

Ardius Twins

* Pieces of Five *

by

M.J. Piercey

To my husband and daughter.

The names, characters and places portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

Smashwords Edition

Copyright © 2019 by MJPiercey.

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the author.

'I fear for Edon, the Spiritons are many and still search for the pieces, but they are not the only evil to fear from, if Sorceress Keeva is still alive, she still has power. Watch for the purple clouds; heed my warning.''

Contents

Prologue

Chapter 1...Abby

Chapter 2...Land of Edon

Chapter 3...Akira of the Hunter's Clan

Chapter 4...The Stone and the Book

Chapter 5...Akira

Chapter 6...Torgul

Chapter 7...Two Moons

Chapter 8...A True Hunter

Chapter 9...The Butterflies, the Deer, and the Bad Men

Chapter 10...Luken

Chapter 11...Niyu

Chapter 12...Travel Companions

Chapter 13...Abby and the Eagle

Chapter 14...She Looks like Me

Chapter 15...Sisters

Chapter 16...Family

Chapter 17...Tryodytes

Chapter 18...The Lessons

Chapter 19...Keeva

Chapter 20...The Hunter's Secret

Chapter 21...Betrayal

Chapter 22...The Fight

Chapter 23...The Keepsake and the Kiss

Chapter 24...Orlah

Chapter 25...Remembering Mother and Father

Chapter 26...Seeking Revenge

Chapter 27...Finding Torgal

Chapter 28...The Dream

Chapter 29...Protective

Chapter 30...The Wicked take Shelter from the Rain

Chapter 31...Trust

Chapter 32...The Taltorn Mountains

Chapter 33...Trevina

Chapter 34...Things are not as they Appear

Chapter 35...Piranus

Chapter 36...Rydan

Chapter 37...The Warning

Chapter 38...Delicate Feathers

Chapter 39...Disheartened

Chapter 40...The Warriors of Taltorn

Chapter 41...Loss

Chapter 42...The Isle of Adore

Chapter 43...The Spark

Chapter 44...Getting Married

Chapter 45...Hope

Chapter 46...Master Maelor

Chapter 47...The Book of Spells

Chapter 48...Doesn't Anyone Knock?

Chapter 49...Cripet

Chapter 50...The Void

Chapter 51...Jealously

Chapter 52...The Right Decision

Chapter 53...Building an Army

Chapter 54...My Sister

Chapter 55...Snow

Chapter 56...Belinos

Chapter 57...The Battle

Chapter 58...The Shell

### Prologue

Liam cursed at the vile beast running in the night shadows of the tall trees; he didn't have time to deal with it, but he had no choice, the blood thirsty tolverine was going to attack. Kicking his horse wildly with the back of his heels, he raced through the patchy mist, following the trail up to a small plateau, and stopped. Cradling the small bundle to his stomach, he carefully dismounted. Drawing his sword from his waist, holding it straight out in front, his heart raced as he waited under the silver light of the moons. His ears perked up at the sound of snapping twigs when the lizards rushed out from the underbrush, their claws clicking as they scurried up the rough bark of the trees. As if on cue, the squealing nighthawks joined the chorus of insects resonating in the tree tops, diving near to the ground, swooping back up to catch the insects from underneath. The revolting odour was immediate, making him gag, his watery eyes searched the shadows surrounding him; he could handle one or two, but a pack would be the end. Growling, the large wolf-like beast stepped out from hiding, its black mane rose, making it look twice its size, its hot panting breaths puffed out into the cool air, its hairy snout wrinkled back, curling its upper lip off its long sharp teeth, and its bright yellow eyes glared with hunger. The tolverine took a shaky step forward, lowering its head. Liam's legs quivered, but held his stance as he slowly loaded his sword to his left side. The beast charged, wildly barking and snapping its jaws, leaping in the air at him. Gripping his hilt tighter, he waited, allowing the beast so close drool splashed his face before whipping his sword upwards, ripping through thick fur, slicing across the tolverine's chest. The beast yelped and collapsed to the ground, dying. Liam immediately turned to face another one slowly circling him. He stabbed his sword into the ground, reached up to his neck to clutch the small stone hanging on a leather string, and closing his eyes, he chanted a spell. He felt the heat rising as the stone glowed in his hand, and ripping the necklace from around his neck, he tossed the stone. As the flying ball of blinding light distracted the tolverine, he grabbed his sword, lunging forward, he sunk his blade deep into the beast's neck. Retrieving the dim stone, he scanned the forest. Convinced and grateful that there were only two tolverines, he mounted his horse. Hearing the distant sounds of heavy hooves cutting the ground, made him look to the stars to gain his bearings; it would be safer to travel by day, but he couldn't risk being caught. Tucking the bundle into his partially opened shirt, he slapped his horse into a fast gallop.

Reaching the forest of Elowen, Liam stopped his horse and slid off his saddle. Standing in the middle, he turned in a circle to view the three pillars made of black granite, standing twenty-feet high and each placed in the corners of a triangle carved into the bedrock. Anger filled him when he thought about the betrayal that separated him from his loved ones. A small whimper drew his attention down, uncovering the blanket, his heart melted at the sight of the soft blue eyes peering up at him. He gently traced his finger around the side of her small chubby face; she smiled. "It's all right Little One, we're almost there." He rocked his baby gently.

He looked up to view the brilliant full moons advancing across the night sky, the first moon, bright silver filling a quarter of the sky like a distant mountain with the much smaller moon, the color of a ember in a flame following behind. He sighed; it would be a long time before he would see them again. Tears filled his eyes, wondering if Mesa was looking up to the same moons. He clutched the small stone in his hand. "I promise you, I will protect her with my body and soul, right down to the last beat of my heart," he vowed. "In sixteen years we will return. Until we meet again, be safe my wife. I love you." Heartbroken, he cuddled the baby and stepped into the unknown to disappear.

## 1

### Abby

The broad trees were odd looking, with large knots that looked like angry wrinkled faces trapped inside a smooth grey layer of bark. The trunks stood on tall roots that pushed their tree tops high into the sky, branches bending and curling downward as though the wide green leaves were too heavy to hold up, and like snakes, the roots coiled upward around its base to flow over the branches, dangling back down to the ground.

The white crow flew between the trees, ducking and weaving, cawing as it searched the unfamiliar forest. Resting on the highest branch, it spotted the nearby village.Without warning the crow was knocked off the branch, briefly tumbling in the air until making its way back to the tree. The leaves vibrated when the wind howled, and rushing up from the ground, the wind attacked the crow again, making the bird spiral out of control. The crow tried to fly toward the village, but as if guarding, the wind circled above, diving down, slamming the crow to the ground, the angry wind lifted the stunned crow, flinging it deeper into the forest away from the village. Flapping its wings madly, the crow shot up into the branches to escape the menacing wind.

With heavy legs, the dark haired girl darted into the forest, dead leaves crunched under her feet as she ran between the enormous trees, pushing her way through their rope-like roots dangling from above, demanding her body to run faster to escape. She took a panicked glance over her shoulder to see if they were coming, but misjudging her stride, a low root snagged her foot and she crashed to the ground. Heaving for air, she rolled over onto her back.

Her blue eyes, sparkling like tiny sapphires looked up to an opening in the tree tops to watch the dark clouds cover the faint outline of the crescent moon. She listened to the gentle sounds of birds chirping and the rustling of leaves, other than the beating of her heart, everything seemed peaceful and calm. Maybe I lost them, she thought. With dry leaves clinging to her long messy braid, she sat up to poke her fingers through the hole in her tattered leather pants to view the blood on her scraped knee. Her eyes shot up to the sound of shouting. Unable to run anymore, she grabbed onto a hanging root and pulled herself up into the crotch of a tree trunk to hide.

She heard them stop on the other side of her tree. She bit her lower lip, held her breath, and clutched at her chest, hoping they couldn't hear her pounding heart. Hearing them leave, she gasped for air. After quietly lowering herself down the tree, she leaned over with her hands resting on her bent knees, taking in long deep breaths. She rolled her head to the side to view the path to safety. Her body jerked when she heard a voice.

"Good try, Abby. We're going to make you run in fear every day. You're going to wish you were never born."

Abby didn't need the persistent bully to tell her what to wish for, as she already wished it long ago. She released a long sigh as she straightened her body to stand before a tall six-teen-year-old tomboy and her fat little brother, two years younger. Every day, just as they promised, they made Abby's life a living hell.

Abby was almost sixteen and her appearance was a bit rough. She wore a stained white cotton shirt, her oversized leather pants were riddled with holes, the thin rope tied around her waist helped to keep them up, and it wouldn't be long before her toes popped out of the breaking seams of her worn out tanned shoes. Under the dirt and worn clothes she was a pretty girl with raven black hair, an oval shaped face, skin slightly tanned and clear, rosy lips, thin eyebrows, and long dark eyelashes that circled her striking blue eyes. She was average height, her body slender and nicely curved in all the right places, and her muscles were toned from her long days of working the harvest fields.

"You ugly-hag." The mean girl grasped the front of Abby's shirt, pushing her back against the tree. She held out her hand. "Where's my gold piece?"

"I don't have any. They give my pay to the Browdins."

She roughly searched Abby's clothes. "You better get me a piece of gold by tomorrow or I'll beat you black and blue." She spat on Abby's shoes.

Abby cringed and closed her eyes at the sight of the loading punch; her head snapped back from the quick blow to her mouth, splitting her bottom lip, the little brother was next, punching her in the stomach. Clutching her stomach, she collapsed down to the ground gasping, curling her body into a ball, and moaned in pain. Hearing them laugh, her watery eyes opened to watch them walk toward the village. She didn't want to move and thought maybe if she lay there long enough the ground would swallow her up for good, ending her misery. Giving in, she rolled over onto her back, sprawling her arms and legs out. Coward, she called herself. A vision of her father popped into her mind, she clenched her fists. "How could you leave me alone?" Tears streamed down her face as her heart ached for him.

Movement her caught her attention, making her blurry eyes blink at something gliding above her, it was white and shimmered in the patchy sunlight; it was beautiful. She stretched her arm upwards as if trying to touch it. Hearing it caw, she realized it was a bird, a white crow with eerie pink eyes. It startled her when it dove down at her, flapping its wings wildly, hovering a few inches above her head, making her cover her face with her arms. She heard the wind howl, and feeling it rush by, she peeked out between her arms; the crow was gone. Still a bit dazed, she slid her tongue across her throbbing lip to taste the blood. There has to be a better place than Cairndow. What else is out there? She rolled her head toward the direction of the warning stones. Her mind suddenly fell blank at the sound of rain drops tapping the leaves.

Cairndow is a world of its own, hidden within the Land of Edon and for reasons unknown the people living in this small disconnected world are kept from knowing that any other place exists. Consisting of only one village, a wide river curves around the two large harvest fields and disappears into the depths of the grey forest, it's a place that never seems to grow or change other than an occasional birth or death, the same people day after day, and visitors never seen. The weather is mild with occasional rains, the sun rises and sets daily as expected, and the never changing shape of the small crescent moon travels the sky, glowing brightly along with the twinkling stars. Before, she never had reason to wonder about life beyond the borders, but of late, she found herself questioning her life in the place she no longer felt in her heart as home.

The dirt roads turned to mud in the heavy rain. Clutching her holely shoes to her chest, Abby ran barefoot, splashing through the deep puddles, making her way to the village to find shelter. She rushed by the forty small cottages, clustered together with rickety shacks and holding pens for animals. Many of the homes were mixed with shops that supplied baked goods, butchered meat, tools, clothes, and other needs for the small village.

Wet and cold, she ducked into the stable to wait out the shower. She squeezed the water from her hair as she watched people run from the fields. In spite of the rain beating down on the leaky roof, a dog slept in the corner, the content horses chewed on hay, and the old stable-hand sat on his chair gnawing on the end of his smoking pipe. She smiled, but he said nothing and continued to stare at her. Grabbing a handful of hay, she held her hand up to the nose of a brown horse and smiled when the large lips rolled across her hand to gather up the hay.

Hearing the rain slow, she peeked out the stable door, seeing no one, she ran to the cottage at the end of the main road. A thin haze of smoke slowly rose above the crumbling stone chimney, the full green moss glistened on the roof top, and hardy vines climbed the grey wood walls of the single-levelled shop. Through the front dirty windows, only the glow of the lanterns could be seen, and a barely readable sign dangled precariously by one chain above the door; Lieven's Books—her safe haven.

She shoved on the warped wooden door and frowned, her attempt to enter unnoticed was spoiled when the little gold bell hanging on the door jingled, alerting the owner. Stepping inside, she was greeted by the familiar smell of musty books and the scent of peppermint tea. Mr. Lieven took a sip of his tea as he glanced over the top of his glasses. Dripping water on his wood floors, she held her hand up to cover her lip as she swiftly walked by him, passing by books and scrolls neatly lining the shelves along the walls, making her way to the back where more books were roughly stacked in tall columns on the floor. As she sat at a table with her hand over her lip, she found herself thinking about the strange white crow. Her body jerked, releasing her from her trance when she felt a blanket drape over her shoulders.

"Well, now, shall I ask why you are dripping on my floors? Or maybe you would like to explain the fat lip first?" It really wasn't hard to figure out the answers, but he was a bit annoyed by the puddles left on his floor.

She looked up at the beautiful ornate pin under his right arm that held the overlapping fold of his long white robe closed. She marveled at how he was able to keep the stark robe so clean. As always, his arms crossed his stomach so his hands could tuck into his wide open sleeves. He was tall and slender with a clean long face, narrow violet eyes, small round lenses with wiry frames rested on the tip of his nose, shoulder length grey hair curled behind his ears, and straight sideburns stretched down to his jaw line. Abby had known him most of her life, but really knew nothing about his life other than he was a gentle man and owned the bookshop. He had always been kind, especially after her father's death. She sheepishly averted the man's questioning eyes.

Mr. Lieven placed a tin container on the table, sitting down next to her, he pulled her hand away from her lip. Pushing his glasses up, he leaned in for a closer inspection. "Only a small cut. You'll live. May I ask what happened?"

"It was nothing, just a misunderstanding."

"Misunderstanding by you or by the one who hit you?" He plucked a piece of leaf from her hair.

She shrugged her shoulders at his question. He opened the tin container, taking out a large flat stone, a small round one, and placing a thick green between the stones, he mashed the leaf into a paste. With a bit of paste on his finger, he gently touched the cut on Abby's lip.

"The healing plant will help it heal faster. You know, if you don't stand up for yourself, you'll be running forever."

She gave him a fiery glance. "What's the point, when I stand up for myself I only get knocked down again."

"It's your choice, but your father would have wanted you to protect yourself."

She gave him a slight nod and watched him clean the stones. "How come no one leaves Cairndow?"

Her question surprised him. "Why would anyone want to leave?"

"Don't you ever wonder what is out there?"

"No."

"Have you ever left Cairndow?"

His eyes glanced away from her. "No."

"No one comes or goes. Isn't that strange?"

"Why the sudden interest in leaving?"

"I don't know. Familiar questions keep popping into my head. I swear I have asked those questions before."

He sat quietly for a moment and watched a sudden look of forgetfulness cross her face. He smiled. He counted the days in his head, and rushed off to his desk, returning with two packages. "It's almost your sixteenth birthday. I think I will give you your gift today." He placed the small package wrapped in cloth on the table in front of her.

"Thank you, but you didn't have to."

He nodded for her to open it. She carefully unwrapped the cloth to find a silky blue scarf folded inside, she smiled with delight. "Thank you, Mr. Lieven." She pulled out the long scarf, holding it up so the other end rolled out to the floor. She wrapped it around her neck two times and ran the ends through her hands to admire it. "It's beautiful. Thank you so much." Her eyes jumped to the bigger package slamming down on the table in front of her. "Another gift from you?"

"This gift is not from me." He waited until he had her full attention. "It's from your father."

Her face expressed surprise and confusion. "I don't understand."

"Before your father died, he gave this to me to hold until your sixteenth birthday."

Shaking her head in disbelief, she picked up the package, her heart raced with conflicting emotions of excitement and sadness. Slowly unwrapping the brown paper, her eyes widened at the sight of the dark green leather bound book. "Why would he do this and why would you keep the book from me for so long?"

"Your father's reasons were his own and as his friend I obliged."

She ran her fingers across the thick cover to feel the neatly engraved patterns. The book was different than any other she had ever seen. She studied the title, but the letters made no sense. When she opened the cover the spine made a crackling sound, and the sharp smell of the stale yellow pages offended her nose. She thumbed through the pages. What language is this? Each page was decorated with beautiful scroll work, green vines swirling around dainty blue and yellow flowers, the book was full of small drawings of plants and trees, carefully drawn in the finest details. She stopped at a page with a simple hand drawn map, it was easy enough to decipher what were mountains, rivers, and trees—she was intrigued. "Do you know anything about this book?"

"No, but I do know this book meant a lot to him. He did say that in time, you will understand."

Though she was unable to read the words and it left her with many questions, she loved the strange book and clutched it lovingly to her chest.

2

### Land of Edon

The slight movement of cool air carried the mist down into the dark valleys, making the layers of mountains look as though they were floating on air. Filling the briefly calm night, the ghostly veil drifted into the Orlah Forest, caressing the scaly bark of the ancient pine trees.

Fleeing in fear, Torgul continued to slap his horse with the ends of his reins. He turned his ear to listen, but couldn't hear anything over his horse's heavy snorts. Unable to see too far ahead, low branches whipped his body as his horse weaved between the trees. He shouted out in pain when a thin branch scraped across the old scar on his forehead; he clutched his mouth with his hand, hoping he wasn't heard. He pulled on the reins to slow down, and reaching the edge of a shallow creek, he stopped to allow his sweaty horse to drink. Feeling it ache, he rubbed his scar. "Bloody horse!" Distant howling overlapped the familiar sounds of nocturnal life pulsating out of the darkness. Without warning but in unison, the creatures of the night strangely fell silent. Torgul's heart leapt to his throat when the spine-chilling screams broke through the stillness. A startling flutter of small birds burst out from the underbrush into a flight of panic, slapping him in the face and nearly knocking him off his saddle.

The night pressed on him as he waited alone. It only seemed like a moment ago that the towering trees shielded his face from the bright sun and cheerful birds sang him songs, but the sun was gone and the same forest that gave him comfort turned on him. His heart raced at the sight of eerie shadows darting between the trees, lurking and stalking their unsuspecting prey. His face scrunched up at the foul smell steaming up from the hidden swamps, near the same stench as the breath of a dragon. In the direction of the screams, he watched for the red eyes of death. He tried to lick his cracked lips, but there wasn't a speck of moisture in his stale mouth. The fear was far worse than the guilt that gnawed at his insides, making him thankful he was not with the dying. Feeling his stomach turn, he swallowed hard—this was not the way it was supposed to happen.

The screaming stopped. He strained to hear the sounds of life, but only heard the sounds of tiny bones crunching in the jaws of the winged lizards as they swooped down to snatch up mice scurrying across the ground. "Is it over?" His eyes darted to his escape route, the District of Elowen wasn't far; the trail beckoned him, he wanted to go, but he needed to know.

When the two moons reached their highest point, he gave his horse a hard kick, but his horse whipped his head with disapproval. He kicked harder, forcing his horse to carry him back to the place of death.

His ride back was slow and agonizing. Stopping, his shaky hand drew his sword from the metal scabbard at his waist and quickly scanned the surrounding area, hoping he wouldn't find the red eyes peering back at him. The glossy blood pulled his eyes back to the five bodies lying on the ground. He slid off his horse and taking a deep breath, he approached. By the looks of their wounds the attack was vicious and beyond extreme. He knelt down, placing his sword on the ground beside the torso of a young man with terror still captured on his face; he closed the man's eyes.

Hearing the distant barking and howls, he knew it wouldn't be long before the tolverines would pick up the blood scent, but that wasn't going to stop him; it had taken him over sixteen- years to finally have the chance to claim a 'Piece of Five.' He moved to an older man with white hair, and peeling back the blood soaked shirt with his fingertips, he searched the man's body. Not finding the stone, he hissed a curse. Leaning over to pick up his sword, he gasped with fright when a bloody hand shot up and grabbed his throat to choke him. He looked down to see the accusing eyes glaring up at him; the man with white hair was still alive. He frantically peeled the fingers from his throat. "I will help you, Rolic. Rest now," Torgul whispered to the dying man. With no intent to help, he anxiously waited for the man to die.

His wait was interrupted by the distant sound of hooves thumping down on the dry ground. He led his horse into the shadows to hide. Watching from behind a tree, he struggled to focus through the annoying mist. A black horse emerged, carrying a hooded rider dressed in a rust brown leather cloak, hauntingly statue-like, but not as tall as a Spiriton. There was no mistaking that this person was some sort of warrior. A long sword in a leather scabbard hung from the left hip, a shorter sword in a metal scabbard was slung over the back along with a small crossbow in a leather holster, and the quiver hanging on the side of a saddlebag was full of short arrows. The black horse was brought to a rough halt.

Like a ghost, the unusual looking white crow sitting on the rider's shoulder caught his attention. Its pink eyes looked his way, taking flight the crow landed on a branch not too far from him and started to caw. Panic rushed him as he crouched lower into the shadow; the bird was going to give him away. The rider snapped an angry fist up into the air to silence the annoying bird. The crow cawed and flew up into the night sky. The rider swung a leg over the backside of the horse to reach to the ground, and with ease manoeuvred the already loaded crossbow into a ready hand.

Torgul's heart pounded harder when the hooded stranger knelt down to the white haired man. Surely, he must be dead by now? Sweating profusely, he rubbed his stinging eyes. He quickly calculated how fast he could rush in and surprise the warrior, his own skills as a swordsman were limited, but maybe he could get the upper hand. He decided to chance it and stepping forward, a dry twig snapped under his boot, though small, a twig breaking in the stillness of the forest might as well have been a crack of thunder echoing off in the mountains. He cursed, but before he could look up to see if he was heard, an arrow streaked by his ear and sank into the tree next to him. His legs shook with fear as he stumbled to get to his horse. Jamming one foot into the stirrup, he pulled himself up, swinging his lagging leg over the horse's backside, and as soon as he sat in the saddle an arrow grazed the side of his neck; he howled in pain. Holding his neck, he kicked his horse hard and leaned into the gallop. Fear grabbed him when he glanced over his shoulder to see the black horse cut through the mist with eyes wide, nostrils flaring, snorting hard at the chase, and carrying the rider with an aiming crossbow.

## 3

Akira of the Hunter's Clan

The old village of Killeen sits in ruins with the skeleton remains of stone homes and burnt buildings, slowly being consumed by the ground of overgrowth and persistent vines. The village was abandoned long ago to escape the Spiriton's violent and unmerciful night raids. Living in fear, the people built their homes underground, passing through a series of tunnels to seek protection from the evils of the night. With daylight as their only relief, they struggle to survive in the unsettled Land of Edon.

The morning sun reached the top of the Taltorn Mountains, spilling its warm light down the mountainsides and into the District of Killeen. A blanket of light followed the dirt road heading into the misty village among the tall pine trees, inching its way over large grassy mounds, scattered throughout the forest. As the heat from the sun warmed the cool grass, the mist faded, and life emerged from the underground dwellings. Like ants pouring out of an anthill, the villagers of Killeen popped out from the grassy mounds to ready themselves for the day. Children played with their wooden swords while women socialized and prepared the morning meal, the men soon dropped their chores to follow the scent of smoked meat cooking on the open fire.

Jorin climbed up out of the shaft to stand on the grassy ground, scratching his thinly cut beard. He tucked in his soft tanned leather pants into his tall boots, buttoned his long sleeve shirt closed, and swung the strap of the deer hide satchel over his shoulder. The seventeen-year-old ran his fingers through his blonde tousled hair, stretched out his toned arms, and his tall strapping body took in a deep breath of fresh morning air. About to exhale, he grabbed his stomach after the hard punch, wheezing and trying to suck in more air.

"Good morning, young Healer," a cheery voice bellowed.

"Tum..." Jorin coughed. "Tumble, please don't call me Healer."

"Ah, but you will be the Healer one day...Healer Jorin," he said proudly to his friend.

The muscle-bound man with freakish strength of three men towered over Jorin by a foot and a half. In case anyone was watching, especially young women, he ran his fingers along his thin line of a beard, and whipped the end of his long red braid around his thick neck. With a big grin, he flexed his bare arms to show off the shape of his bulging muscles. The nineteen-year-old was handsome in a large size and the girls flirted with him daily.

"Nice haircut. You sure like to show off those big ears of yours," Tumble joked.

Feeling the need to retaliate, Jorin rushed at Tumble, wrapping his arms around his waist to wrestle, but little movement was made. Tumble leaned down, grabbing Jorin by the ankles, pulling him up to hang upside down.

"Ah, good opponent, but strong you are not."

From upside down, Jorin took a swing at Tumble, but missed. Tumble held Jorin higher and shook him. The bottom of Jorin's leather shirt fell onto his face, and his leather satchel opened up, releasing his notes and plant samples.

"You win, you win, as usual, Tum," Jorin said, feeling depleted.

Tumble's pudgy nose wrinkled when he released a deep belly laugh. In one quick motion he dropped Jorin to the ground, grabbed his shoulders, and hauled him up to stand on his feet. "Ah, you need more lessons on swinging the sword to help build your muscles. You will never get muscles pulling up healing plants and brewing potions," Tumble roared, puffing up his barrel shaped chest.

Jorin gathered up his papers. "Yes, Tum, so you keep reminding me, but one day you might need me to heal you, so be careful."

"Ah yes, I do get this nagging itch on my ass." Tumble complained. Dropping his pants, he bent over making a nearby group of young women gasp in shock. Grinning, he winked at them; they giggled.

"Stop that!" Jorin pushed him aside.

Not far from Jorin, Sal and Rin readied themselves for a quick target practice before heading out to hunt for food. Tall and lanky, Rin gathered up his long blonde hair, tying it into a ponytail. He quickly drew his bow and shot an arrow into the trunk of a tree. He pointed, challenging Sal to hit his arrow.

Shorter and a bit broader, with a bright smile gleaming through his thick black beard, Sal spun around at his brother's challenge. "No problem." He blew on his two-sided axe for good luck, swaying it back and forth over his shoulder to line up his aim.

The two nineteen-year-olds are brothers, but born from different mothers. Rin was born with no voice and fearing she had been cursed, Rin's mother abandoned him, leaving him to die. Sal's mother found Rin nearly dead and nursed him back to health. The boys were raised as brothers, they did everything together, even chased the same girls. Even though Rin's handicap hindered him at times, he was treated like everyone else. No matter how many times their hotheaded rivalry ended with painful blows, their brotherly bond never broke.

The smell of burning embers filled the air when the blacksmith stoked his fire. He wiped his sweaty forehead with his arm as he waited for the charcoals to glow bright yellow-orange. He pulled the red-hot iron rod from the charcoals and placed it on the anvil. His brawny arm swung his heavy hammer down on the end of the glowing rod, sparks burst like fireworks, metal clanged in a rhythmic pace as he bounced his hammer with every strike. He jammed the rod back in the charcoals, crouched down to scoop a cup of water out of the bucket, and holding the cup to his lips, he glanced up. Surprised, water dribbled down his chin as he viewed a black horse with a well-armed hooded rider. His eyes instantly followed the white crow when it flew out from between the trees to land on the rider's left shoulder. He looked back to find a face, but it was hidden under the dark shadow of the hood. He cautiously stood. "Can I help you?" The unfriendly rider said nothing. The blacksmith took a quick glance for his sword, but it was too far away and he would never reach it in time, he spotted his hammer, not far from his reach. His mind raced as the wait. His knees buckled when a blood-curdling scream broke his concentration.

"Brogan...Brogan!"

Hearing his name, the startled blacksmith ran out from under his shelter, searching for the source of the frightening sound. Brogan found his mother kneeling and wailing, not far from the stranger's horse. He grabbed her shoulders, still searching for the cause of her scream. Too hysterical to talk, she pointed up to the backside of the black horse. He followed her pointing finger, colour drained from his face leaving him pale and faint. He slowly stood up to the blood-covered horse, shifting its stance from the extra weight of the body it carried. Lying on his stomach, straddling the back of the horse was a white haired man, covered in deep cuts, almost unrecognizable except for the leather vest with the family crest of a circle and three swords etched into the back; it matched the symbol on Brogan's dark brown vest. Horrified by the sight, he swallowed hard when he turned the man's head to the side. An ache in the pit of his stomach almost brought him down to his knees. "Father," he barely whispered, as he touched the side of his father's face.

"It's Rolic!" Tumble whispered to Jorin.

Sal and Rin ran to Brogan's side.

Brogan's disbelieving eyes jumped up to the hooded rider. "Who did this to my father? What happen? Who are you?" he blurted out too fast for any answer.

The villagers surrounded the black horse, demanding an answer as well. The horse danced nervously, making the people step back. When the rider pushed back the hood, the crow took off to land on a branch. The noisy crowd went from sudden gasps to shocking silence.

"It's a girl!" Jorin broke the silence.

The crowd erupted into loud chatter at the sight of the female rider. Surprised, Brogan raised his eyebrows, but was still waiting for some answers. Jorin stood up on his toes trying to see the girl.

"Jorin! Get the Healer," Brogan yelled.

"The Healer is not here. He left three days ago to hunt roots!"

"Come here then," Brogan ordered.

Jorin grabbed his leather satchel and ran to Brogan's side.

"Is there anything you can do for my father?"

"I'm only an apprentice, I'm not the Healer." Jorin reminded him and waited for a reply, but none came.

Now closer, Jorin wanted to sneak a quick peek at the rider. His eyes glanced at the horse's head and nonchalantly moved across to the girl. Although haunting at first, he thought she was beautiful. The fresh-faced girl briefly glanced down to him. He guessed her age to be about sixteen or seventeen. Dark as night, her long hair was pulled back into a loose fat braid, draping over her right shoulder, she wore a rust brown cloak tied at her neck, a shapely leather vest peeked through the opening of her unbuttoned tanned shirt, and her soft leather pants neatly tucked into her high boots. His green eyes climbed back up to her soft creamy complexion, the gentle curves of her rosy lips were mesmerizing, and he met her stunning blue eyes. She pierced him a disapproving look. Startled at being caught, his eyes jumped back to the bloody body. His legs felt weak, he had never seen so much blood; he swallowed hard and played with the idea of throwing up. He placed his shaky hand on the sticky face. The body is cold. Feeling no pulse on the side of the cold neck, Jorin swallowed the lump in his throat; there was nothing he could do. Brogan watched Jorin's face for any signs of hope.

The impatient rider forced a loud huff of air. "He's dead!" she blurted out coldly.

Jorin nodded in agreement with the girl. Brogan put his hands to his face to wipe his tears. The sounds of horror and disbelief rose to a deafening point. Those not so overcome with grief, wanted answers and moved closer. The girl nervously held her reins tight when Rin and Sal approached her horse to untie the dead man, carefully lowering the body to the ground, making Brogan's mother wail again.

Brogan's heart sank; his father was gone. The blood rushed back into his face from the anger churning within him, clenched fists, he spun around to seize the girl, but before he could even take in a breath of air, she had her long sword against his neck. He froze at the cold steel resting on the side of his neck, following the blade up to her intense glare, he forced himself to swallow. Surprised, he realized she only had the flat of the blade against his neck with her wrist ready to twist the sharp edge over, if need be. He understood her quick and precise move, a position so neither one would make a hasty mistake. He took the opportunity she offered him and backed away. Rin and Sal pulled their swords, but Brogan waved them to lower their weapons.

"Please, we just want to know who you are and what happened to my father," he said, begging for answers.

"My name is Akira of the Hunter's Clan!" She spoke loud and clear to the anxious crowd.

The villagers gasped and whispered.

A lone voice piped out of the crowd. "Hunter's Clan? Impossible! The Clan is dead, wiped out by the Spiritons."

Jorin leaned over to Tumble. "What do you know about the Hunters?"

"About thirty years ago, Master Healer Gamal formed the Hunter's Clan. The Hunters were an elite group of warriors trained to hunt and kill the Spiritons. Only they knew the secret of how to kill the un-killable Spiritons. They devoted their lives to not only kill the Spiritons, but also to protect the 'Pieces of Five.' As a group, the Hunters were strong and almost defeated the Spiritons, but after the death of their Master and no one to take control, the Hunters lost focus and scattered. Some continued their rightful duties and responsibilities to the land, some hired themselves out as mercenaries, while others became a nuisance. Unfortunately, the Spiritons were the cause of the Hunter's demise, hunted right down to the last one. So I heard," Tumble whispered.

Whether Brogan believed her or not, he was surprised that she would announce it so freely as the title no longer held the same regard as it once did. He had only heard rumours about their unsavoury motives, thievery, and betrayal. He believed that the Hunters were nothing but exaggerated stories from the past, but decided to pacify her until he could get more information.

"Akira of the Hunter's Clan...what evil has taken my father? Was it the Spiritons?"

"I do not know how your father died. I heard screams in the Orlah Forest and when I arrived they were all dead," she explained.

"They?"

"Yes, there are four more bodies that..." she stuttered over the shocked crowd.

"What were you doing in the forest?" Sal asked with an accusing tone.

More men closed in. Akira quickly searched for her escape route. I do not have time for this. The trail will turn cold. She calculated how many men she would have to fight before she could escape. "I have no obligation to continue this any further. I have brought one body back and must move on," she stated nervously. Her heart raced, she was ready to take them on, if she had too. The men withdrew when she flashed her sword above her head.

"Samson!" she yelled.

Hearing its name, the white crow took flight. Tucking its wings to its side, the crow dove at the startled villagers. They ducked when the sharp talons reached for their heads. Sal aimed his axe to throw at the crow, but stopped when his brother pulled his arm down. Rin explained with his hands that he would only make things worse. The crow took off into the forest.

"Stop! Everyone quiet down!" Brogan yelled, trying to calm the situation. "Please, tell us where the others are," he begged.

Akira watched the distraught young man, not much older than she. His wavy dark hair lightly rested on his shoulders and a thin light brown beard covered his tanned face. When he squared his broad shoulders it made him look even taller, his powerful shaped arms reached out to touch her horse, his smooth chest, what she could see when his vest partially opened, was bulk with tight muscles rippling his stomach; she almost blushed from noticing. She caught his grieving brown eyes begging for help and soon found herself agreeing. She slid off her horse and poked the tip of her sword into the dirt to sketch out a map. When the men huddled around to memorize it, she glanced over to watch Brogan help his mother wrap a coarse blanket around the body.

He gently wiped the blood from his father's face and untied the bone necklace from around his father's neck. He gazed upon his father's face for the last time, before slowly pulling the blanket up over his face. He bowed his heavy head when two men carried his father away. His mother put her hands to her eyes to cry more. He cradled her in his arms, rocking her, and gently stroking the back of her head. He eased her up to her feet and in a gentle way pushed her into the arms of the waiting women ready to console her.

"Brogan, why were they in Orlah Forest?" Tumble asked, scratching his head.

Brogan shook his head. "I don't know."

Akira couldn't help but feel for their loss, but she quickly brushed her emotions aside to focus on her quest. She slid her sword into the scabbard at her hip and stuck her foot into the stirrup, but before she could hoist herself up onto her saddle she heard Brogan's voice.

"Akira, we welcome you to stay in our village to rest from your long journey," Brogan offered.

"No!" she snapped.

Hunter or not, Brogan frowned at her rude manner. "So, you will risk harming your horse?" He asked with an irritated tone, pointing to the back leg of her horse.

Akira drop her foot back to the ground, she ran her hand down the back leg of her horse to find a small gash. She lightly patted her horse on his backside to calm him as she thought about her situation. He's right...Sable needs to rest. She flashed Brogan an annoyed glance over her shoulder. "I will stay and rest my horse."

## 4

### The Stone and the Book

Leaving Mr. Lieven's shop, Abby flipped through the pages of the green book, her feet instinctively followed the worn path through the forest, deliberately taking the long route home. She heard cawing in the distance. Was it the white crow? Curiosity tugged on her and leaving the path, she followed the calling. She knew most of the forest like the back of her hand, but halted at the edge of the warning stones, a line of head sized stones running off in both directions to create a visual border, a border where her father had always warned her not to go beyond. Stories monsters, evil men, and witches told to children to keep them out of the forest. It didn't look any different than the rest of the forest; she turned in a circle to confirm. The cawing continued to tempt her. Disobeying, she slowly stepped over the border, leaving the other leg behind just in case, holding her breath, she moved her other leg forward, and standing on the wrong side she looked back, waiting for some terrible fate to fall her, but none came. Just stories? She walked deeper into the forest, further than she had ever gone before.

She felt her body tense when the cawing stopped. Her father's warning continued to drum in her head as she searched. The fading light made her look up through the gaps between the tree tops to view the bright crescent moon. It was time to head back before it was too dark. Startled, she jumped back with fright, screaming and waving her hand when the white crow's talons tried to latch onto her shoulder. The crow flew higher, cawing angrily. She turned to the sound of rustling behind her, leaves and debris blew up from the ground, making her step out of the way. The wind swirled up, hitting the crow, making it tumble and roll, another gust followed behind, pushing the crow deeper into the forest, and with a whoosh sound, the crow vanished before her stunned eyes. She searched for the crow, but only found a few feathers on the ground.

Her attention shifted to the wind-devil still whirling the leaves violently in the air. The wind turned, howling as it rushed down, hitting her hard enough to push her backward. Leaning into the wind, she held up her arm to protect herself from the debris stinging her face. Surrendering to the wind, leaves swirled around her legs as she ran, pushing on her back with hard gusts, unravelling her braid, sending her hair up into a whirlwind. Tripping and fighting her way through the hanging roots, she pitched forward out onto the path, falling to her knees, gasping for air. The wind stopped. She looked up through her windswept hair to watch the wind release the leaves, letting them float freely to the ground. She shivered at the eerie calm. Where did the crow go? Why did father warned not to travel deep into the forest? Did Father ever leave Cairndow? But strangely, as quickly as questions about Cairndow crossed her mind they would magically disappear, making her forget.

Standing at the front door of her home, she tucked the book and the scarf up under the back of her shirt. It was a small cottage, two bedrooms, but really only one bedroom as her room used to be the cold storage room. After her father's death almost two years ago, she was forced to live with a cruel and miserable couple, the Browdins. Most times they barely acknowledged her presence, which suited her fine; as long as they weren't drunk. With no mother or other family members to speak of, she spent her days alone; mostly by choice, separating herself from others so she could pull herself inwards to escape her dreary life.

She released a long sigh and entered the cottage. The pungent smell of ale pinched her nose, but it was like that every day. The glow from the low fire cast a yellow haze onto the walls of the dank room, black soot streaked the low ceiling above the fireplace, heavy drapes hanging in front of the cracked windows were pulled closed, and dirt filled the wide gaps between the worn floorboards. The floor creaked as she walked into the living area.

The husband sat at the small rough table with his oversized belly squished up against the edge, holding his fork like a child as he shovelled food into his mouth. As he took a large gulp of ale from his cup, his glassy eyes rose up to view her messy appearance. Ale shot out from his mouth. "What the hell happened to you?" He pointed and laughed.

"You're late, again!" The heavyset woman's voice boomed as she staggered across the room.

"Sorry." Abby's heart quickened; they were drunk. She turned to run to her room, but the woman grabbed her wrist, pulling her back, making her bounce off the woman's fat belly.

"Sorry? I bust my back cooking and cleaning for you and all you can say is sorry?" She swayed. She purposely dropped a plate of food onto the floor in front of Abby's feet. A hateful grin crossed her red fat cheeks. "Pick that up, it's your dinner!"

Abby swallowed as she cautiously knelt down to the floor, slowly turning the plate over, she scooped the food off the floor and onto the plate.

"And another thing, get rid of that filthy cat. If I catch it near here again, I'll skin it alive!" The wife staggered to the table to take another gulp of ale from her large tin cup. "Look at you, you're a mess. Were you in a fight? You look like you lost. Are you not even capable enough to protect yourself? You better not get blood on anything." Ale splashed from her cup. "Apparently your father was incapable of teaching you anything. You're a coward just like your father."

The husband banged his cup on the table wanting more ale. Abby's eyes shifted up to her furrowed brows to watch them laugh. She was used to the cruel remarks about herself, but any remarks about her father would stab her with anger. She didn't think of herself as being a vindictive person, but she hated them, and spent most of her nights wishing some terrible fate would strike them. The one and only time she tried to run away ended in disaster when they found her hiding in the stable. She was brought home to a severe beating, a broken nose and two broken fingers which made her apprehensive about trying again.

"My father was not a coward." Abby stood to confront the woman.

The wife pitched her ale at Abby's face, grabbed her upper arm, dug her fingernails into Abby's skin and whipped her around like a rag.

"You can forget about eating and spend the rest of the night in your room." She pushed Abby to the floor.

Eager to oblige, Abby bolted across the uneven floors to her room, slammed the door behind her and locked the latch. Her heart raced as she listened for heavy footsteps, but thankfully none came. The smell of the ale made her sick to her stomach, making her rush to the basin of water to wash her face.

She collapsed to the floor and rubbed the red fingernail marks denting her sore arm. Hearing them shouting at each other, she shook her head in disgust. She rolled up the small area rug next to her bed and pushed down on one end of a single floorboard so that the other end popped up. From a secret compartment under the floor, she took out a wooden box that belonged to her father. Inside were small trinkets and letters written from her mother to her father before she was born, she could recite each letter by heart, but it never stopped her from reading them again. A small red ribbon fell onto her lap when she opened one of the letters to read.

'My Darling Liam,

I have been counting the days until we reunite. The quest has been strenuous. I must stop and rest as the baby is near due. I will stay with the Healer and see you there. Be watchful of the roads north.

Travel safe, with love,

Mesa.'

She was told her mother had died giving birth to her, and she cherished the letters as they were the only connection she had with her. She begged her father to tell her more about her mother, but he rarely shared any information. She ran the ribbon through her fingers, thinking about how different her life could have been if her parents were still alive. She sighed as she carefully placed the ribbon back into the letter. She pulled out a leather string with a small flat grey stone hanging from it, placing the necklace onto the palm of her hand. She lightly ran her finger around the smooth round edge and across the jagged edge of the broken stone. The piece of stone had no designed shape or beauty, but she loved it because it belonged to her father.

She glanced over to her birthday gift from her father, reminding her that she was turning sixteen tomorrow. Tears filled her eyes. She hated her birthday and had no reason to celebrate it; her fourteenth birthday was the night she was told her father had drowned. Breathing deeply, she closed her eyes, remembering the smell of her father's favourite soap and the sound of his contagious laugh still rang in her ears. She thought about the day he taught her to swim. Don't be afraid, Abby, repeating it until she was swimming on her own. She missed their time together in the forest, learning about plants, and animals. Guilt rushed her; almost two years had passed and she still couldn't bring herself to visit his gravestone.

She lifted her shirt to view her tattoo above her navel. Her finger lightly circled a small symbol of three leaf-like shapes knotted together with a circle hanging from the bottom of the knot. She had the tattoo as far back as she could remember, it was a symbol from her mother's side of the family, so she was told. Not knowing anything about her family was hard and the family symbol became a daily reminder that she was alone. With an ache deep inside her, she curled up into a ball, clutching the stone. I miss you so much.

She glanced up to a scratching sound at the window. Tibby wanted in. The impatient furry friend scratched frantically at the other side of the window. Abby quietly opened the window to let the grey cat in. When Abby sat on the floor the cat was quick to curl up into her lap. Tibby's right ear began to twitch uncontrollably. She examined the ear and noticed a small cut. "Were you in a fight too? I hope you did better than me." She gently scratched her fingers under the cat's chin. Tibby purred affectionately.

The cat jumped from her lap, landing on the wooden box and turning it upside down. Abby reached to turn it over when she noticed something poking out from the lid of the box. She pulled on the corner of the paper hidden under the lid; it was a letter, a letter she had never seen before. Her heart raced at the thought of another letter from her mother.

'My Dear Liam,

I know it is dangerous to write to you, but my heart aches for your return. She will be fourteen soon, wish my baby a sweet birthday. We are well and wait for your return.

With love,

Mesa.'

She could hardly believe there was another letter from her mother. She studied each word so as not to miss any part of the message. "Fourteen? This letter is only two-years old! How is that possible? She died giving birth," she said out loud. "My mother didn't die? It says 'we'. What does she mean...'we'? Who else was waiting? Why did Father keep this from me?" She compared the handwriting to the other letters. She wanted to shout in excitement—my mother is alive! But her excitement was cut short as questions filled her mind. If she is alive, why hasn't she contacted me? Even after Father's death! Why did she leave me here with these horrible people? Feeling abandoned, anger rushed her and she threw the box across the floor, spilling the contents. She buried her face into the top of her folded up knees to cry. Leaving her treasures on the floor, she crawled up onto her lumpy bed of straw, pulled the ratty blanket over her head, hoping that sleep would ease her heartache.

In the stillness of the night, Tibby hissed, her pupils widened at the sight of the strange light coming from under the bed.

Abby woke before sunrise, hopefully long before the hung-over wife and husband. She lit the lantern, wrapped the blue scarf around her neck, carefully opened her door as quietly as she could, tipped-toed pass the other bedroom, and snatched a lump of bread and a piece of dry meat from the table. Returning to her room, she sat on the floor and broke off little pieces of meat for the hungry cat.

With the green book in her lap, she flipped through the pages as she chewed on the stale bread. Hearing Tibby hiss, she looked up to see a light glowing under her bed. A bit taken back, she slowing leaned down to look under. Her father's stone was glowing. Glowing bright yellow, she picked up the stone, holding it by the leather string, it started to spin. She stopped it with her other hand, laying the small stone in the palm of her hand, she noticed a couple of dark markings on the surface, which wasn't there before. The book drew her attention, she watched with surprise when the unreadable scribble in the front cover changed to the word 'Ardius'. "That's my last name." She leaned back when the book opened on its own flipping to a page with a symbol. Stunned, she lifted up her shirt; her tattoo matched the symbol in the book. Did this book belong to my mother? There were five shapes outlined inside the drawing of the symbol. She placed the glowing stone on the page, twisting and turning the stone like it was a piece of puzzle, the stone fell into place, and the markings lined up. This is a piece of that symbol. I wonder where the other pieces are. Blinking quickly to refocus, she wondered where the stone was from. As she flipped back through the pages the strange language changed to a dark red ink and she could read the words. She stopped to read the first page.

'Only those who possess a 'Piece of Five' can read my words. I am the last of the Hunter's Clan, I write of Edon's past with my blood and the black blood of a dragon.

A long time ago, during the reign of Edon, the land was at the mercy of the evil Sorceress Keeva. The ruler, Master Edon did his best to protect his people, but they were helpless against her. The purple clouds carried her spells of fiery storms, destroying crops, wiping out villages, and unleashing her dragons to wreck havoc across the land. Power-hungry, Keeva created a magical stone out of a firestone that fell from the sky, a sliver of crystal from the caves of Tomont, and boiling lava from the Weeping Volcano, fusing them together to give her power beyond belief.

Fearing her new found power, Master Edon sent his son, Gamal with an army of men to Piranus to kill her, but Gamal was bewitched and falling prey to Keeva's power, he became her slave. Unable to control his own body, he could only watch in horror as she used the stone to experiment on his men, turning them into creatures, torturing them, killing them. One day she misused the stone, breaking the spell on Gamal. Taking the stone, he was able to use it against her, casting a spell, making it so she could never enter the Land of Edon again, trapping her in Piranus forever. He escaped with the stone.

Before Gamal's return, his father was killed fighting off the dragons attacking his village. Gamal took the title Master. He killed most of the dragons and restored peace to the land. Recognizing that his land was still not safe, for the sorceress still had power, he built a high tower, and for forty years he watched the skies for any signs of the purple clouds.

He tried to learn as much as he could about the stone, but found it to be unpredictable when casting spells, so only the art of healing was taught. He became known as Master Healer Gamal. Getting older, he took on six apprentices, a healer from each of the six districts; Taltorn, Killeen, Elowen, Belinos, The Isle of Adore, and Orlah.

Healer Senus of the Orlah District was the best at his craft, but soon found a passion for the dark-side of the stone. He gathered an army of men and secretly took the stone to practice evil. In a quest to control the dark power, Senus conjured a spell to make himself and his men more powerful, but the spell was mishandled. They were cursed when the stone broke into five pieces, now known as the 'Pieces of Five'. The curse changed the men into something not quite living, and something not quite dead, never to eat or sleep, and never to die—a life of no life. They are known as the Spiritons. Under the curse they can't die, but they are not without pain; sunlight burns them, so they avoid the day and take to the night like ghosts.

Gamal took the five pieces, and banished Senus and his men from the Land of Edon. Senus knew that the 'Pieces of Five' still had power and returned to Edon to retrieve the stones, killing all in his path. To stop them, Gamal formed a group of warriors called the Hunter's Clan, only giving them the secret knowledge of how to kill the Spiritons.

To insure that the 'Pieces of Five' would not become whole again, Gamal cast one last spell—'The Pieces of Five will only bind as one when it is held by two that bear the mark of the Healer.'

Gamal had the Hunters swear to protect the stones at any cost. Five Hunters, each took a piece of the stone and hid them separately. The Spiritons stormed the tower. Gamal was killed. Senus and his army of Spiritons took over the tower.

Over time the Hunters disappeared and the stones were forgotten; only spoken of in stories and fairy tales to children, but the red eyes of death never forgot. The relentless evil continues to terrorize and kill as they search for the 'Pieces of Five'.

As I finish writing this, I fear for Edon, the Spiritons are many and still search for the pieces, but they are not the only evil to fear from, if Sorceress Keeva is still alive, she still has power. Watch for the purple clouds; heed my warning.'

Did Father write this strange story? Did he know about the glowing stone? The book surprised her when the pages started flipping on their own, stopping at the page with the map. Her eyes squinted at the small yellow triangle appearing on the page. She read above the symbol. "Elowen?"

She took in a long deep breath when the wife and husband started to shout at each other. She stroked the top of Tibby's head. "I'm sixteen today, I think I should try to run away, but where do I go?" The cat jolted with fright, digging its claws into her legs, and leaping, it bolted under the bed. "Ow, damn it that hurt." She rubbed the scratches on her legs. "What's the matter with you?" A frightening bang hit the window, making her scream, the wind rattled the window with strong gusts, pinning leaves up against the glass. The floorboards vibrated violently, her body jumped with fright when her door flew open and the wind rushed in, whirling around her. A bright yellow light exploded out of the stone, sending a shock wave of air that knocked her flat onto her back. Hearing a crack, she covered her face with her arms when the shattered glass blasted the room. The wind was getting stronger as it turned violently around her. She caught the bedpost when the wind pulled on her body, lifting her up off the floor. She watched the bright yellow stone rise up from the floor, and releasing one hand, she stretched out to grab the leather string with her fingertips. The roar of the wind was deafening, she couldn't hear herself scream for help. Fear drained her when she felt the bedpost slipping through her fingers. No longer able to hold on, she felt the wind take her—everything went black.

5

### Akira

Akira spent the day sitting under a tree, whittling sticks down to nothing with her knife. The tension and mood of the village unnerved her, making her want to be back in the forest, alone. Annoyed, she glanced up every so often to see people point and whisper as they passed by, some staring with curiosity, some nervously running by with distrust, and others with scowls on their face, obviously displeased with her presence. Her stomach growled with hunger pain. She unrolled a piece of cloth with a handful of red berries inside. Her face wrinkled as she slowly ate the sour berries, hoping to satisfy her stomach, but her stomach ached for more food.

Dusk descended, the wispy purple clouds faded, and the chirping birds made their last call before they snuggled into their nests. The villagers quickly packed up their belongings, and disappeared into their underground dwellings. Silence, at last. Akira made a clucking sound with her tongue; Sable trotted to greet her with a nudge of his nose.

From a distance, Jorin watched her care for her horse; she was gentle and affectionate. She placed her warm hand lightly on the back of her horse, slowly sliding her hand over his rump, and down the back leg to inspect the wound. Jorin hoped she was pleased with the bandage he'd applied. His eyes briefly darted away when she caught him staring, but quickly returned to watch her place a bucket of water and a brush next to her horse. Laying her weapons down at her feet, she untied her cloak, dropping it to the ground. As she took her shirt off, he caught a glimpse of her lightly tanned muscle toned stomach. She bent over to pick up the bucket of water. He swallowed and couldn't help but stare at the curves of her average sized breasts tucked tightly into a short leather vest with strings crossing the front to hold it closed.

She poured water onto the neck of her horse and pushing the bristles of the brush into the horse's hair, she gently brushed his wet coat. She dumped another bucket of water over his coat to wash out the blood. She caught a scent of pine soap and looked up over the back of Sable to find Jorin standing on the other side. She viewed his handsome face, his ears poked out from his blonde short hair which was still wet from being washed, his face was clean-shaven, his nose well proportioned for his long face, his neatly fitting clothes were clean, everything about him seemed fresh. She suddenly felt self-conscious of her body odour. His green eyes, wide with anticipation drew her in, she waited for him to say something; he obviously had something to say, his thin lips were moving, but nothing was coming out.

"Ah...ah...ah, your horse is black," he finally stuttered, trying to think of something to say. "I mean he's beautiful." He closed his eyes. Idiot, he said to himself.

Akira said nothing and continued to clean.

"Do you live far from here?" His face peeked under the horse's belly to see her.

Annoyed by his presence, she huffed. "Yes."

He noticed her crow sitting in the tree, pecking on its talons with its beak. "Your crow is well trained."

"He's annoying and does as he pleases." She slapped the water with the brush.

The conversation ended. Trying to get her attention, he circled his hands around his mouth and released a caw sound. The crow immediately replied to the call. Puzzled, she watched the two have some sort of conversation.

Samson took flight, landing on Jorin's shoulder. He cringed when the crow rubbed his beak across his ear and into his hair. Perturb, Akira stepped over to Jorin. He returned an amused smile as Samson tugged on the bone necklace with his beak. She was sure that the scowl on her face would make him leave, but he stood there with a stupid grin. His long stare made her look away first. What's his problem? Forcing herself, she flashed him another icy glare. Coaxing Samson to her shoulder, she turned to walk away. Jorin cawed one more time. Samson replied excitedly. Not allowing herself to look back at him, her eyes shifted to the side; she almost smiled.

Jorin watched her roll out a blanket for sleeping on the ground. "Akira, night is falling. You must come inside." He motioned her to come.

"I will camp here." She pulled her shirt back over her head.

"You can't be out here at night, it's too dangerous."

"I do not fear the night."

"Please come inside. The Spiritons have been haunting our forest. Besides, Brogan's mother has made food for you and it would be rude not to come." He waited patiently.

She huffed at the invite, but gathered up her belongings and followed him. Bending down to the ground, he lifted the square metal door open. Akira was first to climb down the ladder inside the shaft, Jorin followed, locking the latch above him. She found herself in the main tunnel deep below the ground. All the tunnels were lit with small glowing white stones, stuffed into small holes along the walls. It took a few minutes for her eyes to adapt to the scarcely lit tunnel. A gust of fresh air ran the tunnel, making a light whistling sound. She wondered how easy it would be to get lost in the maze of passageways leading to different dwellings. As they walked through the main tunnel, people flattened themselves against the walls to let her by, making her eyes drop to the ground. Seeing her lagging behind, Jorin took her by the hand. Surprised, Akira followed willingly.

"The Spiritons have killed many of our people, we are safer underground," he said.

One day you will not have to worry about the Spiritons—I will kill them all, especially the one with the scar, Akira thought when a spark of anger rose up inside her. She pulled her hand free from Jorin's.

Brogan's mother was quick to open the door to let them in. Akira's empty stomach immediately growled when she sniffed the mouth-watering aroma coming from the deep metal pots hanging on chains over the fire. The mother led her to the long wooden table and placed her down onto a chair. Light from the fire cast shadows on the ceiling of the large dome shaped room. Feeling uneasy, Akira's head sunk into her shoulders when she glanced up at the ground hanging above her. The walls near the fire were lined with shelves, holding dishes and strange looking tools that she assumed had something to do with cooking. She could see three small rooms off the kitchen, each with a fireplace and a bed. She looked over to Brogan sitting at the end of the table with his head down and stirring his fork aimlessly in the stew on his plate.

The mother fussed about in the oversized kitchen, rushing to put food on the table. It surprised Akira when the woman stopped in front of her with a smile. How can the woman smile after losing her husband, as only this morning she was inconsolable. It startled her when the woman reached out across the table, touching the top of her hand.

"I can't thank you enough for bringing my husband home."

Uncomfortable, Akira nodded, slowly pulling her hand out from underneath hers. The woman motioned her to eat. She hesitated, feeling Brogan and Jorin's stares. If her stomach wasn't so demanding she would have felt guilty for all the attention. She forced herself not to gorge her food.

Red-eyed and sullen, Brogan dropped his head down to rest his chin on his forearm. He pulled out his knife from his waist and started to carve into the table top. Hearing a displeased grumble, he stopped and glanced up to receive a lashing from his mother's angry glare. He sheepishly tucked his knife back into his leather sheath. Akira scanned the table; Brogan's bad habit was expressed all over the tabletop, mostly animals defiled his mother's table, but Akira liked the details of the dragon the best.

"How many Spiritons haunt your forest?"

