The Reader - Chapter 13

Chapter 13 

If Emmeline was asked to choose two words to describe the jail cell they were detained in, she would have chosen damp and cramped. 

The boys and girls had been placed in separate cells, despite Clara’s urgent requests to heal Forrest. The cells were located on the outskirts of what appeared to be a mysterious town - or at least that’s what Emmeline had gathered from her brief glimpse before she had been tucked away in prison. 

The woman, who had introduced herself as Lena after politely locking them away, had run off to see “the Elders” - whoever they were - and to plead for Emmeline and her friends to be free. At least Lena seemed sympathetic after Coral showed her the injury and provided them some water as well as cells that were literally right next to each other. 

Emmeline could see the boys, but the bars between them were spiked and supposedly very, very warm. Emmeline didn’t touch them to see. 

Forrest was still unconscious, much to Clara’s dismay. The girl did what she could for Coral, closing the wounds so only pinkish marks remained on her skin. Forrest wouldn’t wake up, not when Beckett smacked him in the face “nicely”. Not when Newt poured some of their spare water on his head. 

Newt had kindly asked if Coral would kiss her “princess” back to life, but she had refused and blushed, turning away and falling silent. 

It seemed like hours before anyone visited the group. Forrest was still asleep, and Coral suggested that he might not wake for another few hours without Clara’s help. The outlook didn’t seem good until all of the sudden, the door to the room opened. 

Someone stepped inside and Emmeline craned her neck to get a look. Immediately, she shrunk back as the figure smirked at her.

Recognition surfaced on Newt and Emmeline’s faces, followed by an angry shout from Newt. The figure stepped into the light, a small flame on his pointer finger like a candle. Titus from Waelie and from Zoro’s circus was standing there like an idiot, watching Newt struggle to control his rage. 

“What are you doing here?” Newt spat at him, jumping to his feet. “Don’t you have girls to be impressing or something?” He said it like a joke, but there was no humor in Newt’s voice. 

Titus smiled and rolled his eyes. “Nice one, Grave-digger.” It was an old nickname that the others had given Newt because of his talent. “And to answer you, the only thing I’m trying to do is survive. As for what I’m doing here, I’m afraid you need to specify.” 

“What do you want, Titus?” Emmeline sighed, crossing her arms as she got to her feet. 

“You know this person,” Coral hissed at her. Emmeline nodded, keeping her stony gaze on Titus. 

“Why do you think I want something, Echo?” Titus raised an eyebrow. 

“You always want something,” Emmeline replied bitterly. 

“You’ve got me,” Titus shrugged, leaning against the desk across the room. “I do want something, but that’s not important at the moment. The Elders are very indecisive about you - and Lena sent me. She wants to ensure you get your ‘visit’ in before you possibly get kicked out of this little village. I’m here to get you out of here.” 

“Yay!” Clara clapped her hands, but Emmeline shushed her. 

“What’s the price?” Newt asked him. “There’s always a price.” 

Titus didn’t even argue. “I want silence from all of you about this - the Elders actually like me, and I want to keep that way. Also,” he grinned maliciously, “I want a Reading.” 

“No,” Emmeline said immediately, shaking her head. 

“Emmeline,” Newt hissed at her but Emmeline ignored him. 

She wasn’t Reading Titus, especially not in exchange for freedom. “Go find another Reader.” 

“‘Fraid I can’t,” Titus sighed. “Haven’t you heard? Readers have been disappearing like crazy, and the only thing anyone is finding is bodies. Imagine Zoro’s face when you disappeared - he was livid. Even the Royal Readers have been killed. You’re the only one left, sweetheart. Or one of the only ones, at least.” 

Fear seized Emmeline, causing her to freeze up. Readers were disappearing? Even worse, they were dying? 

“Emmeline, we need to get out of here,” Coral pleaded. “Forrest might not wake up.” The younger girl’s voice caught in her throating, cracking with raw emotion. “Clara can’t heal him through the bars.” 

