Resa almost stumbled into Roxane, for she was standing rooted to the spot at the entrance of the gallery where Farid lay. Roxane's named burned on the wall in fiery letters, and the White Women were still there. They withdrew their pale hands from Dustfinger's breast as if they had torn out his heart. Perhaps Roxane was the last thing he saw. Perhaps he just had time to see Farid move before he himself collapsed without a sound, as the White Woman vanished. --- Inkspell
Farid stirred sleepily, moving his head from side to side across the bare floor. He let out small breaths, his chest moving up and down as he did. Meggie ran to his side, checking his pulse and feeling his forehead, it was warm now, with beads of sweat running down. She shuttered slightly as she remembered how cold he had once been before. Roxane who was behind her wept silently as she ran her hands along Dustfinger's body, she stopped at his chest where the White Womens' hands had once been. She kept them there, unmoving, as she breathed heavily, pressing her hand against his chest as if she could make his heart beat once more.
Meggie lowered her head, silent tears streaming down her face as she remembered just why Farid was breathing now. Resa stood there watching the scene before her, unsure of what to do she stood still. Meggie finally gathered the courage to look behind her, Roxane tended to Dustfinger's body, her eyes red, as she covered his body with a damp blanket. " Roxane… ", Roxane looked at Meggie with those same sad red eyes, she averted her eyes to Farid's breathing form and instantly they turned cold. She turned back around as if Meggie hadn't said anything at all, as if to say you got what you want now leave me be. But Meggie pressed on, " I'm sorry…that ", Roxane turned her head sharply eyeing Meggie with hurt eyes.
" Go away…! ", she yelled, " Go away the both of you! ", she took once last glance at Resa and Meggie, then again she turned back to Dustfinger. Meggie, unsure if she wanted to leave Farid alone with Roxane, shakily stood, desperately trying to separate fiction and reality in her mind. But then again then was fiction, this whole story, but yet so real it felt she felt trapped within the bindings of the book she once thought magical. But no this was not magical, death, murder, fighting, immortality, this was not a magical story, it was the same as her own world except that ---… maybe there was no difference.
Meggie walked to the part of the mine where everybody sat cross-legged or lay down tiredly. She sat down, her mother, Resa, taking a seat beside her on the hard Earth. Resa looked over at her with an intense look in her eye, but Meggie couldn't tell exactly what emotion lay behind those eyes. She looked away after a minute, looking around at all the faces knowing she was keeping a big secret from them. Dustfinger was dead, plain and simple, he not sleeping or daydreaming, he was simply dead. Mo spotted them almost immediately, walking over to them, and seating himself next to Resa. Resa looked over at him, biting her bottom lip, holding back tears. Mo put his arm around her confused at what made her so upset.
She sobbed silently into his shirt, Mo looked questionably over at Meggie. Meggie looked startled and she didn't look him in the eye, he could always tell what lay beyond hers. Mo looked away from Meggie, " Shh shhh ", she could hear her father say, " Shh, what's wrong? ", Resa looked up at Mo with the same red eyes Roxane had looked at Meggie with, " He-he's dead ", Mo's eyes furrowed, " I know, I know, but Farid… ". Resa shook her head, " No ", she said breathless, " Dustfinger ".
Instantly Mo shot up from his seat alarmed, " What do you mean he's dead ", his voice was no longer a whisper. Everyone including the Black Prince looked at him, just as confused. His bear lifted its black head and grunted, its dark eyes gleaming. " The White W-woman ", Resa stuttered. It was at this moment Meggie felt it best to help her mother. " Dustfinger's dead, he gave his soul to the White Woman to bring Farid back ", Meggie swallowed nervous at everyone's reaction as they stared at her disbelievingly. The Black Prince's eyes widened considerably as he pushed past Mo, running down the dark gallery Meggie and her mother had just came from. Most of the men stayed behind, not knowing Dustfinger very well they silently tended to small cuts and wounds they had from the fight. But yet they could not help but look to where the Black Prince and several others had disappeared into the pitch-black gallery.
Resa wiped at her eyes, Mo had long since ran off shouting back a quick ' I'll be back ' and left to where the others had gone. Meggie didn't want to think of Dustfinger or of how he looked when he was not alive. A deteriorated picture of Dustfinger had broken through the defense in her mind. She buried her face in her knees, trying vehemently to extract the thought from her mind. She gave up finally letting her thoughts flow free, the bad and the good. What worse could come she thought to herself, what worse could come? The worse had already happened, reversed itself, then happened again. It was as if the Cold Man was playing a game with them and Meggie didn't like it.
Farid stirred once again, but this time his eyes fluttered open. He squinted into the darkness, his eyes adjusting slower than usual. He rubbed at his eyes, rubbing the sleep away from the corners. He looked around, confused, dazed, and looking around as if daydreaming he was in another world. He was a thief, a boy without a home, who worked harder than others to get food. But wait! He wasn't a part of that story anymore, he was in a magical land, a terrible one, but still as long as he was with Dustfinger he was content. Everything was all right. He wouldn't be treated like a slave any longer, no, Tales of the Arabian Nights was something of the past, and he'd never go back. He stood up, fluctuating, then becoming stable on his feet, he looked around some more to see if anyone was there.
He walked around in the pitch-black area, finding no one he decided to sit back down where he had lay. He looked around yet again in the darkness, fearfully looking around wondering if they had left him with the darkness and the ghosts. Farid began to become even more uneasy, he stood up and backed away as if backing away from the nothingness he could picture ahead. He tripped! Hitting the damp rock Earth hard, Farid looked around scarily, he was laying on something! He had tripped on something! Farid moved shakily off whatever he had tripped on. Whatever it was it was covered with a damp blanket Farid thought silently to himself. He summoned a small flame onto his fingertip, whispering to it lovingly like Dustfinger taught him to do, it lit up a five foot radius. Just enough to see what he had tripped over.
