Thankfully, my sleep was peaceful and undisturbed, but when I woke up the next morning I found myself now on my other side facing Morgan, who was still fast asleep. His sleep however looked like it had been anything but peaceful. His face was scrunched up slightly, as if he were having a nightmare. Slowly I sat up, careful to make sure that I didn't wake him or Annette up and then stretched out, bringing my arms up high above my head. I heard Morgan mumble something and I saw him pull the pillow closer then bury his face into it when I turned to see if he had woken up. It didn't seem like Annette had moved a muscle since she'd fallen asleep and I couldn't help but wonder if she slept like that every night. I went over to the armchair and quietly pulled on my boots, flicking my gaze up to the sleeping duo as I tied the laces, then glancing up over at the clock. 8:43am. I'd slept for nearly 6 hours, which was probably the longest I had slept since I first left Orllandris. I shut the door quietly behind me as I left and yawned as I walked down the hallway to the stairs. Might as well go check on Liandri and get something to eat while I was awake. It was better than simply sitting there waiting for the others to get up. I'd get them up at 9, it wouldn't take me long to eat anyway. There weren't that many people downstairs, maybe 4 of them that I could see, and 3 of them were sitting together anyway, talking about something while watching the news on an old TV. The war had wiped out a lot of the world's resources such as metals for making new equipment and a lot of power supplies. Things like TVs still worked if you had a small generator to hook it up to, but they were all the old chunky ones with the rather poor quality. However, we were all thankful that they still worked considering it had been impossible for any news reporters to successfully broadcast what was going on without getting slaughtered.
“Hey, did you guys hear? Apparently more and more people are getting chosen as those Children of Eternity people,” one of the 3 said in a hushed tone. I couldn't help it when I heard them say that phrase, it sent shivers down my spine and made me have to listen to them.
“Yeah, that's a real shame. Good people gettin' taken away like that. But there are some people this world could do without. Only gets rid of some our problems, don't it,” another said. I couldn't help but start to tap my fingers on the wood of the bar as I sat down, a little away from the man sitting a little further down.
“Morning love! Did you sleep well last night?” a woman said as she came over to me.
“Oh! Good morning. Yes, I slept wonderfully thank you,” I said, still trying to listen to what they were saying while trying not to seem too suspicious.
“Want some breakfast deary? It's bacon and scrambled eggs with a slice of toast,” she asked. I looked at her and smiled.
“That sounds wonderful. I haven't had that in a long time.”
“Coming right up deary. Also...I hope you don't mind me asking, but...who was that dashing young man and the beautiful young lady you arrived here with? I know it's none of my business, but they just seem...rather out of place here in dreary old Grimsel. I was only wondering because I saw the 3 of you last night just as you were going into your room. I'm sorry you all had to share like that.”
My thoughts on the group talking about Children of Eternity stopped and it took me a moment to think of something to say.
“Oh, she's my friend. We're going to go visit some of her family across the seas but she felt a little scared going on her own, so she asked me to come with her. And him...he just guided us here. You know, bit of a worrier, didn't want us getting hurt on the way here,” I said with a shrug. She stared at me for a moment then leaned closer on the table, a glint similar to the one that Annette had last night in her eye.
“Listen love, he's a perfectly handsome young man and he seems like a real sweetheart. You don't get too many of those these days. Don't let him out of your sight,” she said, giving a wink then disappearing through a door which lead into the kitchen. It took me a moment to realize what it was she was getting at and I couldn't help but turn bright red at the thought of me and Morgan being a couple. Morgan and Annette, that would be way more likely than him and me.
“Why is your face all red?”
I jumped at the closeness of the voice and looked up to see Morgan smirking at me. He wasn't dressed in his uniform any more, just a plain white button up shirt with the sleeves rolled up with casual combat trousers. He looked more like a normal guy now instead of Bristine's Captain. It was almost a little shocking.
“N-nothing,” I said, looking away from him again and resting my head on my elbows, trying to will the blush to go away. He gave a small laugh and sat down beside me.
