Uda - Outwards (1)

The commotion on the square around them gradually died down. It finally ended when Lera shot a glowing projectile from her palm into the sky, where it exploded with a loud bang into bright red sparks.

“Calm down! All of you!” Lera shouted to the crowd. “I understand that you're happy! Excited! So am I! However, it doesn't change our situation. Traveling to other realms isn’t possible. This means only one thing: the knowledge that maybe, somewhere else, there are people living without Nightmares! A small solace, but at least some solace!”

She raised her arms to calm them and looked over at Kelwin before addressing the crowd again.

“Take it as a good sign! A sign that what we believe in is something that transcends the boundaries of this realm,” he declared in a firm voice, head held high.

Another wave of agreement rippled through the crowd. Lera climbed the church steps once more and resumed her position. She held her hands in front of her chest, palms up, forming a circle. The others followed suit, and awe and hope were reflected in the faces surrounding Uda. She looked uncertainly toward Nia, who was glaring at Lera and Kelwin with pure hatred. Uda wanted to say something reassuring, to whisper some comfort, but a few riders were still nearby, and she couldn’t afford to provoke the soldiers or the crowd any further. Desperately, she bit her lip.

“Sadly, it’s already time for us to say goodbye,” Lera continued, looking down at the others with a hint of melancholy.

“But it’s important that we remove the Possessed from within the barrier as soon as possible. I don’t want to put you in danger. The only reason we came here was to tell you that, for now, you are safe from the Nightmares! The Tide has been destroyed!” she declared, spreading her arms ceremoniously.

Once again, cheers erupted.

Uda wanted to vomit, and now it wasn’t because of the cursed necklace.

You only came here to be worshipped and watch us suffer, you vile bitch, she hissed inwardly.

“Is there anything we can do to help you, Exorcist Lera? Things out there must be terrible! Do you need weapons, supplies...?” asked one of the men Lera had knelt before earlier.

She gave him a smile. This time, it even seemed genuine.

“No, we’re well supplied. We still have our sky stone and enough provisions. Though I wouldn’t say no to some Ardu wine. I don’t usually like to celebrate, though the destruction of a Tide deserves a good drink, don’t you all think?” Lera mused.

“And we’d appreciate some cheese as well... goat or dragru, preferably,” Kelwin added with a wide grin.

“But dragru cheese is inedible! Don’t you know that? It stinks horribly, and it’s not tasty at all. On the contrary!” protested one of the young women who had whispered and blushed earlier at the sight of Kelwin.

“Don’t worry, my dear. It’s not for us. I just want to see how much these two can eat before they throw it back up,” Kelwin smiled, nodding toward Uda and Nia.

Loud laughter erupted, and more suggestions were thrown around on how to further humiliate Nia and Uda. Uda tried not to listen. Instead, she withdrew into the nauseating presence of the circle, watching as Nia collapsed, covering her head with her hands for protection as more rotten eggs flew her way. The Dream grew distant, and only the putrid light of the circle ruled her world, until...

When the symbol released Uda again, she found herself beneath a large tree that blocked the view of the rising moon. She looked out at a clearing illuminated by moon- and torchlight, where several tents had been set up with soldiers standing guard in front of them.

Most of the tents were plain, made from white linen, except for one further back. It stood at the far end of the clearing, slightly isolated. That one was ornate, decorated with golden embroidery and multiple pointed peaks. Uda had no trouble guessing who the tent belonged to; it was as pompous as Lera herself. She assumed the smaller one nearby belonged to Kelwin, and she wondered why they had stopped to rest here.

Despite a root digging into her back, the earthy ground further soiling her torn, filthy clothes, and the weakness imposed by the chain sending constant discomfort through her bones, Uda felt surprisingly okay. She still couldn’t move easily, though she was gradually able to stretch out her arms and twist her body a little.

She didn’t understand why she didn’t feel like total garbage anymore, or at least not as badly as before. Soon, she found a possible explanation. In the center of the camp, mounted on a tall, ornate pole, glowed a white stone that shimmered majestically above them. A calm began to settle over her as she spotted it, and she was able to push the horrors of the past day aside. Her gaze drifted to the trees beyond the camp. There, shadows danced, and soft, whispering winds flowed in her direction. A sense of weightlessness seemed to emanate from that direction, and suddenly Uda wasn’t sure whether the white stone or the forest itself was responsible for the faint feeling of safety she felt, though it faded just as quickly as it came.

