“Edgar!” his Mother's voice called from the house, and he stiffened.

  “What?” he called back, knowing the inevitable. If he were lucky, he’d get off with just a lecture and perhaps a spank. On a bad day, he might have to do Hanna’s chores. He let out a sigh of annoyance. Mother was so unfair.

  “Come and see me, please!”

  Please was a nice word, but when his mother used it like that, it was anything but nice. She only used that voice when he had done something wrong.

  With a hung head, he pouted his way into the kitchen.

  His mother stood with her hands on her hips; like Hanna, she had light gray skin. Her white hair, hurriedly braided this morning, was already starting to unwind. Thin and gaunt, dark spots under her eyes hinted at her long hours working her many jobs. Flour covered her threadbare apron, yet as far as Edgar was concerned, she was the most beautiful woman in the world.

  “Come here.”

  He skulked up to her, unable to bring himself to make eye contact. It was so unfair. She grabbed a small stool and set it before him. “Sit.”

  Edgar slumped onto his seat. His mother let out a sigh as she nudged a bucket in front of him with her foot and seated herself.

  “Edgar.” She lifted his chin, making him look her in the eyes. “I am disappointed. You know better.”

  He pulled away, refusing to meet her eyes.

  “Talk to me,” she pleaded. “You’re nine years old now. That means that you are a big boy, but you have been doing some bad things. This is not like you. What’s the matter?”

  A lump swelled in his throat and he struggled for words. “I don’t know,” he sniffled.

  She held the still bird in one hand for him to see, some of its blood staining her slender hand. “You are a Loga, and Logas are not bullies.”

  “It’s just a bird,” he muttered. “I didn’t mean it. It was an accident.”

  “And Niklas?” she asked. In the other room, he could still be heard crying.

  “It’s his fault,” Edgar grumbled. “He shouldn’t have told on me.”

  “Edgar,” his mother sighed, “Niklas respects you. You are his hero. He doesn’t want you to do something you would regret.“

  “He’s too little to have thought about all of that,” Edgar huffed.

  “You would be surprised at what level of care little children are capable,” she said. “Do you care about helping me?”

  “Of course!” he said quickly. What kind of question was that?

  “Edgar, I need you to protect your brother, not hurt him. That’s what brothers are for.”

  Edgar looked away again. She was right, of course. He had just been so jealous. He had always been the baby, and had had so much more of his Mother’s attention until his pink-skinned brother came along.

  “Edgar, you will always be my brave mouse, but you don’t have a father. I need your help.” She rubbed her dark eyes, coughing weakly. “I need you to be the man of the house. Can you do that for me?”

  The weight of her request lay heavily on him, yet he swelled with pride. He nodded. “Yes. I can be your man.” Edgar thumped himself on the chest. “You can count on me.”

  “And you will protect Niklas?”

  “Yes.”

  “And you will be nice to Hanna?”

  “I promise.”

  “That’s my little Loga.” She smiled. “No,” she corrected herself, ”that’s my big Loga. Come here.” She pulled him into an embrace, and he squeezed her tight. She smelled like flour, sweat, and faintly smoky from the bakery ovens.

  “Are you going to say sorry to Niklas?”

  Edgar nodded.

  “That’s my boy—my man.”

  The noon bell tolled out from the tower, five times as it did every day—only this time it was different. Something was missing. The streets had gone silent. At the time Edgar had been too young to understand the public unrest his mother had shielded them from.

  The bell rang as it always did, mocking the peace that the community enjoyed with their Relrin neighbors, promising that everything was okay. When the fifth chime sounded as if on some signal, Sharderin life as they knew it —Edgar’s life—changed forever.

  The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  Screams broke out from the street as his mother bolted to her feet, eyes wide. “Edgar, get your brother and sister!” she commanded as she hastened to bar the door.

  Edgar spun and rushed to gather his siblings. His mother’s voice disturbed him, but he didn’t question her.

  Hanna ran into the kitchen, holding Niklas.

  “What’s happening?” Hanna cried, her wide eyes constantly flickering to the door. The unseen chaos in the streets outside continued.

  Banging shook the front door. “Open up, Corpse, or we’ll kick it in!” a rough voice barked.

  “Children, to the garden!” Edgar’s mother cried as she took Niklas from Hanna and grabbed Edgar by the other hand. She pulled him through the back door into their walled garden. There was no gate leading to the streets, and the walls were high. There was no chance of climbing them with Niklas.

  She pulled her children over to the gutter that ran underneath the wall. The entire Shargar territory was built on a mountain range and required large water channels to manage severe seasonal weather. The splintering noise of the front door being hacked to pieces sounded behind them.

  “Go!” his mother cried. Edgar scrambled under the wall through the gutter. He was well-practiced. He regularly used this route to sneak out and play with his friends.