Her question caught him off guard. Brogan stared briefly. "I think there have been two."

She pushed some food to the inside of her cheek. "What do they look like?"

Confused, Brogan raised an eyebrow at her. "They more or less all look the same, don't they?"

"Tell me what they looked like!" She glared at him.

"Ah..."

"Did one have a scar running down his face?" she asked impatiently.

"No, I don't think so. Are you really a Hunter? You are quite young and the Spiritons are extremely dangerous," he asked suspiciously.

"It's none of your concern." She talked with her mouth full.

Brogan frowned. Even though he was curious about her and had many questions, her manner had a way of irritating him. He leaned back in his chair, folding his arms across his chest.

Brogan's mother impatiently paced the floor waiting for Akira to finish her meal. No sooner had Akira put the last bite of food into her mouth she was grabbed by the mother's hand and whisked off to one of the small rooms. The mother quietly closed the door, leaving Akira to stand in the room alone.

There was a small fire burning in the stone fireplace, next to the door was a single bed, and in the middle of the room was a metal tub of hot water. She undressed, untied her braid and slid into the inviting water. She sniffed the pleasing soap, the same pine scent Jorin had. She washed herself, and after dunking under the water a few times, she climbed out of the tub to dry herself and dress. She counted the short arrows in her quiver, removed her crossbow from the holster and placed it on the table next to the bed, pointing it in the direction of the door. She sat on the bed, unsheathed her shorter sword, and attentively placed it next to her as she laid herself down. Submitting her tired body to the soft mattress filled with feathers, she tried to remember the last time she slept in a real bed.

She wiggled herself in comfort as she thought about the dead men in the Orlah forest. What killed those men? Could it have been the Spiritons? There was someone else in that forest. I think I hit him as there was blood on my arrow. Could he have killed them? Brogan's father said he was from Killeen and mumbled something about the 'Pieces of Five' before he died. What did he know about the 'Pieces of Five'?

She heard Brogan's mother's faint cries through the wall and tried to focus on something else. She reached inside her vest, pulling out a string with a piece of red ribbon tied to the end. She frowned at the sight of it, reminding her it was her birthday. She crushed the reminder in her fist, wanting to rip it out and toss it aside, but she opened her hand to gaze at it. She carefully tucked it back under her vest. She rolled over to view her crossbow; a lump formed in her throat as she tried not to cry, before long she was thinking about her mother.

"Akira, hold the crossbow up higher. Now shoot!" She heard her mother's voice in her head. Vivid memories of her mother filled her mind.

She stood ten paces from a tree with a white feather jammed into the bark. She focused in on the delicate target.

"You need to practice with your left hand," her mother ordered.

She huffed and switched hands. Closing one eye, she held up the crossbow in her left hand and tried to steady it. Her target was moving; so she blamed, but the weight of the bow in her left hand made her arm shake. She held her breath and steadied the crossbow with her right hand. She slowly squeezed the trigger with all her strength and with a click; the bowstring leapt forward, shooting the arrow into the air. She stomped her foot in frustration when the arrow missed her target.

"Akira, you're only ten and you must have patience, it will come."

She thought more about her many lessons her mother taught her. A thoughtful smile crossed her face when she remembered laughing at her mother.

"Watch and listen to the animals."

She laughed at her. "Mother, are you serious? Animals don't talk."

"Look there, your horse just told you something," she pointed.

"I didn't hear anything," she replied with a puzzled look.

"Look at your horse, his ears are twisting to the sound of something, he is telling you he hears a sound."

She looked around, but seeing nothing, she shrugged her shoulders. Her mother pointed to the horse's ears. She followed the direction of the ears, staring into the forest, she heard a snap and out jumped a little red rabbit.

"See the rabbit? What is it telling you?" her mother asked.

"Ah...that it wants to be our supper?"

"No!" Her mother flashed a scolding.

Wiping the smirk from her face and watched the rabbit. She noticed its stillness, if she hadn't seen the rabbit already she would have never known it was there. A hawk squealed overhead and circled three times, not finding food it moved on.

"Again!" her mother's voice boomed.

Holding her sword above her head, Akira's arms shook uncontrollably as she blocked her mother's striking sword.

"Again!"

"Mother, I can't, my arms hurt." Hardly able to hold her sword, Akira weakly tried to block her mother's forceful strike.

"You will never survive out here if you don't know how to protect yourself. Start Again!"

Akira blocked the strike. Exhausted, she collapsed to her knees to cry. Her mother knelt down next to her, pulling her into a tight hug.

A loud crack from the fire interrupted her thoughts. She stared at the dancing flames and with a couple more crackle sounds, she drifted off to sleep to be with her mother.

She sat with her mother on the ground next to a small fire, crackling in the wind. Her mother quickly ushered her into the shadows to huddle together.

"Don't move," her mother whispered into her ear.

She had never been so afraid and held her mother tightly. The eerie wind whistled through the darkness.

"They're coming, be like the rabbit and don't move. They can't see us in the shadows if we are very still."

Her heart pounded in her chest when she heard the thundering hooves racing toward them. Like ghosts rising up from hell, Spiritons burst into their camp, evil red eyes searching as their blood covered horses stomped around the fire. Shaking in fear, she wanted to run; her mother squeezed her hand.

Brogan couldn't stop himself from gazing at her angelic face, her dark hair fanning the pillow, the hand by her face looking frail and delicate, and even when she shouted out from her nightmare, he continued to watch her selfishly.

She woke with a jolt to find that she wasn't alone; she clutched her sword.

"You were yelling in your sleep," Brogan said, still shaking her awake.

Her wide eyes dropped to his hand on her leg.

He quickly snatched his hand back. "Are you all right?" He waited for her to answer.

She felt her face flush and too embarrassed to answer, she nodded her head slightly.

"I brought you a nightmare chaser. This candle will help chase away any troubling dreams." He lit the thin blue candle and placed it on the table next to her. He looked back to her eyes glistening in the faint light. "Good night," he said softly as he left.

Her head rolled to view the flickering blue flame, it didn't seem any different than any other candle, but soon she blinked her heavy eyelids and slid into a deep restful sleep.

6

### Torgul

Master Gamal's magnificent tower still stands, watching over the Land of Edon. Its majestic height touches the clouds, built into the high mountainside, six-storeys with a pointed roof, and small windows peek out of the walls of chiselled stone bricks. His last battle was fought in the tower, bravely holding off the Spiritons so his family and the Hunters could escape with the broken stone. He was killed and few of his people escaped the unmerciful Spiritons. Now, clouded in doom, the men of the undying continue to haunt the Tower of Edon, as they conquer the land and search for 'Pieces of Five'.

Valgard sneered at the man with blood on his neck. The nervous man rubbed his sweaty palms on his pants as he followed the tall lanky Spiriton down a dark narrow hallway of the tower, stepping carefully on the wet uneven stone floor. Small flames flickered wildly in the metal bowls hanging on the walls to light the way up the curling stairwell. The man shivered when the wind howled through the open windows. They stopped in front of a large wooden door. Valgard beat his grey bony fist on the door. Pushing on the heavy door, it creaked open.

Valgard clenched his teeth with hatred as he roughly pulled the man into the room. The room was cold and musty, empty except for a couple of chairs and a table. Candle wax dripped from the large hanging chandelier and the light from the two moons fell in between the heavy black drapes hanging on the sides of the open window. In the dark shadow, the wooden chair creaked when someone stood.

"Torgul," a haunting voice cut the darkness.

With his head down, Torgul watched the black boots step heavily on the stone floor, moving the tall eerie man out of the shadow. Wearing a black hooded cloak, lined with a silky red material, his black leather clothes were leaden with metal studs, and a sword hung on a chain from his belt. Torgul didn't want to look at Senus, the leader of the Spiritons, but he slowly raised his head to find the evil red eyes glaring down on him. Torgul shivered inside at the sight of the tight ghoulish skin, exaggerating his protruding chin and cheekbones like death, silver hair flowing down to his elbows, and a dark mouth curling an eerie grin. His eyes followed the long red oozing wound running down the left side of the grey face—the wound that never heals. Torgul turned away in disgust. Senus waved Valgard to leave the room. Valgard reluctantly closed the door behind him. He leaned his ear to the otherside of the door to listen.

A piece of stone dangled from a thin leather string in front of the grey face. "Well, Healer Torgul, it's been a long time since I held a 'Piece of Five' in my hand," Senus said, remembering the last day he was a man, the day he tried to use the magical stone to cast a spell, but instead the stone cursed him and his men. "The five pieces still hold magic," Senus said with a satisfied tone.

"You didn't follow the plan. You were to wait until I got the stone from my men," Torgul yelled, as he remembered what happened to his men.

Torgul hid behind a tree, watching five men from his village dismount their horses. Rolic ordered the other four to draw their swords. They quietly dragged a dead deer to the entrance of the dragon's cave. They backed themselves into hiding to wait for the dragon. Within minutes a burst of flames shot out of the cave, followed by a large lizard-like animal with wings, burping fire from its mouth, and waving its tail high in the air. Finding the treat at its door, it clamped down onto a leg of the deer, ripping the meat from the bones. The men jumped out from hiding, plunging their swords into the dragon. The dragon shrieked, shooting fire, flapping its wings wildly to get away, but the men continued to stab the scaly body, finally the dragon collapsed to the ground, dead. Rolic entered the cave and returned with the 'Piece of Five' in his hand. Looking around nervously, he whispered something to the others. They mounted their horses and rode off. Torgul rode his horse hard to meet up with the men at the prearrange place. He found the men waiting for him, standing next to their horses with swords drawn.

He stayed on his horse. "Rolic, did you get the stone?" he asked the man with white hair.

"Answer me something, Healer. Why did I see you near the Spiriton's Tower?" Rolic questioned.

"I...I was just hunting plants," he replied nervously.

"How did you know the stone was in the dragon's cave?"

Sweat dripped from his face, he had no quick answer. His heart raced; time was running out. He needed to exchange the real stone for the fake one, before Senus was to arrive.

"I need the stone," he demanded.

"You asked us to help you find the stone, but I can't help but wonder if something else is going on. I think we will take you and the stone back to Killeen," Rolic said.

Time was up when he viewed the red eyes peering out of the darkness. He reared his horse high into the air, kicking his horse hard he rode off into the night. The men quickly scrambled to get on their horses, but had trouble controlling the spooked horses—the five men turned to face their terrible fate.

"It's not that I didn't trust you, Healer, but let's just say I saved you the trouble." He grabbed a scroll from the table, slapping it into the palm of his other hand. "I'm surprised that you would easily betray your own men for this old leather map. Not that I am complaining, but why is this map more important than the lives of your men?" He watched Torgul's unnatural looking bulging eyes, nervously dart about the room.

Even at the age of thirty-seven, Torgul was one of the youngest Healers in all of Edon. Taking the title of Healer after a short apprenticeship with Healer Falus was a great feat, but Torgul, a Healer? A Healer must present himself as a man of importance with a tidy appearance, well dressed, and of course, willing and able to heal. Torgul was lacking in all those features. His long dark hair matted to the point of no return, his beard was short and dirty, his nails were lined with dirt, chewed and torn, and his oversized clothes hung on his body making him look thin and unhealthy. His lack of value for his men's lives, gave the impression that he was a low-life scheming man and not to be trusted.

Senus was right not to trust the Healer. Torgul had planned to take the real stone from Rolic and give Senus a fake stone in trade for the map, but now Torgul needed the map and the real stone.

"The agreement was, I get the map for the stone," he demanded. "And, so much for your plan...Rolic was still alive when I returned and your man nearly killed me. I barely got away." Torgul touched his wounded neck.

"None of my men were after you. If I wanted you dead, you would have been quartered long ago." He tilted his head with a sneer. "How interesting though, to think someone else out there wanted to kill you."

"Next time stick to the plan," he said, stupidly.

"Or what?" His eyes narrowed. "I'd be careful if I was you," his voice lowered. "I destroyed the Hunter's Clan. I can do the same to you and your village." He rolled out the leather map on the table, leaning over to study it for a moment, but found it to be useless as the words were in another language. Unaware of the connection between the stone and the map, he laid the real stone next to the map. He walked to the window, distracted by the unusual purple sky beyond the Taltorn Mountains.

Torgul nearly gasped with panic when the stone started to glow red and a small red symbol of a dragon appeared on the map. He moved up against the table, near the stone. He needed the real stone and had to figure out how to exchange it with the fake stone. Finding the other four stones would be impossible without the real stone and the map.

"Why do you need the map?"

Torgul's body jumped. "I need it for special plants...that the other Healers don't know about," he said, stumbling on his words.

"I don't know if that is a good enough answer," he mumbled. Still distracted, he continued to look out the window to view the purple clouds rolling and churning over the Taltorn Mountains. The purple and yellow colours boiled in the menacing clouds. That's magic, but from where?

Torgul's eyes darted between Senus and the stone, his heart pounded harder. It's now or never. He took in a deep breath to calm his nerves. He reached out with one hand and quickly snatched the stone off the table, as he tucked it into his cloak, his other hand just as quickly placed a fake stone on the table. He turned to Senus to make sure he was not noticed. The symbol on the map disappeared.

Senus turned his attention back to the table, rolled up the map and flipped it out to the side for Torgul to take. "There are four more stones. Do you know where they are?"

Torgul's shaky hand took the scroll. "No, I only found this one by accident." His lying eyes dropped to the floor. "Only the Hunters knew how to find the stones and as you pointed out they are all dead now."

Senus whipped around with a growl, fighting the urge to break him in two. He touched his open wound with his fingers; it wasn't painful, but it was a reminder how much he hated Hunters. Calming himself, he spun around to sit in his chair, he knew Torgul was lying about everything, but he needed more information. "I will pay you well for the other stones."

Torgul said nothing. He needed to be careful as his new partner was becoming too dangerous. He knew more about the stones than he let on; for one thing, if he had all five stones, he could destroy Senus. He nodded in agreement to continue the ploy.

Torgul stepped out the front door of the tower and jumped back with fright when a man's severed head rolled to his feet. Valgard grinned, holding up his sword to watch the blood stream down the blade. If Valgard was trying to frighten him, it worked. He swallowed hard as he forced his shaky legs to sidestep around the head, quickly mounting his horse, and without looking back he raced off down the trail. Reaching the forest, he slowed his horse, knowing that the Spiritons didn't travel by daylight. He welcomed the morning sun.

## 7

### Two Moons

On her back, Abby woke to ringing in her ears and rubbed the sore bump on the back of her head. Feeling a bit dizzy, she kept her eyes closed. When the ringing subsided, she heard birds chirping in the distance. Rolling over onto her stomach, the familiar scent of dirt and grass filled her nose. Her eyes burst open. Where am I? I was in my room. How did I get here? She scanned the forest, replaying the last moments in her head that led her to this place, but she couldn't remember. Did I sleep walk? The last thing I remember was the wind. Where's the stone? When she pushed herself up onto her knees, she was surprised to find the necklace around her neck. She sat back on her heels to study it. The stone was no longer glowing and the mark was gone. What is this place? She stood up in the middle of three tall stone pillars, twenty feet high, hand carved from solid black granite, polished to a shine, and neatly placed at the three points of a triangle with a thirty-foot rock wall behind two of the pillars. She placed her hand on one of the pillars; it was cold to the touch.

Bewildered, she turned in circles, searching for anything familiar to tell her where she was, but the trees were different, tall and straight, mixed with smooth bark-less red trees, twisting trunks and branches stretching upwards. Nothing was familiar, and the forest she knew so well was gone. "Hello?" She listened for a reply, but only heard her voice echo. She put her hand up to touch the rock wall. Out of nowhere, a blast of warm air made her skin tingle. When she stepped back from the unusual sensation, her foot kicked the green book. The stone around her neck started to glow when she picked up the book, the cover opened on its own, pages whipped by and stopped at the page with the map. She leaned in to see the little yellow triangle reappear next to the word 'Elowen'.

She viewed her surroundings for a long time then decided to head in the direction of the tall trees, walking until the forest thinned and brightened. She stepped out from the soft forest ground and onto the shelf of a granite plateau that extended out into the sky. She gasped in awe at the sight of the vast valley below. She was so high up that she thought she could touch the thin pink and yellow wispy clouds that slowly drifted across the setting sky. Blowing her hair back, she closed her eyes for a second when the wind rushed up from below. She scanned the valley, following the long winding river to a large body of water, and there wasn't a building in any direction, only trees, layers of black jagged mountains stretching endlessly across the strange distant land, and the shape of the river matched the river drawn on the map. 'Bowin River'. To her surprise the yellow symbol had moved closer to the river. Experimenting with the book, she took a few paces to her left and watched the symbol on the map move, walking the other way; the symbol moved the same direction. The two circles drawn on either side of a mountain peak turned out to be the two moons, rising into the approaching night sky. "Two moons? I don't think I am anywhere near Cairndow."

The wind startled her when it ripped through the pages of the book. Taking her scarf off, she wrapped one end around the book to keep it closed and made a large loop with the other end to put over her shoulder so the book would hang at her hip.

In the distant sky, three large birds with long tails flew in a circle, one broke away from the circle, flying toward her. She quickly realized it wasn't a bird, but something much larger. Closer, she could hear the beats of its wings and something shot out of its mouth. Is that fire? Her heart raced, the ugly creature was heading straight for her. The thing dipped down below the plateau, disappearing out of her sight. Curious, she knelt down to lean over the edge to look. Startled, she leaned back with fright when the flying creature shot up past her, pulling her hair up over her head as it streaked high up into the air. Seeing the creature spinning around to come back down, she got to her feet and ran back into the forest. She turned to see the creature land on four legs. The black scales of the lizard-like creature rose up when it released a high-pitched shriek that made her knees buckle in fear. Its fiery yellow eyes focused in on her, tucking its black leathery wings to its side, it stabbed its claws into the ground and leapt into the chase. A loud rumble rolled up inside its throat, opening its mouth, it released a ball of fire, making her duck from the intense heat. Hearing its jaws snapping made the skin on her back quiver from the thought of teeth biting into her; she forced her legs to run faster. "This is a nightmare! Wake up Abby, wake up!" With no relief from her nightmare, she held her arms up to protect her face from the branches as she ran through a tall bush, the ground under her feet suddenly gave way, she tumbled as the loose rocks carried her down the steep hillside, rushing her past large boulders. Seeing a place to hide, she swam across the moving rocks, allowing her body to hit the boulder to stop, and not wasting any time she curled around to the front, tucked her legs up to her chest and made herself as small as possible. Her body trembled with fear.

The creature tore through the same bush, the ground disappeared, and fell onto the moving rocks. Wildly clawing, the dragon flapped its wings, trying to fly. Paralysed with fear, Abby watched the rocks roll by on both sides of the boulder she was hiding behind. Its loud terrifying shriek vibrated her insides; she slammed her eyes shut, covered her ears, her heart pounded so hard she could barely breathe. The dragon lifted itself into the air. Feeling the wind from the wings, she peeked around the boulder to see the dragon fly over the tree tops. Her body shook uncontrollably, as a child, her father had told her stories of far off lands with magic, strange creatures, and dragons, but she was led to believe they were fairy tales; this creature was real and breathed fire. Too frightened to move, she sat still for a long time.

Convincing herself that she needed to find shelter, she slid down the rest of the way to the bottom of the hill. Standing on her shaky legs, she scanned the sky for signs of another attack. As she walked, she picked up stones, banging them together like her father taught her, and after the fifth try two stones made a spark. Finding a narrow crack in the side of a rocky hillside, she leaned long branches against the rock face, making a little space for her to lay in. In front of her shelter, she circled some stones, filling the middle with twigs, rolling thin strips of dry bark into a clump of dry moss. Sparks jumped into the kindling when she banged the rocks together, leaning over she blew lightly to make a flame, and placing more branches onto the fire, she sat back to admire her efforts. Huddling next to the warm light, she opened the book to browse through the pages, reading the detailed properties written under each of the plant and tree drawings. She viewed the starry sky, curiously watching the two moons float across the sky. Hearing a dragon's distant cry made her leave the comfort of her fire to hide in her rough bed of leaves and moss; she squirmed to settle into what would most likely be a sleepless night.

## 8

### A True Hunter

Torgul arrived at Killeen to find the village in a state of turmoil. He anxiously walked his horse into the village, passing the crying women, and toward the agitated men shouting obscenities to their enemies as they sharpened their swords. He waited impatiently for his apprentice to take his horse. "Where is that Jorin?" Annoyed, he walked to the stable. When he entered, he found Jorin tending to the leg of a black horse.

"Jorin!"

Startled, Jorin jumped to his feet, rushing to Torgul's horse. "I'm sorry, Healer Torgul." He took the reins, leading his horse to his stall. "I'll get your saddlebags."

"Never mind that, what's going on?"

"I have sad news. Brogan's father, Rolic, is dead and we believe Sole, Fray, Mics and Toma were also killed."

"How do you know of this?" Torgul asked with a surprised look.

"The stranger." Jorin's eyes widened.

"The stranger?"

Jorin pointed. "The girl over there, she brought Rolic home."

Torgul stared at the girl dressed in a rusty brown cloak with a crossbow and sword hanging from her back; just like the stranger who tried to kill him in the forest.

"Did you find the roots of...?"

Torgul no longer listened to Jorin's questions and watched the girl. She was the one in the forest. Was Rolic still alive when she found him? He wiped his sweaty forehead. Does the village know? What did Rolic say to her? He panicked as questions filled his mind.

Jorin tried to get his attention. "Healer Torgul? Are you all right?" Jorin asked. "What happened to your neck?"

"Only a scratch from a branch, nothing to worry about." Torgul adjusted the blood soaked cloth around his neck. "Who is this girl?"

"Her name is Akira. She's a Hunter from the Hunter's Clan."

Torgul raised his eyebrows. "A Hunter? There are no Hunters left. How can this be? She must be lying."

"She moves like a warrior, the fastest I have ever seen," Jorin praised.

"When did she arrive?"

"Two days ago."

They both watched her, wanting to know more about her, but not for the same reasons.

"Take my bags, I have plants for you."

"Yes, Healer Torgul."

Jorin started his apprenticeship over a year ago. His journey thus far has been difficult with the Healer's irritable moods, but he couldn't imagine doing anything else with his life. He was diligent in all his lessons, and even the demeaning ones. His eagerness and skills as a painter granted him the prestigious position, as one of the many duties of an apprentice is to record pictures of plants and their purpose for future Healers.

Jorin quickly unloaded the leather bag of plants. He inspected each sample as he gently laid the plants on the table to stage them. He dropped a handful of dark red berries and a small piece of charcoal into a stone bowl, grinding the ingredients together with a stone, turning the mix into a dark paint. He licked the horsehair bristles of his paintbrush to a point, dipped it into the bowl and with a steady hand made quick little strokes on the rough paper to capture the plant's likeness. Searching for more plants, he opened Torgul's bag, a small leather satchel fell on the floor, and picking it up, he pulled the string to open it.

"Don't open that!" Torgul snatched the bag out of his hand.

"I'm sorry, Healer Torgul. I thought it might be more plants."

"Keep your nose out of my things!"

Jorin was surprised by his abrupt behaviour and stepped out the way when Torgul stormed out of the room.

Akira sat alone at the table, staring at the carved dragon, as Brogan's mother rushed to bring her more food. The sweet smell of boiled roots made her mouth water; she had to admit that she enjoyed being spoiled by the endless supply of food. Halfway through her second helping of stewed meat, someone else entered the room to sit at the table across from her. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Brogan's mother quickly shuffle out of the room.

Torgul quickly pulled his eyes away from her pretty face when he realized that she was now acknowledging him. "I'm sorry, I did not mean to interrupt your meal."

"What do you want?" Akira asked with an irritable tone.

He pushed his chair back and stood, walking over to the old iron pot hanging over the fire, he fussed around with some containers and poured something into the pot. "I wanted to introduce myself and thank you for helping my village." He turned to face her and bowed his head slightly. "I'm the healer of this village. They call me Healer Torgul. Thank you for bringing Rolic home to us." He waited for her to introduce herself, but she only stared. Her rude manner provoked him. "So, they are saying you are a Hunter? I find that hard to believe. You look as though you're barely thirteen." Mocking her, he released a quick snort of air through his nose.

It didn't take her long to dislike this man and turned her attention back to her food. "My mother knew a Healer once, but that slime of a tree worm betrayed her. It left her with a bitter taste in her mouth for Healers." She rudely spat the half chewed piece of meat onto her plate.

Ignoring her insult, he tried to keep his voice calm. "Well, what was her name? Maybe I know of her?" he asked.

"Mesa."

Recognizing the name, he froze, trying to control himself from spinning around too fast. "Mesa...? No, I don't think so. I would remember a beautiful name like that. So, she belongs to the Hunter's Clan?"

"Yes, she was a Hunter."

"Was? I am to assume your mother is dead? We were told all the Hunters were dead. There are still those that believe the Hunters did not die, but abandoned us, leaving us to suffer at the hands of the Spiritons. Cowards, some say...oh, but not me. I have the utmost respect for Hunters."

She clenched her teeth at his weak attempt to backtrack his words. Holding a piece of meat in front of her mouth, she lowered her eyebrows in anger at his offensive remark.

"What of your father?" He pressed for more information.

Releasing an angry snort of air, she tossed the piece of meat back onto her plate. She stretched her arms out to the sides of the table, curling her fingers over the edges to keep herself from doing something rash. Just about at her limit, she glanced at her sword leaning up against the wall.

With no answer, he watched her shoulders tense when she took in a loud deep breath. "You look tired. I will leave you to your meal and will see you in the morning." He poured his mix into a cup and placed it on the table next to her. "Here, I made you a nice warm cup of tea." He left the room.

Angry that the Healer brought him up, she pushed her plate wildly across the table, spilling her food. The less she thought about him, the better off she was, so she led herself to believe. Her father was just a shadow that sat in the back of her mind, no face, no details of any kind, just a name of someone she never knew. She watched the steam rise up from the cup. With a quick flick of her hand, she purposely knocked the cup to the floor.

Standing on the other side of the door, Torgul heard the cup hit the floor, he clenched his fists—she didn't trust him.

Torgul lit the lantern in his dwelling. If Akira is truly Mesa's daughter, does she know where the other pieces are? He opened the small satchel, dropping the stone out into his hand. When the stone glowed bright red a symbol of a small red dragon appeared on the map. He moved the lantern closer to study the drawing, watching the words become readable. As expected, the red symbol was in the middle of Killeen, he leaned back with disbelief when a yellow triangle appeared in the District of Elowen. How can this be? Who else knows about the stones? His mind left the map to focus on the sounds echoing through the tunnels—the yelling sent him into a panic to hide the map and stone.

Akira woke to the commotion in the tunnels. Recognizing the sounds of anger and fright, she leapt from her bed, grabbing her weapons, she ran out into the crowd of panicking people. Children cried as their mothers rushed them to safety and the men shouted orders as they ran.

Akira spotted Jorin as she tied the belt of her scabbard to her waist. "Jorin, what's happening?"

"It's the Spiritons, they're after the horses." He watched her disappear into the tunnel.

She pushed against the wave of people, trying to make her way through. The tunnel suddenly branched off in two different directions; she couldn't remember which way to go. "Damn it!" She grabbed a young girl by the arm, asking her how to get above ground, but the frightened girl screamed and ran off. She tried to ask others, but they all ignored her. She banged on a locked wooden door, but no one answered, frustrated, she took a run at the door, hitting it with the side of her body, knocking it open. Inside, she found a mother and her three children huddling on the floor screaming in fear. "Shut up! How the hell do I get out of here?" The mother frantically pointed to the other room. Akira bolted into the room to find a ladder. Reaching the ceiling, she pushed the metal door open and climbed out onto the ground.

With her loaded crossbow in one hand, she ran under the moons' light toward the squealing horses. Her heart raced when she saw two Spiritons, one on his horse and the other on the ground tying a rope around Sable. Brogan and Jorin rushed to catch up to her. She immediately pointed her crossbow at the one on the ground, her arrow sprang forward; she missed. Jamming another arrow onto her bow, she stopped to brace the shaking crossbow with her other hand, eyeing her target and taking a deep breath, she squeezed the trigger. The arrow hit with a forceful jolt, surprising the Spiriton, he howled in pain as he tried to pull the arrow out from deep inside his stomach. Dropping the crossbow to the ground, her right hand reached across to her hip, grasping the hilt, she drew her sword. Squeezing the leather grip, she swung her long double-edged sword out to the side, pointing the sharp tip to the Spiriton on the horse to express that he was next.

At the end of the hilt was a round flat pommel with a symbol of three leaves and a circle hanging from it. The hilt was wrapped in well-formed leather, easy for fingers to find a place to grip, a wide guard-cross curved upward to protect the hands, one side of the long blade was polished to a shine, the other side was clouded, near the guard was thick for taking or giving hard strikes, and the rest of the double-sided blade was thin and sharp, right down to the pointing tip.

Grasping the hilt with both hands, she pulled her sword to her right shoulder as she stepped back with one leg and crouched slightly into a fighting stance; she waited.

Jorin stepped forward to help, but Brogan grabbed his arm to hold him back. Jorin's eyes darted between Brogan and Akira, not understanding why he couldn't help. Brogan tightened his grip on his sword, from the moment she took a fighting stance, he knew she had skills. He was eager to help, as it was two against one, but decided to risk it and let her prove her title.

The Spiriton grinned at the sight of the wild looking slender girl challenging to fight him. Slapping the reins, he stabbed his heels into the side of his horse. She gasped at the sight of the haunting horse, squealing and snorting as it charged straight for her. Panic grabbed her and all she could do was duck from his sword whipping out at her. The horse turned, rushing back. She forced her sword up to meet his; the strike was hard making her almost crumble to her knees. He rode past her, laughing and taunting her.

Her breathing was out of control, she could feel the muscles in her legs start to quiver, and she knew if she didn't calm herself the tremble would travel up her body, down her arms and to her sword. She fought to keep her eyes from widening in fear at the grey ghoulish face. Revealing your emotions is a sign of weakness, rang in her head. Forcing her body to obey, she slowly exhaled and crouched back into a guarding stance. Her blue eyes glowed with anger between the annoying strands of hair lightly waving across the front of her face—her body was motionless.

The Spiriton charged. Rolling her wrists up, she deflected his blade as she shifted to the side, slicing through his leather boot and into the side of his leg. The Spiriton shouted in pain as he rushed by. Angry, he came at her again, but she was too fast and cut his wrist. Yanking the reins to stop, he slid off the other side of his saddle so his horse was between them. His nervous horse danced back and forth in front of him, blocking his view. When his horse stepped back, he rushed forward to attack, but to his surprise she was gone. His red eyes frantically searched. Hearing his horse squeal, he turned to see the girl hanging from the side of his saddle. She launched herself at him, slashing the side of his neck as she passed by, her blade returned with quick strikes to his blocking sword. He ran from her to reset himself.

She froze, waiting for his anger to consume him. Frustrated, he roared, running at her with his sword thrusting forward. She stepped back with her sword pointed upwards, curling her wrists, guiding his blade to her left side, swiftly rolling her sword over top of his blade to stab him in the shoulder. He yelled and backed away from her. Holding his bleeding shoulder, wondering why he wasn't healing. He glared at the 'little demon' waiting for him. He rushed wildly at her, their swords clashed hard and fast; he could barely keep up with her speed. A hard strike made her step back. As he circled his sword above his head to strike down, he felt a sudden burning sensation course through his veins, fear shook him when he realized who she was, but he was too late.

Her long hair whipped around her face as she spun, catching a glimpse of his terrified eyes when the sharp edge of her blade cut across the grey skin of his stomach. He released a painful gasp. She pulled her sword back and watched him collapse down to the ground, dead.

"Akira!" Jorin yelled and stepped closer.

Akira turned to the Spiriton with an arrow in his stomach, about to strike her. Whipping her sword across, she sliced his sword hand completely off his arm. While he stood in shock, she twisted her wrist, finishing him off with a straight thrust into his chest. He fell to the ground next to his hand. Hearing a noise behind her and with her adrenaline still running high, her blade whistled through the air as she spun to attack, she came to a jarring halt, stopping her blade short of Jorin's neck. Jorin froze. Her chest heaved for air as she stared into his wide green eyes. He slowly backed up from her shaking sword. Her body suddenly felt numb, her pulse pounded hard in her ears, she dropped the point of her sword to the ground like it was now too heavy to hold up. Barely keeping her standing, her legs shook as she dragged the tip of her sword across the ground, staggering over to the bodies, turning their heads to view their faces, as if searching for someone.

Still stunned, Jorin watched her stand above her killings with a blood splattered face and eyes wild with anger or fear, he really wasn't sure, and really wasn't sure if he should be pleased or frightened. Brogan's eyes narrowed with a slight grin.

Akira rubbed her sword against the Spiriton's cloak to wipe off the blood, and not wanting to waste an arrow, she yanked it out of the Spiriton's stomach to clean. She looked up to the gathering crowd, all staring in disbelief. Feeling self-conscious and anxious, she wanted to run.

Torgul pushed his way to the front to view the dead bodies. She killed them. She knows how to break their curse. Her mother has trained her to be a Hunter.

She caught Torgul's hostile glare. She released an angry breath and without a word walked her horse toward the men stepping back to let her through.

Jorin quickly searched for Akira, worried that she left. He found her huddled behind a tree, clutching her knees and shaking. He ran to retrieve some water, returning, he knelt beside her. Holding the cup, she tried to take a sip, but couldn't steady her shaky hands. Jorin placed his hands over hers to help her hold the cup to her mouth so she could drink. Her eyes shifted up to his when water dribbled down her chin.

"Sorry." He wasn't too sure what to say at the silent moment. "That was amazing!" he blurted out with excitement.

Still trying to comprehend what she had done, she said nothing and continued to shake. She couldn't bring herself to tell him that she had never killed anyone before. How can I be a Hunter if I sit here shaking like a frightened child? As a warrior she was taught to show no emotions; her throat burned as she willed herself not to cry.

"Are you hurt?"

She rubbed her arms. "No."

"Back there, you looked as though you were looking for someone."

"Senus," she said quietly.

"Why?"

"Enough questions."

He could see that she was agonizing over the battle, but he couldn't stop himself from asking more questions. "Was that your first?"

She nodded and turned away. "My mother was a Hunter, she trained me."

"She trained you well." Taking a cloth from his satchel, he wiped the blood from her hands and lightly wiped the blood from her face. How can this soft gentle face belong to the same person who only a moment ago killed two men? "Where's your mother now?"

"She was killed a year ago." She paused and swallowed. "I miss her. There's not a day that goes by that I don't think of her," she whispered painfully to herself.

"I'm sorry." Jorin put his hand on her knee to console her.

Realizing he heard her, she pushed his hand away. Angry with herself for allowing her emotions to escape; she rose to her feet—she would not let this happen again. "I will spend the rest of my life hunting Senus," she threatened. "I will slice off his head and feed it to the dragons."

Jorin leaned back as once again she was back to her threatening self. He assumed that Senus was responsible for her mother's death, by her threatening words, but her quest to kill the leader of the Spiritons was unimaginable, even if she was a Hunter, she was just a girl. Jorin heard Torgul calling his name and stepped out from behind a tree.

"Jorin, where's Akira?"

"Ah..." he hesitated, trying to give Akira more time to pull herself together.

"I'm here." She stepped out in front of Jorin.

"You killed both Spiritons. How did you do this?" he demanded.

"It's the way of the Hunter's Clan," she replied sharply. She glared at him, refusing to divulge more than that.

Torgul growled at her stubbornness and stormed away from them.

"Akira, Torgul is the Healer. He can be trusted."

She gave Jorin a disapproving look.

Akira sat alone to watch two men build a large fire. Sal's brawny body carried a load of heavy firewood and with ease tossed the wood onto the fire. Standing next to his tall, thin brother, Sal wiped the sweat from his forehead. She noticed that Rin didn't talk, only his hands moved, making quick little gestures; Sal seemed to understand. They stopped for a moment to look up at her. Sal's bright teeth beamed through his scruffy black beard, making her glance away. They continued to work hard to build the fire. She could feel the intense heat from thirty-feet away. They struggled to carry the large body, a man at either end swung the body back and forth to get enough momentum to launch the dead Spiriton into the fire. They jumped back when the fire engulfed the body, sending enormous flames into the sky. Rin whipped some aggressive hand gestures at the burning body, Sal nodded in agreement. The fire grew bright when the body burst into ashes.

She watched the flames. Even though she was taught to fight for her life, nothing could have prepared her for a real horrifying battle against the Spiritons. From the time she could walk, her life was both cruel and loving. She remembered how demanding and painful her gruelling lessons were. Having to sit in the freezing water until she could no longer feel the pain, blocking the daily bone-jarring strikes from her mother's sword, laying in a nest of spiders and screaming in pain at the endless biting, blood dripping from the open blisters on her hands as she continually hacked at the hard bark of a tree with her sword, and trying to dodge the small stinging rocks that were whipped at her. Every day there were painful lessons in fighting, enduring pain, and surviving, but every harsh lesson ended with a gentle hand wiping away her tears and a loving embrace.

Her mind continued to torment her, replaying the battle in detail, criticizing her every move. A shiver ran her body as she rubbed at the blood that still lined her fingernails. "So, my promise begins." Her teary eyes glanced away from the fire when the brothers threw the other Spiriton into the flames. With no loving hand to wipe her tears, she took in a deep painful breath. "Mother, I wish you were here."

## 9

The Butterflies, the Deer, and the Bad Men

Abby tossed and turned in her sleep at the slight clicking sound. "Click, click." Her eyes flew open, remembering where she was. "Click, click, click." Startled for a second, she bolted upright, pushing herself to the back of the rock wall. "Click, click, click." The graceful butterfly sat on the branch of her shelter, the delicate wings slowly waved, flaunting its beauty with splashes of red, blue, yellow and green. Relieved, she climbed out of her shelter, stretching her arms and legs. She glanced up in awe, hundreds of butterflies fluttered three-feet above her head, brilliant colours flashing as they swarmed above her. Almost beautiful, if it wasn't for all the clicking, she thought.

She revisited her surroundings, hoping to figure out where she was. The valley below was still in darkness, she put her hand up to cover her eyes when a beam of light shot out from the sun peeking over the mountains, the sunlight raced across the valley, climbing up the hillside to greet her. She sat down next to her cold campfire and opened the book to the map, the yellow triangle reappeared. To her surprise there was another—a symbol of a small red dragon next to the word Killeen. What does this mean? Someone else is out there and they have a glowing stone too?

"Click, click, click..."

"Oh, shut up!" she yelled at the fluttering above her head. She assumed that the yellow symbol on the map was her; which told her where she was, but it didn't help to tell her where she should go. She decided to work her way down to the river, where there would be fresh water and make her way to the red symbol, hoping someone there could help.

Climbing down the hillside, the butterflies were quick to follow. Annoyed, she waved her arms up at them, but they refused to leave. She rested at the bottom of the hillside with the butterflies still hovering. Her stomach quickly reminded her that she was hungry. Hearing a noise from behind she slowly turned to see a small rabbit with long red fur hop a few feet from where she sat. The rabbit dug wildly at the base of a thorny plant, yanking out a thick white root and holding in its front paws to eat. She watched the rabbit seek out the same plants to repeat the process.

With her hands out, she slowly crept up on the small rabbit. Her stomach growled loudly. Keep quiet, you'll scare it away, she told her empty stomach. The rabbit's dark eyes rolled up to her. She dove, sliding across the ground to try and catch it, but the rabbit shot off into the underbrush. "Damn it!"

She picked up the root left behind by the rabbit. If the rabbit could eat it, maybe so could I. Remembering plant drawings in her book, she scanned the pages to find one similar. 'The Maca Root. Only eat the yellow plants, the pink will cause death.' She quickly inspected the plant and to her relief it was yellow. She sniffed the root, touched it lightly with the tip of her tongue, and gnawing off a piece with her front teeth, she chewed the sweet root. Satisfied, she gathered more roots, stuffing them into her shirt.

As the day wore on, she thought of home. Were they looking for me? Did they even notice I was gone? She suddenly realized that she was free from the abusive family and free from the bullies. She was excited at first, but soon worried about the beating she would receive when they find her. She stopped walking when she noticed something was different, the clicking had stopped. She looked up; the butterflies were still there, but no clicking. She jumped with fright when a large white deer burst out of the bushes. She froze at the majestic animal standing in front of her. It was larger than a horse with a bright white coat, long eyelashes blinked across its dark glaring eyes, its short black fluffy tail twitched sporadically, and its black nose sniffed the air at her scent. It lowered its head, two long antlers pushed their way out the top of its head, snorting and stomping its front hooves, moving toward her. Its sudden movement scared her, making her fold her arms up to her chest in fear. The deer bounced around her before it disappeared between the trees. She took the opportunity to make her escape, running until she thought she was safe.

The sun was setting and it was time to find shelter. She leaned a couple of long broken branches against at tree and huddling underneath she watched the butterflies perch on the branches above her. About to drift off, she woke to a noise; the deer had returned. Her heart raced when the deer stuck its nose between the branches to sniff her. To her surprise, the deer dropped down into the grass in front of her shelter, curling its neck around to rest its head on its hind legs. Enchanting, the deer's coat glowed in the moons' light. She relaxed her body when the antlers disappeared and its large eyelids closed. Her eyes blinked heavily, watching the deer for half the night; she didn't remember falling asleep.

The morning sun fell on her face, making her wake with a jolt. She looked out to the flattened grass where the deer had slept, but it was nowhere in sight. She crawled out from under the branches to sit on the ground. She slowly ate her roots and watched strange coloured birds zip by. She felt a sudden tremble and put her hand down to feel the ground shaking. Hearing a rumble sound, she stood up, it was getting louder. She threw herself up against the tree when the thundering hooves trampled the bushes next to her, a stampede of wild horses rushed past her, black, brown, and red colours flashed in front of her, all racing to get away; she spotted the reason why.

Two young men on horses were chasing the wild horses with their lasso spinning high above their heads. As they raced by, the man with small braids in his hair caught a glimpse of a person standing by a tree and missed his target with his lasso. He pulled the reins hard, making his horse's hooves dig deep into the dirt to stop. The other man with a shaved head turned to see his friend stop and rode back. They were surprised to see a girl. They stared at the odd sight of butterflies hovering above the head of a pretty girl. The men glanced at each other with grins.

The man with braids winked. "Maybe chasing horses all day wasn't a waste of time."

They both dismounted to stand in front of her. Abby's heart raced at their menacing grins, she knew instantly that they were trouble.

The man with braids stepped near. "Well, blue eyes, what's a pretty thing like you doing out here, all by yourself?" He scanned the area quickly.

Abby said nothing.

"I think you're scaring her," said the other man. He swung his lasso up at the butterflies, but only scattered them briefly. "Where are you from?"

Abby stared at their unusual black leather clothes, short-sleeved shirts, tall boots, and swords hanging on their backs.

The man with braids ran his rope through his hands. "You look like you could use some company."

"No, thanks. I need to go now." She stepped to the side, but the man with braids blocked her way. She tried to step the other way, but the man aggressively grabbed her upper arm. She pulled herself free from his grasp and ran. She jolted to a stop when a lasso wrapped around her body, pinning her arms to her side, and with a hard jerk her body fell backward to the ground. Winded, she wheezed and coughed.

Pleased with himself, he laughed. "I caught you, so I get to keep you."

Abby struggled to get free. "Please let me go," she begged.

The man knelt down beside her, took off his leather glove and brushed her hair from her face. She rolled her head away when his sweaty odour stung the inside of her nose. His eyes ran the length of her body. Fear coursed through her when he unfastened the top button of her shirt. As he moved his hand to undo the second button, something made him look up. All heads turned toward the sound of something snorting. The white deer stomped the ground with its front hooves, snorting wildly at the man leaning over Abby. So as not to spook the deer, the man with braids slowly stood, smiling at the prospect of catching the wild deer, he motioned his friend to pass his lasso. The man wheeled the lasso above his head, launching it with perfect accuracy, and yanked the rope tight around the deer's neck. For a moment he couldn't believe how easy it was. The bald man cheered at the capture.

The deer made a sudden jerk with its strong neck muscles, pulling the man holding the rope over Abby's body, making him land on his stomach. He lifted his head to see the deer's black eyes glaring down at him. Before the other man could help, the deer stomped down onto the man's back with its two front hooves. The man with braids yelled for help. The bald man rushed to help, but stopped when he watched two antlers grow out from the deer's head, pointing toward him. The deer snorted and stomped forward in an aggressive manner. The bald man slowly stepped back to his horse and climbed up onto his saddle. The man on the ground moaned at his injuries as he staggered to his horse. The two men rode off with the deer wildly chasing after them. Abby rolled over and wiggled out of the rope around her body. Whether the deer knew it or not, it saved her, but she wasn't wasting any time to find out if the deer was friendly or not, and ran off in the opposite direction.

Out of breath, she stopped and leaned over. There was no doubt in her mind that she was in a different world, with birds of all different shapes and sizes; none that resembled any from home, the strange butterflies, the deer, the two moons, and the dragon. She shivered. She wasn't sure how, but the stone and the book had something to do with how she got here. She was off to a bad start in this world and needed to be more cautious.

She turned to a noise from behind. The white deer froze at Abby's sudden movement. With a mouthful of grass and a long string of drool, it rolled its jaw once to chew and stopped; the drool increased. Her heart raced, waiting for the antlers to appear, but nothing happened. Seeing the rope still around the deer's neck, she held out her empty hands and slowly approached the deer. His knees bent, ready to bolt. She cautiously reached out to the knot of the rope. The deer snorted, making her jump. She loosened the knot and raised the loop up over the deer's head. The deer backed away from her. They both stared at each other for a moment, before the deer turned and walked off into the forest. Abby smiled and thanked the deer for saving her from the two men.

Water became her first priority. Watching the map and walking in different directions to see which way the symbol moved, she regained her bearings, and waved the butterflies to follow her to the river.

## 10

### Luken

The shadows of the night started to fade, the two moons fell behind the mountains, and the sun climbed higher into the sky—sunrise was here and there was no time to waste.

The lone Spiriton rode his tired horse hard, nothing was to stop Valgard. He looked behind to see the night becoming day; the painful curse was not far off his back. He needed his horse to make it to the tower. Without warning, his horse dropped to the ground, launching him out of his saddle to land face first in the dirt. The wet exhausted horse lay on the ground, snorting for air. In a rage Valgard swung his sword above his horse to strike down, he stopped when his blade caught a beam of sunlight, making him cover his eyes and shout in pain. Flipping his hood over his head, he left his horse, and even though he knew he wouldn't die from the sun, he ran in a panic. He felt the heat of the sun set on his cloak and screeched when the light scorched his hands. With smoke rising from his burnt skin, he burst through the tower door, collapsing to the floor in front of the leader.

"Senus!" Valgard shouted.

Ignoring him, Senus stood at the window watching the purple clouds fade when the sun started to rise. Every night he watched the strange clouds churn over the Taltorn Mountains. Someone has power and it worried him. I need all five pieces, he thought.

"Senus!" he shouted angrily. Annoyed by Senus' lack of respect, he squeezed his blistered hands into fists. If he hadn't already burst through the door like a madman, he would have kept his mouth shut and held the information for his own use.

"What do you want?" Senus grumbled.

"A yellow flash of light was spotted near the mountains of Elowen!" Valgard strained.

"Are you sure it was yellow?"

"Yes, it was blinding," he replied.

Senus hit the candle sitting on a tall metal holder, sending it flying across the floor and spitting wax onto Valgard's cloak. Senus rolled out an old tattered leather scroll across the table. Valgard struggled to keep his rage under control, picking up the candle from the floor, he placed it heavily on the table.

"It's no good to me without a flame," Senus growled.

Under breath, Valgard cursed at him as he lit the candle.

Senus circled his bony finger around the symbol of the Healer's mark. He held the fake stone up in front of his face and watched it spin. Valgard wondered what power the stone might have to overpower Senus; should he ever find the stone in his possession.

"Torgul knows more about the pieces than he is letting on," he grumbled.

"I will kill him," Valgard announced.

"Don't be stupid. I need him to find the other stones."

"Torgul will betray you."

"I am sure he will."

Senus walked back to the window, hiding behind the heavy black drapes, he pulled them across the window. "Someone has one of the pieces. I want that stone! You will ride to Orlah and warn them that I will destroy their village if anyone protects the person with the stone. They will report to me."

"How can we be sure they will obey?"

"Bring me the Healer's firstborn child. The message should be loud and clear."

Two small eyes peeking through a bush, spied the two Spiritons riding toward the village. The boy slid his tongue out of the corner of his mouth, closed one eye and stretched out his arm to pull his slingshot tight. His aim was sure, and the small rock stung the back of the Spiriton's horse. The mean sting made the horse rear up, dropping its rider to the ground. Valgard stood up, confused by his horse's sudden eruption. His eyes followed a noise in the bushes; a boy with a slingshot in hand, running toward the village. The other Spiriton laughed at Valgard's discomfort by a small boy.

"If I catch that boy, I will gut him and hang him on my wall," Valgard grumbled.

The large Village of Orlah was noisy with life. The stone and clay dwellings were above ground and the people were not concerned with the night falling. The two Spiritons moved out from the trees to ride down the centre of the village. Unconcerned, the villagers looked up to watch another weekly visit. Healer Cattar stood in front of his doorway with his wife, son and two daughters. The son tucked his slingshot into his shirt. Cattar stepped forward to greet them while his wife clutched the children close to her.

The weekly chores and demands from Senus were tiresome, but the Healer had no choice if he wanted to keep his village safe. The Spiritons had been terrorizing the districts for years, but spared Orlah because of their knowledge of forging the finest swords in all the districts. The Spiritons took the weapons as they pleased, leaving the village at peace. If Cattar had known that his position as Healer also meant that he had to answer to the Spiriton's demands; he may have decided his future differently.

"Healer, we have a message from Senus," Valgard said. "Senus believes that someone has a Piece of Five and if anyone in the village helps this person the punishment will bring death to the village. You will report to Senus immediately with any information."

"A Piece of Five? How is that possible? No one knows where they are."

"You heard what I said!"

Cattar was surprised that someone had found a 'Piece of Five'. Cattar nervously watched Valgard walk toward his family. Valgard reached for Cattar's son. Cattar grabbed Valgard by the shoulder, but quickly found a sword pointing at his chest. The Spiriton pried the red headed boy from his mother's arms.

"We had an agreement. If we supply you with weapons, you would leave us alone," Cattar shouted.

"The boy is to make sure you comply."

"Luken!" his mother screamed.

Valgard threw the boy up onto his horse and climbed up to sit on the saddle behind him. The boy whimpered for his father. Cattar raced to his son, but was knocked to the ground with the butt end of the Spiriton's sword.

"Do as we say and the boy will be returned. If not, he will die."

They watched in horror when the Spiritons rode off with Luken.

Valgard dragged the boy into the room by one arm. Luken looked up to the back of a black cloak, his eyes widened with fear when the red-scarred face turned to him. Valgard released his arm, leaving him alone with the leader of the Spiritons. Luken's breathing quickened as he scanned the room for an escape, and slowly backing up to the window, he leaned his head to glance out, but winced with fear at the height. His eyes rolled up to the ceiling to see a large metal chandelier hanging over Senus' head, following the chain to the latch on the wall, he put his hand to his stomach to feel his slingshot inside his shirt. Senus grinned at the child's cleverness as he stepped out from under the heavy metal. Luken worked on another plan; a dagger on the table.

"Are you afraid of me, boy?"

Luken stared at the gruesome face. He swallowed hard and forced himself to speak. "No. My father will rescue me. He will kill you," he stated with a shaky voice.

"I am sure he would like to try. Do you want to kill me?"

His answer almost leapt from his tongue, but with a quick thought of the punishment he might receive, he bit his tongue.

"How old are you, boy?"

His lying eyes shifted to the side. "Fifteen."

Senus frowned.

"Thirteen," Luken stuttered.

Senus sat at the table and motioned the boy to sit down. Luken didn't move at first, but the demanding finger made him rush to the chair. Senus pushed a plate toward him. Luken curled his nose at the moldy bread. He tried not to look at the dagger, but his eyes gave him away.

Senus grinned and rolled out the old scroll across the table. "This is a drawing of the five pieces of the sorceress' stone. When it was whole, it was so powerful it could have sent someone to another world," Senus said in a calm voice.

Luken immediately recognized the symbol, but kept it to himself. He soon forgot about the dagger. Inside the circle of the stone was a symbol of three leaves knotted together with a circle hanging at the bottom of it. The drawing of the stone also had the outline of the broken pieces.

"The stone is now in five pieces, but each piece still has power," Senus said as he circled the symbol. "What is your name, boy?"

"Luken."

"Would you like to see a piece of the stone?"

Luken nodded.

Senus held the fake stone necklace up in the air. "You can hold it."

Excited at the sight of the stone, Luken held out his hand, and wide-eyed he watched Senus drop the stone into the palm of his hand. He inspected the stone with curiosity, placing it in position on the drawing. Luken was intrigued, remembering his father's stories of the 'Pieces of Five'.

"How do you know it's working?"

"It will glow."

"Do you have more pieces?"

"No, the others are hidden." Feeling the boy's eagerness to learn more, he grinned. "Imagine having the power to do whatever you want."

Luken bit down on the hard bread and wondered.

## 11

### Niyu

The mournful mood of the village was apparent with the adults, but the children went on about their day, oblivious to the loss. Akira did her best to avoid the people, but young children followed her from a distance, eager to see her weapons or any signs of action. From the corner of her eye, she could see other children acting out her battle with the Spiritons. Some of the older children practiced with their bow and arrows, screaming when they missed their targets. She noticed a young blonde haired girl, answering to the demands to fetch the stray arrows. Two thin braids lined the sides of her head and tied to the back, she wore a long leather vest down to her knees, over a simple cotton shirt with leather pants, and short boots. Her left hand was deformed and her unusable fingers curled into a fist. The girl's rank was obvious when she ran another arrow to a lazy archer. The children soon tired of their practice, leaving their weapons scattered on the ground for the girl to pick up. The girl watched the children run off.

Akira walked over to the girl. "What's your name?"

The twelve-year-old girl looked up at Akira, blinking with bright doe-eyes. "Ah...Niyu," she said shyly. Her heart raced with excitement that the Hunter was talking to her.

"Give me your left hand," she ordered.

She quickly obeyed and before she realized what was happening, Akira had wrapped a piece of leather strap around her deformed hand. Niyu was fascinated and amused by the attention. Akira wrapped the leather in such a way that she created a crease that ran across the top of the girl's fist, leaving the ends of the strap to hang down. She handed the girl a bow. Her large brown eyes stared at her bound hand, confused, not understanding what she was supposed to do. Akira held Niyu's left arm up in front of her face, turning the bow horizontal so the grip of the bow sat in the crease on top of her leathered fist. She took the ends of the strap and tied the grip of the bow into place so the bowstring hung down on the inside of her elbow. She showed her how to nock the arrow onto the string and motioned Niyu to hold the bow up into a loading position. Anticipation crossed Niyu's face when the three fingers of her right hand slowly drew the string back; she knew immediately what to do from there. She released the arrow, but missed the target by inches. She struggled to load another arrow, but managed on her own. Akira stepped in to lift Niyu's right elbow, tilting her head slightly to adjust her line of sight. The arrow hit the side of the target. With excitement Niyu was quicker at setting her arrow. Akira had her take a deep breath to steady her body and with a slight release of her fingers, the arrow hit the target. Niyu ran to the target to check it; hardily believing she had hit it. She ran back, wrapping her arms around Akira.

Akira pushed her back. "From now on you will no longer pick up their discarded weapons. You will practice shooting your arrows every day. Do you understand?"

Clutching her bow tight against her body, Niyu nodded excessively as she watched Akira walk away.

Akira watched the girl continue to practice. The other children returned, surprised that the girl could pull a bow and hit the target. The girl beamed a large smile. Brogan watched from a distance.

Jorin stepped next to Brogan. "She's pretty amazing, isn't she?"

Brogan shook his head at his friend's fascination with the girl. "I see that glint in your eye. We have been friends for a long time and I must tell you that you are playing with fire."

In the early afternoon the villagers retreated to a small lake near the village to gather for Rolic's burning to the new-life. Brogan invited Akira, but she declined, staying behind to walk her horse.

"Sable, I hope your leg is better tomorrow. It will be good to be on my own again." She rubbed his nose.

A rhythmic chant vibrated the air, harmonic tones rising and falling, Akira followed the soothing sound. From the trees, she viewed a body wrapped in a blanket laying on top of an altar of branches ready for a fire. The villagers sat on their knees around the altar, chanting. She bowed her head when the altar was lit and thought of her mother. I didn't stay for Mother's burning to the new-life.

Brogan spied Akira in the shadows of the trees with her head down. There's more to this girl than just a warrior from the Hunter's Clan, he thought.

After the burning, the Council of Five gathered for a meeting. Each district functions separately and is governed by a group of leaders called the Council of Five. The Council of Five consists of four members from their district and the village Healer. The Healer's knowledge of healing powers automatically grants him the fifth seat on the council. When a council member dies, a family member takes over until the village can vote a new member in; Brogan took his father's seat.

Torgul was the first to speak and spoke loudly. "It's too dangerous to have a Hunter stay in our village. We already had two Spiritons attack the village." Torgul was in a hurry to get rid of Akira, for fear she would discover that he was the one in the forest and that he had a 'Piece of Five'.