It was a dark blanket, but still you could tell how dirty it was. He touched the surface, it was damp and smelled of the forest and, … ash? Farid felt the form underneath, it was a dead body, goose bumps sprouted all over his body and the hairs stood on the back of his neck. It was fear gripping him now, in a tight hold as if it'd never let him go. Farid stumbled back whispering franticly to the flame, which threatened to go out. He grabbed his chest trying to slow his heartbeat, ghosts can smell fear, and they could taste it right off the air with their ghostly, ethereal tongues. He swallowed timidly walking back towards the body, wondering who it could be, who's ghost was silently watching him now as he neared their body?
He reached his hand over the end of the blanket, which covered the head. He pulled it back, trembling as he did.
Meggie opened her eyes to find everyone but Mo, the Black Prince, his black bear, and Roxane asleep. They were discussing how exactly they were going to move the body. Roxane, who looked most miserable of all of them, spoke in such a soft, quiet voice Meggie could hardly hear what she was saying. " I think that we should probably leave him here for now ", the Black Prince said looking Roxane in the eye. " No! ", she said sharply, yet still in a quiet voice, " We will not just leave him here to rot among the rocks and dirt! ", her eyes spoke more of her defiance than her words. " Roxane I understand that you care much for Dustfinger, but we need to get most, if not all off these people out of here by tomorrow ", he paused looking at Roxane, " He was my best friend and he always will be ". His eyes looked so emotional, Meggie thought that all his emotion might spill right out.
Roxane looked at both the men defeated, " Roxane understand we will come back for him ", Mo said in a sincere voice. He usually used that tone of voice with Meggie when he wanted her to do something he knew she didn't have to do. It was odd hearing him talking that way to another person. " I'll make sure Nettle comes out here escorted by a couple of the Motley Folk", Roxane looked at the Black Prince, but didn't look comforted, " She'll make sure the body stays preserved and will tend to anything else that needs to be done to him ", the Black Prince added. " All right ", she nodded her head, " All right ". She stood, " I'm going to go see him ", both the men nodded.
" How's Farid ", Mo winced, Meggie could tell he didn't mean for that to slip. Roxane had her back to them, " He's…fine ", and she began walking again down that oh-too-familiar dark gallery.
If Farid hadn't held his mouth he might have shrieked. The dark-skinned boy, with the black hair, and amazingly dark eyes was for the first time in his life, unsure of everything he knew. His inky black eyes were brimmed with tears as colorless as Dustfinger's face. His long, dark lashes touched the bottom of his eyes as he shut them tight. Wishing silently that he had not seen what he had seen, wishing that his eyesight would slowly fade away and he could never be sure of what he had seen. For a flickering moment he wished the White Women would come and take him too. Why? Why did they leave him behind, why did Dustfinger leave him behind?
Questions like this flashed through his head one after another. He opened his eyes and stared at Dustfinger again. His red hair was damp, along with what Farid could see of his clothes. His pale face didn't look peaceful or happy, like some people said in his world ' They've gone to a better place ', it didn't look as if Dustfinger had gone anywhere better, …maybe it was worse, was it? This thought made Farid nervous again, but this time not for himself. Farid ran his hands along Dustfinger's blanched features, he ran his hand along his pale scars that Basta put there. Was he still alive, Farid shuttered, hoping not. All he remembered was the rain, fire, and surprisingly a pregnant woman that had been in the ring of fire. He heard footsteps coming toward where he was.
It was Roxane she came carrying a lantern in her right hand, she looked startled to see him up and standing, fully aware. " Roxane he's- he's… " Roxane stared at him apathetically, moving to Dustfinger's side. " Yes…I know ", she wiped Dustfinger's face with the bottom of her dress, pulling it up to her knees so it could reach his blank face. As she leaned over him her black hair poured over her shoulders, cascading down, the tips touching Dustfinger's neck. " When did he die? ", said Farid. She discontinued cleaning his face and said, " This morning ", and she continued again. " What happened ", Farid pushed not knowing his limits. She ignored Farid for a few minutes, " Unless you want to be as hurt as I am I suggest you ask no more questions and just accept that it happened, he died…that's final ". Farid had no more to say after this, he fell silent, bowing his head, wondering what he would do now.
He didn't belong here, it wasn't his story, he had no one to follow now. Farid was not a leader, he was a dog, a lackey, someone who needed to be taught every single little thing in life. And unfortunately Farid couldn't contemplate that Dustfinger was dead, gone, not alive, no matter how many different ways you said it Dustfinger and death just didn't seem to ring that certain bell in his mind. He's really dead he thought, dead, it felt weird forcing himself to believe something that he couldn't possibly…believe.
In the morning everyone began readying themselves to travel through the Wayless Wood. Stress seemed to be relieved from everyone, knowing they could finally get away from the Castle of Night and the now immortal Adderhead. It wasn't the best feeling knowing you're right under your enemy's place of rest and knowing that immortality was flowing through his veins. Nothing seemed to be a good feeling anymore, even when there was something to smile about. Like leaving Argenta and once again crossing over into the safe land of Lombrica. Meggie looked around at all the men and women, the hurt and injured, the alert and the tired. And wondered silently to herself if they were as different as they looked, they all had the same dull expression, maybe they just felt the same way.
Farid walked around in the galleries of the mine looking for Meggie, he had already got lost three times turning down the wrong passage. And he had started over two times afraid to go any farther, then where Dustfinger's body had once been. Mo, the Black Prince, and Roxane had moved his body the night before. Mo had asked Farid if he had wanted to say his last goodbye, Farid had just shaken his head. He had seen enough; enough of death, fighting, and enough of this world. He considered whether Mo would let him live with them, back in their world. Farid made rights and lefts went forward and when he wasn't sure went backwards. And finally he found not Meggie, but Fenoglio.
