Chapter 3: (Warning- this chapter contains some violence and descriptions of blood)

“Come home safely.”

-Love Long Gone

Every inch of Sylva pricked with stabbing pain, as though a thousand needles were jabbing her skin all at once. Leaning on her father was the only way to keep herself upright. Her eyes drifted from the mayor back to her father. Why was everyone here? How did she get back home, the last thing she saw was the train and when she woke up she was in bed….a dream? It was so real….

“Da?” Sylva said, “It all hurts.”

Her father lifted her into a careful cradle. When he looked down at her with soft, sorry eyes, Sylva wanted to cry again. Da was here, and she didn’t have to be alone anymore. Everything would be okay-

“Grab them!” Mayor Barrett shouted to the townsfolk at the door.

Dein sharply turned. Sylva’s legs swung, pain traveling to her throat, she gagged. Tears smarted at the edges of her eyes. She turned her head despite the pain to see four town’s men approaching. Behind them she saw a horrified Quinn holding a strip of cloth.

Hands roughly dragged her away from Dein. Sylva screamed out when her body slammed against the ground. Pain doubling. She heaved herself onto her hands and knees only to vomit…some bits looked like undigested pretzel.

Her father grappled with the men attempting to hold him down. He fought aggressively, elbowing them in the stomach, tossing them over his shoulder, but made sure not cause any permanent damage. His gaze flitted to Sylva any chance he got, but there was no opportunity to go to her.

Sylva’s arms were softly pulled behind her back and tied. She whimpered as the pain doubled through her arms. Over her shoulder she saw Quinn solemnly tying her up. He glanced at her briefly, but quickly returned his attention to the knot work. The floor hurt her knees so she dropped her butt to her heels to ease the pain.

The men wrestled her father to his knees. Two held down his shoulders, another held his right arm out, and the fourth twisted his left arm behind his back.

Mayor Barrett approached with a small dagger, “You both beh’her think the nex’ hime you wan’oo hur’ my hown.”

Dein glared up at the mayor, “No-one has been drastically harmed….at least not yet.”

“Is tha’ a threa’?” Mayor Barrett came in close.

“If you harm my daughter then take it as one.” Dein said roughly trying to tear himself free of the men. Sylva noticed him grimacing in pain with every movement. What did they do to him that even he would show pain?

Sylva blinked and suddenly there was blood dripping from Dein’s arm. Her eyes went wide, and she squirmed in Quinn’s grip, not caring if she her body collapsed under the strain.

Her father noticed and said, “Sylva, I’m okay. Don’t worry-” 

Another slash. He couldn’t hold back a cry of pain. Sylva drew her brows together….Da doesn’t easily feel pain. He had once sliced himself deeply with one of his wood carving tools and merely flinched. Now he was crying out as if he’d received a deadly cut.

Sylva writhed furiously, her father’s pain making it easy to ignore her own. Quinn held her firmly. She looked angrily over at him and his face melted into guilt, tears fell from his face, but not a sound escaped him. While tugging her arms in a futile effort to escape Quinn slipped his knot loose and let her go. 

She heard her father cry out again, this time stifled as best he could. No time to think, she bolted just as Barrett raised the dagger again and stumbled in front of her father protectively.

“Leave him alone!” She said. Every inch of her trembled against fear and pain.

Mayor Barrett looked down at her unimpressed and shoved her aside. She lurched to her feet and grabbed his leg. She didn’t have much strength so Barrett easily pried her away like a piece of lint stuck to his coat, “Try that one more time and I’ll kill you.”

“LEAVE HER!” Dein bellowed. He used every ounce of strength to free himself, but the men kept him down—barely. His fury went ignored by Barrett.

Sylva stared back defiantly and reached for the dagger wielding hand.

Mayor Barrett grabbed her hand, “You don’ even deserve the hunh.”

Barrett swung his dagger for her neck. Sylva used her other hand to protect herself. It pierced her skin straight through the other side of her palm, the force of the stab had the tip scrape her forehead. Searing pain trickled down her face as an ink black drop fell from the cut. 

Barrett released her immediately and said, “You ARE a demon!”

In a daze Sylva grasped the dagger firmly and yanked it out. Blood marbled with the lacuna bits as it seeped out from her palm. Pain shot all the way up her arm to the back of her neck. She rocked back and forth on the floor, taking stuttering breaths. This wasn’t like the Lacuna shock. This was stomach lurching, closed throat, heart racing, and mind numbing pain. Sylva crumpled to the ground, “DA!” She cried out.

****

Dein watched in horror as Sylva’s small body collapsed. Instead of taking on the strength of all the men at once he put all his strength into his right arm and heaved. The man holding him was unprepared and lost his grip. With one arm free he could shake off the others easily. He shoved hand off his right shoulder and abruptly ducked away left hand. Lastly, he threw the last man to the ground and used his weaving chair like a bat against whichever man stepped up to fight first.

