Those who stayed behind on the cliff stared blankly into the bottomless darkness of the pit, then at each other. The evening wind howled, carrying away the faint echo of Zyra’s fall.
Michael was the first to break the silence. He spat on the ground and cursed loudly. "I cannot believe that bitch actually jumped! Is she insane? She really chose to throw herself off a cliff than be with us!"
Clifford shivered, peeking over the edge before quickly stepping back. "She has to be dead. There is absolutely no way anyone survives a fall like that. It’s an endless drop into the Wild Lands. The rocks alone would smash her to pieces. The beasts will have her for dinner."
Lita’s lips were trembling violently, her face pale as a ghost. She wasn’t crying for her foster sister, she was crying for herself. "What am I going to tell my father? He strictly instructed me that Zyra must stay at home! Everyone in the village saw us chasing after her, and now she is dead! We are going to be in trouble." She looked at the three young men around me, hoping one of them could come up with a clever idea. "What if my father returns with a solution? We will be given a death sentence for killing a Soul maiden! That is death by a thousand cuts. I can’t die!"
Shane sneered, crossing his arms carelessly. "Why are you whining about such a small thing? I give zero fucks about Zyra. Hans is dead too, remember? That crazy slut murdered him in our presence. She got what she deserved."
"And she chose to commit suicide; we did not kill her." Clifford added.
Michael inhaled deeply, rubbing his temples. Of all the people in their group, he always considered himself the most intelligent.... the true brains of anything they set out to do. He looked sharply at each one of them, his voice dropping into a low, threatening hiss. "Listen to me carefully. We were never here," Michael stated firmly. "If anyone asks, Zyra ran off. We chased her, but we lost her trail after we got to the road leading to the old copper mines. Got it?"
The men looked at each other and nodded frantically. But Lita didn’t respond quickly.
Micheal grabbed her shoulders, digging his fingers into her flesh. "Got it? If you are not with us, I will shove you down right now. You and Zyra can compete for Hans ghost in the underworld."
Lita squeezed her eyes, nodding vigorously. "Got it. Got it. We were never here."
Micheal let her go, smiling smugly. It was a perfect plan. The mining town was in the exact opposite direction from this dreadful cliff. If they pointed the blame over there, no one would ever think to come looking for her here. Even if they did, the wind would have long erased all traces of them.
"Not that anyone is going to care about a missing disgraced soul maiden." Shane said with a cruel laugh.
Lita suddenly pointed a shaky finger at Hans’s car.....the one Zyra had used to get here. "What about the car? We can’t just leave it here. It is evidence.....right?"
Michael nodded, a sinister smirk forming on his face. "Watch this."
He walked over to the vehicle, reached through the window, and shifted the gear to neutral. "No car, no evidence."
With a collective shout, Michael, Shane, and Clifford put their shoulders against the trunk and pushed with all their might. With a loud groan of scraping metal, the car tipped over the edge, plunging into the dark abyss after its former driver.
CRASH!
Crash!
The distant sound of exploding metal echoed from deep below, over and over, and over. It was almost as if there would be no end to how many stones it would crash into before being dismantled. After a minute, they couldn’t hear anything.
Michael clapped his hands together, brushing off the dust...and his sins with a satisfied grin. "There. All traces of Zyra are officially gone. Let’s go back now."
The group returned to the Frood family home, walking into the courtyard like nothing had happened. Michael leaned close to Lita one last time, whispering, "Remember the story. The mining town. You look like you are about to piss in your pants. If you ruin me, I will kill you in a more brutal way than those knives you are afraid of."
Lita blinked, her expression instantly turning perfectly blank. "What story? I don’t even know what you’re talking about, Michael. To me, what happened to Zyra is a memory that has already been completely wiped from my brain."
But their timing could not have been worse. Just as they turned their backs, Samuel Frood had returned....and he was not alone.
Walking beside him was Mayor Logan Spegger. This man had served as the Mayor of Concordia for fifteen whole years. He was a tyrant who had made very powerful, dangerous friends to keep him in power, even fraudulently rigging the last two elections just to stay on his throne. Beside the Mayor trotted his giant half-life beast, a three eyed wolf. A terrifying beast with mismatched, dual-colored eyes and one red one on the forehead that glowed faintly in the dark. Some people called the wolf a demon.
"What is the mayor of the capital doing here?" Lita whispered to herself mostly. She crossed her fingers, hoping it was nothing to do with Zyra.
The moment the servants and guards saw the mayor, everyone bowed low in the square, offering their utmost respect. The air became heavy, suffocating.
Mayor Logan stopped right in the center of the square. His sharp, calculating eyes swept over the small crowd, studying the terrified faces of the people gathered. "Where is the girl?" he demanded, his voice like grinding stones.
Samuel smiled nervously, pointing toward the main house. "Ah, Your Honor, she must be around here somewhere. The servants are keeping an eye on her."
Lita folded her lips tightly, her clammy fingers trembling against her dress. Her heart hammered against her ribs as her father turned to a nearby maid and barked, "Go! Bring Zyra Scorpion out to greet the mayor!"
Before the maid could move, Mrs. Munch stepped forward, wringing her hands in absolute panic. "Sir... Zyra is not there! My baby girl is not here! She is gone; my Zyra is gone."
Mayor Logan’s eyes narrowed, laced with deep confusion and growing rage. He turned his fierce gaze onto Samuel. "What do you mean the girl is not there? Samuel, you swore to me that you would watch her like a hawk! That was the reason your family was chosen to give her shelter. Your one job was to ensure that Zyra Scorpion lived until Resonance Day."
Samuel froze, completely bewildered. Since he had been away for half of the day, he had no idea what kind of circus his house had turned into. He turned to Mrs. Munch, his voice cracking. "What do you mean she’s gone?! Speak clearly!"
Mrs. Munch wailed, covering her face. "I was told that she ran away, Master! If only I had been here to stop her! She just took her bag and left! The Grand elder said she cut ties with the clan. I am telling you, she is gone."