The old man's hair was scruffy, his clothes were dingy, and he smelled as if he hadn't washed in days. In short he was just like everyone else. Farid sat down beside the frantic old man. " Where is it! ", he looked behind Farid, " Where is it! ". " Where's what? ", Farid finally said, Fenoglio stopped for an instant and looked at Farid. " My-my my book ", then he again searched like a madman. " What book? ", Fenoglio did not look up, " Something I wrote before we got in this mess ", he shook his hands above his head giving up. " I can't just leave it here ", Farid nearly rolled his eyes, something he saw Meggie do once before. " You're a writer, you can always write another story ", Farid said matter-of-factly. " No, no, no, no ", he shook his head, " I can't do another story, I'll never write again, ha, oh no ", Farid didn't understand anything now. A writer who will write no more what other twists did this story have to offer?
" What do you mean? ", Farid said, " Found it! ", Fenoglio shouted jovial that he had found his book. It was a notebook, black in color, with wrinkled, clammy paper, yellowish at the tips and blue ink written in perfect cursive on every line that Farid could see. " Oh yes! ", he laughed. " I'll never write again, because you see Farid ", he turned his attention to him finally. " My stories have a mind of their own ", he tapped his forefinger against his skull. And the way he said it, it was as if it was a fact, and maybe it was.
" You see Dustfinger wasn't supposed to die for a boy, it was supposed to be for that damned marten ", Farid's eyes widened. " What do you mean die for a boy? ", Farid said backing away from the old man that was rambling on and on about that stupid story. " What do you mean die for a boy? ", Fenoglio repeated in a childish voice, " Don't you remember, you died ", he poked Farid in the chest. " Dustfinger carried your body back and decided to strike a deal with the White Women, and he traded his soul for yours ", Fenoglio finished deciding to tend to his story again. Farid's hands trembled, he looked up at Fenoglio who dried the pages of his book in a carefree manner, maybe the man had gone insane. Surely this story couldn't be true, right? " I died? ", " Wound to the back ", Fenoglio replied professionally.
Farid touched his back, and felt the stickiness of his blood. He could already feel a sore developing over the wound. " Basta? ", Farid asked, " Yes ", was the reply. " I-is he dead then ", Farid began to get more and more nauseated as he spoke. " Yes, yes, yes boy so many questions ", he brought him up on his feet and walked him out of his area, " Now go and find that girl you hang out with, uhhh Moggie, Muggie… ", Farid looked back at the man with slitted eyes. " Its Meggie ", " Yes, yes Meggie now go! ", and with that he gave Farid one last push in where he thought the group was and headed back to his area.
Farid then remembered what Roxane had said, " Unless you want to be as hurt as I am I suggest you ask no more questions and just accept that it happened, he died…that's final ".
Farid was glad to be out of Fenoglio's presence, he felt ashamed. Ashamed that he died and Dustfinger in turn had to die to give him life again. It had seemed the days before this that Dustfinger had, had to stop Farid from doing stupid things. Or correct mistakes he had made. Farid bowed his head, wanting desperately to jump out of his skin. He came to a fork, two passages, he chose the left one and began walking forward again. So it had been his fault? It was entirely his fault? Is that why Roxane made sure Farid hadn't come anywhere near her last night? He had been so stubborn last night the Black Prince was allowing him to see Dustfinger's body before they put it up and he refused. But Roxane seemed more than alright with it, telling the Black Prince that they should just go ahead and get it over with. But Mo and the Black Prince waited patiently for him to change his mind, he didn't though. She had said, " Listen whether he comes with us or not we're moving his body,… now ",she had choked out. Roxane had been the last out the room, but she didn't glance back at him. Farid had always thought she was a strong-willed woman, and that was probably one of the reasons Dustfinger had loved her.
Meggie looked for Farid in the group of people she was traveling with, but then she decided to just stay in the back and watch out for him. They walked and walked…and walked so long she thought they'd never finish. Meggie had never really took much notice to how far they went into the mine. And they went even deeper because of yesterday night when they heard sounds near the entrance. But it ended up being a small deer that had made its way in, but they decided to keep it safe anyway and stay where they were. Fenoglio somehow ended up beside her looking through what looked like an 1000 page notebook. Blue ink was on each and every line and it was in cursive. " What's that Fenoglio? ", he looked over at her, but his face still looked as if it was concentrating on the notebook. " This, oh this is a story I did while I've been here in Inkworld ", she glanced at his notebook again and noted one of the character's names were Wen.
She looked back up at Fenoglio exasperated, " I hope you haven't killed anybody or made any bad characters ", Fenoglio looked at her with surprise. " Bad people yes, killing not again ", he said this as if he was proud of himself. Farid ran up behind Meggie, she was surprised. " What took you so long ", she said trying to hold back how happy she was to see him. " Got lost ", Farid responded looking at his feet. " Oh ", said Meggie, who expected him to say more, " That happened to me a couple times too ". A terrible way to try to start a conversation, but indeed she tried it. Farid didn't reply, instead he looked at his feet again.
The Wayless Wood was dark it took them about an hour to get to it. Everyone seemed to be on edge no one talked. It was still and quiet as if there was not a group of castaways walking nervously around though its soundless swaying trees that seemed to be watching them. Rabbits stopped and stared for a few brief moments, their bright yellow eyes gleaming devilishly. Then they scurried off when the Black Prince's bear growled at them, black, white, brown, and beige blurs disappearing every which way. There was no path, the Black Prince walked ahead of everyone else and sometimes looked around in all directions as if unsure which way to go, but he always kept walking never losing his step. It bothered Meggie that no one was talking, Farid seemed not to notice much of anything keeping a fair distance away from everyone else. Meggie observed that he was mostly staying clear of Roxane, it seemed she was doing the same. Meggie sighed, irritation boiling up inside of her at Roxane, couldn't she see this is what Dustfinger wanted? He wanted Farid to live even if it cost him his own life.
