Chapter 364 (1/2)

Book 3, Chapter 100 – An Abyss Behind, Darkness Ahead

The war for the Blisterpeaks sent a shock wave through the wastelands

Word spread that the Dark Atom's secret base had been discovered in the inhospitable e It was confir-ruanization People also learned that the elysian army suffered terribly in the battle

Two generals, a dozen or so lesser commanders, several dozen airshi+ps and tens of thousands of regular troops destroyed

The numbers spoke to the viciousness and brutality of the war For so through the borderlands one could feel the suffocating atmosphere Like the calm before a storm Everyone could sense it

Elysian warshi+ps could be seen hovering over the border outposts Like stars in the sky, they dotted the horizon, andof forces in Skycloud's history, an unprecedented accueance

They would make sure that this time, no one would escape by sheer luck

War had yet to break out in full, but already the borderlands were caught up in it

Before this conflict, Sandbar Station had been a focus for Skycloud Under the Magistrate's guidance, chaos had been slowly becouard force, which had been stationed in the outpost for years, ithdrawn In their place was a larger andforce

Sandbar Station was under complete control now, and searches had become commonplace Any suspicious person above six years old – be they escaped elysians or wasteland refugees – was detained and questioned

It was obvious; they would rather kill three thousand innocents than let a single guilty soul go free

One after the other, bloody heads sprouted up at the outpost gates until they made a small mountain Only two days since the arrests started, and already it was difficult to count how many had been beheaded

Luciasha had no connection to Skycloud or proof of identity, so she should have been one of those heads staring sightlessly into the distance However, when the brutal men came to take her away Adder'sher, then showed them a token These hardened killers became reverent and meek as sheep when they sahat it was They never troubled Adder's establishment or employees after that

It was the token of a veteran demonhunter that won him peace

They were sye, impossible to duplicate When the intended bearer died, the symbols etched on its surface disappeared Luciasha had seen so like it in Cloudhawk's possession once, so she kne special and precious they were

Why did Adder have one? Did he have friends in Skycloud? Luciasha thought about her foster father and couldn't help but worry

He'd left in a hurry some time back and still hadn't returned With so much turmoil in the wastelands she couldn't know if he was safe She worried about the men she considered brothers, Cloudhawk and Squall She wished desperately that they could all be together, safe, but they all had their own business to deal with

Why was life so hard for everyone? Couldn't this world be kinder? Sory and ashamed at her own uselessness She didn't have any abilities to speak of, no skills to help her family

Today the bar was quiet There were no patrons, and in the diht it made the place seeerly pushed it open She peeked out to try and see as happening outside

Sandar Station was deathly silent All she saas a group of rail-thin children foraging through the rubbish for soe, andback

These poor children…

She looked at the malnourished kids, one after the other

The softest part of her heart ached for theht, the way she used to be Starving, their parents stolen from them, without shelter… hoere they expected to survive? Luciasha was lucky, she knew that without a doubt Her good fortune inspired her to do whatever she could do help

She gathered the children into the bar She gave the bellies

Luciasha wasn't going to steal from the bar, of course She purchased the food hat littlehere for the last three years Before now she didn't knohat to spend it on, and now there was a proper use for it

“You're a good lady, big sister”

Luciasha brought her attention to a little girl as different froive or take Her eyes were big and clear, and a beautiful shade of azure blue But she was so skinny that her bones were clear through her skin One hand was draped over her slightly protruding stomach and her face was pale from the pain Her lips were cracked and dry It was obvious she was suffering, and she hardly even had enough strength to walk

It was her eyes thatin theence for a wastelander, the sort you only saw once in a long while The only other person Luciasha kneith eyes like this girl's was Cloudhawk

“What's your name?”

“I'irl saw Luciasha stretch out her hand to offer a loaf of bread, but she nibbled her lip and shook her head “I don't want bread I don't ater, either Can I have some chalk?”

“Why do you want chalk?”

Azura didn't answer She just looked pleadingly at Luciasha with her big pretty eyes It was a tiny but desperate wish Luciasha couldn't turn the poor thing down Of course she also insisted on giving the child the bread and water as well

Luciasha watched Azura totter away, swaying like a withered stalk of grass in the wind She stumbled on, her face thin and drained of vitality, her small dirty hands… Luciasha felt a bitter flavor fill her mouth, and her eyes quickly misted up

Why did these pure young souls have to suffer so terribly? She could help this s out in the wastelands?

The children didn't squabble or h, they were forced to grow up much faster than the spoiled ones who still had a roof and parents of their own They understood thattheht be beaten, even killed They knew playing cost energy, and without food they needed all their energy not to starve

With bellies full of bread and water, they settled on the icy cold floor to sleep

Luciasha was afraid they would get ill, so she su some clothes and linens She went to the orphans one by one andto stay at their inn, so she prepared the rooms so that the children could have somewhere soft to sleep, at least for a little while

As she was preparing she caught a gliain

She was lying in a corner, white as a sheet, with voripped her was ht Right now the only thing keeping that little girl alive was persistence But not for long – she was at the cusp of death

It was the picture on the ground that kept Luciasha spellbound

Azura had used her chalk to drao figures, simple but vivid One of the hair Their ar All around therass and flowers

Just a few strokes, but the ie arm and sweet, and full of beauty Luciasha shuddered at the bittersweet eh her

The little girl still clung tight to the half-worn piece of chalk Where she was curled up, it looked like the man and woman had their arms around her

“Mommy… Daddy…”

Azura's pained face turned serene, and a flush ca radiance of a setting sun

Peace overcaain with her family As the life faded fro embrace of her mother and father, happy with the ones that she loved