Dragonbound: Birthrights (Book 2)
A Haunting

Though it was dark, the City of Rishana stood clearly in the distance against the midnight-blue sky. Torin couldn’t help but shrink a little at the sight, his body feeling hollow. What was going to happen to his family? To the woman carrying Davin’s child? He was still in shock that his brother had impregnated someone.

“Torin, when we get into the city, you take your family and head straight home,” Brick said. “...It may be best to take your parents with you.”

Torin nodded, only half listening. After registering what was said, he replied, “Wouldn’t it look worse if I took them with me?”

“At this point, I don’t care what it looks like,” Brick muttered.

Torin inhaled deeply, his green gaze soaking in the cursed city before him. “Brick...I should tell you,” he hesitated. Brick noticed the discomfort in Torin’s voice and slowed his pace. Facing him, he waited patiently. “I am unsure of Walter’s intentions. And as far as I’ve seen, I don’t think I can trust him. Whether or not it be a curse or his actual colors showing through...But I need you to know that Davin has gotten his singer pregnant.”

Brick’s eyes slowly widened a bit, his voice reluctant to work. Finally, he stuttered, saying, “W-when--Well...Who? The blind girl? She’s pregnant with his child?” Torin nodded. “Hm…” Brick rubbed his bearded chin, looking away in deep contemplation. “That may not be safe for her.”

“Stella said she’s still in the castle. She was afraid to raise suspicion by moving her. It may be early enough to get her out of there before anyone even notices,” Torin said. “If that’s the case, I can take her to the tribe with me.”

“I’ll see what I can do,” Brick agreed uncomfortably.

Once Brick saw Torin off, he headed straight for home. He’d be no good to anyone if he didn’t get a decent night’s sleep. Only a few guardsmen paced the streets, waving a quiet greeting to him in passing. Once home, he went to bed, but was only able to sleep a few hours before morning came.

Sluggishly, he woke and dressed himself, heading back to the castle to see Walter. Surely, something would come to light. Walter couldn’t possibly be corrupt. He had worked with him for so long. The thought of his old friend and mentor being twisted was enough to make him sick to his stomach.

Upon entering the main hall, he found Walter studying quietly in his seat. His dark eyes slowly shifted up to him, and his body seemed to tense in Brick’s presence. Without sitting up from his slouched, comfortable position, he cast him a slight glare. “And where have you been?” he asked.

“I had a few things to take care of. My mother lives a few towns over, as you know,” he stated. “She’s been sick lately...I don’t think she’ll make it another winter.”

“Hm,” he nodded once, looking back to his book. “I’m sorry to hear that.”

Brick sat across from him, pouring him a cup of tea. Setting it before Walter, he then poured himself a cup. “Unfortunately, these things happen,” he said.

Walter nodded absently, his thoughts elsewhere. Brick inhaled very slowly, watching him. He was the very man who trained him into being a soldier. One who had led the most successful advances in past battles.

“So tell me,” Brick began cautiously. “What really did happen with Davin? The night he left? I’ve heard hundreds of rumors.”

It was silent a moment as Walter sipped on his drink. Finally, setting the cup in his palm, he said, “He simply left. I suppose the stress of his position finally got to him.”

“That just doesn’t sound right,” Brick muttered aloud. Walter eyed him before looking back to his book. “I mean, for Davin to just up and leave like that? It wouldn’t be just simple stress. I mean, hell, Walter, he tore down the throne and set it aflame.”

“As far as I knew, he never even wanted to be king,” he said. “He only took it because it was Alana’s wish.”

Brick hesitated, believing what he had said. Davin never really seemed happy once everything was over. The moment he was crowned king, he took on his responsibilities with pride and power. Yet, he didn’t quite seem happy.

"There is a woman who claims to have been with him that night," Walter muttered as he turned a page. "She has told everyone that he was taken away in the night...Why do you suppose she is lying?"

Brick shook his head. "I don't know."

"Could he have paid her off?" Walter thought aloud. "Maybe he wants everyone to believe I've betrayed him."

His thoughts confused him. Did he or did he not send a group of men to abduct him? What happened in that room that night? Neither of them seemed right in the head.

“Where do you think he went?” Brick asked quietly.

Thoughts seemed to whirl behind his eyes, a distant look of contemplation in them. Slowly shaking his head, he answered, saying, “I don’t know. But... I know someone who might.”

Torin rubbed his head in exasperation. He explained the situation the best he could to his parents. However, when he mentioned them coming to the tribe with him, they refused. His father shook his head and his mother sat in shock. She stared blankly ahead, her heart clearly broken. After all, she had only just recently learned that Davin had left to begin with.