Farid carried himself clumsily, sometimes bumping into the others. One of the last people he had bumped into had been Roxane, she threw him a shrewd glare and kept walking. The whole time after that Farid noticed she looked very ill tempered. Farid kept walking himself, not watching anything in particular wondering what he would do with himself now? He noticed a woman staggering in the crowd and walked over to her. It was the pregnant woman from before. He didn't notice her at first, she didn't have flames flickering in her eyes or an orange tinted face like the last time he saw her. She looked at him with uncertainty at first, she had seen him die. But then she smiled and allowed him to help her.
That night mostly everyone was asleep, except the few, such as, Mo, the Black Prince, and a couple other guys who had to stay up and watch the group making sure no one wandered off. The Black Prince's bear slept soundly too. One huge black paw over its eyes. Roxane was up also, but Farid could tell she hadn't slept since the day of Dustfinger's of demise. Who would want to sleep after Dustfinger, the great fire-eater died? Farid looked around at all the peaceful sleeping faces, then at Meggie's. They all seemed to forget that Dustfinger died. How could they?
Fenoglio was sleeping away from all the others, and Farid found that he was up also. Farid walked over to him and sat down beside him. He was wildly scribbling in that perfect cursive of his in his notebook, and scrawling out words. All the while whispering to himself, " I thought you weren't writing anymore ", the old man jumped in alarm, dropping his blue pen. He narrowed his eyes at Farid, " What do you want ", he said sharply. Farid flinched. He wasn't sure what to say so he asked, " Where do the White Woman take people? ". " Everywhere and nowhere ", was the answer. " E-everywhere and nowhere? ". What did that mean? " What does that mean? ", Farid asked curiously. " Aahh—I don't know I wrote in Inkheart something about a willow tree with blue leaves ", he paused thinking, becoming interested himself. " Ahh yes and to get there you have to face a Night-Mare, if you face it then it will take you to this tree ", Farid's eyes widened. He was surprised Roxane didn't know about this yet. " What happens when you get there? ", he said. " Ummm, can't quite remember ", he clapped his hands together as if to say ' this conversation is over ', " But its not as if your going ".
It was a good thing Fenoglio didn't look at him, because Farid smirked, his dark eyes gleamed mischievously. Fenoglio was back at work in his notebook, " How do you find one? ", Fenoglio looked at him annoyance clear in his face. " Well fear of course, you have to be afraid, the Night-Mares are attracted to it ", Fenoglio was oblivious to Farid's plans paying more attention to his story than anything else. " Wen, brown hair, skin… ", Farid decided it was time to leave the old man was talking to himself again. But no longer was Farid downcast he would bring Dustfinger back, he would! He had to!
Later that night Farid still couldn't figure out how he would make his escape. With Mo, the Black Prince, and Roxane still awake. Mo and the Black Prince were chatting abstrusely, Mo leaning in listening hard to what the Black Prince was saying. Farid watched bored wondering what they were saying. He was very fidgety now that he knew what he had to do. ' Night-mares, willow tree, Night-Mares, willow tree ', those were the only two things he could think about. But moaning snapped him out of his thoughts, it sounded as if someone was in pain. Farid looked around as it got louder. He looked over at Meggie it wasn't her, she shifted in her sleep silently. Mo and the Black Prince had already gotten up to go see who was making all the noise.
The cries got louder and Farid ran over to Mo's side. Everyone was aroused out of their sleep wondering what was going on. Meggie was soon by Farid's side and gasped at what she saw. The pregnant woman was in labor and losing a lot of blood. The crimson fluid drenched the ground under her and flowed out freely. Resa ran up to the woman, Farid looked at her, her face was panic-stricken. " Mina! ", she yelled holding the girl's head in her lap. " We need some blankets over here ", Mo yelled looking at Resa's face with worry then ran to retrieve the blankets.
Suddenly! A light bulb popped into Farid's mind! This was his chance! He looked around everyone seemed to be paying attention to the young girl. Fenoglio even decided to get up and leave his precious story. He could only see half of Meggie's face through the crowd of people, she was looking around, probably for him. Farid took one last glance and took off. He ran past Fenoglio's book. He had a strange urge to take, and he did. He took off into the night with the black book in his hand.
Fenoglio had just happened to glance at the spot where Farid took off. Fenoglio only got to see a part of his leg, as he disappeared into the pitch-black of the night. That boy, Fenoglio thought, he walked back to his resting-place eager to get started on correcting certain things in his story. " Has my book! ", Fenoglio finished with wide eyes grabbing his pen he shot up. Nobody heard him though, and they didn't hear him running off into the darkness yelling curses after Farid either. " It's a boy! ", was the last thing Fenoglio heard as the Wayless Wood's tenebrosity between and above the trees swallowed him whole.
Everyone that night was lively and laid back. That was until they discovered who was missing from the celebration.
Farid ran and ran and ran, he could hear Fenoglio behind him yelling very colorful words, some Farid had never heard before. Dustfinger hadn't cursed much, and certainly not like that! Farid jumped over a tree root, his bare feet hit the ground again and again he ran. It seemed like an eternity before he could no longer hear Fenoglio's voice. Farid slowed down, walking rather than running now. He breathed heavily, sitting by a nearby tree. It was completely dark, he couldn't see anything. He beckoned a flame from his finger, unconsciously whispering to it. It danced upon his finger happily. Lighting up the area around him.
He flipped open the book, the blue cursive writing lit up the pages. It was a bright blue, dark, but bright, Farid was almost mesmerized. Dustfinger had never taught him how to read, but he knew a few words. He could see the, girl, and eyes. He flipped through the pages, brushing over the words with his forefinger trying to find other words he knew. He didn't know exactly why he took it, it was like a reflex. Everytime he was running he had stolen something, he was…used to it. That part of his character probably would never go away.