“Come on, eat!” a voice suddenly called out, followed by gargling. It came from behind her, and she struggled to slowly crawl around the tree so the nausea wouldn’t rise again. Sliding over the roots hurt, and the massive trunk continued to block her view.

She heard incomprehensible whimpering, mixed with loud laughter. She was almost there... Her head finally peeked out past the trunk... and she was grateful her voice still didn’t work, because otherwise she would have screamed.

There stood Kelwin with a female soldier, both roaring with laughter, and at their feet lay Nia, gagging, white paste dribbling from her mouth. Her hands twitched toward her face, but the glowing stones around her neck held her back, sending waves of pain through her body.

No! NO! Uda gasped silently.

She fought against the numbness, trying to get up and rush toward the two monsters. She was sure she could at least catch Kelwin off guard with enough force to knock him out.

Maybe even wake him up?

She froze at the thought and shuddered at herself.

Have these fanatics already twisted me that far? FUCKING SHIT! She thought in shock and took a deep breath to calm herself... and failed miserably.

“I think she’s choking. I thought we weren’t going to wake her up?” the soldier asked.

Her voice was uncertain but laced with horrified awe.

Stepping toward Kelwin with an expression of feigned shock, she reached for his muscular arm. Her dark-blond hair was braided behind her head like Lera’s, though far less elegantly. Her head barely reached Kelwin’s shoulder. Even as she leaned into his shoulder, arms folded beneath her chest in a show of curves, her eyes stayed sharp, watching Nia as if waiting for an excuse to strike.

Kelwin sighed impatiently and pulled away from the soldier. He stepped behind Nia, who was gasping harder and harder for air, and then kicked her in the spine with his boot, forcing the white paste to spew from her mouth. Even from a distance, the stench of the cheese brought tears to Uda’s eyes.

Nia sobbed pitifully on the ground. Uda had the terrible sense that she hadn’t even realized someone had kicked her in the back.

“Stay with us, sweetheart,” Kelwin said to Nia before returning to the soldier, who immediately leaned back into him, smiling with a cocky air.

“Oh, Aspirant Kelwin, you’re so kind. Still, she really isn’t attractive at all! Simply a piece of filth,” she said, though she flinched when Nia suddenly looked up at her with eyes full of cold, burning hatred.

Even Uda felt a chill run down her spine when she saw that gaze, and she had to blink back tears as fear surged in her. Fear that Nia might lose herself in the darkness rose.

I have to get her out of here! Fast! Somehow! she cursed.

“I think if she weren’t possessed, she’d shine much brighter than you, Diga! Perhaps even an Aspirant down the line? And definitely beautiful...” Kelwin said mockingly.

The soldier, Diga, let go of his arm and stood in front of him, arms crossed to emphasize her curves. Kelwin smirked at her pronounced chest, then turned his attention back to Nia.

“You don’t need to try that hard, Diga. You know we Exorcists and Aspirants rarely form attachments. I have always made that clear. It’ll stay at our little games…” he murmured to her, though his voice didn’t sound as confident as Uda had expected.

She couldn’t see Diga’s expression, though in the moonlight filtering through the canopy, she thought she saw the woman’s neck flush deep red.

“Fine!” Diga said in a sudden high-pitched voice, stepping over to Nia. “I can still have a little fun with her, right?” she asked, pouting.

“What do you mean by that?” Kelwin asked, confused.

“Well, if you’re not going to have your way with me today, then at least let me have some fun with her…”

Diga sat down beside the shivering woman, ran her fingers through Nia’s matted hair, and blew her a kiss. In that same instant, a dot of light shot from Kelwin’s thumb, flying between Nia’s head and Diga, causing the woman to recoil in fright.

“It is forbidden to engage with the Possessed in any way! Should I start doubting your loyalty to the Hunters? Maybe I should report to Exorcist Lera that you’re a weak link in our unit…” Kelwin threatened, baring his teeth, shaking.