Chapter 1: Promises

Elias Jenkins stood waist deep in the ice cold water.  He stood still as a stone as he watched it swirl around his body.  He seemed to be looking for something in the flowing current that swept unrelentingly by.  His dark blue eyes slowly moved over the water, stopping for only brief seconds to look fore closely.  Having turned in almost a complete circle he stopped completely.  His eyes locked on some unknown object under the moving surface. Fingers on his right hand twitched spasmodically.  Then through the clear water of the river you could see it.  A thin leather cord tied with knots.  A small seed pearl fluttering in the current next to a small silver bead.  The sun glinted of the silver and Elias dove.

It took less than a minute for him to dive under the frigged water, and outstretched before him, and grasp the thin strip of leather.  Water splashed around him as his head broke the surface, a triumphant smile on his lips.  With a deep breath he began his retreat from the flowing river.  Stepping onto dry land he fumbled with the cord and it fell to the congealed mud at his feet.  Water from his clothes caused the dirt to attach, rolling together, forming a puddle of dusty water.  Quickly he bent to pick up the fallen circle.  Gingerly cradling it in his hands he turned back to the river to clean the dirt off of the thin, waxy strand.  He fingered the bead, the sun shining off every curve.
A tiny body with four little legs and a tail that made the already over-sized ears look massive.  The little elephant’s trunk stretched out in front of the open mouth, curling into the shape of a heart.  He fingered the tiny creature for a few moments longer, then stood and walked to the wall of trees before him.  Taking the first steps into the trees he heard his name, as if being called from a distance.  Following his name there was a bloodcurdling scream that sent any living creature within miles running for cover.
“Ava,”  Her name lingered behind him as he ran toward the scream.  His long legs pushing him farther into the foliage.  Running faster than he’s ever ran before, branches cut at his exposed skin, tearing at his clothes.  Roots on the ground tried to trip him or twist his ankles.  Unknown objects snapped under his feet as they moved him blindly forward.  Another scream rent the air sending more birds flying.  “Ava!” He ran faster, his feet stumbled more.  A root seemed to reach out and grab his foot, sending him crashing to the ground.  Sticks and rocks cut into his empty hands.  His head his something solid causing his teeth to connect despite tissue being in the way.  Blood filled his mouth, making him wretch.

The ground was covered in red.  Shiny red.  It flowed freely from his mouth as he gagged.  His vision began to blur, large drops of swear appeared on his forehead and feet crunched against the dry leaves.  Looking up, Elias saw a man towering above him.  Shaggy dark hair hung over his equally dark and sunken eyes.  A long black trench coat, buttoned all the way to his neck, his what he wore.

“Hello Elias.”  He stepped forward, his hands behind his back.  “Long time... no see.”  The sinister voice struck a nerve.  It brought with it a memory from his childhood.  A face-- that face-- smirking down at him lying in a pool of his own blood.

“Exaviar,” Elias whispered.

“Glad to see I’ve not been forgotten.”  He was smirking madly again. “I- uh- rand into a friend of yours a little while back.  She was wonderful.  Had a great set of lungs in her.  I knew I recognized her, especially when she started screaming a name.  Your name.  That’s when I thought to myself,”  He started pacing in front of Elias, a foul odor following behind him.  An odor that smelled like that of a rotting carcass and fresh blood. “I thought to myself, ‘didn’t I kill that boy?  leave him for dead next to his parents?’  I did. I knew I did, so I had to find you for myself.”  The man paused, bringing his right hand out from behind his back, looking at the cracked and yellow nails.  Something dark slid down his arm.  Is seemed to resemble that of congealed blood.  Blood.  Ava.  Oh, please. Not Ava.  “She wouldn’t stop screaming so I had to...put a stop to that.”

Elias’s face went pale.  Every ounce of blood seemed to drain from his face and onto Exaviar’s upraised hand.  Struggling to get to his feet, Elias felt weak.  This couldn’t be real.  Exaviar was on the other side of the globe.  Ava wasn’t here.  She left last year after the fire.  “You’re lying.  Ava said she’d never come back.  Not after our father died.”  Elias was standing now.  Still almost a full head shorter than the man before him.

“If you think I’m lying...explain this.”  He pulled his left hand from behind his back and revealed a mass of brown hair entangled in his fingers.  Blood dripped from a cleanly cut neck.  Her face was perfect.  Her almond eyes were closed, as if she were sleeping.  The lips she spoke so sweetly with were parted ever so slightly.  Everything was right, except for the fact that her body was no where in sight.

“NO!”  Elias sat bolt upright in a tangled mass of quilts and blankets.  His breath came in huge gasps, sweat dripped down his face and onto the blanket.  He put his heat into his hands and tried to forget.  The harsh laughing voice still rang strongly in his ears.  Ava’s face seeped a permanent fixture on the back of his eyelids.  her eyes were closed forever, those lips that smiled so much were locked in that half open gape.. never to smile again.  But that was a dream.  Ava was safe, living with their brother, Frey, in some small country South of India. He hadn’t heard from either of them in over a year.
Footsteps began on the stairs, growing louder with each step.  Soon they were at the door.  “Elias?” the voice was quiet and small.  “Are you alright?”  The tiny voice was that of his younger brother.  “Elias?”  Malcolm’s voice cracked.
“Come in Malcolm.”  Elias disentangled his legs from the mass of quilts and threw them over the side of the bed.  A small boy, around thirteen years of age, opened the door and tried unsuccessfully to hide a bandaged arm behind his back.  A sigh slid from his lips as he reached out to his brother.  “Malcolm, what have you done?”
“It--it is nothing.  I fell and happened to land on a broken branch.”  He looked down, hiding his eyes from his brother’s all knowing gaze.
“what were you doing that you could have fallen?”  Elias reached for the bandaged arm, ignoring Malcolm when he tried to pull it away.  “Did you wrap the cloth?”
“I tended to it, you don’t need to worry.  I promise --”  He was cut short by Elias’s shuddering gasp.
“Malcolm, what in the name of the Elders did you do?”  The gash in the young boy’s arm reached from his elbow to just a few inches below his wrist.  There was a large chunk of skin missing and it was poorly cleaned.
“Please Lias, don’t get mad.  Please...” the young boy’s voice broke slightly.
“What did you do?”
“I was climbing the gate again.”  He looked down.  Not wanting to see the disappointment in his brother’s eyes.
“Malcolm, why?  That gate is restricted for a reason.  Please don’t go back there.”  Elias looked down at the boy’s face.  “Promise me Malcolm.  Promise me that you will never go near that gate again.  This village is only as strong as those who follow the rules.  You can’t keep doing this.  Promise me.”  the boy nodded.
“Yes, Lias. I promise.”  He continued to look down as the one solitary slid down his cheek, out of his brother’s sight.  “I promise.”