Cursed

Chapter 29: Is this the beginning of a friendship?

Nerves were hateful. They made my shoulders hurt and my throat feel swollen. How could Kai think that I had any part to play in what sounded like the biggest evil since The Shibaura War a hundred years ago? Who was he to say that I should fight a war like this? I couldn’t even be a perfect little Hunter, I couldn’t even listen to my superiors. And what about that bomb about my father? What did he know about that? Shit! What was I going to do against a darkness like Kai described?

With quick steps and fumbling hands, I got lost between the tents. I hadn’t even realized until I heard a bone breaking sound that made me instantly tense. My left hand went to my empty belt, and I realized only then that I had put my weapon in my shoe. Not the easiest place to contain a dagger the size of my forearm, but there was no other choice though, considering these colorless rags were not strong enough to hold the weight of a dagger. With my weapon at hand, I sneaked closer to the tent on my right. In perfect silence, I pushed the fabric to the side only enough to let my eyes get a glimpse.

A tall woman with platinum blonde hair, woven together on her back, stood regally above a small corpse. With her arms spread to the side, her legs a little too wide to be a natural stance and her head tilted to the back, she commanded the white heap of osteological material in front of her. The bones laying on the floor were moving, which was the cause of the unnatural, hair-raising sounds filling the air. Slowly they came to life, setting themselves into a mismatched structure. 

“Talk!” The voice sounded lower than you would expect from a woman. It vibrated through the air and made the bones shake in response. 

It was hard to look away from the display of power. Is this what the Ahr a Donn did? Was this how they communicated with the death? Did they lie about the three day wait?

“I have not asked for that!” Her voice commanded. “Tell me who did this to you! Tell me everything you remember before you were slaughtered like a lamb. Tell me why everyone is silent!”

The bones moved, restructured themselves into something that looked a lot like a dog, and crawled with the same unnatural sounds forward to its owner.  When I thought the figure would talk, or reach for its commander, it folded into itself and formed once again a motionless heap of bones.

The tall woman, with arms and legs that seemed too long for the rest of her body, grunted in frustration. It was only when she turned around that I realized who she was. Before me stood the little spy from the day before, Kate’s enamored fan, Brianna. Where she had looked a lot older a few seconds ago, she now looked barely sixteen. Under her eyes, she wore dark spots that spoke of many sleepless nights. Her platinum hair looked uncared for, and I dared to bet that she only wove it into a braid because she wanted it out of the way and not for a fashionable reason. I respected her for that. Not that I dared to admit that, Kate’s fascination with this girl was still very fresh in my mind. I didn’t think it was because of her puffy, colorless braided hair.

A silent scraping sound echoed between the tents. I would’ve missed it if not for the changing of the wind. With my knife raised, I turned around and stared right at a mouse, made of bones, the size of my tibia. A dead mouse with sharp teeth and piercing, white glowing eyes. It looked terrifying. Out of instinct, I sliced my blade through its body. 

“Wooow, seriously? What did Rodo ever do to you?” Brianna appeared on my left. She must have taken the true entrance of the tent, instead of the side where I had been spying.

She walked to me and started to gather the bones that lay scattered around and on top of me. With each bone she took, she whispered soft words that sounded like a mother calming its child. I imagined her saying something along the lines of ‘don’t worry my beloved, the mean lady did not mean to kill you’. I snorted.