What was he to do with her?
"Did yah not think of that?" Rug asked with a little taste of scorn in his voice. "Now that yah have her here, will yah just lock her up in there? What do_" Rug’s words stopped as Barak abruptly rose to his feet with his eyes on her door.
Like a spirit being drawn to a particular spot, he moved towards the door with eyes that held no certain emotion.
"Do not do anything yah will regret." Rug spoke again.
Barak took in deep breaths, unlocked the door and pushed it open.
Almost instantaneously, he was hit by a cold eerie wind, his eyes quickly fell on the part of the wooden wall that looked as though it had split open, just wide enough to allow a small tiny woman out. The sudden loud cry of black from outside and his hoofs hitting the ground caused Barak to curse beneath his breath.
He had forgotten! He had forgotten for a short moment that she had powers to manipulate wood!
"That little witch!" He hissed as anger filled his entire being, Mileka and Rug worriedly rushed to his side and gasped in shock as they saw the hole in the wall.
However, almost as quickly as the anger had washed over him, it had been overturned, "Foolish girl!" He screamed and bolted out of the house as he remembered where they were...
The forest of the damned.
She was in danger. The foolish girl had no idea where she was running to!
She was running to her death!
...
Determined to make it back to Lyle in time and complete her mission, Neriah rode the horse faster than she had ever single-handedly ridden any horse in her life. She didn’t even ride this fast when she was running from her then soon-to-be, now late husband.
Though the heaviness of her pregnancy was there, she could not bring herself to give in to her tiredness and pains. Again and again, she quickened the horse, urging it to go faster and faster.
But then suddenly, as though it had crammed into some kind of unseen object, the horse comes to an abrupt halt, causing Neriah to be thrown off its back mercilessly. However, she was quick enough to use her powers to cause some vines to catch her just before she could land heavily on the ground with her stomach.
The horse neighed and cried restlessly, lifting and stomping its limbs as though it had suddenly gone mad. And like a horse stricken by madness, it continued crying out as it trotted and trotted, turning back towards the direction they had just come from.
"No! Come back here!" Neriah screamed as the horse began to run back. "No! No! No!! Curse you! Curse you, you damned animal!!" She screamed while banging in the dry ground without any concern for her hands. "Curse you." She broke into sobs. "Curse you," she repeated the words on her knees with her hands over her face.
""Oh, weep not, princess."" Her crying instantly ceased as she heard the foreign voice whisper into her ear. Her head turned round and sideways, trying to see where the voice had come from.
""Who is that?!"" She spoke back in Tragonian. ""Who is there?!"" She asked again, now slowly rising to her feet.
""Fret not princess, all we want is to take away your pain.""
""Where are you?! Show yourself!"" She screamed, turning her entire body round and round, trying to see beyond all the trees in the forest. Trying to see if she could see anyone or thing inside the darkness.
""Have you not suffered enough? Do not fight, come with us. Come with us and be with the one you so desperately long for.""
The wind... it suddenly began to blow.
The forest that seemed to be devoid of everything but trees was now coming alive. Now she could hear leaves rustling in the wind, she could feel it blow through her hair, picking it up and dropping it. She could hear the sound of cricket and night birds calling now.
Then suddenly, in the darkness, a light was slowly growing from empty air. The light was growing bigger and bigger, slowly taking shape...
The shape of a man.
Neriah’s hands that were up defensively gradually came down to rest by her side. Her feet were slowly moving, taking her toward that bright light,""W_who are you?"" She asked again, but this time in a calmer tone, a dreamy tone.
""We see your love for him. Fear not, he holds no grudge against you. Come princess, your beloved awaits you."" The voice was saying.
With every word, Neriah moved closer to the light figure, as though she was being pulled by an invincible force. ""Truly?"" She asks, her mind and body temptingly falling prey to the soothing peace and calmness that the presence of the light figure was bringing her.
""He holds no grudge? And I can see him again?"" She smiled as she asked the question, a fool’s smile. A smile of a bewitched person.
""Yes my love,"" his voice sounded in her ears through the light figure, he was shining so bright, she could not see a face, but she knew that voice
She knew it was Barak, the damned souls had whispered it into her ears, telling her he was the one she wished to be with and she had fallen for their whispers, ""Come, and we can be together for all eternity.""
His hand stretched out to her, ""Take my hand and we can be together forever."" The voice came again. It was the voice of her husband. That was what the whispers were saying to her.
""Barak? Is that really you?"" She asked again as her hand was already reaching to touch his own.
""Yes my love, now take my hand. Hurry and come into my—"" All of a sudden his words stopped, and Neriah flinched as she realized there was a sword right in the center of the head of the light figure... A sword in the figure she believed was her Barak.
""NO!!!""