Page 10 of The Bones of the Cursed
The librarian is nowhere to be found when I first walk in. The front desk stands completely empty, but a whispered curse draws me around the corner between the shelves, each one filled with various books, the musty smell somehow comforting.
A human is trying to reach a top shelf to grab a book, her long brown hair reaching just above her lower back. Right as I go tohelp her, a familiar short female waddles around the corner, her glasses slipping down to the end of her nose.
“Dear heavens, girl, just go get the ladder, will ya?”
I smirk at Maryanna’s attitude and obvious fondness for the human. The female’s eyes latch on mine and go wide. She ushers the human off to find a ladder and scurries toward me. I can’t help but follow the delicate little human with my eyes, wishing for reasons unbeknownst to me that I could get a glimpse of her face.
“What brings you here today? How’s your parents?” Maryanna asks. The old Fae has been good friends with my mother in particular for as long as I can remember. She was always coming and going with stories of her travels, making my younger self long for that sense of freedom, nothing tying me to any one place.
My attention snaps back to my reason for being here. “You wouldn’t happen to know where I could find information on ghouls, would you? Sightings throughout the realm’s history, their behavior. Whatever you can offer me.”
She nods grimly and motions for me to follow.
Several hours later, I’m still elbows-deep in books, frustrated beyond belief. Ghouls have been here since the beginning of recorded history, but they have never acted like this. Attacks have always been more of a rare occurrence, knowing they stood a greater chance at surviving if they avoided more populated areas.
So what is drawing them out now?
Their more frequent attacks began shortly after the refugees started arriving, now I just have to find out why.
- ELION -
Swallowing down the ice-cold water, I try to regain control of my breathing. Work is intense today, the royal blue shirt sticking to my sweat-damp skin. My black knee-high boots are scuffed and in need of polishing. I knew becoming a King’s Guard would be a lot, but this is much more extreme than the defense training my father gave me during our time in the rebel camps back home.
I go to refill my water at the stream just behind the campsite. Other soldiers linger, splashing cool water on themselves. We made it to the northernmost patrol point just this morning, and I have already done multiple scouting missions for any sign of the missing people. So far, we have come up empty.
“Elion!”
I snap my eyes towards the redheaded man running my way from the narrow passageway that leads into the only flat spot this high up in the mountains. I smile when I see my friend Levi racing towards me. He was one of the first friends I made here. He has lived here his whole life and has been telling me all about this realm. Even now, after being here a little over a year, I still have much to learn. The only thing I was not pleased with was the fact he dated my sister for a while.
The last thing I wanted was them to date and break up, making everything awkward for everyone. But she’s a grown woman and a stubborn one at that, so I didn’t stop her.
“Hey!” he says as he sidles up next to me. “They asked me to take watch over the forest tonight, but tomorrow, what do you say we have a rematch on that game of cards?”
I wipe the sweat from my forehead, looking towards the dense pine trees only a handful of steps away from the clearing our tents are set up in. The trees grow sparse the further into the mountain range you go. “Sounds good. I need to get my orders for tonight and possibly write a letter to send out with the messenger in the morning. I don’t want Lani worrying. We’vebeen gone three days and I have yet to send word, she is going to have my head.”
He tilts his head. “Speaking of Lani, did you give any more thought into what we were talking about earlier?”
I lift a brow, struggling to recall our conversation from this morning.
He whispers it like it’s a secret: “About Lani and whatever weird sensation she had about this realm.”
Worry gnaws at me. “I did. When we stopped in Selianthe, I found a scroll that might be useful, but I haven’t had a ton of time to read it.” I lean in to whisper. “A Primal Scroll.”
Levi’s eyes widen, his mouth slightly open in shock. I had learned about Primal Scrolls when I first joined the King’s Guard. There are very few, and are almost impossible to find, most hidden by some type of magic. The scrolls are said to be written by the Fates themselves. When I saw the gold emblem on the parchment, I almost shouted in excitement. Historians search most of their lives for Primal Scrolls, and here I was with one gallivanting around the realm. Nerves settle into my very being, my palms clammy as I peer over my shoulder to the tent. I made sure to hide the scroll as best I could in my satchel, but if someone were to dig through it, they certainly would find it.
Levi shrugs but looks around nervously. “I care about you both. I know you don’t want to hear it, but I care for your sister deeply. I just want to make sure she’s safe.”
I nod, appreciating his concern. “What happened between you two?” I’ve never really wanted to know before now, but the curiosity has eaten at me.
Levi looks at me with a steady gaze, his cheeks slightly flushed. “We just decided it was best to remain friends. But she is still important to me.” Looking away, he hooks his thumbs in his belt loops, the red sash cutting across his uniform now slightly crooked. “Maybe we can go have a look at it right now,before my shift starts?”
His concern doesn’t settle the anxiety that has wrapped its fingers around my heart. Levi knows I would do anything to protect Alanis. I refuse to lose anyone else. It is my job to protect her, it has been since the day my father brought her home. The minute my brown eyes locked onto her bright blue ones, I knew I would do anything for her. Nodding, I turn towards him. “I don’t even know where to begin.”
He gives me a small smile. “Come on, let’s go see what we can find.”
4
- KAILU -
