Teo’s eyes were glued to the Map of Eros. The tiny spot of golden light above Nune flickered on and off. Just seeing it glow put his mind at ease. He tried not to obsess over it. He told himself it was crazy to check it every five minutes, that he should just put it in his pocket and not look at it again. But before he knew it, he was back, his nose buried in the parchment. He couldn’t help but wonder how Steffi was doing. What was she up to? Was she eating regularly? Was she cold?

  “We’re almost there!” Isgalis announced. “Just a few more miles and we’ll be home.”

  “Awesome!” exclaimed Tiziano. “I’m dying to tell Herb and Tabitha that we saw a naiad!”

  “And I can’t wait to tell Nacho and Efraín that she was naked!” Baruch chimed in.

  They both burst out laughing and high-fived each other. They were thrilled to be returning to the village after such an eventful night.

  Jayden, on the other hand, had a glazed look on her face and couldn’t stop sighing. On her Map, a trembling dot kept shining above Ixis Spring. She missed her and was aware it wasn’t rational: she barely knew her and knew nothing about her. Plus, for heaven’s sake… it was a girl! She couldn’t be in love with a girl, or could she?

  “Oh, please!” Isgalis shouted, terror in her voice. “Is that...?”

  “Smoke,” Roderic mumbled, perplexed. “It’s coming from the village!”

  From that moment on, everything felt slow and heavy. Even though they ran at full speed through the forest, it seemed the air was resisting them, and their feet dragged on the ground like solid lead balls. Every second that passed felt like a small stab in their desperate hearts.

  The scene they encountered when they arrived at the village was devastating. The memory of that sight continued to haunt them, even years later. The great totem in the square, on which the figure of the oxymatron stood, was reduced to rubble. The cabins had been burned to the ground, the crops razed, and the livestock decimated. Walking through its streets was like walking through the corridors of a cemetery. Everywhere were effigies that looked like they were covered in tar or simply made of charcoal. The entire area was full of them, from the banks of the stream that flowed next to the row of cabins, to the Japanese-style bridge that served as the entrance to the village.

  Isgalis collapsed to her knees and started sobbing uncontrollably. The others, completely overwhelmed and in shock, soon understood what had happened. The inhabitants of Vin had suffered the greatest and most evil curse cast on Ardoras: the Vaenarr Dortaris. This curse could only be carried out by three species: Vendalions, Dark Mages, and Falk Agents. A Vendalion could initiate the Vaenarr Dortaris with just a thought. Dark Mages, on the other hand, needed a wand anointed in the blood of a sacrifice to perform it, conjoining their words with a ritualistic gesture. Falk Agents, on the other hand, simply did this by sucking an individual’s kanach until it was completely consumed. In all cases, the victim became a slovter, whose approximate translation would be “suffering stone.” Its appearance was that of a charred or tar-covered body, with the hardness of a rock. The truly brutal and horrifying aspect of the curse was that the inert and utterly defenseless body retained the ability to feel... but only pain! A sharp, constant, excruciating pain that never stopped and never would.

  In the distance, lost among the maze of bodies, they heard someone’s spasmodic wailing. Hearing that cry produced a strange mix of joy and fear for them. Nevertheless, they went after it.

  Tiziano found him among the remains of the stable, prostrate and clinging to a teddy bear: it was Josef Irkman. Immediately, the boy notified the others.

  “She came and enveloped everyone in a whirlwind of black souls,” the man said to the group, in a state of severe distress. “She did this. It wasn’t supposed to be like this. No, no. But she did it. It was her!”

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  Each word he uttered was accompanied by a movement of his body. Seeing him in that state created a lump in their throats that wouldn’t let them speak.

  “It’s my fault!” he said, raising his voice and pounding his chest. “I’m the one who should be punished! Me!”

  “Josef, please, let me help you,” Isgalis stammered, extending her hand.

  “No!” the man rejected her. “You don’t understand! This is all my fault!”

  “Josef…” the Guardian murmured, tears welling up in her eyes.