“Would it surprise you if I said I didn't believe you?” he teased.
“No, not really. But I wouldn't tell you what was wrong anyway, not that there is anything wrong,” I said quickly, trying not to babble. The woman came back with a plate covered in eggs, bacon and toast, setting it down in front of me. She then smiled at Morgan.
“Hello again Morgan deary!” she said.
“Hello Annie,” Morgan smiled back. I paused as I was lifting a piece of bacon into my mouth.
“Wait, you two know each other?” I asked, totally confused.
“Oh of course we do. We get brought here to train in the water, and lovely Annie here always brings us drinks and sandwiches when we're on our breaks,” he said. Annie laughed.
“Oh stop it you, you'll make me blush!” she laughed, patting him on the shoulder. I stared at her, still confused, and I could still feel the heat on my face.
“I was just messing with you before deary, of course I know who you all are. That's one of the reasons Morgan came to me.” She leant down closer to us. “You can trust me. My husband...he was a Mage as well. Did a damn lot to help the people of Bristine, and they shot him for it. I didn't care about what he was, he could have been a unicorn for all I cared and I still would have loved him.” She sighed sadly then straightened up, glancing at the clock. “Oh! Well would you look at the time. One of you'd best go and wake that lovely young lady up. I'll go and get another two plates ready for you both.”
“You stay here Lysette, I'll go and wake her sleepiness up. It'd be a shame for you to leave your food once you've started,” Morgan said, getting up from his seat. “And please don't talk about me any more to her, would you Annie?”
Annie just smiled at him as he walked back over to the stairs, disappearing up them. I was left to my breakfast in peace for a short while as Annie went to make more food and Morgan went to go drag Annette out of bed. I chewed my bacon, trying to hear if those 3 were saying anything more about Children of Eternity, maybe give some clues as to where more could be found, but they had turned their attention to the TV and were no longer talking. I almost groaned, anything about others like me would have been helpful.
I was nearly finished with my food and there was no sign of Morgan and Annette. Made me wonder whether or not I should go looking for them. Their food had been set out beside me and Annie had shrugged when I gave her a puzzled look. The man further down the bar coughed and I looked up to see he had his gaze on me, his eyes rather glazed as if he were nearly blind.
“It's been a long time since I've seen a pair of eyes like yours, lass,” he said, digging through his pocket to bring out a pipe. I stared at him for a moment.
“You mean...you know what I am?” I asked cautiously.
“Aye,” he said, taking a puff of his pipe and sending out small smoke clouds. “The last time I saw one of your kind was 1944 in Berlin while we were making our way through. One of the young men in our group had the same eyes as yours. Had quite some skill as well. His bullets never missed their target.” He paused and smoked his pipe for a moment, staring of into the distance, most likely reliving those memories. Then his eyes refocused and were back on me. “Tell me lass, where is it you and your friends are off to?”
I wriggled in my seat for a moment, wondering if I dared tell him the truth.
“Come on lass, no need to be afraid. I'm 96 years old and dying of a brain tumour, you've got nothing to lose by telling an old hermit like myself,” he said.
“96? Are you kidding? You don't look a day over 70,” I said. He cracked a smile.
“Flattery won't get you everywhere lass, but thank you,” he said. “Regardless, if you're heading overseas, then you might want to stay there. It’s getting a whole lot worse for your kind here.”
“Ummm…what exactly do you mean by that? It’s hardly safe anywhere for someone like me.”
He stared at me for a moment then got up and shuffled closer, sitting in Morgan’s seat, glazed eyes fixed on me.
“You ever heard of the town of Panaethene? They say it’s a stronghold for your kind, a safe place, Mages can live peacefully there. But they’re being plagued by those blasted demons, being used as slaves to fuel their bloody machines and for…less pleasant things. Seems to be a lot of Children of Eternity there right now, and most of the poor things are losing the battle to remain good. Temptation is driving them to join the darkness instead of remembering what hides within it,” he said mournfully. I was even more confused than before now. But now I knew I had to go there, even just to see what was going on, despite the fact I could easily get caught.