Lianna stood across the room, quietly holding Tallin as she watched. Anille shook her head sharply, finally bringing her eyes to Torin’s. “We can’t leave. What if he comes back? Where would he go? What would he think if we just weren’t...home?”

Torin’s frown felt heavier somehow, and no response came to mind. “Mother. Just forget about that right now. I need you to come because you might die,” he finally said sternly. Her expression hadn’t changed. Milas’s face, however, darkened at his warning.

Cautiously, he placed his hand on Anille’s back in consolation. “Maybe he is right,” he said softly.

“Have you forgotten why we never left to begin with?” she replied lowly.

“I have not.” Milas spoke with a gentle, if not worried voice. He was very soft with her, which was something Torin had never seen before. Lianna glanced at Torin, her brows sinking over her uneasy gaze.

“Mother…” Torin continued, “what do you mean?”

“Your brother wanted us to live in the castle with him,” Milas answered for her as she hid her eyes behind a delicate, weak-wristed hand. “But...we decided it would be best to remain here. With you living in a tribe and Davin as king, we felt the only way to remind you of your roots was to stay here. If you had a reason to remember, then it wouldn’t be as easy to forget.”

Torin paused, feeling slightly guilty. “We’d never forget where we came from,” Torin sighed quietly. He sat on his knees before his mother, leaning into her view. “Mom…”

She slowly lowered her hand away and her dark eyes met with his. He could see Davin’s within her and he smiled a little. “Don’t worry so much. He’s alright.”

“For now he is,” she said negatively. It wasn’t so often to see her so defeated. She reached out, running a hand over his hair. “You boys have grown. And you’re giving me grandchildren. Everything was going so well, but...But now…” Her hands clasped together in her lap as her eyes swelled with tears.

“I promise he’ll return home. And sooner or later, you can come back here,” he assured her. “Please...I don’t want you two in danger.”

She inhaled long and slow before finally glancing to Milas in uncertainty. Silently, his father nodded once in agreement.

The deeper Walter led Brick into the corridors of the castle, the deeper his heart sank. “She was with Davin the night of his...departure,” Walter had told him. "That part, I do not doubt."

Brick sighed as they came to a stop at a room. Walter unlocked the door and they entered. Sitting on the bed was the shy, young woman who sang for Davin. She stared blankly to the floor, fear set upon her face.

He shifted his gaze to Walter, trying not to glare. “Serah, is it?” Walter asked as he closed the door behind them. She didn’t answer and he said, “Tell Brick, here, what you told me.”

She looked away from them in refusal. Brick tensed as he thought of a way to get her out. “Serah…” Brick took a timid step forward. “What happened?”

Hesitantly, she turned back toward him. Though blind, she seemed to look him in the eye. “...A group of men took him away in the night.”

“Then why does Walter say otherwise?” Brick questioned. “Did Davin make you tell us this?” She didn’t reply. Her only reaction was to frown deeper. She seemed to have trusted him, and was disappointed when he didn’t believe her. Surely, she knew what happened. Being blind didn’t intend that she were stupid.

“Walter,” Brick faced him, “I have a way with these things...let me talk to her.”

Walter eyed him closely, his brows drawing low. The air seemed to thicken around them as he waited for an answer. There was no reason for him to not allow him time with her. Finally, Walter said, simply, “No.”

Brick frowned, staring at him in slight disbelief, but hoping he kept it hidden. “...Alright,” he muttered.

Turning forward again, Walter addressed the young woman. “You slipped up that once, remember? You said ‘he left.’ Wouldn’t you say that it sounds a bit different from he was taken away?” he said sternly. “The more you lie for him, the more you put yourself at risk…” he paced casually between the two of them, his boots falling quietly across the wooden floor. “And you don’t want to risk the life of your child, do you?”

She inhaled sharply, a look of horror on her face. Her already ashen face, paled further as she lowered her unseeing eyes. “W-what?” she gaped.

“Walter,” Brick hummed in a warning tone.

However, Walter ignored it. He crouched before Serah, gripping her gently by the shoulder. “I do not want to harm you. It isn’t necessary and I would never be able to sleep again if I did,” he said. This seemed a bit more like himself, however the fact remained that she was still locked away. She wasn’t locked away in the dungeon either. Perhaps he wasn’t as heartless as he feared Walter had become.

