Keeper of the Lost Cities: Rebuild [COMPLETED]

Chapter Five - MARUCA

Maruca wished she could build a force field around Everfalls. Her home was inconspicuously small—by elvin standards, at least; those shacks the humans lived in were sad—but Maruca was an Emissary now. What if someone followed her home? What if they snuck inside when she wasn't looking?

She could handle an intruder if she knew about them. But if she didn't? Then her mother was at stake. Even Prentice—though he was stronger—would be in danger.

She'd tried doing the force field trick before, but every time it touched the ground, it would sizzle out. She didn't know why, which was frustrating. It wasn't that she didn't like it when things got hard; there was just no possible way to do what she wanted. No different angle to approach it at—though she wasn't the best with angles. When she got something in her head, she stuck with it, but that didn't mean she couldn't try to step back and take another look.

So she stood there after the leap, surveying the expansive field. The sunlight was blinding after spending almost the whole day at the Seat of Eminence, and it took Maruca's eyes a long time before they adjusted to the sparkling scenery.

Everfalls earned its name; bright green grass blanketed the knolls and sloped down into the caverns where the pools were. The water formed a circle around the two-story house—disrupted only by little nodes, where fountains spurted crystalline streams into the air—and twisted into an intricate maze of rivulets, all leading to the largest fall, cropped by black rock and clouds of fog.

Nhyonuitoufhoa—The Young Waterfall. It was the oldest waterfall on the property, actually, according to Bronte. He wasn't sure where it had gotten its name—it sounded Trollish, maybe?

Maruca shivered at the thought that Everfalls could have a hidden Trollish secret like Everglen had. The Chebotas had moved to Everfalls after Prentice was banished to Exile; no matter how much Maruca's father had tried to convince his wife they were safe from the Council, Lesedi had insisted they move to a remote location. While that had been over a decade ago—before Maruca was even born—in the grand scheme of things it was hardly anything. And in the Vackers' case, their secret had been hidden for way longer than that.

Doubly a reason why I should form a force field, she thought, lifting her hands and trying again. She started at the top, above the roof, then branched the electric energy off from there. It slowly descended around the house, crackling and popping with resistance. It wasn't so hard—until the force field reached about a foot above the ground. It stopped there, refusing to go any farther. It was sparking like crazy now.

Great. She was going to start a fire and get her family killed—all while trying to protect them. The irony wasn't lost on her.

She lifted her hold on it, and it fizzled back to the top before disappearing altogether.

"Maruca?" a soft voice called from the house. "Is that you?"

Maruca discarded her frustration at the failed attempt and jogged the rest of the way down the stone path. Her mother stood in the doorway, holding a shawl around her bony shoulders. She was frail—she barely ate some days—and her eyes were drooping.

"Why aren't you in bed, Mama?" Maruca asked, draping her mom's arm over her shoulder and walking her inside. "Where's Papa?"

Lesedi's grip on Maruca's cape tightened, and when she turned to her daughter her eyes had widened. Streaks of red darkened them, and Maruca had to remind herself her mother was not a monster.

"They took him," said Lesedi. "They took him!"

Maruca shhed her and snapped her fingers. Three chandeliers, one by one, popped on, illuminating a modest living room. She guided Lesedi to the couch and sat her down. "Who took him, Mama?" she asked with a sigh.