Ch.1: Silly Old Legends

Everybody knows about the Island of Perun: The silly old legends of its healing waters, which are impossible to altogether dismiss when one considers the people of Perun themselves—with their gleaming white teeth and supple limbs. The brazen, easy way they go about life, like there is no problem that they cannot handle. The flagrant indifference towards life beyond their borders, neither loving or hating the way that people seem to age and progress beyond them.

The beauty of the island’s rolling farms and towering houses that were borderline castles. Grass that looked like a glossy carpet that blows and shimmered, even at night. Especially at night. Black trees, wind curled, and water bitten. This place was made of old money; the taste of it sat on every tongue like a film of stale sugar.

The eastern side groaned like old beasts turning in their sleep. The people of the island always had a saying. “Come for a while, stay forever.” The island hated that sign.

...*

...

These are the things people said to Lena Borkov after her mentor died:

“Oh my gods, I’m so sorry.”

“You poor thing,”

“What a loss,”

“What a terrible, terrible thing.”

“You must feel so lost.”

“If you need anything, let me know.”

“You’re so strong, how do you do it?”

How did she do it?

That was a good question.

Lena asked herself the same question that first morning: How do I do this now?

The answer was she didn’t. She couldn’t. There was no way that she could continue on like nothing happened. Mentors were a very big thing in her commune, they were more important than parents, they formed a witch’s practice and completed her bond with magic. Now that her mentor had been killed in a hospital by a delirious patient, suffering from dragon sickness, Lena was left with so many questions.

Lena sat alone on a bench outside the restroom on the ferry, arms full of her luggage as she looked out at the horizon. She wanted to get a fresh start. She was starting to go a little stir-crazy. All of these up-and-coming witches looking at her with pity. So close to finishing her studies and completing her magical bond, just to be deemed untouchable.

Fractured, damaged goods.

That was what people thought about her. It was evident, even if they were too polite to admit it to her. She could not stay there any longer. She needed something new. The rolling hills of red glass that looked like eternal flames, easy breezes, and salty sea air held on indelible appeal to them. “There it is!” Someone shouted. It was a magnificent sight to see. Paintings and weathered news clippings didn’t give the behemoth in front of them the justice she so rightly deserved. She heard collective gasps as two of the other groups of newcomers ran to the railing to get a look at the place.

Lena stayed on her bench. She was just eager to get off this damn boat. The constant cycle of nausea she had been going through was tiring. She would see the sights when she could plant her feet on the ground.

...*

...

David had disappeared seven months ago, today. They never found the body, they wouldn’t even look. Alexei was outraged when Genevive had tearfully told him the news. David Kostyyk was part of the Island of Perun’s military engineering sector, and one of Alexei’s oldest friends. Alexei was a formal naval officer who was now using his talent for general delinquency, and other warlord shenanigans, but David was still as straight-laced as ever.

So when no one had any answers other than the usual litany: he was always an oddball, he hated this island, are you sure he didn’t just leave?

Alexei didn’t think, generally speaking, the military police would be so blasé about on of their own but Lillith had reminded Alexei of the decades of missing men and women that tainted the island’s history. It seemed that after the first initial panic, flagrant indifference settled down and things went back to idyllic picture of an island that it always was.

Alexei decided to fund search efforts after that. They had continued for four months. Genevive was the one to call it off. She had lost hope. Alexei stopped for her sake and her sake only. Every time they came back without a clue of what happened, something broke inside of her.

He hated the dulled look that he saw starting to glaze over her eyes though, the look that diminished into emptiness by the time it hit seven months. The island had a way of doing that to people, Alexei was sure of it.

It dimmed the fire inside of people, the pain, the anger, all of it morphed into indifference and sometimes that made Alexei feel a little crazy.

“What’re we doing today?” Lillith walking into Alexei’s tent and taking a seat opposite his desk, nodded at the bound-leather agenda book on his bed.

“Haven’t decided yet,” Alexei replied, “Which was true. A migraine had been threatening to make his life miserable since he woke up today. So he was more or less in a constant fog.

Lillith gave him expectant look, like she was annoyed that he wasn’t ready to give her orders yet. “There are some people coming in on the ferry. You want us to impose our moving-in tax?” She supplied.

In the interest of getting people out of his hair for the moment, Alexei said, “Just go observe them for now. We don’t want anyone running back to the mainland before we can collect.”

“Yes, sir.” Lillith rolled her eyes and left.

Alexei was left there, with the silence that he so desperately wanted.

Things still felt off.

The migraine set in like storm clouds that finally decided to rain down their fury on the populous below. Alexei closed his eyes and groaned. Beware of the woods and the dark, dark deep.

It was a line in an old children’s folk tale that his mother used to tell to scare him before bed. He didn’t know why, but the last few times he had one of these migraines, the line came to him. He hated it so much. Alexei’s mouth tasted like metal. His tongue felt like the desert. Alexei shut his eyes, waiting for the migraine to pass. Each day he waited longer.

Once it had finally passed, he got up. It was one of those days where Alexei needed a drink.

...*

...

Lena struggled with two large bags of luggage. Her hands ached as she lugged them over the bump on the ramp and down onto solid ground. The Island of Perun was more beautiful than any painting could capture, that was already something that Lena had determined. The air was so clean and crisp that she felt like she had never taken a proper breath of fresh air in her life. The town looked like something from a travel catalogue. The smell of apples and cinnamon wafted through the air.

Lena smiled. ‘Yes, this was exactly what I need.’ She thought to herself.

A new start.

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***