“I can’t…” Emmeline argued, her own voice trembling. 

Titus wiggled a key ring. “I’m willing to help you for a small price. Isn’t that reasonable?” 

It certainly seemed reasonable, but Emmeline didn’t want to. What if she saw things she didn’t want to see? She had to remind herself to breathe, but then she caught a glimpse of the still unconscious Forrest out of the corner of her eye. Was Coral telling the truth about the danger he was in? Emmeline couldn’t risk Forrest’s life for her own selfish reasons, she knew that. 

But why was it so hard to be a hero?

“I’ll do it,” Emmeline mumbled at last, earning a smile from Titus as he strode towards the cell, unlocking the door. 

“All of you stay in here until we’re done, I need to make sure you’re not tricking me.” Titus began to pull off his shirt, and Coral covered Clara’s eyes. None of them moved, except Newt until Beckett held him back. 

Emmeline felt her knees shaking as Titus took a seat on the edge of the desk. 

She reached out a hand, tracing it over Titus’s back. The visions took hold of her immediately. 

A small boy, playing in the sands of a desert. He builds a castle and points it out to his mother, who ignores him. The boy begins to grow angry, his eyes sparking with flames. Suddenly, the boy ignites entirely, his entire body consumed by the dancing fire. His mother screams, and the flames die to reveal the boy, entirely unharmed. The mother is surprised and she pulls a small parchment from a pocket in her apron. “Come, Titus,” she says, grabbing his hand and wincing as if it still burns her. “We must find the circus. Mummy needs her coin.” 

A boy - maybe ten or twelve, is standing next to a girl with brown hair and green eyes. He’s laughing, but the girl is not. She shoves him aside, and the boy gasps as if he wasn’t expecting this. “I need my coin,” the girl says to him. The boy remembers these words being said to him before, the very day his mother left him. He can’t control his emotions and the world seems to glow orange as he bursts into flames. The girl screams something incoherent. She screams again louder and another boy, this one blonde, steps in, holding the sobbing girl in his arms as he glares at the boy on fire. “You monster!” the blonde boy yells. “Monster!” 

The boy is reaching adulthood now, but he is not nearly as tall as the dark man standing over him. The man is yelling and the boy is cowering. The man shouts something about losing his prized possession, and the boy feels an uncontrollable urge to yell back. He can’t control the heat pulsing through his veins. The orange light takes over. The dark man falls aside to the boy’s raw power and when the orange glow dwindles away, only a husk of a burnt man remains in front of the boy. 

The boy is the same age as before, his eyes glistening with tears. A green eyed girl stands in front of him, a large gash down her face, a dark nibbed pen in her hands. “Are you sure?” she asks him. “Are you sure about this? There’s no going back and …” “Do it,” the boy orders her. The girl inhales deeply and the boy cries out in pain as his vision goes dark. 

A river of blood. A pool of bodies. The boy feels nothing - no remorse, no guilt - as he strides through the now empty field. There is only one other person here except for him - or at least that is what the boy thinks. He stares at the girl in front of him, her red hair matching the blood staining the ground. What he doesn’t see is the man behind him. The man with the sword. There is a clink of metal and the scream of a young girl. Sharp pain hits the boy like a wave, sending him to the ground. The man with the sword is heading towards the girl. The boy screams, getting to his feet, grabbing his own sword. He stumbles after the man, blood leaking from his stomach. With the power of a thousand men, the boy brings his sword down upon the man’s head. There is no sound. There is only darkness and the strangled cries of a girl who has lost everything. 

Emmeline stumbled backwards, collapsing into the bars of the cells. Newt reached for her but Emmeline pulled away, nursing her pride and her heart. 

What Titus had shown her - it was incredible. Well, he hadn’t really shown it to her. And incredible wasn’t necessarily the right word. It made her pity the poor, broken boy that stood before her. 

