“Look there Spook. A sign,”he hit the floor with the staff and moved towards it.The sign was not so far away, half a mile had past and he could read what was written in it.
Borderline City ...
City Lim...
POP. 15...
He felt desolate, that sign was from before the war, it was an old green city limit sign,rusted by time,covered with vines ,the bullet holes had turned the sign into a sieve.Part of it had been incinerated. A large skull was laying beside it near the road, the dragon that had burned the plaque was killed before he could destroy the city and his corpse remained there, with only its head left. It’s body must have been dragged into the woods,wolves,Knarfs,and perhaps even gray elves, probably made a feast with it.
"Fabion O'Ridley was not taking good care of this island,” Kevin threw his staff at the plate in anger then he scratched Spook ears and got back on the road.
"We are close, buddy,"Anger brought back strength to his legs, he had to find out the whereabouts of Azeviche jet and Robert Luckyfeets, and there was no better place to find out than Borderline City. The rain subsided and the night hit the road like a stone,a gentle breeze was carrying the smell of beer, sweat, piss and sewage filling Kevin's nostrils with youthful memories.
“This place remains the same dump that it has always been. Why am I not surprised? he asked himself and Spook answered with a growl anyway.
Hidden in a dark alley one of Fabion O'Ridley's informants was watching the movement in Jia's shop. He was amazed to see the man of disproportionate size accompanied by a Direwolf the size of a Poney. He hid in the shadows to watch the red-haired giant penetrating the city, walking the streets looking at the shops,as frightened people drifted away from them. A drunk dared to stop and talk at the wolf.
"Your not my son ... Nooo. My son is taller," he laughed taking the bottle of Brandy to his lips.
From the Cracked Skull bar Kevin could hear a woman singing accompanied by a piano and a banjo and the sound of punches hitting faces. Two sconces lit the church at the end of the street and a red lantern lit the street where the ladies of the evening went about their business, laughing all night long. Coming from one of the stores a thin, trumpet like voice caught his attention.
“Past,present, future. Ha, ha ,ha,” The bird laugh. It was Coconuts sitting on top of an old armor that stands at the door.”
“Who in this city can know more about everyone's life than the witch Jia?” Kevin had no interest in remembering the past, far from it. The future had the shadow of Draconites hovering over the heads of everyone in this city; there was no need to have a crystal ball to know that. The truth was, Jia was perhaps the most discreet way of obtaining information about the children and kevin was not willing to take any chances,he had already noticed the man hiding in the alley, he could feel his eyes almost burning on his back.
“I think you better get in, before you draw more attention to yourself Kevin Greenberg,”Jia came from the back of the store to meet them, she seemed to float in the air, her steps could barely be heard. Kevin was staggered to see that the woman he met as a teenager had not aged at all.
“ Jia you look the same,how come—”Jia gestured for silence with her finger in her mouth. Spook growled at Coconuts, who was already cleverly sitting on the tallest bookcase.
“As you may have noticed we are being watched. Fabion O'Ridley have his goons watching my shop day and night,”she stared at kevin, huge as an ox standing before her in his soaked clothes, he was a young boy the last time she saw him.She took him by the arm,leading Kevin to the back of the store where they could talk in private.
“Better leave your wolf here with Coconuts. Follow me,” she said. Kevin scratched Spook in his ears and he laid on the floor. Coconuts hid at the top of the tallest shelf and stayed there, blinking his little eyes startled at the huge animal.
Jia got Kevin into the small room. He remembered the armchairs, the ornamented rug, and the huge mirror that were still there after all these years, looking untouched by the passage of years. The Dragon placed against one of the walls,shrouded in white smoke and smell of clove and cinnamon incense, and the dim lighting giving a special touch to the place.
“Take off these wet clothes and put on this robe,” she said pointing to a blue robe that was on the arm of the chair. The hot tea kettle and the two cups were proof that Jia hoped someone would come to her on this humid night.From behind a folding screen Kevin removed his wet clothes and gave them to Jia who put them inside of a small basket.
“Have a sit Kevin Greenberg. I was expecting your visit for days,” she said to the shy red-haired giant. “Come sit and have tea with me, there is no reason to be shy. I've seen men wearing robes before,” she smiled at him.