"I don't think the Spiritons knew she was here. Why would they bother with the horses?" Brogan added. "I think we should trust her."

"Trust her? She appears out of nowhere with a body. How do you know it wasn't her who killed your father?" Torgul implied. "She was going to kill you."

Brogan thought about her sword skills, her battle with the Spiritons, and the kindness she showed Niyu. "You were not there to make judgement. She felt threatened. Her move was not with the intent to kill, but a warning. If she wanted to kill us, many of us would be dead. I will take a few men and ask her to take us as far as Orlah Forest. We will rest the souls of the other four men."

The others agreed and Torgul was out voted. Torgul was furious at the other counsellors for taking the side of someone so young and insisted that he should travel with Brogan.

Akira was up before the sun, getting ready to leave before the village woke. Sitting on a log, she inspected her arrows, knives, and swords. She cringed with disgust at the streak of dried blood on the blade of her sword. Taking out a yellow root from her saddlebag, she sliced it in half, rubbing the sticky root against both sides of her blade, and with a leather rag she polished only one side of the steel to a glistening shine. She repeated the process with the tips of her arrows and knives. Flipping the handle and blade of the knife back and forth in the palm of her hand, she thought about her quest to kill Senus. I can't just show up at the tower door to find him—that would be suicide. She needed to get him away from the protection of the tower and the many Spiritons.

She bent over to pick up another sword, but when she returned, she found a plate of fruit sitting next to her. Spotting Niyu peeking out from behind a tree, she waved her over. Niyu shyly sat next to her, quietly watching her clean her sword.

Akira tightened the saddle around Sable, tied her gear and loaded up her saddlebag.

"Will I see you again?" Niyu asked.

Akira shrugged her shoulders. "I don't like being around people." She mounted her horse and looked down at Niyu's low hanging head. "If I come back here, you better be able to hit a lizard out of a tree."

Niyu nodded with a smile. "I'll practice every day."

Holding up her arm, Akira whistled for Samson, he took flight from a branch, diving toward her, but instead of landing on her shoulder, he shot past her. Surprised, she turned to the six men sitting on their horses, Brogan, Tumble, Rin, Sal, the Healer, and Jorin with Samson sitting on his shoulder. Her eyes questioned Brogan.

"We request that you take us as far as Orlah Forest so we can claim the other bodies," Brogan said.

Akira hesitated at the request, but nodded at Brogan's determined face. She wrinkled her forehead at Jorin's wide smile. "Stupid bird." Squeezing her legs against Sable's side to make him move, she led the way.

## 12

### Travel Companions

Nervous, her eyes shifted from side to side as she listened to the riders talking behind her, but not once did she look back at them. Barely able to concentrate, she was sure she could feel their disapproving eyes burning holes into her back, making her feel self-conscious about every little move she made, making her regret her decision to lead. She had been travelling on her own for over a year and before that only had her mother to talk to, now she was travelling with five strangers, worst of all—men. Without realizing it, she steered her horse through the thick bush that scratched the sides of their boots and the bellies of the horses. She cursed herself for not paying attention, but refusing to admit she did something wrong she pushed on.

At first the men followed without questions, assuming she had her reasons, but before long they wondered why they couldn't take the easy trail to Orlah. They rode out into a clearing, their horses shook their bodies with relief when they were released from the endless scraping, but the relief was short-lived, and she cut another rough trail. Brogan loudly cleared his throat, hoping she would look back, but she ignored him. He watched her thick braid sway across her back as she rode ahead. He grumbled at her idea of a trail, wondering if she was doing this on purpose.

The day wore on and the temperature dipped, making the plants curl up their leaves in the damp air. Akira shivered slightly and pulled her cloak closed. The forest opened out into a large field, the winds from the south blew hard through the long grass, across the river and into the Orlah Forest. Brogan sent Rin and Sal into the long grass to flush out game for their meal that night. The brothers clapped their hands, chasing out a small flying lizard into view.

"I'll get it!" Sal shouted.

Rin pushed him aside and lined up his arrow.

"I called it first," Sal snapped, pushing Rin to miss his shot.

Rin quickly signed with his hands. I would have killed it if you hadn't pushed me.

"Are you kidding? You couldn't hit a dragon sitting two-feet from you!"

Akira watched the lizard disappear as the two men argue their right to make the kill.

Rin's hands flew wildly in front of Sal's face, insulting his skills.

"Is that so...well let's see who can kill the next one," Sal challenged.

Noise was made and a lizard zipped out. The two men lined their shots, but before they could release their weapons, a small arrow streaked over their heads, bringing the lizard to the ground. Surprised, they turned their heads to look back at Akira.

Rin smiled and moved his hands in front of Sal's disappointed face. A girl out-shot you.

Another lizard flew out and they watched Akira shoot an arrow, pinning the second lizard to the tree. The brothers stared at her with their mouths open. Her eyes shifted to the side along with a sly smile as she walked by them. Before she reached up to retrieve the dead lizard from the tree, she jolted back at the axe blade splitting the shaft of her arrow. She slowly lowered her hand when she heard Sal laugh,

"Now Wee One, that's how to kill a meal," Sal boasted.

Annoyed, she took in a long breath, she had to admit it was a good shot, she glanced over her shoulder to acknowledge his skill, but an opportunity presented itself when a small lizard scurried across the ground behind Sal's legs. Mischief twinkled in her eyes.

Sal's burly laugh came to a shocking halt when Akira pointed her crossbow at him. He barely had time to gasp when he heard the trigger release. Colour drained from his face when he felt something graze his crotch, and even though there was no pain, he instinctively winced and grabbed between his legs. Almost too afraid to look, he slowly bent over to look between his legs, and when he convinced his eyes that the blood belonged to the lizard pinned to the ground, he breathed a sigh of relief.

"Damn girl! Are you crazy? You nearly shot off my...well, my manhood! You were damn lucky you didn't hit me with that shot!"

Her mouth curled. "It was no luck, I hit my target and if I was aiming for your...manhood, it would be pinned to the ground with the lizard!"

Rin tried to keep a straight face when he signed his brother. I think you were safe, as it is hard to hit something so small.

Sal flashed his brother an angry glare. Still unsure, Sal looked down to his crotch and felt around to confirm everything was still in the right place.

"We can have Jorin take a look." Tumble slapped Sal's back as he laughed.

She shook her head at his concern. Brogan's smile caught her attention. In a huff, she gathered up the dead lizards, and rudely tossed them at Brogan's feet as she walked away. His smile faded.

Seeing Akira drinking from the river, Jorin knelt down next to her, opened his mouth to say something, but she walked away to sit on the riverbank. Torgul waved Jorin over to view a plant, growing under the water. As Torgul explained what the plant was used for, Jorin continued to stare at Akira. Torgul followed Jorin's eyes.

"Are you paying attention, boy?" Torgul snapped.

"Yes, sorry Healer Torgul." Jorin tried to focus.

Torgul knew Jorin was infatuated with the girl; they all knew, but he was annoyed by his apprentice's lack of focus. "Stop staring at the girl and pay attention."

Jorin clenched his teeth, hoping no one else heard. "I will gather some Kilton plants for you." He rushed off into the forest.

Tumble ran after Jorin and found him pulling up plants.

"You're never going to get a girl by pulling up weeds," Tumble chuckled.

"Very funny, Tum."

"Time for a sword lesson," Tum said, tossing him a sword.

"I'm really not in the mood."

"Nonsense, I show you three good defensive moves. First angle your sword above your head, like this." He showed Jorin to hold the sword at a forty-five degree angle. "I will hit your sword then you will shift to the left and drop your elbow. I will start to slide down your sword and you will go with the slide, sending my sword to the ground." Tumble hit his sword hard, almost sending Jorin to his knees. For a second he struggled against Tumble's strength. "Drop your elbow!"

Jorin dropped his elbow and followed through, sending Tumble's sword to the ground; Jorin smiled. "Show me again!"

Amused by the lesson, Akira sat in the grass to watch more. Brogan startled her when he dropped a dead lizard next to her.

"We will camp for the night," he ordered.

"Why? There's still light." She glared at him; she didn't like being told what to do.

Brogan didn't answer as he walked away, but stopped when the dead lizard slapped his back.

"I will get my own food," she said.

He snatched up the lizard, and shaking his head at her attitude, he turned to confront her, but she was already running off. "Jorin's crazy. He'd be better off flirting with a dragon," he mumbled to himself.

Each night, Jorin and Tumble disappeared into the forest for a sword lesson. This time Akira sat out in view to watch the match. Jorin started to sweat, his eyes darted between his attacker and Akira.

"Jorin, watch me!" Tumble shouted.

Their swords clashed together, Jorin's body shook at the powerful blow, his muscles strained to hold Tumble's strike, his teeth clenched together as he pushed back with all his might.

"Drop your elbow!"

Still not listening, he continued to fight a losing battle. She smiled at his attempt to impress her. He struggled with not looking at her, but didn't think one quick glance would hurt, he caught her smile, and instantly found himself on the ground with a sword at his throat. Tumble gave a big belly laugh as he helped Jorin to his feet. Jorin looked around for Akira, but she was gone.

"You big oaf. You could've let me win," Jorin said in a huff.

"Now what would you learn from that? I think she likes your skinny chicken wings anyways," Tumble roared.

"My arms aren't skinny." He examined his arms.

Akira sat at the fire listening and watching the brother's strange conversation. Rin placed a tin cup of hot tea into Akira's hands and made a hand signal for her to drink. She put her nose to the cup to sniff the pleasant scent, and after taking a little sip she nodded at the sweet taste. Rin rambled off hand movements at Sal. She scanned the sky when she heard a little bird song. Sal laughed. Rin whistled the song again, making her look behind. Sal laughed harder. Realizing it was Rin, she blushed at being teased. Rin smiled and patted her on the shoulder when he wandered off to his horse.

"Why can't he speak?" she asked Sal.

"He was born without a voice. His mother was frightened of her baby that made no sound. We can only assume that she thought he was under an evil spell. My mother found him as a baby, alone in the forest. She raised him as her own and made up hand signals so we could understand him. We are brothers," he said proudly.

She turned to watch Rin brush his horse and make horse sounds with his lips. She glanced over to Brogan sitting by himself, sharpening his sword.

"And what of Brogan? Is he a leader of your village?"

"Brogan's father held the first seat of the Council of Five. Now that he is dead, Brogan holds the right and is in charge until the village has a vote. Even though he's only eighteen and the youngest of the Five, he will be a good leader. His father was a good man and his son is following in his footsteps."

## 13

### Abby and the Eagle

Walking most of the morning, Abby glanced over her shoulder to see the deer still following her. Taking a short break, she watched the deer lay in the grass, licking the back of his leg with his long pink tongue. A familiar sound caught her attention; the roar of a river echoed in the distance. Hypnotized by the sound, she ran, oblivious to everything else around her. The deer chased excitedly after her. She stopped at the river bank and relief crossed her face at the beautiful view. The deer stopped next to her. The river was at least forty-feet across with large boulders randomly scattered in the river creating small rapids. Kneeling down at the river's edge, she cupped her hands to drink the water. When she leaned over to splash cold water onto her face, her book fell into the river. "Damn it." Expecting the book to be ruined, she opened the cover to find it completely dry on the inside. "This book is truly magical."

When the deer bolted into the bushes, Abby turned to watch a long shadow race across the river bank. She shook with fright at the scary shriek sound from above. She forced herself to look up to the sky and sat paralysed at the horrifying scene of two dragons attacking an enormous silver eagle. They tumbled and rolled in the air, scratching and ripping into one another. Unable to stand, she quickly crawled to a nearby tree to hide. "Stupid butterflies." She waved at them to hide.

The ear-splitting noise made Abby plug her ears as she watched the fierce battle. The two dragons shot fire, but the eagle's silvery feathers deflected the flames. The curled sharp beak of the eagle snapped wildly at its attackers, manoeuvring its wide wingspan between the dragons with ease and speed, steering into an upside down roll, tearing a long gash with its sharp talons along a dragon's scaly side. The other dragon swooped down on top of the eagle, cutting through its wing. The eagle squealed as it dove into a downward spiral, disappearing between the branches of a large tree to escape. In a wild frenzy, the dragons tore through the branches, clawing and ripping, leaping from tree to tree as they searched for their prey. After an exhausting search and unable to find the eagle, the dragons launched themselves into the air and flew off.

Making sure the dragons were gone, Abby slowly stood up to view the badly damaged trees, stripped of branches and bark. She spun around at the sound of branches breaking behind her, the large eagle crashed to the ground in front of her, making her fall over backward. She froze, watching the eagle lying on its side. Minutes passed and still no movement. Thinking it might be dead, she cautiously crawled over to the enormous bird. Its body was about fifteen feet long with a wingspan almost forty feet wide, and its feathers were steely grey except for the three long white feathers lining the back of its head. She stretched out her hand to touch the side of its body, the feathers were warm and she could feel the eagle's heart beating. She walked around to the other side to inspect the bleeding wounds, a couple of long gashes, but not bad, the one wing was cut with a few feathers missing, but she didn't think it was broken; she sighed at the sight of the deep gash across the right eye. She stared at the magnificent eagle; she could have left, but couldn't bear the thought of leaving the injured bird. Remembering a healing plant in her book, she quickly whipped through the pages. 'The Panny plant. Wide green leaves with tiny blue flowers. Will treat burns, cuts and help with pain. Take the leaves and mash into a paste.' She bolted into the forest with the butterflies in tow and searched for the healing plant. Spotting a plant similar to the drawing, she knelt down, plucked a hand full of leaves, and rushed back to the eagle. Laying the leaves on a flat rock, she mashed them with a small rock until she had a thick green paste. After gently dabbing some paste onto one of the cuts, she leaned back surprised when the stone on her necklace glowed and a brown scab magically formed over the cut. Feeling hopeful, she quickly worked her way around the eagle, covering the wounds with the healing plant; more scabs formed. She was pretty sure the eagle was going to lose sight from the injured eye, but carefully dabbed some paste over the eyelid, and a scab instantly covered the whole eye.

She circled the eagle, marvelling at the healing wounds. Reaching out with her hand, she gently stroked the long white feathers on top of its head. "There, all better." The white feathers suddenly stood straight up, her body jerked with fright when the large green eye rolled up, its black pupil expanding to look at her. The bird made a clucking sound and hissed just before it snapped its beak at her. Abby weaved and backed herself out of the way.

The eagle hissed and clucked as Abby rushed to gather dry branches, keeping a good distance, she built a fire. Sitting still, she watched the eagle slowly lower its head to the ground, and closing the one eye, it fell asleep. Abby looked over to the deer curled up under a tree and the butterflies on a branch above her. Feeling a little more secure, she lay down to watch the flames before she drifted off to sleep.

The next morning, a dark shadow crossed over Abby while she slept, and sensing something, she opened her eyes to see a large green eye looking down on her. Laying flat on her back, she froze. The eagle studied her for a moment then squealed into her face, turned away, and hopped to the river for water. She ran to the nearest bush to relieve herself.

Abby watch the eagle sitting quietly next to the river, tilting its head to one side to watch the sky. Thinking the eagle might be hungry, she searched the forest for food. Walking toward a grassy field, she noticed a small group of black crows cawing and circling above the grass, looking like they were chasing something. At the edge of the field, she spotted a small partially eaten creature with a long tail. The eagle would like meat. She grabbed the carcass by the tail, but something tugged on the other end, still hanging on, she was pulled into the grass. She looked up to a hissing sound to see an enormous black snake rise up out of the tall grass, hovering above her—she wasn't the only one wanting the dead animal. Frightened, she released the carcass and slowly backed up. A long red tongue slithered out of its mouth, flicking in the air, its eyes changing from green to yellow each time it blinked, watching her every move.

She dove to the side when the snake rushed down at her with its mouth wide open and fangs out for striking. Cawing, the crows continued to dive down at the snake. The snake curled back, rising back up into the air. She slowly backed herself up, but the snake continued to follow her. Its head leaned back, about to strike again, but movement caught its attention, turning back to the carcass, it lunged down to a crow trying to steal it, and clamping its jaws down on the bird, it disappeared into the grass. The crows went berserk, diving into the grass. Abby got to her feet and started to run, she looked back to see the carcass still lying there; she wanted it. Heart racing, she crept back, stretching out, she grabbed the carcass and ran.

The eagle shook its body vigorously to ruffle up its feathers, combing its beak through its wing to preen itself. Abby returned and proudly laid the carcass in front of the eagle. Its head cocked sideways, viewing the half-eaten creature, and with no interest it continued to preen. "Go on, it was good enough for the snake and the crows." The eagle stood up on one leg, hopped over to the river. "Are you kidding me? Do you have any idea what I went through to get that thing?"

Every time Abby tried to near the eagle, she was chased away by its snapping beak. Unable to get close enough during the day, she reapplied the healing plant to the wounds while the eagle slept. After each treatment, she took the opportunity to admire the bird's majestic size and power; gently stroking its head, touching its powerful beak, running her hands down its neck to its chest, feeling it rise up and down, touching the long feathers of the wings, fascinated that something so delicate could carry something so large.

Abby caught small fish from the river and threw them out to the eagle, but it continued to ignore the food. Not wanting to waste the food, she hung the fish over her fire. As she picked at the cooked fish, she noticed the eagle watching her, and curious, she tossed a piece of fish toward it. Surprising her, the eagle ate the fish. "Oh, so you're spoiled?" she chuckled and threw more fish.

On the third day the eagle repeatedly flapped its wide wings, creating a sand storm below its body as it lifted itself a few feet off the ground, getting higher each time. Abby sighed; it was time to move on.

"You look much better. I guess it's time to go." Abby tied her book to her side. "Take care." The butterflies swarmed above her as she walked down the riverbank, looking back, she waved at the eagle standing at the edge of the river watching her leave.

Her trek was slow as she climbed over large boulders and logs covering the bank. Tired, she viewed the sandy bank on the other side of the river, and wanting to cross, she climbed up onto the slippery log, carefully shuffling her feet across. About halfway across, she tried to focus on the log below her feet, but the fast moving water drew her attention, misjudging her step, her foot slipped out from under her, and she fell into the river.

The shocking cold water made her heart miss a beat, muffled sounds of bubbles rushed by her ears as she tumbled upside down, her legs and arms struggling to push her up to the surface, her head burst out of the water, gasping for air. She tried to swim back to shore, but the current was too strong, sweeping her further down the river. The butterflies quickly followed from above, and she could see the white deer running along the shore. She wildly grabbed for rocks sticking up out of the water, but they were too smooth to get a grip. Pain shot through her body when she was slammed up against a large boulder. The river continued to bash her tired body, pulling her under the water endlessly, each time making her weaker. Panic coursed through her; she was going to drown. She was almost at the point of releasing her body to the unforgiving river when she heard her father's voice. Abby, don't be afraid. With one last effort she kicked hard, pushing herself up from under the water to find air, struggling to stay on top, she spotted a large branch sticking out across the river, and swam hard to position herself as she neared. Weakly grabbing the branch, she pulled herself to shore, coughing and heaving, dragging her body up onto the sandy bank, and rolling over onto her back. "Father, I did it," she wheezed. Shivering uncontrollably from the cold as she stared up at the sky, her hands reached up to the vivid colours of the butterflies slowly hovering above. Her vision blurred, making the colours mash together—she passed out.

## 14

### She Looks like Me

A small lizard unfolded its wings when it leapt from a branch, gliding down to the riverbank, scurrying across the soft sandy shore, jumped two small river rocks, and came to a statue like stance. Waiting patiently, it stared into the shallow part of the river, watching the floating red bug skim the surface. When the bug neared, the lizard's long tongue flew out, snapping up the little meal into its mouth. The lizard readied its stance again, but a startling caw sent it into flight. Samson cawed endlessly to attract attention.

Waving Samson off, Akira jumped down from her horse and slowly walked toward a bright colourful mound next to the river, but stopped when something move. A white deer lying next to the mound raised its head to stare at her, looking somewhat confused, it sniffed the air for a scent and before she took a step forward the deer bolted into the forest. Curious, she knelt down next to the mound of dead butterflies and brushed some aside. Tiny bumps ran Akira's arms, making her shiver as she stared at the girl with black hair. She cautiously touched the girl's skin to see if she was real. She looks like me. Is this magic?

She picked up the dark green book lying next to the girl and unable to read the strange language, she flipped through the pages to view the drawings. Hearing the men arrive, she quickly tucked the book up under her cloak.

"What is it?" Brogan dismounted and stood over her.

"I found a body!"

Jorin knelt down next to her, looking bewildered. "It's you. I mean she looks like you," he said loudly. "Who is she?"

"I don't know."

Jorin watched the girl's chest move up and down. "She's still alive! Rin, Sal, quick build a fire, we need to get her warm!"

Brogan's eyes narrowed; the resemblance was amazing. "Do you know her?"

"No."

Brogan knelt down across from her. "Are you sure? She looks like you," he asked with an accusing tone.

Her eyes rolled up to meet his. "I said, no. I have never seen her before," she said in a low tone.

Jorin watched them glare at each other. "I will get the Healer. Brogan, we'll need water," he said, trying to break the tense mood.

When Jorin and Brogan left, Akira searched the girl's clothes, and finding a leather string around her neck, she pulled it out. A Piece of Five? What's she doing with a Piece of Five? Hearing footsteps from behind, she quickly tucked the stone back under the girl's shirt.

"How strange, she looks just like you," Torgul said, slightly amused. "You can go and help with the fire, I will look after her."

"The others are doing fine with the fire. I will stay with her," she snapped back. She didn't move and wasn't about to take orders from Torgul.

Annoyed with her attitude, he clenched his fists. "I will have Jorin look after her wounds." He stormed off.

Jorin returned with his bag to examine the girl. "Just some bumps and bruises." He took a cloth and started to wipe the sand from her face, his eyes drifted up to Akira, confirming how much they looked alike. The girl's fingers moved and her eyelids fluttered.

When Abby opened her eyes, she found the same blue eyes staring back at her. Startled, she rolled over to her knees and shuffled backward. She immediately noticed the girl's likeness. Her eyes darted to the men with weapons sitting around the fire; her heart raced. Still shivering from the cold, she slowly stood up. The men stood. She positioned herself to run, but the painful first step brought her back down to the ground, holding her injured ankle. Akira waved her arm for the men to sit back down.

Jorin moved closer to her, holding out his cloak. "It's okay, no one here will harm you."

Scared, she jerked away from him when he first tried to put his cloak around her. With a friendly smile, he held the cloak out for her to take. She cautiously took the cloak and wrapped it around herself as she watched him sit back with the girl.

"What is your name?" Akira asked.

Abby didn't reply.

"Maybe she doesn't speak our language," Sal shouted at them.

Akira's eyes narrowed, she wanted answers. "Who are you?" she asked a little more forcefully.

Abby glanced to the thin blonde haired man making gestures with his hands to the man with a black beard.

"Rin said maybe she hit her head?" Sal said.

"Shut up, you two!" Brogan ordered.

"Abby," she finally replied.

"Shhh..." Jorin waved his hand at the others.

"My name is Abby."

"My name is Jorin and this is Akira," Jorin pointed.

Akira frowned at his politeness. "What village are you from?"

"I'm from Cairndow. Are we near Cairndow?" Abby searched their faces.

Akira looked back at the others; all looking confused.

"I have not heard of Cairndow, but you are near Killeen in the Land of Edon," Jorin explained.

Abby recognized the name Edon and scanned the shore, frantically searching for her book. "Where's my book?" She couldn't remember if she still had the book when she reached the shore.

"You must have lost it in the river," Akira said, as she shifted the book further under her cloak.

"I have to find it," she panicked.

"It's probably washed out to sea by now," Akira said convincingly.

Tears welled in Abby's eyes; her precious book was gone, she clutched her chest to feel the stone necklace. "How could I be so careless? I'm so sorry, Father," she whispered.

"Is this yours?" Jorin held a blue scarf out to her.

Tears dripped from her face when she looked up, nodding, she took the scarf and loosely wrapped it around her neck. She looked down to the dead butterflies. "What happened to my butterflies?"

"Your butterflies?" Akira questioned.

"Well, not my butterflies, but they were travelling with me."

"I think your butterflies saved your life by keeping you warm," Jorin said.

Abby placed a dead butterfly into the palm of her hand, gently stroking it with her finger, and carefully laid it back down on the ground; she never knew why they followed her, but she was grateful that they did.

"Was the deer yours too?" Akira snapped the question with a tone of disbelief.

Abby studied Akira's familiar face, black hair, same full lips, same shaped nose, same intense blue eyes, but angrier; she turned her head slightly to confirm she wasn't looking into a mirror. Who is she?

Akira's eyebrows creased. "What are you staring at?"

"Now, now, Akira, let the poor girl rest. You can ask questions later," Torgul interrupted, holding his hand out to Abby, he led her to the fire, and sat her down next to Tumble.

"I am Tumble, this is Brogan, Sal, Rin and Torgul is the Healer." Tumble gave her a welcoming smile.

Abby leaned her head back to view the giant man next to her and returned a nervous smile. She glanced back to Akira's glare.

"She's a Hunter," Tumble whispered.

She didn't know what that meant, but assumed it was important. She nodded to each man as they said hello, except for Rin who made hand gestures.

"Doesn't he talk?" she whispered to Tumble.

Tumble leaned over with a serious look. "No, but he hears fine."

Abby's face turned bright red when the others laughed, including Rin. She nodded a shy smile. Tumble handed her a cup of brewed tea. She thankfully curled her hands around the warm cup, allowing the steam to heat her face.

"What world is this? I have seen some pretty strange things. Why are there two moons?" she asked curiously.

Tumble was surprised by her strange questions. "This is the Land of Edon. How many moons do you think there should be?"

"Well, one."

"So, where you are from, there is only one moon? What happened to the other one?" Tumble questioned.

She thought for a moment, she had no answer and shrugged her shoulders.

"What else is different?" Tumble asked.

"There are no dragons where I come from!"

"No dragons? Are you sure? You can't miss them, big wings and breathe fire!" Sal released a belly laugh.

Having never heard of such a place, Brogan shook his head in disbelief as Abby described her home land. She must be messed in the head.

"Are you hungry?" Tumble pulled a long smoking stick from the fire and held it in front of her face.

She wasn't sure what the charred thing was, but it used to have wings and a long tail. She thought about turning it away, but her stomach disagreed, and thanking Tumble, she picked at the meat with her fingers.

Torgul sat next to Brogan. "She's not from any place I have ever heard of," Torgul whispered.

"Have you noticed how much she looks like Akira?" Brogan asked.

Torgul nodded with a brief smile at the interesting observation. There's some sort of connection between these two girls. Mesa had a daughter or maybe two?

Before long the men made her feel a bit more at ease. As Jorin wrapped a cold wet cloth around her ankle, she watched the men. Jorin and Torgul both knew something about treating wounds, but they seemed different. Jorin expressed concern for her injuries and the only concern she received from Torgul was his long questioning stares. Even though Rin had to communicate differently than the others, he was always a part of the conversation, Sal was a bit rough and took every opportunity to tease, Brogan was very serious and concerned about everything, and she instantly liked the large gentle man—then there was Akira.

"Here's a blanket for you, Abby." Brogan spread the blanket out next to Akira's.

Akira fumed as she watched the men fuss over the girl as if she had some sort of a spell cast on them. Abby noticed Akira's annoyed face right away, she was not as welcoming as the others and wasn't afraid to show it. Akira walked heavily toward her, and giving her a hostile glare, she wildly snatched up her blanket in front of Abby, making her lean back. Abby glanced to the others, all watching the tense moment; it was obvious that there was a problem. Feeling uncomfortable, Abby gave an awkward smile as she crouched down on her blanket.

"We will take Abby to Orlah," Brogan announced.

Akira rolled her head in frustration. "I don't have time to search all over the land for her mommy and daddy!"

Everyone fell silent at the snide remark.

Brogan stood behind Akira. "And what would you have us do? Leave her out here on her own?" he asked angrily.

She turned to him, clenching her fists. Abby's eyes darted between them; it seemed that she wasn't the only one that Akira had issues with. Akira huffed and shook her head as she stormed off to make her bed near her horse.

"You'll be safe with us, Li'l Kin" Tumble reassured Abby. "I'll look out for you, like you were my kin.

She nodded at the friendly face.

Around the fire, the men were tucked under their blankets, and sleeping. Abby curled the edge of her blanket up to her neck, listening to the sounds of the night; the rustling of leaves, twigs snapping, and hissing sounds in the trees. She rolled her head to see Akira under her blanket far from the fire. Maybe tomorrow will be better. She shifted her sore body and drifted off to sleep.

The white mist gradually drifted into their camp, slightly glowing from the moons' light. Akira quietly stuffed the book into her saddlebag. With a knife in her hand, she carefully placed each step so not to wake anyone; she grinned at how easy it would be to sneak in and slit their throats as they slept. She lowered herself down on her knees next to the girl. With only the glow from the last of the embers, she leaned in for a closer view. The peaceful face drew her in and found herself studying Abby. Her likeness sent a chill up Akira's back, and she soon forgot what she was going to do in the first place; get the stone. Her knees started to ache, but her curiosity continued to linger as she watched the girl's nose twitch and waited for her nose to twitch again.

Long before sunrise, Brogan woke when he heard the birds chirping nearby, looking over at Abby, he bolted up when he realized someone was next to her. Akira nearly jumped out of her skin when she felt something touch her shoulder and looked up to find Brogan standing over her. Concealing the knife, she tucked it into the side of her boot.

"What are you doing?" he whispered.

She stood. "Nothing."

"Why were you kneeling next to her?"

"She was making noise, so I was making sure she was all right." She turned away from his watchful eyes.

Brogan wasn't convinced that she was sincere, but nodded anyway.

The sunrise brought the forest to life and woke the others. It was Sal's turn to make breakfast, jamming the fish onto sticks, holding them over the fire, and burning them to a crisp. Abby wondered if he made last night's dinner too, but she wasn't going to complain as she was tired of eating roots.

Sitting behind Abby, Tumble shook his head at the sight of her messy hair, and gently combing the knots out with a small wooden comb, he braided her hair. Pleased with himself, he patted her on the head and placed the comb into her hand. "This is for you." With his hands on his hips, he gave her a cheerful smile.

She looked down at the comb with tiny flowers etched into the wood. "Thank you." She watched him walk off to help with packing.

Jorin knelt down to check her ankle. "How does it feel?"

"Much better today, thank you."

"Do you think you can walk?" Brogan asked as he too knelt down to inspect her ankle.

"I think so."

Abby stood and took a few steps, stumbling a bit, Brogan rushed up to take her arm to steady her.

"Are you all right?" Brogan asked with concern.

She blushed from the attention. "I guess it's still a little sore."

"Well, don't worry, you can ride with me," Tumble shouted.

She glanced at Akira sitting next to her horse, she had questions, but Akira seemed so unapproachable and annoyed by her presence. She had never seen anyone so alert with her surroundings and followed Akira's eyes. Looking at the bush, she saw nothing at first, then spotted the bird hopping among the thin branches, the horse stomped at the small snake slithering across its path, a bug zipping out over the river drew her attention, and a skinny fish burst out of the water to snatch the bug. A warm breeze sent Akira's nose up into the air; Abby sniffed, but smelt nothing. Akira drew her crossbow, aiming, following a lizard up the trunk of a tree, but she didn't shoot. Abby bit her bottom lip and excitedly looked back at Akira to see where she should be looking next, but only found hostile eyes glaring back at her.

"What the hell are you staring at?"

Startled, Abby looked to the ground; it seemed that Akira's mood wasn't any better.

The fire was put out and the others packed up the horses. It was clear that Akira wasn't waiting for anyone when she mounted her horse, snapped the end of her reins, and left, making the others rush to follow. Abby was almost thankful that Akira had no interest in sharing a ride. It surprised her when a white crow flew to Akira's shoulder, like the one she saw from home. A horse stopped next to her, making her look up to see Tumble's bright smile. She gasped at his strength when he grabbed her upper arm, hauling her up to the back of his saddle.

"Hang on tight, Li'l Kin." He kicked his horse into a gallop, making Abby grasp his sides.

They rode for a couple of hours, before stopping to water the horses, and allowing Abby to rest. Tumble lowered Abby to the ground. She rubbed her sore legs and stretched out her back. Jorin was quick to check her ankle. Still suspicious, Akira sneered and shook her head at how the girl easily manipulated the men. Whoever she was, she couldn't be trusted.

Abby didn't have to look to know that Akira was staring at her. She sat down next to Jorin. "Is she always like this?"

"We have not known her long." Jorin gave her a piece of dried meat.

"Thank you. Why are you travelling all together?"

"It's a long story, but in short, Akira found five of our men in the Orlah Forest. We think they were killed by the Spiritons. She is taking us to them, but I think she is on a quest of her own."

Abby raised her eyebrows. "A quest?"

"Yes, to kill the leader of the Spiritons."

Her mouth dropped open in shock. "She's going to kill someone? Why?"

"She belongs to the Hunter's Clan. Hunters kill the Spiritons."

"But she's so young. She looks about my age."

"She has already killed. She has great skill."

"What? You saw her kill someone?"

"Yes. She killed two Spiritons. She's pretty amazing."

Abby stared in disbelief as she watched Akira polish one side of her sword, and couldn't imagine her killing anyone; she was ill-mannered and obnoxious, but she didn't look like a killer. How cold-blooded does this girl have to be to kill someone? Although she was afraid of Akira and really didn't understand her position of being a Hunter, she was still curious about their likeness.

"Do you think she looks like me?"

A smile swept across his face. "Yes, she does."

Akira's eyes narrowed when Jorin smiled at Abby, a spark of anger brought her up onto her feet. "I'm not waiting anymore." She jammed her sword into her scabbard and climbed up onto her horse.

While the others mounted their horses, Abby noticed a small furry mouse-like creature tangled up in a vine near a bush. She reached down to help it. As she pulled the vine off the creature, a thin green vine slithered out from the bush, wrapping around her wrist. Startled, she quickly pulled it off, but another vine just as quickly wrapped around her ankle, before she could comprehend what was happening more vines rushed out, coiling around her body. With her arms pinned to her sides, the vines pulled her to the ground. The vines tighten and she felt a burning sensation through her clothes—she screamed. The men ran to her aid. Akira watched with little concern, annoyed by the delay.

Sal and Rin slashed at the bush from the side and panicked when Abby disappeared into the flesh-eating bush. Tumble reached in, grabbing her legs, he pulled, but the vines pulled tighter. She cried in pain when the vines burned her skin. Tumble pulled out his sword, quickly slashing the vines to cut her free. Brogan jumped in, stabbing at the roots in the ground. The bush burst into anger, pulling her away from Tumble, raising her above his head. She screamed. The vines snapped wildly at the men. Akira huffed at the situation, but decided it was time to help. She jumped from her horse, pulling her sword from her back as she ran toward Abby. The others backed out of the way as she wildly attacked the vines, swiftly spinning and slashing through the vines as they reached out for her. She whipped her blade underneath Abby, cutting through the vines, bringing her to the ground, and spotting the dominant vine in the middle of the bush, she stabbed it. The vines retreated.

Tumble ripped the dead vines off her body with his shaky hands. "Are you all right? You nearly scared me to death."

She winced at the burns on her skin. "Yes, I think so."

Jorin rushed to her side, but Torgul stepped to block his way.

"I will help her. Go get me more healing plants, boy."

Jorin hesitated, but did as he was told.

Torgul examined her. He dabbed a bit of salve onto her burns. Feeling the stone in his pocket start to heat, he turned away clutching his pocket, hoping no one could see the stone glow. Abby felt the same heat, and worried they would see her glowing stone, she rolled away clutching her shirt.

"Well, that should be enough," he said without looking at her. Why did the stone glow? It wasn't near the map.

"Thank you, I'm fine." Abby rushed to stand.

They didn't look back at each other; neither of them realizing the other had a stone.

Akira mounted her horse, rode between the men and stopped next to Abby. She leaned over and pointed her finger at her. "Everyone knows to stay away from the burning vines. Even a two-year-old knows better," Akira scolded her. "Try to stay out of trouble!" She rode off.

Embarrassed, Abby shrunk into her shoulders, and swallowed hard, trying not to cry.

"No worries Li'l Kin, I will look after you." Tumble patted her head.

Brogan rode up next to Akira. "You were a bit hard on her."

"She shouldn't be in the forest if she can't look after herself." Akira kicked her horse to move ahead.

They traveled late into the day. Tumble enjoyed having a passenger and rambled on about the dangers in the forest. "And stay away from the black snakes. They will bite your head off before you can blink! You can always tell that there's a snake in the grass by the crows circling above."

She shook at the thought and decided not to tell him that she had already encountered a snake and a dragon. She looked down to what looked like a fat slug with bright colourful hairs sticking out its back, wiggling its body across the dirt. Attracted to the waving hairs, a small bird neared the slug, long tentacles slipped out from underneath to grab the unsuspecting bird. Abby cringed at the sight of the bird struggling under the slug's slimy body.

While he talked, the colourful birds and lizards caught her attention as they moved about the forest. She leaned her head back to look up through the branches of the endless height of the pine trees, and watched the sunlight glisten on the strange moss clinging to the branches. Below her feet, the long leaves of the orange ferns curled up as they passed by, small pink flowers dotted the lush ground, and long thorny branches poked out from the underbrush, drooping from the weight of ripe red berries. Startled, but excited, she watched a herd of small brown deer leap across their path, bouncing gracefully as they disappeared into the depth of the forest; she marvelled at how different the forest was from home.

With a shiver, the beautiful forest slowly transformed, the sun faded, and the cool air rolled the thin mist between the trees. The vegetation and creatures cowered from the eerie shadows of the night; even the riders couldn't help but be cautious of the invading darkness.

Sitting alone, Abby placed a couple of branches on the flames while the others unpacked. She looked up to see Torgul sit across from her. For a second the light from the flames flickered on his face like he was wearing a monstrous mask with eyes glowing like two amber coals, looking unemotional and cold.

She shyly smiled. "Thank you for treating my burns."

"Well, that's what I do, my dear." He poured a cup of tea and held it out to her.

"No, thank you." She shook her head. "Jorin told me that five of your men were killed."

Torgul forced a heavy sigh. "Yes, it's tragic, those poor souls. If I had only been with them, maybe I could have helped."

"I'm sorry." Abby's eyes dropped to the fire.

He nodded and took long purposeful glances whenever she looked away.

"Does all your medicine come from plants?"

"Most are from plants and some from different ingredients to make potions."

"Potions, like magic?"

"Oh no, my dear, there hasn't been magic in this land since long before the dragons arrived."

The book and the stone seemed magical. "Do you know anything about Akira?"

"No, but I expect that we will learn in time. Now, what of your family?" he asked with interest.

Abby thought about the Browdins. "I have no family."

"No family? What about..."

Interrupting them, the others returned to sit at the fire. Torgul quietly walked away from the conversation.

Watching from a distance, Akira continued to flip her knife into her hand, she didn't like the way the Healer's eyes followed Abby's every move.

Jorin sat down next to her. "You don't trust Torgul, do you?" he asked quietly.

"No. My mother was betrayed by a Healer. We hid for a long time, so most thought she was dead." She watched the Healer glance over his shoulder to watch Abby. "How long has your Healer been with your village?"

"Torgul? He has been a Healer for at least seventeen years. He was the apprentice for Healer Falus. I became Torgul's apprentice over a year ago. He would never harm anyone. He's well respected in the village."

"What happened to Falus?" she asked with suspicion.

"No one knows how it started, but he died when his home caught fire. Shortly after that Torgul took over."

Akira released a snort of air, not believing the story.

"It's strange how much she looks like you. Do you have any idea who she might be?"

Her eyes shifted to Abby. "No, but I intend to find out."

Tumble waved Jorin and Akira over so he could tell one of his stories. Jorin returned, but Akira turned away and sat in the shadows alone. She shook her head at the story, not much different than his other stories where he was the hero, up against unthinkable odds, and saving the damsel in distress. She turned her ear to listen.

When Tumble finished his story, Brogan held a cup out to Jorin. "Here's a cup of tea for Akira."

"Can I take it to her?" Abby stood.

Brogan hesitated as he eyed Jorin. "Ah...I think Jorin should."

"Please, can I take it?" Abby hoped to get on friendlier terms with Akira.

"Sure, go ahead," Jorin said with a smile.

Abby took the cup and walked toward the black horse. She found Akira's blanket, but she was nowhere to be found. Following the noise, not far off, she nervously searched for Akira, carefully stepping so not to spill the tea. Her body jumped at the sound behind her, making her spill. She turned to find Akira standing in front of her. Abby's heart raced at the sight of blood dripping from her sword in one hand and a dead lizard in the other. Abby's hands shook as she held out the cup. "I brought you some tea."

"Who are you?" Akira stepped closer.

"I'm Abby."

"Who sent you?" She stepped again.

Abby stepped back, watching the bloody sword. "I don't know what you mean."

Akira whipped her sword up, knocking the cup from Abby's hand, making her body jerk with fright. "You may have the men fooled, but I don't trust you." She poked the tip of her blade into the lizard's small belly, making the guts hang out, and lowered her sword to point to Abby's stomach. "You see how soft the belly is..."

Abby swallowed hard.

"What's going on," Brogan interrupted.

Akira stepped back. "Nothing, I was showing Abby how to gut the lizard."

Brogan could see that Abby was scared. "Abby, you can return to the fire."

Abby nodded, quickly side-stepped around Akira, and ran.

Brogan picked up the cup. "What is your problem?" he said angrily.

"Problem? I have no problem."

"Are all Hunters like you?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Her blue eyes blazed with anger.

"I suggest you stay away from Abby."

"And if I don't?"

"I said I would take her to Orlah and I keep my word. No one will stop me."

She snorted at his threat. "She really does have a spell on you."

"You can leave if you like."

His stern face and intense brown eyes made her nervous, she had never been around men before and had no idea how to talk or act around them. Feeling her face flush, she looked away and lowered her arms. "I said I would take you to your dead men and I will keep my word."

"Is that for supper?" he said in a calmer voice. She looked at him confused. He pointed to the lizard. She nodded. "Good, Tumble is waiting." He turned and walked back to the camp, leaving her alone.

Rin found Abby sitting on the ground, leaning against a tree, hugging her knees up to her chest. He sat next to her and wiped her tears from her cheeks with his hand. His fingers made strange shapes, trying to tell her that Akira wasn't a bad person, she's just someone who's angry and alone. Abby shook her head not understanding. Rin smiled and patted the top of her knees. He whistled a bird song, singing to the sleeping birds in the trees. In the shadows Akira listened to the pretty song.

## 15

### Sisters

Abby lost track of how many days she had been in the strange land, and she still had no clue to where she was or how she was getting home; not that she wanted to go home, but it worried her where she would end up. The kind men were taking her to Orlah, but she didn't want them to leave her there alone, and even though Akira continued to ignore her, barely acknowledging that she was there, she strangely felt closer to her than anyone.

The sun fell behind the mountains, sending a cool breeze through the camp. Away from the others, Akira shivered under her blanket. She watched Abby and the men lay their blankets near the fire. Brogan laid another blanket made of deer hide over Abby. Akira frowned and in a huff, she rolled over, tucking her blanket up under her chin. She briefly drifted off to sleep, but woke to find she was warmer, and feeling the weight of the deer hide, she turned to see Abby tiptoeing back to the fire. Guilt tugged at her, but Akira couldn't bring herself to thank her; she snuggled under the blankets and closed her eyes.

The embers snapped, sending sparks into the night air. Still awake, Brogan took the first watch as the others slept. A sound from the forest pulled his gaze from the fire.

"Akira, wake up," he whispered and gently shook her.

She woke to find her mouth covered by Brogan's hand. He put his finger to his lips and slowly took his hand away. Her eyes questioned him. He pointed to the narrow yellow eyes peering out from the darkness. Akira's heart raced; she knew exactly what it was—tolverines. She counted four sets of eyes.

"Don't move," she whispered.

The others were still asleep, she knew she would not be able to get to them before the attack. About to protect the group, she readied her crossbow in her left hand and her long sword in her right. A loud bark; the battle cry was sounded—the creatures charged. She stepped back with surprise when Brogan moved to stand between her and the tolverines. The barking sent the others into a panic to get to their feet.

"Jorin, get behind Rin!" Sal shouted as he waved his sword out in front of himself.

Rin tossed Jorin his sword and tried to nock his arrow, but a tolverine was too close, and he only had time to stab the arrow into its side as he weaved out of the way. It yelped and staggered a few feet, before rushing back. Rin was ready and released his arrow, striking it above its eyes; he loaded another arrow, turning to aim at another tolverine. Torgal and Tumble, both armed themselves with their swords, watching the other direction.

Abby's body trembled when the light from the fire revealed the snarling beast moving out from the shadow of a tree, drool dripping from its mouth, baring its long brown-stained teeth, and wild glowing eyes. A low growl rumbled up from the belly of the ribs rippling its sleek black body, white sharp claws curled into the dirt when it slowly lowered itself into a crouch, and its long thin tail whipped up into the air.

"Abby, don't move," Brogan shouted.

Abby couldn't stop herself and stepped back.

Tolverine charged. Abby stood paralysed with fear when the tolverine leapt into the air, she cowered, and just before it reached her, she was knocked aside by Akira. She watched Akira shoot off an arrow into the neck of the tolverine, dropping it dead at her feet. Before Abby could say anything, Akira was racing toward Tumble.

Abby was shocked by Akira's absence of fear when she watched her wield her sword above her head, whipping it down to slash across the tolverine's back. It turned on her, trying to bite her. Leaping away from the sharp teeth, Akira fell backward, dropping her sword, she kicked wildly at its snout as she tried to retrieve her sword. She looked up to see Brogan fly through the air to land on the tolverine's back, stabbing his sword down through its neck until it stopped moving. He held out his open hand to her. Her wide eyes stared up at the man who saved her and placed her hand into his.

"Are you all right?" He pulled her up to her feet.

She nodded.

He bent down and picked up her sword, holding it by the end of the hilt with his fingertips. "I believe you dropped this." He raised his eyebrows to be funny.

She flashed him an angry glare. She turned to the sound of the horses squealing, all pulling on the tied reins, snorting and dancing nervously as a tolverine approached. She looked down to Brogan's boot, raising her leg, she stomped down hard on top of his foot. As he shouted and lifted his foot, she grabbed his knife out from the top of his boot and whipped at the tolverine. The tolverine yelped when the knife struck its head, it tried to run, but it only took a few steps before it collapsed.

Brogan hopped and tried to shake out the pain in his foot. "What the hell is the matter with you?"

Without a word, she snatched her sword from his hand, turning her attention back to the horses, she only had to look at her horse's turned ears to know where the next attack would come from. Two more creatures emerged, one straight for Abby and the other toward Torgul. Abby screamed and ran. Akira watched Torgul run one direction and Abby in the other—she ran after Abby.

Abby ran in a panic, hearing the growling and snapping right behind her. Seeing a downed tree, she turned suddenly and slid feet first underneath. The tolverine leapt up on top of the log, barking, jumping back down, it stuck its head under to bite her. Grabbing a stick, she thrust the end into its mouth, pushing it down its throat. As the beast, choked and clawed at the stick, she bolted out the other side, running between the shadows and the moons' light. Barely able to breathe, she stopped, and frantically searched the ground for a branch or something she could use to protect herself. Just as she picked up a short branch, she gasped when she was hit hard from behind, landing on her stomach, and rolling over, she jammed the branch between its jaws, pushing the tolverine back. Standing on top of her, white drool dripped from its mouth as its sharp claws dug into her skin. She screamed as the beast tried to pull the branch from her grasp. She jerked when in a flash, the head of the white deer rammed the tolverine, sending it flying into the air.

Akira arrived and pulled Abby aside to watch the standoff. The tolverine stood back up, ready to fight the deer. The deer stomped its front hooves, and lowered its growing antlers, aiming straight for the growling tolverine. Barking and snapping; it ran wildly. Waiting until the last second the deer twisted its head with one quick swipe, and the antlers sliced into the tolverine's neck. It yelped, staggered a couple of feet, and fell to the ground. Stomping its hooves, the deer circled the dead creature.

Akira examined Abby for injuries. "Are you all right?" Seeing blood, she lifted Abby's shirt up, but something else caught her eye.

"Hey!" Abby snapped, trying to pull her shirt back down.

Akira grabbed Abby's shirt, pulling it back off her stomach to see the symbol above her navel. Stunned, colour drained from her face. "Where did you get that mark?"

"I have always had this tattoo." Abby covered her stomach.

"That's not a tattoo." Akira stared at Abby's likeness. "What is your father's name?"

"Liam."

Akira rose up to her feet. "Your mother's name?" Akira demanded.

"Mesa. Why?" Abby asked, feeling the importance of the conversation growing.

"My mother's name was Mesa Ardius and I was told my father's name was Liam," Akira said with a confused look on her face.

"My last name is Ardius," Abby stated.

Akira lifted her shirt to reveal the same mark as Abby's. "I was born with this mark."

"It's the same. What does this mean?" Abby stood. "I was told it was my family's symbol. Are we related...sisters? We do look alike."

Akira had the same questions. "How old are you?" Akira asked.

"I turned sixteen. How old are you?"

"Sixteen," Akira said quietly.

"Maybe..." Abby started to say.

"This is a trick. How do you know the names of my parents?" Akira asked angrily.

"I don't know anything about my mother, all I have is letters from my mother to my father. The letters were wrapped in red ribbons."

Akira thought for a moment as she paced back and forth. Mother cut red ribbons from my baby blanket. She shook her head. Impossible! Her fingers rolled into tight fists and anger charged her. "What magic is this?" Akira grabbed Abby by the front of her shirt.

Abby tried to push her back, but in doing so, Akira reacted immediately, shoving her to the ground.

Abby crawled backward to get away from her. "Are you crazy?"

"My mother would have never kept anything like this from me. You're lying," Akira raged.

Abby scrambled to stand up, but before she could, she was back on the ground with Akira on top of her and holding a sword to her throat. "Who are you?"

"Please, don't," Abby begged, fearing for her life.

Akira stared into the terrified eyes of her mother; a painful ache shook her insides. Releasing her grip, she crawled off Abby.

Abby rubbed her throat. "Is it possible that we are sisters?" she questioned, feeling some sort of connection to her.

"Even if it is true, I don't care."

"I care! Where's our mother?" Abby was so desperate for any family contact, she had already decided in her mind that they were sisters.

"She's dead! And she was not your mother!"

Abby's heart sank at the announcement. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "When? How? Do we have any other family?"

"We are not related!" Akira turned to walk away.

"Where are you going?"

"Away from you!"

"Please, wait!"

Akira hesitated.

"Don't leave me alone." Disheartened, Abby watched her walk into the darkness, she turned in a circle, and the deer was gone too; she was alone again.

Releasing her anger, Akira swung her sword at a tree, wildly hacking into the bark as hard as she could, her hands and arms vibrated in pain, shouting out, she collapsed to the ground. She pulled out her red ribbon and crushed it in her hand. "Mother, how could you lie to me?" she yelled. "Why?" To accept Abby as her sister would mean she would have to accept that her mother had lied to her, and any thought that her mother had lied was heartbreaking. She tried to remember anything that her mother might have said in the past about her father or a sister, but her mind was scattered. Could we be sisters? She didn't want to believe this stranger, but her heart ached for answers. She wiped the tears from her cheeks, trying to sort out her feelings, but a distant noise startled her. Her body jerked again and fear shot through her when she realized the noise was a scream. "Abby!" Akira stuffed the ribbon back into her vest and bolted back to her.

Akira arrived to find two Spiritons hovering over Abby lying on the ground. Abby was relieved to see her. Akira immediately shot an arrow into the chest of one Spiriton, sending him flat onto his back. She pulled her long sword. Startled by the dead Spiriton, Abby tried to shuffle away from him. Akira's crossbow followed the other Spiriton when he grabbed Abby by the hair and slid his sword across her throat.

"Does this belong to you?" The Spiriton's disgusting mouth curled a hateful grin.

She aimed a line straight to his big grey forehead. This kill will be easy. Her eyes drifted down to Abby's frightened face—she hesitated.

"She does and I suggest you release her."

The Spiriton tugged on Abby's hair to move her closer. She followed the painful grab. Akira watched his eyes shift to something behind her and Abby's eyes widened. Hearing the footsteps behind her, she dropped her crossbow as she ducked, swinging her sword around to cut across the Spiriton's thighs. He shouted and tried to back away from her quick forceful strikes. She rolled her hand over to point her sword straight down to block his thrust, whipping her blade back, she ran the point of her sword up his stomach to his chin; she stepped out of the way when he fell toward her. She heard Abby shouting something, but before she could look, she felt a sharp pain on the back of her neck, making her collapse to the ground, and blacking out.

## 16

### Family

Up on the ceiling, another bead of water rolled along the wooden beam, pausing to hang on the edge, the droplet fell, slapping the stone floor. Akira clutched her aching head when the loud drip splashed next to her. Her eyes struggled to open when she heard her name.

"Akira, can you hear me?"

Akira opened her eyes, grabbing the back of her neck, she moaned as she slowly sat up. The flame from the candle on the floor faintly lit the cold stone room, no windows, and one door. "What happened?"

"You were hit from behind by one of those creepy men. What are they?" Abby helped her to stand.

"They're Spiritons." Akira pulled on the locked wooden door. "Damn it, we're in the tower."

"Spiritons? Like it says in my book?"

"The book writes of Spiritons? What else was written in the book?" Akira questioned.

"It was written by the last Hunter. There were drawings of plants and a map."

"The last Hunter, that would be my mother," Akira said.

"The book I lost belonged to Father. He died a couple of years ago. This necklace was also his. I think that it has something to do with how I got here." Abby pulled out the necklace to show her.

Akira almost felt a pang of sadness that her father could be dead, but quickly shoved him to the back of her mind. "It's a Piece of Five. It has power. The Healers used it for healing, until Senus turned evil." Akira sat back down, feeling dizzy.

"That would explain how I healed the eagle."

"Eagle?"

"Never mind, I will tell you about it later. Thanks, for coming back for me."

Akira nodded.

The sound of the door unlocking sent Akira to her feet, Abby backed up to the far wall in fear. The door creaked open; Akira reached for her weapons, forgetting they were gone. A tall grey Spiriton stood in the doorway, motioning them to move with the point of his sword. They walked ahead of the sword down a dark cold hall, stopping, the Spiriton pushed them both through the door, sending them to their knees. Two Spiritons pulled the girls up to their feet to stand before the Spiriton with the horrific face, Abby latched onto Akira's arm. Before Akira even looked, she knew who it was.

Senus towered over them. Grasping their chins with his bony fingers, he leaned in for a closer inspection. "How interesting."

Akira stared at the face that haunted her dreams, anger and fear grew inside her; she wanted to kill him as much as she wanted to run away. Abby turned away from the gruesome face, and looking toward the black drapes she spotted a boy with red hair peeking out.

"What do you think?" Senus questioned.

Abby scanned the room, unsure if she was supposed to answer. Someone stepped out from the shadow. "Torgul?" Abby was surprised and relieved—Akira was not.

"As I told you, they are twins." Torgul walked around the girls. "I guess Mesa took one child and the father took the other. The question is, why?"

Senus looked down to the blue eyes glaring up at him. Akira could not take her eyes of the ugly scarred face. Abby was scared, but wanted to know why as well. Torgul stopped in front of Abby and brushed her braid off her shoulder. Akira instantly grabbed Torgul's wrist. She released him when she felt the point of a blade poke her back. Torgul grinned at Akira's situation. He slowly ran his hand around Abby's neck, pulling out the necklace. Her eyes widened when he flashed his knife in front of her face; she cowered when he cut the necklace loose. She soon realized he was not there to help them.

Luken leaned out of the drapes to get a better view, but quickly retreated when Valgard's hand reached out to strike him.

"This would be a good reason to send someone into hiding." Torgul held the necklace up.

"Torgul, it seems you have done well in betraying your people again." Senus snatched the stone from Torgul's hand. He turned to Akira's seething eyes. "Your mother looked at me with those same eyes, before I killed her."

Abby gasped in shock. Killed my mother? She stared at Akira, not understanding.

"It's too bad Mesa didn't take to healing instead of hunting, but I'm sure the Ardius family was proud."

"You know nothing of my mother!" Akira shouted.

Akira was pushed from behind, sending her to her knees. Senus grabbed a handful of her hair, pulling her back up, he leaned down to her face so he wouldn't miss her reaction. He curled an arrogant smile. "I know more about your mother than you know. I'm not one for titles, but I guess you can call me Uncle."

Akira froze and swallowed hard. "You're lying."

"Your mother is dead because she hesitated and couldn't bring herself to kill her brother. My sister and I traveled down two very different paths. Unfortunately, she took the wrong one."

Abby could hardly believe what she was hearing, but now she understood why Akira was after the leader of the Spiritons; she was out for revenge.

Luken was frightened for the girls, but listened with eager ears. They were talking about the Hunter's Clan, like the stories his father told him when he was younger.

Akira searched her memories, trying to remember her mother fighting Senus. Before that day, she had never lost a battle. Did she really hesitate?

"If it is true, how could you kill your own sister?" Akira yelled.

"Well, she was about to kill me. I like to think we had an understanding."

