There were voices far away; her mother preventing the girl’s mother from entering, Seth saying he would come back later, someone outside. Layla fell asleep, stitched from her cheek to her forehead. The gash had missed the eye. One thing to be thankful for.
Like all the kids Zora taught, Layla spent most of the time learning combat and self-defense techniques. Tonight it might have saved her life. Zora wished she could teach them more, more about medicine, more stories, more things to make sure they could still dream. She did it when they were practicing training routines. Sometimes she wondered if it was right to try to encourage these kids to hope. Would they ever leave their valley? Generation after generation, they were paying for something someone might have done hundreds of years before.
When she was younger, Zora believed they were the defenders of the kingdom, keeping the darkness from spreading. Only later would she learn that the valley was basically a prison, a punishment for dealing with dark magic, keeping in generation after generation the descendents of the people who had allowed those creatures to spawn. Sometimes she still told herself her old lie, tricking her mind that they were there because they wanted to. But then, there was Seth. Seth was leaving. Seth was perhaps bringing help. Change was possible.
Zora went outside after Layla fell asleep. There were people talking, discussing. They wanted to know how those creatures had come to the heart of the village. Rangers were sent to look for dark spots. It was always like that; when a shadow creature spawned, they pointed fingers at each other or at least tried to find where they’d messed up. Perhaps it was their own way of hoping. Hoping that one day they’d figure it all out and no longer make any mistakes. Was it possible to avoid mistakes?
There were four types of creatures: humans, which had a human shape, but with grey skin. They were common, not much faster or stronger than a person, but they had claws sharp as knives. Then there were the wolves, four-legged creatures, not really wolves, as they didn’t have a particular shape. They were fast and dangerous, strong, and had sharp claws and teeth. There were also spiders. When it was just a small space, like a bucket upside down, they spawned. About the size of an apple, they had sharp pincers and deadly poison. At least they didn’t spawn on trees, bushes, or anything natural, but they could show up under a carelessly thrown piece of clothing, for example.
But the worst creatures were the balls. They were round and could be small like a spider or big like a human, and they exploded. At least they were rare. They were called shadow creatures because they spawned in the shadows, but names are deceiving. They were solid and real as if they were living beings. The main difference was that they disappeared instead of dying and didn’t bleed. But killing them was like killing a real person or animal; by hitting it with a sword or something sharp. People in the valley, including Zora, usually enchanted their swords to make them stronger, sharper, and more deadly against the creatures, so that they disappeared with fewer blows.
The best way to fight shadow creatures was to prevent them from ever spawning, making sure everything was always well-lit. And yet somehow they could never manage it. There was always an accident. Always someone hurt or killed. And that was why everyone had to know how to fight. Zora had faced wolves, humans, spiders, and even balls. It was part of life in the Dark Valley.
Would it ever change? Zora walked aimlessly. She wanted to curl up and cry, but if she broke down, what would her students do? Her students’ ages varied from seven to twelve, big enough to learn to defend themselves and yet too young to be helping to light up the mountain or the forest. She tried to encourage them, inspire them, tell them that everything was possible. And yet, there they were; the heart of their village still vulnerable.
Zora needed some time alone, some time when she wasn’t trying to pretend to be brave or calm or hopeful. She leaned on the outer wall of a house in the village and took a deep breath. Even though she was alone and troubled, her ears were perked. In the silence, it wasn’t hard to notice when a shadow creature was coming, and that could be the difference between life and death. But all she heard was the wind. Then more wind, and then the wind bringing the sound of a voice.
“It won’t be the same without you.” That was Razi, Seth’s friend. He had a low, obnoxious, raspy voice she would recognize anywhere.
“You’ll get used to it.” That was Seth. Another voice she would never mistake, but his was smooth. “I’m not gonna say I’m sorry for leaving this prison.”
Razi laughed. “I won’t say I’m not jealous. It might sound silly, but I would give anything to see the girls in court. I’ve heard that even the maids there are hotter than the girls here.”
Typical Razi, always thinking about girls, bragging about girls.
Seth laughed. “Being hotter than the girls here doesn’t mean much.”
What did he mean by that? Maybe he was just playing along with his friend. Still, Zora couldn’t help the nauseous feeling growing in her stomach.
Razi laughed, then asked, “What about your girl? How is she taking it?”
Zora perked up.
“Taking what?” Seth sounded almost annoyed.
“You leaving her?”
Leaving her. Well, yes. Unless he meant… not coming back? But Seth was coming back.
“I haven’t said anything. If she wants to cry for me, cry when I’m gone.” His tone… was mocking? Or was she mishearing it?
“Why?” Razi had a teasing laugh. “You haven’t made her cry with joy yet?”
Seth laughed. “Oh, that. A bunch of times. But you know what I mean. I need some fun before I leave, not drama.”
On top of everything, Seth was lying.
“Speaking of which,” Seth added. “I have to get Zora for our final goodbye.” He laughed.
He was laughing.
“Oh.” Razi sounded surprised. “I was talking about Cecile. I had no idea you and Zora were still…”
Zora froze.
“She doesn’t know about Cecile,” Seth said. “And I’ll be far away when she figures it out, which saves me from some dumb drama.” He laughed. “Plus I was with Cecile every morning this week. Gets boring.”
The only feeling Zora had was a sudden urge to puke.
“Well, have fun, then. I’ll see you at your official farewell. Try to leave some girls for me.”
“You can have them all. It’s not like I’m going to come back and get angry or anything.” He sighed. “I hope one day you can get out of this prison, too. For a better future.”
“And hotter girls.”
Seth laughed. “That, too.”
They walked away.
This was like a farce, or more like a weird, strangely written play that made no sense. It made no sense. Zora, who had been leaning on an outer wall of a house, slid down until she was sitting on the ground. This was surreal. Not only did Seth have no intention of coming back, he’d been with another girl. Cecile was nice, about twenty-three. She was a ranger and helped with the rounds to make sure all lights were on. She would be doing that with Seth, except… Perhaps it was logical that there were dark spots so often.
A tear fell on the ground. No. This wasn’t right. Seth was the one who had wronged her, perhaps even lied to Cecile, too. Who knew what he had told her? How he’d used his position of “valley hero” to draw on her hope? Stupid hope.