The Thieving Storm

The Sequel

Hello readers. This is the sequel to my first story on wattpad 'The Hooded Figure'. It's set two years in the future, as you will soon see, and is closely linked to the first book. I strongly recommend reading 'The Hooded Figure' before reading this, if you haven't already. 

Enjoy XX

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1

The Sequel

James watched as Tula Maerad cut down the enemies one by one. Blood pooled below her feet and began spreading towards him.

'It's all your fault' Tula said, her blue eyes boring into him. 'I killed them all for you'.

James tried to speak, to tell her she was wrong, but he couldn't. He knew she was right, he had no argument.

'Why?' the men asked in unison, their corpses crawling towards him. Soon, the corpses surrounded him. He tried to get away, but there was no escape. They grabbed his ankles and, as a last resort, he screamed for Tula, but she was gone.

'Tula?' he cried, but there was no answer. The men were now pulling him down. They were up to his waist. Tula was nowhere to be found. James was neck deep in the bloody corpses of the men who died because of him; Vendigard's men. 'Come back, Tula!' he managed to yell just before he was swallowed into pitch black darkness.

James woke up in bed, screaming and sweating, his top sticking to his back. He looked around and realized he was in his room in the attic. He was safe at home. It was just a dream. His mother, Riana, rushed in looking worried sick.

"James, what's wrong?" she asked, crouching by his bed, "Was it another nightmare?"

"Yeah" James croaked. "But don't worry Mom, I'm fine."

"You don't look fine to me, you look white as a sheet" his mother insisted. "I'll go get you a cup of water." She jumped up and left the room before James could stop her.

It's been two years since he'd last seen Tula back in Vendigard's hideout, and it all seemed like a dream now. The only thing that kept reminding him that it had been real was the recurring nightmare he has had ever since. And, of course, Tula's money kept safely in a box under his bed.

James got up on wobbly feet and peered through the low window. It looked to be about two hours before dawn. Deciding he couldn't go back to sleep anyway, he dressed for the day. He was just finishing up when his mom came in with a cup of water.

"You're not going back to bed?" she asked worriedly.

"It's almost dawn anyway, it wouldn't be worth it" he assured her, taking the water. "Thank you Mother."

"Sit down and drink it slowly" she commanded, getting back to her usual self now that she knew he was fine. James gulped it down and passed her back the cup.

"Well, I better get started on my chores" he announced, already moving for the door.

"You don't want breakfast first?"

"I'll have it with Grandmother and Sillia later."

He climbed down the ladder and went into their small kitchen, where he washed his face in the basin. Feeling strangely alive for the early hour, James made his way out to the farm to start his morning chores, nightmare all but forgotten.      

The darkness outside was chilly and uninviting, but James wrapped his scarf around himself and pressed on. He lighted a lantern and went over to their one and only cow, Jinni. They had bought her last year from a neighbor who was in desperate need of money at the time because of his bad gambling habit. In other words, Jinni was worth a lot more than what they had paid. To say the least, she was their main source of income on the farm.

Other than Jinni, James's family had four sheep, three goats, seven chickens, two roosters and three pigs. Just two years ago, their farm was practically failing, but now, things were looking up. James smiled as he grabbed a pail and patted Jinni. He couldn't help but think that this was all thanks to Tula. After his mother's health took a turn for the worst three years ago, him and his Grandmother tried to make up the money needed for medicine, but after his father's disappearance income was slow and the farm was in tatters. So, James took off to become a Black-list Hunter with the little that his father had taught him about survival.

What he did not expect was to meet Tula and form an alliance. It was thanks to her that he managed to become a Black-List Hunter, like his father before him. It was thanks to her that he managed to get the money to save his mother. He had refused to use Tula's money for anything but the medicine and the doctor, but it still seemed like the farm was thriving thanks to Tula. She had brought Sillia to them, and her craftsmanship and weaving had brought them an extra amount of money that had gone to saving the farm. Not to mention, of course, his grandmother's herbs and his mother's vegetables, which was what had bought Jinni to begin with.

All in all, James now had a healthy mother, a stable farm, and food on the table, but the one person who was to thank for all of this disappeared without a trace. He was starting to feel that it was going to be like his father's case. His father went out on another one of his hunts, but this time, he never came back. James was only a boy of eight at the time, and losing his father brought a devastating blow to the family. He couldn't bear losing Tula, too. Even though their adventure together was only short, a little over a week, he had become attached to her like a chick to its mother. He liked to believe that, someday, she would come back. That's why, slowly, over the last two years, James had been returning the money he used from Tula. He was almost done, too. He only needed perhaps another two months, and Tula's money would be complete.

After milking Jinni, James cleaned her barn and refilled her water trough. He then went out to the field and grabbed some hay from the stack that he had made and covered yesterday, so the wind wouldn't blow it away, and placed it in Jinni's barn.

"Bye Jinni," he said, patting her side, before grabbing the milk bucket and taking it inside. By now, his mother, Sillia and his grandmother were in the kitchen ready for breakfast.

"You're just in time!" his mother smiled, "I was just about to go out to call you."

"I brought the milk," James said, placing the bucket on the floor. His mother started preparing it immediately, so they could have some for breakfast.

"Good morning James," his grandmother greeted. She was his father's mother, but she treats his mother like her own daughter. She has been living with them for as long as James could remember.

"Good morning Granny," James replied cheerfully, "good morning Sillia." Sillia yawned and rubbed her eyes.

"To you too, James," she finally replied groggily.

"You're not much of a morning person, are you Sillia?" his mother joked, placing the breakfast on the table. James quickly stood up to help her.

"You should know that by now," Sillia smiled, searching the table in front of her. His grandmother grabbed her hand and directed it to the bowl of porridge. "Thank you," Sillia said, picking up the spoon and taking her first mouthful.

"Any time, honey," his grandmother replied, doing the same. Sillia went blind after spending years in Vendigard's dungeon with not so much as a trickle of sunlight. Her husband, who had been Tula's friend, was killed by Vendigard in place of Tula. Tula then took it upon herself to rescue Sillia and place her in the safety of James' home.

          James and his mother sat down and started their own breakfast. James felt a happy satisfaction deep in his heart when he looked around the table at his family. He had a lot to thank Tula for. He could hardly wait for the day that she would return.

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I know, I know it's such an uneventful chapter...it's actually sort of a prequel...the second one is when the story starts to pick up.

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