Fenoglio's breaths came short as he tried to control his breathing. Fenoglio felt as if he had lost a piece of his soul. That brat, Fenoglio though limping as he had twisted one of his ankles. Fenoglio silently wondered why he hadn't seen it before, but heck he would've never thought the brat would take his book! Never in a million years! Fenoglio grunted almost like the Black Prince's bear, limping down a path of twisted vines and snakes, bugs, and birds of every color watching him. A blue snake slithered across the path, stopping to look at him with eerie red eyes, then laying back on its stomach and slithering along again.
Fenoglio was not afraid, oh no! Not him! He created this world, this Inkworld! He knew what hid behind each and every branch, behind every bush, under every rock. He knew the neon yellow eyes that peered at him through the darkness, he knew them well. So no Fenoglio was not afraid, not one breadth! Fenoglio looked around deciding to just keep forward, if he knew his story well then he knew that behind him the path had changed itself already, going in a different direction. So he could not go back now. Weeds, grass, and exotic flowers growing over the old path and on the new one plant life shriveled to dust. Something walked past behind him. He turned around eyeing the path behind him, but yet he saw nothing.
Farid was bored with looking through the book, he only knew a couple words anyway. He dropped the book to his feet. It landed with a thud, dust and dirt shooting from under it. Farid had already made a fire it warmed his cool arms, he looked at the darkness around him. Fenoglio had said fear attracted Night-Mares, putting out this fire would make him afraid. Farid hesitated a moment before putting the fire to sleep with his words. He watched as he lulled the flames until they disappeared completely and darkness devoured the area around him. He gulped, waiting. He could feel his fear, it was beating fast in his chest. Faster and faster it beat! He heard a swoosh! He looked behind him, nothing. He heard a rustling sound and Dustfinger emerged into the moonlight. Farid's eyes widened. Dustfinger smiled at him.
Fenoglio couldn't help but wonder what had walked behind him and into the brush. He stayed glued to the spot where he heard the…footsteps. At least they had sounded like footsteps. Fenoglio pondered this wandering, who or what it had been. Had it been a person? " Hmmm ", Fenoglio said thinking. Or maybe it was just a large animal that had crossed behind him. Fenoglio was troubled that he couldn't figure out what it had been, he could just look at a pair of eyes in the darkness and know exactly what phantasmal creature it was. With a sigh he decided to go investigate.
And with one last shake of his head he followed after the unknown creature.
Mo shook his head, closing his eyes, after returning from the third trip of searching for Fenoglio and Farid. He would have to tell his daughter once again that he did not find them, disappointing her was not something he liked to do. Meggie sat cross-legged tearing apart a small leaf, her light brown hair covering her eyes. Mo walked over to her and sat down next to her, she didn't have to look up to know they didn't find them. " Meggie ", he hesitated for a second, " We will find them ", surefire returned to his voice. She looked up at her father with sad eyes, he cast her a sympathetic look. He put his arm around her and looked up into the gloomy night sky, even the fire that Farid had set for them seemed wistful for Farid to return, not shining as bright as it had when he was there.
It seemed as if Dustfinger was gliding towards him, his feet unmoving. Farid backed away stumbling as he did. He fell against a tree, looking fearfully up at Dustfinger. His red hair didn't shine quite the same, his features were as pale as the moon itself, and his eyes were too…wicked. " Hello Farid what are you doing out here? ", Farid's blood turned cold.
Fenoglio cursed and grimaced as he shuffled through the prickly vines and arched branches. Small animals ran under the cover of the copious red plants that Fenoglio didn't remember writing into the Inkworld. " Uggghhh ", a tree frog hopped onto his face, Fenoglio jerked the miniature white and yellow spotted frog from his forehead and threw it, annoyed with this world he made.
The Black Prince sighed, lines appeared under his eyes. He was tired, very tired, everyone at the camp spread out and searched for the two numbskulls. Where could they have gone? It had only been an hour and a half since they had left or ran off. Whatever they did the Black Prince wasn't happy. He knew the Wayless Wood like the back of his hand, his bear hadn't caught one scent and it seemed frustrated itself. The Black Prince had already been at Mina's side two times since her baby boy was born. She somehow felt as if it was all her fault, he consoled her with his words and he could tell she was blaming herself again, but he was too tired to do it again. He breathed in, taking in as much air as he could then let it out. Huffing the black bear seated itself next to its master, it flopped over lying on its side watching the fire. It must've seen what the Black Prince could see. He walked over to the fire, the flames moved in a rhythmic way. He stooped down to the fire's level, " Do you miss Farid too? ", the fire glowed radiantly for a split second, then went back to a dull orange.
Dustfinger's voice chilled Farid to the bone it was…icy. " What's wrong Farid you seem frightened ", he smirked observing Farid's reaction. Farid stood up, but couldn't run he knew it was most likely a Night-Mare. And yet he seemed strangely drawn to this Dustfinger, it scared him. Even more so than flesh-eating ghosts. He or it seemed as friendly as a bull with a knife in its bosom. But attracted to this Dustfinger he was, he took one step towards the look-alike Dustfinger. Fenoglio had said he had to face the Night-Mare. So this probably meant he had to overcome his fear of Dustfinger…not being there for him anymore. Of him dying. It had happened, but that doesn't mean he accepted it yet.
He took another confident step sure of himself now, then another, and another. Until he was standing in front of the carbon copy of Dustfinger. It held out its hand, still smirking evilly. Farid took it. It was cold like ice, " I'm dead you know that right Farid ", Farid held its hand tighter looking straight into its eyes. " I know it ", his voice shook. The Dustfinger before him began decaying before his very eyes. His pale skin became even paler and his veins showed from beneath his skin, it shriveled up slowly and became a grey-ish color. Farid looked away briskly, but another hand took his chin and pulled his face back. " Look Farid, look at what you did to me! ", half the skin on the face was falling off in large pieces. Tears swelled in Farid's eyes, they were hot tears, tears of anger. He pulled his hand away from Dustfinger.