“Why…why are you telling me this? I’m just a stranger to you, my life shouldn’t mean anything,” I said softly. His eyes seemed to clear for a moment, and I could see that they were a brilliant dark blue, like the colour of midnight. His expression saddened greatly, and it made me wonder who he’d lost.
“I’m an old man now, I’ll be dead any day, but my eyes were opened to the truth a long time ago. I can sense hidden truths about people, and if I can help you break from of those cursed binds that took my wife away from me, then I’ll do anything. Also, my grandson is somewhere near Panaethene. I’m not expecting you to go searching for him, it’s not a task I’d ask you to do, but…” He paused and started digging around in his pocket again then pulled out an old crinkled photograph. He was in the photo, looking healthier than he did right now, and there was a boy of around 15 with him. The boy had pitch black hair which was messily swept to the left, and moonstone eyes. “It’s been 7 years since this was taken, so he’ll be around 22 or so by now. His name is Teine, named after the fire that’s always in his eyes. He’s not that skilled a Mage, or at least wasn’t when we were still together. He’s probably gotten a lot better. But…if you see him…I’d greatly appreciate it if you could tell him that I…that I said goodbye, and that I cherished every minute we spent together.”
I stared for a moment, letting the understanding of what he wanted me to do sink in. It would take me an age to find Teine, and this man would most certainly be dead by then, the distance making it even more impossible for him to say goodbye. I swallowed a small lump in my throat, remembering being at my Uncle’s side as he passed away.
“I will, I’ll tell him you said goodbye,” I said. He smiled sadly for a moment then stood up again, starting to head to the door. He stopped and glanced over his shoulder at me just before he went out.
“Good luck to you lass. I’m sure you can do whatever you want if you have the will. And I see you have the will,” he said, then he disappeared, the door shutting quietly after him. I wasn’t sure how long I sat there staring after him, photograph in hand, but it must have been a while because the next thing I knew Morgan sat back down beside me, Annette in tow.
“What’s with you? You look shaken,” he said. He glanced at the photograph. “Where’d you get that?”
I looked down at it and stared at the image of Teine for a moment.
“That boy, he’s a Mage like me. That old man was his grandfather, and he’s dying. He…he asked me to say goodbye to him if I ever found him,” I said softly, my grip tightening. “And I’m going to.”
“Well take it easy would ya? We can’t do everything at once,” Morgan said, stabbing a piece of bacon with his fork. “We still need to get you free of those binds. And who knows how long it will take us to get to Panaethene once we get across the sea.”
I paused then looked up at him, wondering if I’d heard him right.
“’We’? I thought you were only coming as far as here?” I asked. He didn’t look up at me.
“Well…just before we came down, me and Annette were talking. We agreed it would be best if I came along to add another source of protection. And…maybe…maybe I’ll find my brother,” he said.
“I see. And did you say Panaethene?”
“Mhm. It may be a demon stronghold, but we’ll have to go through there to get to where we’re going,” Annette said sleepily, rubbing her eyes with a free hand. I looked back at the photo and couldn’t help but smile.
“I get the feeling we can kill several birds with one stone,” I said. I swivelled in my seat so I was facing them both properly. “First, Teine is somewhere in Panaethene. Maybe we can find him when we go there. And second, his grandfather told me that quite a few Children of Eternity are turning up there, and since it’s a demon stronghold, maybe your brother will be there as well. I’m also curious to see just how many Mages are in Panaethene.”
Morgan stared at me for a moment then turned to look at Annette.
“It…seems possible,” she said.
“Yeah, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it will all go smoothly. You’re forgetting that…well, it’s General Andreas’s hometown,” Morgan said, taking a sip of his mug of coffee. I groaned and then let my head fall to the table.
“Good God, is there anywhere that blasted man isn’t known?! I’d like to go somewhere where I can actually feel safe, like I don’t have his people breathing down my neck all the time,” I said, thumping my head against the wood a couple of times.
