The Broken Ones

Chapter 16:3 -Family

-Oh, is this your brother? Are you sure, because he claims he only has brothers and no sisters at all, Jack said sarcastically.
-Soi, Siri repeated and tried to stand up.
Jack took a step forward and pushed her down again with his foot. Soi tried to get to her but some guards held him back.
-Let me go! Soi yelled.
Jack turned around and looked Soi straight in the eye and a chill run down Soi’s back as hay-coloured eyes pierced through him.
-I’m sorry Soi, for the way she looks at the moment but that’s simply because she wouldn’t cooperate, Jack said with a velvet voice and snapped his fingers.
Sam held out a silver dagger to Jack. The dagger looked all too familiar to Soi. Jack kept his eyes on Soi and smiled.
-Did you know that when you cut this woman, Jack gripped Siri’s wrist and slowly cut her arm and Siri whined. Blood dripped down her arm.–She heals, like it was nothing.
As he spoke Siri’s wound healed and left no scar.
-Of course, Jack continued, she can still feel pain. Now, I’ve tried this a couple of times as she didn’t give me a satisfactory answer to my question of why she heals. Maybe you could tell me?
Jack put the dagger to Siri’s throat and even though her eyes filled with fear she quietly shook her head. But Soi didn’t have a choice. He coughed a little to muster up his courage.
-That’s because when Siri was little she got gravely ill and had to be drenched in the water from the spring, he answered with a clear voice.
People around them begun to mumble but was instantly hushed by Jack.
-The spring? And what’s so special about this spring? Jack asked impatiently.
-Its water can heal any wound or illness.
-Oh, now that’s more like it. And by the rumours I’ve happened to hear I know that you’re a spring guardian, Jack said mockingly, and that you always carry a little bottle containing this spring water, am I correct?
-Yes.
-Hand it over, Jack said coldly and waved with the dagger.
Soi did as he was told. Jack opened the bottle and emptied its content in a glass, only, the glass remained empty.
-Now, what’s this? Jack stared at the glass with raised eyebrows, his voice cold as ice.
-It’s empty, one of the brokens answered and Jack’s cold eyes bore a hole into him.
-It sure is, which means that this little spring guardian have walked around saving people, preventing them from becoming brokens. Most likely he has saved someone in his company as this secret has not leaked out until his sister arrived and begun searching for him. Who has he travelled with? Jack’s voice rung out hard and cold in the hall.
-Doesn’t anybody know? Jack asked with restrained anger.
-Nebelius Silver, sir.
-Idiots. Mr Silver is still a broken isn’t he? So it couldn’t very well be him, could it?
-No, sir.
-Who else have this guard been in contact with who isn’t a broken? Jack defined the question.
-Jagger, sir, Mack’s daughter.
-Better. Anyone else?
-Those two white haired brothers.
-Find them.
The door to the ballroom opened and people disappeared from the room. As the door closed again Jack turned his eyes back to Soi and his sister.
-You and I have a lot to talk about, my dear spring guardian. Make him dream!
Suddenly the world around Soi turned black. The one thing he could hear was the echo of a scream far away.

He could see her, her hair. Her long blond hair was blowing in the wind. He could hear her laughter. He was looking into her hay-coloured eyes, they were so close. He could almost touch her, then suddenly she was beyond reach. She was standing on the edge of the cliff, that green cliff where his father had once tumbled down from and died. She was waving and smiling to him, her hair floated in front of her face, hiding her smile and her sparkling eyes. Soi could feel his heart racing. Why was she standing on that cliff? Why was she waving to him? He began to run towards her. Was she saying goodbye?
Soi tried to call her, get her to stay but his voice couldn’t reach her.
She took a step back. Soi stopped in his steps. He didn’t want to see. He closed his eyes and…
Suddenly he stood at the edge. How did he get here?
He looked over the edge.
He stopped breathing.
There she lay, her fair eyes wide open and her hair coloured with blood.
He screamed but no noise came out of his throat. So he continued to scream and scream and scream.

Soi opened his eyes slowly, it was dark around him. The only sound he could hear was his own heavy breathing. He hung deeply with his head, anticipating what was to come. He didn’t know what was real anymore. There was a slight movement to his left.
-Ana? Is that you? His question hung in a weak and desperate tone.
He was surprised his voice even worked, it sounded so hoarse.
-Yes, who else, Ana’s voice answered in a bored and irritated manner.
She sounded like the Ana he knew and Soi felt relief for a moment.
-You’re alive, he sighed.
It was quiet for a while.
-Yes, why shouldn’t I be? Ana then said irritated but her voice was unstable.
-I watched you die so many times, over and over.
-Oh. So that’s why you screamed.
-Is this real, are you really alive? This isn’t a dream?
-Dreams are exactly what you’ve gone through. They’ve kept you dreaming all this time. Easier to extract information that way, Ana mumbled.
For the first time Soi noticed that the floor kept moving. As his eyesight accustomed to the darkness Soi saw that they were surrounded by wooden walls. He had a growing suspicion.
-Where are we?
-No idea. On a ship, that’s all I know. But I can guess where we’re going.
-No!
A door opened and light shimmered down through a narrow staircase. Two guards walked up to them and dragged them up the stairs towards the light. They were pushed up on deck and led across to another door, pushed down another set of stairs and into a chamber.
-Welcome, guests!
Jack sat in armchair with his legs crossed and smiled coldly at the two as they were pushed to their knees. At his right Sassa leaned on the back of the chair, sweetly resting her head with small smile and at his left, two steps behind, Sam hid in the shadows. Behind Jack was a large window showing the great view over the dark blue ocean. In the distance a green mountain hid at the horizon. Soi took a deep breath, it had been so long since he last saw those green fields. He never thought he would see them again.
-You recognise your home, Soi? Jack sneered. –Spring Island.
-Why are we here? Ana asked abruptly.
Jack snorted.
-I thought as we are about to reunite Soi with his family, I would like to share a story about another family. Chairs for the guests!
Two chairs were brought forward and Soi and Ana were roughly seated, facing the chairman.
-Good. Now leave the rest of you.
The guards left the chamber.
-Sassa and Sam too, Jack added, his voice firm.
Sassa lifted her head slowly as if she woke up from a dream.
-Are you sure, she said with her velvet voice and stroke with one finger across Jack’s scar.
Jack took her hand and kissed the palm.
-Come on then, Sam, Sassa said and swayed out of the room followed by Sam’s stiff shadow.
The door closed behind them and left the seated in silence. Suddenly Jack laughed.
-Oh, this will be fun.
Jack tapped his fingers against each other while his smiled broadened.
-Ah, Ana, don’t think about hurting me, it’s useless, you won’t even get close. But as a precaution, rise.
Ana rose from her chair, like a puppet pulled by strings.
-Now, stand behind Soi’s chair.
Ana stood close to Soi's back. He could feel her breath in his neck.
-Pull out that dagger I know you hide.
Soi could hear Ana hold her breath. At the corner of his eye he saw the dagger. It was an exact copy of Sam’s silver dagger.
-Hold it at his neck.
Soi saw Ana’s hand tremble to resist the chairman’s words.
-There we have. Now let’s start. Ana, wouldn’t you like to know who your mother is?
Ana stopped breathing and so did Soi.
-See I told you it was going to be a good story, Jack’s eyes shone coldly at the two. –Now, you might wonder why I would know about Ana’s family. Well, there is a simple answer to that question. I am Ana’s family, Ana’s mother is my mother. Ana is my little sister.

To be continued...
By J.L.Frick