Page 11 of The Dark Rising
We love you.
Until we meet again.
Mom.
My sobs shake my whole body as I clutch the paper to my chest and grieve all over again for the parents I’ve lost, the parents who were stolen from me. That this is the path that Zahariss has put me on but has cost too much.
It’s too much to burden alone.
But I will do it. I will carry the weight that was given to me, even if I have to crawl.
As my tears fall like streams down my cheeks, I silently vow that those who have done wrong will pay.
Vrohkaria will be bathed in blood and given back to the lands.
And I will right the wrong that has been done.
Five
Rhea
Ismilesoftlyasthe children run their hands on Bane’s, Colten’s wolf, head. He tilts to the side, enjoying the scratch. I chuckle as his back legs lifts and begins to scratch at air. Hudson is off to the side, leaning on a crudely made fence, watching them intently. I never thought I would be standing in Witches Rest while children pat a wolf’s head, I’m still trying to wrap my head around it.
I walk past them with Belldame, smiling at the children as they giggle with Colten’s licks. Patting his head as I pass, sadness fills me as I wonder if Runa would have loved the attention had we not gone through what we did.
Crossing a bridge to stroll along the dirt path, I take in the gloomy beauty of the witches home. It may be waterlogged, and the ground soggy in places, but the bright, purple flowers of the plants wrapping around the trees and the small sounds of the bugs make me feel close to the lands. The white mist floats high above us, which I now know is the barrier around the home for protection, doesn’t stop the warmth of the sun hitting my cheeks.
“How are you with your wolf, child?” Belldame asks, taking a turn to another path. We’re searching for the last ingredient needed for a spell that will hopefully get these damn cuffs off my wrists. I’ve been helping to gather the last items while I process over the last week with everything Belldame had told me. I have read my mom’s letter multiple times a day, just wanting to feel closer to her whilst everything swirls around inside my head that has happened. It’s a gift I will treasure for as long as I live, not only hearing her last words to me, but also seeing them.
I’ve been somewhat in a state of shock about the knowledge I have learned. Barely speaking and being generally quiet around everyone, even when they try to engage with me in conversations. My mind has been a mess of grief and anger over everything that has happened and all we have lost, but I’m determined to press on, to do what I vowed to the Gods.
“My wolf?” I glance over at her. “Runa is fine, she can be a bit grumpy, but we’re okay, most of the time.” She perks her ears up within me, huffing before rolling onto her back, her eyes falling shut.
Using her tall stick to help her, Belldame trudges up a small hill as I follow behind her, ready to catch her if she slips. She may be an older woman who can move easily if she wants to, but I don’t want to see her hurt. She has told me so much about my mom, stories and mischief they used to get up to. I feel closer to her than I have in a long time, and I love hearing Belldame talk about her, it feels like she is still with us.
“I don’t mean inside,” she tuts at me. “I mean when you call her out.”
Oh. “She’s only been out once.”
Belldame comes to an abrupt stop and turns toward me sharply, her violet eyes filled with shock. “Once?” she repeats, and I nod, looking down as shame washers over me. “Why has she only been out once?”
I pinch my lower lip and continue to walk down the other side of the small hill. It’s just about the beginning of summer now, and the slight, warm breeze that gently caresses me is a testament to that. The trees are droopy over here, swaying to their own breeze. I reach the bottom and wait for Belldame before she leads me to a bridge to cross the murky water below.
“I was fourteen,” I start, looking over the wooden railing to the water. “She came earlier than normal. I was shocked, but I welcomed her. I think she came when I needed her the most.” I watch the water rush underneath the bridge, concentrating on the ripples as fish pop their heads out.
A hand on my arm makes me pause as she brings me to a stop. Her eyes are soft and full of concern. “Why did she come when you needed her most?” I look away from her prying eyes and lean against the railing, my eyes scanning the lily pads and reeds that grow along the bank. Small, winged insects float above the water as I wonder how to answer. “Tell me, child.”
I squeeze the wood beneath my hands and blow out a slow breath, my eyes unseeing. “They took me,” I eventually whisper, and I hear her suck in a sharp breath, coming to stand next to me. “They came to our house. Dad was missing, Mom and I were alone. She tried to fight them off, trying to help me so I could run. But they got us anyway, there were too many of them.” My grip tightens at the memory. “It was my fault.”
“How could it possibly be your fault?” I feel her gaze on me, but I continue to look out over the water.
“I was playing in the woods a few days before. I overheard something.” Memories flash before my eyes, hearing them, running, the wolf, telling my parents what I heard.
“What?”
“They said it was time to move things forward, they had waited long enough, and Mom wasn’t going to accept his offer. I don’t know what he offered Mom, but I didn’t like this man. He was…. dangerous, and had an air about him that you knew was just wrong. He said it was now or never and he needed to get Mom. I turned to go home and I stepped on a branch, crunching it. They heard, both of them looking at me but I couldn’t see their faces because of their hooded cloaks. I ran. They chased me, shouting at me to stop.”
“Did you manage to get home?”