“Relax, your kind are the reason he left in the first place. He’s stupidly religious and wants nothing to do with Mages. He had plans to go back and get rid of every single Mage living there once the war was over, but then the demons moved in during the war making that impossible. There’s no chance he’ll go back there, not when the place is crawling with Hellish monsters,” Morgan said, patting me on the back. I turned my head and just looked at him, trying to see if he was actually trying to make me feel better or was just being an ass. I turned my eyes up to the big clock on the wall.
“Hey, don’t we have to go soon?” I asked. Morgan glanced up at it and drained his mug.
“Yeah, we do. Hurry up and finish your breakfast Annette. We want to get good places on the boat before it gets too crowded. I’ll go and grab your stuff from upstairs,” he said, getting up then heading over to the stairs. “Thanks for the food Annie, delicious as always.”
“You’re most welcome deary,” she smiled as she cleared away mine and his plates. Me and Annette sat there waiting for him, but she didn’t eat anything more than a couple of mouthfuls. Instead she just sat there pushing her food around with her fork.
“Lysette…you don’t think that maybe the Great Shadow War and the Heavenly War are related somehow, do you?” she asked suddenly. “I mean think about it. The Heavenly War has been going on for God knows how long. But it’s never had any actual effect on Earth. Then out of nowhere, we get the Shadows invading and destroying everything. Surely there must be some link?”
I thought about what she said for a minute. It did make sense, but not entirely.
“I understand how they seem linked, but I don’t think in the way you’re thinking.” She looked up at me. “I think that the Shadows are the souls from the Abyss. Those Shadows weren’t heavenly or demonic in any way. They were something else entirely. I wonder if that book was right then.”
“Book? What book?”
“Oh, my Uncle got me a book about something similar to this for my 17th birthday. I won’t go into detail now, I’ll explain on the boat,” I said, motioning to Morgan who had reappeared with all our things, not that there was that much to carry anyway.
“You done eating yet?” he asked as he came up to us.
“Yeah, I don’t really feel that hungry this morning,” Annette said, pushing the plate away and stretching.
“Well, let’s go then. We got a room, but it’s a fight to get the good ones. Thanks for everything Annie…maybe we’ll see you again someday,” he said, looking over at the older woman. She stared back at us, looking rather sad.
“Oh I’m certain I’ll see you all again. But for now, good luck and stay safe,” she said, giving us an encouraging smile. “Your horse is waiting just outside with one of our stable hands deary. She’s a magnificent creature.”
I couldn’t help but smile back slightly. Everyone seemed to love Liandri.
It was quiet outside the inn, except for Liandri’s happy neighing at the sight of me. I smiled and patted her neck as I took the reins from the young man who was waiting with her. The walk to the docks was silent and the smell of the sea soon hit us. As we boarded the ship, I couldn’t help but look back at the inn and wonder if maybe the Egyptian princess had been watching over us.
“Hey, did you guys hear? Apparently more and more people are getting chosen as those Children of Eternity people,” one of the 3 said in a hushed tone. I couldn't help it when I heard them say that phrase, it sent shivers down my spine and made me have to listen to them.
“Yeah, that's a real shame. Good people gettin' taken away like that. But there are some people this world could do without. Only gets rid of some our problems, don't it,” another said. I couldn't help but start to tap my fingers on the wood of the bar as I sat down, a little away from the man sitting a little further down.
“Morning love! Did you sleep well last night?” a woman said as she came over to me.
“Oh! Good morning. Yes, I slept wonderfully thank you,” I said, still trying to listen to what they were saying while trying not to seem too suspicious.
“Want some breakfast deary? It's bacon and scrambled eggs with a slice of toast,” she asked. I looked at her and smiled.
“That sounds wonderful. I haven't had that in a long time.”
“Coming right up deary. Also...I hope you don't mind me asking, but...who was that dashing young man and the beautiful young lady you arrived here with? I know it's none of my business, but they just seem...rather out of place here in dreary old Grimsel. I was only wondering because I saw the 3 of you last night just as you were going into your room. I'm sorry you all had to share like that.”