Akira spat into his face. He released her hair, calmly wiped his face with his sleeve, and without warning, he struck her across her face with the back of his hand, making her head snap to the side. The violent strike made Abby's body jump with fright. Akira tightened her closed eyes, waiting for the pain to subside. Her mind went numb, the muscles in her legs shook, and her insides knotted; she wanted to scream.

"Now that we are family, I like to think we have an understanding too." Senus walked back to the table, placing the real stone next to the fake stone. "Kill them tomorrow at sunset!" He waved his men to take the girls.

Luken was left alone, sitting in the corner of the room on the floor where Valgard left him and threatened to kill him if he moved. He wanted to help the girls, but he was afraid. He glanced over to the drapes when a strong wind blew them to the side. His eyes widened when a strange purple mist poured over the windowsill to the floor. The mist rolled across the floor, he pulled his feet up out of the way when the mist moved toward him, the mist bent, moving to the table, whirling up the table legs, it crossed the top. The mist swirled excitedly around the stones. Like it was being pulled, the mist swiftly retreated back out the window. Curious, Luken ran to the table, reaching across to touch the stones. He gasped with fright when a sword sliced down onto the table, so close that he thought the sharp edge had chopped his fingers off. He wanted to curl his fingers back, but his body froze, afraid to move.

"What do you think you are doing?" Valgard snarled.

"Valgard! Let the boy be," Senus snapped when he entered the room.

Valgard nicked Luken's knuckles as he whipped his sword away. Luken clutched his bleeding knuckles and ran behind Senus.

The day will come when you won't have that cloak to hide behind, boy. Valgard stormed out of the room.

The girls were thrown back into the cold room. On her knees, Akira heard the metal latch lock them inside, she launched herself at the door, kicking and banging her fists against the door. Frustrated and exhausted, the beating stopped, she dropped her head, leading her forehead against the door. It felt like her heart was being ripped out of her chest when she thought about her mother's death. She couldn't believe that this evil man was her uncle and her mother was hunting her own brother. My life has been nothing but secrets and lies. The sudden silence made her turn to find Abby sitting against the back wall in the dark.

Abby felt like she was in a nightmare, she tightened her stomach muscles so not to be sick. Her uncle's unremorseful voice still rang in her head. It frightened her that he killed their mother and easily gave them a death sentence. A flash of anger rushed her when she put her hand on her mark, wondering why her father kept this secret from her. All those years, she had a mother and a sister, she knew nothing about. She put her hands to her head, pushing on her skull, barely holding in the scream that was ripping at her insides to escape. She searched for the angry words that she would say to her father, if he was standing before her, but the hateful words disappeared when she thought about him being alive, tears streamed down her cheeks, and the only thing she wanted to do was hug him. She pulled her legs into her chest, wiping her tears onto the top of her knees.

"Are you okay?" Akira asked stupidly, it was obvious that she wasn't.

Abby said nothing.

Akira rolled her head in anger. "If I get out of here, I will spend the rest of my life hunting Senus!" she shouted with conviction. "Senus, I will kill you! I don't care who you are!" Her voice echoed in the room.

Abby found Akira's anger to be frightening and watched her continue to kick wildly at the door.

"Our father was amazing."

"What?" Akira grunted at the interruption.

"He was kind and caring; he would have loved your strength and braveness." She paused. "He told me a story once, about our mother and how they met."

Akira continued to face the door, pretending not to hear her.

"He was riding his horse through the forest when he heard a scream. He rode to the sound and found a beautiful young woman sitting next to a river, but the scream wasn't from the woman, it was from a man she was sitting on, a thief trying to steal from her."

Akira's anger eased, smiling to herself as she pictured her mother doing just that.

"He ran to her aid and even though she seemed to have everything under control, he helped her to her feet. He stared deeply into her blue eyes. He said he had never seen anyone so beautiful and announced he would marry her one-day. She thought him to be crazy and flipped him into the river. He climbed out of the river, stood in front of her, and stated his future again. Once again, he found himself in the water. On the third try he knelt down on one knee. This time she smiled and walked away. He chased her for months until one day she said yes."

Akira walked over to Abby and slid down the wall to sit next to her. Abby reached out to hug her.

"What are you doing?" Akira pushed her back.

"I...I was going to hug you."

"Just because we look alike doesn't mean we are sisters," she snapped.

"But the marks, our parents' names? How much more proof do you need?" Abby frowned at her stubbornness.

"Proves nothing!" Akira was not going to accept this as easily as Abby.

The girls jumped when the door flew open. Torgul stood in the doorway holding a sword in one hand and a small lantern in the other. "Move," he ordered. As the girls stood, he moved behind Abby, holding the point of his sword to her back. "You will do as I say or I will kill her," Torgul threatened. "Akira, you first." He held the lantern out to her.

Akira hesitated, wondering why he was alone, but she did as he asked, and taking the lantern, she walked out ahead of them. The girls were surprised to see no one guarding the door. Hearing a creaking sound, they looked up to see a Spiriton hanging from a wooden beam above their heads with a tight noose around his neck. He looked dead by the odd position of his head. The three of them jumped with fright when the Spiriton came back to life, kicking and struggling to free himself. Torgul roughly grabbed Abby's arm, taking them down a narrow flight of stairs, and stopped in front of a tall thin door.

Akira looked over her shoulder at him. Why is he helping us? Unlocking the latch and pushing the door open, they cringed when the rusty hinges screeched. She held the lantern up into the dark room, heavy with dust and thick with cobwebs, the kitchen had the appearance of being abandoned many decades ago. They waved their arms through the webs to stand in front of the fireplace with firewood stacked next to it.

"Move the logs," he ordered.

Akira placed the lantern on the floor, moving the logs, she found a small wooden door, used for loading wood into the kitchen from outside. Unlatching the door, they crawled through the opening to make their escape. When they reached the forest, he ordered them to stop.

"Akira, you will go back and steal Abby's stone from Senus." He held his sword to Abby's throat.

"What? Are you crazy? It's almost dark!"

"Then, I suggest you hurry."

She shook her head in anger. "From the moment I first met you, I knew you were nothing but a low-life bastard." She stepped toward him.

"Stay back or I'll kill her." He shook his sword.

"Go ahead, see if I care." She took another step.

Akira's unconcerning words surprised Abby.

"You do care, she's your sister. Get the stone and I will let Abby go."

Her mind immediately calculated how many steps it would take to get to him, how he would move his sword, and how she would break his neck. She glanced at Abby's blue eyes, a sense of responsibility foiled her plans; she cursed as she stepped back. "I have no weapons."

"That's your problem."

Anger raged inside her. "If any harm comes to Abby, you will die a slow painful death." She turned to head back to the tower.

"Be careful," Abby shouted out.

"Don't do anything stupid," Akira shouted back.

Akira hid near the tower, cursing at the approaching darkness, by now the Spiritons knew the prisoners were gone. With too many Spiritons running the hallways, she decided to climb the tower wall from the outside. She slowly dug her fingers into the cracks of the cold stone wall, making her way up to the highest window, climbing through, she dropped to the floor to hide behind the black drapes. She peeked through the slit in the drapes to spy Senus, angrily ordering his men around. One Spiriton returned to announce that his horse was ready, Senus and the others stormed out of the room. Seeing the two stones, she quietly made her way over to the table, picking them up, she hung them around her neck. She reached out to take the dagger lying on the table, but a loud bang from the door slamming against the wall, made her dive behind the large chair. Senus rushed into the room. Her hand slowly crept up to the table top to snatch the dagger, holding it tightly in her shaky hand, wishing she had her sword; without it he was unstoppable. Senus whipped around, scanning the room. She swallowed in fear as her heart raced. He bolted back across the room, slamming the door behind him. She released a burst of air and stuffed the dagger into her boot. Rushing, Akira nearly fell out the window, and catching herself, she eased herself back down the outside wall of the tower.

Senus grabbed the reins to his horse, but something made him stop, something was wrong. The stones were missing from the table. He raced up the stairs, back through the halls, and burst into the room with his sword drawn. The stones were gone. He ran to the window; she was already half way down the wall.

She could hear him yelling for his men. Her grip was starting to slip, looking down, she could see the roof of a wooden awning jutting out about five-feet below. Dropping herself down onto the slippery roof, she fell to her stomach, slipping off, her fingers scrambled to catch the edge, leaving her dangling from the roof. It was still another twenty-feet down. Finding a rope hanging from the wood beam under the roof, she swung herself, catching the rope with her legs, and curling her body around, she started her descent. She came to a stop when something blocked her way; she gasped at the body hanging from the end of the rope. There was no doubt in her mind that this person was dead when the smell of death filled her nose. She winced with surprise, almost letting go of the rope when an arrow grazed her arm. She could hear arrows bouncing off the roof; she needed to act fast as they would soon be shooting up at her from the ground. The smell of the badly decomposing body made her gag, reluctantly, she climbed down onto the body; the ghostly dead eyes made her shiver. She took the dagger from her boot, quickly cutting into the rope above the body's head. When the rope snapped, she clutched the foul body and rode it down to the bushes below to break her fall. Coughing for air from the hard landing, she rolled off to the side, there was no time to rest. Her eyes darted to the approaching Spiriton on a horse, pushing herself deeper into the bush, she waited, and just as the Spiriton rode by, she jumped out, grabbing the bottom of his cloak, pulling him backward off the horse to the ground. She mounted the horse, kicking hard, slapping the reins, she raced down the trail alongside the mountain, heading back to the forest.

Before she reached Torgul, she hid the horse so he couldn't escape. She held the two stones out; he had only asked for Abby's stone. She was pretty sure the short leather string was Abby's, and keeping that one, she would give Torgul the other stone, just in case he backed out of the deal. When she arrived, she found Abby tied to a tree.

"It seems your mother trained you well." He viewed the stone in her hand.

"Here's your stone, now let Abby go." She threw it to the ground.

Torgul waved his sword. "Back up." He bent over to pick up the stone.

"It was you who betrayed my mother," Akira accused.

"Your father brought your very pregnant mother to Killeen. I had no idea Mesa was a Hunter at first, until I overheard them talking. They are the ones who were deceitful. The Spiritons could have killed everyone in the village for harbouring a Hunter. Your father found out I'd sent for Senus. He was the one who gave me this scar." He rubbed his forehead. "Liam and Mesa escaped. I can only assume they separated you at birth to protect you. If you are sisters, then you have the birthright of a Hunter. Senus will hunt the Ardius family forever."

Abby released her tears; every bit of new information about her family was heartbreaking.

Akira's eyes narrowed as she felt her rage grow. "My father may have been incompetent, but I guarantee you I am not. I will kill you." About to charge him, she heard horses squealing in the distance.

Grinning, he backed himself into the shadows, disappearing from their view. "They're coming for you."

"Damn it." Akira rushed to Abby, cutting her loose. "Hurry, before the Spiritons catch up." Akira's head turned to the sound of hooves, and pulling Abby down into the shadows, she covered her mouth with her hand. "Shhh...don't make a sound. No matter what happens, don't move." Their wide eyes watched three Spiritons ride by without looking their way. About to release Abby's mouth, she felt Abby's body stiffen with fright, she looked up to the forth Spiriton, riding so close he nearly rode right over top of them; Akira tightened her grip, making Abby release a slight muffled sound. They froze, holding their breath. He stopped, unsheathed his sword as he listened for another sound. Akira gripped the dagger so hard it hurt her hand. He scanned the surrounding forest, not seeing any movement he kicked his horse to catch up with the others. She released Abby's mouth, and they both sat back to catch their breath. She quietly led Abby through the shadows, back to the waiting horse. Mounting the horse, Akira held her hand out and pulled Abby up onto the back of the saddle. Abby wrapped her arms around Akira's waist when the horse jumped into a gallop. They rode for a long time at a fast pace. Slowing down, she steered the horse into the dense forest to avoid the Spiritons.

As they slowly ambled through the forest, Akira felt the side of Abby's head drop to rest on her back. "You don't have to hang on so tight." Abby loosened her grip a little, but continued to hug her. "The Spiritons don't like traveling through the dense forest, so we are probably safe now." Abby didn't move. "You can let go now." She wiggled, trying to free herself.

"I don't want to," Abby whispered, and tightened her grip again. For the first time in a long time she didn't feel so alone, the last thing she wanted to do was let her sister go.

Akira took in an annoyed breath, but allowed her to hang on.

"How come they couldn't see us?" Abby asked.

"They have bad eyesight in the night shadows."

"Is it true, did Senus kill our mother?"

"Yes," Akira said quietly.

"What was she like?" Abby said in a tearful voice.

Akira felt anxious, she didn't want to remember. "I don't want to talk about it," she said with an irritable tone.

"Why do you think they kept us from knowing each other?"

"I don't know," she snapped. "Can we just ride without talking?"

"Who was the boy in the tower?"

Akira stopped the horse at the odd question. "What boy?"

"The one with red hair hiding behind the black drapes."

"I didn't see a boy. You must have been seeing things." She snapped the reins to move the horse. "Don't you ever stop talking?"

Abby bit her tongue, holding back more questions.

Riding through the night, the trek was long and slow, climbing the uneven grounds, cutting through the thick bushes, and winding around the large boulders; sunrise was taking forever. Abby felt Akira tense when they heard the distant howls, but Abby didn't care, she felt safe. She looked up to the night sky, catching glimpses of the stars and the two moons between the gaps of the tall trees. Her eyes soon felt heavy and fighting to stay awake, her head bobbed.

Akira wiggled her back. "Hey, wake up, you're going to fall off."

"Sorry." Abby forced her eyes open, but soon fell asleep.

Annoyed, she shrugged Abby again, but Abby only mumbled something. Akira clutched Abby's arms to her stomach, trying to hold onto her. She breathed a sigh of relief when the sky brightened from the morning sun. "Abby, get off. We're stopping."

Abby dropped herself to the ground, her sleepy eyes looked up to Akira before she curled up to sleep. Akira tied the horse to a branch, leaving Abby, she searched for twigs and branches for a fire. Exhausted, she lowered herself down next to the fire and drifted off to sleep.

Midday, Abby woke to the sound of a loud snap from the fire. She bolted up, realizing she was alone. She stood. "Akira! Akira!" She spun in circles, frantically searching for her. "She left me!" Panicking, her heart raced, she felt the forest close in on her, nothing was familiar; she was lost. Birds zipped by, scaring her. "Akira!" she shouted louder.

"Shut up!" Akira ran between the trees, toward her. "What's wrong with you, are you trying to turn us into prey?"

"I thought you left me," she said, wiping her watery eyes.

Akira released a huff of air. "I was gathering wood for the fire."

Abby spotted the blood on Akira's arm. "What's wrong with your arm?" Abby reached out to touch her.

"Nothing." She whipped her arm away.

"Don't be a baby, show me your arm."

"It's just a scratch. Leave me alone."

"What is your problem? Have I done something wrong or offended you somehow?"

"What do you want from me? You show up out of nowhere and you expect me to accept you as family, just like that?"

Abby nodded her head at what she thought was a stupid question. "Yes!"

Akira shook her head at her persistence. "I'm fine, leave me be!"

Remembering the plant she used to heal the eagle, Abby took off into the forest to find the plant.

"What are you doing?"

"I know it had little blue flowers," she talked to herself. Finding the plant she ran back to mash the leaves. She didn't know if she would get the same result without the stone, but she thought she would try.

"Are you sure you know what you are doing?"

She pulled on Akira's resisting arm and rubbed the paste onto her cut. "There, all better."

Akira felt a warm sensation, the pain disappeared, and a scab formed over the cut. To her surprise, she looked down to see a yellow glow under her shirt, and pulled the necklace out.

Abby frowned. "I thought you gave the stone to Torgul?"

"Senus had two stones. I took both and gave Torgul the other one."

Abby held her hand out for the stone.

"This stone is not yours. You can't keep it."

"Father gave it to me." Abby continued to hold her hand out. "If you don't give it to me, I will talk non-stop, all day and night.

"Fine." Akira untied the necklace and placed it in Abby's hand. "Anything to shut you up."

***

Torgul cursed at himself for being so stupid and threw the fake stone into the river. He kicked the dirt and clenched his fists; Akira had tricked him. He laid his real stone on his map and waited for any signs of the yellow symbol. He thought about the other stones, to his surprise four other symbols appeared on his map. With wonderment, he ran his hand across the map. All I have to do is think about the stones and they will reveal themselves. He grinned.

## 17

### Tryodytes

The air was filled with the monotone sounds of lizards hissing in the heat. Sweat beaded the girl's foreheads as the afternoon sun blazed down on them, not a cloud in the sky or a breeze from any direction. They slid off the sweaty horse and carefully stepped between the lizards sprawling themselves across the dry ground to bask in the sun. They stopped at the edge of a large field covered in tall orange ferns. Akira circled a tree loaded with bright green clumps of moss, climbing, she straddled herself on a branch, and peeled off a chunk of moss with her hands. Leaning her head back, she opened her mouth to catch the stream of water as she squeezed the moss, taking another clump, she filled her mouth again. She dropped moss down to Abby. Like Akira, Abby squeezed the refreshing water into her mouth. Empty, Abby tossed the moss to the ground. Startled, she danced her feet out of the way when the clump of moss crawled across the ground toward the tree.

"What did I squeeze into my mouth?" Abby stuck her tongue out with disgust as she watched the strange moss climb up the tree.

Akira raised her eyebrow. "The moss carries water. What did you think you were drinking?"

"I don't know, but the moss is moving."

"Well, how else is the moss supposed to get the water?" Akira jumped down. "The moss drops to the ground at night to soak up water. How could you not know about the moss? It's everywhere!"

Abby tried to ignore her condescending tone. Recognizing the plant, she knelt down to dig out the edible roots, brushing the dirt off, she took a bite. "Hungry?" She lobbed a piece of root to Akira's feet.

"Oh, so you do know something," she smirked, and peeled the dirty skin off with her teeth.

Abby spit dirt from her mouth. "So...I guess we are twins." She watched Akira shrug her shoulders as if it were no big deal. "Why do you think our parents separated us?"

Akira turned away, angry that her enemies knew more about her past than she did. "How the hell would I know."

"Where do you live?"

"Nowhere. I live where ever I want."

"Doesn't it get lonely?"

"No!" she snapped.

Abby sighed, getting closer to her sister wasn't going to be easy.

"It's time to go." Akira stood. Hearing a sound like a growl made her look out to the field. "Wait here with the horse." She pulled the dagger from her boot and walked out into the field.

Abby stood up on her toes. "What is it?"

"Shhh..." Akira waved her hand aggressively.

A small tremor shook the ground, the long leaves of the ferns rolled up into balls. Her head snapped around to the sound again.

"Do you see anything?"

Akira rolled her eyes at Abby's lack of control to be quiet. Turning to quiet her, she took a step and felt the inside of her stomach drop when the ground below her gave way; she disappeared underground.

"Akira!" Seeing her disappear, Abby raced into the field of ferns, coughing and waving her arms at the clouds of orange dust. When she reached the spot where she last saw Akira, she peered down into the dark hole.

Bouncing off the walls of the long narrow shaft, Akira shot out into a cavern to land on a pile of dirt and rocks. Feeling pain, she moaned at her bruised body. Hearing someone yelling, she looked up to the ceiling to see Abby shoot out of the same hole, and unable to get out of the way, Abby landed on her.

"Ow! Get off!" Akira pushed her off. "I told you to stay with the horse."

"I came to help you."

"This is helping? Now we are both trapped down here," Akira scolded.

"Why are you mad at me? You fell down here first."

Akira creased her brows with frustration.

"Where are we?" Abby stood to brush herself off.

"I don't know, but we are not getting out the same way. There's light this way."

They climbed over piles of rocks and stepped out onto a path which led them through a tunnel. The sounds of metal hitting rock and growling echoed the tunnel, making them nervous as they approached the brighter light. At the end of the tunnel, they slowly stepped out onto a ledge to view the wide open cavern. Fire burned in large metal basins hanging by chains from the high ceiling, their eyes dropped to the frightening depth of the wide crater at the edge of their feet, as far down as they could see, wooden bridges crisscrossed the centre, and the walls were lined with trails running oddly in all directions. Movement caught their attention; they curiously watched the strange creatures swing tools at the rock walls. Akira noticed two creatures standing on their toes wrestling in the corner, tossing and throwing each other as though practicing.

"What are they?" Abby asked.

"I have never seen one before, but I think they are Tryodytes."

The dark skinned Tryodytes wore long leather vests with thick belts around their waists, their bodies slightly hunched over, allowing their long arms to dangle past their bony knees. The lanky creatures were almost hairless except for the four long strands of hair falling from the top of their narrow heads, and their eyes bulged forward as they snorted through their pushed in noses.

A Tryodyte carrying a basket of black rocks on his back, stopped working when his nose caught a scent, sniffing wildly, his fluorescent eyes flashed at the sight of intruders standing on the ledge above. More Tryodytes caught sight of the girls, a loud squeal erupted, alerting all the others. The Tryodytes latched onto the rock walls and with ease they quickly climbed up toward the girls.

"Run!" Akira shouted.

They ran back through the tunnel, but only made it about halfway when a Tryodyte jumped out, blocking the exit, they made a quick turn to take off down another tunnel which led them out to a wooden bridge. From above, Tryodytes scurry down the walls toward them, joining the chase. Akira held her meagre knife out in front as she ushered Abby out onto the bridge, slowly backing across as the Tryodytes gathered in a large group at the edge. Akira backed into Abby.

"Keep going, Abby."

"I can't."

Akira turned to view the advancing Tryodytes from the other side of the bridge—they were trapped. She waved her knife, but there were too many to take on.

"What do we do?" Abby shouted.

"I don't know."

A rock shot out, striking Abby in the head, making her stumble sideways to slip off the edge of the bridge. Abby struggled to hang onto the edge. Akira rush to grab her wrists.

"I can't hang on!" Abby shouted as her fingers slipped off.

"Abby!"

Abby fell fifteen-feet to land on the bridge below. Before Akira could look over the edge to see if Abby was all right, the Tryodytes rushed in, grabbing Akira's arms and legs, and hoisting her up above their heads, they quickly carried her off. The ride was loud and rough through the tunnels. They dropped her on a wooden platform and her knife was placed on a table made of twisted roots.

Screaming and wildly swinging her arms, Abby was dragged in by her leg, leaving her next to Akira. When she sat up to shake the dirt out from under her shirt, a thin line of blood ran down the side of her face.

When the ugly face leaned over the table to view the girls, four thick strands of hair fell in front of his face. The Tryodytes watched anxiously as he combed back the strands, carefully grooming, making sure they lined up perfectly on his head. "I'm Grinlor, Lord of Tomont. How did you get into our mines?" he asked angrily.

"We fell into a hole from above," Akira said.

Admiring his table, he ran his long skinny fingers across the twisted roots. "So, you are here to steal our gold?"

"No, we fell..." she tried to explain.

The crowd of Tryodytes erupted into a roar. Grinlor whipped his hand across the air to hush the crowd. "Humans are forbidden to enter our mines."

"Then, we will go." Akira tried to stand, but was pushed back down.

Grinlor's face contorted with anger. "You will not leave these mines alive!" The crowd roared, chanting Grinlor's name. He leaned back to admire the cheering.

"We will bargain for our release!" Akira shouted over the noise.

Deep wrinkles creased his forehead as he silenced the cave. "You have nothing I want!"

"Entertainment. I will wrestle your best."

"Wrestle?"

"If you win, we are yours. If I win, you must release us."

The crowd roared excitedly.

She watched his eyes glance out to the crowd looking unsure. "Or maybe, Tryodytes are too weak to wrestle one small girl?"

Abby quickly tugged on the bottom of Akira's shirt, trying to stop her from making the situation worse.

Grinlor's eyes narrowed at the challenge and slammed his hands down on the table. "Yes, I will agree, but she will wrestle." He pointed to Abby.

Sheer panic crossed Abby's face. "What? Wait! No!"

Akira glared at Grinlor.

"That is the bargain, take it or die."

"We'll take it," Akira agreed.

The crowd roared. Abby shook her head in shock.

"Tomorrow you will fight." He gestured the Tryodytes to take the girls away.

They were thrown into a small cave with heavy metal bars crossing the entrance, closing them in.

Akira took Abby by the arm, pulling her down to sit. "Let me see the cut on your head."

"The small cut is what worries you? Have you lost your mind? I can't fight, I haven't a clue how to fight!" she shouted.

"Shhh...they don't know that."

"They are going to notice in a hurrying, especially when he's pulling my limbs off!"

"Will you...be quiet," Akira growled.

"Do you like fighting and killing? Could you have not found a more civil way to deal with these creatures?" she asked as she curiously watched Akira take her clothes off. "What are you doing?"

"Take your clothes off."

"What?"

"Are you going to question everything I do?" she asked in an irritated tone. "We're changing clothes."

Somewhat relieved they were switching places, Abby undressed.

Akira squirmed in Abby's torn clothes. "Your clothes are uncomfortable and I'm not wearing this scarf."

Abby stuffed the scarf into her shirt.

The next day they could hear the Tryodytes cheering. The girls were pulled from their prison and ushered down into an open area. One Tryodyte quickly drew a large circle in the dirt and the excited Tryodytes crowded the ring. Grinlor was carried out on a chair along with his table. He eyed the girls standing before him, but something didn't seem right, he was sure the girl with the cut on her forehead was wearing the ugly clothes. He waved his hand to his fighter; a tall Tryodyte stepped into the ring, the crowd roared with excitement.

"Silence!" Grinlor shouted. He waved his hand again.

Akira's eyes darted to another Tryodyte stepping into the ring.

"This was not our bargain," Akira shouted angrily, then realized she gave herself away.

He grinned. "You wouldn't be trying to cheat me, would you?"

Akira's heart raced, he knew they changed clothes.

"Let the fight begin!"

Both girls were pushed into the ring. Akira grabbed Abby's arm, pulling her frightened face toward hers. "Hit them low and hard, they fight top heavy."

Abby shook her head, not understanding what Akira meant or what she had to do. She was ripped from Akira's grip and thrown across the dirt, scrambling to her feet, she was grabbed by the front of her shirt, and tossed over the Tryodyte's head. Pain jolted her when she hit the dirt. Her eyes followed the Tryodyte's tall body up to his face to watch him brush back his four strands of hair, trying to place them neatly on the back of his head.

Akira circled her opponent, studying his body shape, and the two-foot height advantage he had on her. He grabbed her upper arm with one hand. She squirmed wildly so he couldn't grab her with his other hand. Frustrated, he threw her off to the side, raising his arms up into the air, he waved for a cheer; the crowd responded.

Akira caught a glimpse of the other Tryodyte squeezing Abby from behind, she tried to crawl toward her, but before she could help, she was grabbed by the leg and dragged across the dirt on her stomach. He hoisted her up into the air by one leg, spun in a circle and flung her out into the crowd. The cheers were deafening. The crowd threw Akira back into the ring.

Kicking wildly, Abby moaned in pain from the hard squeeze. Feeling his hands, she curled her fingers around one of his fingers, and bent it backward as hard as she could. Releasing her, he shouted in pain. She quickly crawled under his legs to get behind him.

The Tryodyte leaned over Akira with his weight on his toes, grasping her shoulders to wrestle with her. Akira immediately launched herself forward, dropping to the ground, she shot herself between his legs as she pulled on his arms, making him lose his balance and flipping over onto his back. She rolled over to the side to catch her breath.

Abby cowered from the angry faces leaning over her. The Tryodyte still had his back to her, complaining about his bent finger. He suddenly became overly concerned with a strand of hair out of place on his head. She remembered how painful it was when the Spiriton held her by her hair. She took a chance, and jumping up to her feet, she grabbed one strand, yanking it hard. The Tryodyte yelped in pain, bending to her demand. Pulling harder, he fell to his knees, begging and pleading her to release. The crowd gasped with shock as they backed away from the painful sight.

Akira glanced over to Abby and could hardly believe she had her opponent on his knees. She choked when the long fingers curled around her throat and lifted her up into the air. The Tryodyte looked over at the other Tryodyte on the ground, screaming at the girl holding his hair. While distracted, Akira grabbed onto his wrists, swung her legs up, kicking him hard in his face, making him fall backward onto Grinlor's table, and crushing it. Grinlor angrily jumped to his feet.

Heaving for air, Akira stood up in front of Grinlor. "We won. Now release us," she ordered.

Furious, Grinlor's lips curled up to reveal his clenched yellow teeth; he wasn't going to keep his bargain.

Still holding the strand of hair like a leash, Abby made the Tryodyte run to Grinlor. The Tryodyte shouted as he ran quickly, trying to keep up with Abby. Tears ran down his face, begging Grinlor to release them. "I will yank his hair from his head and anyone else, if you don't let us go," Abby threatened with a shaky voice.

Grinlor reached up and covered the top of his head with his hand, as if protecting his hair from the threat. Akira shook her head in disbelief at the large Tryodyte at Abby's feet.

"We will release the Tryodyte when we are safe above ground." Akira retrieved her knife.

Grinlor stood with a hard cold glare. "You're free to go, but never return!"

The Tryodytes scattered at Grinlor's nod. Abby's Tryodyte led the way to an exit. Poking up out of the ground, the Tryodyte covered his eyes from the blinding light. Feeling safe, Abby released his hair. He quickly felt the top of his head as he sunk back into the hole.

Abby smiled proudly, seeking praise or something to acknowledge her bravery, but Akira ignored her. Stripping her clothes off in a huff, Akira demanded her leather outfit back. She wasn't sure what she was more annoyed about; that they won their fight by something so stupid, or that she didn't come up with the idea first.

## 18

### The Lessons

Akira sat on a branch in a tree, gazing at the purple clouds off in the distance. She glanced down to Abby sleeping next to the fire, a sudden wave of realization consumed her; she wasn't alone, and whether she liked it or not, she had a sister. What do I do with Abby? Take her with me? Leave her with the others while I fulfill my promise? Her attention turned to Samson gliding by her to land on Abby's hip. His cawing jolted her awake. Seeing the men, Abby excitedly rushed to them, giving each one a big hug.

Tumble took her up into his arms like he was hugging a little doll. "Li'l Kin, I'm so glad you're safe."

Akira jumped down to greet Brogan.

Jorin moved in front of Brogan, making him step back. He put his hands on Akira's shoulders. "Akira, are you all right?"

Akira looked straight past his over-concerned face to see her horse and pushed him aside. Jorin watched with wishful eyes when Akira affectionately patted Sable's neck and rubbed his nose. Abby noticed Jorin's attraction to Akira, but she seemed to be oblivious to his advances.

"How did you find us?" Akira asked.

"It was Samson. We followed him," Jorin replied.

Akira raised her arm up and called to Samson, but he flew to Abby's shoulder instead. She frowned. "Stupid bird."

Nervous, Abby slowly moved her hand to touch the white feathers, and snatched her hand back when Samson pecked her finger. He slid the side of his beak across her cheek. She tried again, and reaching up, she gently ran her hand down his silky smooth back.

Brogan recognized the large saddle. "Why do you have a Spiriton's horse?" he questioned as he handed Akira her weapons.

"It's a long story."

They circled the fire and sat down. Tumble rushed to make tea for everyone so Akira could tell their story.

"It seems Abby is my twin, hidden from the Spiritons and myself. She also has a Piece of Five."

Sal released a heavy laugh. "Twins! You two may look alike, but as far as similarities go, you are as similar as night and day."

Akira flashed him an annoyed look for laughing at them.

Abby glanced down into her cup. He's right, we are different. We have nothing in common other than our family name and looks.

"We were taken to the Tower of Edon. Torgul was there, he was working with the Spiritons. He has betrayed everyone. I believe he was responsible for your father's death," she said to Brogan's surprised face.

Rage brought Brogan to his feet and angrily paced the ground in front of them. "If this is true, I will kill him."

Shocked, Jorin sat in silence. Healer Torgul is a traitor? At first he didn't want to believe it, but found himself thinking about all the times Torgul had acted strangely in the past.

"When did Torgul leave the group?" Akira asked.

"During the tolverine attack, he ran off into the forest. We found a dead tolverine and no sign of Torgul," Brogan said.

"Torgul helped us escape from the tower for his own benefit. He made me go back and steal the stones from Senus. So, Torgul is seeking the stones as well."

"Abby, may I see the stone? I have only heard stories about the Pieces of Five," Brogan asked.

She placed the necklace in his hand. Flipping it over, and looking no different than the stones on the ground, he found it hard to believe people would kill for it. Tumble and Sal each took a turn holding it, but Rin refused.

"What? A big man like you afraid to hold a little stone." Sal teased him.

Rin gestured words with his hands.

"Rin says the stone was made by evil and it should be destroyed."

Frowning at Rin, Abby tucked the necklace under her shirt, she wasn't about to destroy something belonging to her father.

"So, that was quite the adventure you two had," Tumble said excitedly.

"Well, we also had to fight..." Abby received a swift kick to her foot followed by an icy glare.

"What?" Tumble asked.

Abby's eyes shifted to the fire. "Oh, nothing. Never mind." The glowing embers drew her into a daze, no longer hearing the others talk. Even though Akira was now acknowledging they are sisters, she made no effort to accept her. As hard as Abby tried to get her sister to like her, she still felt disconnected from the last member of her family, making her feel unsure of who she was or who she was supposed to be. Am I to be a Hunter like my sister and kill Spiritons? She jerked herself from her daze when she heard Akira announce she was going to hunt for food. Jorin tried to join her, but she ran off without him.

Abby stood next to Jorin. "You like her, don't you?"

"Can it be that obvious to you and not her?"

Abby released a sigh; he was no closer to Akira than she was.

Akira returned with enough food for two days. She dropped the food next to the fire and followed the sounds of laughter. Tumble was teaching Abby to handle a sword. Abby's arms shook when she tried to push against Jorin's sword. Her tired arms dropped the point of the sword to the ground. Tumble took the sword from her and placed the long knife into her hand. He motioned Jorin to attack with his sword, but she cowered and ducked.

"No, no, no," Tumble grumbled, placing Abby back into position again. "Hold the blade down. See how the blade protects the forearm. Deflect the sword like this." He tapped Jorin's blade.

"But his weapon is bigger than mine," Abby whimpered.

"Quick little moves and step aside."

He showed her over and over. Akira found herself moving to the motion of Abby's moves, wanting her to do well.

"Good, Li'l Kin, good," Tumble praised. "Now try this."

Taking a shorter knife, he flipped the blade into the palm of his hand, and with the snap of his wrist the knife zipped through the air, stabbing the trunk of the tree with a thud. Abby was excited to try. She held the knife the same, but releasing it too late the blade stabbed the ground near her feet. She repeated the process many times with the same result. She stomped her foot in frustration. Akira smiled.

Sal and Rin watched from a distance. "Don't want to be standing too close to that one, you might lose a toe or two." Sal laughed. Startled, he jolted back when Samson zipped by his face and landed on the branch above his head, cawing wildly. "Son of an ugly bird!" he shook his fist.

Tumble raised one eyebrow. "Now that you know how to hit the ground...let's try the tree." He showed her again.

Each throw was getting closer to the tree. Abby lifted her sore arm for one last throw; the knife hit the tree sideways and fell to the ground. She jumped with excitement.

"Why are you jumping? The knife was supposed to stab the tree," Tumble scratched his head.

She hugged him. "I hit the tree!"

"She's easy to please," Jorin chuckled.

Brogan laughed out loud and caught Akira's eyes darting away from him.

"This knife is yours now, you've earned it." Tumble slid the knife into a leather sheath attached to a belt and tied it around Abby's waist. "Li'l Kin, we must find you some better clothes. These things are too thin and torn." He stuck his finger through the hole in the bottom of her shirt.

"Thank you." She almost choked up from his kindness.

Akira walked a little ways into the forest, circling around a tree she leaned herself up against it. Pulling her shirt up, she rolled the top edge of her pants down on her left hip, and lightly ran her fingers across her colourful skin. Beautiful tattoos were circled by dainty green vines, coiling around each of the symbols. She remembered the painful day the tattoos were etched onto her skin, and her mother's voice still echoed in her head. "These tattoos are where the stones are hidden. The yellow triangle is in Elowen, the red dragon is in Orlah, the white circle is in Belinos, the green leaf is in Taltorn, and the blue crescent moon is in Adore. You must, no matter what, you must protect the stones."

She was torn by the love and the anger she felt for her mother, but she was now the last of the Hunter's Clan, and the 'Pieces of Five' were in danger of being found; her plan to kill Senus and the Spiritons, had to wait. She needed to leave the group and start her quest for the stones. She released a long sigh, not knowing how she was going to find the stones in the vast land.

She reached up to grip the hilt of her sword, turning her ear to the side to listen to the carefully placed footsteps. She released her grip when Brogan rounded the tree. He sat on a rock across from her, looking up to the sky.

"What do you make of the purple clouds?" he asked.

She scanned the sky. "I don't know, but they are growing." She bowed her head. "I need to leave you in the morning. Will you look after Abby?"

He nodded. "Is this about the Pieces of Five?"

"Yes," she said quietly.

"I know the Hunters protect the stones, but you are the only Hunter left." Brogan stared at her with respect as she had proven herself worthy of her title, but he worried about one person trying to take on so much.

"The bodies of your men are a few hours from here, but I must leave before morning and retrieve the stones." She paused for a moment. "I'm sorry your father died," she said with a sincere face.

He nodded. "We will find the others and give them a warrior's burning to the new-life."

Brogan left her to her decision and returned to the others. He ordered Tumble to take the first watch. When the others fell asleep, Brogan, Sal and Rin rode off into the night. Brogan found the nearby creek Akira described and followed it to a small clearing. They knew they were near as the smell of death hung in the air. They found the horrible site and chased the tolverines away. Each knowing what had to be done, not a word was spoken. Sal gathered dry branches, Rin did his best to gather what was left of the bodies, and Brogan retrieved the bone necklaces from each man to take back to their families. They carefully placed the remains onto the altars made from branches. Kneeling, they lit the branches on fire, and bowing their heads, they chanted a song to the souls, wishing them a safe journey to a new-life.

Akira woke to noise in the camp. Tumble had the group packed and fed. Akira had hoped to sneak off while the others were asleep, and quickly packed her horse. She turned to say goodbye, but found the others all saddled and waiting for her.

"The burning to the new-life is done and we are coming with you on your quest for the stones. You can argue all day, but we are coming with you," Brogan announced. She opened her mouth to protest. "We are coming with you," he insisted.

"I'm heading to Belinos." Akira frowned as she motioned them to follow.

Leading the way, Akira glanced over when she heard a horse trot up next to her; Rin smiled and quietly paced her. At first he made her nervous, but soon found he had a way of calming her. His bluish gray eyes expressed more than words, and right now he seemed happy to just be riding along. A little ways ahead, Akira listened to Tumble talking to Abby, telling her how to stop her horse from snatching grass along the trail. Akira rolled her eyes up in frustration. Smiling, Rin stopped his horse to patiently wait.

Abby pulled on the reins, wildly kicking her horse with her heels, trying to get him to move. Ignoring her, the horse wrapped its lips around a clump of grass, pulling up a mouthful, before trotting behind the others. Hearing Abby cursing shortly after, Akira snapped her head around to watch Abby's horse steer to the left and dive its head down into the long grass, nearly launching Abby out of her saddle. Rin stopped his horse again, his eyes gleaming as he smiled at Akira, he nodded his head toward Abby. She knew by his gesture what he wanted her to do. Akira released an annoyed huff, guiding her horse's head around with the reins, she rode past the others. Abby watched Akira gallop toward her, panicking, she snapped the reins forward as she kicked, but the horse still refused to move. She prepared herself for a scolding.

"Do you not know how to ride a horse?"

Embarrassed, Abby shook her head. "I had hoped he would follow the other horses."

Akira moved her horse alongside hers. "You need to teach your horse not to snatch grass. Loosen the reins. When he lowers his head pull back on the reins, alternating one hand at a time. If his head is already down, do the same, alternate the pull until his head is up." She adjusted Abby's hands.

Abby watched attentively as Akira showed her how to control the horse. Akira suddenly seemed different as the muscles in her face released her scowl, her voice was relaxed, and she was patient with her instructions. Abby's heart raced with excitement, trying to copy everything Akira was showing her.

"Now allow him to eat. Loosen the reins and pat his neck." The horse dropped its head down into the grass to eat. "Now pull his head up."

Abby did as she was told. Her horse snorted and fought to keep its head down, but gave into the pulling from side to side and brought its head up.

"Now, loosen the reins and pat his neck to praise him."

Excited at learning something new, she found herself lost in Akira's engaging face; she could have listened to her all day. There was so much she wanted to know about her and learn from her.

Realizing Abby was no longer copying her moves, Akira looked up to her amused smile. Her scowl returned, making Abby blink with surprise as she leaned her head back. Akira glanced over to the men watching her, flustered, she snapped her reins and bolted ahead of the waiting men. The lesson was over.

Disappointed, Abby watched her ride away. "Thank you," she whispered.

## 19

### Keeva

With purpose, the low purple mist rolled out of the forest, swirling forward, it flowed up the trail to the tower, pushing against the wooden door, wanting in, and finding an opening, it squeezed under the door, puffing out into the room. Two Spiritons standing next to the tower door looked down to see the unusual mist swirling around their boots. They opened the door to find a thick wall of purple mist. Like liquid, something poured out of the mist in front of their stunned faces, bubbling up into a shape of a woman's body. The woman's long blonde hair and cascading white gown, waved and flowed like she was underwater. She moved past them without stepping, like she was floating on air. They felt the urgency to stop her, but neither one moved. They watched the mystical woman glide up the stairs in a cloud of rolling mist.

"Senus, there's a woman here." Valgard stepped aside.

"Send her away," he grumbled.

"I can't."

"Why?" Senus turned and watched the woman glide toward him. Luken quietly crawled under the table.

He rattled off demands as he drew his sword. "Who are you? What do you want?" He soon found himself observing her beauty. His sword dropped to his side. A tall, beautiful woman stood before him. Her gown caressed her well-shaped body, flowing down to touch the floor, her hair fell freely down her back, and her soft white skin showed no signs of aging—almost perfect, long dark eyelashes circled her emerald green eyes, and the small round beauty mark above her upper pink lip drew his eyes to her enchanting smile. He was so captivated by her bewitching smile he fell silent. Her eyes pulled him into a deep trance, making him feel calm. A sudden flash of fire exploded in her eyes, breaking his trance with a jolt. "No one uses magic on me," he said angrily. Senus stepped forward, reaching out to grab her, but his hand passed through her ghostly body. He leaned back, surprised. Raising her arm toward him, her delicate hand gently waved across the air in front of him. His body stiffened, he couldn't move—he was paralysed. She rolled her hand upwards. He felt a tingle sensation in his arm and watched his arm rise up on its own. He struggled to stop his arm, but something else had control. Fear jabbed him when his hand grabbed his own throat. Valgard tried to step forward to help, but he was paralysed too, so he pretended. Senus fought hard to take control, but his fingers squeezed tighter, making him choke for air. Panic intensified when he sensed she could kill him. Valgard watched with suspense.

"You've been watching me," the voice whispered. "Each night you look out your window to gaze upon my clouds."

"Watch you? I don't know who you are," Senus choked, trying to release his grip.

"Oh, but you do."

He watched her full lips whisper a name and felt a warm sensation blow on his ear.

"Keeva."

His heart raced. She's alive!

The purple mist swirled around her body, fire erupted from the floor, engulfing her. For a brief moment her beautiful face transformed into a face of death. Her flaming skull frightened Luken.

"I'll be coming for my stone!" Her spell was weakening. A blast of heat filled the room as flames swirled around her body and with a loud bang the woman disappeared. Senus released the grip from around his throat and fell to the floor, coughing. He was left stunned by her power. If she gets the stones then we are all in danger. He rubbed his neck.

"Are you okay," Luken whispered from under the table.

Valgard grabbed Luken by his feet, dragging him out from under the table. His slingshot fell out of his shirt and onto the floor. Valgard spotted the childish weapon and remembered. "You're the boy from the forest. You little scum of a tree worm!" Valgard pulled him by the hair.

"Valgard! Leave him be," Senus shouted.

Valgard pushed Luken out of the way to help Senus to his feet. Luken quickly tucked his weapon back into his shirt.

"Get out!" Senus slapped Valgard's hand.

Valgard reached to grab the boy.

"Leave him, get out!"

Valgard glared at the young boy with brown eyes and spiky red hair. He left, slamming the door behind him; he laid his ear against the door. For days he watched their strange relationship grow and didn't understand why Senus favoured him, any other time Senus would have killed the boy.

"Do you know who that scary woman was?" Luken stuttered.

"Keeva."

Luken leaned back with a look of fright. "The Sorceress? When I was little, my father told me stories about the Sorceress Keeva, she has evil powers and is mother to all dragons. Her powerful stone was taken, and she vowed to return one day to retrieve it. I thought the stories were fairytales."

"And do you have fairytales about me?" he grumbled.

Luken shook his head, he was sure the unfavourable stories would only irritate him more.

Senus stabbed the table with his knife. "If she finds a way to break the spell she is under, everyone will be powerless against her, including you and your family."

"Do you have a family?"

"What?" Senus snapped, surprised by the question.

Luken repeated the question.

Senus frowned, wondering why he even felt compelled to talk to the boy. He turned his head away, pain jolted his insides as he clutched his stomach, trying to suppress his memories, but from the dark corner of his mind, he remembered. He had a beautiful wife and a ten-year-old boy. He had a good life before the curse. He tried not to think, but their names fell to his tongue. "Maylyne and Chance."

"Where are they?"

"I don't know." Lying, he looked away.

A memory flashed in his mind of the night his men attacked his family's village. Until now, there was no remorse for his wife and son dying in the fire. He struggled to forget his family, tightening his fists, he released an angry growl, and the annoying memories vanished.

"I was wondering, if maybe I could send word to my mother, that I am well?" he asked, dropping his eyes to the floor.

"Guards! Lock the boy up."

His sudden angry shout startled Luken. He panicked when two guards rushed in, grabbing him by the arms, roughly pulling him toward the door.

"In two days you may send word to your mother."

Luken glanced over his shoulder, but Senus was looking toward the window.

Valgard entered the room. "We have spotted Torgul and believe he is heading to Belinos."

"I want the twins and Torgul brought back to me in any condition as long as they are still alive." He walked to the window and paused, almost afraid to open the drapes. He clinched his fists, angry that fear knotted his stomach, and slowly pulling back the drape to view the clear sky, he released a long breath. I need to find the Pieces of Five, but would it be enough to stop Keeva?

## 20

The Hunter's Secret

Low in the sky, the sun twinkled between the tall trees, the damp air lingered above their heads as they followed the sounds of a soft rumble, guiding them to the river's edge to camp for the night. The fresh water rushed over the smooth warn bedrock, eddies swirled behind the large boulders forming deep pools, below the surface, rocks rolled and clunked together, colours glittered from the shoaling fish, and small creatures scurried between the rocks as the underwater lizards chased them.

There was still enough daylight, so Tumble headed up river to catch fish and the girls took the opportunity to bathe. Leaving their clothes on the bank, they gingerly stepped into the icy water.

Abby spotted the tattoos on Akira's hip. "Your tattoos are beautiful. What do they mean?"

"They are symbols of where the stones are."

"Which one is my stone?"

"Again, it's not your stone," Akira replied, pointing to the triangle. She dove under the chilly water.

Uncomfortable about bathing out in the open, Abby quickly washed herself, tiptoed back to the shore, and shivered hard as she struggled to get her clothes on. Akira climbed up onto a large boulder to sit. As she squeezed the water from her hair, she heard a noise from behind, quickly pulling her knees up to her chest to cover herself, she glanced over her shoulder. Jorin stepped out and knelt down to the river, unaware Akira was sitting on the boulder. He cupped his hand into the river to scoop water to his mouth. As he took a sip his eyes glanced up to see Akira—naked. Water shot from his mouth. He wheezed and coughed, trying his best to gain some sort of composure, but it was no use; he was embarrassed.

Akira started to move. "Do you need me to help?"

Jorin covered his mouth and shook his head. "No, no, don't move!" He continued to cough as he tried to take another glimpse, but couldn't focus through his watery eyes. He waved at her and climbed back up the bank.

She could still hear him coughing; she smiled and continued to run her fingers through her wet hair. She nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard a voice behind her.

"How long does it take to have a bath?" Brogan started to take his clothes off.

Startled, she slipped back into the water to cover herself. "What are you doing?" Shivering, she watched him.

"What does it look like? I'm taking a bath."

"You can't! I'm in here!"

He wasn't listening; Akira blushed at the sight of his bare chest and quickly looked away when he peeled the last of his clothes off. He ran into the water and dove under. She watched the bare shadow skim along just below the surface. He burst out of the water to stand at waist height, shaking water from his hair, rubbing under his arms, and splashing himself more.

He smirked, watching her hiding behind the boulder. "See, all done."

"Get out!"

"As you wish." He bowed at her command.

Wading through the water, he made his way back to shore. She glanced away when his white skinned butt rose up out of the water; her curious eyes drifted back to watch his v-shaped muscular frame walk up onto the shore. He slicked his wet hair back and rubbed his shirt over his defined smooth muscles to dry himself. He pulled his pants up.

"It's impolite to stare." Smiling, he grabbed his other clothes and waved to her as he climbed up the riverbank.

Embarrassed, she angrily splashed the water with her fist.

Tumble handed them each a plate of cooked fish. He passed a plate to Jorin. "My boy, what have you done to your face? It's all red." Tumble chuckled.

Jorin coughed. "Shut up, Tum."

Rin held up his piece of fish in his hand, praising the meal, he ducked when Samson flapped his wings in front of his face and snatched the fish from his hand.

Sal burst into laughter at Rin's stunned face. "You should see your face!"

The bird returned, snatching the fish from Sal's plate and flew off.

"What the hell!" He watched the crow scarf down his fish. "I wonder what crow tastes like?" He shook his fist in the air.

Rin smiled.

Abby put more fish into her mouth, but nearly choked when she caught sight of Akira running between the trees, half naked. "What is she doing?"

The squealing horses, made the men drop their plates, and just as they reached for their weapons, four Spiritons rushed out from behind the trees, running with their swords drawn. Brogan ducked under the Spiriton's swinging sword and spun around behind him to slice into the Spiriton's back leg. Brogan watched in disbelief as the wound instantly healed. The Spiriton grinned, turning to attack again. Holding his sword low, Rin whipped the blade up when the Spiriton charged him, clashing, they swung wildly at each other. Without looking, Rin knew Sal would be helping. Sal through his axe, stabbing the Spiriton's back. Unaffected by the axe sticking out of his back, the Spiriton continued to attack Rin. Fighting on his own, Tumble stabbed the Spiriton in the chest for the third time, but to his frustration, nothing slowed the evil man down. Jorin stepped in front of Abby, waving his sword in front of another Spiriton. Their heads turned to see Akira race toward them with only her scanty top and bottom undergarments on.

This time Akira felt different, her body hummed with a strange energy, white noise filled her ears, her muscles felt like they were bulging from her bones; there was no fear, only a burning rage building up inside, making her feel stronger than she had ever felt before. As she ran in front of Jorin and Abby, she sliced across the first Spiriton's throat, nearly beheading him. Still running, she leapt through the air, plunging her sword deep into the Spiriton's back. Tumble stood back with surprise when the Spiriton shrieked in pain and wildly tried to reach for the sword sticking out of his back before collapsing to the ground. Leaving her sword, Akira whipped her crossbow out in front.

It frightened Abby when Akira's raging eyes flashed by her, she didn't seem human. How could she so easily kill without hesitation?

Akira shot off an arrow at the Spiriton attacking Rin and Sal, making the brothers jumped out of the way of the falling Spiriton. The last Spiriton kicked Brogan to the ground, and about to strike down, the Spiriton screeched when he felt an arrow cut across his upper arm; he turned to see Akira loading another arrow. He searched for his men, realizing he was on his own, he bolted for his horse. Akira ran for her sword to chase the Spiriton.

"Akira! Stop!" Brogan shouted.

Unable to hear anything, she ripped her sword from the dead Spiriton's back, and out of nowhere a sword slammed down on top of her blade sending the point into the ground. She looked up surprised to see Brogan holding his sword against hers.

"Stop!" he shouted.

Glaring with anger, she kicked his sword hand up, circling her sword up, she smashed down on his blade near the hilt with a forceful blow. The strike was hard and quick; his sword flew out of his hand, stabbing the ground. Startled, his eyes darted up to her unforgiving eyes; he realized nothing was going to stop her and stepped aside. She raced to her horse with bare feet and launched herself onto her saddle.

The Spiriton held his arm; he wasn't healing. Fear rushed him when he turned to see her chasing after him. If his men were dead, then she was a Hunter. He released a haunting screech. Gaining on him, she could hear the Spiriton's horse snorting for more air. She pushed her horse harder. She shot off a couple of arrows, but missed. She was left with no other choice if she wanted to stop him, aiming her crossbow, she released, hitting the Spiriton's horse in its hindquarters. The horse squealed as it tumbled forward, throwing its rider to the river's edge. The Spiriton scrambled to get to his feet in the soft sand just in time to feel the clash of Akira's sword hit his when she rode by. Yanking hard on the reins, she turned her horse, charging, she swung out her sword, blades clashing, their hands felt the unmerciful vibration. Pivoting herself on the saddle, she kicked out both legs, hitting him in the face with her feet as she jumped down. He rushed back to her with a thrust. She stepped aside, slicing across his ribs. He screeched. She came at him with everything she had, rotating her wrists from side to side, forcing him to back up knee-deep in the river. They both struggled to keep their balance on the slippery river rocks. She forced him to back up against a large boulder. He lifted his sword back, but hit the hard surface, knocking his sword from his hand. She took the advantage, swinging her sword across from her right side. He stepped into her swing, catching her wrist with his hand before the sword could follow and punched her across her jaw with his other hand. She flew backward, crashing into the water. She heard water rushing past her ears, and heard metal clink on the rocks below her. Her hand rushed to the rocks below, searching for her sword. Not finding her sword, she panicked and struggled to get her feet under her. The Spiriton gave up looking for his sword, rushing her; he pushed her back under the water with his hands on her throat. She fought violently to push him off, but he was too strong. Her hand searched the bottom of the river again, frantically feeling for her sword as her lungs burned for air. Unable to hold her breath any longer, she was struck with fear. Her fingers felt her sword. The Spiriton's eyes popped when she jammed her sword in his stomach, pushing it up to the guard. He released her. Blood gushed into the water when she pulled her sword out. He stumbled backward toward the bank, bent over holding his stomach. Coughing, Akira followed him to the shore, standing before him with her sword poised at her shoulder.

"You'll never stop us!" he growled.

He knew he was done for, but with one last effort he lunged at her. Her slice was swift, and he fell to the sand nearly cut in two. Heaving for air, her body shivered as she stared through her wet straggly hair. The others arrived to find Akira dripping water and blood as she stood over the dead Spiriton.

Abby ran to her. "Are you hurt?" Akira continued to stare at the Spiriton. "Akira!"Abby shook her out of her trance.

Akira looked up. "Abby?" Drained, she dropped her sword and as her legs gave out, Abby helped her to the ground. "I'm fine. Help the red horse, before it's too late," Akira pointed. She glanced up when Brogan rode up to her.

"Are you injured?" He looked for injuries.

She shook her head.

He took in a deep breath. "Chasing after him alone was a stupid thing to do," he scolded. "What if there had been more Spiritons out there?"

She was surprised by his angry tone and couldn't understand why he was so upset with her. She thought he would be pleased she killed four Spiritons. "This is what I do, kill the Spiritons! I'm a Hunter!" she shouted back.

"Yes, so your reckless behaviour keeps reminding us."

"Why do you care anyways?" she mumbled.

Brogan's frown deepened. Pulling hard on the reins, he yanked his horse's head around and rode off; wondering why he cared.

Abby and Jorin forced the Spiriton's horse to lie down. She leaned her weight over the horse's neck while Jorin pulled the arrow from the horse. The horse squealed and snorted. Jorin quickly rubbed the healing paste onto the wound, and as the stone around Abby's neck glowed, a scab formed.

"Amazing!" Jorin said with excitement.

"There, all better," she cooed, rubbing the horse's neck.

They got the horse to stand. Taking the reins, Tumble led the injured horse back to the camp.

Abby wrapped Tumble's cloak around Akira and helped her up onto her horse. "We should have a chat sometime about running around half naked through the forest chasing bad guys."

Back at their camp, Jorin forced Akira to sit down so he could view her bruised jaw. He brushed the wet hair off her face to get a better look, their eyes met briefly. He gently placed his fingers on her chin, slowly turning her head to the side, forgetting about the bruise, he studied the outline of her smooth neck; his heart raced. Akira's pulse quickened when she suddenly realized how close he was; she blushed. Whether he knew it or not she had noticed his advances toward her, but she really didn't know what to do about it. She cleared her throat. Embarrassed, he took his hand away and gave her a wet cloth to hold to her jaw. She thanked him. Her blue eyes drew him in again, he wanted to take her into his arms and never let her go, but a flash of reality made him blink; she's a Hunter.

"I'll get more water." He leaned back with a smile and moved away from her before he did something stupid.

Abby leaned down to lightly touch Akira's bruised jaw. "Does your jaw still hurt?"

"Ow!" Akira slapped her hand away.

