Chapter 9.3 Ashes,

"Wait! It's dangerous!"

"Where are you going, you idiot!?"

I hear Sól and Nott shout after me, but I ignore it and continue running. Pushing through branch and vine, bark cuts through my dress but I continue on. "Nara! If you're here, help me!"

A high-pitched buzz whirs through the pine. Lavender and green shimmer through the grimness and sails towards me. "Little blossom... You shouldn't be here. There's something afoul in the air."

Nott catches up to me and yells fiercely, "Didn't you hear us!? It's dangerous, you idiot!"

"My friend is trapped somewhere here." My voice is eerily calm, which sounds strange even to me since my mind's in chaos.

"Wha-"

"What a silly child." Nara admonishes me, but she doesn't offer any more resistance. "Very well, I'll protect you." Encircling my head, twinkles whirl around and I feel lighter. The way I cut through air feels more streamlined, trees blurring by.

A spell to increase my speed?

Although Nott is Kindred, even he looks like he has to struggle a bit to keep up.

Nott scratches his head furiously as if contemplating what to do. "Aghhhh, whatever! I've been dying for some fun lately anyways."

The warm light emanating leads me on a path with less and less dense trees. Stopping right before a grove, we hide behind a fallen trunk. Nott's eyes narrow and his breathing slows. Looks like Nara takes a cue and flutters her wings, sprinkling some type of dark dust onto me. I feel myself blend in to the surroundings.

Up ahead, I hear a few men speak. "Hurry up! Finish loading them up!"

"Shut the Twice up, Frig! Do it yourself if you're gonna be all high and mighty about it!"

"!"

Corpses of adult Folletto are strewn about the grass, pools of blood dye the grass red. My hands clasp towards my mouth.

The strong ones are all dead, and the wise one have their limbs tied together and gags in their mouth. Sickening figures laud over the bodies, pretentious in their attitude. Their hands are unnaturally pointed, nails razor-sharp. Unflinching, one walks up to a prisoner --

-- And slits his throat.

Wide eyed and afraid, the elder tries to stop the blood with futility. Grasping his neck, scarlet liquid relentlessly flows out.

They're... Systematically slaughtering the older Folletto.

The children being loaded into a cage scream and cry hoarsely. Thrashing about trying to reach out to their family.

Nara's face is swirling with anger and darkness, "Barbaric Children of the Night!" This comment doesn't faze Nott though, his face also twisting up.

A pit forms at the base of my stomach. Sweat unceasingly forms all over my body. Panic finally begins sinking in and I feel a scream well up in me that won't come out.

I-! Why did I even come here!? What can I even do...!?

A different man holds up his piked hand and walks up to another captive. We’re uselessly rooted to the spot, unable to take our eyes off the carnage.

An incision cleanly opens up just like the last. Dark blood sprays and leaks all over. The Kindred's sharp incisors protrude from his mouth, they sink in and drain the remaining blood.

“A-Aeriea…!”

“!”

What? Crescia’s voice? I couldn’t possibly have picked it out at this distance, the cacophony of screams rising and falling.

Yet, my eyes were somehow drawn towards the familiar doe, scrunched into a corner of the cell. Misery etching every crevice of his face. Crescia’s sobbing. Big beads of tears go plop plop from his face. As I thought, I can’t hear his voice. But… His lips are moving.

Mouthing the shape of my name.

His light… It’s clouding up.

Swallowing, my voice cracks but I manage to whisper. "Nara, how long will that spell of speed last on me?”

The two look up at me as if broken from a trance.

“It should last until midnight.”

Good. We have time to spare.

“Also, I'm sorry to ask this Nara. It might be dangerous, but can you steal a key from his pocket?" I point.

She grins ominously, but her smile doesn't reach her eyes."Of course, my specialty is playing tricks on the foolish."

"Hey. Even if we get the key, how are we going to stop all three - No, four men."

"Four?"

"There's one hiding on the other side of those trees," Nott points to the left. "I'm assuming as backup."

"Human, Fairfolk, or Kindred?"

"Smells like fresh Kin."

I have no measure of Nott’s power. But even as the youngest son, he's nevertheless Kindred royalty. I know at this point I'm desperately grasping at straws, but I'll continue to grasp anyways. "Can you take him out?"

He looks at me taken aback. But then his frosty eyes narrow like daggers, his mouth slits into a predatory grin. "Hm, I had you all pegged out wrong. You're a lot more fun than I thought."

I stay silent, not liking the connotation in his tone.

"Hmph, I can definitely handle one newly turned Kin."

"Silently?"

"So you're saying I can't make him scream, huh?"

I glare at him and he grumbles out a sure.

Mentally preparing myself, the intensity unconsciously leaks into my voice. "On the count of three."

Nara looks like she's having a hard time reconciling with the fact that she needs to work with a Kindred.

"Three..." My heart is beating like crazy.

Glancing towards her, she ultimately gives a nod.

"Two..." The sound of blood rushing into my ears blocks out my timidity.

I look to Nott and he shrugs.

"One."