" No Dustfinger! ", Farid yelled, " You chose to die and bring me back! ", his hot tears poured down his face, they glinted in the moonlight. " You didn't have to do it! ", he screamed enraged, " I could've stayed dead! ", and he breathed in heavily. Dustfinger's deterioration slowly rewound itself " Everything would have worked out for you then, you could have been with Roxane and your daughter and her son, you could have been with your family! ", the thing that looked like Dustfinger didn't speak. " But you chose to bring me back,… you did! ", he paused again, " I don't have a family and I never will so you wasted your life on me, it was your choice! ", he finished breathing heavily.
The imitation Dustfinger dissipated piece by piece into thin air, until nothing was left of it. Just then Fenoglio stepped out of the brush into the small field that Farid had faced the Night-Mare in. Fenoglio looked up and stopped mumbling to himself. He yelled, " Where's my story? ", he had that agitated look in his eye again. He limped over past Farid's frozen form and picked up his book from the ground. " Ha! ", he blew the dirt off, " Good as new ". He put it to his side and looked at Farid with a stern stare.
Nothing had happened, nothing at all. The wind blew soundlessly, moving some of Farid's locks across his face. His eyes were red and puffy. He could feel bitterness coursing through his veins, he stared at the ground. " Nothing happened ", he said the disappointment evident in his voice. Fenoglio scratched his head, " Well of course nothing happened, what'd you expect for it to turn into a butterfly and lead you there ", Fenoglio's Inkworld was starting to annoy him. Farid blinked tiredly he could tell the morning twilight was about to come. He leaned against a nearby tree and closed his eyes, thinking of being with Meggie and her warm touch. " Hey, have you forgotten me already? ", Fenoglio asked in a loud voice. Sometimes he thought the boy purposely mystified him.
Meggie awoke in the morning, still weary, she supposed knowing Farid wasn't there it made her feel unsafe, Mo or no Mo. She sat up tiredly looking around at all the sleeping forms, not seeing Mo or the Black Prince. Her shoulders slunk, disappointed, she thought she might snuggle up next to Mo, but they must've left on another search to find Fenoglio and Farid. Why would Farid just leave her like that? And Fenoglio too? What could they possibly be doing right now?
" Wait up, damn you! ", Fenoglio yelled frustrated he couldn't catch up with the boy. His ankle still hadn't healed from the sprang he acquired the night before and he wasn't happy. " Wait, wait! ", what was his name? " Uhhh, uhh ", Fenoglio seemed to forget everything these past few days. " Farid! ", he shouted. Startled crows flew from nearby trees and squawked indignantly. Fenoglio rolled his eyes at them at kept walking. Farid looked behind himself at the old man, but kept walking. It really bothered him that the old man was following him, he could go back to the camp. He had planned on doing this alone, but yet he couldn't just leave the man out here by himself. Farid personally hated Fenoglio for making his story so complicated, so simple things were in Meggie's world. While Farid wondered whether the Night-Mare would show up again, Fenoglio had a silent query with himself on where the heck the boy could be taking them.
After about an hour or so Fenoglio had finally caught up with Farid and they walked side by side. The path was rough, jagged rocks lined the path. The prickly vines Fenoglio suffered many scratches from ran across the path also, along with small precarious creatures that Fenoglio stepped on purposely when he could. After every creature he stepped on, Fenoglio thought more and more that the bare feet were one of the best weapons on the body. He smiled to himself, feeling exceptionally superior. And after a while his ankle felt better too.
Walking didn't seem to agree with Farid's legs. He had fallen behind Fenoglio a couple times, feeling that if he pushed himself to catch up his legs would double over. But now he was caught up, his legs still didn't want to cooperate. He looked over at Fenoglio, his face was lit up and he was humming, and he seemed to have a bounce in his step. He shook his head, wondering where the old guy got all his energy from all of a sudden.
Meggie didn't feel at all like getting up and moving again. But they had too. They had to leave, Mo had spent the whole morning trying to cheer Meggie up, but nothing worked. So eventually he decided to spend some time with Resa, who was right at Mina's side. Meggie was glad though, she didn't want to be cheered up, and there was no reason to be happy. She very badly wanted to go home now, wishing silently to herself that she had never read herself into the story at all. Magical though it was, there's always a bad part to everything.
When everyone was finally ready and walking on, Meggie took once last glance at the campsite as if they both would appear magically. Nothing magical happened, but she didn't expect it to. She turned slowly on her heel following the group as they disappeared into the Wayless Woods once again.
Farid saw it and Fenoglio smelled it. Smoke! There was a house nearby! Farid ran along the path even faster then he had when they first started. Fenoglio's eyes widened and he forgot his superior attitude running after Farid. The smoke billowed over the treetops covering a portion of the sky. Fenoglio and Farid ran off the path, deciding to take a short cut. Fenoglio suddenly stopped and looked up at the smoke, it had turned blacker! Farid, who had tripped behind him, nearly made it past him but Fenoglio grabbed him by the collar. Farid struggled assertively, then finally stopped and glared back at Fenoglio. Fenoglio merely pointed at the sky, the thick black smoke now covered a thick expanse of the sky. Farid backed up looking at the sky with anxious eyes. Then he started off running again in the direction the smoke was coming from.
" Wait! ", Fenoglio shouted for the fourth time, then with great speed he darted out after him.