Abby stepped back. "This quest of yours is going to get you killed. Why do you have to find the stones and kill the Spiritons? Let someone else do it or..."

"Or what? Just be a sister?" she said crossly.

Abby walked away from her sister's bad mood, as once again her concern for her sister was met with anger.

"How are you doing?" Brogan asked.

Abby sat next to him, releasing a sigh. "It seems everything I do or say is wrong."

"You both are very different. I think she is hard on you because she worries about you."

"I find it hard to believe." She looked to his concerned face. "Why are you so hard on her?"

Her question surprised him. "I guess I worry too."

"I don't know what I am supposed to do or be."

"I think being her sister is enough. Give her time to adjust. This is a life she chose. If we give her time, maybe she will understand she doesn't have to do this alone."

Abby nodded, but really couldn't understand why anyone would want this kind of life.

Brogan held his sword up, inspecting the edges, and frowned at the deep gouge on the sharp edge of his blade from Akira's hard strike. He marvelled at her skills and how she was able to disarm him, but her reckless and unpredictable behaviour, worried him. He worked his sword against the sharpening stone to do what he could to fix the gouge. As he carefully brushed his thumb across the sharp edge of his blade, he looked up to catch Akira's eyes darting away from him.

Akira touched her sore jaw, thinking about the days ahead, wondering if she could protect them, especially her sister. The Hunter's secret weighed heavily on her, the secret she swore to keep—the secret that would no doubt help the others.

Akira ordered the group to follow her to a small wooden meadow with a cluster of white flowered plants. She uprooted a Ternet plant to cut off the thick roots. They listened with disbelief as she told them about the secret plant to kill the Spiritons. Jorin watched with eagerness as he had used this plant in the past to brew teas, and to think the plant was their answer to killing the Spiritons was unbelievable. She split open the yellow roots, rubbing the sticky juice on her sword, she explained that the poison from the root would temporarily break the curse on the Spiritons; long enough to make them vulnerable and the weapon would do the rest. Grinning, Sal and Rin exchanged glances.

"Why didn't the Hunters tell us about the plant?" Tumble questioned.

"If the Spiritons found out, they would have destroyed the plants. You must promise to keep this secret." She glanced away from their stares, feeling like she betrayed them and her mother.

"Why are you telling us?" Brogan asked.

Her anger darted to him. "Because you are a hindrance to me if you can't protect yourselves."

"Is that the only reason?" His long stare forced her to look down.

"Thank you, Akira." Abby interrupted the long pause. She didn't care what her reason was; it was enough Akira was willing to share the secret.

Sal leaned over to Rin's ear to whisper. "If the Hunters had told us about the plant long ago, then maybe not so many people would have died."

Rin could see the anguish on her face and replied with his hands. Or maybe the Spiritons would have destroyed the plants and we would be dead. No one should have to carry this heavy burden.

While the others rubbed their weapons with the sticky root, Akira sat alone, questioning herself on whether or not she should have told them the secret. She released a sigh and with no thought as to what she was doing, she plucked the white flowers from the plants, carelessly dropping them to the ground. Rin sat down next to her, taking the frail flower from her hand and holding up to his mouth, he lightly blew on the petals, blowing out tiny sparkles into the air. With surprised, she watched the sparkles twinkle as they floated down. He plucked two more flowers, holding one out to her, gesturing her to take it. Taking it, she looked back at him. He puckered his lips and waited for her to do the same. She held the flower up to her lips and in unison, they both slowly blew. A whirlwind of sparkles blew out, spinning and drifting around them. He nodded with a smile and left her alone. She viewed the beautiful plants, the same plants she only ever saw as a weapon, and taking in the refreshing fragrance, she laid herself down to watch the sparkles floating above her, glittering in the sunlight.

## 21

### Betrayal

Starting a fire, Torgul glared at the flames; a hateful reminder. He pulled out a thin book with the name 'Falus' written on the front cover, the back cover was missing and some of the pages were badly damaged by fire. Carefully turning the first couple of pages, he stopped to read his Master's notes scribbled down the side of the page.

'The stories of the Pieces of Five are true.'

'There is a magical map in the Tower of Edon. You must have a Piece of Five to read the map.'

'The map will reveal where the stones are hidden.'

'It is legend that one stone maybe guarded by the dragon of Orlah.'

'It is rumoured that Master Gamal taught his daughter the spells, but she disappeared after the battle at the Tower of Edon.'

As a young man, Torgul knew the only way to be wealthy and powerful was to be a Healer. He worked hard to sabotage those who ran against him and won the position of apprentice by means of cheating. He was not a patient man, and waiting to become the new Healer was taking too long. The daily tedious tasks of running errands to fetch his Master's every demand was demeaning in his eyes. The thought that this could go on for another ten years was excruciating, but the day he found his Master's book changed everything.

Seventeen years had passed, and the night he stabbed his Master and set fire to the small house still haunted him. A few notes in a book had brought him to a life of deceit and murder, but he couldn't let go of the burning desire to have the powerful stones, and obsessed, he stopped at nothing to find them, even doing the unthinkable; allowing himself to side with the Spiritons. He thought back to the first time he worked with the Spiritons.

In the stable, Torgul slid his hands across her very pregnant stomach, feeling her tight skin, and laid his ear against her navel to listen. "Well, My Dear Mesa, you are nearly due." He looked up. "Liam, you must be excited." He continued to rub her stomach. "You need to stay in Killeen longer."

"We can't, the Spiritons have been trailing us for days," Liam said, as he paced nervously.

Torgul looked out the window to see the approaching night. "Your wife could give birth any day now and she needs my help." He washed his hands in the bowl of warm water.

Liam noticed the Healer's shaky hands. "I will help her. We are going."

"My husband is right, we have to move on." Mesa struggled to her feet.

"Mesa you may be a Hunter, but you are a woman about to give birth." He quickly packed up his bag.

Liam's eyes narrowed. "How did you know Mesa was a Hunter?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, was it a secret?"

Liam grabbed Torgul by the front of his shirt, pulling him up to his feet, poking the tip of his knife under his chin. "Who did you tell?"

"No one," he panicked.

"I don't believe you." He shook him.

"I didn't tell anyone!" His eyes darted to the window.

A rider rode into the stable. "Liam, I spotted five Spiritons, heading this way."

Torgul flung his arms, trying to break free from Liam's grasp. They struggled, the knife cut across Torgul's forehead, and knocking him to the ground, Liam sat on top of him. "Did you send for the Spiritons!"

Torgul swallowed hard; his eyes rolled to the stable doorway, worried the Spiritons would arrive while he was still there.

Mesa pulled on Liam's arm. "Liam, the baby." She affectionately rubbed her belly. "Leave him, we have to go, now."

Liam punched Torgul's face, before standing up to help his wife up on the horse. "I'll be back for you, Healer," he threatened. He led his wife out into the darkness.

Torgul kicked dirt at the fire, making it crackle; he could have died a horrible death, but the notes about the stones were enough to convince Senus to spare his life. He took out the map and stone to study his route to the dragon's cave on the shores of Belinos.

## 22

### The Fight

The large web was spun with lightning speed. The exquisite net shimmered with a beautiful rainbow of colours to attract prey into its mesmerizing trap, delicate by appearance, but strong enough not even a fist-sized bird could break through.

Startled, Akira's face stopped inches from the waiting trap. From the corner of her eye, she watched the yellow spider, larger than her hand, run to the centre of the web. She stepped back and shivered to the extreme, brushing her arms and legs with her hands as though spiders were all over her. "I hate spiders!" She walked around the large web and shivered again. She glanced over her shoulder, hoping no one saw her apparent fear, unfortunately Sal, Rin and Abby were watching with large smiles.

"That was quite the little dance you did," Sal laughed.

Embarrassed, she turned from them. Her shoulders rose in frustration as Sal continued to tease her, and at her limit, she spun around to do something she would most likely regret. Surprising her, Rin whipped his knife at the spider hanging on the web. She jerked back when the spider hit the ground. Her wide eyes looked up to Rin as he talked with his hands in front of Sal. Rin winked at her.

Sal turned to watch his brother walk away. "Since when do you hate spiders?"

Brogan rode off to hunt for food, leaving the others to make camp. They sat to discuss the destination of the white stone. Akira tried to explain she knew the stone was in Belinos, but wasn't sure of its precise location.

Abby slouched with a long sigh. "If only I had my book, it might have shown where to search."

Without a word, Akira ran to her horse to pull out the green book from her saddlebag.

Surprised, Abby jumped to her feet. "You had my book all this time and never told me?"

Akira sat down, trying to ignore her. Perturbed, Abby hovered over Akira and repeated herself with an angry tone. Tumble and the others quietly moved away from the girls.

"What is your problem, we have the book now." Akira stood up to face her.

Abby raised her voice. "You lied to me. I thought I lost my father's book."

"If we are sisters, then it's my book too."

"Are you kidding me? You have done nothing but make me feel unwelcome and now you are claiming the right to my book?" Abby yelled.

"You have been nothing but trouble since you got here."

"Is that right? You would be dead if I hadn't saved you from the Tryodytes!" Abby blasted.

"Tryodytes?" Tumble looked confused. "What Tryodytes?"

"I was doing just fine without you!"

"Oh, so you were just toying with him when he was choking you?"

"You were being choked?" Tumble asked with concern.

"Give me the book." Abby flung the end of her scarf over her shoulder.

Akira stood her ground holding the book tightly. "No. And what's with the stupid scarf around your neck?" she asked, provoking the tense moment.

Abby stepped in and pushed her on the shoulders. Akira laughed at her weak threat. With a look of crazy in the eyes, Abby took flight, knocking Akira to the ground. The entertained men watched the girls wrestle. Sitting on Akira, Abby swung her arms wildly trying to punch her, but Akira was too quick and blocked everything she threw.

"Come on, Abby, punch her in the nose," Sal cheered her on, swinging punches in the air.

"Shouldn't we stop them?" Jorin tried to intervene.

Tumble pulled him back. "Sometimes a good fight can clear the mind. Let's see if they can work it out themselves."

"Is that all you got?" Akira laughed.

Long buried anger welled up inside Abby, it was no longer about the book or her sister; it was about the many years of abuse she suffered, allowing herself to be the victim and doing nothing to stop it. She could feel herself slipping away into something uncontrollable and frightening, but couldn't stop. Tears filled her eyes. "I'll never let you hit me again!" She shouted and cried as she flung her fists down on Akira's body.

At first Akira was amused by Abby's attempt to fight, but something was wrong with her. "Hit you? What are you talking about?" Confused, Akira looked up to Abby's red face, contorted with anger and pain. She winced when Abby slipped through, punching her on the nose. Trying to stop Abby without hurting her, Akira grabbed Abby's wrists, but she continued to rage on, shaking her head as she shouted out nonsense. "Abby, stop it!" Akira hooked one of her legs over the top of Abby's leg, pulling her arms down, she flipped Abby onto her back, pinning her arms to the ground. "Abby! Enough!" Still struggling, she slapped Abby across the face, stunning her.

Brogan returned in time to see Akira slap Abby's face.

Returning to her senses, Abby blinked wildly and looked up to her sister. Tears streamed down the side of her face. "I'm sorry," she choked.

Brogan pushed Sal and Rin aside, and reaching down, he grabbed Akira by the back of her shirt, dragging her off Abby. "What the hell is going on?"

"They're fighting over a book," Jorin said.

"And I think there is something to do with Tryodytes," Tumble said.

"A book? What's the matter with you two?" Brogan scolded. "You're being childish!"

"It's my fault, I started it," Abby said.

Akira stood up in front of Brogan, wiping the blood dripping from her nose. "It was nothing, we were just horsing around."

Brogan fell silent. Akira was aggressive, bold, moody, and wild; things that irked him, and tried to convince himself he didn't trust the Hunter, but once again he found his heart racing at the sight of her fiery blue eyes.

Tumble helped Abby up to her feet. "Li'l Kin, are you all right?"

She wiped the tears from her face. "I'm fine, a bit tired, so I'm going to lie down," she said, shyly. She picked up the book, walked over to her blanket, and lying down, she curled the blanket up over her head. All those times she was beaten in the past, and never once did she try to fight back, but in one angry moment she lashed out at her sister. She rubbed the blanket into her face to cry some more.

Akira anxiously paced, she didn't understand what was going on with Abby, but she could tell she was in pain. She picked up her blanket, dropping it next to Abby, she threw herself on the ground and whipped her blanket up over herself. She listened to Abby's quiet sobs.

"Are you okay?" Akira asked.

Abby said nothing.

"Did someone hurt you?"

"I hated them," she whispered. "There were days I wanted to die."

Abby's distressing words surprised her. "You know you never have to go back there again." Akira was silent for a moment. "I'm sorry I took your book."

Abby peeked out from under her blanket. "You slapped me."

"You punched me in the nose."

"So I guess we are even?"

"Even? You made my nose bleed."

"It only bled a little. Does it hurt?"

"No." She sniffed.

"I'm sorry, I hit you. I don't know what possessed me, I have never hit anyone before."

Akira touched her nose to see if it was still bleeding. "It was a lucky shot. Next time you won't be so lucky." Akira tossed herself to look away. "Go to sleep, or I'll change my mind about calling it even."

Abby smiled and clutched her book tightly to her chest.

Just as the sun rose over the mountain top, Tumble shouted out to wake the others for breakfast. He pulled the chard lizard meat from the fire and waved it around, trying to put out the flames. Abby sat up, stretching and yawning, she looked over to Akira doing the same and cringed at the site of her black eyes.

"What's wrong?" Akira asked.

"Ah...nothing."

Sal laughed out loud when Akira sat next to him. "Nice shiners!"

Frowning, she looked over to Abby sheepishly rolling up her blanket.

"Abby, show me what is so special about your book," Brogan ordered.

Abby rushed over, took out her stone and opened the book. Surprised, the others watched a yellow triangle appear on the map. She told them about a red symbol and how it appeared one day.

"What are the colours of the stones?" Brogan asked.

"Yellow, red, white, green and blue," Akira said.

As Abby thought about the colours, her stone glowed brighter. They gasped with surprise when four more symbols appeared on the map.

"With this book we can find the other stones," Akira said with excitement.

"What colour stone does Torgul have?" Jorin asked.

"The only one looking out of place is the red one; it's too close to Belinos. It should be in Orlah." Akira rolled the one side of her pants down her left hip, exposing part of her buttocks to show the tattoos. "See, red means Orlah." She pointed to the red dragon tattoo on her hip.

There was a long pause as all eyes were pinned on Akira's bare skin. Abby jumped up to block their view, quickly rolling Akira's pants back up. Embarrassed, the men looked away, but Jorin continued to stare.

"A shy one, she is not." Tumble chuckled as he pushed Jorin off the log.

"Torgul must have a map too," Brogan said. "We will head to Belinos tomorrow."

Sal spotted a white deer peeking out from behind a bush. He quickly readied his axe to kill the easy meal, but Abby jumped in front of his view.

"Now what?" he grumbled.

"Don't, he's mine!"

His brows wrinkled. "Yours? Well, be my guest...quick, grab a bow and arrow."

"What? I don't want to kill it. It saved my life, twice," she stated.

Waving a handful of grass at Abby, Rin gestured her to take it to the deer.

"Rin, don't encourage her." Sal frowned.

Taking the grass from Rin, and holding her hand out, she slowly approached the deer. The deer's black tail twitched nervously. "Don't be afraid," she whispered. She stopped a couple of feet in front of the deer, waiting for him to come to her. She looked back at Rin, he smiled and nodded. Taking a couple of steps, the deer stretched out its neck to pull at the grass with its lips. As Abby slowly brushed her hand down its long neck, she marvelled at his size and beauty. "I think you need a name. How about Snow?" she asked the deer.

"You named it Snow?" Sal shook his head. "What a waste of a good meal."

## 23

The Keepsake and the Kiss

Along the top of the dark jagged cliffs, the wind-swept trees twisted their roots between the deep cracks for a better grip from the unyielding wind. The sea birds squealed from their nests, built high in the crevices, towering over the red beach. The ocean waves crashed down and rolled up the sandy shore to where lizards and birds waited patiently for small fish to be left behind by the retreating waves.

Covering his nose from the unbearable stench, Torgul peeked into the dragon's cave along the shore. The roar of the waves startled him, making him scan the sky for a dragon. It was daytime and the dragon was most likely out hunting, but he didn't want to go in to find out. Looking at his map, it showed the yellow stone near the cave, which meant Akira was close. He had a better idea; he would wait for Akira to retrieve the stone, then he would steal it from her. He rode his horse down the beach to watch from the cliffs.

During a short break from riding, Jorin finally found a subject Akira was eager to give her full attention to. He asked to see her crossbow, amazed by its small size, he carefully inspected it. He listened attentively when she explained how the crossbow worked and the distance the arrows could reach. He did have some knowledge of how to hold a crossbow, but held it awkwardly on purpose. She huffed at his attempt to aim and leaned up against his side to adjust his arm. His eyes shifted to the side when he felt her warm body next to his. He heard her quiet voice whisper instructions into his ear, but his attention was not on the crossbow, it could have been pointing to the ground for all he knew. Her fingers were gentle when she moved his hand back on the crossbow, her long braid brushed across his back when she tilted her head to his shoulder to line up his shot. He felt her warm breath on his neck when she told him to release his breath slowly. His heart raced at the thought of dropping the crossbow and kissing her.

Sal poked Rin in the ribs with his elbow as he pointed his chin to the direction of Jorin. "If they get any closer, we will have to look away," Sal snickered. "Want to bet he kisses her?"

Viewing Jorin's lovesick grin, Rin shook his head.

After the third time turning his head to face his target, Akira leaned back, annoyed. "Jorin! Are you listening?"

He was lost in her beautiful eyes, he couldn't hear a thing.

"Jorin! Shoot!" she shouted in an irritated tone.

Startled by her angry expression, he shook himself. Without looking he did as she asked and released the arrow. They both watched the arrow streak by Tumble's leg to disappear into the river.

Tumble jumped back from the sound. "What the dragon's guts was that?"

Jorin quickly turned, hiding the crossbow. He motioned her to turn away too. Seeing Tumble about to turn, she childishly turned away pretending to look at her sword. Tumble looked to the others, but no one acknowledged the sound. Scratching his head, he turned back to the water, still unsure what shot past him. Akira's frown lightened and her lips twitched into a smile when Jorin winked at her.

The winding river drained out into the Great Water. They rode out onto the red beach to view the wide open space. Abby raised her hand to shield her face from the bright sun sitting in the midday sky. As the others rode further down the beach, Abby slid off her horse to land in the soft sand. She walked closer to the water.

Akira stopped her horse and looked back to see Abby standing on the shore. About to yell at her to hurry, she stopped herself and watched Abby gaze at the ocean. Why are we so different? Abby is stubborn, annoying, has no weapon skills, no sense of impending dangers, and too emotional. And yet, she is kind, gentle, trusting, thoughtful of others, and see things differently than others; all things that make her naïve in this world. How can she survive?

Having never seen the ocean, Abby stood spellbound by its wondrous beauty, staring in disbelief at the vast blue ocean, just as blue as the endless sky. She squinted at the line of the horizon, wishing she could see what lies beyond. The surface of the rippling water glimmered in the sunlight, waves splashed up against the black cliffs rising out of the water's edge, sending white spray high into the air. Her eyes widened, watching a small wave rise up in front of her, white foam running the top of the wave before it curled over, crashing down on the shore. Surging, the wave lapped over her shoes, making her feet dance backward to get out of the way. She looked up the shoreline to see funny looking little birds with thin beaks and stilt like legs, running in a synchronized motion as they chased the waves back to the ocean, only to be chased back out when the wave rushed the shore. Feeling the need to touch the sand with her bare feet, she took off her shoes and curled her toes into the wet sand. She stepped into another oncoming wave to watch it rush over her feet; she shivered. When the wave retreated, she looked down to see a small fish floundering on the sand. She crouched down like a child to investigate the struggling fish, but another wave pulled the fish back into the ocean. She wiggled her fingers through the cold water and touched her tongue; she wrinkled her face at the salty taste. She poked at the empty white shells scattered across the sand, wondering what they were. Standing with her eyes closed, she stuck her nose up into the air to smell the salt on the warm breeze. Enchanted, she smiled; it all seemed so magical.

Akira walked back to Abby. "What are you doing?"

Abby picked up one side of a small shell and placed it in the palm of her hand.

Akira took the shell from her. "Have you never seen a shell before?"

She shook her head. "I have never seen the ocean before. Not in my wildest dreams could I have imagined something so amazing."

Akira crouched down to pick up another piece of shell from the sand and joined the two pieces together. "At one time a creature lived in this shell, somewhere out there." She held up the complete shell.

Abby was intrigued, out of all the broken shells across the beach Akira had picked up the matching half.

No longer interested, Akira carelessly dropped the shells to the sand. "Come on, let's catch up with the others." She started to walk away. Not hearing Abby following behind her, she glanced over her shoulder to see her drop to her knees. Frowning impatiently, she walked back. "What are you doing, now?"

"I want the shell," she replied, searching through the shells around her.

"Well, hurry up and take one."

"I want the one you put together."

"What does it matter? The beach is covered in them."

"I'm not leaving until I find it."

"What's so important about a stupid shell?"

"It's not stupid!" Abby shouted angrily. Abby continued to search, obsessed with finding the matching pieces.

"You're being childish." Akira huffed at her stubbornness as she knelt down to help her search. Finding the two halves, she joined them back together and held it out to Abby. "Can we go now?"

Excited, Abby took the shells from her sister and smiled lovingly at the little keepsake as she lightly clutched it in her hand. "Thank you."

The girls caught up to the others, stopping in front of a large opening in the side of the cliff.

"Ugh! What's that smell?" Abby held her nose.

"A dragon dwells in this cave," Tumble whispered. "Wait here, I will check it out." He lit a small torch and slowly entered the dark cave.

Brogan, Abby and Akira, leaned themselves up against one side of the entrance wall and the others waited on the other side. They drew their weapons. Standing behind Brogan and holding her knife with both hands, Abby's legs started to shake. She looked at the others, all looking just as worried.

"He's been gone a long time," she stuttered. Her heart raced when she heard crunching sounds. She looked at the others, but no one moved. The sounds were getting closer. She jumped with fright when Tumble popped out of the darkness.

"It's all right. The dragon is gone."

"Sal and Rin, stay with the horses." Brogan wrapped an oil soaked cloth around a stick to make another torch.

"I will stay with Sal and Rin." Abby stepped toward Rin.

"You will be safer inside," Sal said. "Dragons hunt during the day."

Her eyes jumped to the sky to search. She rushed to Tumble's side and latched onto his arm when they entered.

Rin watched the shore for Torgul while Sal watched the sky for a dragon.

"If I brought the skull of a dragon home, I bet Rosa would marry me," Sal boasted.

What would she want with a dragon's head? Or even with a scruffy-oaf like you? Rin quickly replied with his hands.

"Oh...and you think she would rather marry you?"

Rin returned a devilish smile.

The smell of rotting flesh and dragon dung was sickening. With every step, bones snapped and cracked as they walked across the brittle floor of the cave. Deeper inside, water dripped from the ceiling, splashing on the trove of bones, small creatures tugged on the fresh kills torn in pieces and strewn across the cave. They climbed over the nest made from broken branches, bones, and strips of animal hide. The torch lit up the end of the cave, casting monstrous shadows on the slimy green walls. Abby released a quick, sharp scream when a large rat climbed out from between the bones. Tumble instantly covered her mouth. They all froze to listen. Her scream signalled a wave of flying creatures from their nests in the ceiling. The creature's wings slapped inches above their heads, making them duck until the panic above ended. Akira shook her head. Abby quietly mouthed the word 'sorry'. There didn't seem to be a special place for the stone out in the open as they scanned the dimly lit cave.

Jorin spotted a small hole in the wall. Too dark to see inside, he reached his arm into the hole. He cringed when he touched something slimy. His fingers walked around the hole, but stopped when he felt something small and hard. "I think, I have it." When he tried to pull his arm out of the hole, he felt sharp little blades cut into his hand. He pulled harder, but something clamped down onto his hand. He howled in pain. Bracing his other hand on the wall, he tried to pull his arm free. Blood ran down his arm. The others rushed to help him. Akira grabbed his arm to help him pull, but it made it worse, he yelled again. They couldn't see what was holding him. Brogan rushed to find another hole.

"Here!" Tumble shouted.

Brogan handed the torch to Abby and without a second thought, he stuck his hand through a hole near the floor of the cave, feeling behind the wall. The pain increased when Jorin struggled to free himself. The thing clamped down harder, pulling his arm in up to his shoulder. Tumble pulled his sword from his waist and readied himself to the idea he may have to release Jorin's arm from his body. Akira shot Tumble a panicked look, shaking her head. She tried to stick her hand into the same hole his arm was in, but Jorin pushed her away. Feeling something scaly, Brogan grabbed the end of a snake-like tail and yanked it out of the hole. Jorin yelled when the angry thing rubbed its teeth against his bones.

"Get ready to pull Jorin out." Brogan took his knife, and slicing into the tail, he cut up the long body as far as he could go. The thing shook violently before it released its catch. Jorin fell to the ground, clutching his hand into his stomach.

Akira knelt down next to him with concern. "You idiot! You could have lost your arm!"

With a cocky smile, he rolled his bloody hand over to show her the stone. She shook her head angrily as she helped him to his feet. They made their way back out of the cave and back to the cover of trees.

The girls sat on either side of Jorin. Akira watched Abby gently dabbed the healing salve onto his cuts. Jorin felt his hand tingle when small scabs formed over the open cuts.

Abby placed the cloth bandage in Akira's hand. "You can wrap his hand." Abby left them alone.

Nervous, Akira struggled with wrapping the bandage around his hand; it didn't help that he was staring at her. "There."

He smirked, viewing the loose and poorly wrapped bandage. "Thank you." Exhausted, he lay down next to her and closed his eyes.

While Abby cleaned the other stone, Akira watched Jorin sleeping. She brushed his hair from his forehead to view his handsome face. She had only ever had one person in her life that matter. She swore she would never care for anyone again, but she did care and it scared her.

Jorin woke and immediately searched for Akira. He found her unpacking her horse and watched her every move. Her black hair fell to one side when she leaned down to pick up a leather bag. Standing straight, she rolled her head so her silky hair rushed to her back. Holding a leather string in her hand, she ran her fingers through her hair to gather up into a ponytail. She rubbed the back of her slender neck.

Seeing Jorin awake, she sat next to him. "How's your hand?"

"It's fine." He smiled through the pain.

"I didn't do a very good job wrapping the bandage."

He didn't care; his eyes outlined the shape of her perfect nose, her expressive eyes, and her glistening lips. He put his good hand over hers. Her eyes darted up to his. Before she could react, he leaned in and lightly kissed her on the lips. Surprised, she leaned back from him. She felt her face flush. He was coming in again. Her heart raced, but curious about being kissed, she took in a quick breath of air, and closed her eyes. She could feel his warmth as he neared. Her stomach fluttered nervously when she felt his lips touch hers; her heart pounded hard. She tried to pull her hand away. He tightened his grip and pressed his lips against hers for a longer kiss. She panicked, feeling confused and self-conscious, the kiss felt awkward.

"Here's the stone, I cleaned it..." Abby stopped talking when she realized she interrupted a moment between the two. "Ah...never mind." She quickly wandered off.

Akira leaned back, pulling her hand away from his. He reached for her, but she stood and walked away from him.

Surprised, Brogan's eyes shot away, shaking his head at his friend's boldness. "He doesn't know what he is getting himself into." His muscles tensed, he suddenly felt angry and stabbed the ground with his sword. He glanced back over his shoulder to watch her.

Abby placed both stones on her map, the white stone matched up with the yellow; three more pieces would complete the stone. She adjusted the leather string and slid it over Akira's head.

"Your face is still red." Abby smirked.

"Shut up."

Another long day led to the same unusual night sky with the purple clouds tumbling and churning above the Taltorn Mountains.

"Brogan, you have a worried look on your face." Jorin sat down next to him.

Brogan pointed to the purple sky.

"What do you make of it?" Jorin asked.

"Whatever it is, it can't be good. How's your hand?"

"It's good." He smiled, thinking about his kiss with Akira.

Brogan watched his face. "Are you prepared for the kind of backlash you might receive getting involved with a Hunter? There's still a lot of hatred out there for Hunters."

"I have moments where I think I have lost my mind. She's wild, unruly, strong, stubborn, and shocks the hell out of me. Then, I get glimpses of a different side, I see more than a Hunter. I see a beautiful girl, someone I want to hold and take care of. I know it sounds stupid, but I can't help myself."

Brogan nodded with a silence sigh. He understood completely; maybe too much.

They settled in for the night. Rin was on first watch and whittled on a piece of wood next to the crackling fire.

The demand was made, the purple mist picked up speed, rolling over the mountains and hills, racing along dirt roads, speeding across lakes and rivers, spilling out into grassy meadows, searching between each blade of grass, swirling around trees, probing and touching all in its path. It swirled around the edge of the camp. Rin continued to whittle, unaware of the lurking presence. The mist thinned, slowly passing by Rin's feet, approaching those sleeping on the ground. The purple mist covered Abby and Akira, swirling above their bodies, it slowly retreated—the stones were found.

Abby's body jerked from her nightmare.

Alone in the forest, Abby watched the purple mist swirl around her feet and cloud up over her body. A loud shriek shook her insides. She heard growling and jaws snapping together. Turning in circles, she strained to see through the mist. She felt her skin burn as flames shot out at her. She swung her arms wildly into the mist, trying to scream for help, but her mouth made no sound. Heart pounding, choking for air, she thought she was going to die. A ghostly whisper called her name.

"Abby."

A beautiful woman materialized before her eyes, floating in air. A snake of mist curled up her body, circling her neck. She fondled the mist with her hands. "It's all right, Abby. I will not hurt you."

Abby's body jolted when a dragon's head poked through the mist, snapping its jaws. With a wave of the woman's hand, the dragon exploded into ashes.

"See, I will protect you." The woman floated closer. Her delicate fingers lightly touched the stone resting on Abby's chest. Her fingers gently caressed the side of Abby's face. "You're beautiful, Abby."

Locking with the woman's green eyes, she felt herself falling deeper into the bewitching eyes. Abby knew she should be afraid, but strangely she felt calm and safe.

"Follow me to safety."She tried to lure Abby.

Abby wanted to go, but something was holding her back.

Rin noticed something strange with the girls. He woke Tumble, pointing to the restless sleepers. Tumble shook both girls awake. They woke confused, each wet with sweat.

"You both are having a nightmare and making strange noises," Tumble grumbled, crawling back into his bed.

"What was your nightmare about?" Akira asked.

Abby wanted to tell her about the strange mist and the beautiful woman in her dream, but a voice in her head convinced her not to.

"A dragon was after me," Abby replied. "What about you?"

Akira frowned as she touched the stone hanging from her neck. "I can't remember."

Unknowingly, she had the same nightmare as Abby, the dragon in the purple clouds, and a woman trying to lure her away. They both snuggled back into their beds to try and sleep. Akira tried to remember her nightmare, but soon fell asleep. However, Abby did not forget and thought about the woman for most of the night. She finally drifted off to sleep—unaware her stone was glowing.

Sal moaned at his nightmare. The claws of the dragon were ripping his chest open. He woke with a shout, startling the others. He looked up to the menacing pink eyes glaring down at him. Samson's talons cut into his chest as he pecked at the bone necklace around Sal's neck. Sal bolted upright, trying to grab the white bird. Samson flew to a branch above, cawing angrily. "Bloody bird! You will look good in the soup pot tomorrow!" He threw his saddlebag at Rin, snickering under his blanket.

The purple mist retreated, leaving Torgul drenched in sweat. His heart raced, remembering the enchanting woman in his nightmare, wondering what power she must have to invade his sleep. He soon forgot about her and took to the forest to hunt.

He pointed his arrow at a small bird sitting on a branch, lowering his bow, he searched for something bigger. He followed a large rooster-like bird running between the trees, releasing his arrow he shot the bird dead. He tied its legs together and made his way back to the dragon's cave. He sliced the head off the bird, leaving it at the front entrance of the cave, dragging the feathery body, he made a blood trail across the sand and up into the forest.

He watched Akira's group finish their early morning meal. He waited, but didn't have to wait long, as the scent of the fresh blood lured the dragon from the cave. The dragon quickly snapped up the bird's head into its jaws and chewed. It licked the blood soaked sand as it followed the trail up the beach. Hearing the dragon approaching, Torgul tied the bird's body to a saddle and slapped the horse hard, sending it into a gallop toward the camp.

Akira turned to see Sable galloping toward her, and following behind, flying in on a windstorm of fire, the dragon burst into their camp, crashing down in front of them. They scattered, leaping for their weapons as bright yellow and orange flames shot down on them. Its black scales rippled when it released a bone-jarring shriek. With only a moment between the deadly blasts, they attacked.

"Abby, stay back!" Akira yelled as she ran toward the dragon, shooting arrows with her crossbow.

Abby hid behind a tree and watched in horror as the others battled the dragon. The strong jaws snapped wildly at the waving swords, more flames were thrown. Brogan dove to the ground to roll out the flames on the back of his vest. As Jorin plunged his sword into the dragon's leg, the tail swung around to hit him, launching him into the air to land in the bushes. Struggling to stand, he rushed out again. Tiny flames swirled in its large nostrils, its chest heaved to bellow the glowing embers in the pit of its belly, heat rising, getting ready to strike again. They dove for cover. Head tilting back, flames shot straight up like an erupting volcano, scorching the trunks of the tree and branches above, swinging its head down to whip the flames across in front of them. The noxious smell of brimstone and smoke coated the air, burning the inside of their lungs.

Knocking Rin down, the dragon pinned him to the ground with its long talons. Sal charged in waving his axe and with a forceful blow, he cut through the scaly neck. The dragon roared as black blood gushed out. Rin wormed his way out from under the talons. Akira and Tumble both stabbed their swords into the dragon's side, jumping out of the way of the swinging tail and the fiery blast.

Gripping her knife, Abby's eyes ran along the edge of the blade, wondering what she could possibly do with such a small weapon. Feeling a warm sensation against her chest, she took out the glowing stone from under her shirt. The dragon's fiery eyes spotted the yellow glow and ignoring the others, it rushed toward Abby.

"Abby! Run!" Akira shouted.

Abby didn't understand why the stone was glowing, but without thought, she cupped the stone into her hands and stepped out from behind the tree. Standing in full view, she raised the stone up over her head, the glow intensified. The dragon stopped and sat back on its hind legs to hover over the stone, and falling into a hypnotic state, its head swayed as it watched the blinding light. Akira slowly stepped closer to the dragon, ready to kill it

"What is it doing?" Tumble asked Brogan.

"I don't know, it seems to be mesmerized by the stone."

"Now's the time to kill it!" Sal shouted.

Charmed, a low murmur rumbled from the dragon's throat, and damping its fire, steam seeped out of its nostrils and between its teeth. When Abby lowered the stone, the dragon crouched down to follow. Abby looked over to Akira, about to plunge her sword into the dragon's back.

"Akira, stop. It's okay, now."

Akira shook her head at Abby, she wasn't going to lose the opportunity and raise her sword. Abby quickly tucked the stone back under her shirt and waved her hands at the dragon, trying to shoo it away. Still in a daze, its wings shot out, knocking Akira over, flapping, it lifted itself into the air, making everyone cover their face from the swirling debris, and the dragon disappeared over the tree tops.

Scanning the sky, Sal searched. "I have never seen the likes of that. What the hell is going on?"

Akira walked heavily toward Abby and roughly grabbed her arm. "You could have been killed!" she scolded. "What were you thinking?"

"I wasn't...It was strange, it was like something was telling me to show the stone to the dragon.

"I told you to stay back. Why don't you listen?"

"Abby, you were quite brave. I don't understand what happened, but thankfully the dragon is gone," Brogan interrupted.

Akira's angry eyes flashed up at him. With her heart still racing, she stormed off to calm down. She didn't like feeling responsible for Abby, and didn't like the sickening feeling in the pit of her stomach that her sister could have been killed.

"Why is she so angry with me?" Abby choked.

Tumble put his hand under Abby's low chin, lifting her disappointed face up to his. "Li'l Kin, her face was not of anger, it was fear. Fear for you."

Abby found her sister sitting behind a large boulder with her head leaning back and her eyes closed. Sitting down next to her, she held out a leather bag. "Here, I brought you some water." As Akira took a mouthful of water, Abby nervously played with a small hole in her pants. "I'm sorry, I should have listened."

"You will have to be more careful," she said quietly and took another gulp.

Abby nodded. "Why do you think the stone stopped the dragon?"

"The stones are magic. I guess anything is possible."

Their heads turned when Sable trotted back into camp. Akira grabbed his reins and patted his neck. She found the dead bird tied to her saddle. Dropping her crossbow into her hands, she scanned the forest for Torgul.

## 24

### Orlah

Abby sat on the ground next to the fire while the others packed up their gear. Her nose wrinkled at the smell of brimstone still on her skin. She tested the pot of water with her finger to find it still hot. She rifled through Jorin's bag and found the tea leaves, so she assumed. Crushing the leaves, she dropped them in the pot and patiently waited for them to soften. Pouring herself a cup, she sipped the hot sweet drink as she watched the others fuss with the horses. Moments later, she felt a strange warm sensation surge through her body, a smile crossed her face, and she began to hum to herself. Startled, she nearly spilled her tea when the white crow flew down next to her. Not far off, Akira watch Abby talk to Samson.

Abby swayed as she leaned toward the crow. "That dragon was pretty angry, huh. Reminds me of the fat woman I lived with, she was pretty mean too. See here." She brushed her hair aside to show the crow a small scar under her ear. "That woman hit me so hard I couldn't hear for a week, but I got her back. I snuck into her room and left a pile of horse shit in her bed." She chuckled for a second. "Come to think of it, it wasn't funny, she beat me up after that."

Akira glanced at Abby's scar, wondering what kind of life she had.

"Oh well. These guys are pretty nice though. Don't you think?" She sipped more tea and waited for the bird to reply. "Oh, what do you know, you just fly around and poop on people's heads." Clutching her stomach, she laughed herself into silliness.

Samson leaned his head from side to side as he hopped closer. She continued to talk to the bird, as he seemed to be the only one listening. She finished her rant and stared at the bird. Samson hopped closer, snatched the small breakfast crumb sitting next to her foot and took off. "Stupid bird. You would probably poop on my head too." Finding her cup empty, she stuck her tongue into the cup, trying to lick out the last drop.

The others mounted their horses and waited for Abby. It took her four times to get her foot into the stirrup before she struggled up onto her saddle. "Good horsey." She giggled as she entertained herself with the reins. The others turned their heads when they heard a loud 'ha' sound. Abby covered her mouth with her hand and waved back at them to carry on. She dawdled behind them. "Dragons, dragons everywhere...they mess up my hair," she sang loudly.

Akira raised her eyebrows at Abby's strange behaviour.

"What's the matter with her?" Jorin questioned.

Akira shrugged her shoulders and rode back to Abby, now sitting on the horse backwards.

"What's wrong with you?"

"I think the horse's head fell off," she said with concern.

"You're on the horse backwards."

She giggled. "Oops! I'm okay. Go ahead, I will catch up." She waved them on.

Jorin stopped next to Akira.

"Did you give her something?" she asked him.

"No, but she sure is acting like she has taken something."

"Watch, I can touch my tongue with my nose," Abby said, making no sense as she pulled on her nose, trying to reach her tongue.

"Abby, what did you eat?" Akira asked.

"Nothing. I did have some nice tea from Jorin's bag. The leaves had teeny tiny little white dots on them. Akira, have you seen my horse? I can't find him anywhere."

"Tea leaves...? Those weren't tea leaves, they were leaves from the Kilton plant," Jorin said with surprise.

"What!" Akira shouted.

"It's okay, the Kilton leaves are used for extreme pain, makes you dopey. It should wear off in a few hours, but by the looks of her she drank a lot. She won't feel very good later."

Akira helped Abby down from her horse, turned her around and helped her back up.

"You found my horse. You're such a good sister." She kissed Akira's forehead. "Shhh...did you know Jorin likes you?" she whispered loudly.

Jorin and Akira both blushed. Akira mounted her horse and held the reins of Abby's horse. They started to move.

"Giddy up, horsey. Akira my horse is leaning," she complained.

Akira huffed. "Your horse is not leaning, you are."

Abby giggled as she slid sideways off her horse, landing on her back. "Oopsy."

Sal roared with laughter. Akira released a snort of air through her nose, wondering how they could possibly be related. Surprised, Akira watched Brogan jump down from his horse and kneel next to Abby. He carefully placed his hand behind Abby's back to help her sit up. He gently brushed the dirt and leaves from her back, and fixed her partially undone ponytail. Abby threw her arms wildly around his neck when he slid his arms under her to pick her up. Feeling herself being lifted, she flung her head back to grin at her sister.

Akira felt a spark of jealousy, it confused her, why she should care, but she did, and she watched his strong arms carry her sister to his horse. Tumble held Abby while Brogan mounted his horse, and placed her to sit sideways on Brogan's lap. Abby continued to ramble on about nonsense as she squirmed. Brogan struggled to keep her from sliding off, but to his relief she cuddled herself into his chest and fell into a deep sleep.

"The Village of Orlah is only a half day's ride. We will stop there and stock up on supplies," Brogan announced.

"We should stop and wait until Abby is awake," Akira grumbled from behind as she watched him release his reins and wrap his arms around Abby.

"Abby is fine. There is no point wasting any more time."

After a long ride, Abby woke to a sore stomach and a wave of motion sickness. She moaned and dropped herself to the ground so she could run off to a bush to throw up. Jorin brought her water and a piece of root to help settle her stomach. She refused to travel by horse and continued the rest of the way by foot.

They knew they were near the Village of Orlah when they heard the pounding sounds of metal taking shape and the sounds of wild horses losing their freedom to their new owners. They welcomed the sweet smell of boiling roots, and their mouths watered at the smell of deer meat sizzling on an open fire. They walked the horses down through the middle of the village, seeking a place to rest. The road was busy with life. Many carts filled the main road, some with cooked food, live animals, baked goods, and wares. The merchants called out to the strangers trying to tempt them to their carts. Steam poured out the windows of a large building as a line of people waited for their turn to enter the bathhouse. A crowd huddled in a circle, cheering at a game of sticks. Short sticks with arrowheads on the ends were tossed into the air and bets were made on the number of sticks landing in their circle.

A man with reddish hair stood in the middle of the road holding up his hand to stop the strangers. "My name is Cattar. I'm the Healer of Orlah. You are welcome to rest here." A woman with long brown hair rushed to his side. "This is my wife Anna. She will take you to the stable."

Anna led them to the stable, showing the men where to settle the horses. Standing behind Abby, Anna covered her nose and ushered the girls into a separate room where a large round tub of water was waiting. Still feeling sick, Abby moaned as she dropped herself to the floor.

"Oh no, you don't." Akira pulled her up from the floor, stripped her of her clothes, and pushed her into the tub of water. Abby screamed at the shockingly cold water, arms and legs flailing, she tried to climb back out. The woman rushed over with a pot of hot water to pour into the tub, but Akira waved her off. Grinning, she pushed Abby's head under the water. "She likes it cold." When Abby's head popped up, shouting and spitting water, Akira poured soap onto her wet hair, washing her vigorously. "You stink! Maybe next time you will think to ask before you take something that doesn't belong to you," she scolded.

Bath time was over and Abby shivered with a blanket wrapped around her body. Anna brought her some new clothes. Abby rubbed her hand over the dark brown leather clothes. "The leather is so soft."

"I make the clothes myself. My secret is soaking the hide in deer brains longer."

Abby crinkled her nose at the thought as she sniffed the leather. There was a light odour of smoke, but also a pleasing smell of scented soap. She dropped the blanket to dress. Anna spied the stone necklace around Abby's neck and the mark above her navel. Anna left abruptly. Abby dressed, putting on the soft cotton undergarments, tied a short leather vest around her chest, and wrapped a wide leather band around her waist to gather in the loose fitting white cotton shirt. She ran her fingers down the hips of her shapely pants, and wiggled her toes inside the boots; a bit big, but comfortable. She tied her knife belt around her waist, and wrapped her blue scarf around her neck. She stood proudly, finally feeling like she belonged. She stepped into the room where the others sat, enjoying their meal of deer meat and boiled roots. They looked up from their plates to see Abby presenting her new shape from her well-fitting clothes. She blushed at the long stares, feeling self-conscious she shyly crossed her arms in front of her body. Sal opened his mouth to say something; most likely to tease her, but Rin rescued her with a quick kick to Sal's shin to quiet him.

Tumble stoked the fire in the iron stove to heat the stable. They bunched up the hay, making beds on the stable floor and settled in for the night. Jorin made sure his bed was near Akira and watched her fall asleep.

***

"She had a Piece of Five and the mark," Anna said nervously.

Cattar leaned back; bewildered by the information his wife brought him. "The stones will only bind as one when it is held by two that bear the mark of the Healer. If they are twins and one girl has the mark, then the other most likely has the same mark," he said.

"Does this mean Luken will be safe?" Anna hoped.

"For now his secret is safe. I don't think Senus knows about the spell, he seems to only want the Pieces of Five."

"Could they be the two?"

"I am not sure, but it is too dangerous to have them in the village. There is someone far worse to worry about. I need to find out what the twins know."

"What will you do then?"

"Luken is my first concern. We have no choice but to report to Senus."

***

The next morning, before Cattar entered the stable, he tried to listen to their conversation about Taltorn, but the horse next to him snorted, bringing their attention to the door. Smiling, he entered with cups in his hands.

"Where are you from, if I may ask?" Cattar interrupted their meal.

"We travel from Killeen," Brogan answered.

"Where are you travelling to?"

Brogan cleared his throat for the others to be quiet. "Jorin is the Healer and we are helping him search for plants."

Cattar forced a smile, he knew he was lying. "Well, there is a good selection of plants just south of here. How long have you been a Healer, Jorin?"

"I am in my first year," Jorin replied.

"Oh, so you are still an apprentice?"

Jorin nodded.

"I have brought you some of my wife's berry ale. Goes well with your bread." Handing out the cups, Cattar poured the ale into Jorin's cup and moved along to fill up the others.

Jorin held the cup up to his mouth and noticed a strange smell. He sniffed again; recognizing the strong odour, he threw his cup to the floor, startling the others. They watched in disbelief when he ran around knocking their cups to the floor.

"Jorin! What's the matter with you?" Brogan shouted.

"The drinks have been poisoned!"

Brogan grabbed the Healer's throat, running him up against the wall. "What is the meaning of this?"

Sal and Rin ran to the windows to watch for trouble.

"Please, I'm sorry. It was only a sleeping potion. I had too," he said quivering.

"Had to what?" Akira drew her sword.

"Senus has my son."

Brogan released Cattar to his knees. "Explain," he demanded.

"Senus has threatened the village and threatened to kill my son if we help anyone with a Piece of Five."

"What makes you think we have a Piece of Five?"

Cattar looked over at Abby.

Abby sheepishly clutched the front of her shirt to hold the stone. "Does your son have red hair?"

"Yes, but how did you know?"

"I saw him in the tower. He's okay. They didn't have him locked up."

"Who else knows we are here?" Akira asked.

"Only myself," he replied, not wanting to involve his wife.

"We will help if we can," Brogan announced. He didn't trust Cattar, but helped him to his feet and nodded for him to leave.

"We can't run off to rescue a little boy from the tower," Akira grumbled.

"Shouldn't we help his son?" Abby asked.

"I agree with Akira." Brogan frowned as he watched Cattar through the window. "We can't trust Cattar. We have no idea if he is telling the truth about his son. I find it suspicious that the Spiritons did not have his son locked up. Cattar is working with the Spiritons, whether he is forced to or not, he is dangerous." He held his sword tightly, scanning the edge of the forest. "As soon as we gather enough supplies, we will leave."

***

"Senus, there is word from Orlah. The girls are there. The Healer's wife has seen the stone. She said they are heading to Taltorn," Valgard rushed.

"Send word, he must keep them there until dusk and ready my horse," Senus ordered.

## 25

### Remembering Mother and Father

His eyes peered through the crack in the wall to spy Akira; she was on her own. Lining up his target, his bow creaked as he slowly pulled on the bowstring. A sound caught Akira's attention and turned to see Abby step out from behind the clay house with her green book in her arms. The bowstring slowly shrunk back down; Torgul huffed at his hesitation.

"The purple clouds are pretty," Abby said.

"The purple clouds are deceiving. Unfortunately, they are a sign of something evil yet to come." Cattar walked toward them.

Akira slowly wrapped her fingers around the hilt of her sword.

"Do you know Keeva only needs one piece of the stone to break the spell that restrains her from entering this land? Also, only the two that bear the mark of the Healer can bind the pieces back together," he said, watching their faces for any sign they knew of the legend.

Torgul listened in.

"She must be dead by now," Akira said with a tone of uncertainty.

"The purple clouds are a signal, she is still alive and she's coming for the stones."

"Why are you telling us this?" Akira asked suspiciously.

"She has a Piece of Five and the mark." He pointed to Abby.

Abby lifted her shirt to reveal her mark.

Akira grabbed her shirt, pulling it back down. "That doesn't mean anything."

"Do you have the same mark?" he asked.

"It's none of your concern." She glared.

"If you are searching for the stones, then you are in danger. Be watchful of the purple mist, it seeks the Pieces of Five." He left them.

Samson flew to the roof of the clay house behind them, cawing. Torgul leaned back from his spy hole when the girls looked his way.

Uninterested in Samson, Akira turned to Abby. "Why did you show him your mark?"

"Sorry. Do you think this story is true?"

"We can't trust a man who tried to poison us. I don't know why we have the same mark, but now he knows too."

The girls sat in the tall grass, gazing up to the clouds. The story worried Akira. We both have the same mark like in Abby's book. Is it the mark of the Healer?

Samson would not let up. "Quiet Samson!" Akira shouted.

Torgul made a quick exit out the back to disappear behind the village. I need the girls alive to make the 'Pieces of Five' whole again.

Abby held out the book for Akira to take. "Now that you have a 'Piece of Five' you can read the words Mother wrote."

Akira hesitated, before taking the book. She slowly turned the pages and stopped when she recognized her mother's handwriting. Her finger touched the page, feeling each word as she read; thinking about her mother, she swallowed the lump in her throat.

Abby sat in silence, fidgeting with the end of her shirt; she wanted to ask her a question, but was afraid to.

Akira could feel Abby's intense stare. "What?"

"Tell me about Mother," Abby begged.

Akira turned to view the sky and took a deep breath. "She was an amazing warrior." She smiled proudly. "She had no fear and would take on an army of men to save one person. She had a wonderful way with animals, almost like she could talk to them, and yet she could skin a rabbit before you could blink. She was obsessed with training, sometimes she seemed cruel, and just when I thought I hated her, she would hug me and tell me everything would be all right. We lived on our own in the forest, hiding from the Spiritons. She taught me to be a Hunter."

"When did she die?" Abby asked in a light whisper.

"A year ago." Akira's eyes closed to relive the dreadful day. "We arrived at a village. It was on fire, women and children screaming. The men fought bravely, but fighting something that would not die was suicide. Men were dying at the hands of three Spiritons. They cut through the village, killing anything that moved. I wanted to help, but Mother tucked me under a wagon to be safe. I watched in horror as people died in front of me. Mother was fearless and took on two Spiritons. Her skills out matched them in seconds, killing them both. I saw her look for her next target—it was Senus."

Akira's heart raced, she was not sure she could continue. Abby swallowed hard, she wasn't sure she wanted to hear the rest of the story.

"They stood staring at each other, the wait seemed like forever. Senus rushed her. I will never forget the sound of the violent clash when their swords met. Their strikes were fast; my eyes could barely keep up with them. They fought wildly, metal clashing and ringing, both trying to find an opening. Mother found one, and her blade sliced down the left side of his face."

"Mother was the one who gave him that scar?"

"Yes, the poison on her blade temporarily broke the curse, but she never got the chance to kill him. If the Spiritons are cut with the poison the wounds will not heal, even when the curse returns."

Abby lowered her head. "It must have been hard for her to fight her brother."

Akira nodded sadly. "Senus fell to his stomach and didn't move. I could see he was still alive. He pulled out a small dagger to hold under his body, waiting for the right moment. I screamed at Mother to warn her, but it was too late. He flipped onto his back and plunged the dagger into her stomach. He was holding her until I ran to her screaming and shooting my arrows at him. He mounted his horse, holding his cut face. I grabbed Mother's sword. I was shaking so hard I could barely point the sword up to his inhuman face; I froze in fear. He turned and rode off into the darkness. I fell to the ground and held her in my arms."

Abby closed her eyes, releasing her tears.

"Mother whispered, you're not alone...but her eyes closed before she could finish telling me more and they never opened again. I didn't understand what she was trying to say, until now. I promised her I would kill all the Spiritons," Akira choked as she quickly wiped the tears from her cheeks. "I ran into the forest and that is where I have been ever since."

"Neither one of us has a place to call home," Abby said.

Before Akira knew what was happening, Abby had her arms wrapped around her in a tight hug. Akira surrendered to the hug, but only for a brief moment before she pushed Abby back.

Abby started to talk about their father. "Father was quiet, caring, patient, and he had a silly side; I loved his laugh. He was tall and handsome with big blue eyes. He mostly kept to himself, spending more time in the forest than with people, but I didn't mind though. Unfortunately he was very secretive about his past. I knew nothing about you or Mother."

Akira frowned and squirmed, she didn't want to hear about their father.

"When I was feeling bad, he would lightly brush the back of his fingers across my cheek, making me feel better," she said, brushing the back of her fingers across her own cheek. "He loved this stone and would hold it so tight in his hand his knuckles would turn white. He told me one day he would take me to the place he grew up. I wish we could have come here together." Abby paused. "It was my fourteenth birthday and Father was on a long hike. I impatiently waited, angry that he was so late. They said he drowned in the river. I will never forgive myself for being so angry. For two years I lived with horrible people. I was so alone." Abby dropped her face into her hands and sobbed.

Feeling anxious, Akira lightly tapped Abby's back with her hand. She had spent her whole life trying to forget about the man she never knew and now she was forced to know more about her father. She refused to have any feelings for him other than anger, not even her emotional sister was going to change that, she insisted, and cut him from her mind.

"To reveal your emotions to your enemy is a sign of weakness, you must learn to control your feelings. It's time to go." She slammed the book closed and stood.

The moment of sharing was over. Abby quickly wiped her face and ran to catch up with her sister.

## 26

Seeking Revenge

Akira waved at Abby to come.

"What's wrong?" Abby asked.

"Nothing, I have something for you."

Akira handed her a long metal scabbard.

"For me?"

Akira nodded.

Abby slowly and carefully drew the sword from the scabbard. It glistened in the afternoon sun when she turned it side to side in front of her face. The sword was unlike the others; long and narrow, with a thinner hilt for her small hands. She admired the light weight and engraved scrollwork on the blade. She dropped the sword on the floor and launched herself at Akira with a hug. Akira frowned, pushing her back. Abby tried to gain control of her emotions, but couldn't stop herself from grinning.

Laughing, Tumble picked up Abby's sword. "Li'l Kin, lesson number one, don't drop your sword."

Abby walked proudly about the village, flaunting her new clothes and sword. She picked up a bag of dried deer meat before she headed back to meet the others. Walking passed buildings made of stone and clay bricks, some made of logs, and a few buildings two floors high. A narrow aqueduct supplied water to the main well and to a large bathhouse. The village was well supplied with vegetables from the rich soil near the River.

Out of nowhere a small group of children circled her, wanting to touch her sword. She allowed each one to touch the blade, they giggled and ran off. She watched the swordsmiths bang on the red hot metals with their hammers, sending sparks into the air. I wondered which one made my sword. Heading back to the stable, she took her time, talking with the locals and perusing their carts of goods. She stepped through the doorway of the stable. "I bought..." She stopped at the sight of the others tied up on the floor. Jorin and Brogan were tied back to back, Sal and Rin were tied the same, Tumble was tied face down on his stomach, and Akira was on her knees with her hands behind her back.

"Abby, run!" Akira shouted.

Surprised, Abby opened her mouth, but swallowed when the blade of a sword crossed her throat. From behind, Cattar slowly pulled out her sword and knife, throwing them to the floor with the rest of the weapons. Abby slowly turned to see Cattar and two other men pointing their weapons at her. She quickly sat down.

"Why are you doing this?" Brogan asked, struggling to free himself.

"I'm sorry, but my son's life is at stake," Cattar said. "The Spiritons should be here at night fall."

Cattar pushed Abby up against Akira's back to tie their hands together.

"You can't trust Senus," Brogan shouted.

"I have no choice." Cattar sighed as he stepped out the door, leaving two guards on the outside of the stable.

Brogan glanced out the window to see the sun lower in the sky. "Is anyone able to get their hands free?" he whispered

They all struggled, but the leather ropes were too tight.

"Abby, there's a dagger in my left boot, can you reach it?" Akira asked.

Abby struggled, but couldn't reach it.

"Jorin, Brogan you try."

