Page 14 of Dark Ink

But then the man turns into the biggest pathway I’ve seen. It’s full of cars, and people, and colorful lights. The chaos of it hurts my eyes, but I move forward.

When Koschei’s allies came to our village, they always arrived in a big, black car. I assumed it was a rare object, only to be enjoyed by the protectors of our world. But as my eyes dart from side to side, my silent feet still following the man, inside the cars I see women and children. There are even animals.

A tight, buzzing feeling begins in my center; like dozens of rats clawing at my insides with their tiny feet. I don’t understand where I am or how I never knew the world beyond the wall was so expansive and full of holy things.

The man makes another sharp turn and I almost lose him as I’m mesmerized by a line of people holding shining plates. They appear to be waiting for something, but their body language holds none of the panic that makes my muscles shake.

Should I go to them? Ask for help?

No.They might not even know about my world. Same as how I know nothing about this one. The mortal I’m following, though, he knows. I’m sure of it because when he passed me earlier, he carried the same scent of crackling fire as the one that permeated my village before it was overtaken.

I halt as my mind catches up with that thought.

Was he the one who brought the darkness? Did he take the children and destroy our chapel?

If he did, that’s even more reason to follow him. He might take me to them and I can free them, finally proving my worth to Koschei.

The man smelling like fire slows down when we arrive at a dark village full of steel houses. I’ve never seen a settlement like this—the houses are multicolored, with writing that has some of the letters of the holy language and some squiggles. Overall, the words make no sense to me. The people must be sleeping because I see no one around us.

Step after step, we go deeper until a vast nothingness that smells like salt expands before me. The man’s path takes me closer to it, and now I can make out the distinct sound of sloshing water. Is this a river? Or a sea?

In the tales Koschei told us, it was always blue and calm. I forget about following the unknown man as curiosity overtakes me. With no one obvious to punish me for straying, I walk toward the water. It’s as if its darkness calls to me. I’m not scared when I go nearer the edge of the ground and look down at the crashing waves. It’s an angry water.

My eyes slide across the foamy surface, searching for a duck. Do ducks swim in big waves like this?

Don’t be stupid. Even if there was a duck, you wouldn’t find what you were looking for.

This is how the story goes: Koschei’s soul is at the tip of a needle. The only way to kill him would be to destroy that needle. But the needle is hidden inside an egg, the egg is in a duck, the duck is in a hare, the hare is in a chest, the chest is chained up on a far island.

I squint my eyes to see if I can make out any land beyond the angry waves. There’s nothing, however, only more black.

I make a fist and hit my head. What would I even do with Koschei’s soul? It’s not like I would kill him. He’s our protector. Right?

But he ran away.Left me to defend myself from the darkness. Left me just before the immortality ritual. I could have died. I still can.

I hit my head again. These kinds of thoughts will make me unclean. I should forget them.

The other mortal. Where is he?

I leave the water, my eyes darting around the quiet village. He’s nowhere to be seen and I panic a little. Among the labyrinth of steel, I can hear only the splash of the water and the faint sounds of the new world.

How did I never notice there was a whole other place beyond our walls? Koschei always said the occasional loud noises we heard out of nowhere were the darkness trying to get in. Why would he lie to us? Tome, his most trusted priestess?

The silence around me is suddenly broken by voices. This confuses me because as I look around, there’s still no one present. I close my eyes and follow the sound, stepping softly in the direction of the talking.

This leads me to a dark red steel house. It has no windows and no doors. On top of it is another story, painted in blue. Or is it two houses on top of each other? The voices continue, the tone of the speakers shifting.

“Bullshit.” It’s a high-pitched voice, filled with anger. “Fucking. Bullshit.”

My cheeks flush at hearing these rude words coming from a seemingly female mouth. I look around again, finally figuring out what’s happening. Whoever is talking is on top of the house.

“I’m sorry.” The second voice is softer and distinctly male. Is it the man I was following?

I take a few steps back, making sure I stay in the shadow of the houses around me. When I’m far enough, I look up and see them. A woman and a man.

They’re arguing, I think, but then suddenly the man is pulling the woman close to him, trying to embrace her. She pushes him away.

I shake my head. If we were back in the village, she would have been severely punished.

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