Outcasts of Velrune (24 page)

“I do not recommend saying no to me.”

Alexandra moved a little ways away from the others and extended the poles to three feet in length. She then placed each one on the ground, the grass winding around them as she did so. She then stretched the black canvas over them, the sides falling level with the ground. With her makeshift tent completed, she crawled under, leaving Max fascinated.

“Wow, Melody, is that why the garden at your Church has grown so much?”

Melody shook her head. “No, no one at the Church has that kind of control over the spirits. All we do is provide a rich, caring environment where the spirits can be happy. I have never seen anyone control plants with that much ease.

The grass binding Lysander released, allowing him to stand.

“It may be a neat trick, but someone needs to teach that little brat to respect her elders.”

Melody gave a nervous laugh. “Good luck with that.”

Eve smirked. “If she is an Immortal, like you guys were saying, wouldn’t she be your elder, Lysander?”

Max slid off his backpack and sat on the grass. “About that, I thought all the Immortals had disappeared?”

Melody sat next to Max, kicking off her shoes and laying back on the soft grass. “All except the cursed ones, the Spirit Leeches.”

Lysander shook his head. “Even those were hunted down by the Protectors. One hasn’t been seen in years.”

Lysander sat down across from Max and Melody. Swinging his backpack around, he began to shuffle through it.

“I wonder what else of hers they stuck in here.”

Eve flopped down on the other side of Max. “But what if she is one?”

Lysander looked up. “Then Max and I will arrest her and take her to headquarters for judgment.”

Max gave Lysander a blank look. “Why would we do that?”

“The Spirit Leeches are criminals. They prey on the innocent, draining them of their spirit energy, killing them.”

“But, who are they?”

“They are Immortals who betrayed their own kind and were cursed for their crime.”

Max waved his hands.” Whoa, wait a second. She’s only nine. How could she have betrayed anyone?”

Melody nodded. “I must admit, there is nothing recorded from our order concerning Spirit Leeches of such a young age, but I can’t explain the power she has either.”

Lysander glanced at Alexandra’s tent. “And that has me worried. Your order knows more about this stuff than anyone, and you don’t even know what to make of her. What I do know, for sure, is that she’s dangerous. Stay alert, Max.”

Eve huffed. “You guys are being too dramatic. Leave her alone. Relax and enjoy the scenery.

Max rolled his eyes. “And you’re having too much fun, Eve.”

Eve laughed merrily, causing the others to put the topic aside for the moment. Sitting up, she rummaged around in her backpack.

“Hmm, guess we don’t get a tent. Ooo, they packed cheese for Spook.”

Eve took out a small piece of cheese. Spook, hearing her name, popped out of her satchel, spied the cheese and quickly climbed over Eve to snatch it. This time, Max and Melody broke out laughing. Lysander shook his head and resumed shuffling through his pack.

“Seems I get all the heavy equipment: rope, spade…what the?” Lysander pulled out a dark purple colored parasol.

Max pointed at the parasol. “Hey, that’s the parasol Alexandra carried when I saw her in town.”

Lysander grunted. “Well at least one of us will look fashionable. What am I, her servant?”

Eve stood and walked over to Lysander. “Give it here, I’ll keep it.”

Looking at Alexandra’s tent, Max shook his head. “I don’t think it has anything to do with fashion. Didn’t you notice how pale she is? She must burn easy in the sunlight.”

Lysander handed over the parasol. “That is a condition commonly found in Spirit Leeches. Careful how friendly you become with her.”

Eve sat back down in her spot. “Spirit Leech or not, she’s a peach compared to you.”

Lysander’s face grew red. “We better get some rest while we can. We move again in a few hours.”

While they knew Lysander was simply trying to stop the conversation, they still took the advice. It had been a long night. They each found the softest patch of ground they could and laid down for a nap.

Four hours later, Eve awoke to find Alexandra standing over her, parasol in hand. “It is time to go. I can only move while the sun is overhead, once it starts to sink we will have to stop until nightfall.”

Eve popped up from the ground. “How did you sneak up on me?”

The slightest of smiles touched the corners of Alexandra’s lips. “I grew up around the lacarna so I know their abilities. Do not worry though, you will learn how to detect my presence.” She turned to walk away. “Oh, thank you for getting my parasol.”

Eve shrugged her shoulders. “Welcome. Max recognized it when Lysander pulled it out of his pack. He thought you might need it in the sun.”

Alexandra paused. “Hmm.”

Max stood from where he had been sleeping, Eve and Alexandra’s conversation having awoken him. “Hey, Alex, I...”

Alexandra spun around, her eyes burning with fire. “My name is Alexandra!” She spun away, “Now move,” and started walking.

Max, startled by Alexandra’s reaction, forgot his question. Lysander stepped beside him.

“Told you to be careful.”

Max grabbed his chest. “When did you get up?“

Lysander pointed to Max’s other side. “Same time as Melody.”

Melody waved at Max. “Hi.”

Max shook his head. “Eve’s right, I really need to pay more attention. In any event, Alexandra’s not waiting for us.”

Alexandra had already put close to 150 feet between them with Eve trailing a short distance behind her. Max, Melody and Lysander grabbed their backpacks and rushed after them.

Two hours later, when Alexandra’s parcel could no longer adequately block the sun’s light, they stopped to rest once again. When the sun set, they moved again, this time going until the next day’s sunrise. Max stuck close to Lysander the first night, trying to get more information about the Spirit Leeches.

“Hey, Lysander, Mr. Penna never mentioned the Spirit Leeches in his lectures.”

“That doesn’t surprise me. Not too many people know about them anymore, and the rest of us would like to forget about them.”