Farid ran through many things he'd never seen before, but he paid that no mind. He was running to see what was going on, what was happening? Many terrible thoughts flashed through Farid's mind. What was on fire? What could possibly have happened? Farid tripped again and fell right before the scene. He looked up to find a burning house. The flames licked up and down it, they seemed angry. The crackling of the fire was loud and the flames were red, like blood! There was a man holding a long piece of parchment, most likely a decree, one hand on the top, one on the bottom. His voice was deep and boisterous. " By the law of the Adderhead ", he started, " You have broken 15 laws ", he was reading it to what looked like a young boy he had peasant clothes on and a dark brown cap.
Fenoglio, who finally caught up watched from his standing position, while Farid still watched from his place on the ground. " You have stolen 3 ounces worth of silver from the castle", Farid looked at the boy's face. Tears of anguish ran down it, and he didn't look as if he was listening, watching as his house burned. " Have refused to work in the Castle of Night three times ", he large man in armor coughed. The air had begun to get thicker. And he went on reading all the laws he had broken against the Adderhead. Fenoglio pulled Farid up from the ground, but Farid hardly noticed taking in the scene before his eyes. There were other men in armor there too. They were finished with their job though, they watched the house burn callously as if it was the most normal thing in the world. The bitterness was there again, running through Farid's veins, coursing so roughly it might have burned if it touched someone.
Fenoglio held him back though until the tall, large man had finished reading the decree, rolling up the large parchment and putting it in a pouch at his side. The three men walked away onto another path, or perhaps the same path Fenoglio and Farid had just ran off of. The young boy watched as the last of his house burned, a large expanse of his house fell down to the ground, completely incinerated. Farid couldn't take it anymore, he broke out of Fenoglio's grip and ran towards the boy. The boy turned and looked at Farid with wide, hazel eyes, " What do you want? ", the boy yelled. The tears still pouring, " Why do you come here? ", Farid was taken aback he hadn't expected to get yelled at. But was he expecting? He backed away from the crying boy, unsure of what to do. He began to think that without Dustfinger around, he messed up a lot more.
Fenoglio couldn't help but watch the scene with sadness. This was a bad, bad world, it really was.
Meggie had endured two wounds already since they had been on the path. There were many prickly things that hid in the almost knee high grass, one including the three-spiked brown backed beetles. Good thing she didn't suffer a wound from one of those though, the spikes were supposed to paralyze you for 36 hours. Mo had carried her for about fifteen minutes until they had to cross over a colossal tree that had fallen from age. It was halfway deteriorated, but they still had to limb over it. The severely injured had to be carried around it. They had lost one man due to his paranoia of the Wayless Woods. He was deathly afraid of Night-Mares and he had thought he saw one and took off, off of the pathway into the brush and trees. Meggie hoped he was all right, although she already knew a Night-Mare had probably gotten him a while ago. They decided not to search for him since that would mean stopping again and the severely injured needed medical attention fast! So they moved along, not once glancing back.
The house was burned down all the way, only charcoaled wood and rubble was left. The boy sifted through the ruin, finally finding nothing moved along. Farid watched as the boy walked away, towards the path. " Wait! ", he yelled after him. The boy looked back, stopping. " Where are you going to go? ", Farid asked one he was within speaking distance. The boy shook his head, and Fenoglio walked up behind Farid. " Well you can come with us ", Farid said coolly. " The boy is not coming with us ", Fenoglio stated annoyed, " He can fend for himself ", stubborn old man, Farid thought narrowing his eyes at Fenoglio.
The boy watched as they quarreled, becoming increasingly uncomfortable. " Fine! ", Fenoglio yelled, " Fine, fine, fine! ", Fenoglio said, " He can come with us ", Farid smiled triumphantly. The boy pulled his cap off, his long brown hair cascaded down his shoulders, " Umm ", he said, " I'm a girl ".
Meggie felt that if she moved one more step her legs would fall off, but they were almost there, they were almost in Lombrica. So close they were everybody seemed to be in a better mood, they chatted with each other now in animated voices. But the Black Prince stayed silent, leading the way as if they were going to be attacked at any moment, he like Meggie knew they weren't out of Argenta just yet. Meggie sighed, sad that she couldn't be happy or at least talk like everyone else was. Meggie enviously watched Mina, Resa, and Mo chat in spright tones. They seemed to forget all about Dustfinger's death and the recently (MIA), as Meggie put it, Fenoglio and Farid.
The sun was setting now, Farid watched the girl dressed like a boy with interest. She had replaced the cap back on her head and walked forward, without saying a word. Fenoglio still fuming about her coming along flipped through his book. The girl looked over at Fenoglio's book with curiosity. " S'cuse me could I see your book for a moment? ", she asked in the sweetest voice. " Course not! ", Fenoglio snapped, Farid glared at him until Fenoglio finally handed it to her. She opened to the first page and looked at it engrossed. " Not like you can read anyway ", Fenoglio muttered under his breath, " Oh no I assure you I can read very well, my father taught me when I was very young ", Fenoglio jumped not expecting a response, or for anyone to hear him at all. " That's one of the reasons why they burned my house down, for knowing how to read ", her eyes saddened.
She smiled while as she flipped to the second page, " You write very well ", he mumbled a thank you and grimaced. Farid smiled at the girl, wondering exactly what Fenoglio had written. " He writes very well ", she repeated looking at Farid. " Is this your grandfather? ". They both scoffed simultaneously. " I take that as a no ", she said raising a brow. " I love your main character, Wen is that how you pronounce it? ", Fenoglio just nodded and she went on reading again. " Pretty name ", she mumbled mostly to herself. " What's yours? ", Farid asked. Her face lit up, " Oh its Deshtri ", for a moment Farid thought he saw Meggie in her.
