Lith and Kelia were alone, in the middle of a no-man’s land filled with countless mortal dangers. The perfect situation for an “accident” to take place.
‘Shit! Maybe Verhen betrayed us and revealed your existence to the Kingdom.’ Kelia’s mind sought order in the sudden chaos around her. ‘Maybe they have tasked him to kill me and retrieve your crystal since you are in a weakened state. We…’
“Why that face? Get in. We don’t have all day.” Lith had walked around the car and was now sitting on the passenger seat, making her sigh in relief.
“Okay.” She was getting in the backseat when a tendril of Spirit Magic stopped her.
“What are you doing? I meant there.” Lith pointed at the driver’s seat, looking at Kelia like she was crazy. “I was going to teach you how to drive, but if you don’t want to…”
“Really?” Her eyes sparkled with joy as the truth dawned through the dark clouds of her paranoia. “I mean, sure.”
She didn’t make him ask twice, taking the wheel and turning to a shade of purple in embarrassment after realizing how silly she had reacted.
“I’m sor-”
“In a few years, I’m going to have to teach my daughter.” He cut her short, pretending to not have heard anything. “Since we are allies and there’s no telling if you are going to need a DoLorean while we are here, I thought it would be a good idea.
“I get a bit of practice and you learn a useful skill. Fair warning. No breathing techniques. Are we clear?”
“Crystal!” Kelia’s face stayed red but now it was out of joy.
The prospect of receiving lessons from Lith about anything was already exciting but also having some sort of a father figure was a first for her. The Professors at the academy liked her, but only to further their own agenda and the Empress’.
Dusk was a part of her so he didn’t count either.
Kelia could feel her heart pounding as she followed Lith’s instructions as fast and efficiently as she could.
The DoLorean had simple controls so it took her but a few minutes to go from floating slowly above the ground to speeding through the skies.
“Congratulations, you can now drive.” Lith said as they spiraled in a barrel roll that reminded him of Lark’s crazy antics at the wheel. “Now slow down and get back to the ground. The lesson isn’t over and we aren’t cruising. We are on a mission.”
“Yes, sir!” The abandoned city was already in sight so Kelia focused all of her and Dusk’s senses to perceive the presence of enemies. “I think the area is clear. This could be a perfect place to spend the night.”
“We’ll see.” Lith nodded. “Gain altitude. We’ll take a look from above. It’s better to avoid the risk of being surrounded and trapped by the walls.”
Kelia did as instructed, her enthusiasm fading when she noticed Lith’s frown.
‘Did I do something wrong? Did I say something wrong? How did I mess up?’
‘Gods, calm down!’ Dusk replied. ‘Mogar doesn’t revolve around you or around what Verhen thinks of you. It’s probably nothing.’
The Red Sun spoke more harshly than he would have liked to but he had his good reasons. He knew of Kelia’s admiration for Lith and how it had gotten worse after dancing with him at the Gala.
The driving lessons were further boosting those feelings and Dusk wanted to keep her from getting too attached.
‘We are allies, not friends. In the future, we might even be enemies.’ He reminded her, making Kelia swallow.
“Listen.” Lith said, unaware of her inner turmoil.
“What?” She asked after listening carefully for a while. “There’s nothing here. It’s completely silent.”
As she lowered the DoLorean inside the city walls to take a closer look, Kelia noticed how every door was open and barely hanging from its hinges. Some showed signs of wear on both sides, proving that it was just due to the years of neglect.
Most of them, however, had been burst through.
The roads were paved with the dirty white bones of the people of Jiera. Most skeletons were still in the place where they had died while a few been had assembled in small mounds.
The smaller houses had crumbled due to the lack of maintenance while the big ones with a private garden were covered by vines and surrounded by tall weeds. There was no birdsong. No noise of animals or people on the streets.
Aside from the rustle of the wind and the creaking of the half-open shutters, there was nothing around Lith and Kelia.
“Exactly. This means that this place has been raided by monsters recently. They burst through the doors they couldn’t open and collected the edible corpses to consume them. This place is not safe.
“We have no idea if the monsters are still around and how many of them there are.”
“Edible corpses? The plague happened years ago, not months.” Kelia pointed out.
“They were probably survivors who tried to settle here. During my last visit, I have witnessed many humans abandoning the beats’ cities because unable to cope with the new order.” Lith replied.
“How can you be so sure it’s recent? It could have happened months ago.”
“You said it yourself. It’s completely silent. There are no animals which means they have been devoured or flew away. If they haven’t come back yet, it means that the attack can’t have happened more than a few days ago.” Lith used Spirit Magic to grab a bone and showed Kelia the bite marks.
“Good gods.” She stopped the DoLorean as the reality of her surroundings hit her.
They weren’t inside an empty city but in a dead city.
The plague had killed most of the people and then the survivors had killed each other. Then, the monsters had gotten rid of whoever had failed or refused to find shelter in one of the Awakened settlements.
Nature was slowly reclaiming everything and the weather gave it a hand. Everything around Kelia was the result of a man-made disaster that no one had bothered cleaning up.
“This is the reason I’m here today.” Lith’s voice broke the silence and snapped her out of her reverie. “This is the reason I accepted to become a Magus first and then joined the War of the Griffons instead of spending my time sipping tea in the Desert.
“This is what happens when true power ends up in the wrong hands. I don’t claim to be a hero. I didn’t do anything admirable. I simply stood up against Thrud, the Undead Courts, and the stupid politics because I didn’t want this to happen to Garlen.”
“Is this the lesson you were talking about?” Kelia asked when a ping from the console signalled them that the DoLorean number four had found a safe place and everyone was converging there.
“Yes.” Lith replied as they gained altitude and set the course for their new destination. “Having power makes no one infallible. It only increases the number of people who end up paying the price for the mistakes of those who wield it.”