My thoughts on the group talking about Children of Eternity stopped and it took me a moment to think of something to say.
“Oh, she's my friend. We're going to go visit some of her family across the seas but she felt a little scared going on her own, so she asked me to come with her. And him...he just guided us here. You know, bit of a worrier, didn't want us getting hurt on the way here,” I said with a shrug. She stared at me for a moment then leaned closer on the table, a glint similar to the one that Annette had last night in her eye.
“Listen love, he's a perfectly handsome young man and he seems like a real sweetheart. You don't get too many of those these days. Don't let him out of your sight,” she said, giving a wink then disappearing through a door which lead into the kitchen. It took me a moment to realize what it was she was getting at and I couldn't help but turn bright red at the thought of me and Morgan being a couple. Morgan and Annette, that would be way more likely than him and me.
“Why is your face all red?”
I jumped at the closeness of the voice and looked up to see Morgan smirking at me. He wasn't dressed in his uniform any more, just a plain white button up shirt with the sleeves rolled up with casual combat trousers. He looked more like a normal guy now instead of Bristine's Captain. It was almost a little shocking.
“N-nothing,” I said, looking away from him again and resting my head on my elbows, trying to will the blush to go away. He gave a small laugh and sat down beside me.
“Would it surprise you if I said I didn't believe you?” he teased.
“No, not really. But I wouldn't tell you what was wrong anyway, not that there is anything wrong,” I said quickly, trying not to babble. The woman came back with a plate covered in eggs, bacon and toast, setting it down in front of me. She then smiled at Morgan.
“Hello again Morgan deary!” she said.
“Hello Annie,” Morgan smiled back. I paused as I was lifting a piece of bacon into my mouth.
“Wait, you two know each other?” I asked, totally confused.
“Oh of course we do. We get brought here to train in the water, and lovely Annie here always brings us drinks and sandwiches when we're on our breaks,” he said. Annie laughed.
“Oh stop it you, you'll make me blush!” she laughed, patting him on the shoulder. I stared at her, still confused, and I could still feel the heat on my face.
“I was just messing with you before deary, of course I know who you all are. That's one of the reasons Morgan came to me.” She leant down closer to us. “You can trust me. My husband...he was a Mage as well. Did a damn lot to help the people of Bristine, and they shot him for it. I didn't care about what he was, he could have been a unicorn for all I cared and I still would have loved him.” She sighed sadly then straightened up, glancing at the clock. “Oh! Well would you look at the time. One of you'd best go and wake that lovely young lady up. I'll go and get another two plates ready for you both.”
“You stay here Lysette, I'll go and wake her sleepiness up. It'd be a shame for you to leave your food once you've started,” Morgan said, getting up from his seat. “And please don't talk about me any more to her, would you Annie?”
Annie just smiled at him as he walked back over to the stairs, disappearing up them. I was left to my breakfast in peace for a short while as Annie went to make more food and Morgan went to go drag Annette out of bed. I chewed my bacon, trying to hear if those 3 were saying anything more about Children of Eternity, maybe give some clues as to where more could be found, but they had turned their attention to the TV and were no longer talking. I almost groaned, anything about others like me would have been helpful.
I was nearly finished with my food and there was no sign of Morgan and Annette. Made me wonder whether or not I should go looking for them. Their food had been set out beside me and Annie had shrugged when I gave her a puzzled look. The man further down the bar coughed and I looked up to see he had his gaze on me, his eyes rather glazed as if he were nearly blind.
“It's been a long time since I've seen a pair of eyes like yours, lass,” he said, digging through his pocket to bring out a pipe. I stared at him for a moment.
“You mean...you know what I am?” I asked cautiously.
“Aye,” he said, taking a puff of his pipe and sending out small smoke clouds. “The last time I saw one of your kind was 1944 in Berlin while we were making our way through. One of the young men in our group had the same eyes as yours. Had quite some skill as well. His bullets never missed their target.” He paused and smoked his pipe for a moment, staring of into the distance, most likely reliving those memories. Then his eyes refocused and were back on me. “Tell me lass, where is it you and your friends are off to?”