“What did you see?” he asked her, voice filled with a hint of panic. 

Emmeline glanced nervously at her friends. “I’ll tell you later, in private. Or get me a piece of parchment and a pen right now.” 

Titus thought for a second before rummaging through the desk. He handed Emmeline what she had asked for and Emmeline scribbled down the truth. She wasn’t going to lie about what she saw anymore. Except for one thing - the death. It felt wrong to worry Titus over the painful death she had seen. He had suffered enough - and part of the suffering was her fault. 

Emmeline wrote quickly, but she kept her handwriting legible. Finally, she handed the parchment to Titus, who looked at it briefly and folded it, tucking it away in his pocket. 

“You can come out now,” Titus announced. 

Clara and Coral sprang from their positions on the floor as Titus unlocked the boy’s cage. Clara ran straight to Forrest, grabbing his arms with her tiny hands. Forrest stirred, but he didn’t wake. 

“We don’t have time to wait for him to open his eyes,” Titus grumbled. “Someone carry him outside and I have … helpers that will get you to Lena.” 

Newt nodded, grabbing Forrest and throwing the boy over his shoulder, gruting from the weight. Titus beckoned for them to follow him, and Emmeline was the first to step outside. Titus made a left and stepped into the dark shadows of the building. 

Emmeline gasped as two people appeared in the darkness - she recognized them as Mac and Midnight from the circus. Mac was a Blessed from Layene, and Midnight was a Blessed from Golla. Midnight crossed her arms, tapping her foot impatiently. “Titus, we have to hurry. Patrol comes in a few minutes and my shadows won’t be able to mask all of us thoroughly.” Her voice was wheezy like Emmeline remembered it. 

Mac didn’t say a word, he grabbed Forrest from Newt, holding the boy in his arms like he weighed no more than a child. 

“Lena is in the tower over there,” Titus whispered, beckoning to one of the several towers still standing in the distance. “It’ll help Midnight if you guys pull your cloaks up over your heads.” 

Emmeline obliged, pulling her dark hood over her head. Midnight waved her hand and instantly Emmeline shivered. It felt as though a cold blanket had been draped over them, but Emmeline knew it was just a side effect of the shadows. Titus began to walk at a brisk case, followed immediately by Mac and Midnight. Emmeline’s friends all began to follow Titus. 

The towers grew larger as Emmeline approached. The walk was quick, and Clara kept her hand linked with Forrest’s limp one. 

Newt hurried alongside Emmeline, sticking close to her. She knew he probably wanted to ask what she had seen when she Read Titus. Emmeline ignored him and wrapped her cloak tighter around her as they picked up speed. 

Titus saw the light of a lantern and pushed the group back against the wall of a nearby building. A guard rounded the corner, his spear and lantern raised. The flames from the lantern cast shadows on the ground, but he didn’t see Emmeline and her friends. Forrest groaned once, and Clara clapped her hand over his mouth. 

The guard had heard the sound, and he looked around. Emmeline barely let herself breathe, but she was sure the guard could hear her racing heart. 

Within a moment he shook his head and continued walking. Titus glared at the unconscious Forrest before sending a questioning look at Emmeline. It seemed like he was asking why she chose these people as her friends. Emmeline shook her head, not now, and continued onwards. 

Titus led the way through the winding streets. Emmeline couldn’t believe there was an entire village here, hidden from the kingdoms. She wondered who would want to live hidden here, other than Readers who were apparently being killed. Maybe the majority of the population was Cursed. She couldn’t be sure yet, but Emmeline made a mental note to ask Lena about it later. 

They reached the base of the tower in quick time. Titus beckoned for Midnight to thicken the shadows. She did, and Titus pulled a bronze key from his pocket and stuck it in the door. The lock clicked and the door swung open. 

Titus took Forrest from Mac, thanking him silently. Midnight and Mac disappeared into the shadows, leaving Emmeline and the others exposed for only a minute. 

