‘Do you think Laynah will find Muredin?’ Kyell asked but was actually afraid of the answer. Sentinella had a comforting smile: ‘There is nothing Laynah can not find, my boy. The only question here is in what state he will be when she finds him.’xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

That last bit was less comforting actually. Kyell wondered what Laynah would do when she found Muredin. Those things that attacked them still ran shivers down his spine. He wished Malika was there with them, she was never afraid. Their mother seemed so far away. Every day new things happened and it all got so confusing at this point. Ileya took care of their mother as best as she could. At first he didn’t trust that wild woman, but after hearing Kildur say she was likely the best healer he had ever seen, he was less sceptical.  Leki sensed his thoughts, and she shared his worries.

They had been staying in Sentinella’s house for two days now. She took them with her in the city.  They weren’t walking together however. Sentinella first explained the children the way they should be taking, than she let them walk in front while she would stay behind as a stranger. They only joined up when they reached their destination, which could be anything from one of the customers in the perfumery to the bakery, or merely a statue of interest, or a special building like town hall. Today it was a little park, children playing and people letting their dogs out. It all seemed so peaceful. It wasn’t, not as soon as you scratched the surface.

’Stay here till I am back children. Don’t leave the park, under any circumstance.’ Sentinella turned around, put her scarf over her head again and walked back down the street they just came from.
Kyell and Leki were a bit uneasy at first, but soon they realised they had been alone in much more dangerous places than a little park before xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />noon. Nevertheless, they didn’t feel much like playing carelessly as the other children were doing. Malika, their mother was fighting a deadly disease, Muredin had risked his life to save theirs and now Laynah went after him alone. They felt guilty jus for being in a park, let alone play in it.

Leki walked amongst the plants and flowers a bit, never out of line of sight. Kyell just sat there on the bench. He found some distraction in analysing how every plaything was created, but it all was too easy for him. No challenging mechanic was used.

A young couple in love came sitting on the same bench as Kyell. They were all cuddling and hugging, and she was chirring like a little bird. Kyell was very uneasy with their presence, to say the least. Still he didn’t simply get up. The boy from the couple, a man hardly in his twenties if that old, looked over the girl’s shoulder and laughed. ‘Oh Missy, I think we may have intruded on someone’s privacy again!’ The girl looked behind, giggling. She had the deepest blue eyes Kyell had ever seen. The young man held out his hand to Kyell: ‘Please to meet you good sir, and sorry for disturbing your worries. My name is Kexon, jack of all trades, master of more…’

Was it really that obvious Kyell had been worrying? While he shook the stranger’s hand, he questioned himself. It wasn’t like him to reveal his thoughts that easy on the outside. After all his sister Leki was enough of a mind reader to make you feel naked al the time anyhow. He decided to play his cards: ‘I wasn’t that worried, more interested in how all those complicated playthings over there work.’

Kexon smiled: ‘Why not go try them than, that will surely give you a much better view on their functionality. Proof of the pudding is in the eating, and all that, you know.’

‘I’m not the adventurous type.’

‘Than you should have brought a book…’
’Left it at home. A rather fun book with lots of drawings in it.’

‘A shame my friend. Maybe next time you should ask your father to bring it to you.’

This stranger Kexon mentioning his dad alarmed Kyell even more. He raised his left hand to his knee, fingers open. One of the signs he and Leki came up with for situations where they best not talk directly. This sign meant: beware! He tried not to give in to looking in Leki’s direction. He had to trust blindly that she would notice the sign in time.

‘I’ll ask my father when we get home, but I’m sure he will tell me I have to look after my own things.’

‘You would be surprised how much a father sometimes looks after his son, without you even realising it.’

Kyell didn’t bite. ‘Guess so.’ was all he uttered, as unimpressed as he could.
The girl with the blue eyes stood up. ‘We better leave this gentleman alone Kexon, I think we have disturbed him enough.’ She had a high pitched voice, a bit playful. Kexon seemed to stand up, but in fact he bent over the bench a bit and took out a curved dagger. With the sharp point he carved a little heart in the bench. He shifted the dagger to his left hand and stretched out his right to Kyell. While they shook hands again, he let the dagger turn through his fingers. Missy sighed giggling: ‘He’s such a show of, never mind him.’ Still she kissed the carved out heart just before turning around.

Kexon paused a moment and than turned to Kyell: ‘You would do best not to linger around here too long, after all you have a visitor at the house.’ Kyell gasped, for a second he lost his defenses there.

As Leki came running to him, asking who these people were, Kyell saw Sentinella walk over to the entrance of the park. Had this Missy actually seen her coming this much in advance? This couldn’t be it had to be a coincidence they left at the exact moment before Sentinella would see them. Kyell tried to answer Leki’s questions but he realised he couldn’t tell her much she could use. Sentinella came over to them, and immediately understood something had happened. She listened and took a deep breath. ‘Too clean for the sewers, but that means they are far more dangerous. Let’s head home children, and see what visitor we are supposed to have waiting for us.’

Sentinella stayed right with them on the way back. Whoever this Kexon and his girl were, they would surely not be fooled by those few yards in between them. They entered by the back gate again. Upon entering Leki looked back and saw Sentinella nod at the plants on the walls. She could have sworn she saw the ranks move. Not that this surprised her: Leki had felt all along these plants were guarding the house like a watch dog.

‘Do you think they can enter this house sentinella, I mean if they are really dangerous as you say?’

‘My dear girl, if anyone, or anything was able to enter this house without my consent, they would have done so ages ago.’ She smiled and added: And to be perfectly honest: I’ve been hoping for years someone would actually try.’

The fountains and the pond all seemed very lively as they passed, Leki noticed the water being extremely cold. Something she had observed by the very lady of the house herself: the way her skin felt cold on the touch, whenever she was cautious or alarmed.

Sentinella checked the house but it was truly empty. No uninvited guests had arrived at least. The shop door was open as always, but she hang a sign at the door, saying ‘Do come back another time.’

Still, the little silver bell rang, albeit a bit more feisty. Sentinella put her cup down, Leki saw how the tea in it formed a thin layer of ice that very instant. It didn’t stay long, but it had indeed been frozen in a split second. Still Sentinella appeared careless as ever as she made her way to the front. ‘You can take the afternoon of, my assistant, surely you deserved it’. Now Leki was really worried. So was Kyell. With the sign on the door of the shop this couldn’t have been a customer. They had a visitor, just like Kexon said they would.

The seconds ticked all too heavy. Both children were unsure whether to hide or go help. Eventually they heard Sentinella come back, chattering with another lady. They entered the salon and Sentinella said: ‘Children, I think you have already met Shaandra in the village? She has word of your mother: her condition is stable, Ileya is keeping her alive the best she can. But other problems have arisen. Not for your mother. For you.’