17: The first murder

Kalista rushed through the willow forest, looking behind her occasionally to make sure she wasn't being followed. The path to her home appeared lonelier than usual and it sparked a flame of fear in her mind, propelling her to move faster so she could return to Jade on time.

A part of her wondered why Jade didn't come with her. Jade had proven to her that he would do everything to protect her, thus why didn't he go with her to get her late mother's trinkets? Did he have a reason for it?

Pushing the thoughts away from her mind, she hurried through the grassy path and walked up the stone steps that led to her home. Pain and anguish threatened to take over her as she remembered again that her mother was gone. The villagers had come earlier to bury her mother's dead body, carrying out the final rites according to their tradition.

There wasn't much to find in the cottage that now lay ruined and abandoned. Kalista quickly made her way to the secret section in the hallway where her mother