The snow whipped at Alia’s face. Her head was aching, but the pain in her still-bound arms and hands was worse. The initial slicing sensation of her bare feet on the icy ground was disappearing as her toes went numb, which admittedly was a nice reprieve. Hardly dressed for freezing temperatures, she was led towards the barn where she assumed she'd be killed. She felt all these sensations, but they were far away and unimportant. There was a strange silence echoing in her mind. Strange, but also rather comforting. It soothed her as she walked along. It actually was quite lovely, this whole body numb feeling, it even blocked the fear as she marched into the barn to die.

  Kairav watched her closely. Her face was expressionless. Her eyes, vacant. It was impossible to get even a slight read on her thoughts. Such a drastic change from her lively performance earlier. Those high-pitched sounds she'd made had been especially enjoyable. He was beginning to become more and more intrigued with this odd little female, and he didn’t know why. He had never been fascinated by a human before. Such miserably boring creatures humans are, but this one…

  And the way her kin had flummoxed his brother earlier! The look on his face had been priceless. That had been too entertaining. Who'd have ever thought that little scrap of a girl would be brave enough to strike a Rakshasa? Extraordinary. Even more so when Zeyan had told him she had been found cowering under the bed. These little humans were all too funny; funnier than any he had met this past century. He even allowed himself another grin before he entered the barn where he'd told Zeyan to take the girl and wait.

  "Alia!" Esha cried upon seeing the two appear in the doorway.

  She rushed to her sister and peered into her blank face with concern. "Alia..? Alia! What did you do to her?" She screamed the last bit in accusation after her queries elicited no response from the dreamy-eyed girl.

  "If you do not cease your shrieking, I shall cut out your tongue and eat it," Kairav snapped.

  Reeling back Esha tucked her chin in, not especially wanting to call his bluff, and turned her attention back to Alia.

  "Hey," she whispered, smoothing her hair back and softly caressing her face. "Alia? It's Esha. It's alright. Please talk to me," she murmured softly.

  Alia blinked slowly and recognition seeped back into her eyes, "...Esha?"

  Esha nodded, "Yes, it's me." Then she saw just how tightly her sister's arms were bound. The thin ropes were cutting into the tender flesh turning her sister’s arms a nasty shade of blue and purple.

  She forced herself to speak respectfully to the vile beasts who stood to the side, quietly talking with one another. "Excuse me, but these ropes are hurting her arms. Are they necessary? Look at her, she's in no condition to try anything. Can't you cut her loose? Please?"

  Kairav regarded her with annoyance, scoffed audibly, and then approached the pair. He studied his handiwork for a moment, and then deliberately pulled on one specific thread. The bindings dropped away and as the blood rushed back into her arms life flashed back into Alia's eyes again.

  She gave a loud sigh of relief and began to rub both wrists vigorously, trying to make the feeling come back into her hands. Slowly but surely, a tingling sensation began to be felt and grew stronger, becoming almost painful as the blood rushed back into her extremities. With the returned feeling came the bite of the cold and she gasped again, this time in shock.

  "Fr-freezing," she stuttered, as the numbing sensations dissipated.

  Esha quickly grabbed the blanket from the hay pile and wrapped it around the both of them. The two huddled together, staring fearfully at their captors, unsure what to do or what would happen next. Alia had regained some awareness now, mostly due to relief at the sight of her sister still alive. Esha didn't even seem to be injured.

  "I was so worried about you," she said in a low voice.

  Esha nodded and clung to her tightly, trying to absorb as much warmth as she could. "I saw you on the sofa when you were knocked out. I thought you were going to d-di-" Her breath caught, and she struggled against the mounting tears again.

  Alia turned to peek at the two brothers. They were locked in an intense conversation, they hardly seemed to notice the two were still standing there. She began to wonder if perhaps they'd be able to make a run for it. Not a great idea, she decided. The only other place they could flee was back into the house. Their night clothes were no match for this weather. It would defeat the purpose of escape if they ran into the forest only to freeze to death.

  They huddled together even tighter as Kairav approached them. Pleased with their reaction, he offered them an almost charming smile.