Newt stepped inside, holding open the door for Emmeline and the others. They entered a small room that seemed to be a workshop. “She’s upstairs,” Titus told them. He handed Forrest to Newt. “I’m not supposed to go with you, but …” he met Emmeline’s eyes. “Thanks.” It was a whisper, but Emmeline heard him. She smiled softly and began to climb the steps. 

This tower, luckily, didn’t have as many sets of stairs. At least, Emmeline didn’t have to climb all of them. It was the fourth floor that they found Lena on. 

The woman was perched on a desk, several smaller tables in front of her. It looked almost like a classroom, but there were no students. And there was definitely no Ancient Reader. 

“Welcome, welcome,” Lena smiled, seeming more chipper than earlier. “You’re a bit late.” 

Emmeline was going to retort, but instead she heard a grunt. Newt was struggling to hold Forrest. Coral ran to help, but it was too late. Forrest fell to the floor with a thump, and his eyes sprung open. 

“Forrest!” Coral cried, nearly attacking the boy. 

He coughed once, pushing Coral off. Forrest looked exhausted, his hair was rumpled and his complexion was extremely pale. “Baelle,” he wheezed. “She’s coming!” And then he was out cold again. 

“Baelle?” Lena asked. “The Rogue Goddess? What is he talking -” 

The woman froze mid sentence, her eyes rolling up in her head. Thick smoke began to pour from her mouth as she turned to face Coral. 

“The boy will not get better,” Baelle hissed through Lena. “He will die … unless you stop this. The Prince may have eliminated you as hosts for me, but he hasn’t made your bodies untouchable. I guarantee your pretty sword boy won’t wake unless you stop your quest. Don’t find the Ancient Reader. Don’t learn to Write. Let me have this war and I can help him live.” 

Emmeline realized that Baelle had just mentioned her Writing. Luckily, her friends seemed distracted by Forrest, who was now sporting a nose bleed. 

“Go away!” Coral shouted, but she seemed reluctant. “Leave Forrest alone. He has no part in this.” 

“Does he?” Baelle cocked her head to the side. “The ginger girl, the water girl, and the sword boy have no business being here, nor does the boy who reeks of death. This quest is only between the Prince and the Reader. Why, Water Girl, do you continue onwards? Why not return to safety where your love can be eternal?” 

Coral paled. For a moment Emmeline was worried her friend would turn against her, but Coral shook her head. “It started as an assignment,” she admitted. But then she raised her head, facing Baelle. “But now it’s my pleasure. And there is no safety in this world until you are gone from it.” 

Baelle cackled. “We shall see, we shall see. But you have made your choice. You’ve dug your grave, now lie in it.” And with that Lena returned to normal, rubbing her head. 

Forrest gave another cough. Blood dripped to the floor, and Emmeline felt like her heart was made of lead. Would Baelle really kill Forrest? Of course she would. He was guilty by association in her mind. 

“Clara!” Coral yelped. The younger girl nodded, pressing her palms towards Forrest. He writhed on the ground, and Emmeline felt Newt’s arm wrap around her as her stomach plunged downwards. Forrest was going to die, and it was all Emmeline’s fault. She had started this quest. 

Emmeline decided to pray to Elyviella. Please, please, please, let Forrest live. He did nothing, nothing wrong. If you have to, inflict his pain on me. I can’t bear to see his suffering. Please, Elyviella. Help him. 

Emmeline couldn't tell if her prayer had done anything. But Forrest wasn’t writhing anymore - which either meant the pain had stopped or his breathing had stopped. 

“Is he…” Emmeline couldn’t even ask. 

She didn’t need to. Forrest gasped once, sitting up abruptly. He was still pale and didn’t look much better than a corpse, but he was alive and that was something. 

“Forrest!” Coral cried out, and Emmeline swore she saw a tear leaking down her face. 