The Black Prince had let down his guard a little now that they were nearing the border of Lombrica. Meggie could tell that he was less tense he looked around less and less, his eyes becoming narrowed from the lack of sleep. They had walked for more than half the day, it was nearing night now. The Sun was making its last shine, a bright blood-like red appeared in the sky and then began fading. Meggie had to smile she hadn't seen anything that beautiful since that time Mo had taken her to the riverside to watch the sunset. The water had gleamed luridly, as the bright orange sun reflected off of it. She sighed missing home even more than she had before, now Elinor's house with all of her precious books didn't seem all that bad. She missed Darius too.
Why, Elinor thought, why? That man, I hate him! Elinor's voice was hoarse from yelling all of her complaints to Darius so she had resorted to using her mind to release stress. She paced the fair sized kitchen with her black heels on, one hand on her chin thinking. Thinking of a way she could somehow read herself into Inkheart. Or Darius! Her mind settled on the clumsily speaking boy who read Resa out of Inkheart the year before. She shuttered thinking of the long deceased Capricorn, who had locked her up in that filthy pigsty, had it been a pigsty? Elinor hmph'ed and went on walking around the kitchen. " Darius! ", she called smiling to herself. Darius ran down the stairs looking around for an intruder thinking it had been Sugar coming back. That tall, well-built man scared him more than reading out loud. But there was nothing in the kitchen but Elinor in her black suit and scarily high black heels. " Umm yes Elinor ", he said timidly he had a bad feeling about why she had called him. " Darius ", she said in the sweetest voice she could muster from her hoarse voice, " I want you to read us into Inkheart ".
Farid had hadn't slept that night, neither did Deshtri. She had her hair in a ponytail and it spilled down her back. When she had found out he was a fire-eater she was absolutely thrilled, she had even listed all of the fire-eaters she had met in her life. This gave Farid a nice boost in his pride, he showed her all the tricks Dustfinger had showed him. She had looked at him with awe, as he showed her how to summon a small flame. But now that was all over and again she was all over that old man's book. Farid rolled his eyes, what could that man have possibly written to compel her to read it so much. Deshtri had been surprised to find Farid could not read and taught him how to read a whole page out of the old man's story. Farid could kind of see why she was so pulled into the story, but he had never really been interested in reading like Dustfinger had been or Meggie. He just couldn't sit in one spot for who knows how long and read about what somebody was doing.
A couple hours later Farid could see that she had progressed into the book at least 200 pages, it surprised him how fast she Deshtri could read. She really reminded him of Meggie, it irked him how close in resemblance she was to Meggie. He looked away when she closed the book and said a curt ' good night ' and drifted off into the dream world herself. Farid picked up the book/notebook that lay beside her. He flipped through the pages again, watching as the blue ink blurred across the white paper. He stopped and began turning it page by page, looking for the one that Deshtri had shown him how to read. Page 152, that was it. Farid began:
It was night now, the strawberry moon shined with an eerie brightness. She silently wondered if the moon shown like this anywhere else other than China. The Banshees wailed in the distance, causing Wen to shutter. She walked, half stumbling up the mountain-side clutching her arm from the battle she had just had with the Snow wolves. They had slashed her arm, blood dripped down onto her pant leg. Sweat trickled from her brow. Her long brown hair cascaded down her back, some strands lay on her shoulders. Her pouty pink lips were pulled together in pain. She held her beads that were around her neck, which her mother had given her as a child. Her heart beat fearfully, she was afraid. Afraid she wouldn't make it up top the mountain, all she needed was the water. It would heal her of all her wounds, and provide her with more magic energy, she had lost the battle terribly getting the rest of the magic that was left in her consumed by nearby Banshees. Heartless creatures, they were, taking the last bit of life from every creature they could reach without being out of the water too long. Or they would shrivel up and turn into food for the large spiders that burrowed themselves into the earth. Her tanned skin shown in the moonlight, showing off the scar on her left arm and the blood trickling through her slender fingers from it. Her hair blew lightly in the wind and her dark brown eyes showed nothing but longing. Longing for a life more than fighting, a life with family and friends, an escaped slave she was. No last name Wen, the Wen with magical power greater than her master's, the Wen who was stolen from her family, the Wen who wanted so bad to be excepted. The Wen who was walking up a mountain-side emersed in red light from the moon. This was Wen and she was a witch.
Farid darted up from his seat he though heard something. He closed the book having finished the page Deshtri had taught him how to read. He put the story down eyeing the trees cautiously, there it was again! The branches moved ever so slightly, Farid's eyes narrowed, his lips curled into a frown, was it another Night-Mare, … maybe. Farid walked over to the moving trees, maybe it was normal in Fenoglio's world for trees to move. Or maybe not, Farid thought slowly moving toward them. They moved again, he ran up to the trees, planning to take whatever it was by surprise. He pulled back one off the branched, hard, snapping the branch in the process only to find a girl! The girl looked startled, she clutched her left arm, which bled profusely. Long dark strands of her hair came over her shoulder blades. Her dark brown narrow eyes stared at him with confusion. Her lips were pulled together and her tan skin shown orange from the light of the fire. " I'm Wen ", she said nervously, " Do you know where I am? ", and Farid backed away from her in horror.
Elinor was all ready for her trip to the Inkheart, she had her purse with a first aid kit, a small suitcase with some clothes for Meggie and herself in it and a number of her books. Yes Elinor Loredan was ready to go! She walked down from upstairs primped and ready to leave, a cosmetics bag was in her other hand. She walked into the kitchen humming to herself, smiling brightly. This just has to work, she thought roughly to herself. It has to! Darius had both his hands on both sides of his face not really looking forward to any of it. " Oh Darius isn't this wonderful, a peek into Inkheart huh? ", she nudged him playfully. He nodded meekly. " Well lets get started ", she said eyeing his attire with disapproval. He picked up the sheet of paper and began to read. Soon the Loredan estate's last two people were gone too, into the Inkworld.
They had finally reached Lombrica and crossed over into the safe land, Meggie looked back at Argenta woefully thinking of Farid and Fenoglio.