Chapter 14: Chapter 9 Sala

I was about six when it came, I think, The Source. Luckily, I was on a vacation with my family; we took a plane. Oh? Right, that’s like a carriage that can fly. We took a plane to a place called Colorado, far to the east of here. My parents and older brother didn’t last very long. I wasn’t as lost as they were; I was too young to really know what was going on, I think.

 

Chapter 9 Sala

 

“Come on, I’m not going to do anything that bad.” Scath spoke in her mind.

He pushed again; he was so close that she could feel his tendencies bleeding into her. They were cruel, evil thoughts, and she could not allow him in. But Sala found herself at an impasse. She was now walking with the people who had initially captured her, TimTom the giant, Cameroon the dwarf, Steff and elf, and Mattaeo the human. Each paid her little attention except for Mattaeo and Cameroon. The dueling wizard knew of her… ailment. He said nothing with his mouth, but the glare spoke much more than he probably thought. Cameroon, he was something else.

Sala looked down at the little man, who barley stood taller than her knees, then rolled her eyes as he very blatantly hit on her.

“I bet you can do a lot of things, you know… with legs like those!” Cameroon coughed out awkwardly in his thick dwarvish accent.

“Do you ever stop talking?” Sala asked.

“Oh, sure!” Cameroon replied.

“No.” Everyone else around them replied and even a few of the refugees walking closer to them.

Cameroon turned and stuck his tongue out at them.

“You’re going to get a creak in your neck if you keep doing that.” Sala told him.

“I am used to looking up at fine women. It’s tough being so handsome and being a dwarf. But you must get used to such things. My neck is thick with muscle! Perhaps you would like to feel it?” Cameroon asked with a wink.

“If I touch your neck, it’s because I will be breaking it. I don’t think you are used to that, so much.” She said noncommittally.

Cameroon stopped walking taken aback. Mattaeo nearly tripped over him.

“Come on man.” The human cursed at him.

“Did you hear that?” Cameroon asked him.

“Maybe if you could…”

“She said that she would put her hands on my neck. I wasn’t clear on which…”

Cameroon trailed off noticing Sala’s glare.

“Well… So, you are a Scholar? They say?” He asked.

Mattaeo had been fingering the dimensional bags at his sides that held his elegant swords. Though everyone appreciated and loved her for saving their lives, they were still scared. She was something terrible and evil, something to scare bad children in bedtime stories. But she saved them all and she felt that she was, in her heart, a good person.

TimTom spotted the tension between the two as Cameroon prattled on. The giant stepped up and placed a huge hand on Mattaeos shoulder. For someone so large, he was quite gentile. Even though Sala was nearly the same height as him, she looked so scrawny in comparison.

“The Twins will help her.” The giant said.

Mattaeo turned his glare at TimTom and after a moment, the human nodded and relaxed.

“You saw what she can do, it’s not like we can do anything about it if she goes after us.” The giant did not know when to stop trying to help.

“So… You looked like a stretched-out human. If that what Scholars really are?” Cameroon said clambering up to her again.

It was awkward for him to maintain her pace, he felt like he needed to take a million steps to her one, but he was not going to let this unique catch flee from him!

“You look like one has squashed one. Is that what Dwarves really are?” She asked sarcastically.

“You know, just because we are smaller, does not make other thi…”

“Cameroon!” Mattaero scolded.

“Well… I may be small, but I have a huge personality. Personality is what I named…”

“Cameroon! Will you knock it off.” Mattaeo shouted at him.

“Listen little man, just because you are afraid of one like her does not mean that we all are.” He said with a twinkle in his eye.

Mattaeo looked shocked and turned those wide eyes towards her.

“I… I… I’m not…” Mattaeo stammered.

“Please, we all know. I can feel your eyes burning into the back of my head nearly as much as Cameroon’s on my rear end.” She said rolling her eyes.

“What can I say, I like what I see.” Cameroon said with a grin.

“You couldn’t even reach it.” Sala said, crossing her arms.

“Is that a challenge?” He asked, grin going wider. “Cause I’m very good at the jump.”

“At the jump?” she said rolling her eyes.

“Best be careful, rolling your eyes so much will make you go dizzy. We don’t want you falling down now do we?” Cameroon paused thinking for a moment. “On second thought, if you fall, then I can get a better look at those lovely eyes of yours.”

She had to force herself not to roll her eyes, but when she turned, Sala could not help but crack a smile.

