Pieces, Part 12 - Unknown

"It started a few days back. The whole day I had the feeling someone was watching me, someone was just outside my field of vision when I turned to look back. And then in the night, they came for me. It was rather late, I don't think they assumed I'd still be up, but I was, and I was waiting. They had wanted a surprise attack, no doubt, but I caught them by surprise instead.
   "There were three of them, two big thugs and one smaller man. He didn't look strong, but he had an air about him that was screaming dangerous. He was the one calling the shots. He commanded the other two to grab me, to bind my hands behind my back... I fought back, naturally."

Meera paused, biting her lip and looking uncertain for a moment. Rosa and I waited patiently for her to continue. She did, hesitantly.

"I have... powers," she admitted. "Telekinetic powers."

And then everything made sense. The tables that were sent flying all over the place, no one seeing her actually do anything, the sudden and unexplained chaos on the marketplace. I had had my doubts for a while, but it was nice to get confirmation.

I noticed both of the girls looking at me, waiting for some kind of reaction. They don't know if I know what telekinesis is, I realised, and then nodded at Meera to continue. As the thought occurred, I wondered distantly why exactly I did know something like that.

"I noticed them pretty soon after finding myself here," Meera was continuing and I redirected my focus on her again. "One night I accidentally pulled a glass of water towards myself. I was surprised, as one might assume, but it felt... natural. As time went by, I started to move bigger and bigger things, and the more I used the powers, the stronger they became. It felt like I was rediscovering skills I'd had for a long time. Only once I've let them get out of hand, a few weeks back at the Inn, and I've been keeping them in tight check ever since.
   "In any case, when the thugs started to come at me, I used my powers to fight back. They seemed even more surprised, but I got the sense if was more because they hadn't expected me to know how to use the power, not because they were unaware they existed. The house was left in disarray, and I barely managed to escape.
   "I hid around the outskirts of town for the rest of the night, not wanting to drag the fight into the sleeping town. I made the mistake of assuming they'd left by morning, going out to find me somewhere else. They hadn't. I was making my way through the marketplace when he caught me. He had a knife pressed against my side, and he told me to be quiet and follow him. His thugs were standing off to the side, and I knew I had to do something, anything, I knew I could not go with them...
   "He got distracted, just for a second, a merchant trying to sell him something, and I acted on instinct. I didn't want to trash the market, and if there had been another way I would have jumped at the opportunity, but I needed to get away from those men, and so... You saw the market yourselves, didn't you? I would've wanted to stay and helped clear it up, but I had to run, I had to...
   "I lost them in the chaos and made my way north. I managed to get a ride from a farmer who was heading to the next town, and after that I got a ride from someone else, until I finally ended up here. I wandered the city for a but, until the sun set last night and I took refuge up here. I only went down today to find something to eat, which I didn't."

She paused again, taking a deep breath, her brow furrowed in concern, and perhaps anger.

"I have no idea if they're still after me. I have no idea how they found me in the first place," she said, sounding annoyed. "But I know that if you found me, so can they."

"That's not necessarily true," I found myself saying. Meera turned her deep blue gaze on me and I faltered slightly, before pushing on despite the force pulling me under. "I mean, we only found you because Ulula is a powerful witch who happened to know an obscure and difficult spell."

"That's right, the general stance of the witch community is that locating spells are impossible," chimed in Rosa. "Or at the very least lost knowledge. Even if the men had a witch at their disposal, I seriously doubt they could replicate the spell."

"And besides, in order for the spell to work, they would need something of yours, right?" I concluded. "And they don't. Do they?"

"Something of mine?" asked Meera, surprised. She bit her lip again. "What of mine do you have?"

I dug into my pocket and lifted the silver key out, dangling it from my finger by the hoop. Meera's eyes widened, her mouth hanging slightly agape, and then she reached over, snatching it from my finger. She held it close to her chest, her eyes narrowing suspiciously.

"Where did you get this?" she asked. I blinked, slightly surprised by the response.

"It was in the fireplace," I said, slowly, cautiously. "There was something else there, too, wasn't there?"

She drew back, looking away. Her knuckles were starting to whiten, how tight she was gripping the key.