  "I don't suppose you can read this, can you?" He asked, eyes on Esha.

  He didn’t seem very hopeful but he showed the scroll to the younger girl, who only frowned at it and shook her head. Upset but unsurprised, he rolled it back up with a heavy sigh and carefully stored it in a small compartment in his armor. He was silent for a moment, then said something to his partner.

  The young male threw both hands up in the air as he paced and began protesting loudly, gesturing emphatically at the two women. Kairav's eyes blazed yellow, patience stretched very thin, and he snarled some threat. Whatever he had said it had the desired effect. The younger stopped speaking immediately. A nervous expression seemed to dart across his face before it was expertly masked. He muttered something under his breath in response and turned away.

  Kairav glared at him for a moment before squatting in front of the two of them. All smiles again, he regarded Esha further, "You're called Esha, are you not?"

  Puzzled, she nodded.

  "Greetings Alia and Esha. I apologize for the late introductions. My name is Kairav. That is my brother, Zeyan," he pointed to the sulking male still standing by the entrance.

  He stopped for a moment, and then added as almost an afterthought, "We're not from around here."

  Speechless, the sisters glanced at each other, eyes wide, then back at him.

  "It seems I made a mistake in assuming that all humans could read that script. Now that I think back on it, it seems like a feasible excuse. I cannot read all literary works in my alphabet either. So, my next question is; do you perhaps know of a human - preferably nearby - that could decipher this?" He finished, waiting eagerly for either of the sisters to answer. He seemed calm, even reasonable now. A disconcerting change from his previous ferocity.

  Alia's mind raced, and a small hope surfaced. "There is an old sage who lives beyond the mountains, on a beach. In a lighthouse. He's rumored to be a very old wizard." Alia strung together as much information as possible, hoping her compliance would endear the brothers into leaving quickly without killing her and her sister.

  You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

  Kairav's eyes flared brightly for a moment then dimmed as he tried to hide his eagerness, "You mean to say this wizard can tell me what it means?"

  Alia shrugged her shoulder, "If anyone could it would be him. But it's a fair way off from here."

  He narrowed his eyes and absently toyed with the handle of one of his many blades. He hated to waste any more time, but what choice did he have? He cursed inwardly, berating himself for not thoroughly researching this mission beforehand. These humans were turning out to be much more difficult to work with than he'd expected.

  "You know the way?"

  Alia nodded, "Maybe. Our family took a trip by it once, but I was very young. I remember we had to go around the mountain. It took several days. It's a fool's errand anyways, he is rumored to never accept visitors."

  Kairav grinned at her, "We'll just have to convince him somehow, won't we?"

  Alia swallowed and tried not to stare at his frightening leer and pointed teeth, but her gaze kept returning. Horrified fascination perhaps. Crazy thoughts kept surfacing for no reason that she could discern when she gazed upon the peculiar creature. She wondered if his skin would be as smooth to the touch as it looked. She shook her head, trying to clear it. She felt as if she might be going mad with these strange thoughts buzzing around in her head. Maybe she hit her head harder than she thought.

  Kairav seemed to misinterpret the shake of her head as a refusal. The smile vanished and he jerked her forward by her still tender arm, "You will take us there. Both of you. Or I'll just kill the two of you right now and be done with it. I can easily find another human who will want to live and agree to show us the way."

  Esha gasped in fear and Alia's mouth fell open in dismay. "But why? Why do you need both of us? Let her stay behind! I'll take you," she pleaded.

  Kairav frowned and tightened his grip on her upper arm, "Better odds of getting there if we have two tour guides. One of you might perish along the way, you realize. Besides, I've the feeling we'd be tattled on and pursued if we left her behind, don't you? Don't worry, I have complete faith that the two of you will cooperate fully with the correct encouragement. In fact, I think you'll work very hard to keep each other alive, won't you."

  Alia grew angry as the seriousness of their plight sunk in. She managed to twist her arm free and stand a bit taller, "Fine. We'll go. But if you want us to survive beyond tonight, you'll have to let us gather some supplies and proper clothing for winter traveling. Otherwise, we'll freeze before we make it a mile in this blizzard.

