Vengeance Upturned

Vengeance Upturned - Chapter 16

The map dangled from Etta’s trembling fingers.

“You have what?” Emerald said, disbelieving Etta’s implications.

A hand on her shoulder, Etta glanced back at Adric, her eyes wide, uncertain.

“Let me take that?” Adric said in a soft, calm voice.

Etta nodded and let Adric pry the silken cloth from her fingers. He carried it over to Emerald while she and Goran cleared the table and made space for the map. They stared at it for a few moments, and Etta stared at them. She still couldn’t believe it. All this time, the reason they were attacked and her brother killed was right underneath her fingertips.

Oh, Papa!

“Blessed be Iriya for gracing us with fortune,” Emerald said, breaking the stunned silence.

Etta shook her head and blinked away unwanted tears. This could be the first proper lead to her brother’s murderers and she needed to keep her composure. She couldn’t afford to be emotional; she could deal with that later, now they had to figure out the map and what to do next.

Scraping her teeth over the scar, Etta balled her fists as she narrowed her eyes. The tears, unwanted, she pushed back with the rest of emotions churning inside of her, boiling.

She would make them pay!

Striding toward the desk, she noticed Goran sketching furiously, copying the map. She fought off the urge to snatch back the map and head out to deal a vengeance of her own, but Navinya’s words and the promise she made to Emerald helped her reign in the impulse. Now was not the time to be reckless and thoughtless as she usually was. It was time for change.

Etta sided up with Adric. Somehow she felt most comfortable around him, as if she had known him from before, a kindred soul even though at times he seemed cold and calculating… No, cautious. Etta could understand that.

Everyone’s eyes were on the map but Adric looked up as she approached. Eyebrows raised, his forehead scrunched. Etta gave him a short, quick nod in return and his gaze drifted to the map again.

“Something doesn’t seem right on this map,” Emerald spoke up.

Goran paused in his scribbling, his eyes still on the map. “What do you mean?”

“See, this should be Pisinum, right? And here’s where the temple’s supposed to be, two days of ride away—”

“I see it! I think I know what you mean!” Goran said as he looked up with a triumphant smile. He had everyone’s attention as he pulled up another map they had just been perusing. “Here.” He pointed to a marking of a small village called Arnea. “See, it’s not on this old map, probably wasn’t even there yet all those years ago. It’s a fairly young village.”

“Ah, I see now… Alright, that must be it. It’s closer to the temple as well, a day’s ride away,” Emerald said.

“Aye, probably a great starting point to scout out the situation,” Goran agreed and Adric nodded along when Emerald cut her gaze to him.

“Also,” Adric spoke up, “Might as well check out the situation in Pisinum, since it’s so close. They were probably hit hard by the crawlers and those foghounds.” He turned to Etta again. “You said your mother was from Pisinum, do you still have family there?”

Etta shook her head. “We’ll have to destroy that map once all of this is over,” Etta added. “Destroy the ruins, seal it shut and hide it well… no one should be able to do this again. And we WILL stop them. We’ll kill all the monsters even if it costs me my last breath. And I won’t hesitate in killing anyone keeping the map for themselves, understood?” Etta cut her cold gaze across features of the people surrounding her, her hand tightly fisted on the table. Her back tingled again, the familiar burn, and Etta could only imagine Navinya’s proud but mischievous smile.