  Next came Niklas. Edgar pulled his little brother through, his eyes wide, but the child seemed more confused than scared.

  Edgar’s heart raced as he heard men's voices on the other side. They had broken the front door and were going through the house. Hanna pulled herself under the wall. It was a tight fit.

  “In the back!” one man shouted. His mother's head and shoulders appeared as she tried to climb through.

  “In the gutter!” a voice cried.

  “Get her!” another commanded.

  Mother’s face went pale as she became wedged in the gutter, which was barely large enough for the children to squeeze through.

  “Come on, Edgar, help me pull!” Hanna cried.

  Edgar and his sister each took their mother by a hand and strained as hard as their little bodies could manage.

  “Go on!” Mother cried.

  “No! We aren’t leaving you!” Edgar cried. He didn’t notice the tears running freely down his face.

  Suddenly, by some miracle, she was free. Mother scrambled to her feet, tearing her skirt at the calf as she did so.

  “Let’s go!” Edgar cried.

  His mother screamed as a dirty hand reached through the gutter hole, snatched her by the ankle, and started to pull her back in.

  Without thinking twice, Edgar leaped into the gutter, landing on the arm with both feet. “Let go!” he shouted as he frantically began kicking the hand. The man cursed and let go of his mother but quickly, without warning, snatched him by the ankle.

  “Edgar, no!” Mother screamed.

  Edgar was quickly pulled back through the hole and found himself pinned to the ground, staring into the faces of three Relrin men, pink skins, with gruff faces painted black with charcoal.

  “It’s a boy,” one of them grumbled disappointedly.

  “Do we kill ‘em?” another growled.

  “No. Only females!” the third reminded them.

  “Get after ‘em,” the first said, suddenly ignoring the boy completely.

  “I’m not gonna fit through that hole.”

  “Don’t worry! Someone else will git ‘em; let’s go to the next house.”

  “What about the boy?”

  Edgar sat up and spat into the face of the man nearest him. The man recoiled in disgust, and a new livid fire entered his eyes. Edgar’s throat went dry as he realized then that he was dead.

  The man wound up and struck him.

  Edgar’s head rapped against a rock, and everything went black.

  Edgar woke in the garden. His head throbbed and he glanced around, confused. Then he remembered. The men were gone, but the shade of light-pink light in the sky cast by the sunset meant that several hours had passed.

  “Mother?” he cried weakly, the garden walls swaying as he sat up. Waiting several moments, he realized he would get no answer. He looked at the gap under the wall. “Mother!”

  He crawled through the trough, anxious and scared, as he surveyed the alleyway.

  “Mother …?”

  He saw a group of figures huddled in the shadows. “Mother?”

  “... Edgar,” Niklas’ weak voice called.

  “Niklas!” he cried as he rushed over to him. The small boy was sitting beside Mother and Hanna, both sprawled on the cobblestone and motionless. Trickles of blood ran between the bricks into the gutter.

  “Mother! Mother! Hanna! Wake up!” he cried as he threw himself on them. The lifeless bodies were cold. He was young, but he understood what that meant.

  “No.” he croaked. “No!” His heart wrenched, and tears welled up in his eyes. He looked at Niklas’ blank stare. Edgar realized then that Niklas probably didn’t understand what had happened. He sat with them as though they were taking a midday nap.

  Why was Niklas unharmed? Was it because he was half Relrin? It didn’t matter. “Niklas,” His voice was weak but also calm.

  “Edgar?”

  “Let’s go.”

  “But Momma, Hanna…”

  Edgar looked at his mother’s lifeless eyes and remembered his promise.“They are sleeping. Let’s go play. My friends are waiting for us.”

  “I don’t want to.” Niklas looked sadly down at their mother and sister. Maybe he understood more than he let on. Niklas was either hiding the fact remarkably well or he was still in shock.

  “Niklas, I need you to be brave! Can you do that for me, little Loga?”

  Niklas looked at him with pleading eyes. “I don’t want to.”

  “We have to. We need to find help.” Edgar extended his hand, but he couldn’t stop shaking. “Will you come with me?”

  Niklas looked down at Hanna.

  “I am going to take care of you, I promise. But I need you to come with me.”

  Niklas looked at Edgar and then at his hand. He reached out, and Edgar pulled him up. “Let’s go.”

  Edgar pulled him away into the streets, the roads silent but full. Gray Sharderin men walked down the street, down the mountain in droves. Men of all ages made the silent trip without a word. Pink-skinned Relrins armed with swords, clubs, and anything that could be used as a weapon lined the streets on either side. They watched as their defeated rivals abandoned Shargar, the city they would no longer share. Perhaps the cruelest thing was that the Sharderin men walked over the bodies lying on the cobblestone road, most of which were women and girls.