The Winds of the Past [Rune Factory 4]

Chapter 65

I lunged at her, sprang to insert myself between them, to protect her… but my hands closed on empty air. The echo of the spell he’d cast resounded in my head like a curse, and I looked around wildly, hoping to see some sign of Avani. But she was gone.

“Where… where did they go? Where did he take her?” I demanded frantically, turning to Rishi, Sharmila, and Chanda, who were all nearly as stunned as I was.

Sharmila shook her head while Chanda turned and smashed her fist into the castle wall in anger. Arthur was speechless with shock, and Dylas was nearly as frantic as I was. However, Rishi remained silent, apparently deep in concentration, oblivious to Dylas’s vociferous swearing and my rants. After a moment, he turned to me and said, “I cannot see. He must have learned of our telepathic link somehow and has blindfolded her.”

“Is she all right? Is he hurting her? Tell me everything—anything!” I demanded, grabbing his shoulders.

“She… she is afraid, but not for herself. She fears for your children… and for you. But fear is not foremost in her heart or mind at the moment.”

“Then what is?” I asked, frustrated by his slow responses.

“Hatred. Seething, black hatred such as I have never before felt in her. If it consumes her, I don’t know what she may do.”

“But where is she? We have to find her!” I pounded my fist into my hand, infuriated by my helplessness.

After a pause, Sharmila spoke. “He can only teleport to places that he knows. Of course, I don’t know for sure where that might be, but I think if he were seeking someplace he could envision quickly and accurately, it would be in or near our village—the places he knows best. But… I don’t think he’d take her back to their house. He might—but as that would be a logical place to start looking for them, I think he’d pick another place. Though he might still stop there first.”

For once, Dylas stepped up as the level-headed, collected one, and putting a hand on my shoulder, he said, “Come on, let’s prepare ourselves, then we’ll hunt them down. Remember, she’s strong—you know just how strong—and we’ll find her no matter what it takes. Now pull yourself together, man. You can’t be going all to pieces now. She needs you—her and your kids.”

I nodded and straightened up, forcing the rising panic back down. I looked at him and took a deep breath. “All right. Sharmila, can you at least take me to your village and to his house? As you said, it’s a logical starting point for my search. After that….”

“After that, we will assist you however we can to find Avani,” she replied calmly, and I looked at her in surprise. “We love her, too, Leon. And while we may be helpless to fight against… against….”

“Against Bhima,” Chanda spat, and Sharmila whirled and stared at her, shocked. “For too long we’ve refused to name him, Sharmila. For too long we’ve strengthened him with our fear. No more. I won’t have it. You may be helpless to fight him, but I will fight him, and I will save her, as she once saved me—or I will die trying.”

“And I won’t rest until she’s safe at home,” Dylas added. “She saved me, too, you know, in more ways than I can say, and I sure as hell won’t abandon her when she needs me most.”

Rishi nodded. “Sharmila and I are not fighters. Would that we were…. But we will do what we can to help you find her—then it will be up to you to save her from him.”

“Then, everyone, prepare yourselves for departure. How quickly can you be ready to go?” I asked Sharmila.

“Teleporting in that manner is a tremendous drain on our resources, and I am still fatigued from my travels to and fro yesterday. I need a little time to restore myself before attempting further teleportation. I think I could be ready in as little as three hours.”