that was almost euphoric, like a campfire in the mountains surrounded by evergreen and aspen trees.
A group of men were working on the northeast corner of the building repairing the masonry. Almost every window inside the building was ablaze, so they had plenty of light by which to work.
I had underestimated the number of humans here tonight. If there were enough of them to warrant using every room in parliament, plus those that were staying in the intact houses, they were more than a few clusters of peons getting the town ready for the real invasion, they were the kingdom that inherits the goods an army procures. They must have numbered
“I think he was bitten by a snake,” I responded, rubbing my eyes to ease the sudden headache that blurred my vision.
I heard Clayton push himself up from the table and walk two steps toward the door. “Well, I’m going to go take care of him then. You get some sleep, boy. You look tired.”
My ever-sliding range of emotions wasn’t helped by Clayton’s civility toward me. It was hard to imagine such a man had played part in the destruction of my people. Yet the only hatred I could find for him was in imagining what he would do if he knew who I really was. Could I afford to doubt what would happen if he learned the truth? Could it be possible for him to look at me with understanding? Were humans truly a race of monsters? I had to accept that if my people consisted of both good and bad, then it was possible for humans to fall into the same ratio.
Then again, what kind of compassion would I show an energumen who pretended to be a member of my race, only to reveal to me his true form? If humans viewed me as I viewed them, then fear would win out. No matter the amount of love originally felt, it would be forgotten as soon as truth was spoken.
I waited until I could no longer hear Clayton’s footsteps marching heavily along the cobblestone that twisted to the city gates. I waited a few minutes more to make sure he wouldn’t return. I knew that once he had taken care of Max’s body and returned to discover I was no longer in the house, any trust I might have established with him would be broken. It wouldn’t take long for the entire human population to begin looking for me. There was no coming back this time.
Had I been thinking more clearly I would’ve packed extra food and a change of clothes instead of leaving with nothing but what I had on. The knowledge that I was waiting exactly where Joshua knew I was spurred my feet into action. I would rather face any human as the child they would mistake me for, than face Joshua as the mage he knew I was.
My feet were light and quick on the dark alleys as I made my way to the parliament building. I kept my pace slow enough that anyone watching wouldn’t have reason to suspect I was up to something. I surmised that a boy running through the streets would draw too much attention, so I only allowed myself to sprint briefly through the back passages where the streetlamps’ flickering glow refused to reach.
My heart thudded in my chest as the great white building rose higher the nearer I got to the center of town. I saw the beautiful lawns again. We always kept the grass maintained, but not perfectly, so that it was long enough to ripple in the wind. The trellises of white flowers lining pathways were built as homage to the chaotic yet geometric shapes we found in nature. Now most of the trellises were blackened by fire. The smell of ash was as strong here as it had been in my vision, but a light breeze carried other scents that mingled strangely into a smell that was almost euphoric, like a campfire in the mountains surrounded by evergreen and aspen trees.
A group of men were working on the northeast corner of the building repairing the masonry. Almost every window inside the building was ablaze, so they had plenty of light by which to work.
I had underestimated the number of humans here tonight. If there were enough of them to warrant using every room in parliament, plus those that were staying in the intact houses, they were more than a few clusters of peons getting the town ready for the real invasion, they were the kingdom that inherits the goods an army procures. They must have numbered
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