Endless Rain
Part 43: Dangerous Secret
© Blonde Teraesa

Moyasu scrambled to her knees from where she'd fallen, awestruck at the room she now saw before her. The Sendo man who was silent before, now screamed as he knew his voice would finally not be ignored. His feet ... his feet are turned to stone! Moyasu screamed in her head, struck silent with fear as the robed Tiko villagers who were conducting this little crime against nature gathered around her, blocking her view of the room. And with them towering over her, silent, she found herself unable to do anything but crawl back towards the door which now lay beneath her feet, well aware that one day SHE might be brought to this room.

"You little wretch! We give you freedom to roam the village and you disobey the only rule!"

One guard bellowed as he grabbed hold of Moyasu's injured arm and yanked her to her feet. The pain registered, and Moyasu winced back to reality, finally finding her voice again as she was pulled out of the room.

"How can you do this! What right do you have! By what right!"

"We have every right. He was sent to spy on us, and now he will pay the ultimate price. Death."

"Not like this! That isn't ... that shouldn't even be possible! You're all evil!"

"Quiet!"

A quick twist of the arm got Moyasu to comply as she was dragged along, not finding her footing until they were back on the main path and the guards slowed their pace. Wild fear kept Moyasu silent as the guards took her past the house where she was being kept.

"Where are you taking me! Where! Leave me be! Take me back to my room! Stop! STOP!! I want to live!"

She shrieked, now beginning to fight the guards as they took her to another house and knocked on the door. She continued to make a general spectacle of herself until the door opened and she noticed who was standing there. It was Inoe, the woman she'd spoken to the first day she awoke in this village. That was a good sign, wasn't it? She was the one who seemed to make the rules about where Moyasu could and couldn't go, so maybe now that she'd seen what she'd seen, Inoe would explain why the Tiko were turning humans into crystals?

"The Chi girl found something she shouldn't have seen, Inoe. She's your responsibility. Deal with it. Just know that the counsel will hear of this."

Without even waiting for an answer, the guard roughly pushed Moyasu towards the open doorway and turned to leave, taking the other guard with him.

"Oh Moyasu ..."

Inoe began, shaking her head in disappointment and directing her newest guest to a seat at her kitchen table a few steps within the room. Moyasu complied silently, hoping that this was a good sign, though she never could tell with Inoe. She was an interrogator, so she had ways of fooling even the best instincts. That is, if she needed to.

"Moyasu, why ... it took a lot to prove to the counsel that you weren't a spy. Why ..."

Moyasu lowered her head as she watched Inoe pace across the kitchen, visibly concerned. Then she lowered her eyes to the wooden surface of the tabletop as Inoe sat across from her.

"What were you trying to prove by this?"

"I ... don't know."

"Then why did you do it!"

"I wanted to know what you were hiding! A-and now I know ... and it scares me."

"Mo--"

"How could you do this to living, breathing people! How! I hate the Sendo like no other, but I would never wish such pain on one of them! Such ... atrocity ... ABOMINATION!"

"Moyasu, you have to calm yourself."

"Why!? You're going against nature! You're turning PEOPLE ..."

Moyasu couldn't even complete the sentence, tears were already forming at the edges of her eyes as the face of the Sendo in such agony returned to her waking mind. Killing a Sendo was different. Death should be swift and honorable, not torture. The Chi blood within her screamed with hatred of the Tiko for the perversity, but Moyasu bit her lip in an effort to keep her anger restrained. Inoe was her only hope of getting out of this tribe alive. She had to keep Inoe on her side.

"By what morals can you cause a human being so much pain, Inoe ... how."

Tears were forming in her bright green eyes, now darkened with the heavy burden of knowing of such a great sin as the Tiko were committing.

"We call it alchemy, Moyasu. We exchange one thing for another of equal value. When a spy is found, they are put to death. It's the way of all the tribes. We simply found a way for the spies to be of much more use to us than just sullying our ground with their blood."

"You call that an excuse!?"

"No. But we've come to believe that Afrain has given us alchemy to survive. With the crystals we create, we have been able to survive and grow wealthy ... we're able to protect ourselves. Alchemy is all that keeps us from certain death."

"You can't expect me to--"

"I don't expect you to do anything, Moyasu. But I must warn you not to pull that stunt again. I'll try to convince the counsel that you were playing and didn't know what you saw. I'll tell them that, but you have to keep your part and behave yourself."

"I won't!"

"You will if you want to leave this village alive, Moyasu. I'd already arranged for your release before this little fiasco ... if only you'd kept to yourself. Now it's likely they won't let you leave without a permanent."

"A what? What do you mean ... your people stole all my things and you expect me to believe you were EVER going to let me leave?!?"

"Yes, we were. We needed the illusion so you would confess, if you had anything to confess. All your things will be returned to you on the day you leave."

"Then what is a 'permanent.'"

"Someone assigned to travel with you, to be sure you never speak of what happens in this village to anyone. They're under orders to kill you if you reveal anything, along with everyone you tell, no matter the age."

"Wait ... you're assigning someone to follow me? For how long?"

"The rest of your life, probably."

"WHAT!?"

"Don't worry. They know they will be leaving everything they know and everyone they love behind. They volunteer because it's a high honor, protecting the secrets of our village."

"That's not the point, Inoe! I'm a loner, I don't DO partnerships ... especially not with someone who's MISSION is to kill me!"

Moyasu had stood to make her point clear, but quickly sat again as Inoe gave her a stern glance. It reminded her of when her mother spoke with her, how they would sit at the kitchen table and discuss what Moyasu had done wrong and why she wouldn't do it again. Inoe had the exact same look in her eyes as her mother did when she was angry, and something told Moyasu to be quiet and listen this time.

"Do you think they LIKE leaving their family and friends, Moyasu? Do you think it's EASIER to be sent away from home, never to return? Do you think it's NICE to be ordered to kill someone? You have no choice in the matter, child. Someone will volunteer, and you will learn to accept it. He will watch you and send word via a bird on your good behavior at every full moon, or we will send scouts to find you. We take our secrets very seriously, Moyasu ... and you just found one of our most sacred."

"I ..."

"Welcome to the family."