“Before you say anything, it is obvious that if you were sent to Muddy Peaks, a Draconite attack is imminent,”She said while pouring tea. “I can’t deny this fact. President Bale sent me back to Muddy Peaks and I thought it best to come. This place exerts a strange force on me, my return to this place was inevitable,”Kevin took the cup of hot tea and slowly brought it to his lips as he looked at Jia head to toe.
“I know it is rude of me to ask your age, but I cannot help but notice that your appearance has not changed since the last time I was here,” Kevin looked at Jia through the fluttering steam of tea. “It happens that the passage of time does not affect me in the same way that affect all of you.This is a long story that I am not so proud of, we better avoid it for today, because as we speak as the Draconites prepare to attack us,”Jia left the kettle on the table and drank her hot tea, looking back at Kevin.
“When I returned to this island my feeling was that people were unprepared for a new attack,”He said arching his eyebrows.
“We may never be prepared to fight them. What led us to victory in the past,was the desire to survive and help others,Kevin Greenberg. The personal strength of some people and you were one of them,”Jia said pointing her finger at him.
“I will never understand why you stayed here after the war. He put the cup on the table, “ With your gift you could live anywhere,” tired he leaned back in the armchair, entwined fingers sitting on his lap waiting for an answer.When a battle is over, people may have a feeling that the war is over. Tell me kevin. Do you really think this war is over?” she asked Kevin looking in his eyes.
“This place is still destroyed. They killed people, thousands died, cities, factories and everything else. They had powerful dragons and were defeated in the battle of Devil's Finger. But it was a mistake to think that war was over,”she said sitting on the edge of the armchair.
“It was not over.” Jia looked at him.“Why did they leave the battlefield? We just won that battle and now they will come back for us. My battlefield is here Kevin Greenberg. I'm still on watch.” kevin looked at her and nodded.She was right.
“There is a silent war going on. President Bale sent me here to investigate it. But this is a waste of time. We know very well who the conspirators are in this city,” Kevin inhaled deeply, he looked deep into Jia's eyes,hoping she would say their names out loud,but she waited for Kevin to do it.
“Fabion O'Riley and Half Joness, need I say more?” he asked.
“Yes, there is one of them that everyone always seems to forget. And he is the most dangerous of all.”She pointed her hand at the large rectangular mirror. Their image reflected in the Mirror began to spin fast, the vivid colors were twitched until they all blended together and suddenly a flash took Kevin by surprise,he was left blind for a fell seconds he scratched his eyes trying to see the image that was taking shape in the mirror, It was a very familiar face,One that Kevin hoped he wouldn't have to see anymore. Dressed in his combat armor there he was before them...
“Mac Kimley. I struggle to forget his face,” kevin Frowned.How could Kevin forget about Mac Kimley and Paislee if they were the constant theme of his worst nightmares?
“You must never forget. I know this man is the cause of so much unhappiness in your life,your wife Paislee is also a source of torment in your life.They were always very ambitious,” Jia said smiling at him.
“Almost everyone that lives on this island seeks for my services. I'm proud of this. They call me a witch, just because they are rude and cruel, you of all people know how cruel the people of this city can be, Don't you, Kevin?”Kevin was impatient he wanted to find out the whereabouts of the two children as soon as possible, there was no time for small talk.
“They are rude people that try to hide their own imperfections by being hostile to their neighbors. We really can't waste time on this. I have to find two little kids,” kevin told her.
“It is of utmost importance that I find a Girl named Azeviche Jet and her friend Robert LuckyFeets,” Jia looked at kevin and as her mouth curved in a smile he knew that this was the right place to ask about the kids. She knows everything about everyone in this city,nothing escapes the eyes and ears of the fortune teller.
“Funny how people avoid consulting a psychoanalyst,” Jia laughed. “It's crazy people’s doctor they say. But they don’t exitate to come and tell every detail of their lives to the witch,” There was no more reason to wrap Kevin with her tactics, he really had an altruistic purpose in this desperate quest for Azeviche and Robert. Jia stretched out her hand towards the mirror, and the image of Mac Kimley dissolved in a whirlpool of colors , spinning madly and then slowly stopping, and forming another figure. The figure of a little girl, with black hair running down her shoulders, her eyes as green as two grapes, shining towards them.
“Azeviche,” Kevin said. “This is the girl that I’m looking for.What can you tell me about her?” Kevin asked the right person. Feeling confident that Kevin's intentions were noble, she placed the tea cup on the small center table. The lemongrass tea was a toll used to relax the customers and to make conversation,to make them talk. But this wouldn't be necessary with Kevin Greenberg.