I wriggled in my seat for a moment, wondering if I dared tell him the truth.
“Come on lass, no need to be afraid. I'm 96 years old and dying of a brain tumour, you've got nothing to lose by telling an old hermit like myself,” he said.
“96? Are you kidding? You don't look a day over 70,” I said. He cracked a smile.
“Flattery won't get you everywhere lass, but thank you,” he said. “Regardless, if you're heading overseas, then you might want to stay there. It’s getting a whole lot worse for your kind here.”
“Ummm…what exactly do you mean by that? It’s hardly safe anywhere for someone like me.”
He stared at me for a moment then got up and shuffled closer, sitting in Morgan’s seat, glazed eyes fixed on me.
“You ever heard of the town of Panaethene? They say it’s a stronghold for your kind, a safe place, Mages can live peacefully there. But they’re being plagued by those blasted demons, being used as slaves to fuel their bloody machines and for…less pleasant things. Seems to be a lot of Children of Eternity there right now, and most of the poor things are losing the battle to remain good. Temptation is driving them to join the darkness instead of remembering what hides within it,” he said mournfully. I was even more confused than before now. But now I knew I had to go there, even just to see what was going on, despite the fact I could easily get caught.
“Why…why are you telling me this? I’m just a stranger to you, my life shouldn’t mean anything,” I said softly. His eyes seemed to clear for a moment, and I could see that they were a brilliant dark blue, like the colour of midnight. His expression saddened greatly, and it made me wonder who he’d lost.
“I’m an old man now, I’ll be dead any day, but my eyes were opened to the truth a long time ago. I can sense hidden truths about people, and if I can help you break from of those cursed binds that took my wife away from me, then I’ll do anything. Also, my grandson is somewhere near Panaethene. I’m not expecting you to go searching for him, it’s not a task I’d ask you to do, but…” He paused and started digging around in his pocket again then pulled out an old crinkled photograph. He was in the photo, looking healthier than he did right now, and there was a boy of around 15 with him. The boy had pitch black hair which was messily swept to the left, and moonstone eyes. “It’s been 7 years since this was taken, so he’ll be around 22 or so by now. His name is Teine, named after the fire that’s always in his eyes. He’s not that skilled a Mage, or at least wasn’t when we were still together. He’s probably gotten a lot better. But…if you see him…I’d greatly appreciate it if you could tell him that I…that I said goodbye, and that I cherished every minute we spent together.”
I stared for a moment, letting the understanding of what he wanted me to do sink in. It would take me an age to find Teine, and this man would most certainly be dead by then, the distance making it even more impossible for him to say goodbye. I swallowed a small lump in my throat, remembering being at my Uncle’s side as he passed away.
“I will, I’ll tell him you said goodbye,” I said. He smiled sadly for a moment then stood up again, starting to head to the door. He stopped and glanced over his shoulder at me just before he went out.
“Good luck to you lass. I’m sure you can do whatever you want if you have the will. And I see you have the will,” he said, then he disappeared, the door shutting quietly after him. I wasn’t sure how long I sat there staring after him, photograph in hand, but it must have been a while because the next thing I knew Morgan sat back down beside me, Annette in tow.
“What’s with you? You look shaken,” he said. He glanced at the photograph. “Where’d you get that?”
I looked down at it and stared at the image of Teine for a moment.
“That boy, he’s a Mage like me. That old man was his grandfather, and he’s dying. He…he asked me to say goodbye to him if I ever found him,” I said softly, my grip tightening. “And I’m going to.”
“Well take it easy would ya? We can’t do everything at once,” Morgan said, stabbing a piece of bacon with his fork. “We still need to get you free of those binds. And who knows how long it will take us to get to Panaethene once we get across the sea.”
I paused then looked up at him, wondering if I’d heard him right.
“’We’? I thought you were only coming as far as here?” I asked. He didn’t look up at me.
“Well…just before we came down, me and Annette were talking. We agreed it would be best if I came along to add another source of protection. And…maybe…maybe I’ll find my brother,” he said.