Jorin and Brogan pushed on each other's back to stand, shuffling across the floor, they dropped to their knees next to the girls. Jorin moved further ahead to reach the top of her boot, making Brogan kneel right next to Akira's side. She couldn't help but notice his warmth against her body. Jorin struggled to reach the dagger, leaning closer, pulling Brogan ahead so he was now facing her. Their eyes met briefly. Jorin leaned on her leg, making Brogan's head lean down to her chest. In the awkward moment, Brogan tried to find another place to look. Akira blushed and studied the ceiling.

"Hurry," Brogan huffed.

With his two fingers, Jorin pulled the dagger from her boot. They shuffled back to line up with her hands. He manoeuvred the dagger into a slight grip and started cutting the rope between the girls. Akira pulled their hands free and rushed to help the others.

Sal looked out the window, but it was too late, it was dark, and he heard the horses approaching. "Quick, walk the horses out the back." Sal rushed them. They gathered up their weapons and led their horses quietly out the back.

Cattar greeted Senus and the four other Spiritons.

"I want my son." Cattar demanded.

"Your son will be returned when I have the stone," Senus growled. "Show me where they are."

They slid off their horses and followed Cattar to the stable. They walked into an empty room. "Where are they?" Senus shouted.

Cattar picked up the cut ropes. Without warning, Senus whipped around with his sword, slicing into the two guards standing at the door. Cattar flinched with shock. What have I done?

"Senus, they're on horses!" Valgard yelled, spying them riding off.

Senus shot his arm out, grasping Cattar's throat with his hand. His grey face leaned down into Cattar's. "Where are they going?"

Cattar struggled to breathe. "I heard them talking about Taltorn," he choked.

Like a bag of hay, Senus threw Cattar's light body across the room. Cattar hit the wall hard, dropping to the floor into a painful heap. The Spiritons mounted their horses and chased.

Abby could barely hang on to the saddle when her horse raced with the others. Looking behind, she panicked when she saw the ghostly figures gaining. Before she could look forward, her horse jumped a log, making her lose her balance, she fell off. "Akira!"

Akira turned to see Abby lying on the ground and reared her horse to race back toward her. Abby held out her hand, expecting to be lifted to Akira's horse, but to her surprise, she shot past her looking like she was possessed. The others turned to help.

Akira saw nothing but the scarred face of the man who killed her mother. Charging toward Senus, she unsheathed her long sword. One Spiriton moved out in front of Senus to meet her challenge, but lost his head in the process. She circled her bloody sword above her head with a battle cry, swinging her sword at Senus. He ducked. The other Spiritons rode past her to attack the others. She charged Senus again. When their swords met, their horses slammed into each other sending the riders to the ground. Both were quick to their feet with weapons pointing across from each other, following an imaginary circle, studying each other. She took in a deep breath, trying to control her emotions as she struggled with the distracting visions of her mother's death. She jerked her body so Senus believed she was making the first move. He reacted to her move with a strike from his shoulder, aiming her head. Taking his strike, her sword slid off his blade to swing across his mid torso, but he jumped back. They swung wildly at each other, exchanging strikes, thrusts and blocks. She kept the pace fast with her never-ending parries and swift side steps. She glanced back to see Abby cower as Valgard and two other Spiritons attacked the men.

Abby held her sword with both hands, pointing to the Spiriton's back, she had the opportunity to strike, but her body shook with fright. She hesitated when the Spiriton turned with his sword high above his head. Out of nowhere, Snow appeared, spearing the Spiriton in the stomach with his long antlers. The Spiriton staggered back from the attacking animal, but before he could heal, Tumble sliced across the Spiriton's throat, killing him. Another Spiriton aimed a dagger at Akira. Jorin knocked him to the ground. They rolled back and forth, struggling to gain the advantage. Jorin was cut across the arms. He fought hard for his life, but he was losing.

"Akira!" Abby yelled.

Just as Akira turned her head to see a Spiriton on top of Jorin, her face wrinkled in pain when she felt the point of Senus' blade cut into her left shoulder. She reacted instantly swinging her sword around to smash his sword to the side, circling her sword out in front to cut his forearm. He shrieked. Before she could strike again, Valgard rode his horse between them. Senus bolted to his horse.

"Akira! Help!" Abby shouted.

Akira looked at Jorin, then back at Senus making his escape.

Abby stood dumbfounded—Akira chose Senus.

Bleeding from her shoulder, Akira ran to her horse and struggled to climb up with one arm. Abby raced after her and tackled her to the ground.

"What are you doing? Let go, he's getting away," Akira yelled, trying to fight her off.

Brogan rushed to help Jorin, but the Spiriton jumped to his feet and escaped to his horse. The men looked over to the girls.

"What are they doing? Are they fighting again?" Jorin asked.

"I haven't the slightest." Brogan shook his head as he treated Jorin's wounds. "Tumble, take Jorin's medicine bag to the girls, I am sure one of them is going to need it."

Abby sat on top of her, pinning her to the ground. Akira weakly struggled to push her off, but could no longer hold her arm up. Abby pushed her shoulders back to the ground. Overwhelmed by the pain, Akira moaned in agony as her body gave in. Abby released her. She carefully untied Akira's shirt to view the small but deep wound. Tumble rushed Jorin's medicine bag over to Abby. With shaky hands, she frantically rifled through the bag searching for the healing plant. She quickly mashed the leaves and applied it to the wound. Her stone glowed and to her relief a scab formed over the wound. Tumble left to find the horses.

"I could have killed him and you let him get away," Akira said angrily.

"Have you completely lost your mind? He almost killed you," Abby yelled. "I'm not about to lose another member of my family."

"Ouch, that hurts!" Akira snapped.

"Stop moving," Abby growled as she rubbed more paste on the wound. "You are so obsessed with killing Senus you are blind to your own well being and that of others. Jorin almost died trying to save you!"

"So, you think I should forget he killed our mother?"

"No, but at what price should you seek revenge?"

"I will kill Senus! I made a promise, to kill them all!"

"A time will come when we can deal with this together."

"Together? You had a chance to kill that Spiriton and you cowered away."

Abby stared into Akira's unforgiving eyes; she was so consumed with anger there was no reasoning with her. She shows no remorse for her actions. How can I make her understand? "Why do you feel you need to take over where our mother left? A life of killing, what kind of life is that? Stay still!"

"You know nothing about my life or mother's. Just go back to whatever world you belong to and leave me alone!" Akira cringed, as soon as the words fell from her lips, she regretted it, but the damage was done and Abby was hurt.

Abby glanced away. "Killing Senus will not bring Mother back," she said quietly.

She knew Abby was right, but how could she not take revenge on the one who took their mother's life. As she watched Abby's hurt face, she felt a pang of guilt.

As Abby wrapped Akira's shoulder with a cloth bandage, she fought hard to control the tears welling up in her eyes. She didn't like this world and at that moment didn't like her sister.

"Abby, I'm sorry," Akira choked. "I didn't mean..."

With a flash of anger, Abby tightened the bandage, deliberately pulling hard as she tied a knot.

"Ow! Damn it, Abby!"

"Does it hurt? Good! Well, maybe next time you will think before you go charging off with no regard for anyone else, but yourself!" she scolded.

Akira rolled her head to see Jorin lying on the ground hurt; she did regret her decision.

Abby stood up. She took Sable's reins, put her foot into the stirrup and swung her leg over the saddle to sit down. She angrily snapped out her hand to Akira.

"What are you doing?" Akira asked, struggling to stand.

"I am coming with you."

"And do what?"

"Well, apparently I will be running behind you and patching up your holes," she said sarcastically as she pulled Akira up onto the back of the saddle.

## 27

### Finding Torgal

Senus burst through his door, nearly ripping it from its hinges, sending Luken for cover under the wooden table. Senus viewed the large open wound on his forearm, refusing to heal. He paced the room, huffing and growling. He stopped in front of the closed drapes; the only thing between him and pain. For a second he thought he heard a voice. "Open the drapes." He knew the consequences of opening the drapes in daylight, but the urge to self inflict pain was overwhelming. The burning demon behind the black barrier sent him into a moment of uncontrollable rage. He curled his fingers into the edge of the drapes and flung them open to challenge the sun; the sunlight rushed in. His skin immediately began to sizzle and bubble up into blisters, heat burnt holes through his leather clothes, and his body shook as smoke rose from the charred skin. The smell of burning flesh filled the room. The pain was excruciating, but he continued to torture himself to the point of wishing he could die. He snapped his head back and roared in pain. Hiding behind the slightly opened door, Valgard watched the suffering with little concern.

Luken ran to the window and prying the burning hands, he pulled the drapes closed. The room darkened and Senus collapsed to the floor. Luken covered his nose to block out the nauseating smell, his eyes widened in horror when burnt skin curled up and dropped to the floor, revealing the white bones. He thought Senus was dying. Senus screeched so loud it sent Luken back up against the wall. The smoke slowly faded and Senus lay motionless. With his heart pounding hard, Luken stepped closer, forcing himself to swallow his fear as he reached out to touch Senus to see if he was dead. His heart nearly leapt out of his chest when Valgard rushed into the room.

"What have you done?" Valgard yelled and ran to Senus.

"Nothing!" Luken stuttered. "He opened the drapes and stood in the sun."

"Get out of my way, stupid boy!"

Senus groaned and rolled over onto his back. Luken couldn't believe this skeleton of a man was still alive. Valgard waited for the healing to start. There was a sudden sound of bubbling. Surprised, Luken watched the damaged skin begin to repair itself. New skin grew at a rapid speed to cover the exposed bones. Within minutes Senus was back to his grey ghoulish self.

Valgard huffed in disappointment and left the room.

"How did your skin grow back?" Luken asked.

"It's the curse, I can't die." He sat up.

"Why did you open the drapes?"

Senus didn't have an answer, he didn't know if it was a moment of insanity or something else. "Why did you help me?" Senus asked.

"I don't know. You were in so much pain."

"Why didn't you run? You could have escaped."

Luken shrugged his shoulders.

"I should have killed the twins when I had them in my grasp! I need to keep Keeva from getting the stones." He stood. "You're free to go! Take a horse and go home."

"But..." Luken didn't know what to say.

"Go on, get out!"

Luken stepped out into the hallway and took one last look at Senus before he bolted down the hallway.

Valgard stood in a dark shadow, watching Luken leave. I will follow him and slit his throat in the forest, he mumbled to himself.

"Valgard, get in here!" Senus roared.

Reluctantly Valgard obeyed. Another time, boy.

Luken made his way out of the tower, his heart raced at the thought of freedom and seeing his family again. He led his horse to the edge of the forest, but he couldn't shrug the urge to learn more about the 'Pieces of Five'. He waited. When night fell, he watched Senus and five other Spiritons mount their horses. He couldn't resist and turned to follow them.

Luken followed the horse tracks all night, carefully staying behind so not to be seen. He was happy to see the sunrise and knew the Spiritons would have to hide from the sun, which meant he could rest. He tied off his horse and climbed a tree. He sat on a branch to watch the Spiritons cover their heads with their hoods and squat down in the shadows. Feeling tired, he hugged the tree trunk, fighting to keep his eyes open, but each time his eyelids closed, the longer it took to open them, before long he was asleep.

The sun made its way across the sky, eventually setting behind the mountains. Luken stretched out his arms above his head as he leaned back toward the trunk, but misjudging the distance he lost his balance, and clutching madly at anything to grab, he fell out of the tree. He moaned as he tried to sit up. His eyes widened when the dark cloaks surrounded him. Valgard grabbed him by the shoulders, hauling him up off his feet and pushing him up against the tree.

Senus pushed his hood back. "Luken! What are you doing here?" he growled.

"I wanted to come with you and see the Pieces of Five," Luken squirmed.

"Stupid boy!" Furious, Senus swung his hand out to strike Luken, but stopped short of his face.

"Please let me come. I won't get in the way and if I can't keep up, I will go home," he begged.

"No!" Valgard shouted.

"Let the boy be. If he can't keep up, he will be left behind," Senus said.

"Why do you protect this useless boy?"

"Are you questioning my orders?"

"No," Valgard grumbled as he reluctantly dropped Luken to the ground. "Stay away from me, boy." Valgard stormed off.

***

Torgul could see a campfire glowing through the trees and approached with caution. He viewed two men sitting next to a fire, roasting their meat. He could hear their conversation about their trek to the Taltorn Mountains; just the place he wanted to go. He dropped his stone into his left boot for safety and moved slowly out into view. The two men jumped to their feet with swords drawn.

"I'm sorry to startle you. I'm the Healer of Killeen. Healer Torgul," he announced.

For a moment the men stared. Torgul held up his medicine bag. The two men waved at Torgul to join them. They quickly offered him tea and deer meat.

Torgul smiled politely. "I thank you for your generosity."

"Where are you headed, Healer?" one man asked.

"I am headed to Taltorn. I have heard about many healing plants growing high in the mountains."

"We are heading there as well. You are welcome to travel with us."

"I would hate to impose."

"Please, it would be an honour to travel with a Healer."

"Well, fine then, it will be nice to have the company." Torgul turned to the sound of barking off in the distance.

"Don't worry Healer. We are excellent swordsmen and we will protect you."

Torgul nodded; the animals were the least of his worries.

***

The Spiritons rode most of the night. Sunrise was nearing, but before hiding from the sun, they noticed the smoke. Valgard pointed to the men sitting next to the fire, he grinned at the easy targets. Luken had a bad feeling; Senus had the same evil grin. Luken coughed loudly to warn the men. Valgard clenched his hilt as he snapped his hostile glare at Luken. Growling, he bolted toward the now standing men. Valgard was on them with terrifying speed. He changed his direction and ran after the man running away. Senus and another Spiriton stepped in to challenge the other two men. The other Spiriton only made two strikes to finish off his victim, but Senus was not so eager to end his fight. Their swords clashed together repeatedly. Senus quickly out skilled the man, making small cuts into the man's body. He punched the man in the face, sending him onto his back, but instead of killing him, Senus gestured him to pick up his sword. The tired man weakly swung his sword. Senus laughed as he knocked the man to the ground. Again, he waited for the man to get to his feet. On his knees crying, the man begged for his life. Luken stepped back when the monstrous man turned to him with cruel, malicious and hateful eyes. Senus waited, as if seeking Luken's approval. Luken had heard stories of how evil the Spiritons were; in his mind he knew, but this was the first time he felt the terror in the pit of his stomach—he had made the wrong choice and wanted to go home. Tears filled his eyes as he shook his head, wanting the man to live. Towering over the terrified man, Senus lowered his sword. Relieved, Luken released his held breath and wiped his tears. Hearing an agonizing shout, Luken looked up to see Senus drive his sword into the man's back. Shocked, Luken stood paralysed with fear as Senus walked past him with a satisfied grin.

"Senus!"

Senus turned to see Valgard holding his sword at the last man standing. "Torgul!" Senus grinned. "We've been searching for you." Senus stepped in and wrapped his long fingers around Torgul's throat. Torgul choked, struggling to get free. "I will hang you from a tree, split your stomach open and allow the tolverines to chew on your guts." Senus stuck the point of his dagger into the top of Torgul's chest.

Panicking, Luken wanted to run.

Torgul begged for his life. "No, wait. I have information." He struggled to get his map out.

"Why should I care what you have to say?"

"It's about the twins and the stones," he choked.

"Tell me what you know and maybe I let you live."

"The girls bear the mark of the Healer, a symbol on their stomachs. They are the key to binding the pieces back together." Torgul nervously pointed to the symbol on his map.

"How do you know this?"

"I heard this from the Healer of Orlah."

"If Keeva gets the stones and the girls, we will be powerless against her. I can read the map. If you let me live, I will take you to the girls."

Surprised, Luken listened with interest. Healer of Orlah? That's my father.

Senus viewed the sun rising. "I want to hear more about this map." He slammed Torgul against a tree and tied him up.

As the slivers of morning light shot between the trees, Luken watched the Spiritons slip into the shadows. He wanted to run, but their evil eyes peering out from under their hooded cloaks made him afraid. He nervously sat next to a tree in the sunlight, afraid to close his eyes. He lifted up his shirt to view the symbol above his navel. Are we connected somehow? Hardly noticeable anymore, a faint outline of a scar was still an irritating reminder he was somehow different. His father had made him believe the mark was a curse, making him hide the mark in shame, so he wouldn't be feared and ridiculed by his friends. He remembered how painful it was when his father poured juice from the burning vines on his stomach to burn the mark off. The skin scarred, but a faint outline of the symbol still remains. This mark was not a curse; it was a gift from the Master Healer. Father, what have you done?

"Boy."

Luken heard a whisper. He rolled his head around the tree to see Torgul's head, gesturing for him to come closer. Luken walked over to him.

"What is your name?" Torgul asked.

"Luken."

"My name is Healer Torgul from Killeen. Why are you with the Spiritons?"

Luken said nothing as his ideas of excitement and adventure were now shadowed in shame and fear.

"Can you untie me?"

Luken sank into his shoulders, afraid to look at the watching shadows. He shook his head and ran back to his tree.

As dusk neared the Spiritons emerged. Senus untied Torgul and pushed him to the ground. "Now, show me how to find the girls." Senus threw the map at Torgul's feet.

Torgul sat back and rolled out the map between his feet. He moved his left boot close to the map. Luken stood behind Torgul to watch. He noticed something strange about Torgul's boot, there was a red thin line of light peeking out from the seams. Torgul waved his hands over the map, making them believe he was using magic. He moved his boot closer to the map and felt the heat from the glowing stone. Sweat beaded on his forehead, he closed his eyes and thought only about the yellow stone, so not to give away the position of the other stones. He waved his hands once more and the yellow triangle appeared just outside the Orlah forest, near the Taltorn Mountains.

Senus took the map. "How did you do this?" The triangle disappeared.

"Only I have the power to use the map." He desperately lied, trying to make them believe his life was more valuable.

Senus gave him the map back; the triangle returned. His eyes narrowed. "All right, you will take us to them, but one wrong move and I will cut you in half."

Luken continued to stare at Torgul's boot. He knew something wasn't right, but decided to watch Torgul from a distance.

## 28

The Dream

Sable struggled to settle into a slow rhythmic sway as one of his riders fought to sit still. Too stubborn to show any weakness, Akira quietly winced, trying to hold onto Abby's waist, endlessly shifting her weight into a position without pain. Ignoring the men's suggestions to stop, Abby led the way for a short distance. Akira clenched her teeth, feeling every painful second pass by as though it were hours. Unable to take it anymore, she moaned and dropped her head onto Abby's shoulder.

"No time to rest if we are to catch up to Senus." Abby was relentless and charged on.

In agony, Akira groaned as she held her shoulder. "All right, you made your point. Now, can we stop?"

"So, we are going after the stones and not Senus?"

"Yes, okay. Please stop."

When Abby stopped, Akira slid to the ground. Jorin took over and made up a bed for her. He boiled some leaves from the Kilton plant and poured it into a cup.

"Here, this will help the pain. Just a couple of small sips," he said, holding the cup up to her lips.

She blushed when she felt his hands touch hers. As she slowly sipped, she felt her pain ease with a warm sensation flowing through her body. She glanced at the cuts on his arms. He took a wet cloth and wiped the dirt from her face. She grabbed his hand to stop him. "I'm sorry," she choked.

He gave her an affectionate smile and lightly touched her cheek. "It's okay," he hushed.

"How do I do all this? How do I find the stones, kill the Spiritons, and protect Abby?"

"You're not alone, you have us."

"Abby must hate me."

"She doesn't hate you, she's your sister."

She rolled her head into a silly grin. "She tackled me to the ground pretty good, didn't she?"

"Time for you to sleep now." Jorin watched her dopey eyes.

Brogan knelt next to Jorin.

Gazing up, she flung her arms out at Brogan. "Kiss me."

Surprised, Brogan leaned back. Jorin was a bit surprised as well, but convinced himself it was the medicine.

"Shhh...Go to sleep," Jorin said, pulling the blanket up to her neck.

"How is she?" Brogan asked with concern.

"She's a bit dopey now. She will be fine in a couple of days."

Her glassy blue eyes gazed up at Brogan; her lips curled into a warm smile. Brogan returned a smile to her content pretty face.

Sulking, Abby sat by herself, drawing circles into the dirt with a stick. Her stomach knotted with pain when a vision of Senus stabbing Akira flashed in her mind. She wanted her sister to run away from this dangerous quest; the stones and the Spiritons weren't worth dying for, as far as she was concerned.

Tumble stood over her. "Well now, Li'l Kin, are you still in charge?"

Abby blushed. "No, it was just a slight detour."

"Bring your stone here and let's check the map."

Abby hurried over. Holding the map, she thought about the other stones. They watched the symbols glow on the map. The yellow and white symbols were together as expected, the blue stone appeared on the Isle of Adore, the green stone was in the Taltorn Mountains, and the red stone was following not far behind them.

"It seems Torgul is following us or heading to Taltorn. I suggest we get to Taltorn before he does and deal with him later," Brogan announced.

After a couple of days rest, Akira was up and moving around. Searching for Abby, she followed the sounds of swearing. Abby stomped her foot in frustration when the side of the knife bounced off the low tree trunk. Picking the knife up with a huff, she paced back and aimed at the tree again. She snapped the knife wildly, but the blade cut the ground, nearly stabbing her own foot.

Akira cringed. "If you snap more with your wrist and release a bit sooner..."

Abby spun around with a scowl; she wasn't in the mood for a lesson, especially from her sister. Akira picked up the knife from the ground and began to show her how to snap her wrist. The knife sank into the tree, she turned to Abby, but she was gone.

Taking a handful of grass, Abby sat down next to Snow. The deer greeted her with a quick snort and pulled at the grass. Akira slowly approached and holding her shoulder she sat down next to them. Abby didn't acknowledge her. The deer sniffed Akira's shirt, rubbing its nose into her stomach, making her squirm and laugh a little. Abby glanced away. The silence was long and uncomfortable.

"Would you like to learn to use your sword more?" Akira asked.

Abby said nothing.

"I could show you how to use the crossbow."

Abby continued to ignore her.

"Ah...how about a hug?" Akira held out her arms to be funny.

Abby refused to talk.

"Come on Abby, I'm sorry."

Abby wasn't ready to give in, wanting to make her suffer longer and walked away, but she pushed the silence too long.

"Fine! I don't feel like talking to you either!"

The evening was quiet and tense. Abby fell asleep and started to dream about the same woman from before. Abby fell into a trance and followed the flowing white dress into the forest.

"Come, I will protect you," she whispered.

"Who are you?" Abby asked.

"I knew your mother. We were good friends."

"Please tell me more about my mother."Abby sat with the woman and listened to stories. She felt safe and comfortable with the woman, she liked her.

"Come with me Abby and I will tell you more about your mother when she was young."

Desperate to know more, Abby stood to go with her. "What is your name?"

"Keeva."

Abby woke with a jolt. She was surprised to find herself standing in the forest alone. She watched the purple mist disappear into the darkness. Her heart pounded hard. How did I get here? I was dreaming about Keeva! She looked back to see the light from the fire glowing between the trees. She walked back to the camp. No one noticed she was gone. She crawled back into her bed, her frightened eyes darted about the ominous forest; she covered her head with her blanket.

The next morning, Abby wanted to tell them about her dream, but was too ashamed to tell them she easily walked off with the person everyone is so afraid of, but even worse, she liked her.

Tumble shook her from her daze. "Li'l Kin, it's time for you to get breakfast ready." He slapped the dead lizard onto a flat rock and slowly showed Abby how to clean it. Her face wrinkled with disgust when Tumble slit the stomach open and ran the blade up to the head. With one quick yank the guts were removed from the body. "Now it's your turn. You must learn to survive on your own." He put a dead lizard in her hand.

Her father had showed her when she was little, but she hated killing and cleaning the animals. With a knife in one hand, she stared at the limp body. She held it out, trying to give it back to Tumble. Akira watched Abby's objection to cleaning the lizard. With Abby still mad, Akira thought this would be the perfect opportunity to mend things between them.

"Here Abby, I will do it for you," Akira offered and took the lizard from her hand.

"Never mind, I can do it." Abby snatched the lizard back. She held the knife to the lizard and hesitated.

Akira took the lizard from Abby's hand. "I can help you."

"I can do it!"

Abby grabbed the head of the lizard as Akira held onto the other end, pulling, the tug-o-war began.

Tumble snorted at their childish behaviour. "Just give it back to me," he said as his eyes followed the lizard back and forth between them.

"I only want to help." Akira pulled harder.

"You just want to show off!"

They each gave a hard tug and fell backward from the sudden release in tension. Akira sat up holding only the end of the lizard; Abby sat up with a face of disgust, holding the lizard's dismembered head in her hand. Akira pushed air through her closed lips to release a laugh.

Abby rolled her brows down. "What's so funny?"

Akira laughed more. Abby had never heard her sister laugh before, she tightened her face muscles, trying hard to stop the corners of her mouth from curling; she started to laugh. Tired of waiting for his breakfast, Tumble huffed, snatched both halves of the lizard from their hands and stomped away. The girls laughed louder.

## 29

### Protective

Nonstop for three full days, the dark clouds followed them, releasing heavy downpours that flooded the roads, rivers ran high and fast, spilling over the banks, waterfalls gushed down the mountainsides, and the forest turned damp and cold.

A short break in the clouds brought relief to the miserable riders. Riding out from under the dreary trees, they slowly climbed the open hillside, allowing Brogan to get a better view behind them. He stopped again to look over his shoulder. He watched the birds and lizards rush out from the forest behind them, which usually meant someone or something was following behind. In the distance, he squinted at what he thought were three tall shapes standing at the line of the forest. Telling the others to carry on, he rode wide along the outskirts of the hillside and back down to the forest, trying not to be seen. He slid off his horse and crouched down to see scratches in the dirt, hiding the tracks. He searched the surrounding area, but found no other signs, whatever he saw was gone. Somewhat convincing himself he was being paranoid, he mounted his horse. Still feeling uneasy as he rode back to the others, he continued to look over his shoulder.

Caked in mud they struggled to pull their horses through the sticky mud on their way to Creston. All roads strangely led to the unappealing small village, set with crude buildings that were used as makeshift accommodations with sleeping quarters jammed into every nook and cranny to cater to the many travellers passing through. The single tavern was lively and prosperous, providing just about any kind of entertainment one could desire. The unruly village was not for the weak and cowardly, weapons were a must; if you couldn't protect yourself, it was your own fault.

Smoke filled the damp night air, hovering above the noisy village. Against their better judgement they decided to stay the night. Tumble paid for two rooms. The girls walked up the stairs and down the hall, passing by the women scantily dressed with well-endowed chests, seducing the drunken men. A tall naked woman only wearing a long open shirt stepped in front of the girls.

"Would you girls care to join us?" she smiled. "I like girls too. Do you have any gold pieces?"

Abby felt Akira's hand grab hers, squeezing it tight. "No, thank you. We're pretty tired. Maybe another time," she said politely.

"You know where to find us, if you change your mind," the woman shouted.

"Thank you." Abby waved.

The women laughed.

Akira flashed Abby an angry look and pulled her into the room. "What's the matter with you?" She slammed the door shut.

"What? She was being nice."

Akira frowned at the tiny room with a small broken window allowing the wind to whistle through and a rusty lantern hanging on the wall barely flickering. She sat down on the lumpy mattress with hay poking out of the many holes. "What the hell place did Tumble bring us to?" Wrinkling her nose at the mouldy smelling mattress, she dragged it out the door, leaving it in the hallway.

"Well, at least we are out of the rain."

They sprawled out their blankets on the wood floor. The girls looked up at each other when they heard the loud lewd sounds filtering through the thin walls. Abby blushed. Akira rolled her eyes up with disgust. After settling in, they met the men outside.

"How's your room," Tumble asked, looking pleased with himself.

"I think I would rather sleep in a tree," Akira grumbled.

Abby took Tumble's hand. "It's fine. Thank you."

"It's been a while since I was here last. There's great entertainment at the tavern."

Akira shook her head at his excitement; she could only imagine just what kind of entertainment he was talking about. "We'll skip your idea of fun."

Jorin stepped next to Akira. "Akira would you like to come to the tavern for a drink?"

She looked over to the noisy tavern. Ever since Jorin kissed her, she felt awkward and couldn't even look at him without her face heating up with embarrassment. All she really wanted to do was avoid being alone with him. A brawl broke out in front of the tavern and the half naked women rushed out the door to watch. "I think I would rather fight a dragon than go in there," she snorted rudely.

"Well, how about..." he pressed for another idea to be with her.

"No." She cut him off.

Abby grabbed onto Akira's arm. "I think we will go and find the bathhouse."

Disappointed, Jorin nodded and left with the men.

"Try to stay out of trouble." Tumble wagged his finger at the girls.

"You were a bit rude," Abby whispered.

"Rude? Have you looked at this place?"

"Never mind. You will feel better after the bath." Abby tugged on her.

In the tavern, Brogan and Jorin spent the evening talking to people, asking directions through the Taltorn Mountains. Ladies rushed to hang off of Tumble's arms when he placed his gold pieces on the table. The brothers joined a group of men in a drinking game.

Excited to see the girls, the lanky old man grabbed two towels and rushed them into the room. "Welcome to my bathhouse." Long drapes hung from the ceiling, dividing the five metal tubs, and pulling one drape across, he sectioned off two tubs. "This will do just fine." He patted the tubs with his hands. He rushed in and out of the room, pouring hot water into the tubs, he wiped the sweat from his forehead and carefully poured soap into the water, leaning over, he sniff the pleasant scent, and peeked under his arm to see the girls. The girls waited for him to leave. With a toothless grin, he stood in front of them staring at their chests. Frowning at the dirty old man, Akira aggressively pointed to the door. Excited for a second, his eyes widened when he clued in, only this time he dawdled, glancing over his shoulder, hoping the catch a peek at the girls changing. He turned, standing in the open doorway to stare back at them. The girls turned to him. Like a child, he wiggled his fingers at them. Akira stomped toward the excited man and slammed the door shut. Stripping out of their dirty clothes, they gingerly slipped into the bath to enjoy the soothing heat. The door suddenly swung open. Startling them, the girls covered their chests with their arms.

"What the hell?" Akira shouted.

The old man stepped into the room with one hand covering his eyes and the other stretched out in front, feeling his way through the room. "I'm sorry. I forgot your dirty clothes. Part of my service is to wash your clothes." He tripped on the rug and stumbled between the tubs. With his fingers slightly parting across in front of his eyes, he leaned down to pick up their clothes.

"You better push those fingers closed or I will chop them off," Akira threatened.

Abby snickered at the seemingly harmless man.

His fingers clamped together. With their clothes bundled up in his arms, he rushed back to the door. "Enjoy your bath, if you need anything, anything at all, just call out to me." The man released a girlish giggle as he closed the door behind him.

"I swear, if that peeping little pervert comes in again, I will..."

Abby burst into laughter.

Akira splashed water at Abby. "Oh...shut up." She tried not to laugh.

After a bath, feeling clean and refreshed, the girls headed back to their room.

"I want to check on the horses. Why don't you pick up some fruit from the cart over there." Akira handed Abby a few pieces of gold.

"Okay, I will meet you at the stable." Abby headed the other direction.

While she waited for Abby, she brushed the mud from Sable's legs. She heard a noise. "It's about time," she said to Abby, but received no reply. She looked up to see two men standing at the stable door and three more standing behind in the shadows.

"Blue Eyes, we meet again," said the man with small braids throughout his hair.

Unsure if they were talking to her, she scanned the stable. When she looked back, the three standing behind were gone, leaving only the two drunken idiots.

"I see you no longer have the butterflies," the bald man said.

Trying to ignore them, she carried on with her brushing, hoping they would leave.

They both staggered over to her. "Well honey, maybe we can start where we left off," the man with braids grinned. "Come on, give me a kiss. You know you want to."

Annoyed, her eyes narrowed at their menacing tone. Her hand itched to reach up and grab her sword.

Abby arrived and the men turned to her. "Akira, I'm back..." Fear crossed Abby's face at the sight of the two men who roped her when she first arrived. She dropped the fruit. Even from where she stood, she could smell his revolting odour.

Akira noticed her frightened face.

The man with braids laughed. "Look, there are two! One for each of us!"

Akira quickly realized the men thought she was Abby; she had met them before. Abby backed up to leave, but fell back into the mud. Akira pushed by the laughing men to reach her. She helped her to stand. "What happened? What did they do to you?" Abby tried to run away. Akira grabbed her arm. "Abby, did they hurt you?"

"No, Snow saved me. Let's go," she begged.

"Abby, I brought my lasso!" The man with braids lifted up his lasso.

"Please, can we go?" Frightened and embarrassed she wasn't able to defend herself, she pulled herself free from Akira's grip and ran off.

There was no doubt in Akira's mind that they did something to scare her sister, and she wasn't about to let them off as easily as Abby. She turned to them and forced a broad smile. They smiled excitedly at her return.

She lopped off two of his braids with her knife and pulled his bloody face up to hers. "I'm not shy about cutting off any body parts! If you ever come near Abby again, or even look at her, I will hunt you down like a Spiriton!" she threatened, releasing his battered body down next to the other man, moaning in pain.

Akira found Abby sitting sideways on a single step of the tavern stairs, her arms tightly wrapped around her legs with her chin resting on the top of her knees. Abby's eyes glanced up to the blood smeared across her sister's face and her body covered in mud.

"They won't be bothering you anymore."

"What did you do?"

"Nothing."

"Did you kill them?" Abby stood with concern.

"No."

She knew she did something. "Why do you need to settle everything with violence? Why didn't you leave with me when I asked you to?"

Akira became angry. "Why do you continually insist I be someone I am not?"

"Because I don't think you are as cold-blooded as you lead everyone to believe."

"So, now I am cold-blooded?"

"No, I didn't mean..."

"I am not like you and my so-called violence has saved you many times now. You will never survive out here if you don't know how to protect yourself," she scolded. "And does my standing up for you not mean anything to you?"

Abby fell silent at the question, leaning herself back against the wall. She's right. I have been pushing too hard, trying to make her a sister I think she should be. Without her protection, I wouldn't last long out here. "I'm sorry, you're right and it does mean something to me, thank you," she said quietly.

Akira sighed at Abby's low hanging face. "Would it help if I told you there was no violence, they were so drunk they fell onto my fists." she said to lighten the mood.

"Li'l Kin! What the dragon guts have you two been up to?" Tumble stood laughing with a lady attached to each of his arms. "Just what kind of bath did you have? You look worse than when we left you."

Both drunk, Sal and Rin staggered to stand straight. Sal leaned on Rin, laughing loudly.

Akira opened her mouth to explain, but Abby interrupted her with a poke of her elbow.

"We're heading to the bath now," Abby said.

Noticing the blood on Akira's face, Brogan crossed his arms. "Should I even ask?"

"No," Abby said, pushing her sister back to the bathhouse.

"Are you crazy? I don't want to go back to that pervert's bathhouse again." Akira tried to object.

The evening mist faded at the first sight of morning light. The village was quiet except for the early risers, eager to get on with the day. They impatiently waited for the hung-over brothers.

"If they don't hurry up, we will leave without them," Brogan grumbled.

"Well then, I will have to give them incentive to wake up," Tumble grin.

Picking up a pail, Tumble scooped water from the water trough and stormed their room. The others heard shouting, banging, and things smashing, minutes later Sal and Rin emerged, wet and miserable.

A few hours into the ride, the grumpy riders continued to lag behind.

"Maybe I should make them some tea," Jorin said.

Tumble shook his head. "Don't bother, they're big boys. If they can handle the drinking, they can handle the day after."

Staring down the narrow dirt road, Akira fell into daze as her eyes followed the wheel tracks from a horse drawn cart. Samson sat backward on her shoulder, pecking at her braid, but not even his annoying habit brought him attention. Sable got her attention when his head popped up suddenly, twisting his ears to the right to listen. She stopped and reined him in when he shook his head nervously and sidestepped a couple of feet. She listened, staring in the same direction.

"What is it?" Brogan asked.

"Sable hears something."

She glanced back to the trail ahead to see wheel tracks veer off into the forest. Her head snapped around to a sound; she caught a glimpse of a tolverine skulking between the trees, he was hunting something. She glanced back to the tracks. Without warning, she kicked her horse hard, taking off after the tolverine, leaving Samson behind, flapping and cawing at the sudden abandonment. She weaved between the trees, searching. The beast was like a ghost, disappearing and reappearing among the shadows. She spotted the tolverine running ahead with its nose in the air, sniffing at a scent. She scanned for more tolverines, but only saw the one. She followed the wheel tracks. The unnerving howl made her lean into a gallop, racing toward the sound. She found the tolverine approaching its prey, drooling and growling. She slid off her saddle and as soon as her crossbow landed in her hand she released the arrow. The tolverine yelped when the arrow hit his shoulder and limped off into the forest. She ran to the four bodies on the ground. The others arrived soon after.

Abby covered her mouth with both hands, turning away from the horrible sight of a mother and father with two young boys, covered in blood. Jorin waved at the buzzing flies as he leaned over to check the bodies. He shook his head in saddness; they had been dead for hours. Tumble found the injured tolverine and put him out of his misery.

"What do you think happened to them?" Brogan asked Jorin.

"I don't think they were killed by animals."

Akira took in a nervous deep breath as she searched the pockets of the dead. She tried not to look at their faces, but the dead had a way of pulling your curiosity in; her eyes shifted to their faces. She couldn't help but wonder how horrible it must have been for them, trying to protect their children. She swallowed and continued her search. She found pieces of gold and pulled off the rings from the woman's fingers.

Brogan watched her dig through their belongings like a thief. He had heard rumours of Hunters stealing from the dead. "What are you doing?" Brogan asked with an irate tone. She didn't answer and took the bone necklaces off the boys. "Akira!" He grabbed her forearm, making her look up with surprise. "What are you doing?" he asked sternly.

"The Spiritons killed them."

"How do you know?"

She pointed to the broken cart. "The horses are missing and anything of value was left behind. The only thing of value to a Spiriton is a horse." She glanced down to her arm, waiting for him to let go. He released her. "Do you think I'm a thief?" She looked straight into his eyes as she turned his hand up and placed the valuables into his palm.

He shook his head, embarrassed by his hasty judgement.

"We can turn them into the next village," she said quietly. "Sal, Rin, we need branches for the burning to the new-life."

"Tumble, what does she mean by burning to the new-life?" Abby asked.

"Everyone possesses a soul, whether it be a soul of the light or a soul of the dark. A body requires a soul to sustain itself. You are responsible for its keep, nurturing and caring for your soul, filling it with oneself. In return your soul will guide your heart and mind, binding them together forever. Because your body can't travel to the new-life, the flames will release your soul, carrying you to your new-life to be reborn."

Abby clutched her hand over her heart, thinking about her parent's souls being reborn gave her comfort.

Sal and Rin gathered branches, making four piles.

"Only make one. They should be together," Akira said.

The bodies were laid together on the branches. Tumble leaned down to light the wood with the torch, but stopped when Akira stood next to him, holding her hand out. Standing back up, he looked down to her sorrowful eyes, and understanding, he passed the torch to her and moved back to the others.

She held the torch out to light the branches, but hesitated. She dropped her head as she fought to conceal her tears. Taking a deep breath, she lit the alter. The flames quickly spread, making her step back from the heat. With her back to the others, she sat crossed legged on the ground, watching the bodies disappear in the bright yellow-orange flames.

Abby stepped toward her, but Tumble pulled her back. "I think it best to leave her be, Li'l Kin. She feels responsible for their deaths."

"Why? She didn't know them. It wasn't her fault."

"She's a Hunter and she feels connected to everything the Spiritons do."

"She's one person. Why should it weigh only on her shoulders?"

Tumble shook his head. "Maybe that's something we can help her change."

Watching her sister, Abby came to the realization Akira would never run away, she was going to stop the Spiritons. Her sister was the bravest person she ever knew. "Suffering alone will be the first thing we change." She walked over to Akira and sat down next to her.

Akira's eyes shifted to the side to acknowledge her sister. They sat together in silence for a long time, watching the flames die down. Staring at the glow of the remaining embers, Abby shivered when a cool breeze blew over her shoulder, picking up the grey ashes and carrying them off into the trees. She looked back to see Akira standing with her hand out to her, and placing her hand into Akira's, she stood. Akira nodded to the others she was ready to go.

## 30

The Wicked take Shelter from the Rain

They entered the forest of superior grey trees, forcing the lowly trees to cower from the intimidating height. The branches of the tall trees creaked and drooped at the weight of the wet heavy moss. Oval shaped leaves hung from red trees with paper thin bark curling and peeling off the silky smooth skin of the trunks, branches twisted and contorted, leaning out to the open space of light. Tiny birds ran the trunks, pecking at the bugs hiding under the bark. Clusters of wispy yellow leaves fluttered amongst the crowded black lines of perfectly straight thin trees. Small lizards flung themselves at the skinny tops, riding the swaying trees, before leaping to another.

Rin sniffed the moist air and flipped the hood of his cloak up over his head. He made hand signals to his brother, warning him about the approaching rain. Scanning the clear blue sky, Sal shook his head, doubting his brother's premonition. Minutes later the afternoon darkened when the threatening grey clouds pushed together. Sal ducked his head when he felt a raindrop hit the top of his head and roll down the back of his neck. Rin grinned at his brother. The others pulled on their cloaks at the sound of raindrops tapping the leaves above them. Abby rode next to Akira. She peeked out from under her hood to watch her tuck Samson up under her cloak. She curiously watched Akira close her eyes and with a slight smile, lean her head back to greet the rain.

"What are you doing?" Abby pulled her cloak tighter around her neck.

With her hands, Akira pushed the water over the top of her head and down through her hair. "I suddenly remembered something Mother used to say. The rain is the sky's way of washing troubles away, making you feel clean and refreshed, making you think clearer." She pushed her face back up into the falling rain.

Abby pushed her hood off her head, untied her cloak, letting it drop behind her. She shivered as she leaned her head back to welcome the washing. She thought about her mother's words, and she was right, she did feel refreshed—for a moment.

Akira pulled her cloak up over her head and watched Abby continue to bathe in the relentless rain. "You're overdoing it a bit, don't you think?"

"Doesn't hurt to wash a little extra away." She shivered.

Soon they were met with a strong wind, joining forces with the unyielding rain. The wind pushed the rain sideways, making it hard for the riders to see where they were going. Sal spotted some sort of shelter, which turned out to be remains of an old derelict cottage, but it had enough of a roof and walls to keep them dry. While the men dealt with the horses the girls pulled up the old floorboards to build a fire in the stone fireplace. After changing out of their wet clothes and into something dry, they sat down and stretched out their arms to warm their cold hands.

"Sounds like the rain is slowing," Akira said.

"Tell me what other things Mother said," Abby shivered.

"What do you mean?"

"Something insightful," Abby said, searching for anything to hold onto as a memory of her mother.

At first Akira couldn't think of anything, she was just a mother who had things to say, like any other mother. "Stay away from the burning bush or it will eat you. Your horse will stink if you let it eat orange ferns. If you don't know what it is then don't stick it in your mouth, and the crows will steal your food..."

"Okay, okay, never mind." She released an annoyed snort of air.

"Trust no one but yourself," Akira added.

Her words surprised Abby. "You don't really believe that, do you?"

Akira lowered her eyes to the floor and picked at the old floorboard with her fingers. The men returned with their wet clothes and hung them up to dry. They sat together and shared what food they could find in their bags.

"How far are we from the entrance to the Taltorn Mountains," Sal asked.

"One fellow I talked to said it's about a two days ride. When we reach the mountains, we travel east and there will be a crack in the mountainside. That is about all I could get out of him. He was pretty drunk," Brogan said.

"I talked to someone who said it was a bad time of the year to travel through the mountains," Jorin said. He looked up at Akira and smiled, but she glanced away.

Rin rubbed his head, still feeling a bit hung over.

"Does your head hurt?" Abby asked.

He nodded.

Abby shuffled to kneel in front of him. "I used to do this for my father when he had a headache." She gently rubbed her fingers in small circles on his temples.

"Hey, my head hurts too." Sal roughly rubbed his head.

Enjoying the attention, Rin smiled and closed his eyes. His fingers whipped out to Sal. Get Akira to rub your head, you big baby.

Sal looked over to Akira, carving into the floorboard with her knife. He looked back to Abby's gentle hands and sighed.

"Hello!" a voice echoed the room.

Startled, Brogan and the others all stood with weapons pointing to the three strangers standing at the entrance, an older man and two tall younger men.

"Please, we didn't mean to startle you. As you can see we are unarmed," the older man said, holding up his empty hands. "We are weary travellers looking to find shelter from the storm. We saw your fire and hoped to join you. We bring food to share."

They studied the bearded men. Grey hair lined the older man's black wiry hair, his long beard almost blended in with his black cloak made of tolverine fur, the bags under his eyes sagged into deep wrinkles, and you couldn't miss his yellow worn teeth when he smiled. The other two bearded men seemed to be a younger version of the old man, one with excited brown eyes, and the other with dark sunken eyes.

Brogan gestured with his hand for the wet and miserable looking strangers to come in. Feeling uneasy, both Brogan and Akira sat with their swords across their laps. The old man eyed their nervousness, but remained cheerful. The three men shook out their heavy wet fur coats, spreading them out across the floor.

The wet animal smell made Akira wrinkle her nose in disgust. It's like sitting next to tolverines.

"My name is Agar and these are my two sons, Madre and Toes."

Tumble politely introduced the others. Abby watched the brothers. She aged them to be in their twenties. Madre, older and bigger than his brother never made eye contact with anyone, only stared at the floor. She looked over at Toes' big smile.

Toes pulled off his boot to wiggle his wet toes at Abby. "See, I am named after my big toes," he said with a serious face.

She raised her eyebrows, and smiled politely. The men laughed. Not really understanding why the men were laughing, Toes released a loud childish laugh. Akira continued to ignore them all.

Agar roughly ripped the boot out of his son's hand, tossing it to the side. "You will have to excuse him, he is a simple-minded boy." Agar skewered the fresh meat with sticks, hanging them out over the flames. "I hope you don't mind tolverine meat." He rotated the sticks as he boasted about his hunt to kill the tolverine, trapping and torturing it before he killed the creature.

Akira shook her head with distaste for the boasting man. She was going to leave when Jorin sat down next to her, holding a stick with a chunk of cooked meat. He shuffled closer, so close their shoulders touched.

"Here, I saved you the best part of the meat," he whispered as he gently placed his hand on her knee.

She smiled briefly at him. "Thank you."

Out of the corner of Jorin's eye, he caught Madre's head rise up. Jorin looked directly at him, but the odd man continued to stare at Akira. The man's cold stare unnerved him, making his heart race. Jorin glanced over to Brogan, trying to catch his attention, but he was too engrossed with Agar. Jorin looked back at Madre; his eyes were back to staring at the floor.

For the next couple of hours Agar took it upon himself to entertain the others with stories of dragons and heroes. The others soon relaxed with the likeable man, but not enough to put their weapons away. After the rain had stopped the stories continued on long into the night.

Agar poked at the embers with a stick. "It looks like there is a break in the rain." He motioned his sons to stand. "We must be on our way. We thank you for your company. We hope we can repay your kindness one day. We bid you a safe journey." Beaming his yellow teeth, he bowed his head. He pulled a handful of dust and twigs from his pocket, and nonchalantly tossed them into the hot coals and took a few steps away to watch. When colourful sparks snapped above the fire, the old man grinned at their bewitched faces, still staring at the embers. With little time, the three men left, leaving them in a trance.

Shaking his head, Rin took in a breath of air. He coughed, making himself refocus. He panicked at the sight of smoke and flames filling the shelter. He pushed on Sal sitting next to him, his eyes were open, but he wasn't awake. He looked to the others and they were the same. Grabbing Sal's wrist, he dragged him outside. He ran back inside and one by one he dragged the others to safety. He slapped their faces and pushed down hard on their chests. They each broke from their trance, coughing for air. They looked up to see the shelter on fire.

In a panic, Tumble jumped to his feet. "Where are the girls?" About to run into the flames, Rin grabbed his arm and tried to explain with his hands. "What the dragon's guts is he trying to say?" He looked at Sal.

"He says the girls weren't in there."

Clouded by confusion, they watched the flames explode into the air when the remaining roof collapsed.

## 31

### Trust

The hard jerk woke Akira from her trance, looking confused. Another painful jerk brought her attention to her wrists, crossed and bound together by a leather strap, and tied to a rope leading to the back of a horse. She struggled to walk as her feet felt strange and heavy, she looked down to see her legs covered in mud, and walking in bare feet. She looked up to the night sky; the two moons were almost gone, which meant it was almost morning. The last thing she remembered was sitting by the fire with the three strangers. Feeling the rope yank her forward, she looked up to see Madre on the horse; Abby was in the same predicament, being pulled by Toes, and Agar out in front leading the way. Panic knotted Akira's stomach as she searched for the others, but they were nowhere to be seen. "Abby," she whispered, but Abby stared ahead still in some sort of trance. How long have I been out? She looked behind and was thankful to see her footprints in the thick mud, hoping the others could follow.

"Toes, you're a bloody idiot! I told you to light the fire after you got their horses. Our horses are slow and half dead," he shouted angrily.

Fire! Akira panicked. What fire? Where are the men?

Toes laughed. "The horses sure did run when they saw the fire!" Toes shouted in pain when the end of Madre's rope whipped out, hitting him across his mouth, and making him cower from his brother's scolding.

"One day you will push me too far," Madre threatened his brother.

"Akira?" Abby looked surprised and confused. "What happened? Where are the others?"

"Shhh...I don't know."

"What do they want?"

Akira shook her head. Abby's rope was yanked hard, making her slip into the mud. She struggled to get back up, but the horse continued to move forward, pulling her face-first through the mud.

Akira tried to move over to help, but couldn't reach her. "Stop!"

Both horses stopped. Madre turned, looking out from under his hood with a grin. "I suggest you hurry to stand up. I'm not waiting. Keep moving!" Madre shouted.

Abby rolled over and wiped the mud from her face with the back of her hands, but before she could stand, the rope tightened and she was dragged onto her back. The leather strap dug into her skin, making her shout in pain.

"Stop it! You bastard!" She took big steps in the mud toward Madre. He whipped the end of the rope at her face. The stinging snap sent her to her knees. He laughed.

"You idiots! They will be no good to you if you can't get them home in one piece!" Agar shouted at his sons.

Akira's face twitched at the cut in the corner of her eye, blood trickled down her face when she rose up to lock eyes with Madre.

Toes quickly got off his horse and helped Abby up to her feet. "Don't slow me down. My brother will get very mad," he said nervously. He scrambled to get back up onto his horse.

Akira cursed at the rain starting again. Their ropes were pulled tight and they struggled to keep up. Abby's head jerked back; she was sure if he yanked on the rope too many more times, he would rip her arms from her shoulders.

The rain finally stopped and so did the horses. The girls dropped to their knees, exhausted. Abby winced at her sore feet, heavy and tired from the long journey. Akira looked behind, sighing at the water filling the footprints. They will never find us. Looking at the sunrise, Akira calculated they had traveled three or four hours to the south. They were pulled up to their feet and led into an old barn. Looking for a weapon, Akira study everything in the barn, the lantern above the door, the chains hanging from the wooden beams, the large sharp hooks stabbing the wall, the long nail sticking out of a post, a pitchfork poking out of a small haystack, and even the scrap piece of metal on the wood floor could be used to gouge out their eyes; all possible weapons.

Abby was first to receive a locking metal collar around her neck, connected to a five foot chain bolted to a wood post. Toes cut her hands free and Madre locked metal shackles around her wrists. When Madre turned to Akira, she kicked him hard between the legs, making him dropped to his knees, cursing and swearing. Abby hugged the post in fear. Akira bolted to Toes with a knife still in his hand, and knocking him to the floor, she kicked him in the ribs. Screaming like a child, he cowered from her. Grabbing his knife, she held it upside down and worked the blade between her wrists. Just as she cut through the leather strap, she was grabbed from behind and thrown to the floor. Madre was on her back before she could move, twisting her arm up her back until she shouted in pain. He latched a shackle onto her wrist.

"Not so brave now, are we my little black haired wench?"

Right after she heard his mocking laugh, pain exploded in her head when he slammed the side of her face into the floor.

"Please stop!" Abby shouted in fear.

"My wife is nice." Toes rubbed his sore ribs.

Panic crossed Abby's face at the reason they were taken.

"It's okay, Abby. We have been following you since Orlah. I knew you would be a good wife for me," Toes beamed.

Akira felt Madre's wiry beard rub against her ear, a shiver shot up her spine when his hot breath touched her skin.

"You're a wild one. I will enjoy beating you into submission," he whispered.

He roughly clamped the collar around her neck and rolled her over so he could sit on her stomach. His strong hands grabbed her other wrist, latching on the matching shackle. Her heart raced at the dark cruel face hovering above her. Her eyes darted to the knife in his hand. She froze with fear when he pushed the tip of the blade through her shirt between her breasts, making her wince at the little cut.

Madre sneered as he stood up. "We will see how you do without food or water for a couple of days."

When the men left, Abby scurried along the floor to sit next to her sister. "Are you all right?"

Akira sat up and nodded.

"What do you think happened to the others?"

"I don't know." Akira stretched her arms apart, pulling on the chain between the shackles. She cursed at their dire situation.

"Why did they take our boots?" Abby rubbed her sore feet.

"It will be harder for us to escape barefooted."

They both stood with the chains dangling behind, walking toward the wall with tools to see how far the chain would let them reach. They dropped their arms in disappointment; still another five feet to go. They scanned the room for anything they could reach. Akira tried to reach for the pitchfork, but stopped when she heard someone unlock the latch of a door on the other side of the dark barn. She squinted toward darkness. She froze at a growl sound entering the room. Glowing, two yellow circles appeared. Abby screamed and fell back when a tolverine rushed out, barking and snapping its jaws. Akira pulled her back to the post and they cowered when the tolverine jumped at them, but the threat came to a jarring halt when it reached the end of its chain, about ten-feet away from them. Leaning, yanking on the chain, its long teeth continued to snap at them as its claws cut into the wood floor, trying to reach them. Weak from hunger, the barking changed to small yelps as it stood on shaky legs and sniffed the air. They watched the skeleton of a beast violently shake its thick mane out, rattling the chain around its neck, and release a loud snort of air. Looking beaten and half dead, the ugly thing dragged its chain across the floor, turning it dropped itself down into a heap with its desperate eyes staring at the unreachable food. They were starving it to death. Will we suffer the same fate?

"I hope the others find us soon," Abby shivered.

Abby finally allowed her tired eyes to close, but she was pretty sure her racing heart was going to keep her awake all night. She heard whispering and rolled her head to Akira, chained to a post only two feet from her, curled up on the floor asleep. She scanned the barn, but saw no one. She heard it again, and then spotted Toes' face peeking through a loose board in the wall.

He tossed the stale chunk of bread next to her feet. "Shhh...I brought you some food. Don't tell my brother." He closed the board and disappeared.

Abby reached out with her feet to pull the bread closer. She froze when she heard the low growl. As the hungry eyes watched, she slowly slid the piece of bread toward herself with her foot. The tolverine stepped out of the shadow sniffing the air and crouched down to stare at her. She held the lump of bread in her hand; it wasn't much. She was terrified of the creature, but she couldn't stand to watch it suffer. She nervously swallowed, slowly tearing off a small piece of bread she threw it, hitting him on the forehead. The tolverine leapt to the bread, snapping it up hungrily and sniffed for more.

Akira woke to the noise. "Where did you get the bread?"

"Toes gave it to me. He is nicer than the other brother."

"Don't be a fool. You can't trust either of them."

Abby handed her half the bread. "They brought us here to be their wives."

"Not if I can help it. Don't worry, I will find a way to get us out of here," she said with confidence, trying to reassure her sister, but deep down she was worried, with no weapons and locked in chains, it wasn't going to be easy.

For the next couple of days, Toes snuck food and a bowl of water into the girls. Each time Abby received food she threw some at the tolverine.

"You're wasting our food," Akira grumbled.

"He's hungry too."

"Yes, he's hungry and would prefer to eat us."

Madre and Toes entered. The tolverine barked wildly, then yelped and cowered when Madre threw a large rock, hitting it on the head. Toes unchained Abby and moved her to the door. She looked over her shoulder to see Madre unchain Akira. Abby followed Toes out the door, but when she looked back Akira was not there and the door was closed. She tried to go back to the barn, but Toes led her to a house embedded into a hillside, almost hidden from view except for a window and a door carved into the side, and a stone chimney poking out of the top of the grass roof. Inside was a roughly built table and chairs, the walls were covered with tolverine furs, and a black wood stove in the corner for cooking. She panicked at the sight of the bedroom.

"Well?"

Terrified, she swallowed hard.

"This is the kitchen and I'm hungry. Can you make potato cakes? They're my favourite."

She viewed his bright cheery eyes through his rough appearance. Breathing a sigh of relief, she tried to smile and nodded. Her shackles rattled as she stirred the potato mix. As she dropped small blobs of the mix into the hot pan she worried about what was going to happen later. She placed the crispy cakes onto the table.

Toes quickly stuffed one into his mouth. "These are good. Here you have some."

Abby took a couple, stuffing them into her shirt for Akira. "Why are you doing this to us?"

"Father says this is the only way we will get wives."

"Locking us up is not the way to do it."

"But you will run away."

"If you treat a girl proper she won't run away."

"If I treat you proper, will you stay?"

"Yes." She glanced away to hide her lying eyes.

