Sulphur & Lightning Chapter 22: 021 - Don't Cast Me Aside

Read chapter 22 of Sulphur & Lightning by anaugustauthor on NovelPedia.

Things fall apart. Sometimes, they fall apart suddenly. A young girl sat in her father’s lap, hearing stories of what was promised to her. It was beautiful and unbelievable. The next moment, he had her in his arms atop a mountain. He told her that everything her eyes could take in was hers. Everything. Yachit woke up in her bed. She didn’t recall getting there. Julnan must have brought her. She was parched. As though summoned by the thought, a glass appeared at her lips. She swallowed instinctively, finishing it in a moment and reaching out for more. Three glasses in, she finally took a break and lay back on her bed. “You pushed yourself too far.” The familiar voice shocked her out of her stupor, and she sat back up like a bolt. Busa shook his head and pushed her back down. She found herself unable to resist and leaned back, closing her eyes. “Julnan told me about what happened,” he said after a while, “there was no need to go that far over a sparring match.” She hesitated for a while. “I wanted to show you…” “Show me what?” “That I’m not useless.” “By injuring yourself?” he asked with some amusement. She sat back up at this, irate. “By getting stronger!” He looked at her evenly, not saying anything. “I was this close! I was at the edge of something.” “At the edge of what?” he asked. She didn’t answer and instead lay back down. Tick. Tick. Tick. The ticking of the quartz clock mounted on the wall told her that it was already after midnight. “How long have you been here?” she asked, not looking at the object of her question as her lips protruded in a pout. “What does it matter?” “You’re very busy,” she said simply, “you don’t have time to waste on me.” “You’re right,” he replied, making to get up but stopping as he caught her glare. “Kidding… I thought you were sulking.” She didn’t dignify his words with a real response and instead snorted her indignation at him, turning away completely. “What am I going to do with you?” he asked himself. The weight on the bed from his switching seats made her hyper-aware of him, and she didn’t speak for a time. “Don’t… cast me aside.” Her voice barely reached his ears, but their effect was still piercing, and his eyes widened at them. “I don’t understand.” “You’re replacing me!” She was standing on the bed now, bearing down on her master. He didn’t speak, but watched her with interest, his eyes tracing a circuit across her entire figure and then settling on her face once more, still taking in her features deliberately as though she were a stranger. Red energy formed in her palm and exploded just as suddenly, shaking the room like thunder. “Say something,” she said, tears forming in her eyes. “Wasn’t this what you always wanted?” he asked quietly. “You’ve always wanted your freedom,” he continued, “even I can see that.” Her mouth opened for another one of her quick replies, but the expected words didn’t make an appearance. He pulled out a handkerchief from his breast pocket and dabbed it on her moist cheek. “Get some rest.” “Amazing,” a certain giant said again, this time in the presence of a rather tall, grey-haired man. The pair had a calabash of palm wine between them. “I can scarcely believe it myself,” he said, the glow of his skin suggesting intoxication although he only drank water from a personal flask, declining his master’s many attempts to share some of the sweet beverage. Despite this alcoholic imbalance, the pair found themselves jovial beyond belief, the taller man exclaiming “amazing” every so often before drinking from the bowl once more. The night grew deep, but their enjoyment wavered not even in the slightest. “This… you know it’s only beginning, don’t you?” Cardinal nodded his head before walking to the window and staring into the night. The streets were alight with Red Crystal gas light, which burned its orange-red and rescued its surroundings from the night. In times past, the moon and the small hurricane lanterns each household kept close would be the sole illumination an