  Kairav clapped his hands together once, "Excellent choice! And again, don't despair. I may even let you live when this is all over."

  *****

  "Alia, are we going to die?" Esha asked, bleakly, in the warmth of their cottage. She pulled a thick sweater over her head and tucked it into her snow pants and stood miserably in the middle of Alia's room.

  "I'm going to do whatever it takes to ensure we don’t," Alia replied bluntly.

  Alia bent to lace her boots securely, grabbed her traveling bag from her bedside table, and searched the house for provision. She wondered what she ought to possibly bring for such a journey. In a quick, business-like manner, she went from room to room packing several days’ worth of clothing for the two of them as well as some basic necessities: two water skins, jerky, dried fruits, and pemmican. These dried foods were rations she prepared yearly for the winter, and now they would be their main form of sustenance on this involuntary trip.

  Additionally, she packed some dried tea leaves, a hairbrush, toothbrushes, and soap. She hoped having these familiar creature comforts with them would help Esha feel like they were just going for a long hike, rather than a forced march. Upon hearing Esha’s sudden weeping, she broke into a run and followed the sound to Esha's room.

  Esha stood there, clutching Rajan and sobbing in complete misery.

  Kairav was scowling at her and speaking sharply, "That mangy animal is not coming with us! Leave him at once!"

  "No! I can't leave him behind! He's just a baby," Esha wailed, hugging the whining dog.

  Alia grew alarmed, seeing the black anger on Kairav's face. She quickly inserted herself between Esha and him, speaking to the girl softly, "It's alright, sweetie. We will leave him several bowls of food and water on the floor in addition to his own. He'll manage until we return, ok?"

  Esha sniffled and drew an arm across her eyes, attempting to wipe away her tears. "B-but h-h-he'll be cold and lonely and s-sc-scared without me!"

  "He'll be ok. I promise. Just think how happy he'll be to see you when we get back, yeah? Please, Esha. Best stop fussing and please do as he says. Please," Alia gazed meaningfully into her sister's eyes, trying to convey how dangerous this situation was.

  After several more moments of sobs and sniffles, Esha reluctantly took Rajan into the main living area, sat him on his dog bed, and tucked him in under a heavy blanket. Under Kairav's watchful eyes, she took several large bowls from the kitchen cupboards and filled them with dog food and water. She also left a pile of puppy treats and his chew bone accessible.

  This done, she marched up to Kairav and glared up at him, squaring her shoulders, "I hate you! If he gets lost or hurt, it’s your fault."

  Alia went pale as Kairav struck his arm out at lightning speed, took hold of the young girl's face, and shoved her back roughly. She flew back and landed hard on her rear end. "I assure you the feeling is mutual," he replied, unimpressed with her outburst. "You ought to stay out of my reach from now on, girl. This is your first and last warning."

  "She will," Alia interjected swiftly. "I'll see to it."

  Kairav cocked his head to the side, studying her with that quiet concentration again. The air was still and heavy once more, and it felt like she was back in the woods being spied on again. Alia was troubled by this. He seemed to be growing a bit too curious about her for her liking. A faint blush tinged her cheeks as she broke the gaze and busied herself helping Esha to her feet.

  Zeyan had appeared in the doorway, drawn by the commotion, and was curiously examining Esha's tear-streaked face. Esha noticed this and became embarrassed, moving to hide behind Alia. The group stood there for a moment, awkwardly; then Kairav clapped his hands together once again.

  "Time to go, then?" He asked, pleasantly.

  Alia blinked, "Now? It's the middle of the night and there is a blizzard! We should wait for a break in the wea-"

  "I did not ask, and besides time is of the essence," he interrupted roughly, pointing towards the front door firmly.

  Esha hung her head and petted Rajan once more, "I'll miss you, Rajan. Be a g-g-good boy, ok? Stay."

  The puppy's ears drooped and he looked up at his friend, eyes huge and sad. He seemed to know something was very wrong. He licked his nose, whined softly, and laid his head on his front paws.

  Alia's heart nearly broke upon seeing this. She glowered up at Kairav, resentment beginning to burn in her gut.

  He only smiled his hateful smile and gestured to the door once more, "After you, miss."