Chapter 4
Doevm crawled to the river and washed that cursed liquor off himself and his clothes, but he was slow. By the time he made it to the river, which was a mile away, the sun was setting. The farmers returned to their homes. Rena was probably back with Hank by now, and worrying where her son was. Doevm s.h.i.+vered. He had no towels to dry himself off. While he had slowed the bleeding with a spare set of clothes, they only served as bandages. As he washed himself off, part of the river turned red. He rinsed out the bottle of liquor he emptied and threw it in a bush. He looked around to make sure no one was present. In a pile of dry leaves, a magic circle appeared along with some sparks. While Doevm couldn't kill anyone with his magic yet, he had still gathered magic. He breathed on the flame, letting it grow to more than a couple leaves. He stayed for fifteen minutes, letting himself dry off before he heard some voices. He scattered dirt on the flames and hid in a nearby bush.
"Doevm. Doevm!" it called. It sounded like a man, but it wasn't a man that Doevm recognized. He peaked out to see a dark-haired man in his early thirties. Unlike everyone else in the village, his posture was straight and he had large muscles and leather armor all over his body. A sheathed dagger was at his waist. He limped down the road, squinting at every little thing.
'Who are you?' the thought as the man walked down the gravel road towards his house. He put that out of his mind and come out of his bush. He couldn't walk on the gravel road as his mother could never afford to put shoes on his feet. Each step would send a rock's point up his feet, so he walked alongside it in the forest. He had to stop every few trees he pa.s.sed to catch his breath and cry into his sleeve. His skin was paling by the second, and his vision was getting a little blurry. He pushed onward. He could see his goal in sight.
The ma.s.sive tangle of roses was in front of him. Roses of every color stretched out as far as the eye could see. He picked the closes one,
If the field were full of normal roses, the Virility family would never be able to profit from it. The thorns that could kill farmers and were extremely lethal were highly valued as weapons. The poison works by paralyzing the prey. Every muscle would stop, including the heart. But if the poison were to be diluted with water enough, it had medicinal purposes. It clogged up wounds and served as an anesthesia. He had to use three wind blades to cut the rose down. He was so tired at this point. Looking back, he had a long way to go. While he did have anesthesia in his hands, he had to dilute it with water. That meant going all the way back to the river. He groaned and walked all the way back.
He retrieved the bottle he washed out earlier and filled it almost to the brim with water. Then he grabbed a piece of gravel from the path and used it to crush a thorn. A single drop went into the bottle. He mixed by putting the cap on then shaking it back and forth. After the water turned a tinge of gray, he opened it and poured it all over himself. The pain stopped. He sat down in complete Ecstasy. He lost focus on his objective and sat still for a while.
'Maybe I used to much.' he thought as he looked at his hallucinations. He saw a couple of Kobolds equipped with spears approaching the river. They lifted their snouts in the air and sniffed. They brought their eyes to him. One pointed a spear at him. Doevm laughed: 'They look so real.'
"Doevm!" the strange man called again. The Kobolds growled, crossed the river, an picked up Doevm. The man probably heard the actions because he appeared in the forest. "Drop him." he yelled as he drew his dagger. The Kobolds let out a high-pitched laugh as they circled him. It was three against one, and they had a hostage. The Kobold holding Doevm squeezed him close and put a dagger to his throat. When he pressed it close enough, Doevm felt a new wound open up, just short of his artery. While he was still under anesthesia, the new pain brought him fully awake. He rubbed his eyes, but the Kobolds and the man were still staring at each other in a deadlock. The opponents let their life essence loose and closed in. The Kobolds raised their spears. The man frowned. "The weak are pitiful." he said as he disappeared. Doevm looked around, yet the man was gone. A Kobold's head slid off. The two remaining panicked and got closer to Doevm. The one holding Doevm screeched out and pointed above, yet it was too late. One second Doevm was in a hairy set of arms, the next the man was walking away with Doevm. The two Kobolds looked at each other and then at their waists. Their legs slid off. Their upper bodies fell into the river.
"Don't worry. Shh shh shh. It's ok. I've got you." the man kept comforting. Doevm giggled.
'This, this is what I've been longing for. He's amazing, and he knows my name!' as the man carried the baby to the shack, Doevm realized something. He left his rose behind. Rena was still in danger. She would see Doevm's wounds and freak out. 'Wait a second. She doesn't know where these wounds came from. For all she knows, they could come from the Kobolds.' Doevm smirked and closes his eyes. The drugs were taking full effect again.
"Oh my G.o.ddess you are such a cute baby." the man tickled Doevm, who laughed and squirmed. "I love your innocent little smile. You have your mother's eyes." the next hour was a little blurry. He remembered getting carried back to the house. Rena ran outside with tears streaming down her cheeks and hugged both Doevm and the man. They talked for a while, all while still in a hug. She thanked him and the man left. He was carried back inside and set in his crib. By now he was coming out of his comatose state and could hear again.
"Did you like talking to Jameson?" She asked. "He's a good man isn't he? Isn't he?" she lifted Doevm's arms up and down.
"Rena, where were you?" Hank walked in the house.
"I was looking for our missing child, Hank." Rena walked up to him with the confidence she'd been missing for years. "Jameson came and helped bring Doevm back from a pack of Kobolds. We're lucky he wasn't killed."
Hank took a sip from his jug: "Jameson again huh? I thought I told him he wasn't welcome here."
"He came because of me." Rena backed away a bit. "The townsfolk were worried about me. I went out for hours calling for our son. They called Jameson because they thought the roses make me sick. I asked Jameson to help look. He was there for me, unlike somebody!"
"Woman, you are getting on my nerves. Quit your nagging. He ain't mine, he's yours. His father should look after him, not me." Rena seemed to revert back to her usual submissive state. She bowed her head and went back to Doevm's crib. She changed him out of his clothes and reeled back. The inside of Doevm's clothes were covered in a layer of dried blood. He just laid there and acted like nothing happened. Rena covered her mouth. Then, a change happened.
She put a new set of clothes on Doevm and stood over him, just staring down at him: "Oh my cute baby boy, I just want to take you somewhere safe and be happy." She reached down and wiped the blood off Doevm's neck. She brought it to her lips and licked it.
The last rays of the setting sun left the sky. The shack darkened as Rena's tired wrinkled face formed a wide smile that Doevm had never seen before. "Did you know that your lullaby is one I made myself? Would you like to hear the last verse?" She didn't wait for a response. She begun immediately.
"Oh the wind, the wind blows east.
To the edge of the earth, it runs from the beast.
It's fangs are sharp, but mommy's got her harp.
She'll lull it to sleep and count some sheep.
Oh the wind, the wind blows east.
Until the end of time, mommy will save you from the beast."
Her angelic voice rang in his head, and he got a little woozy. He half closed his eyes, but commanded them open.
"And when mommy's harp is bent and broken
She'll wait for the earth to darken.
She'll wait for a chance to come.
And when she's done waiting.
She'll stop delaying
Her heart keeps hating
and slit his G.o.d d.a.m.ned throat."