“I notice you've seen her face before,” She leaned back in her armchair, crossed her legs, and put her long finger to her chin, as she tried to support her head. Jia had rarely been taken by surprise like this.she sat there waiting for kevin's answer that came quickly like a lightning bolt.
“ My friend Edward Coltrane he showed me a footage of children fighting a terrible dragon. The creature attacked and destroyed the building where they were spending the night on the main island,” His facial expression shows that he felt compassion for what happened to the children.And the more Kevin talks, the more Jia analyzes the giant's behavior, making her feel confident about telling him more details about young Azeviche and her friend.
"I know Azeviche," she said smiling. "The girl and her mother Ronna were here at my request. We discussed how important this girl may be in the future of this island; and who knows in the future of the Northern Islands as well," it was Kevin Greenberg who was taken by surprise this time.His wife Payslee often tells him about the Sorceress of Borderline city, but he never paid much attention. He thought Jia was just an ordinary fortune teller, someone who listened to gossip deceiving women with amulets and potions that had no effect at all, to earn some silver coins. “ Ronna is her...mother?” he asked looking at the walls of the small room, feeling suspicious.
“Ronna and Marcus Abbe adopted Azeviche, she is living with them,” The woman interlaced her fingers and resting them on top of her belly she looked at Kevin with squinted eyes. “I thought you'd be curious to know why she's important in this whole story.”
“Of course she is important. She have skills, she killed a Dragon using a stone. I never saw anything like that…” He was abruptly interrupted by Jia. “NEVER? Are you sure that you don't know anyone capable of performing such an act of bravery to save friends?...Hm?” she pointed her lips toward kevin.They looked at each other for a few seconds, and the silence installed a tension in the air. Kevin felt the red walls of the room closing in on him.Kevin lied sitting there, his mouth ajar, his eyes looked once again at the image of Azeviche in the mirror, as he tried to find the words somewhere inside himself.
“You're suggesting that this little girl and I have some connection? But this is impossible. My father is an old man and my mother is no longer with us. They're just the only relatives I have,”His eyes could not move away from the image of the girl in the mirror.
“ look at this girl,” Jia pointed a bony finger at Azeviche. “ Look at this black hair, look at these green eyes, this porcelain skin, it's not possible that it doesn't remind you of anyone,”she curled her hand in a fist,”
“Payslee,” he gasped because of his dry throat. “She reminds me of... Payslee,” the simple memory of it causes tears to strow down his face. “My wife took her own life, she was ambitious and got involved with Mac Kimley. I think you know him,” she took the teapot and poured more lemongrass in the cup and offered to Kevin,that immediately accepted as he wiped the tears from his eyes. “I can’t believe that you look at this girl and can't see at least a bit of yourself in her, Kevin,”she said.
You're the second person to tell me this. This is impossible, as I said,my wife,... she took her own life and we had no children,” he kept his head down. The pain that ate him inside was still very intense, very alive as if the years had not passed, that moment was engraved in his soul.It still bled every time Payslee's name was mentioned.
“Tell me where you buried your wife?” Kevin was beginning to regret looking for the sorceress. She seemed to have the pleasure of torturing him with old memories. The worst memories he had. “I came looking for the kids and you keep questioning me about facts of my life that I want to forget. I’m…”Kevin started to get up, but Jia yelled at him.
“Answer me...NOW!” the red giant was not so easy to intimidate but the whole room lit up in a flash with the scream given by the woman.
“No...nowhere. My wife's body was never found. She fell into an abyss,” he said stuttering.
"Ah,... but then you've never saw a body?"Jia smiled. An angry Kevin Greenberg sat more at the end of the armchair, his patience had run out.
“No one that jumps into an abyss survives. Anyone would crash on the rocks or even in the rivers that wind the mountains. She is gone,” Greenberg began to get angry with Jia. Sitting in front of him, smiling at him. Mocking him. She was struggling not to laugh.His face flushed with blood, it had become as red as his hair.
