Lament of the Slave

Chapter 58: Call

No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't figure out what was weighing on my mind. So I treated it like the thing I was supposed to do but couldn't for the life of me remember, only to realize that half an hour ago I should have been on the other side of the city, not checking my phone sitting in the bathroom. Or like the lost keys I always found when I wasn't looking for them. I just let it go, figuring I'd eventually remember.

That said, I'd love to erase from my memory what I just saw. But, unfortunately, my brain didn't work as a hard drive. There was no DELETE button. So with that dying cry of man and woman still echoing in my mind, I tore my eyes away from the distant moss piles full of blooming flowers and glanced around the clearing.

It may have fallen silent for the time being, as no one dared to speak or move, myself included, but no doubt that couldn't last forever.

At first glance, it would seem Esu was about to let the intruders in his woods die of old age as he took his time with every growl, with each rumble, not attacking them. I dare say his actions spoke otherwise. He just let two people become fertilizer for a man-eating moss without batting an eye, so to speak. An action that may have deterred Shadowbreakers and mercenaries from similar efforts could also have driven some to even more desperate attempts.

I was not a people person, more of a flower girl, but even I could recognize among them those reconciled to death. They were smiling and relaxed. Then there were those with calm tempers and logical minds, calculating their options. And then "We are fucked!" group, whose eyes darted from side to side, from Esu to their feet and a moss beneath them, while they clutched their weapons so tightly I could hear the leather on their grips, hilts, and handles squeak.

And then there was me, not quite sure which group to put myself in. I was ... I was many things. While the collar was around my neck, I felt cornered and ready to die. Now, now I wanted to live. The presence of beasts several times my level made me scared shitless, but at the same time, I was thrilled by what I learned here. The sight of humans and terrans in front of me stirred rage in me, but the fact that I was standing there basically naked was highly embarrassing to me.

Then there was Aspen, lying in a clearing somewhere, in a pool of her own blood, at best just dying. That's what I hoped, desperate to help her, but I couldn't.

No ... I didn't dare help her. After seeing a moss eat two people, I didn't dare move even an inch. Esu might consider me his spawn, but parents often spank disobedient children, don't they?

I didn't want to get spanked with that moss.

So right now, the clearing was almost a place of tranquillity. Though, beneath that serene facade was a boiling cauldron of emotions waiting to explode and turn this clearing into a bloodbath at any moment.

Everybody was aware of that, just like me. That's what made the tension in the clearing so palpable I could have sworn I could even smell it. Every second felt like a minute and a bead of sweat trickling slowly down my spine to my tail, like torture.

Who dares to move first? Who will be so stupid?

Then my ears twitched, registering the movement.

"Sir, Esu. Sir, I..." said Tate, cut off when he tripped over a smoldering root.

I facepalm myself, or should I say facetail myself, since it was Sage who did the slapping. Speechless, I asked myself how I could have forgotten him. I should have thought he'd be the one to do something stupid, as he was about as predictable as the weather.

Workhand stood up quickly, blackened by the soot and ash that covered the ground. "Sir," he addressed Esu while trying to walk closer to the king without stumbling again. "I don't mean to be rude, but that bear attacked me. Sir."