“See Mattaeo! Persistence, dignity and respect. That how to get a gal to smile.” Cameroon said, running up to her again.

“I think you only have one of those.” Sala replied.

“Hey… I respect my persistence, or else I’ll lose my dignity.” He replied.

“That doesn’t make any sense.” She replied.

“Hey!” Steff shouted.

They stopped talking and turned to the elf, he was back in his normal form and not what he called his True Form. That was when Sala noticed that all the others, but Cameroon and herself had stopped walked a few yards back. By the tone of his voice, it was not the first time he had shouted for them.

“We are here.” Steff told them.

“Are you sure?” Mattaeo asked.

Steff reply was a glare.

“He’s good at those.” Cameroon whispered to Steff.

“I think the portal was moved due to the bandits.” Steff said.

“That takes a lot of energy.” Mattaeo told him.

“I know. I think it was getting too dangerous. They didn’t expect that someone could single-handedly take out the problem.” He turned his fiery eyes on her.

“Hey, I helped.” Cameroon said as they walked back to the main group.

No one replied as they all looked at Sala. Mattaeo was a glare, Steff was flat, TimTom with admiration and Cameroon was… well, his was inappropriate as he was not looking in her eyes like everyone else.

Steff turned his head up as if listening to something.

“Someone will want to speak with you. He wishes for you to go in first Sala. We will follow in after.” Steff explained.

She was hesitant, but… she didn’t think that these people would harm her. She also had nowhere else to go. Perhaps these Twins could help her with her… issue and perhaps they could help her find Targan.

Sala nodded.

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Steff raised his right hand, which grew into the enormous, clawed arm of his True Form. It was easily the size of his entire body, but he did not teeter over. Large talons grew from the fingers and with a thrust forward, they impaled… something. It was thick, but just clear air in the middle of the forest. As the fingers stabbed further into the pool of air, a mist began to grow around his palm. It was green and blue, swirling but not mixing until it created a vertical whirlpool nearly twenty feet in diameter. Its lower half was cut off by the forest floor, but the majestic swirls flowed into the earth as if nothing inhibited its movements.

Sala walked up to the portal. She turned back towards them.

“I… trust you.” She said, then stepped through.

“I hope he doesn’t need to kill her.” Steff replied.

“WHAT!” the others all shouted.

They turned to rush after her, Mattaeo included, but Steff tore his hand out, and the portal fizzled away.

 

 

Sala had only gone through one portal before, and it was not like this. When she was young, she learned that some people’s minds just couldn’t handle teleportation, that it broke their mind before they reappeared. Before, she could feel the magic pulling her to another part of the planet, but this time it was not. She could feel herself being broken down into the particles that made up everything and resembling somewhere else, but it was not on Earth.

As she drew closer, she could feel herself slipping. She was not losing her mind in the way she had been taught, she was feeling the magic of her bracelet being drained by something, utterly and completely. She could not speak; she could not do anything but wait. The trip only took a few seconds, but all this went through her mind until it was no longer her mind anymore.

Sala stepped out of the portal, but it was not Sala. Her demeanor was different, she stood with more confidence, but with wild eyes that seemed to pick up everything around her in an instant.

Scath stood in a luscious grove. Everywhere around him, he could spot animals trying to hide. Of course, they would try and hide from him, but it would do little good. He would need to teach them some lessons from Suffering. Yes, they were just animals and yes, the people of this world had barely touched knowledge of the Entities, but that was only because they were just so weak… just so pathetic. That was reason enough to murder them all.

Here they… wait…

His eyes shot open. He could not feel her, his mistress, he could not feel Suffering. She would always show her presence in her minions with her essence; pain and suffering always lingered in his chest and in his soul. But there was nothing there, how had it taken him this long to realize it? Only a few seconds yes, but he had felt it for thousands of years.

Few places could shield the watchful gaze of the Entities, especially that of Sufferings. That must mean that he must also be hidden from her. It didn’t matter whose grove this was, though he had his suspicions, he needed to escape. Even trapped by Sala, Suffering would immediately know everything he knew. So, he turned and found the portal closed.

“Your master has no power in here.” A mans voice broke the silence.

Scath turned to see a human man walking towards him. He was short for a human, bald white head and thick with muscle. He had a clean goatee and wore robes tied at the waste like a gi, but loose at the legs. Scath saw the man’s left arm and legs, they slithered with green vines with flowers that grew and died sporadically. Scath scoffed recognizing him.

“The Twins Grove? Funny how things work out, Andrew?” Scath said in his own voices.

