I want to go home…

Her skin melted. Her bones snapped. Her muscles tore themselves apart while she remained blind, deaf and suffocating.

“Ghhhh…”

She rolled over, raw flesh scraping tree branches. Cool air kissed her face. The sky… the sky called to her. Nothos called to her.

Her body burned away, leaving just her soul. The pain shed away, leaving her weightless and ascending. Nothos finally found her. Silvery light returned to her vision. She had never seen Nothos’ moon so up close.

The God of Justice and Mercy showed her the way home on a moonlit path through the clouds. She had never seen the Capital from so high above the ground. Not even the tallest towers of her home provided such a view; the sprawling railway junction, the grand pier aglow with theatres, musical halls and boutiques, the Yellow Square pedestrian plaza, Kobol University and its gargoyles that looked more like roosting pigeons than the building’s guardians beasts. She swooped past the pretty row of townhouses where Adelei lived.

"Good night!” she called out.

In the heart of it all sat Throne Obsidia, her home. A giant castle complex with granite curtain walls, black spires and iron spikes. The towers cut through the clouds like spears guarding the inner castle. If she flew right over it, she could go directly to her room.

She wanted to crawl into bed and forget everything that happened.

It’s so close.

Fresh pain knifed her arm.

Mahala spiralled in the air like a failing biplane. Her eyes adjusted to the dark. There were several homunculi flickering over buildings. Something tugged at her leg. A homunculus hung off it, a switchsword open in his palm. He proceeded to cut her ankle. She yelped and kicked him off.

Two more homunculi took his place.

They were chasing her — hunting her.

She tried to steady herself. What now? 

Another switchsword pierced her shoulder. With a grunt, she threw him off.

“STOP IT!” she screamed. “IT HURTS!”

The homunculi were piling on top of her. Rough hands, sharp blades and hot pistols were riddling her with holes. Her body tore itself apart once, and now they wanted to do it again.

“PLEASE STOP!”

Blue light bloomed in the sky into a sizzling rose. Fireworks. She saw Luck standing on the roof of a citadel, another paper rocket under his arm.

She scrambled towards him.

“LUCK! LUCK!” she sobbed. “HELP ME!”

With renewed strength, Mahala violently thrashed. Some homunculi flew off, taking chunks of her with them. Switchswords flayed her raw. She still kept moving.

“LUCK!”

She didn’t question how she saw him so clearly in the night. Nothos was still with her. Nothos felt her pain. Another switchsword bursted her rips apart.

“LUCK!”

He stood there, waiting. His eyes black and empty. His grip tight on his switchsword.

He disappeared.

“L-Lu–”

Her entire body went numb. Acid melted her veins. Her chest ripped open.

The sky titled as she fell. She finally noticed Luck falling with her, his switchsword plunged into her chest. 

“Why…?” she croaked.

Luck’s expression finally broke. His face scrunched up, eyes averted. His finger squeezed the trigger on the handle. The switchsword fired into the gaping wound. Her chest exploded. And her heart surely shattered.

Her head rolled back. She fell – into trees, into mountains. The light faded. Her soul slipped through Nothos’ fingers. 

Darkness welcomed her once more.

Mahala had no idea how long she was in the cave. She guessed she fell inside a mountain passage, drifting in and out of sleep. Her body wouldn’t cooperate with her. And even after she got used to the pain ravaging her body, the burning in her chest never subsided.

It was the wyrm. It suckled on whatever life force or nutrients she had left, attempting to patch its host (her body) back together after what Luck did.

“He only meant to cut out the wyrm. He didn’t mean to hurt me,” she whispered. The words out loud only pissed her off. “He was meant to protect me. He is a failure. Unlucky. A jinx like everyone said!” 

Pain spasmed over her chest, but it also grew warmer.

“After everything I did… you froze at the most important moment, you stabbed me… I wish I never saved you!” she cried. “I hate you! I hate you!”

It wasn’t just him. It was stupid Knockdown blindly bringing her father back to the warzone. The two damned monsters that stopped the train. The passengers for getting in the way. The homunculi for not doing their fucking job. Her father for even suggesting this trip–

The delicious warmth flickered like the homunculi’s magic. It left her even colder than before.

“I’m sorry… I don’t mean that… Please forgive me…”

She hid her face in her hands. Her hair drooped over her face like a greasy curtain. 

I love father.

But she didn’t want him to see her like this. She didn’t want him to hate her or know she was a monster. 

“I’ll be good…” she moaned. “So please…”

If I hate, I lose. The hate isn’t me.

I’m not a monster.

“I promise,” she said.

“I know, child,” her father said.

She stayed still and quiet. She ignored the hallucinations. Even when the voices got louder, when light stung her face, when a boot prodded her shoulder.

“How the fuck did she get down ‘ere?” her newest hallucination spoke in a thick Northern accent.

“Is she even alive?” said another.

“Did Nevermind have rules about strays?”

“Fuck if I know.”

Mahala closed her eyes. She had enough of men yanking her about. She returned to her memories. Safer ones. A fireplace, a rug, her and her father sitting together with warm drinks, talking about a musical they saw. Mahala wanted a copy of the first song’s score to play on the piano.