Wyatt focused his mind, and the cabin began to dimly glow. He pushed his energy and the firebugs’ light to combine with the slivers of moonlight that were stubbornly slipping through the clouds. Soon, tiny glowing orbs caused illumination to dance across the air inside the cabin. Having steadied his thoughts, he turned to Nev. “Go on. I will be right here if you need me,” he said, before squeezing her hand one last time. He knew, for now, this was something she had to do on her own. It was her demons that lived here, not his. His existed elsewhere and were best left on the edges of his memory for the time being. Still, he would remain nearby in case she needed him.
Nev nodded before pulling her hand from his. She stepped towards the house determined, but full of misgivings. Nev walked a wide circle around where the kitchen chair had sat outside their front door, shuddering as she walked past it. There was nothing left to mark the tragedy that had happened there, but its effects were ever-present in Nev’s mind. You can do this. You must do this, she thought, hoping to maintain her resolve.
Carefully, she opened the front door and took a deep breath as she stepped through. Memories came flooding back, causing her to pause with her hand still on the doorknob. Her mind’s eye watched herself running through the door with her bow and cloak in hand. Sighing softly, Nev realized that was the last time she had left that cabin happy.
Nev took a long slow breath and pushed herself to go further into the house. Emotional, she surveyed the place that had been her oasis for those few precious, short years. With signs of so many things in disarray, one thing became clear. Another force, something human, had ravaged her childhood home as well. Its presence evident with drawers pulled from chests, furniture upended, and belongings cast everywhere.
She spied her treasured bow beneath a haphazardly dropped drawer and carefully worked to free it. Seeing her bow broken in three pieces, she scooped them up and examined them for a few minutes. If only she’d known what would happen after that first hunt with her new bow, maybe she could have saved him.
Nev shook her head in a vain attempt to keep the guilt from clinging to her. Placing the remnants of her bow back onto the ground, a heavy sigh escaped her lips. I wasn’t meant to only find broken memories, she thought. She scanned the cabin, feeling lost and overwhelmed. You had been looking for something, not just someone. What did you hope to find?
Looking back, she never recalled wanting for anything as a child. There was always plenty to eat, clothes to wear, and even toys to play with. She didn’t, however, remember seeing anything that resembled treasure or anything else of value. There must have been something. She pushed herself to try to recollect anything that might hint at what they had been searching for. Kneeling in the middle of the cabin, she closed her eyes and endeavored to clear her mind of all thoughts except one. Show me what they sought, she implored.
Wyatt watched silently, as Nev kneeled and pulled her amulet from its resting place and clenched it tightly. With apprehension, he began to feel an energy build and swirl around her. It felt oddly familiar. It reminded him of what he’d sensed moments before they were forced to launch their daring escape from the prowler. It was also similar to what he’d felt only minutes before at the pool of water. It drew him towards it, and he reached out his mind, touching the amulet barely with his thoughts.
The amulet hummed in her hands as she strained to listen to it, just as it had before. She could hear something, but it was obscured by a dense and unyielding fog. Nev sighed heavily, feeling overwhelmingly discouraged. Then, unexpectedly, she felt a rush of energy pour into the amulet and then through her before it surged and exploded out in a brilliant burst of purple light. The light caused her to collapse, but not before searing a perfect thought into her mind.
The force of the blast had forcefully shifted Wyatt’s mind elsewhere, causing the cabin to abruptly become dark. Now only the pale, scattered light of the moon remained. Regaining his footing, he first felt shocked to see the amulet’s reaction and then nothing but horror as he saw Nev collapse. “What have I done?” he said, running towards Nev.
Nev was working on sitting up again when Wyatt reached her. “I’m… I’m okay,” she said, seeing the panic on his face.
“I am so sorry. I shouldn’t have done it. It just… it just felt right, but it was such a stupid, stupid thing to do,” Wyatt said, filled with remorse.
“What felt ‘right’?” Nev asked, now standing and looking at him intently.
Wyatt scanned her face, trying to determine if she was honestly alright. He felt Nev reach out and grab his hand.
“I am alright, truly. No worries,” Nev said, giving him a half-smile and squeezing his hand.
“Right, no worries,” he said, trying to convince himself. Wyatt took in a deep breath and looked at her. “Your amulet, it emits some kind of energy. I can always feel it some, but it becomes much stronger when you hold it or concentrate on it. I am not really sure how it works, to be honest. Even so, I can feel it. So, I focused on it. I did what I normally do with any energy I want to manipulate because I thought it might help. But it didn’t. I didn’t. I am so