“Scath.” Andrew replied also knowing the creature that had murdered so many of his friends over the eons. “You have two options.”

“Two options? And what are they?” Scath asked.

“You will be allowed to leave, but Sala remains.” Andrew paused, allowing him to think about that.

There was not much for Scath to think about, if he left her body, even if they opened the portal for him to escape, there was nothing he could do here. The forest was not magically potent enough for him to survive longer than a few days, and due to his nature, he could not just inhabit anyone, he needed someone magically gifted in the elements, which no one they raveled with had been. Earth was such a travesty, their elemental users were already so rare, and what made it worse was that this world only had four of the thirteen elements… so pathetic, he did not know why his master had her eyes set so hard on this world, but he would not question it.

“And the other?” he scoffed.

Andrew took a breath then spoke.

“You will be trapped, within her. She would siphon from you and you would be powerless.” Andrew said as a matter of fact.

Scath was silent. It was completely silent. Then he snickered, then the laugh grew into a horrible cacophony. It was a symphony of evil laughter from thousands of voices that pierced the soul. He felt the fear of the pathetic creatures around him and that only made Scath feel better. What they spoke of was impossible.

Something tickled the back of his mind though, where were the Twins? Why were they not here? Their domain was being invaded by their sworn enemy, but they remained hidden. Something didn’t feel right. But he was not worried, he was controlling the body of a Wind Speaker. Andrew’s power came directly from The Twins; well, one of The Twins, but surely it couldn’t compare to what he could do.

Scath lifted his hands then his breath caught. The spirits, where were they?

“I take that as your answer.” Andrew said.

No! Where were the spirits? They were everyone on the planet… they were… they were everywhere on the planet. This grove, The Twins domain was not on the planet? That was the only explanation and unfortunately, that would also make him completely powerless.

The vines grew from Andrew’s hands and into a long staff topped with thorns arching up in a circle. Something floated in the center, it was a golden circlet. Scath looked down at the one on his wrist, it was completely green with tarnish, it was dead. He swiped at it, and it dissolved into dust.

Andrew slammed the staff into the dirt at his feet. Thick roots shot from the ground and vines from the trees each ensnaring a limb. They pulled as if to draw and quarter him.

“You will kill the girl, not me. I will always find my way back to my mistress. It will take a thousand years, but I will be back.” He spoke through grunts.

“I will not lie to you, I was commanded to give you the option of escape; we both know you would have died out in the forest, but I was never going to go through with it.” Andrew explained, walking up to him.

“You would betray your masters?”

Andrew smiled.

“I have been their servant for longer than they have been goddesses. This would not be the first time I have not done what they wished.”

“Oh gods, kill me now.” Scath rolled his eyes.

“No, you will not die. You will be trapped.” Andrew said with a grin.

“That is impossible. You know this.” Scath said with false bravado.

Andrew’s smile turned wicked.

“It would be, if your master was here.”

It hit Scath like a bolder. She was not here, not in this domain. She could not protect him from being possessed. He has walked into a trap.

Scath hissed at him.

“You… no way you could have planned this.” Scath said.

“Me? No way. But The Twins, yes. With a little bit of luck, I might add and assistance from an ally.” Andrew said, still smiling.

“What ally?”

“You will find out soon enough, unfortunately you will still hear and see everything Sala does, but she will now be able to read you just as well. The best part is that Suffering won’t be able to see you.”

“You can’t do this!” Scath screamed out.

“I can and I will. You have killed my family and friends for thousands of years.”

Andrew’s hand of flesh and skin went out and the golden circlet hovered down and floated above his hands. He wanted to feel this.

“Let’s be honest, Scath you are an asshole and had this coming.”

He placed the circlet on Scath’s wrist. The Zetgast was screeching all up until the golden bracelet was fastened securely. Sala’s manic eyes focused, she made eye contact with Andrew and something about his smile, made her feel… safe. Until she noticed that she was bound by roots and vines. She began to struggle in their grip, only to find herself feeling exhausted and… and there was something… something in her mind.

The roots and vines slipped away, she fell, but Andrew caught her. He gently placed her on the ground.

“Don’t worry, child. You are safe now.” He told her.

“Why does my voice hurt so much?”

“Hush.”

“S… S… Sala…” The energy drained faster and faster, until she found herself on the brink of passing out.

This was how it always happened, just after Scath killed.

“I know.”

That was the last thing she heard, but her last thought was just how tired she was of falling unconscious.

 

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