Alone these men were weak. The stool broke after a swing, but it managed to knock out one. A second approached ready to tackle but Dein caught him by the wrist and threw him over his shoulder into the loom. The last two men tried to team up against him but Dein jammed a weaving beater against the back of one man’s knees and with a choke hold sent the other unconscious.

Turning around he saw Barrett approaching Sylva. Dein intercepted, grabbing Barrett by his coat collar. For a moment he saw Barrett’s eyes go wide with fear, but it was quickly replaced with anger. Dein shoved the man away hard enough to knock him to the ground near the blood marbled with lacuna remnants.

Dein went to Sylva and with the calmest voice said, “I’m here. I know it hurts, but I’ll make sure it gets better.”

From his place on the ground Barrett snarled, “Demons! Do you hear me everyone?Dein and his daugh’er are demons. They wan’ you believing the delusions abou’ another world, so his daugh’er can lure you in’oo the lacuna and drag you in’oo hell!”

The crowd of folk outside the door collectively gasped and took a few steps away from the door. Barrett clambered to his feet with a malicious grin stretched his face. He side stepped the pool of blood toward the door. Dein followed the man with his eyes only, ready to fight if he so much as stepped toward Sylva.

Barrett continued his barking, “He is a madman, and noh only is the girl an accomplice, but she is a walking lacuna. Look,” He pointed at the blood pool, “Her blood created Lacunae righ there in our hown!”

Dein stepped forward defensively. Barrett held out a hand to stop him, but kept running his mouth, “They will use her foul lacuna blood’oo kill us all!”

Dein pulled Sylva onto his lap. He’d never seen anything like this. The black bits of lacuna stung him fiercely for such a trifling amount, but it must be nothing compared to what she felt.

He needed these people to get out so he could tend to her. Dein dropped his hand onto the blood pool, the small lacunae in it swarming to his hand searching for something to consume. 

Barrett was still a few feet from the door, when Dein grabbed the back of his collar with his non bloodied hand. The townsfolk in the doorway watched in horror as Dein held out his Lacuna covered hand near Barrett’s face,“Get away from my house. ALL of you. We’ll be gone in the morning so leave us be.”

He shoved Barrett across the threshold. Despite the danger to his life the man’s pride kept him speaking, “You will be hun’ed. There’s no escape, we’ll gather our guns and find you. For the sake of all people in this good world we will be rid of you.”

Barrett barked out orders to some men. Townsfolk murmured to each other stealing glances at Dein. He slammed the door shut before anyone decided to come back for another round. Outside he heard Barrett shout, ‘Leh the hun’ begin!”

Sylva’s soft crying brought Dein back to the urgent matter of her hand. After washing his hands, he took a spare shirt and tore it to strips. He prepared a bowl of warm water and a cloth. Though the cut was clean it unfortunately went all the way through. 

First he compressed the bleeding until it slowed enough to clean. Then he used the fresh bandages to wrap her hand up securely. All the while Sylva clung to him with her good hand like a duckling nestled next to its mother. She cried quietly following Dein directions without question. He also cleaned up her face and put a lighter bandage around her head. Her blood had stopped running black to Dein’s great relief.

If the lacuna seeped into their body, then the residual pain must com from their body trying to detox the foreign substance. Blood letting was simply the faster method than sweating it out, and hopefully a faster relief. In fact, since his arm had been cut, Dein felt significantly better already.

As he helped Sylva into bed she said, “If I wasn’t here, then nobody would bother you. I’m sorry.”

“Look at me,” He waited until her teary eyes met his. He wiped the tears away, “You have nothing to be sorry about. Understand?” He said firmly.

“I didn’t leave the fields when I saw the mud. If I had listened to you and come home— this wouldn’t have-“ She broke down into fresh tears.

Dein pulled her in close being careful not to hug her too tightly, he hated seeing her like this. She’s just a child, and should be oblivious to all these problems. “No matter what’s happened, you never deserve to be hurt like this. I should’ve looked after you better. It’s not your fault. Okay?”

She looked up with watery eyes, “You’re not mad?”

“Do I look upset?”

“No.”
“That’s because I’m not. In fact, I wanted a reason to leave before the winter, and now we have this perfect chance.”

“But the hunt.” She said grabbing a fistful of his shirt sleeve, “They’re gonna kill us!”
“I’ll protect us.” Dein said. He kissed her forehead and tousled her hair, “No one will ever hurt you, or take you away from me. Now just rest, I’ll get us ready to leave.”

She smiled, snuggling down under her blanket. Dein stroked her hair for a minute relieved to hear her breathing deepen and even out quickly.