A Sorceress From the Future

Chapter Thirty Eight

NINA

Flashback

On the night my father brought home what I presumed to be my future family during that particular time, I was overwhelmed with excitement. I spent the whole day preparing for the much-anticipated dinner. I even gathered enough courage to head down to the basement and clean it. Yes, I had voluntarily placed myself in an environment infested with rats.

My father had left the house early without uttering a single word which was quite eerie. Usually, he would bark for me to execute a long list of tasks, some completely impossible, before he arrived home later that evening. The tasks were usually so engaging that I never had time to simply, be. I had to spend most of the days locked in the house, listening to children giggle and cackle in pure ecstasy as they played in the streets. As the years trickled by, I developed a habit so as to drown the intrusive sounds that tended to echo my misery; I sang.

Now, I was not a nightingale or one of those graceful ladies from the opera or Beyoncé for that matter but I did not consider myself half as bad when it came the art. This conclusion arose from the fact that my neighbors had never made an attempt to silence me. Our neighborhood was filled with opinionated and to put it bluntly, nasty people. If they did not like something, they would simply air their views. If you were lucky enough, they would only use words. One time a neighbor’s dog was found dead in the middle of the street at dawn. The note beside the dog said, “Finally, I can get some decent sleep.” Yes, it was a jungle out there.

Cindy and my father arrived at a quarter past 8 pm. I had already made dinner and set the table; I had gone as far as fetching the plates from the restricted cabinet. A part of me was curious to see how my father would react to me breaking one of his rules. If he would do what he usually did; beat me to a pulp. I smiled when he patted my hair and called me “kiddo”. Not midget, kiddo. It was as if I was looking at a different person altogether. For the first time in years, my father did not raise his voice, touch me inappropriately, or even aggressively; he was, for a lack of a better description, not himself. I watched in awe as my father laughed at Cindy’s cheesy jokes about how she tended to be clumsy around attractive men. My father seemed, happy.

Cindy had been accompanied by a puny, quiet boy. He was a delicate kid with a network of freckles across his cheeks. His ginger hair was spiky and unruly, quite the opposite of his personality. The boy remained silent throughout the dinner only speaking when addressed. He sat in one position; never shifting, he didn’t even dart his eyes. Once during the dinner, I tossed a bean towards his direction as a joke. It landed on his forehead, he didn’t even flinch.  

“Seth, help this nice girl clear the table won’t you dear?”

“Oh it’s no problem, Miss Cindy-“

“Nonsense, he will help you. He is a little gentleman...”

I had somehow missed it when I opened the front door for her and led her to the kitchen. I had somehow missed it when she complimented the scent of the dishes I had prepared. I had somehow missed it during her light conversing and heavy flirtation with my father. But at that moment, the moment she called her son “a little gentleman”, I saw it, I heard it. There was a reason my father and Cindy had clicked. They were both abusers. The purple bruises on Seth’s wrists were proof enough that Seth was just like me; an unfortunate child at the mercy of a cruel parent. And just like that, my hope for a better childhood, a better life was snuffed.

Up until then, I had never been directly responsible for protecting any other being apart from myself. Seth was five years old at the time my father began dating Cindy. According to his medical reports, the child had been to the hospital twelve times.

I have been taking care of him ever since.

Present

“You had a grand plan?”

“I specifically said think, I said I think I have a plan…”

“You do realize that if we are to be found here we will surely meet our deaths correct?”

“Yeah, I got it Guzman now quiet! I need to think!”

“Rupert would be insulted just so you are aware…”

“Excuse me?”

We were currently crouched behind a mass of bushes. According to Guzman, this was definitely where Rupert had been brought by the dwarves. I couldn’t help but picture Rupert tied over a naked fire like a roasted pig. Did dwarves feed on mage flesh?

“Rupert is a powerful mage not only that, he is a wizard of the Ninth Order, the highest existing Order there is. His pride will be deeply wounded if he was to be rescued by a human, a woman no less…”

“So, what you are saying is that Rupert would rather die at the hands of these vile, tiny creatures than to be rescued by a human, a woman no less? Guzman, are you that scared of dwarves?”

“That is some accusation human! I will not stand here and be insulted by you…I will, therefore, move further into the woods to sulk…”

I couldn’t help it, I laughed and to my surprise, the intimidating behemoth crouching beside me mirrored my action.

“What are you doing? Quiet!”

“You are the one who is being absurd!”

Guzman suddenly went quiet, his facial features instantly hardening. My eyes averted to his nostrils, I had not seen him breathe out fire yet.

“I am not afraid of the dwarves, the repercussions are what I fear. If at all we are wounded or we die, Tamara’s brother will lose his life and well, everything will certainly go downhill from there. And Tamara, Tamara would never forgive herself…”

“You truly love her, don’t you?”

“I am afraid no actions or words could ever fully show how much I love Tamara…Losing her brother would be her ruin not only as a leader but also as who she is…There is no way Tamara will be able to control her powers after the passing of her brother…”

For some reason I understood. I understood the love he had for Tamara, I understood his need to protect her. It was the same raw need I had for protecting Seth.

I had to go home, Seth needed me.

“Dwarves are men yes?”

“Pardon me?”

“Well, what do you suppose will happen if I stagger into their habitat, weak and distraught, seeking help from strong, capable men?”

Guzman’s lips stretched to reveal menacing teeth. How did Tamara even…

“They will be too distracted to watch their prisoner…”

“Precisely.”