"What was in the fireplace, Meera?" I asked, more assertive, and she made a small whine. After a heartbeat she turned her eyes back to me, and for once I didn't feel like I was the one drowning.

"It was-"

There was a loud explosion, the ground shook violently, and the world outside the window illuminated too bright for a second, before mellowing down into a warm, pulsing light of red and orange. I was on my feet before I knew what was happening, rushing across the floor towards the window. I didn't poke my head through the window as I might have wanted at first, a baser instinct kicking in and telling me to be more discreet, so I pressed myself against the wall by the window, and peered carefully around the corner.

A section or the town was burning, the blaze of the fire bright enough to reach the very edges of town, and I stared in wide eyed horror as it caught another roof. I felt another body press against my thigh, and I looked down to see Rosa squatting on the floor, peeking over the bottom of the window. Her face was steely, a slight frown evident on her brow, and a look of determination in her eyes. She wasn't scared in the least, I realised, a newfound respect towards her rising in my chest. She wanted to do something to help.

A soft whimper caught my attention, and I turned back to find Meera, still in the same spot she'd been before, hugging her knees to her chest, rocking back and forth slightly. I walked over to her, slowly.

"Are you okay?" I asked, reaching my fingers over to touch her shoulder slightly. She flinched as I made contact, but then settled down, not pushing the hand away so I pressed a bit tighter.

There was a second, considerably smaller explosion, and Meera's hand flew to clutch mine, a terrified shriek escaping her lips.

"I'm not very good with... very good with..." she said, her voice cracking slightly at the end, staring ahead unseeing. There were tear welling in her eyes.

"That's okay, I understand," I said softly, placing my other hand on hers and picking it off her shoulder. I squeezed her hand between mine, and she squeezed back. "They're trying to lure you out, probably. They want you to panic, and expose yourself, so they can catch you while you're off guard."

Meera nodded and let out another whimper.

"Nemo, we might have a problem," came Rosa's voice from the window. "Someone's coming this way."

"Where?" I asked, giving Meera's hand another quick squeeze, before striding over to the window again. Rosa pointed, and I looked. Coming down the road was a man, a big man, looking around deliberately, as if looking for something.

"I don't think he knows we're here, per se," said Rosa. "I think he's just going around to see if something stands out. And I know I would check out the unlocked bell tower, if I was looking for someone in the hiding."

I nodded, letting out an affirmative hum. A look back at Meera revealed that she was still scared there'd be more explosions, but at least she'd stopped her rocking. I pushed myself away from the wall. Rosa looked up at me.

The man outside the window had come closer, and he'd noticed the tower. It wasn't yet his specific destination, but it was clear that he would be coming here soon. I would make sure he wouldn't make it up the first step up.

"You're gonna go fight him, aren't you?" said Rosa. I looked down at her, ready to tell her that no matter what she said I'd be going. Her expression gave me pause. There was a wide grin on her face.

"Yes," I said instead, and her grin widened.

"You know how to fight?" she asked, standing up.

"Yes," I said. I know I did, though I didn't yet know what exactly I could do. Id' find out soon enough.

Rosa looked over at Meera, who had calmed down considerably, and was now looking up at me in wonder.

"I know you'd want to help," I said to her, "but you're still shaken up, and it's probably better if he doesn't see you. He doesn't actually know you're here."

"R-right," said Meera. Rosa walked over to her and crouched down to her level.

"I need to borrow your cloak," she said, holding out her hand. I was about to protest, but she continued, "I can out an invisibility spell on it, so if someone does come up here, they won't be able to see you."

Meera nodded silently and passed her cloak to Rosa. She folded it in her arms, muttered something under her breath and the air shifted slightly, like it had back when Ulula had done her spell. Rosa paused, took a deep breath, and spread the cloak with a grand flutter over Meera's shoulders. The effects were immediate.

It was like she had melted into the darkness of the room, her shape only visible to me because I knew she was there where I looked. Rosa grinned and patted her head. Then she stood up, leveling me with a gaze so intense and determined I might've taken a step back in any other situation. As it was, however, I met her gaze with my own, nodding to her.

We left the room, and walked the stairs down to meet the unknown.
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AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAA

Sorry.

I'm not sorry.

I almost started the whole thing with a fucking explosion.

Anyway, your turn. Next topic is "Confusion"

Pie out.