“Please...do not try to kill me Kevin,” She frowned. “I'll tell you exactly what you saw Kevin Greenberg.”She stuck her hand in the long sleeve of her robe, from there she pulled out a small vial with a shiny powder that looked like Golden glitter.She used her long fingernail to open the vial, put some of the golden dust in the palm of her hand and blew the dust against the mirror.Suddenly the Mirror began to make strange sounds. terrible moanings and wailings could be heard, like cries of tortured people, crying out for mercy.
“Let me out of here!!!” somebody was screaming. “It’s cold...is very cooold, help!” this other voice caused chills to run down Kevin's spine. The image disappeared from the face of the mirror, it turned completely black.
“Don't worry about the voices. They're there because that's the way it's supposed to be,”Without further explanation, Jia closed her eyes and pointed her hand to the mirror. A forest began to appear in the mirror. It was a beautiful summer day, flowers of all colors spread through the woods, a gentle breeze shook the leaves of the trees, spreading dew's scent through the air and making cotton white clouds move slowly in the skies of Muddy Peaks.
“I know where this is going.I can't look at this.”the redhead covered his eyes using his big arm.Jia gazed that large man,frail like a child, with his body shaking,chills running through his neck,kevin felt that he was naked in front of the most terrifying scene of his life.
In the image of the mirror a woman ran desperately, being followed by several monarch butterflies, her feet moving rapidly through the stones and roots of trees that made that escape more difficult.She'd run and sometimes look back, begging the man to get away from her. The dark hair and the beautiful green silk dress floated in the air as she ran, exalting the forms of the divine body of that attractive woman;she was a beauty difficult to forget.
“ Payslee, noooo,”Kevin felt tortured remembering all that,and Jia was already feeling disgusted to see a man that size acting like this. She wasn't really a person with a lot of patience for sensitive people.
“Oh please stop! This scene went on several years ago.Get over it," Jia could no longer contain her impatience. “I need you to keep your eyes open for what you're about to see. what I'm going to show here will change your life,”she said getting rid of the teacup.
“Open your eyes and look.Or aren't you the one they call Oluf the dragon slayer?” he opened his eyes immediately, it's been years since anyone called him Oluf. Except when it was ironically mentioned in the newspapers, to make fun of or to lessen him. Truth must be said Oluf was one of the responsible for the victory against the Draconites, in the Battle of Devil's finger. In many ways his presence in the battle made a difference.Whoever was there knows this, but it was in the interest of certain people that his name was forsaken,forgotten and even erased by time. His books were to be seen as a joke,urban legends to entertain children and nothing more. Even his father Jonas Greenberg believed that his son had escaped from the training camps; to shame his family, he took refuge in the mountains and had fled combat during the war. It was not true at all.This was not how it had happened,kevin struggled to tell it in his books in the form of prose, in the form of verse he hoped the young people would hear his voice, his cry for justice.His books were an attempt to keep these memories alive. The redheaded warrior thinks only president Bale believed him.But his books touched the hearts of the orphans, and especially a little girl named Azeviche.
Jia got up, held Kevin by his arm so tight that it started throbbing. From his Armchair, the giant looked up at that impressive woman, the tears were still running down his face.
“From now on, you will no longer use the name Kevin. We have no use for a Kevin. Your name from now on will be Oluf, just as it was in the war. Oluf, you will look into that mirror and realize that the war was never over. We haven't won yet,”She made the statement emphatically and then he looked in the mirror,where a young Kevin was running ,trying to reach Payslee. He knew she was running towards the precipice,she was too fast for him, he couldn't reach her. Butterflies sometimes raised the woman in the air helping her escape.
“Look,” kevin said. “The butterflies will lift her up in the air, and she will throw herself on the precipice. That's how it all ended,”he felt his arm going numb Jia was still holding it with all her might.Maybe he needed something grounding him to the reality that those events had already passed. “You need to look at this scene more closely. Where did those butterflies come from anyway?” Jia asked. “Payslee always liked books about magic.Did you know that? She used to buy magic components and try to make potions,”Kevin was petrified, maybe he didn't know his wife as well as he thought. “These butterflies are not acting of their own free will, they have been enchanted with a certain purpose,” she explained. "Here... here, notice how they lift her up in the air.” Kevin stood up, his mouth was ajar, he was dazzled with the images. In fact, he remembered the butterflies,but his wife always lived surrounded by small animals, he never paid much attention to it. “Floating in the air like this. Carried by butterflies,” she cackled. “I learned this when I was a kid,” she said with a big laugh with Kevin staring at her. “I don’t remember my wife dealing with magic of any kind,” he insisted on not facing reality.