“I see. And did you say Panaethene?”
“Mhm. It may be a demon stronghold, but we’ll have to go through there to get to where we’re going,” Annette said sleepily, rubbing her eyes with a free hand. I looked back at the photo and couldn’t help but smile.
“I get the feeling we can kill several birds with one stone,” I said. I swivelled in my seat so I was facing them both properly. “First, Teine is somewhere in Panaethene. Maybe we can find him when we go there. And second, his grandfather told me that quite a few Children of Eternity are turning up there, and since it’s a demon stronghold, maybe your brother will be there as well. I’m also curious to see just how many Mages are in Panaethene.”
Morgan stared at me for a moment then turned to look at Annette.
“It…seems possible,” she said.
“Yeah, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it will all go smoothly. You’re forgetting that…well, it’s General Andreas’s hometown,” Morgan said, taking a sip of his mug of coffee. I groaned and then let my head fall to the table.
“Good God, is there anywhere that blasted man isn’t known?! I’d like to go somewhere where I can actually feel safe, like I don’t have his people breathing down my neck all the time,” I said, thumping my head against the wood a couple of times.
“Relax, your kind are the reason he left in the first place. He’s stupidly religious and wants nothing to do with Mages. He had plans to go back and get rid of every single Mage living there once the war was over, but then the demons moved in during the war making that impossible. There’s no chance he’ll go back there, not when the place is crawling with Hellish monsters,” Morgan said, patting me on the back. I turned my head and just looked at him, trying to see if he was actually trying to make me feel better or was just being an ass. I turned my eyes up to the big clock on the wall.
“Hey, don’t we have to go soon?” I asked. Morgan glanced up at it and drained his mug.
“Yeah, we do. Hurry up and finish your breakfast Annette. We want to get good places on the boat before it gets too crowded. I’ll go and grab your stuff from upstairs,” he said, getting up then heading over to the stairs. “Thanks for the food Annie, delicious as always.”
“You’re most welcome deary,” she smiled as she cleared away mine and his plates. Me and Annette sat there waiting for him, but she didn’t eat anything more than a couple of mouthfuls. Instead she just sat there pushing her food around with her fork.
“Lysette…you don’t think that maybe the Great Shadow War and the Heavenly War are related somehow, do you?” she asked suddenly. “I mean think about it. The Heavenly War has been going on for God knows how long. But it’s never had any actual effect on Earth. Then out of nowhere, we get the Shadows invading and destroying everything. Surely there must be some link?”
I thought about what she said for a minute. It did make sense, but not entirely.
“I understand how they seem linked, but I don’t think in the way you’re thinking.” She looked up at me. “I think that the Shadows are the souls from the Abyss. Those Shadows weren’t heavenly or demonic in any way. They were something else entirely. I wonder if that book was right then.”
“Book? What book?”
“Oh, my Uncle got me a book about something similar to this for my 17th birthday. I won’t go into detail now, I’ll explain on the boat,” I said, motioning to Morgan who had reappeared with all our things, not that there was that much to carry anyway.
“You done eating yet?” he asked as he came up to us.
“Yeah, I don’t really feel that hungry this morning,” Annette said, pushing the plate away and stretching.
“Well, let’s go then. We got a room, but it’s a fight to get the good ones. Thanks for everything Annie…maybe we’ll see you again someday,” he said, looking over at the older woman. She stared back at us, looking rather sad.
“Oh I’m certain I’ll see you all again. But for now, good luck and stay safe,” she said, giving us an encouraging smile. “Your horse is waiting just outside with one of our stable hands deary. She’s a magnificent creature.”
I couldn’t help but smile back slightly. Everyone seemed to love Liandri.
It was quiet outside the inn, except for Liandri’s happy neighing at the sight of me. I smiled and patted her neck as I took the reins from the young man who was waiting with her. The walk to the docks was silent and the smell of the sea soon hit us. As we boarded the ship, I couldn’t help but look back at the inn and wonder if maybe the Egyptian princess had been watching over us.
