Ch.29

I've never seen her like this‌…

It wasn't anything new‌—although the more I think about it, the more she resembles the first time I saw her .‌… But this isn't the same place either‌…

With little choice but to trust what his eyes were telling him‌—not to mention the voice in his head‌—Evander continued to drag Fir with him as they closed the gates shut. He even tried pushing the heavy wood into place and tying it shut, although that seemed to make things worse. Every time he used a piece of rope‌… the black figure would take it from him. Each and every time.

If there's anything in this world that could convince me that we've really won .‌….

Evander could barely stand. The pain in his chest had only gotten worse the closer they had come to the village. When he tried to breathe deeply‌—or at all‌—it felt as if his lungs might collapse. The rest of his body was going numb and cold‌—just like the darkness inside him. But Evander couldn't allow himself to collapse, no matter how much it hurt .‌… not when he had so few left in terms of allies.

No, Evander had to keep going. And to do that, Fir needed his help. "Thank you," said Evander to Elaric, trying to push away the pain, holding on to the others‌… even as their bodies tried to turn and face the dark figure standing before them.

The man nodded once‌—as if he understood exactly what Evander meant. He stepped aside just as Evander reached for his dagger, and with one final breath, Evander thrust the blade into the daedric prince's back. As his sword pulled the blade through the black figure's body and out the front‌—it too began to disappear. But, rather than letting go of Fir's shirt and dropping to the ground‌—Evander let the entire thing pull him toward the ground .‌… knowing that there was nothing else he could do.

There was a brief moment of silence. Then, to Evander's surprise‌—Elestra raised her hand, extending the dagger right into the heart of the daedric prince. A heartbeat later, he fell forward, disappearing completely from sight.

***

Everything was starting to go black again. She can't be dead .‌… No one can be dead after doing such a wonderful thing .‌…

Evander tried to blink several times‌—not even sure if he'd managed to see clearly‌—but he didn't get the chance. At first, Evander couldn't understand what happened, but then he realized that Fir had dragged him all the way down into the village. It looked like everyone who lived here was dead‌—at least as far as the outside world knew. But Fir wasn't concerned about what happened to anyone other than himself.

As the light in Evander's eyes grew dimmer, the daedric prince stepped out of the shadows behind them and turned away. There was something familiar about the sound of his voice as he started to disappear. Evander thought it strange. It had been a while since he heard anything like this—almost as long as it had taken for him to forget.

"Will you allow me to escort you home?" he asked, but Evander simply smiled and shook his head.

She's going to be fine. And so are we. That's all that matters. Nothing else‌…

He did notice one thing, however, when the last of the shadows disappeared‌—and that was how different the body of the witch had become. Whatever Elestra had done with her dagger must have only been a little bit worse than she'd intended. In fact, if Evander weren't feeling as weak as he already was‌… he might even suggest that their savior wasn't dead at all.

For the moment, there was no reason to think otherwise .‌.‌. no need to think anymore about what had happened. With a final look around‌—and noticing the bodies lying everywhere‌—Evander let out one deep sigh, letting his eyes close for good. It was time to sleep.

***

I've always been grateful‌—no matter where I was .‌… no matter what I was doing .‌… that someone like Evander existed. It didn't matter who he had fought or won against‌—although Evander had a lot more on his plate back in those days than he had now. But to survive in a world like this, there wasn't anything special about being an Adalian .‌… Not if you could avoid it.

And as Evander walked along the path leading into the village, he couldn't help but smile. Even though the daedric prince had caused him nothing but pain, they were still one step closer to ending their fight. One way or another‌… the next time Evander came face-to-face with this creature, he was ready.

He didn't know why he was smiling. Everything inside him felt dead and empty. All he wanted to do was curl up somewhere and let himself die .‌… But that's what he'd done in the past. And look at where that got him. He had to keep moving forward‌—no matter what. There wasn't any other choice.

Evander reached out to grab onto Fir's shoulder. "Take me home," he said‌… trying not to let his voice break. "There's something I need to talk to everyone about."

It didn't take long for the path to run right through the center of the village, allowing them to pass by the central market square and head straight to the house that Evander was born in. For a moment, Evander thought he might've made a mistake‌—and wondered if he should have found a place to stay elsewhere. But then he saw it‌… the reason he didn't want to go anywhere else.

That little girl wasn't lying‌… she really did escape.

Evander watched as the child slowly approached the door. Her whole body was covered with black marks that seemed to be the same shade as her skin, making it impossible to tell where they began and ended. Yet somehow, that wasn't even the most surprising thing about her.

No, the most astounding thing had to be the fact that there was a hammer resting in her hand. Not only that, but when she came near enough, Evander could see the ash-like substance covering every inch of her arms and face. Only for a second, though‌… before she walked around to face him‌… turning her head away as she stared at him.

Evander's mind immediately flashed back to the day he'd first met the young boy who had called himself Ebert .‌… the only member of this village who had ever taken him in. It's no wonder that kid managed to survive this long .‌… There are a lot more people out here like him, somewhere.

The child dropped the hammer on the ground and quickly turned away from Evander again .‌… avoiding his gaze. When he reached down to pick it up, she turned toward him, staring.

Evander didn't know what to say. He was amazed that she could even talk, considering how many times he'd heard her screaming into the night. And the fact that she had the strength to lift a hammer in the process .… well, that was also something he couldn't understand.

All these questions fell through his mind, one after another, but he eventually settled on a simple "Hello" .‌.‌. hoping that she would understand that.

It was several seconds before she looked over to Fir, looking him right in the eyes. Even then, the only sound she made was a single, quiet, "Hi." Then she looked back at Evander and smiled. It was the first time that she'd done that‌—ever.

Evander tried to return the smile. At least I'm not the only one that needs a lot of help .‌… Although I doubt you're really any better off than I am.