Origin of an Arbiter: Part 3

JP with Omni and Lorem:

When Voah’s head tilted high enough, Gonyaul could see her eyebrows contorted with mental anguish. She continued weeping into one hand while uttering unclear words and she reached out to him with the other.

No sooner did Gonyaul meet her hang then she had her arms wrapped tightly around and quaking.

“It’s my fault!” she went on. “Maja. Please! Forgive me!”

She buried her tears in Gonyaul’s neck and his eyes didn’t escape a flood of their own. He held her close until she settled.

Her eyes wandered, as if struggling to recall or purposefully avoiding the memory of what occurred next.

“Time… disappeared…”

Then her eyes flashed back to his, she swallowed and she tried to continue.

“There was a commotion and… my Maja was… screaming my name… I was on the ground suddenly… next to the old, bleeding, dying witch… and Maja was standing between the others… there was so much blood… on everyone…

They wrestled a dagger from her hand… and then she was… being strangled by the man… I was screaming… and the only word Maja could say was… run! So I did! Never faster… a sudden fog had obscured the area… no doubt by the witches… I tried to warn the convoy… but I couldn’t stop… I couldn’t stop crying… and Dah sent me to stay with Kliis while he and some of the others went to the tower with the dogs…

The witches fled… and her body was brought back… but I wasn’t allowed to see her…”

She paused and covered her mouth with her hand as if she feared to hear her own words.

“Later… I had to ask what a husk was… because that’s all they said was left of her…”

She buried her head into Gonyaul again for a moment before continuing in a whisper and sniffle.

“She saved me… but it was all my fault... I should have listened… I never listened… It should have been me…”

She gritted her teeth and beat her fists gently against him until there was nothing more to give.

Maybe now Gonyaul could finally understand why Voah was so triggered when magik was involved…