NOVEL WEB Chapter-50 Vow
[Teal]
Vin had promised never to leave her alone, yet he died on his own, not even his corpse remained. She had no family left now, and every second that ticked in this house reminded her of that. Her purpose in life was to make him proud, to provide an easy life for him, like he did for her. She thought she had time, that he would always be here, she took his presence for granted, but now he was gone. His voice still rang in her ears, what she wouldn’t give to just hear him scolding and preaching again, she missed his care…she missed him. If only she realized his struggles, if only she helped him out, if only she eased his burden…but it was too late now. He was dead, and only the regrets remained and tortured her day and night.
She lay on her bed, staring at the ceiling with dazed eyes, old tears drying on her cheeks while new ones rolled down her temples. They’d already drenched her pillow.
“Teal, you have to eat something. Do it for your brother if nothing else,” Kole knocked on her door and said. “I’ll leave it here, eat while its hot.” He left with a sigh.
The steamy food’s aroma wafted through the door’s crevices and her stomach growled. It cared nothing for her emotions and her mind, it needed food. But Teal still didn’t budge. Her hunger couldn’t topple her regrets, her pain, her sorrow.
“Teal!! Open up!!” Soon Kole came back and banged on her door, the thuds from his punches rattled the latch. “You must see this, Teal! It’s about your brother,” he yelled.
Teal jolted up and tried to rush to the door but got dizzy and collapsed. Her emaciated body struggled amidst Kole’s banging, and she dragged herself to open the door.
Kole held her by her shoulder and supported her to the hall. Her feet bumped into the plate on the floor and the splatters of the piping hot curry scalded her foot, but she didn’t care. And neither did Kole.
“Our sources have confirmed—Ewan Ayres, an eighteen-year-old boy who ran a shop and lived alone, has been tagged as the biggest suspect in the blood festival case.” The news ran the same comments again and again with Ewan’s picture from his school I.D plastered all over it.
“W-What is this?” Teal asked.
“They’ve been showing this for a while. This bastard is the culprit it seems. He killed Vin. They’re saying he’s mental,” Kole said.
Teal clenched her fists with whatever strength she had left. Her knuckles paled, and her shoulders shivered. The thought of revenge rekindled her flickering flame of life. She gained a purpose, she wanted to butcher this man. Why he did what he did didn’t matter, he took her brother’s life; that was all she knew.
Kole scoffed, staring at the tv screen. “He’s a ‘mighty’ Asheva, there’s no way he’ll get any punishment.”
Teal took a deep breath and looked towards her room. The Astylind egg she received from her school was still in there, her tragedy had made her forget about it. But if she wanted to kill an Asheva, she would have to become an Asheva, Kyrons were helpless against that group.
I’ll bring you justice, Vin. I’ll avenge you and make this world a better place for Kyrons to live…I promise you.
……
[Ewan]
Ewan walked down the stairs from the L.E.A. office that existed halfway up a hill and took the tram back home. On his way, the chatters and the whispers, the scared bloodless faces, and the people who scattered away like rats after seeing him, informed him of his current situation. He sighed and clicked his tongue, that woman indeed outed him to the news. The truth didn’t matter at this point, the public had an outlet for their rage and accusations, correcting them was a fool’s errand. And he didn’t intend to either. His already non-existent social life as a Kyron was over, by external influence or by choice, he couldn’t care less.
The only annoyance was the people who gathered their courage and attacked him. Ewan’s Ryvia surrounded him and held the attackers back as he took out his medallion and stared at it. Some followed the vanguard attackers and hurled random items at him that braked and hovered after coming into his Ryvia’s range.
He sighed, that woman might not have harmed him, but she did give him a headache. These people took his passive stance as his weakness. He glanced at the grunting young man with a knife who struggled within his Ryvia, his face contorted and flushed. Ewan controlled his Ryvia and twisted his limbs, a heart-wrenching scream followed the tram-silencing snaps and cracks. His limbs bent in unnatural ways, some fractures breaking the skin with the jagged bones, and the young man wailed his lungs out; tears snot and saliva covered his face. Soon he sobbed for mercy, and the others scattered away like rats once again, screeching. Mothers hugged their children, men protected their loved ones, they all eyed Ewan warily from a distance.
Ewan let the man go and looked at the medallion again, rubbing the patinated traces. It had a spirit imprint on it, the same as his claw-ring. It proved its origin and marked its affinity with his Pa. And so, he flicked the medallion once and stored it in his claw-ring. Time would tell its applications; he left it to his Pa’s machinations. A hint of curiosity budded in his heart, however, he wished to explore its ins and outs.
While he lost himself in his thoughts, a man from the huddled crowd braved forward, his steps inching ahead, and dragged the young man with broken limbs away. At least his example would give him some peace for some time.