  “When she died, I thought I was going to lose it. I held her lifeless body in my arms, and I knew that no one could help me, that no one could bring her back. Never in my life had I felt so alone, so helpless, so useless. There was no way I could have prevented it. It wasn’t up to me, but I still felt guilty. The traffic light was green for us, but the driver of the other vehicle was drunk and hit us at the intersection. He came out of nowhere and took her from me forever! She was carrying this teddy bear when it happened. She was only six years old, and I, that night, aged twenty!”

  “Josef, what is it that you…?” Isgalis said, her voice barely a whisper.

  “But then, The Deceiver showed up and told me about this place. He said I could see my daughter again, that she’d be here waiting for me, safe and sound. He also said I’d have to make some sacrifices. I was desperate! I would have done anything he asked, and I did. The Deceiver explained that after many years, a child would arrive who would be a threat to him: a Vendalion. And that the kid had to be eliminated. He promised me that if I helped him get rid of the child, he’d make sure I was reunited with my little Lara. But to do that, I had to make a pact with the Dark Forces. Then he revealed that in the Mohr Forest, on the edge of Luria, there were beings who could make me strong, resistant to the child’s attacks. If he hurt me, my body would heal. I’d be immune to fire, weapons, and pain, forever. All I had to do was offer the creatures something in return.”

  “A revitalizer,” Tiziano muttered, horrified.

  “When Egmont came to the village, I knew it was my chance, and I took it.”

  “And you summoned the Necropters, you damned traitor!” Tiziano shouted, enraged. “He trusted you! We all trusted you!”

  The boy tried to attack him, but Isgalis held him back.

  “It’s not worth it, Tiziano,” the Guardian said, her eyes betraying a profound pain. “He’s not worth it.”

  “Ah, but sins never go unpunished!” the stableman shouted. “One of Sir Phleas’s greatest achievements was an enchantment that blocked the Falk Agents from entering the South, and it lasted for generations. Nonetheless, The Deceiver, sly enough to understand the Ixarion’s stratagems, figured out his key: to open a portal between the Blue Mountains and Galath, he’d need the blood of a traitor from Mantra, the sole bastion of peace and loyalty remaining on The Continent, utterly uncorrupted. So, he put my head on a receptacle and slit my throat from ear to ear. But I healed! And she, my little Lara, came to meet me: just not in the way I expected... She was one of the monsters that came through that portal! One of the aberrations that destroyed everything and everyone! Now they are heading to Nune with Milena! The Deceiver expects you all to rush there to rescue her. So, you must be extremely cautious, because he’ll be waiting for you.”

  “Who is The Deceiver, Josef?” Isgalis asked. “Who is behind everything?”

  Josef Irkman looked into her eyes and rummaged behind the teddy bear, searching for something. Before anyone could react, he pulled out a dagger and slit his own throat.

  “He’s not healing!” Jayden shouted, alarmed.

  “And he won’t,” said Roderic. “Lara took away his kanach, and with it, his ability to heal.”

  The pool of blood spread across the ground, almost completely enveloping the stableman’s body.

  About a hundred yards away, they heard a persistent tapping on a wooden surface. The entire village had been reduced to ashes, except for a walnut chest hidden in a nook on the banks of the stream. The group found it without difficulty, guided by the sound of the knocking.

  They were afraid to open it, because they didn’t know what they might find inside. Finally, Teo stepped forward and lifted the lid, which had been blocked by a heavy rock that had fallen on it.

  Inside the chest, completely terrified and disoriented, was Tania, the little girl who could control fire at will with her hands. In her arms, curled up and waiting, was Noel. They had survived the attack by sheer luck.

  Isgalis took the girl by the hand and helped her out of the chest. Both embraced in a vibrant and emotional hug. Teo picked up Noel, and the cat, delighted to be reunited with his master, rubbed against his face and licked him, while the boy showered him with kisses.

  Soon after, as dusk gathered, the group turned from Vin’s ashes forever.

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