The Oracles of Tomesh [ON HOLD]

9 | I Have a Compass

obseumtozh (ob-som-tosh) adjective

cozy, quaint, or peaceful. A special time spent with someone that brings a feeling of wholeness, meeting someone in secret to keep the warm feeling to yourselves, or the feeling of happiness for having spent a secret time with someone.

***

Laku opened his eyes, confused. He could see nothing but darkness and twinkling lights. Then the throbbing pain in his head reminded him of a bad dream. Or was it? Did it happen, or did it not? Did his future bride knock him unconscious inside his father's tomb?

How dare she!

He jerked up in a sitting position, only to realize that he had been lying directly on desert sand. There was a fire to his right, and two women sat around it, silent as the absent wind.

"What happened?" he asked, although he did not have to. He was slowly remembering, and his eyes went straight to Tia. Her beautiful curly silver hair reflected the fire, so did her stoic face.

It was Nascha who spoke, voice hoarse. "We escaped." She took a long breath and murmured, "Three nights ago."

He scrambled to his knees in disbelief. "I've been unconscious for three nights?"

Nascha nodded. He turned to Tia and scowled. "You knocked me unconscious."

It was Tia who nodded. "It was the only way to help Kalesch," she said, voice clear, far from the charming Zaria he first met.

Kalesch.

He looked around, hoping he did not look as stupid as he felt. "He's alive then?" he asked.

Nascha bent her head, tears rolling down her face.

"What did you do?" he asked his future bride in an accusing tone.

"I saved his soul."

A little dizzy, he moved closer to the fire. "What do you mean by that?" he asked. He frowned at Nascha, but the woman could not seem to speak. And so he looked at the only person who had the answer. If they had been traveling for three days, she did not appear tired like Nascha was. Her head was carefully wrapped by a dark cloth, her face clean, and her eyes looked alert. "What do you mean?" he repeated.

His eyes flickered to the small tent behind her. It was closed. He looked around again, not finding Kalesch. The weight in his midriff coiled as his mind began to wrap around what happened and the conversation at hand.

"I took his soul and planted it in your body," Tia said. Laku blinked, his mouth dropped.

"W-What?" he asked, dumbfounded. "Are you serious?"

"His body will continue to heal as you serve as his soul's vessel," Tia further said.

"You mean it will rot," Nascha coldly said. Laku's eyes followed the finger she pointed at the tent. "Everything that dies rots."

"Not if his soul is safely tucked away," Tia replied, lips barely moving as she sternly gazed at Nascha. It seemed that the two women had been having this discussion for three nights.

"You cannot even prove that Kalesch's soul is inside him," Nascha said, pointing at Laku who could only blink, his hands absently roaming over his chest and arms, unconsciously checking if he still had full control of his own body.

"It takes a while for a soul to wake up in a new vessel," Tia said, eyes on Laku.

"What do you mean by that?"