Giving her a toothy grin, he rushed off to the bedroom. Her heart raced. He returned with a wooden box, and opened it excitedly, pulling out little wood carvings of animals. "This one was my mother's favourite." He held the carving of a deer out to her.

"They're beautiful." She smiled kindly at his simple carvings. "Toes, it was hard to cook with my wrists chained and now they're sore. Can you unlock them for me?"

He inspected her red wrists.

"Please, they really hurt."

Toes lifted the string with the key over his head and reached over the table to unlock her shackles. They both jump when Agar entered the house, shouting. "Toes! What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"Her...her wrists hurt," he stuttered.

Toes received a hard slap across his face and cowered down to the floor, covering his head. Abby backed herself to the wall. Agar grabbed a handful of Toes' hair, pulling him up to his feet.

"Take her back to the barn!"

Toes nodded his head violently as he rushed Abby out the door.

"I'm sorry, Toes. I didn't mean to get you into trouble." She stopped, waiting for him to look at her.

He smiled at her pretty face. "My mother had blue eyes too. I think she would have liked your potato cakes too."

He opened the barn door. They were greeted by the frightening barking, making them both hug the wall when they entered. She looked over at Akira—she gasped. Alone and facing the post, Akira hung by her wrists on a hook above her head, her toes barely touching the floor, her shirt was torn from her back to expose the long bloody cuts and red welts crossing the skin of her back.

"Akira!" Abby rushed to her. "Why did he do this? Akira, can you hear me?" Akira moaned slightly. Abby glared at Toes. "Get her down!"

"I can't, he'll beat me. He whipped her 'cause she's bad."

"This is not the proper way to treat a girl."

"I can't."

"I will stay with you forever, if you let her down."

Nervously looking around, he lifted Akira's chain up off the hook. Abby helped her sister kneel to the floor. She brushed her hair from her face to view the cut lip, bloody nose, and a swollen eye.

"Abby, I have to chain you back up."

The only way they would have a chance to escape would be through Toes, and Abby needed him to trust her. She nodded, allowing him to put the chain back on. When he left, she tore a small strip off the bottom of her tattered shirt, dipped it into the bowl of water, and lightly wiped the blood from the palm of her hands and from her face. As she helped Akira take off her vest, she noticed the string with a piece of red ribbon tied to the inside, like the ribbon in her letters from their mother. Akira moaned as she rolled onto her stomach. Abby cringed at the sight of the welts crisscrossing her bare back, some bleeding.

Akira curled her fingers into fists against the floor, tears dripped from her eyes, sucking in air to hold her breath at the burning sensation when Abby touched her back with the wet cloth. "Please stop, let me rest."

"I'm sorry," Abby choked at her sister's pain. She slid her leg under Akira's head for a pillow.

"He took my stone." Akira clutched Abby's leg as her body twitched from the painful spasms in her back. She felt Abby's hand gently stroking her hair, cooing at her. Her spasms soon slowed at the comfort.

"It's okay. We'll get it back. Sleep now. I will look after you," Abby whispered. "Brogan and the others will find us." She held the ribbon tight in her hand. Please find us.

Barely light out, Abby woke to moaning and found Akira trying to put her vest back on. She helped her as Akira winced with every painful move. Finding another bowl of water from Toes, Abby held the bowl to Akira's lips, forcing her to drink. She dug out a potato cake from inside her shirt, breaking it into small pieces so Akira could chew.

The sudden barking brought Abby to her feet. The door flung open and the brothers rushed inside. Abby fought with Toes when he unchained her. Madre grabbed her by the back of her hair and with Toes running behind them, Madre ran her out the door and slammed the door shut behind her. Abby ran back, screaming and kicking at the door, trying everything to get back inside. Worried his brother would come out to yell at him, Toes danced nervously as he pulled on Abby. Unable to quiet her, Toes threw her over his shoulder and took her to the house.

She could only assume the worst for her sister and fell to her knees in front of him. "Please, Toes, don't let your brother hurt her."

"Shhh...Abby, I will protect you." He reached out and gently stroked her hair.

She couldn't wait. Charged with fear, she bolted through the door, running back to the barn.

Madre stood at the doorway, smiling. "A few more beatings and she will be mine. I will break you!" Madre shouted back at Akira.

Abby bravely pushed by him to find Akira lying on the floor unconscious. Toes gently pulled Abby to the post and chained her. He walked back to the door and gave Abby a look of sympathy as she held her sister. He shouted in pain when his brother grabbed him by his beard, yanking him out the door.

Akira woke to find Abby holding a wet cloth to her forehead. "Are you all right, Abby?" Akira whispered.

"Well, that's a stupid question. I should be asking you that. You're the one bleeding on the floor!" Tears streamed down her face.

Akira tried to smile, but every inch of her body hurt; it hurt to breathe from the hard kicks to her stomach, and she wasn't sure why the side of her head hurt, but assumed it was the reason she blacked out. He was going to beat her down until she was too weak to fight back. She was waiting for him to make a mistake, but it worried her he would break her before the mistake was made.

"I think I can get Toes to help us."

Akira closed her eyes. "You can't trust him, trust no one," she whispered.

The next day, Abby cringed at the shouting outside, and it wasn't long before the tolverine barked at the arrival of Madre, Agar and Toes.

"Well, will you obey today? Stand!" Madre ordered Akira.

Lying on her side, she didn't move.

Agar laughed. "She doesn't look broken to me! Maybe she is too much for you to handle, boy!" He wandered out of the barn shaking his head and laughing.

Angry at his father's words, Madre knelt down and held a large hook in front of her face. "Stand! Or I will use this to rip your insides out." He caressed her cheek with the side of the hook.

Akira swallowed hard as she forced her beaten body to stand. She glared at her stone tied around his neck. He pushed her back up against the post, making her shout in pain. He traced the point of the hook over her chin and down to the top of her vest.

"Stop it!" Abby grabbed at his arm.

"Toes control your woman or I will break her too!" He slapped Abby across the side of her face with the back of his hand.

Akira flinched to move, but held herself back.

The painful blow made Abby cover her face and crouch down to the floor. She looked up to Toes, hoping he would help. "Toes?" He yanked hard on her chain, pulling her away from Akira. Madre loaded a punch at Akira. Abby waited for her to fight back, but Akira cowered.

"Good. Tomorrow you will be mine." He stabbed the hook high into the post across from her. He pushed Toes out the doorway, slamming the door behind him.

"Akira?"

Akira slid down the post and turned away from her. "What do you think of trust now?" she whispered through her swollen lip. "He will not help you."

Abby reached out to her, but she pulled away. Abby sat back, looking up through the crack in the wall to see the light from the two moons. "Help us," she whispered to the moons, to the wind, to the crows cawing in the distance, begging anything to bring help.

Toes pushed food through the hole. The tolverine stood, waiting eagerly for Abby to throw him some food. Abby didn't look at Toes.

"Abby, please take the food," he said, but she continued to ignore him. "Please don't be mad at me. Take the food, I want to help."

She rolled her head to look at him. He smiled eagerly. "Toes can you get me some leaves from the healing plant? I will make you anything you want tomorrow, even the best lizard stew you ever tasted."

Toes excitedly rushed off.

Abby tossed some bread at the wretched tolverine. She shook her head in despair; they were no different than the poor animal chained up across from them. Toes returned, quickly poking the leaves through the hole and left without a word. Abby mashed the leaves with the back of her shackle on the floor. She gently applied the salve to Akira's back while she slept, and as the stone glowed the open wounds closed.

In the middle of the night, Agar and Madre, both burst through the door, followed by Toes, protesting. The tolverine barked and growled at the commotion. Agar grabbed Abby and unlocked her chain to take her to the house. Akira continued to stare at the floor.

"No Father, you said Abby was mine!" He tugged on his father's arm.

"I changed my mind," he grumbled, pulling Abby to her feet.

"Stand!" Madre shouted at Akira.

She slowly stood, but continued to look at the floor. He pushed her against the post and leaned on her. "Look at me!"

Even when his hand forced her head to turn to him, her eyes still looked away. "See that hook up there, I will use it to gut you, if you don't look at me."

Her eyes shifted to the post, a grin crossed her face at his mistake. Confused by her expression, he looked back at the post to only see the hole where the hook used to be. His eyes popped with fear at the sharp pain ripping his insides, stepping back, he looked down at the hook impaling his stomach. Akira pulled the hook up higher. He yelled and pushed her back against the post. She slid down to the floor in pain. He fell to his knees. Agar pulled his sword and raised it up at Akira. Abby grabbed his arm. He turned on her.

"No Father!" Toes shouted.

He grabbed his father from behind, pulling him away from Abby. They struggled, the sword flung out of his hand and slid across the floor. The tolverine went wild at the action, pulling and tugging at a weak chain link. Agar punched his son in the face, sending him into a heap on the floor. Agar rushed to the far wall to retrieve his sword. He pointed his sword toward his son cowering on the floor. "Stupid useless boy, I should have drowned you at birth!" He took a step closer then stopped at the sound of a growl. He turned slowly, his eyes widened at the broken chain—the tolverine was loose. The tolverine barked and leapt at him. Agar screamed.

"Father!" Toes shouted as he shuffled backward in fear.

Abby turned her head away in horror when the tolverine ripped Agar's skin and muscles from his bones. With blood dripping from its mouth, the tolverine lowered its head, growling at the others. His eyes shifted to Abby. She froze at the frightening stare. The beast released a loud snort of air, and bit into Agar's neck, dragging him out the door and into the darkness.

Toes put his hands to his head, rocking himself back and forth, not knowing what to do. He spotted his father's sword, and shuffling on his knees, he picked up the sword and stood. He turned to Abby.

"Toes, please unlock us. Let my sister go and I will stay with you," Abby said. "You know what your brother and father did was wrong, don't you? I trust you to do the right thing."

Akira listened to Abby try and reason with him.

He stood in front of her. Abby's body shook, not knowing what he was going to do. He held the sword up between them and stared at her. Her body jumped with fright when he dropped the sword to the floor. He unlocked the collar from around her neck and the shackles. Abby rubbed her sore wrists, her eyes widened in fear when Madre stood up behind Toes—she screamed. He took the hook from his stomach and swung it toward Abby. Toes turned, pushing him back, they struggled. Madre ran his brother backward, slamming him hard up against the post, ramming the back of Toes' skull into the long nail. Shock crossed Toes' face as blood ran from his nose.

"Idiot!" Madre shouted. No longer able to hold his insides, Madre staggered back and collapsed to the floor.

Abby rushed to Toes, hanging from the nail.

Toes' face wrinkled in pain. "Abby, did I do the right thing?"

"Shhh...yes, you did, thank you. Your mother would have been proud," she whispered to his dying face.

"Can we have potato cakes tomorrow?"

"Yes." She nodded and touched the side of his face. "I'm sorry this happened to you." His eyes froze when he released a long last breath. "Toes?" She lowered her head, feeling sad for the simple-minded man, who obviously lived in a life of abuse and cruelty.

"You trusted him? Why?" Akira sat up. "He could've killed you."

Before taking the keys, Abby nervously kicked at Madre to make sure he was dead. She knelt down next to Akira. "I took a chance and he saved me." Tears ran down Abby's cheeks as she took the collar off Akira's neck.

"Why are you crying?"

"Because I lied to gain his trust and now he is dead." She continued to agonize over Toes' death, her weepy eyes shifting to his lifeless body.

"Trust brings nothing but pain."

"Yes, sometimes there's pain, but there needs to be some level of trust. Without trust how would you know happiness, friendship...love? I trust you."

"Why?"

"Because you're my sister. You trust me, don't you?" Abby paused briefly before removing the shackles, waiting for an answer. She knew deep down under all that anger and hurt, her sister did trust; it just wasn't going to be first on the list. Abby shook her head at her sister's lack of expressing any emotion.

Free from the shackles, Akira crawled over to Madre to untie her necklace from around his neck. She pulled herself up from the floor to stand in front of Toes, and wondered if she was capable of trusting anyone. She gently brushed his eyelids closed with a shaky hand. Turning, she slowly shuffled her bare feet across the floor and out the door. Abby bowed her head and followed her

"You should rest." She stepped around the blood trail leading to the forest and cringed Agar's horrible fate.

Akira shook her head. "We are leaving this place of hell." She forced her painful body to keep moving. Unable to find their boots, they readied two horses that barely looked like they could carry their own weight. When the morning sun cut the sky, Akira set fire to the barn. "We will try and make it back to Creston by nightfall." As the flames quickly spread, Akira slowly pulled herself up onto the horse's bare back. Moaning, she sat still for a moment to catch her breath, and then lightly kicked the horse with her heels. Abby quietly followed.

Akira woke to find herself laying on top of the horse's neck and Abby sitting behind her. The horse's sagging body struggled with every step to carry the heavy weight. She glanced up to the blurry late sun. "How long have I been out?"

"All day." Abby helped her to sit up.

"What happed to your horse?"

"It died."

Akira swayed, unable to keep her body upright. "I don't think I can ride anymore."

Abby pulled her back to rest against her, holding her around the waist. "It's okay, just rest. We are close to Creston, I can smell smoke."

Akira dosed off. The horse stumbled a few feet before it crashed to the ground, dropping the girls. Abby rushed to Akira. "Are you okay?"

"Did the horse die?"

"Yes."

"You need to leave me and get help."

"No. I'm not leaving you." Abby panicked at what to do next, she couldn't carry Akira and didn't want to leave her to find help. "You will walk."

"I can't."

"Shut up! You will walk." Abby tried to pull her up, but weak herself, she collapsed. "I don't know what to do."

"Samson," she whispered.

"What?" Hearing cawing above her, Abby looked up to see the white crow circling above them. Abby held up her arm to let him land. She rubbed the side of her cheek against his chest. "Find Jorin." She pushed him back up into the air. She poured water into Akira's mouth. "Just hang on a little longer." Hearing the men shouting in the distance, Abby shouted back, guiding them. "Akira they found us."

The men were stunned by the sight of the two girls looking in rough shape, especially Akira. Brogan and Jorin flew off their horse, rushing to Akira.

"What happened?" Brogan asked, kneeling beside her.

Jorin quickly scanned her wounds. "We need to get her back to Creston."

"Li'l Kin, are you okay?" Tumble asked.

Abby flew into his waiting arms. "Yes. Please take us to the bathhouse. We need clothes and food. I will tell you what happened on our way back."

Brogan helped Akira up, but she pushed him back.

"I can stand," she said, as she started to collapse back to the ground.

"Idiot." Brogan scooped her up, cradling her in his arms.

Feeling the warmth of Brogan's body, she briefly glanced up to his concerned face, and feeling safe, she closed her eyes. Brogan and Tumble carried the girls back to the village. Jorin and the others rode ahead to find food and clothes. Arriving at the bathhouse, Jorin waited eagerly, wanting to treat Akira, but she refused and only wanted Abby to look after her.

Concerned, the old man of the bathhouse rushed to heat the water and made bandages for Abby to use. He quietly closed the door. Abby helped her sister take off her clothes. Akira sucked in air between her teeth when she slowly lowered herself into the tub of warm water, and for a moment she didn't move, waiting for the pain to subside.

Hearing a knock, Abby answered the door with a smile at Brogan's full arms. She backed up to let him in. He placed the clothes and food on the table. Movement between the gaps of the drapes caught his attention; Akira was in a tub with her back to him. His stomach knotted, horrified by the marks on her back. Abby led him out of the room. He clenched his fists. "What did they do to her? This is my fault. I never should have allowed this to happen," he choked on his anger.

"No one is to blame, they were bad men. They will never hurt anyone again," Abby said.

He dropped his head. "What can I do?"

"Give us time to rest." She placed her hand on his shoulder.

He nodded his head lowly and left.

Abby held out a piece of meat to Akira. "Brogan brought us food and clothes."

"Was he angry?"

"Yes, but angry with himself. He thinks it was his fault this happened."

Surprised, Akira glanced back through the drapes, but he was gone. She felt Abby gently dab salve onto her back. She tried to look over her shoulder, trying to see her wounds. "How bad is it?"

From behind, Abby viewed the many red lines crossing her back. Her strong body suddenly looked frail and beaten. "Not bad." Tears filled her eyes from lying. "You really scared me back there, I thought, Madre broke you, but I should have known you were too strong for him."

"We will not speak of their names again." Akira pulled her legs up to her chest and stared at the small cuts in the palm of her hands. Remembering the painful whippings, the repeating sound of the whip cracking the air before it hit, burning pain overlapping one another, barely able to catch her breath before the next agonizing slap. Digging her fingernails into the palm of her hands, just so she could feel the pain somewhere else on her body. She tried to block his sadistic voice, shouting out the same words over and over again. Tell me that you're broken? Scream it out to me. With every stinging whip she felt weak and helpless. She bit her lip to keep the words from flying out of her mouth. Yes, I'm broken. The only thing that kept her going was the thought of saving her sister from the same fate. She shivered, wanting to forget just how scared she was.

Abby felt Akira's body shake. "It's okay if you want to cry. I won't look."

Akira shook her head, trying to hold her emotions back, but her face dropped into her knees and she quietly sobbed. Abby turned away and put her hands to her face to cry. After a long time, Akira stopped crying, wiping her face, she listened to Abby still crying behind her.

"Abby, I do trust you."

Abby wiped her face with her arm and smiled. "I know." She touched the water. "Time to get out, your water is getting cold."

"I'm fine."

"Come on, get out before you catch your death."

"What are you? A mother hen?" Akira rose up out of the water.

Abby wrapped a towel around her and walked her over to the wood stove. "With a couple of days rest you will be as good as new and back on your quest, the rain will stop, the sun will shine, and we will find the others stones."

"Are you always this optimistic? It's quite annoying."

## 32

### The Taltorn Mountains

After a week of rest and against Jorin's wishes for her to rest longer, Akira was eager to move on. Her horse was packed and she impatiently waited for the others. Brogan had avoided her all week, but he was the first to wait by her side. He was quiet and withdrawn as he stared at the sunrise.

The quiet moment made Akira nervous. She circled her finger into Sable's mane, waiting for Brogan to say something. "It wasn't your fault."

"I'm glad you are better." He yanked on the reins, turning his horse to ride ahead.

Akira watched him leave, wondering if she could ever convince him it wasn't his fault.

The weather cleared, leaving the roads dry. Brogan led the way, following the directions he was given by the people in the tavern. The forest came to an end and so did the singing of birds. The eerie silence was cut by the sudden shrieks from dragons flying between the mountains. They stood before a stunning wall of black mass. They strained their necks to view the steep volcanic mountain with sharp edges soaring upwards, cutting into the sky. The trees along the edge of the mountains were black, dead from whatever plague ran off the mountainsides and into the soil.

The group pressed on to make it to the Village of Taltorn before dark. Ambling between the dead trees, they followed the bottom edge of the mountain. They stopped at the unusual sight. Not a thing lived near the mountains, and yet flourishing up against a black mountainside was a thing of beauty. Thick green roots twisted around each other, creating eight-foot pillars, holding up a bushy ceiling of bright yellow and red leaves with beautiful white blossoms hanging down on long thin stems. Beyond the bright foliage a large narrow crack split the mountain in two.

"That must be the entrance to Taltorn," Brogan said.

About to enter, Rin spotted a skull, partially covered by grass. He put out his arm to stop the others.

"What's wrong?" Sal rode up to his brother.

Something's not right. He pointed to the skull. Beware of what lies under a thing of beauty.

Sal jumped down from his horse and picked up the skull. "I don't see anything. It's just a skull."

Rin threw a stick up into the leaves above, they jolted back when the burning vines rushed out from above, wrapping around the stick, pulling it up into the leafy ceiling.

Sal dove to the ground, and then bolted to his horse. "Are you crazy? You almost turned me into plant food." He brushed himself off.

Rin tied a piece of lizard meat to a long broken branch. The others readied their horses, waiting for the signal. He dangled the meat on the far left hand side of the bush, immediately the bush reacted, sending vines out to grab the meat. They quickly made their way under the dangerous bush and into the entrance of the mountain.

A crack of light hung above their heads as they rode in a single line through the narrow passage. Brogan led the way, followed by Akira, Tumble, Jorin, Abby, Sal, and Rin bringing up the rear. Soon the passage opened wider, revealing layers of mountains in the distance, and clear blue skies above them. The trail remained narrow, cutting into one side of the mountain, leaving the other side to fall away into the darkness of unusual clouds floating not far below their feet. Sal lobbed a large rock into the dark clouds and listened; there didn't seem to be a bottom.

A cool breeze crept up behind them, making them shiver, and out of the silence, thunder rolled in the ominous clouds below. They looked down to see silent flashes of light illuminate the clouds. With more rumbling, they watched the dazzling display of flashing lights. The thunder intensified, moving toward them. The jittery horses danced their legs, not wanting to continue. They tightened their reins, trying to keep the horses from slipping off the edge.

"Get off the horses before they take us over the side!" Tumble shouted.

They jumped off their frightened horses and tried to calm them. Abby's horse nearly bumped her off the edge, she looked down and screamed, but not from the height, she screamed at the black creature climbing up the side of the cliff.

Near Brogan, they watched two sets of three claws reach up to cling onto the edge, long muscle toned legs, pulling itself up onto the trail, its shining black skin stretched when it arched its back, and its snake-like head hung low, swaying side to side with heavy eyelids blinking over its glossy black eyes. The large creature hissed as it opened its wide jaws of sharp teeth, a long red tongue shot out, cutting the leg of Brogan's horse, and making it bleed. The tongue snapped out again, and reaching for the blood, the horse jumped and squealed, making the other horses panic.

"Let the horses go!" Tumble shouted.

Akira was reluctant to let Sable go and held the reins tight. The sight of the creature made Sable lean back on his hind legs, knocking her against the rock wall. She released the reins and watched him bolt after the other horses, all racing down the trail. Brogan pulled his sword when the creature's long body crouched and hissed. The tongue snapped out at Brogan, nearly hitting his leg.

From the clouds below, a startling clap of thunder shook the mountain and rattled their insides. Just as Akira covered her head when loose rocks fell from above, lightning shot up out of the clouds, exploding in front of the others. Akira's vision was a bit blurry, but the others fell to the ground clutching their eyes from the blinding light; all shouting they couldn't see. The creature opened its eyes and took the opportunity to strike the blinded prey.

Brogan heard the hiss. "I can't see the creature!" He jolted back at the sharp pain cutting his upper chest. Feeling blood running down his stomach, he swung his sword wildly out in front of himself, unsure where the creature was.

They felt the heat from the lightning, forking in all directions, striking the rock wall around them. More claps of thunder shook them. With her eyes closed, Akira counted between the sound of thunder and the lightning strike, so she would know how long she could keep her eyes open. Sal reached out and felt for Abby. Finding her, he pulled her in close and covered her head. Rin and Jorin inched their way to Sal.

"Sal, I can't see!" Abby shouted.

"I know I can't either. Keep your eyes closed."

Brogan dropped his sword when he was knocked against the wall by the striking tongue. He gasped at the tiny teeth at the end of the tongue latching onto his chest. He could feel it sucking his blood. He growled in pain as he tried to pull the tongue off, but the teeth dug in deeper. As he bent over to feel for his sword, the tongue pulled him to the ground, dragging him toward the edge; his hands blindly tried to find something to grab onto. Akira worked her way toward him, trying to avoid the falling rocks. The creature backed up over the edge, pulling Brogan. Panic struck him when his hands felt the edge of the cliff.

"I need help!" she shouted as she pulled on Brogan's legs.

Tumble felt the wall and shuffled along trying to get closer. "Where are you?"

"Keep coming, you're almost there!" Akira fell to her knees when the thunder hit and closed her eyes before the flash.

Sal shouted in pain when a tongue from up above him latched onto the back of his hand, lifting him off the ground by a couple of feet, his body swung wildly as he tried to free his hand. His eyes watered when he tried to see what was above him, but only saw the shadow of something clinging to the rock wall. "Help me!" he shouted.

Abby saw nothing but white when she opened her eyes. "What's happening?"

"A creature has me!"

Reaching out, she felt his legs and latched onto him. Jorin held onto Abby. Rin waved his hand around to search for Sal, feeling his hand he grabbed on. As he tried to pull Sal down the creature ripped him from their grasps, lifting him higher.

Only able to see a shadow of Akira and Brogan, Tumble got down on his hands and knees.

"Lay on his legs!" she shouted.

Tumble rolled over onto Brogan's legs. The creature disappeared over the edge and continued to pull Brogan. Unable to reach the creature, Akira dropped herself on top of Brogan's back, pried his hand from the edge, and put her knife into his hand. Feeling the knife, Brogan moved it around to his chest, rubbing the blade against the rubbery tongue. The creature screeched and pulled him further out over the edge. He frantically sawed on the tongue until the blade cut through, he felt the tension release, and even though the creature couldn't be seen, they could hear the loud screech fall away into the depth of the clouds. Akira pulled him back to the wall.

Abby shouted for help. Tumble forced his eyes to open to see a blurry shadow of a creature hauling Sal up the side of the mountain. He grabbed Akira's crossbow from her back and tried to aim, he shut his eyes, forcing the tears to run down his face, and for a split second he found his target. The arrow hit the creature, sending it to the ground with Sal still attached. The creature's body teetered on the edge; slipping off, the creature's body pulled Sal's arm to the edge. Sal moved his legs under him, digging his heels into the dirt as his muscles strained at the weight. Akira pulled her sword and flew onto her stomach as she stretched out, slicing through the tongue to release Sal. The creature fell away, disappearing into the clouds.

"Is everyone okay?" Akira shouted.

They all answered, Rin clapped his hands.

"We can't stay here. Hold hands and keep one hand on the wall!"

All taking someone's hand, Akira slowly led them down the trail. Sal could still feel the piece of the tongue attached to the back of his hand and rubbed it against the wall trying to knock it off.

The thunder became a distant noise. After the exhausting trek, Akira was relieved to feel the soft ground beneath her feet, and brought the others to sit down on the grass. Her vision still blurry, her ears picked up on the sound of horses approaching, and by the weight of the stomping she knew the horses were carrying riders. "Tumble, riders are approaching."

They both stood next to each other, pointing their swords. The riders stopped to view the strangers, all with puffy red eyes.

"Who are you?" the voice asked.

Tumble moved his sword to the direction of the voice. "We are travelling to Taltorn," Tumble replied.

"You are not welcome here," one man shouted. "You must return."

"We can't. We were blinded by the lightning and attacked by creatures," Brogan said, trying to open his painful eyes.

"What creatures?" a man asked.

"They were black with long red tongues," Brogan replied.

"Impossible! Bloodlings only hunt small prey. You will not pass," the man said, pointing his arrow.

"Wait! I am a Hunter!" Akira blurted out as a last effort.

Brogan cringed at her announcement, worried how they would receive a Hunter.

Surprised, two men looked at each other. "A Hunter?"

Suddenly the mood changed.

"I can't believe it, Trevina said there was one left," one man said.

"I do get tired of her always being right," said the other.

"Well, remember the time she predicted the ground would move?"

"Or how about the time she said a new mountain would grow out of the ground?"

"Yeah, that one was creepy."

Tumble waited impatiently for some sort of conclusion and loudly cleared his throat.

"We will take you to Trevina," one man ordered.

"Who is Trevina?" Tumble asked.

"She is the elder of the village and has visions of what's to come."

"Our horses ran off," Akira said.

"We'll find them, but first we will take you to the Healer. You will ride our horses."

The guards helped the blinded up onto the horses and walked them to the village.

## 33

### Trevina

When they stepped out from under the cover of trees, Akira's eyes watered from the brightness. Her view was a bit blurry, but she could see colorful strips of vegetation in the fields, the distant orchards were dotted with bright blooms, and endless arms of grape vines ran the lush green hillsides. The road ended in front of a crudely built fortress with high walls of irregular sized stones and blocks of wood, carelessly slapped together by mortar and mud, surrounding the village of Taltorn. They stopped at the entrance and dismounted. The rusty metal gate screeched when it opened, releasing the excited children, all rushing to walk alongside the strangers. Hearing the children laughing next to him, Tumble threw his arms up into the air and growled; screaming, they scattered briefly then returned when he laughed.

When they entered the noisy village, people quickly crowded them, shouting and asking questions. Akira tensed with uneasiness at a few agitated voices. The guardsmen pushed their way through, guiding them to a small wooden hut. They sat on the floor, circling the fire pit. Akira was the first to be treated and cowered when she felt someone's hands touch her face.

"Sit still. I'm Healer Tiree. I am going to wash your eyes with some medicine. It will help you see again."

Allowing him to treat her, Akira's eyes cleared within minutes. She looked across the room to see Brogan lying on the floor with the creature's tongue still hanging from his chest, wiggling like it was still alive. The Healer placed three bowls next to Brogan, a bowl of coarse salt, white salve, and the other with a green liquid. Moving over to Akira, he dropped a cloth into her hands.

"Sprinkle salt on the tongue. Use the healing salve for his wound, and the labit juice for his eyes." He shuffled over to Sal to inspect his hand.

She watched Brogan rub his eyes.

"Go on, hurry up." Annoyed by her hesitation, he aggressively pointed to Brogan.

Moving over to Brogan, she knelt down next to him and gently pulled his hands from his eyes. "Don't rub your eyes," she said softly.

Hearing her voice, he rolled his head toward her, trying to open his eyes, but couldn't. Realizing she had touched him and not the Healer, his heart raced, making his chest rise up and down faster. He tensed, holding his breath, hoping she wouldn't notice.

"What are you doing?" She watched his ears turn red.

Embarrassed, he tried to sit up, but she pushed him back down. "I feel foolish."

"Well, you look foolish with this tongue hanging off your chest. Stay still so I can put the salt on."

Taking a pinch, she sprinkled the salt over the tongue. Brogan growled in pain as the rubbery tongue flipped wildly and the tiny teeth continued to bite. She quickly poured the remaining salt onto the tongue, within moments it turned black, and releasing him, it dropped to the floor. Relieved, he nodded. She dipped her hand into the cool salve and nervously hovered above his strong, smooth chest.

He flinched when he felt her touch. "I can do it myself." He grabbed her hand to stop her.

"Don't be a baby." Pulling her hand away, she applied more salve.

He swallowed hard, clinching his stomach muscles, trying not to move as he felt her warm hand glide over his chest. He wanted to look at her, but every time he opened his eyes they burned.

She pulled his hands away from his eyes. "This medicine will help." She dipped the cloth into the bowl of liquid, squeezing a little out before carefully placing the cloth onto his eyelids. Brogan's tensed body soon eased as the cool liquid seeped into his burning eyes. She stared the shape of his thin pink lips, wondering if they were soft like Jorin's. Her body flushed warm. She nearly dropped the bowl of salve when the Healer shouted at her.

"Staring at him is not going to help. He needs more salve than that!" Annoyed, the Healer stomped over and scooped out a handful of salve. Surprised, Brogan's body jumped at the large hand, aggressively rubbing his chest.

Embarrassed, Akira sat outside, waiting for the others to finish their treatment. The Healer rudely pushed them out of his room, grumbling something about treating strangers who had no common sense to keep their eyes closed during a lightning storm. Akira turned to greet them, but her eyes went straight to Brogan's bare chest, both their eyes darted away from each other. She blushed. Of all places to look, why did I have to look at his chest? She turned to Abby to ask if she was all right, but even as she spoke, her eyes wandered back to watch Brogan.

They ventured out into the village. Tents and stone huts filled the fortress, dragon skulls hung on posts, and their scaly skins decorated the stone walls. Each tent held something different, children were schooled, clothes were made, weapons and armour were shaped, and food was prepared for all to share. Guards lined the top walls while warriors trained below.

They were stopped by a short man with a face of a man in his thirties and a body of a ten-year-old boy. Bald head, short black beard, stocky build, stubby fingers, a leather belt making an x across his chest and back with a long sword, and a pair of large axes hung from his hips. Arms crossed, feet apart, and a scowl on his face made him look like he could take on an army of men. His bushy black eyebrows rolled down over his eyes, glaring at the twins. "Trevina is waiting," he said in a deep impatient voice.

A bit stunned by his small, yet intimidating presence, they followed willingly. Crowds of people quickly parted at the sight of the little man stomping toward the stone hut. He pulled the heavy curtain away from the entrance, tilting his head to point them in. Looking annoyed, he huffed at the girls when they cautiously entered. Stepping in behind them, he pushed the men to the side, leaving the girls standing in the centre of the room.

A woman of about seventy, turned to greet the group. Her stark white hair hung in a long braid from the side of her head, running down the front of her body to the floor. Her excited emerald eyes scanned the faces before her, deep wrinkles creased in the corner of her eyes when she squinted to view the twins.

"Trevina, your vision has arrived," he grumbled. "They are late, so I should win the bet."

"I told you they would come, but I did not bet on the time. So, you owe me two bags of tea," she chuckled.

The palm of her hand held the top of a long twisted stick, shaped into a cane. With a slight limp, she pushed the bottom folds of her long white gown with her feet as she moved toward them. Hearing the cane tap the wood floor as the woman walked, Akira glanced down, curiously watching the cane never touching the floor. The woman stopped in front of her, leaning her weight on the cane that hovered an inch off the floor. Akira wondered what kind of magic the old woman possessed. The cane stood on its own when she released it to take Akira's right hand. Like the gnarled limbs of a branch, the woman's cold wrinkled hands turned Akira's palms up, she hummed to herself as she swirled a bony finger up and down each of Akira's fingers. Her finger suddenly stopped. She leaned into Akira's hand like there was something there, making Akira look closer. Her old eyes jumped up to Akira's, making her head jerk back.

The woman gazed into her wide blue eyes. "Mesa Ardius was strong and brave, a good mother. You must miss her very much."

"How do you know my mother's name?" Akira's eyebrows rolled down with distrust.

"I know many things and many things that are about to happen. Your mother sacrificed everything to protect you both." She released a heavy sigh as she turned to Abby.

Her eyes wide with anticipation, Abby straightened her posture when the woman stepped closer to her.

The woman's shaky hand gently touched the side of Abby's face. "She looked upon your face only once before your father took you to safety, hiding you in another world. They had hoped to reunite when you were old enough to protect yourselves. It must have broken your mother's heart to let you go. I can't imagine how hard it must have been on your parents." She shook her head in sadness.

Akira swallowed at the rush of guilt. She had been so angry with her mother, she never once thought about how she must have felt to let Abby go. She glanced over to Abby. Secrets they held to protect their children.

She gently grasped their chins, moving their heads side to side to compare their likeness. "Similar but different. Like the two moons traveling the same path, but spinning in different directions. Your journey will be difficult." She stared into Akira's eyes. "So you search for the other stones?"

Trevina's probing stare unnerved Akira. She obviously knew they already found some pieces.

Releasing them, she took her cane. "Together you are in grave danger. Bearing the mark of the Healer carries great responsibilities." She paused for a moment. "There must be two with the mark to restore the 'Pieces of Five' to its original form, but never assume things are as they seem. You are the same, but does it mean you share the mark of one, or the mark of two?" she queried.

What does that mean? As twins we only count as one? Abby wondered.

Brogan was stunned by her words. "Is this true? Do you both have the mark of the Healer?" Brogan questioned with a disappointing tone.

Abby sheepishly nodded at Brogan. Akira's eyes fell to the floor.

"You should have told us. We had the right to know what danger lies ahead," he growled.

"We're sorry, Brogan. We didn't really understand." Abby rushed to apologize.

"Oh, foolish old woman!" She tapped her cane on the airy floor. "Where are my manners," she interrupted. She turned to find her chair. "I should have introduced myself. My name is Trevina, daughter of Gamal."

"Gamal! Your father was Master Healer Gamal?" Jorin asked excitedly.

Trevina nodded with a smile.

"This is my guardian, Hental."

Akira glanced back at the short bald man. His sudden grin made her look away.

"Please stay the night, it's late."

"Thank you Trevina, we will stay." Brogan quickly accepted.

Brogan's livid expression, made the girl rush to follow Hental out of the room. Hental led them into a large tent with small oil lanterns hanging from above, and a low wooden table with plates of food were waiting for them. They sat on the cushions surrounding the table. Akira could feel the tension in the silence, she was almost afraid to look, but took a quick glance at Brogan's angry face; this wasn't over. She watched Hental leave, her heart raced, waiting for the lecture to start.

"I don't know what you two were thinking, but you had no right to keep something like this from us!" he scolded. "What else are you keeping from us?" He directed his question to Akira.

She dealt with her guilt the only way she knew how and returned an angry reply. "This doesn't concern you!"

His face contorted with anger as he slammed his fist down on the table, making everyone jump, including her. "You're wrong! It not only concerns me, but it concerns everyone in the Land of Edon! Are you that incapable to trust anyone? Are you that cold-hearted?"

Hurt by his angry words, she lowered her eyes and fought to hold back her tears. She wanted to shout back at him, but her burning throat barely allowed her to talk. "I..." her throat tightened. Surprising her, Abby grabbed her hand, pulling her to sit down.

Abby flew to her feet, leaning over the table at Brogan. "Enough!" Abby's angry voice surprised everyone. "We thought the marks only meant we are sisters. It wasn't until Cattar told us the story of Keeva and the spell of the Healer's mark we wondered if maybe it was us, but we still didn't know enough! That's all we know! You have no right to shout at us, we don't know what danger lies ahead any more than you do! We didn't ask you to come. You can leave anytime...and another thing, don't ever talk to my sister like that again!"

Brogan's eyes widened at Abby's threat. "I'm sorry."

Tumble interrupted before the argument could escalate any further. "All right, everyone settle down. We will calmly discuss what we know. Li'l Kin, put down the knife and sit down."

Surprised, Abby looked down to her hand, tightly gripping the table knife. Embarrassed, she carefully placed the knife back on the table. "Sorry." Abby sat down with tears in her eyes.

Still stunned by her sister's protective outburst, an affectionate smile crossed Akira's face, shaking her head at her sister's unpredictable emotions. "Dummy," she whispered.

Tumble asked Abby to tell them what Cattar told her. Before long, they were eating and reliving their travels to pick out anything of importance. They came to the conclusion that Senus and Torgul only knew of the stones, and not the marks. As the others talked, Brogan took quick glances at Akira, quietly staring at her full plate of food. He felt guilty and wished he could take back his angry words.

Hental returned to show the men to their beds. Brogan waited for Akira to look up at him, wanting to tell her he was sorry, but her eyes refused him. Hental led the girls to a separate tent. The girls stepped inside the small tent, tall enough to stand, colourful layers of wool woven rugs haphazardly scattered across the floor, and a single lantern sat on a small table between two mattresses made from animal hides.

Abby flopped down onto the soft mattress. "Brogan was pretty mad. I guess I didn't make things any better. I feel so stupid."

Lying on her mattress, Akira rolled away from Abby. "Thanks for sticking up for me," she quietly whispered. "Do you think Brogan will leave us?"

"I hope not." Abby glanced over to her sister's curled up body, looking frail and wounded; she was hurting. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine."

"Do you want a hug?"

"No."

"Not even a little one?"

"No." Akira heard Abby drag her mattress over next to her. "I still don't want a hug."

"Things will be better in the morning, you'll see," she whispered to Akira's back.

Brogan's stinging words still rang in her head. Are you that incapable to trust anyone? Are you that cold-hearted? She swallowed. Was he right? Am I cold-hearted? She clenched her teeth together, trying to hold back the tears.

Wanting to check on Akira, Jorin left the men and stopped in front of the girls' tent. About to open his mouth, he heard a loud snort of air behind him, turning he found the short man, arms crossed, and a face that could freeze water.

"Trevina wishes to talk with you."

"Me?" Jorin's mind raced as he followed Hental, wondering what he might have done wrong. He ducked under the curtain, standing in the middle of the room alone, nervously fidgeting with his fingers.

Trevina walked out from another room. "Oh my dear, please sit down next to me," she said sweetly.

He sat on the floor next to her.

"Some tea?" She passed him a cup of tea, before he could answer

Worried he would drop it, he took the cup with both hands and slowly sipped the hot drink.

"Well, my dear boy, you have quite the dilemma on your hands, haven't you?"

His eyes glanced up over his cup, surprised by her comment. "Dilemma?"

"You will have a difficult decision to make. Which girl will you save?"

"Save? I don't understand."

"One girl will die."

His mind raced with panic. "One girl will die? Which girl will die? Why?" he stuttered.

"Keeva must not get a piece of the stone," she said as a warning.

"Keeva must not get a piece of the stone?"

"This is going to be a long conversation if you keep repeating everything I say."

"Do you mean the sorceress? Isn't she dead? Is she coming back? Who will die?"

"So many questions." She sipped her tea. "You must listen to what I have to tell you."

He bit his tongue wanting to ask more questions.

"All my visions come true. There will be an explosion in the night sky and one girl will die! Not in a thousand years has the two moons ever been so close to each other. When the first moon no longer moves, the second moon will touch, and an explosion of light will make the night become day—you will save one girl. Only you can know of this. The story must be played out as long as possible."

"Which one must I save?"

"That, my boy is your dilemma. I do not know and only you can make the decision."

"What should I do?" he begged.

Leaning in, she whispered into his ear. His breathing quickened. Swallowing hard, a chill ran his spine as he listened to her disconcerting instructions. He raised his eyebrows in disbelief when she finished.

Smiling, she dropped a small leather satchel into his hand. "Well then, you must be tired." She rushed him to the curtain. "Off you go." She pushed him through.

Dumfounded, he stood on the other side of the curtain with his cup of tea still in his hand.

Hental stepped into her room. "Do you think it was wise to tell him?"

"My visions are in bits and pieces, and there are no visions as to how this will end."

"Can you not save her?"

She paced across the room with her cane in her hand. "No. Others will play an important part. I need more time. You must find a way to keep them here for another day. It needs to happen when the two moons meet, at that precise moment, and only for a moment, Keeva will be powerless."

"Should not be a problem," Hental grinned.

## 34

Things are not as they Appear

Rin sat on the wall overlooking the pasture, watching the sun rise. Feeling a bit home sick he thought about the people of his village, rising to the same bright sun. He smiled as their faces crossed his mind. In the distance he watched the guards ride out from the forest, leading Sable and the other horses to the fortress. Will Brogan stay with the girls or go home?

Having been invited to breakfast, the girls sat cross legged on the floor next to a small table, patiently waiting for Trevina to return with food. They scanned the unusual items in the room, shelves above were lined with bowls and jars, some containing dried roots and plants, a jar of small brains the size of walnuts floated in water, the legs of small birds poked out the top of another jar, on the table top sat what looked like a dried tongue of a large animal, long silvery feathers wrapped in a bunch hung from the ceiling, and the black skull of a dragon sat in the corner with a candle on top. The girls stared at the two human skulls attached to the tall chair.

Trevina entered the room, placing bowls on the table with boiled eggs, dried deer meat, and fried fish. "Don't worry; the skulls are just for show." The woman untied her cloak, allowing her long braid to uncoil to the floor.

Akira reached over to a large bowl of fried fish.

"Don't eat that!" Trevina slapped her hand. "That's for Baby."

Akira snatched her sore hand back. "Baby? At her age?" she whispered.

"Shhh...don't be rude." Abby scolded her.

"Rude? She slapped me," Akira whispered back.

"Shhh..."

"Do you know where the last two pieces are? The mountains are vast and dangerous." Trevina inspected the fish.

"No," Akira said. "Do you know?"

"I remember two old riddles. 'The piece of green continues to move, but never leaves its place of hiding. The light at the beginning is the same as the end, but never in the middle.' Maybe this will help."

Akira frowned at the confusing riddles, as they were no help at all.

"I see you both wear a Piece of Five." She stared at the girls.

Feeling uneasy, Akira clutched her stone through her shirt. She didn't like the woman who knew so much about them. They never told her they each had a stone, yet she seemed to already know. "If you know we have stones, then why don't you know where the others are?" she asked with a rude tone.

Trevina frowned and ignored her question. "Did you know those who possess a Piece of Five have the ability to cast spells?"

"Really?" Abby asked excitedly.

Trevina bit into a hard boiled egg. "With the right words, it can happen."

"Are spells written in a book?" Abby asked eagerly.

"I don't think so." Trevina's eyes glanced away.

Abby took out her stone. "Do you know any?"

"I only remember one my father taught me when I was younger."

"Can you teach me?"

"I can try, but it was a long time ago."

They watched her drop a little black bug into a bowl. They curiously watched it struggle to climb up the slippery sides. "It's called a dragon beetle." Trevina urged Abby to pick up the beetle.

Abby cupped the beetle into her hands. "Ouch! It bit me." She dropped the bug back into the bowl.

"Pick it up again," Trevina insisted.

Abby didn't want to, but soon obeyed the scowling face and cupped the bug into her bleeding hand.

"Repeat my words." Trevina put her hand on top of Abby's. "These words I command; from the bones of the dead, from the blood of the living, and from the fire that lights the sky, transform this creature," she said in a demanding tone.

Akira grew impatient, she really didn't care about spells, she wanted answers. "Is this really the mark of the Healer?" Akira held up her shirt to show the mark.

Trevina dropped her hand at the interruption. "Yes. My father told me I would meet the two who bear the Healer's mark."

"And what's suppose to happen now?"

Trevina took a deep breath as she closed her eyes in frustration. "Well, I don't know, but I certainly wouldn't be announcing it to anyone or showing the mark, especially to those seeking the Pieces of Five." She yanked Akira's shirt back down.

"If we find all the pieces, should we bring them back to you?" Abby asked.

Akira's eyes narrowed as she waited for Trevina's answer.

"Well, you could if you like," she replied sweetly.

"And what would you do with them?" Akira asked with distrust.

Trevina's eyes slowly shifted to Akira. "I would help you protect them from evil, of course." Her tone changed. "Now, do you want to do a spell or not?"

"So, you could do spells if you had a Piece of Five?" Akira asked suspiciously.

Irritated by all the questions, Trevina clenched her teeth. "Yes, anyone can, if they know the right words. Things can go wrong if the words are mishandled. It didn't go very well for Senus and his men."

Abby giggled when the little legs of the beetle tickled the palm of her hand. She looked to Trevina's impatient huff. "Sorry. These words I command; from the bones of the dead, from the blood of the living, and from the fire that lights the sky, transform this creature," she said nervously.

"You not only have to say the words, but you must think and feel it," Trevina expressed.

Abby repeated the words. The stone around her neck began to glow. She felt warm waves of heat in her hands, light peeked out from the cracks between her fingers, and the beetle grew into a large ball, shaping to the size of her cupped hands. She felt a pulse sensation; something like a heartbeat. Trevina nodded for her to look. Abby slowly took her top hand away and watched the glowing ball fade to black. The ball shook slightly and a small creature unfolded in her hand. "It's a little lizard!" Abby said excitedly.

Leaning its head back, the creature puffed up its chest to yawn, and stretching out its wings, it flapped wildly as it tried to fly. Its round yellow eyes rolled up to Abby, twisting its head almost upside down to study her. It burped and released a high pitched squeal before sliding its head under her thumb, nudging for attention. Abby could hardly believe her eyes. The creature crawled up out of her hand and down into her lap, flipping onto its back. "Look, he has a little white mark on his belly." She gently touched the small triangle shape. As if being tickled, the creature kicked out its legs and wiggled its back into her lap. Rolling over, it circled twice in one spot before curling up to sleep.

Akira was intrigued by the magical performance, but the power also frightened her. Her mother had warned her about those who possess power, with power brings greed.

"Good, Abby," Trevina praised.

"How big will it grow?" Abby stroked the creature's smooth back.

Trevina grinned. "Oh, not very big."

"You've named it already, haven't you?" Akira shook her head.

"His name is Newt," Abby cooed.

Trevina gazed at Abby's stone; from the time she was ten the scattered flashes of the future were considered a gift, but most times it was a curse of sleepless nights. Her visions finally brought her to this day, a day she had waited so long for. It was tempting; she could so easily take the stones from the girls with the power she already did have. She had more right than the girls, as the stones belonged to her father, but she needed to stay true to her visions. She shook off the greed and looked up to Akira's distrusting eyes.

Akira stood and pulled Abby up to her feet. "We are leaving today."

"Oh, that's too bad. I had hoped you could stay longer."

Akira turned to leave, but stopped when Hental stood in her way. "Your horses are still missing."

She glared at the little man. "Then we will go look for them ourselves."

"We have men searching the valleys. You are unfamiliar with our land and it can be quite dangerous for strangers." He crossed his arms and refused to step aside.

Abby grabbed Akira's arm. "Why don't we stay one more day? It will give Brogan and Sal time to rest."

Feeling uneasy, Akira nodded.

"Good, now that's settled, let's go feed Baby," Trevina said as she picked up the bowl of fish.

With Hental close behind, the girls followed Trevina to a large open courtyard, where Brogan and the others sat eating porridge and fruit. Both Jorin and Brogan were very alert when Akira arrived, watching her every move. Avoiding them, Akira stayed next to Trevina when Abby rushed over to greet the men.

"Good morning, Li'l Kin. You looked very excited this morning," Tumble grinned.

"Look at what I made." She opened her hands. "His name is Newt."

"You made a lizard?" Tumble scratched his head.

"Trevina helped me cast a spell."

"A spell?"

"Her father taught her a few spells. If you have a Piece of Five, you can cast spells."

Tumble looked over to Trevina with concern. "Is that so? And where is your stone now?"

She touched her chest. "I am wearing it."

"Promise me you will not do anymore spells."

"Why?"

He stood, putting his hand on her shoulder. "Spells are dangerous. Promise me you will not cast spells."

She nodded at his angry face.

Rin arrived to find a young woman wrapping a bandage around Sal's hand.

"Where have you been?" Sal grumbled.

Your snoring was louder than a dragon's roar. I went to watch the sunrise.

"Well, you could have gotten me breakfast first. I'm wounded you know." He held up his hand looking for sympathy.

Rin rolled his eyes.

Akira stepped over to Rin. "Our horses are still missing. We need to stay another day."

That's strange I saw them this morning, Rin signed, but Sal just shrugged his shoulders.

Brogan grabbed Akira's arm. "I want to talk to you."

"I have nothing to say to you." She slapped his hand off.

Before he could reach for her again, people started to shout. "Baby! Baby!"

Watching everyone looking up to the sky, Brogan leaned over to a man next to him. "What baby?"

"It's not a baby, her name is Baby," the man laughed.

Confused, Brogan scanned the sky. Hearing a noise from behind, he turned to a startling rush of air, and ducked when he felt the feathers of the enormous wings brush across the top of his head. Spreading its giant talons out to land, the eagle turned toward Brogan, squealing and flapping its wings, creating a windstorm of debris. Brogan pulled his sword.

Abby recognized the one eyed bird. "Stop Brogan!"

Trevina rushed out. "Oh, Baby where have you been?" She affectionately scratched the eagle's neck.

Baby twisted her head to eyeball Brogan. Bewildered, he stepped back from the long hiss and the sharp beak snapping at him. Baby turned her attention back to Trevina, lifting her head for more scratching. Surprised to see the eagle, Abby walked around the large bird, scanning the body for old injuries. The feathers had grown back, but she sighed at the sight of a deep scar running across the closed eyelid; the eye did not heal.

"You did all that you could for her," Trevina said. "She would have died if it wasn't for you."

"How did you know it was me?"

Trevina smiled.

Akira anxiously watched Abby stroke the eagle's neck; she had never been close to an eagle before. Abby motioned her to come closer. Akira cautiously stepped next to her. Abby took her hand and placed it on the feathery neck. Baby shook her head, making the white feathers on her head rise up. Startled, Akira leaned back. Abby nodded for her to try again. Akira slowly reached out for the smooth feathers; her smile widened when Baby ruffled her feathers. She gasped with wide eyes when the wings unfolded, expanding full length to fan out the long feathers.

"She likes her fish cooked," Trevina gave Abby the bowl of fish.

"Yes, she's very spoiled?" Abby laughed and held the bowl up to Baby to feed her.

Tumble stood next to Brogan. "Are you thinking of leaving?" Brogan shrugged his shoulders. "You know the girls can't take this quest on their own, don't you?"

"I know," Brogan grumbled. "But this is more than just finding stones; they are part of something bigger."

"They are young and they will be up against great evil."

"I know, I know!" Brogan huffed and watched Akira gently run her hand down the eagle's neck. He cringed, hearing Tumble take in a breath of air to say something else. "I know, I will talk to her."

Brogan bounced an apple in his hand as he approached the other side of the eagle's head to stand across from Akira, still refusing to look at him. "I'm sorry for my harsh words yesterday. I do not think you are cold-hearted. I was angry and I shouldn't have taken it out on you. Please forgive me."

Her blue eyes flashed up to his sincere face, she nodded to accept his apology. "I'm sorry, as well."

He returned a slight smile. He reached out to touch the white feathers, but jumped back when Baby turned on him, making him stumble backward to get away from the snapping beak, chasing him back up against a stone pillar. He leaned his head back when her one eye glared into his face, so close he could see his reflection in her glassy eye. She snapped at him once more and released a hiss. Still flat against the pillar he watched the large bird take off into the sky.

Akira picked up the apple from the ground and walked over to him. "I believe you dropped this." She turned his hand up, placing the apple in his palm. Smirking, she walked away from his still startled face.

"We'll leave in the morning to find the other stones," Brogan said.

Akira hesitated, smiling, she walked away.

Rin punched his brother in the arm and held out his hand. Sal tried to ignore him. Rin's hands flew in front of Sal's face.

"Okay, Okay. You win. Stupid boy, Brogan has gone all soft on the girls. I was sure he was leaving them. That's the last bet I make with you." Sal handed his brother a piece of gold. "Hey, I bet I can hit that log over there with my axe and with my eyes closed."

Rin grinned and eagerly took the bet.

Jorin leaned himself up against the wall of a stone cottage, reaching into his shirt he pulled out the small satchel from Trevina. Fear stirred his insides, making him feel nauseous. He glanced up at the girls sitting and feeding the little black lizard. His eyes ached at the lack of sleep as Trevina's voice continued to echo in his head. "One girl will die." He swallowed hard, wanting to tell the girls. What if it's Akira? Maybe it's Abby. Do I wait until one dies and save the other? How can I save only one? Maybe I could take the both of them away and hide. He jumped at the sudden slap on his shoulder. He quickly tucked the satchel back into his shirt.

"My boy, you seem to be deep in thought," Tumble interrupted.

"Just tired, Tum."

"The girls seem to be getting along better, don't you think?"

Jorin nodded and clutched his stomach.

## 35

### Piranus

"These words I command; I summon your deepest anger to rise up and transform you!" A purple cloud of smoke rumbled up through the hole in the ceiling of the cave, pushed by a piercing scream that made the smoke explode into the sky. The purple smoke rolled and churned above the mountains of Piranus, bits of yellow and orange glowed inside as flames tried to escape from the hostile cloud of smoke.

"Ahhh...!" Keeva screamed. "I have tried this spell over and over again, only to get the same results!" She viewed another spell gone wrong. "Taru! Come here! Take the prisoner away."

Taru's furry feet shuffled across the cave floor, and yanking on the chain around the prisoner's neck, he forced him to stand up from the stone altar. Confused and dazed the prisoner tried to speak, but startled himself when a growl fell from his mouth instead. His black eyes widened in horror when he viewed his unrecognizable hands and felt his gruesome face. He looked over at the man chained to the wall, he tried to call out to him, but he couldn't talk, and only roared like an animal. When he felt a hard tug on the chain, he struggled wildly to free himself, but his efforts were in vain. The sorceress waved her hand, casting a spell to put him into a trance. Calm, the creature followed Taru.

Keeva shook her head in frustration as she looked across the cave at the man in chains; the only one who didn't turn into a hideous creature. Taru returned to find her once again trying to enchant the man in chains, but her attempts failed, just as they did before.

"I need more power!" she shouted angrily.

"Make another stone," he said.

"I can't, you idiot. I need lava, but the volcano no longer flows. It was the price I had to pay to make sure Lysrinth was trapped in the void forever."

Taru shivered at the mention of his name. "Shhh..." His eyes nervously searched.

"Don't be stupid!" She slapped his face hard with her hand.

He cowered. "Maybe you are using the wrong words."

"Shut up fool and bring me a new prisoner!" She turned to the wall to stare at the man's handsome face. He was the first prisoner I changed. Why did the spell work differently on him? She fumed for an answer, angry she couldn't remember the exact words she used on him.

Taru roughly rubbed his snout as he grumbled; her obsession with him made his stomach turn.

Keeva walked through the tunnel and entered a hot room in the cave. She knelt down at one of the many melon-size eggs nestled between red-hot rocks. She lightly placed her hand on the fiery red egg. "I'm just in time," she whispered. The egg began to move. The oval shape of the egg changed as the soft shell expanded and stretched from the new life within. Small flames erupted from under the egg, within seconds the shell began to melt, revealing a small flaming ball. Flames ignited her hands when she scooped up the fiery ball, raising it up to her lips she blew lightly to blow out the flames. The ball morphed into the shape of a baby dragon, wings unfolded, slowly stretching out. The baby dragon leaned its head back, snapping its sharp little mouth, begging for food. She dropped a small piece of meat into its mouth. Barely chewing the meat, it swallowed the lump, and begged for more. She stroked the black scaly skin. Instinctively, the dragon flapped its wings, wanting to fly. A rumble rolled up from its small belly, and burping flames from its mouth it set itself on fire. Keeva curled the little bundle of fire up into her arms, cuddling the baby dragon. "A piece of the stone is closer, but I can't wait. She must bring the stone now."