“Oluf, Oluf. There are many things women don't tell their husbands. They tell the fortune teller,rest assured of that,” In the mirror Payslee was hovering over the precipice and a young Kevin was jumping trying to grab her,trying to avoid the inevitable. In an instant the butterflies stopped moving their wings and fell dead into the bottom of the abyss. Payslee, with a terrified expression on her face, fell too, rushing towards the bottom of the black abyss.
“The butterflies fell first and surely they must have held Payslee's fall before her body hit the stones, before it crashed into the bottom of the abyss,”Jia dropped Kevin's numb arm and pointed a finger at his face.
“Say it to my face,” Kevin spoke out loud. “You think she betrayed me in the most vile way, to run away with Mac Kimley? She took off carrying my daughter with her?” Jia said nothing, once again casting the golden dust into the mirror and Azeviche appeared in it. “Look at these eyes. They are the color of Payslee's eyes.Green like big marbles,” she said walking in the small room. “This silk black hair and porcelain skin, it all looks like Payslee.Yet the resemblance to her, ends there. You must see the fire in these green eyes Oluf. This fire is the same fire that burns inside you,” Kevin leaned on the dragon statue, the smoke of the clove and cinnamon incense wrapped his body making the floor spin on his feets,the cruel truth crawled down his throat hitting him in the stomach like a stone.
“The truth may be painful, but think about it. You have a daughter out there. The question is: What are you going to do about it?” Oluf heard the witch talking , he made an effort to shake all this new information out of his head as if it were possible. With a hand clasped to his forehead and other holding the dragon statue, he kept his balance,then dragging his feet he went back to the armchair. He felt his head spinning there was no time to be this weak, he had a mission, he needed to find…
“I need to find my daughter!” Jia was pleased to hear the giant saying those words. That's exactly what they needed, finally she'd have the help she needed.
“You said she was adopted by Ronna Abbe. She may only be living on Marcus Abbe's ranch, the Silver Sword Ranch. Marcus Abbe hates me, I just met him on the road and he accused me of Payslee's death. I imagine he will put up a fight when I say he adopted my daughter,”he felt his throat dry, but he was starting to organize his ideas. “I'm sorry, now I need this tea more than ever,” he said pouring the tea in the cup and drinking it profusely.
“Azeviche is not in the ranch, the witch tried to say it in a way that didn't look like a provocation or a manipulation. “Where she could be then? I will have to go to the ranch and—” he was unable to finish
“—Think Oluf. Where do all the kids go when summer comes to Muddy Peaks?” Can you remember?”
His eyes widened like two orbs staring in the past again.“Azimute Quasifinger. The training camps.” Even though he moistened his throat sipping the lemongrass tea, the words got out of his mouth in a whisper that could barely be heard. Oluf would not dare to speak it out loud,not the name of that forsaken place. All the memories of his past came back to haunt him.
“Exactly,” The witch said. “She's in the training camps and if I'm right. She's in terrible danger.” she explained. “I already believed she would be in danger. That Mac Kimley would put Governor Fabion O'Ridley and Half Joness behind her to try to capture her and take her to the Southern Lands or even kill her,” Oluf frowned, he was worried.these words made him restless in his armchair.
“They want to kill her?” Oluf asked.
“Yeah, she's got skills.she's a dragon slayer just like you.And that's not all. There seems to be a special connection between her and the boy Robert LuckyFeets,something I can't explain yet, but the Draconites already knew and are determined to put an end to it,” she said by shoving both hands in the sleeves of her robe. “Anything the Draconites fear should be taken into consideration and used as a weapon to defeat them,”she took a deep breath.
“Oluf, I’m afraid to say we are close to a new war.”
“I know that. Or president Bale wouldn't have sent me back to Muddy Peaks.I can feel it in my bones since I put my feet back on this island,” he scratched his chin and they were silent for a few seconds. “It will take me considerable time to cross the island in search of my daughter at the training camp,” Jia leaned back in her chair when she heard that. Her lips parted in a smile showing all her pearly white teeth.
“ No it won’t,” she said giggling like a little girl. “I need you to get there as soon as possible. I told my daughter to look after Azeviche and LuckyFeets, but see…”she frowned. “I can't fully trust my own daughter.she is no regular girl, this is all that I can say.”
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