Page 28 of Sinful Curses
“She could be lying,” another one whispered.
“I’m telling the truth,” Sahira said. “The journey is dangerous, but Belda’s town is out there.”
“They didn’t arrive here like we did,” another brownie whispered. “We saw them climbing the mountain. They came here a different way.”
“We entered this Cursed Realm via portals of our own making; they led us to Belda’s town. I’m assuming you opened a portal intothistown,” Zeth said.
“Yes,” Puth answered. “We were looking for a place to hide from the ghouls invading our realm. This is what we discovered.”
CHAPTERTWENTY-FIVE
Orin didn’t blamethem for hiding from the ghouls. He’d never encountered the flesh-eating monsters before and was happy to keep it that way.
“We have no idea what became of our families,” another one said.
Sahira’s sound of sympathy caused Orin to roll his eyes. These little, violent cheese eaters didn’t deserve any compassion.
“There is a brownie realm,” Sahira said. “I’ve never been there, but I’ve heard of it. I don’t know when it was established; it could be the realm you all left—”
“Doubtful,” Puth interrupted. “They had destroyed most of what remained of it. Many others fled before us; we were some of the last to flee their wrath.”
“Then your families still exist… somewhere.”
“How long have you been here?” Elsa asked as she and Zeth walked over to join them.
Their towers had dispersed and now trailed them.
“Some of us have been here for almost three hundred years,” the brownie before Sahira said. “The rest were born here.”
“Shit,” Zeth breathed while rubbing his bald head.
As he spoke, more brownies emerged from the ground. Some of them came forward while others hung back, watching.
Most of those who hung back were around two or three inches tall and clearly children as they clung to their parent’s legs. One woman held something so tiny in her arms, Orin could only tell it was there because she rocked back and forth with it.
Regret over kicking the one tugged at him, but he buried it. He hadn’t kicked a kid, and the one he booted didstabhim, so it deserved to take flight. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.
“And you’ve been in this town the whole time?” Elsa asked.
“We can’t leave here,” Puth said. “The mountains are difficult enough to traverse, but the desert beyond….” His voice trailed off as he placed his hand against his forehead to shade his eyes. “Some have tried to cross it, but they didn’t get far.”
“Did they make it back?” Sahira asked.
“Two did, but two others went out, and we never saw them again.”
Orin pointed in the direction they hadn’t explored yet. “Have you tried going that way?”
“We have. We’ve tried going all the ways, but it’s all mountains except for the desert. We didn’t make it far into those mountains.”
“So, there could be something else out there,” Orin pressed.
Puth shrugged, and the other brownies all looked at each other. “Yes, but we’ve never found it.”
They hadn’t found Belda’s town either, so that didn’t mean anything.
“It’s hell out there,” a woman said. “I went into the desert, but it’s no place for a brownie.”
“Have you seen any other immortals here? We’ve had some leave our town who have never returned,” Zeth said.