“Why? Does it have something to do with what you said about them betraying their own kind? What happened?”

Lysander took a deep breath. “What I’ve been told, Max, is this. During the lacarnian war against the humans, some of the Immortals sided with the lacarna rather than trying to find a fair way to end the conflict. After the war, the other Immortals held them accountable for their actions. They punished them by inflicting them with a disease that would slowly eat away at their spirit energy, eventually killing them.”

Max shook his head. “But the disease didn’t kill them all, did it?”

“No, some found they could draw out the life spirit of others to temporarily counter the disease’s effect.”

“Draw out their spirit energy? You said that earlier too. I don’t understand what you mean.”

Lysander looked back to Melody who walked a few steps behind them. “I think you can explain this part better than me.”

Melody nodded. “Max, do you remember what I told you about the spirits? How they are in all living things? Well, that goes for us too. It’s kind of like this: If we get a cut, we bleed; the more we bleed, the weaker we get; if we bleed too much, we die. It works the same with our spirit energy. As we lose our spirit energy we grow weak, we lose too much, we die. The Spirit Leeches act like a cut, creating a place for the spirit energy to flow out. The good news is, like our blood, our spirit energy replenishes overtime, or at least for normal humans it does. The disease the Spirit Leeches have eats away the energy faster than it can replenish.”

Max thought about this for a moment before speaking. “So, the Spirit Leeches can draw out the energy of others to replace their own?”

“Correct, but, like their own energy, the energy they stole from another being also depletes over time. They must find one victim after the next to keep replacing their energy in order to stay alive.”

“Okay, I think I got it, except for one thing. How do they draw out the spirit energy of others?”

“I’m not sure. I doubt it’s easy. The simple things I can do, like create the barrier, takes a lot of skill and concentration.”

Lysander shook his head. “From what I’ve seen, it’s simple enough. They simply lay their hands on the person and take it.”

Max’s eyes went wide. “You’ve actually seen it happen?”

Max’s question drew both Melody and Eve closer to them, both curious as to what Lysander might have seen. Lysander bowed his head, taking a moment to think before answering.

“When I was a child, my parents and I were returning to Moenia from a picnic with another couple and their children. We lost track of time, returning after the sun had set. We made it within a half-mile of the city gates when a Spirit Leech, hidden behind a few rocks, jumped us. She grabbed the other man’s wife, yanking her to the ground. Right before us, the Spirit Leech began draining the poor woman of her very life. I could see the color fade from the woman’s face. Seconds later, my father and the woman’s husband attacked the Spirit Leech, but it fought them off and ran.”

“We rushed to the city, informing the Protectors at the gate of the incident. Luckily, the woman survived, thanks to the quick response by her husband and my father. Three days later a patrol found and captured the Spirit Leech.”

“What did they do with the Spirit Leech?” asked Max.

“They tried and executed it.”

“Even though the woman recovered?”

“That thing would have finished her off if it had the chance.”

“How do you know?”

“Because, the curse not only affected their bodies, but their minds as well. They’re mad, not caring what they hurt.”

Eve butted in. “Well then, Alexandra must not be one, she seems perfectly fine to me.”

Lysander laughed. “Fine! She’s supposedly nine, but she acts like an adult beyond any of our years. Then there are her powers that even Melody can’t explain.”

“Okay, but she hasn’t tried to hurt any of us. She even healed my arm.”

“Her behavior is different from what I have heard of the Spirit Leeches. However, I have a hard time believing she is an Immortal. Either way, she must really need something from us to come out in the open like this.”

Melody crossed her arms, angry. “I realize it must have been terrifying to witness such an attack when you were so young, but you can’t apply one person’s actions to everyone like them. That is the same attitude the Protectors have always had and why our Order has never gotten along with them.”

“That attitude is what has kept us alive and in control.”

“It’s also what keeps you from having an open mind, about the Spirit Leeches, our order, and the lacarna. Perhaps you should give us a chance sometime instead of blindly following your beloved Lord Avram and his lies.”

Lysander stopped and faced Melody. “Careful of what you say, acolyte.”

Melody huffed, but said nothing else. Lysander turned and started walking again. Max, Melody and Eve gave him a little distance before following.

Melody mumbled under her breath, “Stupid, close-minded Protectors.”

Eve smiled slightly, but seemed thoughtful. “What do you think about her, Max?”

Max shrugged his shoulders. “Something is wrong with her, that’s for certain. I also have a feeling she’s not telling us all the reasons she’s taking us to this forest either.”

“I don’t think she’d hurt us though, Maxy, even if she is a Spirit Leech. I mean, how many of them have the Protectors actually run into?”

“I don’t know, and I’m not sure if it would matter. They seem to make their laws on what they think is the truth about people without really getting to know them first.” Max shook his head. “I believed being a Protector would be easy; that they did everything that was right and fair. Now it seems that what they think is fair is not how everyone else feels, including me.”

Eve sighed. “I wish Mr. Penna had come with us.”

“Why? You know all he’d do is give us some vague answer that would make no sense and then tell us to figure it out ourselves. You, on the other hand, have no problem telling me what you think. You also judge people pretty well, if you trust her, I do too.”

“B...but, Maxy, what if I’m wrong?”

Max laughed. “Then, once again, you’ll have to get me out of trouble.”

Eve, laughing, punched Max in the shoulder. “Sure, you join the Protectors, and I do all the work.”

Even Melody laughed now, forgetting her frustration with Lysander.

No one brought the topic up again for the rest of the trip to the forest. After two nights on the move, the lack of sleep began to wear them down. They skipped any conversation requiring much thought, focusing instead on following Alexandra.