Chapter 12

Luwas

They traveled in silence until nightfall each one lost in their own thoughts. When Resh pulled on the reins to stop the horses Kye nearly walked into the back of the caravan. He got food out for each of them and set it on the seat then wearily dragged the horses down to the stream that still flowed by the road. When he hooked them back up Kye and Caspian were already eating. He quickly snatched the rest of the food left off the seat and joined them on the ground.

Kye was piling sticks on the ground and Resh absentmindedly set them on fire while his hands were still setting them up, “Hey!” he said patting out the sleeve of his shirt.

“Oh sorry.” he said shaking his head to wake himself up.

Kye rolled his eyes and turned to Caspian, “I’ve never been to Luwas have you?”

“I’m assuming I have, I remember a bunch of random and information about it.”

“Such as?” Resh asked.

Caspian's eyes flashed red, “It was built by dwarfs on top of the ground a spirit died on. They rely mostly on trade and tourists throughout the year. Because the spirit died there, magic is easier to access and flows thick through the ground and is easier to use. They made enough money off of tourism to buy mages and expand their town. And they made enough money off of trade to light their buildings with electricity.”

“It sounds nice.” Kye said hopefully.

“I think it might be.” Caspian mumbled.

“I hope.” Resh said yawning.

“You two should get some sleep I’ll keep watch.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah I don’t think I’ll be able to fall asleep.”

The twins glanced over at each-other, “Alright.”

They both stood and headed into the back of the caravan. The fire flickered as they closed the door. He moved closer to its heat and tried to ignore the pounding of his heart and the buzzing in his head. He was afraid, but didn’t know why. He had an awful feeling in his gut like something horrible was going to happen.

He called a sword to comfort himself. It appeared over the fire, the red vines crawled slowly along the metal. He grabbed its hilt and lifted it away from the flames. The hilt was wrapped in a thin cloth but, it was still cold to his touch. The blade was rapor sharp, he tapped the end drawing his own blood. The vines crawled toward the liquid and sucked it into the sword.

Caspian felt a quick rush of energy rush go through him then disappear. He sighed his own blood wouldn’t change the color of his eyes but it would make the blades excited. He dropped it and watched as it dissolved. A breeze rustled the trees making Caspian jump. He grabbed a few sticks that had been blown out of the trees and placed them on the fire.

His body shook. He scooted even closer to the fire, but soon realized it wasn’t because he was cold. It was because he was terrified. If the dark magic killed him he would be sent back to Oblivion. He had lied to the brothers he didn’t remember anyone from that place, but he had an everlasting impression of it in his mind.

It was cold and dark. A place devoid of real life. The only things that existed there were horrible monsters that lurked in your nightmares, and it seemed like you were always asleep stuck in a terrible place with no way to escape. He didn’t remember if there was anyone close to him there. A family or friends he sighed again, “Maybe they took that too.” he thought to himself.

§

They were up before the sun rose and on the road just as the moon was beginning to set. Deep blues and rich purples ran through the sky. The trees had dispersed to reveal rolling hills and the vibrant sky. Resh had noticed the road looked more used, gravel coated the path and a real ditch followed the sides of the road.

Kye was at the reins his head bobbed from side to side, “Caspian?” Resh asked walking to his side of the caravan.

“What is it?” he replied not turning around.

“I’ve been wondering about demons. You said that you were a bloodbane demon, what are the other ones?” Kye pursed his lips and glanced nervously at Caspian hoping he would answer the question.

“There are four main races,” Resh held back his questions and waited for him to continue, “Bloodbanes make up a small percentage. Shain make up most of the population. They’re lifeless bodies always hungry for flesh. They live in large groups eating each other if they get hungry. The Gray are the second most common. They can take the form of anyone they wish but always have hollow black eyes.” A chill ran down Resh’s neck.

“Mortiem are the worst kind. They’re the monsters you see in your nightmares. They don’t feel pain. If you cut off one’s head its body would still be crawling for you hoping to still be able to cut you open and tear you apart. I’ve seen my fair share of each and if you ever see anything that resembles my description.” he paused looking directly into Resh’s eyes, “Run as fast as you can in the opposite direction.”

“You’ve seen them?” Kye asked shakily.

“Yeah.” his eyes dropped to the ground.