“What’s going on?” Lena asked from the desk. “Is everything okay?” She froze when she saw Forrest, easing himself into a sitting position. 

“Baelle,” Forrest croaked. 

“She’s gone,” Coral whispered to him, stroking his face with her finger. “She’s gone and she won’t hurt you again. I swear it. I swear it one my Blessing.” 

Emmeline was taken aback. Promises weren’t something to be trifled with. If Baelle hurt Forrest again, Coral would now lose her Blessing. That’s why one had to be careful when swearing on something like that. But Coral didn’t seem to mind. 

“Someone please explain,” Lena said again, her voice forceful and her dark skin glistening with sweat. 

“I’ll explain,” Newt volunteered. “Coral and Clara, we need a bed for Forrest.” 

“There’s a room upstairs that I prepared for all of you,” Lena suggested. Coral nodded, and she helped Forrest to his feet. Most of his weight fell squarely on Coral, but the girl didn’t complain. Clara followed them and Lena, Beckett, Newt, and Emmeline were left alone. 

“Baelle possessed you, she threatened us, Forrest almost died. We’re all in danger,” Newt waved off the question. 

Lena narrowed her eyes. “Look, I let you into our peaceful little village. I had Titus help you break out of prison. You’re going to sit down and tell me the whole story from the beginning. Leave nothing out.” 

Emmeline and Newt shared a look, and Emmeline took over. 

She told Lena about how she was a Reader and she lived with the travelling circus, and about how she had met and Read Beckett. She told her about how she and Newt had ran away to Ibeni to find the Library of Knowledge when they met Gwen and Emmeline saved Clara. She mentioned the Sprite Hunters cave and the Library of Knowledge. Emmeline told Lena about being captured but finding Beckett and escaping at Eclipse Lake. She talked about the Slavers and Sky Plateau and Beckett purging all of them. She finished with finding the abandoned towers, but she left out certain parts of the story too. She didn’t talk about Writing or her and Newt’s kiss or Titus’s Reading. 

When she had finished, Emmeline took a deep breath and hoped Lena wouldn’t condemn them. The woman could betray them in the blink of an eye, and Emmeline was reluctant to reveal all of this information to her. 

Finally, Lena sighed. Emmeline expected questions, but the woman looked straight at her and said, “Do you want an explanation of this place?” 

“You’re not going to ask questions?” Newt asked in surprise. “I would’ve thought you would’ve been confused.” 

Lena laughed. “I am confused about parts of it, but I understand you want to keep your secrets - and I understand after the whole Rogue scare. But I’m willing to tell you about the village in hopes that it’ll gain your trust. Besides, you’re just children.” 

“If it’s okay with you, ma’m, we’d love to learn about what this place is,” Beckett smiled. 

Lena nodded as if she understood. “This is the Tower Ruins of Layene - an abandoned village of what used to be the capital of the Green Kingdom. The tower you stand in now is my ancestry home. It was once granted to Readers that worked for the kingdom, and one of my grandmothers was a Reader. 

“This village is filled with all sorts of people. Blessed who come to escape the hatred and jealousy, or wish for a better use for their Blessings. Normies who come hoping to feel special about themselves. Cursed who seek escapes from their terrible lives. But we all have one thing in common - we seek rebellion. The Kingdoms are not fair to their people - especially the Blessed and the Cursed. We want better lives, so we prepare aimlessly for a fight that might happen eventually. 

“The Elders are our leaders, they make desicions about everything and we obey them. Tomorrow, I will convince them of your innocence,” Lena explained. 

It was a lot to take in, but it made sense to Emmeline. She felt grateful that Lena was willing to help them even though she barely knew them. But she had only one question left. “If this is the home of the Readers we stand in now, where is the Ancient Reader?” 

Lena sighed, uncomfortable. Emmeline felt a sinking sensation in her gut. “Unfortunately, the Ancient Reader is no longer here. He was murdered brutally last week. I’m afraid you came all this way for nothing.”