Chapter 6.

After that day, Jensa didn't seem as interested in her new found abilities. Things went to back to how they had been. How they should be. Except that Kyrin could tell Jensa desperately wanted to be training her new abilities. She was distracted at times, and when she thought Kyrin wasn't looking, she'd sometimes try something or other. Still, there were times when things really did feel back to normal, and Kyrin couldn't help but covet that time, just wanting to be with Jensa as she'd always been.

Then again, if it hadn't been for Jensa's abilities, they never would have found it. Kyrin had been in the process of turning a pile of flowers into an ornate headpiece for Seylira. Jensa had wandered off, saying she planned to collect some more flowers for the pile. However, when she was out of sight she couldn't help do some tumbling, working with her new found flexibility. But when she stopped walking, she found herself at the very edge of the meadow almost to the very border of their town. Just a few more yards, a few more steps, would put her in no man's land. A terrifying, and unknown place that all children were taught to fear. After all, a child who's afraid to go out there won't do anything to get itself or their families banished. Jensa, of course, scoffed at the old wife's tales in front of Kyrin and the other children. Still, despite her boldness, even she was hesitant to actually do something so brave as to cross that invisible line between the safe, protected space of her town and the vast unknown. That is, until she saw it.

It was a tree that had probably stood in that spot for hundreds of years. It's middle was thicker than Kyrin and Jensa put together. But time had at last caught up with the behemoth, or maybe just the decaying state of the land. The whole tree had been uprooted leaving a deep scar in the earth where it had once stood. Only there was something unusual about the hole. It was deep. So deep that from where Jensa stood on the other side of the Edge, it seemed bottomless, as if it was a hole into the very center of the earth. And when a large cloud parted to reveal the sun, Jensa could swear she saw something shine way down in the depths of the darkness.

Curious, but not nearly so confident without her sister, Jensa went running back to where Kyrin sat, face aglow with excitement. She'd grab Kyrin's arm, pulling her up and dragging her towards the tree.

"'Rin! You've got to see this."

Kyrin would stumble to her feet, trying to get them under her before her sister could start dragging her on her face. She didn't even bother asking. Kyrin knew her sister to well. If she was this excited, she was just going to have to show her discovery. Kyrin would hesitate when she saw how close they were coming to the Edge of the city. She'd dig her heals in, convinced her sister had finally lost her mind. Even Jensa had never before been so foolish as to temp fate like that. Jensa, instead of continuing to pull, would let Kyrin's hand drop, satisfied that they were close enough. She'd point at the tree.

"See? Look at the tree, where the roots came up from the ground. Do you see it? Way in the middle?"

Kyrin would look at her sister in confusion, before squinted at the pitch black of the hole. The sun would shine, cooperatively, and her eyes would open in surprise. There was definitely a blue shine from somewhere down in the hole.

"What do you think it is? A piece of glass…or maybe some kind of gem?"

Jensa would grin, "don't know, but I'm going to find out."

Kyrin's eyes would get huge, "you can't be serious! That's over the Edge! And you don't know whats down there. It could be some wild beast, or worse!"

Jensa smiled, feeding off of Kyrin's fear. The more scared her sister was, the stronger she felt. She'd take a few steps up to the very Edge itself. "Come on, it's no big deal. Now are you going to help me, or not?"

Kyrin bit her lip, "what do you need my help for? I'm not going down there!"

Jensa shook her head, grabbing Kyrin's wrist and pulling her to the edge as well. "Just hold my legs, ok? I'm sure it can't be as deep as it looks. I'll just grab it and we'll be right back on the other side of the Edge, ok?"

She didn't give Kyrin a chance to argue though. Jensa had already walked over to the Edge, pulling Kyrin with her. Rin took in a sharp breath, as if she thought there would be no air to breath on the other side. But strangely the world didn't end, they didn't die on the spot and demons hadn't swarmed them. Kyrin looked around suspiciously. Clearly this was a trick of some sort, but she didn't have time to marvel over that because Jensa was already walking over to the tree.

Now that she was closer she could see what had really killed the tree. Thick vines of the Morrow plant were wrapped around it. Everyone knew that the morrow plant was a parasite, finding the strongest host it could, and then drinking all the life out of it. The death of the tree usually meant the death of the plant, but by then it had sent out its seeds, letting its curse continue.

Jensa knelt by the edge of the hole. She really couldn't see a thing in the darkness. It was pitch black and seemed to be bottomless. Jensa swallowed reflexively. Still, she'd come too close now to just back out. Kyrin looked as uncertain as she felt. Plastering a fake smile on her face, she'd motion for Kyrin to come closer.

"OK, you hold on to my legs, and I'll grab the whatever-it-is. Just don't let go, alright?"

Kyrin nodded mutely, kneeling to take hold of Jensa's ankles. Jensa would scoot on her belly closer and closer to the opening, beginning to reach as her body disappeared in the darkness. But no matter how she twisted and grabbed, the mystery object stayed hidden and out of reach. She'd slide even closure, just barely hearing the protests of her twin. Her whole body was practically disappearing into the vast hole.

A loud, startled gasp from Jensa made Kyrin jump. With the loosened grasp, Jensa's legs started to slide away from her, but too late, Kyrin realized her mistake. She'd made a dive for Jensa, but her sister was already vanishing into the hole, filling the darkness of it with her screams as she fell. She lost the sound of the screams without ever hearing a sound of impact. Jensa was gone.