Resh regretted asking and didn’t want to know anymore so he gazed into the horizon. They were going up a hill, the river had curved away from them and had disappeared. As they neared the top of the hill tips of buildings appeared. They were tinted pink and red. They were finely crafted and so tall that they rose far into the sky. As the caravan rolled over the hill the city came into full view. Resh could see roads running into it from all angles. The river they were traveling with seemed to run directly around the west side of the buildings, “I guess we’re a bit early.” he said letting his eyes wander up to his brother.

“Suppose we are.” he said cheerily.

“It looks about two or three hours away.” Caspian said.

“Two hours until hot food.” Resh muttered happily.

§

The city approached quickly as they continued. As the stone buildings got larger their excitement grew. Soon they were among the residents and walking through the busy streets. They were packed with carts and merchants. The hounds looked around in awe of the richness of the city. The stones of each home were carved to fit perfectly beside one another. Every building had a word carved into the stone by the door in spiraling letters neither brother could understand, “Looks like they’re beginning to start the water works.” Caspian said looking off to the side, Resh followed his eyeline to a fountain that sat in a square they were going by.

People were separating for a line of five blue cloaked people. Their hoods went over their faces and covered their hands. The backs had symbols embroidered onto the cloth. Each one was the same, a circle with a wavering line through the center and a hexagon touching at each corner, “What does the symbol mean?” Resh asked Caspian.

“It's a guiding line for water magic. It allows the mages to push and pull the water through the streets.”

The mages had made it to the fountain and people had crowded back around. Kye parked the caravan on the side of the street and climbed on top of the roof, Resh joined him in awe. Caspian sighed and stood on top of the seat to see. The mages were splitting up and walking toward the edge of each street. Their sleeves twitched and swayed and the guiding symbol on their backs began to glow blue.

Gasps and mutters filled the crowd as the water rose from the fountain and began to flow through the air. Four streams separated and ran down the street toward the separate mages. The fifth mage walked toward the pool a vail in hand. She slowly poured the liquid in and a glowing line shot through the water, “What is that?” Kye asked staring at it.

“It's a luminescent algae that they weave through the water to make it glow.” Caspian responded amused by their excitement.

Resh looked further down the street and saw that there were more mages helping to move the water. The alae was running through each stream brightening the street. Resh’s stomach growled getting the attention of his brother, “Maybe we should get some food.” he said suppressing a laugh.

“Okay.” he chuckled climbing down from the roof.

They wandered about for a few minutes trying to find an inn that would have room for the caravan. Eventually they made it to a two story cobblestone tavern named “Luis’s Corner”. A stable boy was outside and kindly took their horses. The bottom floor was a restaurant and bar people were chatting at tables and the air was sweet with food.

A faltek waitress approached them. She had a face similar to that of a snow leopard and wore a navy blue dress, “Hello gentlemen!” her voice was gravelly but light, “Will you be staying the night or just eating?”

“Both.” Resh said examining the rest of the room.

“That’s wonderful!” Pawed hands gave them menus and she led them to a seat, “You’ll have to talk to Luis over there about the rooms.” she said pointing to a dark skinned dwarf by the bar talking with guests, “I’ll be back in a minute to take your order.” she said hurrying to another table.

“Thanks.” Kye called with no response.

“I’m going to see about the rooms.” Caspian said standing.

“Okay be nice I don’t want to be kicked out of here.” Resh responded browsing the menu.

“What are you implying?” he asked smirking.

“Oh nothing.” He said waving a hand at him.

Caspian shook his head and smiled walking away, “What are you going to get Kye?”

“Steak sounds pretty good right now.” Resh nodded.

“Yeah I think I’ll get that too. I don’t recall the last time I had steak.” he smiled and enjoyed the warmth of the room.

Resh glanced over toward the bar to see Caspian walking toward them with three beers and a key, “Well, glad to see you didn’t start a fight.” Resh said smirking.

He laughed, “Come now that’s not the way to treat someone who bought you drinks.” Kye smiled and grabbed a bottle.

“Thanks!” Kye laughed talking a drink.

Resh grabbed his as well, “Much appreciated.”

“I’ve been wondering,” Caspian started getting their attention, “What were you two doing in the woods the night you found me?”

“We had just finished up a job with a farmer and he told us we should take the mountain pass. So we did and we got stuck in the storm. Then we found you. Not much to it really.” Resh said.

Caspain nodded to acknowledge he’d heard them but provided no response. They sat at the table for about two more hours. Resh talked about simple times with Kye and Caspian watched as the food on their plates vanished. When they were stuffed and tired they went up to the room. Caspian took the floor and Resh gave Kye the bed. He shifted into a wolf to sleep on the floor. It had been a long day but there were longer ones yet to come.