Thorns & Wildflowers

tinued to buzz. The illumination flickered erratically, stre

es drying into a dark, brittle crust that felt rigid under his touch. Eve knelt before him, her knees still pinned against his. Their fingers were hook

go," sh

he

et ma

dark smudge lined her left cheek from some forgotten scrape, and a speck

ow

y n

abrupt emptiness hollowed the space between them

ound; a few fresh drops of blood welled from the laceration, tracing down the seam of his trousers to strike the tile with a soft splat. His lips were

ere ruined, caked in dark fluid, and the bunched-up hood

Let'

efully to avoid jarring his abdomen. Eve trailed closely behind, stepping precisely where his boots ha

ained unresponsive, trapped between unconsciousness and death. One lay face down, his fingers twitching o

by a low, suffocating canopy of clouds. The wind blew hard, tightening the skin of their faces. The air

exposing her collarbones. As the wind pressed the thin fabric flat against her frame, her shoulder blades protruded

s stiff, stained with dry blood, but it was f

wallowed her entirely, leaving her hands to drift inside the

ch w

he

ere a

An abando

we go

ed to his left, her gaze fixed forward, yet she stayed close enough that their elbows nearly brushed. Occasion

d for twen

the peak, the iron crucifix hung askew, tilting severely to one side, held only by a rusted chain that creaked in the wind. Wi

ssive breach tore through the roof of the nave, allow

er

ea

anctuary was silent. The windows had been boarded shut with heavy timber, leaving only narrow slats where thin needles of light pierced the gloom.

off the hollow rafters, one slow strike at a time. S

's no

N

bind it o

a cluster of wild vines-withered, dry, and tangled so tightly together they had fused into

ill be o

blackened by decay, and still bore the brittle remnants of d

Alri

and handed one to him. It was weightless in his palm, leavin

er me," she

pressed against its surface; the wood wa

Ev

to be my

ter wha

d. When he spoke, his voice dragged low

ter wha

k the dead briar and coiled it around his ring finger-one turn, then two. The wood had drie

e, a dead flower, buried in gray soot. His skin was

er fingers were spread wide, her na

large, making the movements clumsy. He wrapped the wood around her ring fing

er, its dried petals already half-shattered by his touch. She

n," she w

ered the dark, catching her shoulder. She was swathed in his oversized co

Ca

s voice vibrated thro

u to be

ter wha

ble dissolved i

mouth twitched upwar

the movement rippled outward in vast waves. The dry soil split open, and white wildflowers forced their way through the ruptured earth. Their petals were thin, newly bloom

tide rolled from the church threshold down to the val

her head, observing the white expanse fo

stomach s

'll l

y tapping the withered vine bound

t los

at the matching b

eit

ered no

ays bore out from the marrow of his bones, carrying the sting of a blade. This was a gentle, spreading warmth that seep

ridges of the curse markings felt warm to the touch. Previously ice-cold, the l

hand over his he

Noth

s continued to bloom in silence, the

vy buzz. He pulled it out; the screen displayed an unrecognized

was ancient, scraping

g mas

the device, the edge of the ph

legacy. It is t

d continued to whistle throug

idn't rush him. The line hun

ho is

rnational. We operate under yo

inger scraped against the case, and another pi

atche

t meet h

ing onto the vast, unbroken field of whi