The Last Goddess

Chapter Thirty: Ngozi

Samara

We continued to walk throughout the night. I dared not complain about being tired to Aryan. Especially since he still seems to be seething at the news that I was talking with Kai in my dreams.

I suppose I can't blame him for being upset. I withheld an important truth regarding our safety, but at the same time, I couldn't quite fathom why it would bother him so much. After all, it was just a conversation... or two. I didn't reveal anything about our whereabouts, and Kai didn't ask either. Conversing with him didn't seem to be doing any harm.

And yet, I still felt a little guilty.

"Aryan," I began, trying to gently break the ice. "Could you tell me a bit more about Seraphina? Where does she reside?"

With a quiet huff, he said, "Not now. I need to focus." His ire seemed bottomless.

"Right, of course." I frowned as I walked just a bit behind Aryan, hiding a yawn from his sight.

Suddenly, he sighed like he was extra aggravated. "Do you want to take a rest? You seem tired."

"Oh," I blushed a bit. Right, he can feel what I feel. "No, it's ok. We should keep going."

After a few more minutes, Aryan stopped abruptly, causing me to bump into him. "This seems like a good spot." He gently took my wrist and guided me over to a clearing between the trees.

He hadn't let go of my wrist yet, when I said, "I'm sorry."

Aryan side-eyed me but said nothing.

"I had no intention of hiding my meetings with Kai. It just..." he released my wrist, watching me blankly. "It felt surreal. I thought I was used to my abilities, but since coming here, I keep learning more about myself... And what I can do. It's been very—" I paused, trying to think of the right word, "—overwhelming."

"Are you hungry?"

"Huh?" I blinked at Aryan. It was certainly not the response I was expecting.

"Here," he passed me some bread and water.

"Thank you." I replied slowly, taking what he handed me. "Did you want some?" I started to break the bread in half, but he just shook his head.

"It's ok." He still wasn't looking at me. "It's all ok."

I just barely saw a hint of a smile on Aryan's lips, letting me know that he had forgiven me. At least, a little bit.

I smiled into my food. Just as I took a bite, everything began to flicker.

Oh, no...

I felt the bread and water slip out of my hands. Instantly, my arm went up, looking for the nearest tree, but instead, I felt Aryan's hands securing my arm.

"Samara? What's wrong?" There was finally some emotion in his tone. "Is it a vision?"

I could feel myself nod, but I could no longer see Aryan or my surroundings. Instead, I was near a river. I looked around carefully. It still seemed to be the same forest.

Suddenly, I heard splashing.

I turned to find a young boy slapping his hand against the edge of the riverbank. He seemed no older than six. He was very cute with his mocha skin and his big, dark eyes. Those huge orbs were looking up at the sky instead of where his hand was playing. As I watched the boy, something about him kept drawing my attention. I couldn't quite pinpoint what it was.

Just when I thought I was close to an answer, a twig snapped, but the boy didn't turn towards the sound to look. He just tilted his head to the side a little and listened carefully. His hand stopped moving as he seemed to wait for something.

SNAP! Another twig broke, and the boy got up and ran.

He was fast. Very fast. I tried to keep up, but I felt slow by comparison. And then, suddenly, the vision broke, slamming me back with Aryan. I gripped his hand for a moment before standing up straight and walking back towards the path.

"Samara, where are you going?" he asked, following. "What did you see?"

Truthfully, I didn't know where I was going. I just knew I had to go to that boy.

To my surprise, Aryan followed me wordlessly. However, I could feel his gaze on me for every second that I wandered around the countryside, looking for that boy.

I was just about ready to stop when my vision changed. Suddenly, I was seeing the boy, and he was looking up at someone, terrified. His big eyes feared the hands that came near him.

"Freak!" I heard a larger child scream as he pushed the boy to the ground.

"Don't you know you're an abomination!" a girl screeched beside him. From the looks of them, they seemed rather normal in countenance, but in Arcanum, that didn't mean much.

The image suddenly faded away. When it was gone, I started running. Running as fast as I could until I saw a small outpost of sorts off to the side. It was a squarish dark brown building with two levels and a small balcony to one corner.

I froze momentarily when I saw it. This must be where he is. I thought. There wasn't any particular reason why I believed it was here that the boy would be. But my instincts were telling me I was correct.

I ran around to the opposite side of the outpost and began to hear the sound of people spitting.

I was appalled to find the boy and girl from my vision, belittling the much smaller child before them. Without a second thought, I got in front of the boy, and shook my head at the pair in front of me.

"Stop it." I whispered earnestly.

They did so immediately. Without changing my façade, I scolded myself for accidentally spelling those kids. Before I could do more, Aryan growled at them, baring his teeth frighteningly. The pair screamed shamelessly before running away from us.

I smiled at Aryan, silently thanking him before turning around at the boy who was shaking against the wall. "It's ok." I crouched down, gently touching the boy's arm. "You're safe now."

He sniffled as he stared up at Aryan and me. The boy seemed confused and relieved at the same time, but despite that, he still put his shaky, small hand over mine, and nodded wordlessly.

I helped him up, and he continued to hold my hand. "Can you tell me where you live? We'll take you there safely."

The boy smiled and pointed to the dark wall next to us.

"You live here?" Aryan asked, watching him cautiously.

He nodded and pulled my hand with him inside.

I watched the boy curiously. I still couldn't quite figure out why I was drawn to protect this child. There was something unique about him. Perhaps, the energy he gives off is different?

When we got into his home, I quietly hissed at the light. Without even realizing it, I had turned on my night-vision abilities. I closed my eyes hard, shaking my head as I slowly opened them. When I did, I realized that the boy had led me to his living room. He sat me down on the sofa and began to draw on the sketchpad in front of him with a pencil. I watched him for a moment longer before asking, "Can you tell me your name?"

He looked up at me, his lips slightly parted before he returned to his drawing. After a moment, he held up the sketchpad. And roughly written was the name: Ngozi.