“But you need to tell me where he is,” Walter pressed as he leaned in a little. She cringed, her whole body flexing tight. “I-I don’t know,” she choked out.

“He has abandoned his kingdom,” he said. “He’s given away his homeland, and is willing to let us fall--”

“That isn’t true,” she cut him off with a newfound strength. “That isn’t true at all.”

“Oh? Then where is he?” She remained silent which enraged him. Walter stood up so fiercely that Brick feared he may smack her. He readied to pull him away, however, Walter stiffly walked away. “Brick,” he barked. “Come on. I’m done for tonight.” He rubbed the bridge of his nose, inhaling deeply. “It’s been a rough week.”

The streets were busy as Torin ushered his family through the gates. He hoped to sneak out as discreetly as possible. The difficulty should not have been a surprise, considering his hair and tattoos. Not to mention many people knew his parents and stopped them often to converse. And once they noticed the Holloways were packed, the questions began.

“Oh, where are you off to?”

“Off on a trip, are we?”

“Hope you come back soon.”

The questions and prodding continued, and his mother was too polite to leave them hanging. Often, Milas would have to gently push her onwards.

Finally, they reached the gate where they waited a moment in its shadow. Torin deftly exchanged a small coin purse for the gatekeeper’s vow of secrecy. As he turned from the man, he caught a quick glimpse of Brick stepping through a doorway. He cast Lianna a quick glance and she nodded once as he left.

“Brick,” Torin said under a hushed tone as they stepped around a corner. “What’s going on?”

“I can’t get Serah out,” he said lowly. “She’s being kept under guard.”

“What?” Torin hissed. “Why?” He could hardly believe it. Walter? He hadn’t known him as long as Davin had. He had trained Davin with the sword. Kiaran too. His heart sank at the idea that he could be behind all of this. “What is going on?”

“He knows that she’s pregnant,” he said. Torin visibly grew ill. “Don’t worry. Focus on your own family, Torin--”

“This is my family,” he stressed. “Brick--”

“I know,” he gripped Torin’s shoulder tightly. “Hey, I’m working on it, alright? Get them to safety. Get your Tribe to safety. I’ll see what I can do.”

“I-I know,” Torin nodded hesitantly. “Be careful.” He patted Brick as he turned to leave.

The second he turned around, his blood ran ice cold. Standing before him, eye to eye, was a woman with so much hatred in her eyes it made him queasy. Crystal blue surrounded the abyss in her eyes. Something so dark and deep he felt like it was death itself. Despite the darkness, she held a smile. Though it seemed more like a broken crack fissuring across her face.

Every hair on his body stood on end. It seemed as though she weren’t there at all. But he could see her very clearly. Looking forward again, she strode on without a second glance back.

He watched until she was swallowed up by the city. Turning to Brick, he knew he saw her as well, his face as colorless as his own. “...Who was that?” Torin asked.

“...I don’t know,” he answered slowly as he shook his head once.

Walter paced the room slowly, lost in the depths of his thoughts. He could feel her presence, though he refused to face her. It felt like she could pluck him from the earth and cast him into the darkness she harnessed within herself. And it would be so easy to do.

“Walter…” her voice was a pleasant hum. “Why don’t you face me, hm?”

As if directed to, he did as told. When he looked at her, she held her sharp smile for him to see. Though it did nothing to settle him. Her cloak was in layers, draping to the floor, her black hair framing her narrow face. Her beauty was only matched by the disturbance which aired from her. Like a lingering scent...But one that wasn’t too bad. Something he almost grew to miss as she left.

“You seem to have lost him,” she thought aloud.

“I don’t know what you want from him,” Walter said sternly.

“Does it really matter, though?” she tilted her head slightly. “Oh, come now…” She came to a stop by the table littered with maps and notes. One, quick look, and she seemed to know exactly everything which laid before her eyes. “Hm…” she tapped a slender fingertip to the map of Avestitia. “Is that it? His safe haven? Did he go to his once-lover?”

“Doubtful,” Walter said. He clearly fought every word he said, but couldn’t keep it down. She fished the words from him with a single glance. “I think he fled to the direct source.”

“Oh,” she refrained a chuckle. “He’s going to replace me, is he?” Her smile spread. “Let him come.”

He turned to fully face her, only to see that she had disappeared. He blinked once. Twice. Then rubbed his face as he sat down heavily. Closing his eyes, he began to shake slightly. Was she ever even there? The haunting of this nameless woman tormented him for weeks. Trying to silence her was futile. He should never have agreed to her terms.

Now, Davin was in danger. And it was all for nothing.