Beyond The Veil

Chapter 16

Airell led me to the Veil, "I can't protect you if you go in, Emery."

 "I know, Airell; you've taught me how to fight; I think I can handle myself." 

 Airell stays silent for a moment before speaking, "They are very different and ruthless, Emery. They will show you no mercy." I'll admit I was a bit nervous, but this was my only chance to find out what happened to Odessa, and to see Micha, I would be brave.

 "I'm well aware, Airell." Then, with a heavy sigh, Airell lifts the Veil and puts his fingers to his lips for me to stay quiet; he then gives me a glowing blue dagger, "Here," he whispers, "This will tell you if they come near you." 

 "Thank you, I won't forget this, " I give him a tight hug before gathering my courage and slipping into the other side. The first thing I noticed was the smell; it hit me like a punch in the gut. A powerful Sulfer smell made me cough. As I looked around at the land before me, my heart sank. It was like a dessert, and only a few trees lived. But farther away, I could see the tip of a mountain. I didn't even know where I was going; I sighed, feeling a bit mad at myself for not studying any maps of this place—or even asking Micha about the terrain here. "I can do this; just keep low," I say to myself. I pull my hood up and start to head towards the mountains.

This place was the complete opposite of my world; it seemed to have little to no life, no color. I probably looked like an eyesore dressed in this vibrate robe. They would know I wasn't from here if I didn't blend in with them. I headed towards the mountain but stayed hidden along the way to the village that lay before me. I peeked out of my hiding place between two large barrels and saw men and women who looked fierce and dirty. Dried cracked dirt dressed their clothes in dried mud.

Yup. Defiantly an eyesore.

As I looked around, I could see a blacksmith clacking his hammer and could hear mild chatter of boastful men around him. Then, finally, alone boar catches my attention as it squeals and runs past the barrels I was hiding behind.

"Come here, you piggy! I need to cook you for dinner!" A young boy's voice exclaims as he tries to catch it with an ax. I jump back, and the ax slams into one of the barrels; my heart races as I quickly hide behind the barrel beside it.

"Ah! The boar makes of a fool of you kid," a man with a husky voice says; I peek through the tiny slit between the barrels. The man with a thick black beard and bumpy ash-colored skin snatches the ax from the boy.

"Here, watch and learn," he says as he strides over to the boar and corners it; my eyes widen as I realize what he's about to do, and I quickly look away. The boar screams, and I cover my ears, feeling my stomach turn; this was horrid. Of course, killing an animal in such a way wasn't something we ever did, but I guess I didn't make a difference here.

"There you go, now hall it back to your family and show them your kill!" He says, handing the boar back to the boy.

"I could have done it myself!" He exclaims, and with a huff, he takes the boar and drags it away. I looked down at my clothes and the dirt beside me. If I was going to walk these streets, I might as well play the part; I start with my dress and begin to rip in places to give it a shredded look, then grabbed hands fulls of dirt and smothered it on myself and my hair.

The dust of dirt engulfs my nose.

"Ah, Ah Ah-Choo!" I freeze.

"Hey! Whose over there!?" I hear a woman say as she rounds the corner; I touch the blade that Airell gave to me as my heart spikes, and my palms grow sweaty around the handle, and as soon as the woman comes around, I tuck and roll the other way before she sees me into the following vendor's stand. Thankfully the merchant wasn't there; I sighed a breath of relief before finishing up my look. Once I'm satisfied, I peek out into the dirt road where travelers come and go, and I slip into the oncoming crowd. 

I flip my hood up, so my face is out of sight and doesn't draw unwanted attention. As I follow the crowd, I start to hear grunts and bellows; I make my way to the front of the public and see another group encircled with two men clashing swords, one very sturdy and the other slim."Come on! Could you give me a fight? I've been looking forward to this all day! The man who had more of the advantage of winning says. The other man puts on a brave face, "You stole my family meat; that does not go unpunished!"

The other man raises his sword and uses his body weight to slam the blade down with all of his power and makes his rival fall to the ground; he doesn't give the man a chance to stand and presses his foot on his hand with the weapon until he lets go.

"Why should the weak be fed? You couldn't defend your kill, and now you can't defend your dignity! You are weak blood!" The man turns to the crowd and raises his voice, "And what do we do with weak blood?!"

"Kill weak blood! Kill weak blood!"

The crowd chants, but my chest tightens; how could they do this? This man surely deserved to live. But just because he was weak was enough for them to take his life? What kind of place was this?

As the crowd chants, the man stands over his opponent, "Ununanimous vote," he says with a sickening smile, and as he raises his sword, I turn away. My body and soul didn't feel safe here; all these people did was kill. This was a huge mistake; I can't do this...

I started to run out of the village and didn't stop running until I saw the gleam of the Veil. Why had my foolish desires led me so astray? Maybe it was what I needed to see to sober me up from my ridiculous fantasies. As I got closer, I could see a cave entrance, and I made haste towards it, but before I could get to it, I heard the galloping of hoves.

My eyes widened, and I looked over my shoulder to see that someone had followed me. Oh no, by running, I probably looked weak; now, someone was after me. 

My lungs hurt as I ran as quickly as I could, this was so dangerous! And now I would end up like Odessa...

Before I know it, I'm grabbed from behind," No! Let me go, you heathen!" I scream and hold my dagger, and stab the person in the arm.

"Ah!" He cries out, but he doesn't drop me; instead, we enter the cave, and I don't even want to think about the horrible things to come. I had to keep fighting until my last breath. Finally, the man stops his horse and swings his legs off, with me still under his arms.

I raise my dagger once more, but suddenly I'm dropped to the ground; I scramble back against the wall. The man's face it's covered by the shadow of his hood. My heart felt like it was going to leap out of my chest through my throat.

"Didn't exactly picture you are stabbing me as a greeting," he says.

My eyes widened as I heard the familiar voice; I cautiously stood and stared at him.

"Micha?"

He removes his hood and reveals a familiar face, " Nice to see you too, Fae Girl."