***

After spending another night in Taltorn, Brogan and the others stood outside the fortress before sunrise, waiting for their horses so they could leave. The gates finally opened, their horses were guided out, and without a word, the guards walked back inside, closing the gates behind them. A bit surprised by the silence, they looked up to the top of the walls, but there was no one seeing them off, not even Trevina.

Newt scurried up to the top of a short tree stump and stretched out his wings, flapping them forcefully to test them out. Satisfied, he leapt into the air. The glide was bumpy and clumsy as he flapped wildly to reach Abby's shoulder. She winced at the claws digging into her skin from Newt's rough landing. Samson flew to Akira's shoulder with ease, raising his wings slightly, he cawed. Abby covered her ear when Newt replied with squeaks and grunts.

Akira sat on her horse, watching Jorin gather up his gear. She smiled at him, but he turned away. She sent Samson over, but Jorin waved him away. Is he angry with me?

The sun broke the darkness and the group was on their way, riding down into the green valley and into the forest, heading toward the distant black mountains of Piranus. Riding up front with Abby, Akira turned to view Jorin lagging at the back of the group.

"Do you think Jorin is upset?" Akira asked.

"Why?"

"He seems distant."

"Go talk to him."

Akira rode to the back and slowed her horse next to Jorin. "Are you all right? You haven't said much lately."

He was silent for a moment. How can I even begin to explain what Trevina said? What do I say? You or your sister will die. "I'm tired. I didn't sleep well."

"Are you sure that is all?"

"Yes, go ahead and ride with your sister. I'm fine." He turned away.

She rode up to the front.

"Is he okay?" Abby asked.

"He says he's tired, but I think it is something else."

The brighter blue sky opened wider as the trees and wildlife became sparse. The air suddenly changed, smelling dusty and burnt, sucking moisture out from their nose and mouth as the dry breeze blew by them. The horses stepped onto the black mosaic-like cracked soil and stumbled when the dry ground crumbled below their hooves. They followed the map across the black barren land, around the lumps of lava rock, and between the ghostly remains of burnt trees, looming over the stark landscape. The desolate landscape was parched without shade and water.

"We will rest the horses here," Brogan announced.

They sat in the shade of their horses and drank from their water bags. Abby pulled the leather string from her hair and dangled it out in front of Newt like she used to do when she played with her cat. "Newt, you're getting fat."

Intrigued, Newt crouched, his excited eyes followed the quick motions of the string, he leapt, snapping and clawing at his prey. Abby caught him and pulled the string out from his throat.

Rin sat with her, smiling at Newt's playfulness; he did seem bigger, almost twice his size. Rin turned his ear to the warm breeze, hearing a slight whistle sound. He stood and squinted at the purple mist rolling over the mountains. Rin clapped his hands to alert the others. Curious, they stood up the view the peculiar looking mist, clouding the mountains, and swiftly moving toward them.

"I think it's something bad," Abby shivered.

They frantically tried to climb up onto their horses, but the mist was already at their feet, swirling and rising. Restraining them, they fought to move, but their eyes closed, and their bodies became heavy, sending them to the ground into a sleeping spell. Newt nudged his head under Abby's hand and snuggled into her side. The horses nervously danced around until the mist faded.

Hearing a voice, Abby barely opened her heavy eyelids, blurry, she could see the others lying on the ground.

"Abby."

Abby could see the ghostly woman waving at her.

"Your sister is in danger, you must protect her," Keeva softly whispered. "If she finds the green stone she will die. Come to me and I will help you," she lured.

Abby sat upright in a trance.

"She will die, you must come to me."

"She will die, you must come to me."

Abby stood, leaving her weapons behind she followed the apparition. Newt flew to her shoulder, cuddling into her neck, but received no attention. She took her horse by the reins and led him quietly off across the black land, leaving the others under a sleeping spell.

***

The purple mist returned to the cave. "That was easier than I thought." Amused, Keeva laughed. "I only need one piece of stone to break the spell that binds me from entering the Land of Edon, and out of this wretched cave," she said to the man in chains.

She lightly traced her fingers across his forehead, down along the side of his handsome face, dropping her hand down onto his bare chest. He lunged at her, but the chains around his wrists restrained his reach. "You are my finest creation so far. I have spared your life and yet you still refuse me. Do you not find me beautiful?" She held his chin in her hand. He jerked his head from her grasp. "No? Well, that will soon change when I have more power. You will love me!"

"I'd rather die," he shouted.

"I can accommodate that." She clasped his face, staring into his brown eyes, trying to pull him into her bewitching eyes, but somehow he was able to resist her. She slapped his face. The man flew into a rage, leaning and digging his feet into the floor of the cave, straining the chains and his muscles to reach her. "Careful, remember what happened the last time you were angry." She laughed as she walked away.

***

"She's mine." A voice woke Akira. "What happened?"

The others rubbed their aching heads as they stood.

"Where's Abby?" Akira shouted. "Abby!"

"The last thing I remember was the purple mist," Brogan said.

"I think it was a spell," Jorin said.

Brogan looked to the midday sun, now low in the sky. "We must have been out for hours."

"Her sword and knife are still here, but Newt is gone," Akira said.

"Here are her horse tracks," Sal pointed.

"Why would she go off on her own?" Jorin asked.

"I don't think she would."

As they followed Abby's tracks, the wind picked up, soon turning into a sand storm. Leaning into the wind they covered their faces with their hands and shirts. Unable to see two feet in front of them, they circled the horses, pulling their heads into the center and huddled from the blasting sand. After a long wait the storm die down, and brushing themselves off, they stood. The landscape had changed, there seemed to be more sand dunes than before and Abby's tracks were gone.

Akira moved Samson to her arm. "Find Abby." She watched Samson take off, spiraling upwards high into the sky, waiting for him to take a direction. Flying north, they quickly gathered their gear and followed Samson.

***

Still in a trance, Abby slid off her horse when it stopped at the base of a black mountain and obeying the demand, she started to climb with Newt grasping her shoulder. Hands bloody from the jagged edges, she continued to climb until she reached a ledge near the entrance of a cave. As she stood, her body jerked when the spell released her, dizziness struck her when she glanced down to the distant ground, and in fear, she flattened herself up against the mountainside. "How did I get here? Akira! Where are we?" her voice echoed. I don't remember how I got here. Where are the others? Where's Akira? She started to shiver when the cold wind rushed by. She slowly leaned her head over the edge to see her horse far below.

"Abby, it's all right. I will help you," Keeva said softly. "Come inside."

She turned to see a woman waving her to come into the cave. Abby shuffled sideways to reach the cave entrance. The woman stood in the tunnel and continued to wave. Abby followed the dark tunnel to the light. The tunnel opened out into a beautiful cavern. She leaned her head back, turning in circles to view the staggering high ceiling with sparkling crystals.

Newt leapt from her shoulder, flying high to find a ledge to perch on. The cave was surprisingly warm with a slight odour of burning embers. Her eyes followed the glistening wall down to the floor with layers of fur skins piled in the centre. Her heart raced when she realized the woman from her dreams was standing across from her. She watched the woman's gown flow across the floor toward her.

"Where am I?" Abby asked nervously.

Keeva formed a welcoming smile. "Welcome to my home. My name is Keeva."

"You're the evil sorceress."

"Oh, so you know of me? Do I look evil?" She brushed her blonde hair off her shoulders and ran her hand down her slim figure.

Abby shook her head, not knowing how she should answer. "I heard your voice. You said Akira would die if she found the green stone. Can you help us?"

Keeva nodded. "Yes. Sit and rest from your long journey," she said invitingly. She took Abby's hand and led her down to the fur skins, both sitting on their knees. "Abby, your hands are bleeding." She rolled Abby's hands over to view her cut palms. Unconcerned, Abby continued to stare at her enchanting face, not even noticing a bowl of water appearing out of thin air. Keeva guided Abby's hands into the warm water and gently washed off the blood. "Your mother would have been proud of you for protecting the stones," she said warmly. She attentively dried Abby's hands with a cloth. "You must be tired?"

Abby blinked heavily, suddenly she was tired. Her head started to lean toward Keeva. As Abby closed her eyes, Keeva gently guided her head down onto her lap. She stroked Abby's dark hair and brushed her hair aside to view her young face. She untied the necklace from around Abby's neck and held the 'Piece of Five' in the palm of her hand. "I had to do battle with a demon to make this stone. I almost died trying to send him to a place where he will never escape from. Your people stole my stone and broke it. I will enter the Land of Edon and retrieve the rest of the pieces. They will suffer for what they did to me." She looked down to Abby. "Now, what will I do with you, my sleepy one?" She continued to run her fingers through Abby's hair.

Newt squealed from above. Keeva's eyes shifted up to see him sitting on a ledge in the ceiling. She aggressively waved her hand; a rumble echoed through the cave. Newt cowered at the frightening sound, and launching himself into the air, he entered the tunnel, flying hard toward the exit. A deafening shriek shook the cave. Newt flapped harder, trying to escape. The dragon filled the tunnel, snapping at its prey, digging its claws in the wall of the tunnel to launch itself forward. Newt flew erratically in large circles, skimming the walls with his wings. From behind, fire exploded, flames rolling into a ball, and fast approaching; Newt was almost at the opening of the tunnel when the ball of fire hit, shooting him out, spinning and tumbling into the night sky. Wings full of holes, he struggled to catch the wind as his smoking little body streaked toward the ground. A gust of wind blew him sideways carrying him far from the mountain. He flapped his burnt wings wildly to slow his descent, but hit the ground hard. In pain, he released a small yelp as he curled up into a ball.

36

### Rydan

The wind howled as it surged through a maze of tunnels. The flame on the candle almost blew out when the cool wind rushed into the open room, swirling wildly as it searched for another way out. The wind howled again when a back draft pulled it from the room, sending it down through the other tunnels.

Abby woke with a headache. When she raised her hands to her head, she noticed her arms were heavy. She lowered her hands to view a yellow glow wrapped around both her wrists, like metal shackles with long glowing chains attached to the cave wall. She tried to slip the glowing shackle off her left wrist, but winced when it started to burn her skin. Grasping the glowing chains, she tried to pull them from the wall, but quickly released the chains when they burnt her hands. Frustrated, she collapsed to her knees, landing on long dry grass scattered across the cave floor. The large candle flickered, casting shadows around the stone room. Across the cave was a large altar made of black stone with light falling from the hole in the ceiling, shining on the polished surface. She couldn't tell if the light was from the sun or the moons. A sudden movement caught the corner of her eye; she shivered in fear—I'm not alone. She slowly turned her head to view a man sitting across from her. Frightened, she shuffled herself backward to move away, but the chains prevented her from moving very far.

"Please don't be afraid," the man said. "What is your name?"

The young man of about eighteen was also shackled to his wrists with glowing chains. Scraggly blonde hair lightly touched his wide shoulders, his darker scruffy beard covered his square jaw, his lips were thin with well-defined edges, his eyebrows were long and expressive, and his soft brown eyes made his face seem kind and friendly. Her eyes fell to his bare chest, watching the bone necklace carved into the shape of a flower, rising up and down as he breathed. She dared to look beyond his bare muscle-toned stomach; his leather pants tattered and torn, and his large feet were bare and dirty. She looked back up to his handsome face to fall into the depth of his engaging brown eyes. She blushed. "Sorry. What did you say?"

"What is your name?" he asked slower.

"Abby," she said shyly. "Who are you? And where are we?"

"My name is Rydan and you are in the cave of the Sorceress Keeva."

"What does she want with me?"

"The Piece of Five."

Abby grabbed for her necklace, but it was gone. "She has my stone?"

"Yes! I have my stone," Keeva interrupted.

Holding the stone by the leather string, Keeva walked to Abby. She put her fingers under Abby's chin, lifting her up to her feet. "She is quite pretty, don't you think Rydan?" She lightly brushed Abby's hair off her face. "Do you think she is prettier than me?"

Rydan glared at her, barely able to control the anger burning inside him.

"Shall we keep her, Rydan?" Her eyes narrowed in amusement as her hand caressed Abby's cheek.

Abby slowly pulled her head back from the woman's unsettling smile.

"You have done me a great favour. That blasted Gamal thought he could keep me out of his land forever. It was just a matter of time before someone messed up."

Abby closed her eyes and swallowed at the guilt of allowing the stone to fall into Keeva's hands.

"Now, what should I do with the both of you? So much to do and so little time to play." Feeling pleased with herself, she released a haunting laugh.

A large overweight man stepped into the room. Abby cowered at the sight of the half human face with jet black eyes, nose and mouth protruding slightly like the snout of a dog, and fur covered his hands and feet. His lips curled up from his pointy teeth into a frightening grin. Taru grabbed her arm, pulling her toward him. Rydan lunged at him. Taru turned and punched Rydan in the face, splitting his lip. Staggering back, Rydan wiped the blood from his lip with a swipe of his tongue as he glanced up through his heavy brows. Taru grinned and made a licking motion with his long black tongue near Abby's face. Rydan attacked again. Abby screamed with fright when Taru hit Rydan across the jaw, sending him back up against the wall. Raging, Taru snorted and aggressively scraped his feet on the floor to charge.

"Taru, enough!" Keeva shouted.

Taru stopped, pacing back and forth behind Keeva.

"In ten nights the first moon will shine down from above and onto this stone to break the spell. The Land of Edon will be mine, then you my dear, will help me get the stone from your sister."

"Never!" Abby shouted.

"Rydan, I still wait for you, but not much longer. I can make another." She grinned as she ran her fingers through his hair.

Rydan shook his head wildly and pushed his body away from her. She laughed as she glided down the tunnel with Taru not far off her heels. Rydan leaned himself up against the wall, curling his fingers into tight fists.

"What does she mean, she can make another?"

"She uses people to experiment with her spells."

"What did she do to you?"

Ignoring her question, he licked the blood from his lip. "Tell me about yourself."

"I don't think you would believe me if I told you."

"Right now, I would believe anything."

Abby sat on her knees and told him her story. He listened attentively, shaking his head in disbelief—she was right, it was hard to believe. He found himself studying her as she continued her long story. Underneath her dirty face, he watched her express many emotions as she talked about her difficult journey, sadness sent her head to one side with long sighs, scolding herself sent her frustrated eyes to the ceiling, anger pressed her lips tight together with a snort of air from her small nose, affection curled her mouth into a warm smile, and whenever she paused to catch her breath she would gently bite her bottom lip. His eyes widened every time her beautiful blue eyes flashed up to him.

"How did you end up here?" She waited for him to reply.

His eyes shifted to the floor. "I'm from the Isle of Adore. I was in charge of leading a group of men to the District of Piranus, to explore and to map it. We were camped not far from this cave. The last thing I remember was a strange purple mist rolling into our camp and when we woke, we were prisoners. One-by-one she practiced her spells on us, turning us into creatures. Many of my men died."

"I'm sorry," Abby said softly. "How long have you been here?"

"I'm not sure, maybe a year."

Startled, Abby turned to the screams echoing through the tunnel. "How did you survive?"

Rydan bowed his head. "I don't know. I wish I hadn't. I brought those men here to their deaths."

"There was no way you could have known." Drawn to his injury, Abby untied her scarf from around her neck and dipped it in her bowl of water. On her knees, she shuffled toward Rydan, and stretching out her hand, she lightly wiped the blood from his lip. "Who's the fat man with the furry body? Was he one of your men?"

"No, Taru was something she created in the past. He has a bad temper."

"I can see that," she smirked. Feeling his stare as she wiped his chin, she glanced up to watch his eyes dart away. She sat back to watch the flame on the candle flicker. "My sister will find us," she tried to say with a cheery tone. She tried to be optimistic, but deep down all she wanted to do is cry, feeling like a useless idiot for all the trouble she caused. It's my fault Keeva has the stone. What have I done?

***

Akira shielded her eyes from the bright sky to view Samson flying in circles. "Abby!" She slapped her horse into a gallop. She stopped to find Samson on the ground next to a burnt black ball. She scanned the area for Abby. "Abby!" With no answer she looked down to the black ball. "Newt?" She carefully cupped Newt into her hands, lifting him up to Jorin. "He's not moving," she choked.

Jorin put his hand on Newt's back.

"Is he breathing?"

Jorin couldn't feel any movement and shook his head. "I think he's gone."

"Where's Abby?" She fell to her knees and tears filled her eyes. She nestled Newt up into her stomach and lightly rubbed his back. A sudden movement made her look down. Releasing a faint cry, Newt lifted his head to nudge her thumb. "He's still alive!"

Jorin quickly rubbed the paste onto the wounds and Akira used the stone. "He's still weak, but I think he will be okay."

Newt nudged his face into her hands. Akira carefully tucked Newt into the hood of her cloak and tied the cloak around her waist. "What happened to you Newt and where's Abby?"

## 37

The Warning

Day and night became one, there was no distinction between the days in the dark cave other than the one meal every so often, thrown at their feet. Abby watched Rydan push his meagre bit of food around his plate as he stared at the floor, he was quiet and withdrawn. Alone for so long, she wondered how he kept from going mad in this dark cave. For a long time she struggled to keep quiet, but she couldn't take the silence any more. "Tell me about your home."

He looked up surprised, almost like he forgot she was there, but eyes fell back to the floor, returning to his thoughts on death.

"Rydan, tell me about your home," she demanded, but he didn't answer. He seemed to be slipping into a depression. "Rydan!"

He frowned at her persistence. Leaning his head back, he closed his eyes to visualize his home. "It's the most amazing place you will ever see. You can see colored glass windows reflecting for miles from a castle made of white marble, polished to a shine, perched on a mountaintop, so high there are days you can lean out your window and touch the clouds. Small rainbows bounce off the waterfall flowing below the castle, the land is lush with trees and wildlife, and the gardens will hypnotize you with their beautiful flowers of every color imaginable. About now, the leaves on the trees should be changing to the brilliant colours of the sunsets. There was a special place I used to go by myself, it made me feel like I was sitting at the edge of the world, watching the ever-changing sky wake to a new day. I would spend my days dreaming about leaving and exploring foreign lands, but now all I think about is how much I miss home." His fingers played with his necklace.

"It sounds wonderful, must be nice to miss home."

"Do you not miss your home?"

She turned her head away. "It was not much of a home, to miss." She ran her scarf across her hand; she missed her father, Mr. Lieven, and her cat, but even in the situation she was in, she still could not bring herself to miss home. "Your necklace is beautiful." She leaned in to get a closer view of the rose carved into the bone charm.

An affectionate smile crossed his face. "My mother gave it to me."

A little mouse poked its head out from the crack in the wall, scurrying across the floor toward her, it stopped to sniff the air for food. She broke off a small piece of what little food she had to eat and held it out to the mouse. "Here you go," she whispered. The mouse cautiously approached, sniffing wildly, it took the piece of bread from her and held it in its front claws to eat.

Rydan was mesmerized by Abby's compassionate expression as she fed the pesky mouse. He watched her bottom lip curl in so she could lightly bite it, her fingers curled one side of her hair back behind her left ear, when the wind whistled through the tunnels, blowing her hair out in front of her face, he wanted to reach out and brush her hair back from her beautiful face. This time she curled her hair behind both ears. He broke off a piece of his bread and held it out to her. Her blue eyes glanced up to him and gave him a warm smile; he quickly handed her another piece of bread for the mouse.

A startling howl echoed through the tunnel scaring the mouse back into the crack. Frightened, Abby shuffled her body to sit next to Rydan. "If you don't mind, I think I would like to dream about your home." She pulled her knees up to her chest, wrapped her arms around her shins, and began to rock back and forth. When she felt Rydan touch her shoulder, she dropped her face onto her knees to cry.

***

Akira and the others made camp, but no fire was made for fear it would alert unwanted guests. They huddled together, tucking their blankets under their bodies to stay warm. She watched the night sky grow brighter from the two moons peeking out from behind the mountains. She placed Newt next to her and rolled over into a sleepless night. She felt sick to her stomach. She's nothing but trouble, I'd be better off without her. She pulled the red ribbon from her vest and smiled. She's so clumsy and stubborn. The ache increased. When she rolled, something caught her attention; it was glowing near a mountainside. She woke the others and walked toward the light. Her eyes narrowed to focus then widened when she realized what it was. "It's Snow!" Standing at the base of a mountain, the white deer glowed in the moonlight. She approached slowly, and as she touched the side of Snow's neck to pat him, she searched the surrounding area, looking for Abby.

Tumble arrived with Abby's horse. "She must be around here somewhere."

Frightened by something, the deer jumped and bounced off into the darkness. Looking up, they watched the purple mist flow down the side of the mountain and swirl up into a small tornado when it reached the ground. They were taken back when Keeva and Abby walked out of the whirling mist.

"Abby!" Akira moved toward her, but Brogan held her back.

Hearing Akira's voice, Abby's eyes flew open, confused, as only a moment ago she was in the cave. She looked over to Akira and the others. "Akira?"

"Are you all right?"

Abby stepped back when the glowing chains around her wrist were jerked tight. "I'm okay," she choked.

"Release her!" She pulled her sword from her back.

"I will make the demands here," Keeva announced.

"Akira, please don't. She's a sorceress," Abby begged.

"Give me your stone," Keeva ordered.

"She doesn't have it with her," Brogan interrupted.

Akira shot him a confused look; he knew she was wearing the stone. She broke free from Brogan's grip, rushing toward Keeva. He ran after her. Keeva waved her hand and the ground began to shake, throwing everyone off balance. A loud crack shot through the mountains, splitting the ground open between Keeva and Akira. The ground fell away at Akira's feet, leaving a wide crevice twenty-feet across. Teetering at the edge, Akira peered down into the endless darkness. Brogan pulled Akira down to the ground.

"Akira!" Abby crawled to the edge, reaching out her hand. "You need to go!"

Akira shook her head. Keeva yanked on the chains, pulling Abby onto her back. Akira rolled over and released an arrow from her crossbow, but the arrow stopped dead in midair, like it hit an invisible wall in front of Keeva; it dropped to the ground.

"You're on my land now," Keeva growled. "Return to Taltorn and warn them I'm coming. If you want to see your sister again, you will return the stone to me."

"I won't leave her!"

"Akira, please go. She has my stone and has more power. Please do as she says, warn Trevina."

"Yes, please do, warn Trevina. Only five more nights, then I will be free," Keeva said excitedly. "And the first place I will be going is Taltorn. I will enjoy squeezing the life out of Gamal's daughter."

Abby forced a smile, trying to reassure her sister she would be okay. As hard as Abby tried to hide her emotions, Akira knew she was afraid.

With a loud bang, Keeva disappeared with Abby.

"Abby!" Akira stood at the edge searching for a way to cross.

"Akira, she's gone. We need to get back to Taltorn," Brogan said.

Akira pushed her face up into Brogan's. "Why did you tell her I didn't have the stone? I could have saved her."

He grabbed her shoulders and shook her. "You're too emotional to make the right decision. You are up against great power you can't possibly fight by yourself. You need help and we are going to help you, but we need to outsmart her. The only power we have is your stone and Trevina is the only one who knows how to use it."

She pushed herself free from Brogan and watched the fading mist. "You better be right or you may have cost Abby her life!"

Jorin stood next to her. "Abby will be all right. She's smart." Jorin tenderly took her hand. "We need to talk to Trevina."

## 38

### Delicate Feathers

Abby cringed at the sound of Taru's large feet shuffling down the tunnel toward them. He roughly grabbed Abby's arm, hauling her up to her feet, pulling her in to lick her face. Her chains clashed together, trying to fight him off. Her face wrinkled with disgust when she felt his coarse black tongue scrape across her cheek and along her forehead. Rydan lunged at Taru, but couldn't reach him.

"I am sure your girlfriend won't mind my charming ways before she dies." Taru snorted a laugh.

Turning away, anger rose from the pit of Rydan's stomach. Pain ripped through his insides and into his back, his heart raced, his breathing became heavy—it was too late; he couldn't control it anymore. Clenching his teeth, he put his hands to his back trying to stop it. "No!" he begged. The skin on his chest pulled tight, the pain forced him down onto his hands and knees. He arched his back when he felt the back of his ribs snapping, skin stretching and tearing, he released a loud roar of pain. Frightened, Abby stepped back as she watched in horror. Without bleeding, white feathers, sharp as knives cut through his skin, allowing the folded shoulders of wings to push out from his shoulder blades. Head hanging low, Rydan's chest heaved for air.

Taru waited patiently. Rydan struggled to stand, staggering to balance himself. He took in a long breath. With a growl from deep down inside his throat, the large white wings unfolded with a powerful gust. He steadied his stance as his muscles strained at the weight of the wings. The dry grass blew up into the air when he flapped his wings and tried to lift himself, but the chains around his wrists pulled him back to the floor.

Stunned, Abby gasped in awe at the sight of his body hanging from the wings of pure white feathers. The strong, yet delicate feathers fanned out, gently rippling into place, soft down curled up between the lines and layers of long feathers. The enormous wings were captivating, strange and majestic—the winged man was beautiful.

Taru released Abby. "Ah, now you are just as hideous as the rest of us!" Taru swung his sword at Rydan's right wing, but Rydan was quick to tuck his wing into his side. Taru lifted his sword to swing again, but hesitated when his name echoed in the cave. "Another time, Beast!" Disappointed, Taru spat onto Rydan's bare feet. He growled angrily as he walked down the tunnel.

Abby watched Rydan throw himself into a wild frenzy to get free. He launched himself forward, flapping his wings forcefully, yanking and pulling on the chains, twisting and straining his body, making his wrists burn.

"Rydan, please stop!"

He glanced over at Abby's frightened face, then collapsed to his knees. His wings slowly folded up against his back. His head lowered in shame. "Please don't look at me. I'm a beast."

Tears rolled down her cheeks as she knelt down next to him. "Oh, Rydan. I'm so sorry for what Keeva has done to you." She put her hand on his. "You're not a beast. Your wings are beautiful."

"How can they be beautiful when she turned me into one of her evil creatures?" he snapped.

"Just because she used an evil spell on you, doesn't make you evil."

He fell silent and raised his head to Abby's gentle smile. Sitting back on his wings, Rydan watched her shuffle over to inspect his wrists. Muscles relaxing, his heart rate slowed, and his anger eased when she lightly blew on his wrists, trying to cool the burnt skin. Feeling his wings fold back under his skin, he quietly winced at the pain as his bones shifted back into place, and his skin healed over with no signs of any trauma.

"It must be painful when the wings come out."

He replied with a nod. "It's more painful when the wings come out than when they go back in. There's nothing I can do to stop it from happening."

"Maybe you could control it if you didn't try so hard to stop it."

He frowned at her suggestion.

"Have you ever flown in the sky? That would be amazing. Soaring over mountains, the trees, and touching the clouds. Imagine going any place your heart desires." Her dreaming eyes rolled up to the ceiling as she rambled on.

He had never thought about the wings being something positive. He watched her move her arms up and down like she was flying. She was unlike anyone he had ever met; he smiled at her optimistic beauty.

While Abby slept, Rydan paced the floor. Before Abby, his thoughts dwelled on the ideas of death. Now, he felt charged at the thought of finding a way for them to escape, but the chains were too strong and Taru had the only key. Wondering if he could control the changing, he focused his body to see if he could force his wings back out. He squeezed his eyes shut and flexed the muscles in his neck, but nothing happened, he even tried to think about Taru, hoping the anger would set them off, but after an hour of trying he was still just a man. He wiped the sweat from his forehead, one last try, he closed his eyes, breathing deeply and calmly, he clenched his fists and thought about his wings. His eyes flew open when a fast jolt of pain shot through his body and before he could yell his wings exploded out from his back; the pain eased. He jumped to his feet, turning to Abby, wanting to share his excitement. He folded his wings to his back and sat down to watch her sleep.

Abby opened her eyes to find him watching her. She took comfort knowing each time her eyes opened, Rydan would be there. Her lips curled a little smile just before she drifted off to sleep.

***

"Hental! Hental!" Trevina shouted.

"What is it?" The short man rushed to her.

"It has started! You need to get the women and children away from here."

"What did you see?"

"Keeva has a Piece of Five and Abby. She is coming and bringing her army with her."

"Where will we go?"

"Take the back passage, along the river and into Elowen. Hide them. I will stay with the men."

"Then I will stay with you."

"No, I need you to lead the women and children."

Hental hesitated. "I can't leave your side."

"My vision has shown me, I must stay behind."

"Go to the black cave and I will meet you there," he ordered.

"You are a good man. I will wait for your return."

***

Taru quietly made his way down the tunnel, eager to torment Rydan. He hated the man with wings. Keeva treated the man differently than the other creatures, keeping him out of the pit and feeding him better food than the scraps he was receiving. He looked down to Rydan sleeping under a pile of dry grass. Taru pulled his sword from his waist. One little stab and Keeva would never know, he grunted. He dangled his sword over Rydan's left side. One little poke...

Surprising him, Rydan burst out from under the grass with his wings exploding into the air, knocking Taru off his feet. Startled, Abby woke to the loud crash and leaned herself up against the wall to watch. Taru raised his sword, but Rydan quickly knocked the sword from his hand with a hard swipe from his wing. Taru scrambled across the floor to get out of Rydan's reach, but Rydan grabbed his feet, pulling him back. Flipping over, Taru grabbed Rydan's wing, throwing him off balance so he could get to his feet. He threw a punch into Rydan's stomach, making him stagger backward. Rydan waited for Taru to step closer. Taru pushed Rydan up against the wall, leaning his forearm into his throat. Taru grinned at his advantage. Rydan grinned back as he whipped one of the glowing chains up around Taru's neck and pulled tight. Taru coughed for air as the chain burned his throat. Rydan spun him around to choke him from behind. Frightened, Abby put her hands to her mouth. Unable to breathe, Taru's arms fell to his side. As Rydan felt Taru's weight drop, he followed him to the floor to make sure he was dead. He searched Taru's pockets, and finding the glowing key, he tucked it into the waist of his pants.

Abby cringed. "Is he dead?"

"Yes."

"Well, this is more like it!" Keeva stood next to Taru's body, smiling at Rydan's raging face. "I knew if Taru tormented you enough, you would give in to your anger." Rydan bowed his head. Keeva reached over and lifted his chin. She was pleased he didn't resist her. "Are you ready to serve me?" He nodded. "Kiss my hand."

"Rydan, don't!" Abby panicked, she didn't understand why Rydan was giving into Keeva.

Rydan leaned in and kissed the back of her hand. "Good, now swear to serve me."

Rydan swallowed hard. "I swear."

"No!" Abby's heart sank.

With a quick wave of Keeva's hands the glowing chains disappeared from Rydan's wrists. "See, your anger will set you free. Accept your fate and stand beside me. Together we will conquer the Land of Edon. Come with me," she ordered.

Rydan bowed his head and followed her down the tunnel.

Abby ran to the end of her chains. "Rydan, look at me!" she begged.

"He's mine, now!" Keeva's voice echoed through the tunnel. "Don't worry Abby, I'm not done with you yet."

Abby collapsed to the floor, sobbing uncontrollably. Hearing the sounds of Abby's despair broke his heart, he wanted to run back to her, hug her and comfort her, and reassure her everything would be all right, but he had no choice, he needed to give into Keeva so he could find a way for them to escape. Not looking back, he continued to walk away.

## 39

### Disheartened

The horses snorted hard, exhausted from the hard run. Akira was the first to reach the village, and sliding off her horse, she pushed her way through the panicking mass of people. The village of Taltorn was evacuating.

She exploded into Trevina's room. "Trevina! Keeva has Abby!" She heaved for air, staring at the old women's back, waiting for her to say something, but she continued to pack her belongings. "Trevina?" Trevina still didn't acknowledge her. Angry she was being ignored, Akira stormed across the room and reached out to touch Trevina's shoulder.

"That would be a mistake," Trevina said in a low eerie voice.

Startled, Akira took her hand back at the warning.

"It's rude to burst into someone's home unannounced." Trevina turned to face Akira.

Akira frowned at the scolding. "I'm sorry, but Keeva has Abby. Can you use your power to help?"

"What makes you think I have power?"

"It was you who turned that bug into a lizard, wasn't it? Not Abby."

"Does it matter?"

"Did you have a vision of Keeva taking Abby? What else haven't you told us?"

"Did you come here for my help or not?"

Akira was getting nowhere and grumbled in frustration. "Yes."

"Yes, what?"

Akira's eyes narrowed in anger as she forced the words from her mouth. "Yes, please help us."

Trevina gripped the top of her cane tighter, trying to control her temper. It was obvious Akira didn't trust her, and yet she had the gall to charge into her room and ask for help. Angry, she clenched her teeth, holding herself back from striking the insolent girl with her true power. She forced herself to calm down when her vision reminded her Akira was part of the future to come. Trevina took a jar from the shelf and turning it over, she dumped the small dead bugs onto the table, all lying flat on their backs. She lifted her cane up a couple of inches and tapped on the airy floor, sending a ring of a shock wave out across the table. The black bugs vibrated, flipping over onto their legs, they came back to life, and scurried off the table to disappear into the shadows.

Confused, Akira didn't know what it was supposed to mean. "Is that all you can do?"

Trevina's face turned cold and she shook in anger. She whipped her hand across the table. The small bugs were pulled from their place of hiding to make a pile on the middle of the table. The bugs formed the shape of a large hand, and rising up off the table the black hand shot out and grasped Akira's throat, squeezing enough to make her gasp for air. Her frightened eyes jumped to Trevina's threatening grin.

"Are you questioning my power?"

"No. I'm sorry," Akira panicked. "Please help Abby."

"Give me your stone."

"What? Why?"

"Again, you question me?" Angry, Trevina tightened the grip around Akira's throat, making her choke.

Akira grabbed her necklace from around her neck, holding it up as she gasped for air. She was apprehensive about giving her the stone as she felt in her gut there was something more to this woman than just visions, but she didn't have time to try and understand what power she did have. Trevina smiled; the black hand lost its shape and the bugs dropped to the floor, dead. Akira coughed and clutched her throat as she took in deep breaths. She took the necklace off and gave it to Trevina.

"I will make a fake stone from this one."

"Keeva will know it's fake when it doesn't glow."

Trevina laid the stone on the table. "I will put a spell on the fake stone so it will glow for a few seconds."

"Then what?"

"Then, I will give you your stone back."

"And that's it? How do I help Abby?"

"Don't worry, I will distract Keeva and you will know what to do when the time comes."

Trevina slowly wave her hands over the stone as she mumbled some words. Akira covered her eyes from the bright flash, when she looked back there were two stones, side-by-side—identical. Hental entered the room and eyed Trevina impatiently.

"Take your stone." She handed her the stone and ushered Akira out of the room.

Akira unknowingly tied the fake stone around her neck. Suspicious, she leaned herself up against the wall to listen.

"Hental, should anything happen to me, my spell book is hidden inside the dragon's skull. Are you ready?"

He gave her a worried look. "Yes, the women and children are packed. The warriors are ready for battle, but they want to know what visions you have of the battle to come."

"I have only seen glimpses of the battle and not the ending. Unfortunately many will die. To change their fate could bring death to their loved ones, trying to escape."

"Do you know which twin will die?"

"No, I still can't see which girl it is."

"I hope Jorin will save the right one."

"Let's hope for all our sakes, he will." Trevina shook her head.

Stunned, Akira's heart pounded hard. One of us will die? I don't understand. Why didn't she tell me? Confused and shaken, she carelessly wandered out into the crowd.

"Give Jorin the real stone," Trevina said quietly.

Hental watched the real stone glow in Trevina's hand. Reluctant to leave her, he hesitated. "I will be back for you."

"I will be waiting. Now, hurry."

He rushed out to find Jorin.

As Akira tried to comprehend what she heard, she was oblivious to the people rushing by and bumping into her. She was knocked against a stone wall, and feeling overwhelmed, she slid down to the ground. The quest for the 'Pieces of Five' had become a nightmare, she lost her sister to the sorceress and now everyone was in danger. What if Trevina's vision is true? One of us will die. Jorin knows and must save only one of us? Not knowing what to do next she held her nauseous stomach.

Arms wrapped around her legs and her face buried into her knees, she hesitated to look up when the shadows of Brogan and the others fell on her. "You do not need to stay and fight. It's my fault this war is about to happen. Go home to your families," she said in a disheartened tone.

"I will not leave you." Jorin knelt down next to her, putting his hand on her shoulder.

"Are you kidding? I just had this battle helmet made. Where else am I going to use it? I'm here to fight." Sal puffed up his chest.

Rin made some quick hand movements.

"Slow down Rin, I can't understand you." Sal grabbed Rin's waving arm. "Yah, yah, I get it. You're staying too."

"I will stay and help get your sister back," Tumble said.

Almost afraid to look at him, she slowly glanced up to Brogan's glare.

"You are so stubborn. You still think you must take all this on your own. This is not your fault. This is our land and yours. We all fight together for our families and our homes. You will not fight this battle alone. Do you understand?"

She dropped her head at his demanding tone. "Yes."

"Good! Enough of this nonsense, we have a lot of work to do." Brogan quickly belted out orders to the others, giving them each a task. After they left he knelt down in front of her. "I found this in Abby's saddlebag." He placed the shell in her hand. "We will find Abby," he softened his voice.

"It's the stupid shell from the beach. Abby refused to leave without it. It had to be this one." She gently closed her hand over the shell. She would have given anything to fall into his arms and cry.

***

Abby huddled up against the wall. She didn't want to watch, but his scream shook her, making her look up to the horrible scene. Keeva cast her spell and the purple mist swirled around the young man lying on the stone altar. Rydan closed his eyes at the poor soul; there was nothing he could do for him. The shape of the man's eyes narrowed, turning black, his mouth and nose stretched forward, like that of a dog, pointy teeth cut through his gums, coarse black hair pushed up through his dark skin, and his fingers grew long and hairy. His painful scream turned into a loud roar. He bolted upright, breaking free from his chains. From behind, Rydan wrapped his arm around his thick throat. Keeva waved her hand in front of his face to put him under a trance, but he continued to fight. Knocking Rydan down, the desperate creature swung his arm out to Keeva, but came to a halt when her hand reached out and grasped his throat. He couldn't move. Rydan got up to help, but he was too late. Life drained from the creature's body, and when she released her hand, he crumpled to the floor, dead.

"Weak useless man. Get rid of the body!" She stormed out of the cave.

Horrified, Abby turned away and put her hands to her ears as she rocked herself back and forth. There seemed to be no end to the suffering, even when the torture stopped, she could still hear their screams in her head.

For two days she laid on the floor, numb to her surroundings, small creatures scurried around her to nibble at her untouched food. Men continued to lose their lives in front of her; whether they died or turned into creatures, their lives were gone. She believed Rydan was strong, but he too gave in to her evil ways. The thought of spending a year or more in the dismal cave alone drained her body and mind, making her feel empty and lost. Lying on her side, she curled her body up into a ball and stared non-stop at the flickering flame of the candle, allowing her mind to slip down into the depths of despair.

Rydan quietly entered the room to find Abby unresponsive. He knelt down beside her. "Abby, you need to eat."

"Go away."

"Abby, I have been pretending to serve her so I can find a way for us to escape."

She clutched her legs tighter. He lifted her to sit upright. He took out the keys and unlocked her shackles. He gently lifted her chin to view her eyes.

"Look at me," he said softly.

Slowly raising her eyes, she found his kind face waiting for her. Tears filled her eyes. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into his body, hugging her gently. She felt herself melt into his arms. "I thought I lost you!" she cried.

"Shhh...it's okay." He rocked her gently for a few moments.

She felt him move and clutched his arm, afraid to let him go.

"We need to go. Can you stand?"

"Yes."

He helped her to stand. "Keeva is asleep. We have to hurry."

Lighting a torch, he held her hand and led her down the dark tunnel. Abby's legs trembled in fear. The tunnel opened into a cavern with a large pit below. They peered down into the darkness, trying to see the bottom. Rydan lit another torch and tossed it into the pit. Sparks flew from the torch when it hit the cool floor. They both leaned back when the light revealed the creatures, hundreds of them lining the pit, standing like statues.

"They're not moving." Akira latched onto his arm.

"They are under her spell."

"What is she doing with them?"

"She's making an army."

"She's going to take them to Taltorn!" Abby feared.

Rydan searched the tunnel. "There's no way out at this end. Let's go back the other way."

As they walked through the tunnel, Abby felt the warmth of his strong hand wrapped around hers. She glanced up to watch the light flicker on his determined face. His head snapped around to a noise. He startled her when he suddenly wrapped his arms around her back, pulling her into his chest as he leaned back against the wall. He put his finger to her lips to quiet her. Her body stiffened and her wide eyes looked up to his serious face, scanning the tunnel for trouble. She didn't hear anything, but she really wasn't paying attention to what was around her, only that she was pressed up against his warm body. Her heart raced as she slowly laid her ear to his chest; his heart was racing too. She took in a deep breath, feeling safe in his arms.

Rydan didn't realize how tight he was holding her until he felt her body relax. "Sorry." He pushed her back and took her by the hand. "Come on, I think it's safe."

They rounded a corner; Abby froze when she saw the dragon sleeping in the tunnel. Rydan put his arm out, slowly backing her up. They retraced their steps. Rydan stopped to lean around another corner to look. He felt Abby let go of his hand. He turned to see her frightened face.

"What's wrong?" He reached out for her hand.

"Let me go!" She slapped his hand away, throwing herself down onto the tunnel floor, she cowered away from him. "Don't hurt me!"

He was startled and confused by her strange behaviour. Sensing someone, he turned to see Keeva standing behind him. Abby squished herself up against the wall in fear. Now, he understood what she was trying to do; pretending she escaped on her own.

"Very good, Rydan. I don't know how she escaped, but put her back into the chains," Keeva ordered.

Rydan grabbed Abby by the upper arm, roughly hauling her up to her feet. Their eyes avoiding each other for fear they would give themselves away, he led her back to the room, and sat her on the floor. He knelt down, trying not to look at her. He wanted to tell her he was sorry, but the evil eyes were watching. He finished locking both her wrists in shackles. When Keeva left the room, Rydan held Abby's hands.

"Rydan!" Keeva yelled from the tunnel.

Abby quickly hugged him.

He didn't want to let her go. "I will be back for you. I promise," he whispered.

"I'll be waiting." She smiled warmly and pushed him to go.

***

At the entrance to the Taltorn Mountains, the Spiritons hacked wildly with their swords when the burning vines rushed out from above. Vines crept down behind one Spiriton, pulling him off his horse, hoisting him into the air. He shrieked in agony as his skin repeatedly burned and repaired itself. Ignoring the Spiriton dangling above their heads, Senus motioned the others to follow him to the other side.

"Aren't you going to save him?" Luken watched with horror.

"If he was stupid enough to get caught, he can spend eternity in pain," Valgard scoffed.

"Release him, we may need him." Senus yanked his reins around and kicked his horse to enter the crack in the mountain.

Valgard stabbed Luken a look of true hatred. No matter how long it took, he was going to make sure the boy died an agonizing death.

As they followed the trail along the side of the mountain, the clouds below them flashed brightly with low rumbles of thunder. Without incident, they reached Taltorn and watched the fortress from a distance. Strangely, the gates were open and no one was guarding the walls. They cautiously rode through the gates. Senus dismounted, scanning the empty fortress. He kicked at valuables left behind. For whatever reason, they left in a hurry.

## 40

The Warriors of Taltorn

"It's time!"

Abby immediately stood when Keeva and Rydan entered. Holding the glowing stone in the palm of her hand, Keeva raised her arm above the altar and waited. The first moon inched its way across the night sky, a sliver of moonlight shot down the hole of the cave, and touching the stone, bright sharp beams of light shot out in all directions, making Rydan and Abby fall to the floor, covering their eyes. Squinting into the brightness, they watched the yellow glow travel up Keeva's arm and around her body, her head jerked back, fire shot out of her mouth and up the hole of the ceiling. Her head slowly descended and her bright fiery eyes fell on Abby—the spell was broken.

"And now for you, my dear Abby," she said in an eerie tone. She stepped toward Abby and waved her hand across her terrified face.

Abby felt strange, like she was being pulled deep inside herself. Her vision changed as though she was viewing through someone else's eyes; it was her body, but she felt like she was encased in an inner shell of herself.

"Kiss my hand," Keeva ordered.

To Abby's surprise, her body obeyed and she kissed the back of Keeva's hand. Keeva released the shackles from around her wrists. Abby tried to make her body move, but had no control. She tried to speak, but no sound was made from her mouth. Keeva ordered her to follow. Abby's body followed willingly. Slightly ahead, Rydan came into her view, she tried to reach out and touch his hand, but couldn't. She screamed, but still no sound, there was nothing she could do; she was trapped inside herself.

At sunrise, Keeva anxiously stood at the edge of the border between Piranus and Edon. She took in a deep breath and stepping forward into Edon, she smiled at her freedom. Dragons flew overhead as Abby and Rydan followed behind her, and her spellbound army moved in a loud synchronized march.

***

The warriors of Taltorn devised a plan, rather than waiting for Keeva's army to attack, they would attack first. They knew the enemy would be coming from the north along the cliffs above Bowin River. Her army would have to pass through an open field with the cliffs on one side and trees surrounding the rest of the field; there the warriors would wait.

One hundred warriors readied themselves, surrounding the field. A line of men hid in the forest edge with swords and spears, behind them a line of archers waited with torches to light their arrows with fire, and a third line sat waiting among the black rocks, hoping to push the enemy toward the cliffs.

The day settled into darkness and the nervous warriors waited. The two moons advanced across the night sky, casting light onto the battleground. Akira left Sable, Samson, and Newt in the forest away from the battle so they would have a chance to be free if she did not return. She found her spot in the line and slid down against a tree. Jorin leaned back on her tree. She gazed at her reflection on the shiny metal of her sword. "My mother used to stare at my reflection on the water. I think she was pretending it was Abby." She took in a deep breath. "No matter what happens...save Abby first."

Jorin closed his eyes. "How did you know?"

"I heard Trevina talking to Hental."

"We don't know if her vision will come true."

Akira flipped over onto her knees and leaned her face into his. "Promise me, no matter what, you will save Abby."

He knew what he had to do, but agreed. He curled a loose strand of hair behind her ear, and gently holding her face with both hands, he stared into her sparkling eyes; at that moment he would have dropped everything and followed her, if she had asked. He started to pull her down for a kiss, but she pulled away from his hands to sit back down. His empty hands lingered in the air briefly and slowly drop to his side as he released a disappointed sigh.

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

"It's all right," he whispered back.

Her hands nervously shook as she fussed with her hair, tying it off into a messy braid. She was frightened, but more so for Abby and the others. She watched Sal and Rin fight over a metal helmet, arguing over whose head was too big. She watched Tumble take out his small knife and slice his braid off at shoulder length. Digging a hole in the ground, he placed the coiled braid into the hole and pushed the dirt over top of it.

"Why did Tumble cut off his braid?"

"It symbolizes he is going into battle." Jorin said, bowing his head. He was nervous, even though he had many sword lessons with Tumble, he wasn't sure he was ready to jump into battle, but he would have to do everything he could to survive, so he could save one of the girls.

She heard Brogan's voice and watched him shout out encouragement to his group of men. Her eyes followed him when he leaned up against a boulder. He took his father's bone necklace from his pocket and gently slid it across the palm of his hand. Gazing at it affectionately, he raised it up to his lips and lightly kissed the bone charm. She waited. His sorrowful eyes slowly rolled up to her. Her eyes widened with suspense when she saw his mouth open, looking as though he was about to say something to her, but he swallowed hard and nodded with a slight smile. Disappointed, she watched him returned to his men.

***

The growling army reached the edge of the empty field. Keeva raised her hand for her army to stop. She scanned the field and the surrounding forest; not a sound was heard, not even a bird rushing out of the long grass. With Abby and Rydan at her side, she ordered her army to advance into the field.

Word spread quickly that Keeva's army was near, bringing warriors to their feet. The archers nocked their arrows to their bowstrings and nervously waited for the signal, as shooting too soon would miss their target and ruin their chance of surprise. The creatures were almost half way across the field, close to the target needed. The archers watched their leader raise his arm. They dipped their oil soaked arrows into the fire, and drawing their flaming arrows up they waited. One young archer looked out to the advancing army—not men, but creatures unlike anything he had ever seen. They out-number us. He shook with fear and his sweaty hands were barely able to steady his bow. His heart pounded hard through his chest at the frightening sounds of growling and metal clanking. He anxiously watched the leader's arm up in the air, waiting for the arm to drop to signal the attack. His head turned to the sudden whoosh sound to see a flaming arrow streak through the trees toward the attackers. With a jolt of fear, he realized it was his arrow—he shot too soon. Others released their arrows at the sight.

"No! Hold your arrows!" the leader shouted, but it was too late.

Like the forest was on fire, flaming arrows burst out of the forest and out into the field. The advancing army stopped. A few arrows hit their targets, but most stabbed the ground in front of the creature's feet. From behind, Keeva ordered her creatures to attack. The loud roar from the creatures over powered the meagre attempt of a battle cry from the warriors running out from the trees. Abby watched the battle from the inside of her unresponsive body. Rydan stood next to her, watching and waiting for the right moment they could escape.

The archers moved forward to single out their targets as the line of swordsmen advanced. The two sides collided in a frenzy of violence and chaos, swords and spears, cutting and stabbing. Akira scanned the battle for Abby and found her next to Keeva. The signal was sent and her line advanced into the bloodshed. With a sword in one hand and a knife in the other, Akira jumped into action, trying to make a path to Abby.

From above, a loud shriek cut through the roar of the battle. A dragon flew into view, and not caring what it grabbed, it swooped down on a man and a creature, snatching them from the ground, carrying them high into the air, and releasing them to their deaths. The dragon dove down to grab another. The men pushed on the wheels of the enormous wooden crossbow, rolling it out into position. The long, thin six-foot arrow was launched, but missed the target. The dragon shot a line of fire across in front of them, igniting warriors as they ran. Another arrow was loaded, quickly cranking the lever to stretch the heavy bowstring back. The dragon circled and leaned into a dive toward them. Released and streaking through the sky, the arrow sunk into the dragon's gut, making it screech and blow fire before the flying beast crashed to the ground. The men cheered and readied the crossbow again.

Reaching the battle, the Spiritons were surprised to see the humans fighting against the unusual looking creatures. Senus scanned the field and found Keeva at the edge of the forest near the cliff. He was too late; she had a 'Piece of Five'. Like a fly zipping around a creature, Akira's slight body caught his eye. I will kill the last of the Hunter's Clan, he snarled in anger. He motioned his men to attack and kill anyone in their path. Senus sliced through the armed men and creatures, working his way to Akira. The rest of the Spiritons left their horses and ran out into the battle, leaving Torgul behind. He smiled at their stupidity as he worked on the ropes binding his hands. Luken climbed a tree to get a better view. The battle was horrific, violent clashing of metal between man and beast, blood sprayed from their wide gashes with thunderous roars and screams of pain as the field quickly filled with bodies. He gasped in fear when he looked down to see one Spiriton not in the battle and looking up at him with an evil grin, a grin Luken knew all too well. His eyes darted to the arrow sinking into the tree trunk next to his head. Valgard lined up another arrow. Luken leapt onto a branch of another tree and ducked when the arrow broke through the branches. Frantically clambering down the tree, Luken dropped to the ground and ran out into the battle. He ran between the fighting, ducking and jumping, stopping near a group of men. His eyes wildly searched for Valgard, but he was nowhere to be seen.

Rushing toward Akira, a creature ran with his sword already above his head, exposing his body. Her sword whipping up from below sliced through his stomach as her blade travelled up to meet his sword; he crashed to the ground. Another creature ran with his sword pointing straight out. Tapping his sword off her center line, she flung herself into the air, and jammed her knife into his chest. Jumping over him as he fell, she landed into a crouch when the next creature wildly swung an axe over her head, and blocking the downward strike, she lunged out of her crouch to stab the creature through his stomach. She looked up to his unemotional black eyes, not a hint of pain or suffering crossed his face. He dropped to the ground without a whimper of a sound. She spun at the creatures attacking from the sides, blocking and striking. As one creature fell, there was another quickly in its place. She glanced toward Abby, still too far away to help, she barely gained any ground. She was wasting too much time on the slow and clumsy creatures; she needed to fight differently. She dodged their strikes, swinging her blades with fluid motions, cutting if only necessary, as she flowed through the attacks to advance forward.

Sal and Rin worked side by side, joking and taunting the creatures, taking turns to flaunt their skills. Brogan led the way for the third line, shouting orders to the men. He watched Akira advance ahead, but soon lost sight of her in the chaos. Keeva searched for the sister with the stone, she knew she would be coming for Abby.

Akira readied herself for the next attack, but the creature stopped, grunting as it sniffed the air, and looking passed her, it snorted as it backed away from her. She raised her eyebrows at its strange behaviour and turned around. Her heart jumped with fright at the sight of the red scar wrinkling with the hateful grin. "Not now."

Senus spotted the stone around her neck. "You have caused me a lot of trouble. Hand the stone over to me."

She shook her head. Taking a deep breath she moved her sword above her shoulder, stepping back into a fighting stance. He grinned anxiously, he knew she would not give up the stone; he accepted the challenge with a nod of his head.

Jorin fought hard to get to Akira, fearing Senus was going to kill her. Brogan viewed the situation as well and worked his way toward her.

She could feel her insides quiver, her heart pounded hard, and her legs shook with fear when she lowered her stance. She took a deep stuttered breath before forcing her muscles to tighten. Is this it? Is this the day I kill the man who killed my mother? Or is this to be the day I die? She locked onto his wicked eyes—Akira was ready to end this.

They traded three swift strikes, both pulling back to reset. She cursed under breath as her legs felt heavy and slow with each move. His skills were no different than any other Spiriton, but she feared him, and found herself questioning every move she made. He stepped forward with a thrust. She parried his blade and sliced across his thigh. In a rage, he forced his strikes harder. She could feel herself slowing, the muscles in her arms exploding in pain with every heavy blow. Her stomach knotted at her mistake when he faked a move, hesitating, she caught the edge of his hard strike, but not enough to block it, and received a cut across her left upper arm. She shouted in pain, but rushed back to clash together in the middle, both pushing hard against the blades, and both in a dangerous position; if one released the wrong way the other could take the advantage. Their swords shook from the pressure.

"You fight like your mother. We fought many times, but she always hesitated. Trying to change me was her biggest mistake. She was weak and pathetic. She even shouted out Brother when I pushed the dagger deeper into her stomach. When I held her in my arms, you should have seen her face when I whispered in her ear I was going to take pleasure in killing her daughter, slowly cutting into her stomach and spilling her guts out onto the ground."

Straining against his sword, she growled and clenched her teeth, trying not to listen to his taunting, but his unremorseful words cut her deep, making her insides burn with rage. She was quick to think; if she released the wrong way or too soon, he could strike back before she could move. She focused on the feel of his blade, pushing sideways against hers, keeping the pressure even and in the middle. She jammed the front of her boot into the ground, spitting dirt onto his boots. For a split second his attention was drawn to the feel of stones hitting his boots, and that was all she needed. She pushed harder on his blade, making him react by pushing back too hard and as soon as she felt the pressure come back, she released the tension off her blade, making his blade move too far across in front of them. She slipped under his blade, cutting across his ribs before stepping back to watch him bend and clutch his stomach in pain.

Hearing a sound from behind, she glanced over her shoulder just in time to see a creature's sword swinging out at her, and tripping backward to get out of the way, she fell to the ground. She raised her sword in a panic to protect herself when the creature rushed to attack her. Surprising her, another sword intervened; Senus struck the creature with a quick slice across his throat, stopping him dead. Still on her back, Akira watched in disbelief as she pointed her sword up at Senus. He now had the advantage. He staggered and swayed to stand over her, bleeding and heaving for air. Hesitating, his red eyes blinked heavily as he looked down on her. She waited for him to move. What's he waiting for? For a second she thought she saw a glint of humanity from the man she was led to believe was her uncle, she searched through his grotesque features, looking for some sort of family resemblance.

In a fleeting loss of focus, a vision flashed in his mind. She looks so much like her mother. Angry with himself, he growled as he raised his sword, but stopped when something struck his head. Stunned, he staggered slightly as a trickle of blood ran down his forehead and along his nose. His head snapped back again when another small rock cracked his forehead between his eyes. Looking past Akira, he spotted Luken aiming a slingshot his direction; he grinned slightly at the boy. A shock of pain crossed his face when he felt Akira's sword sink into his stomach, stepping back, he fell onto his back, and wrapped his fingers around the sharp edges of the blade, trying to pull it out. The curse was broken and he could feel the poison coursing through his veins, he could feel himself dying.

Standing over him, she pulled her sword out, making him gasp. She had dreamt about the pleasure she would take when she ended his life, and that moment arrived, but she didn't feel the pleasure, it was sadness for her uncle and the evil that consumed him. "I'm sorry," she whispered.

He looked up at Akira's sorrowful face. "How dare you insult me with your petty sympathy. I killed your mother and I would do it again, if given the chance." He coughed weakly. "Go on, finish me off. Don't hesitate, take your revenge. The Spiritons will kill the Hunters, every last one, including your sister."

She shook her head; there was no stopping the hatred. "You're wrong. I will stop the Spiritons." Holding the hilt upside down with the point of the blade hovering over him, she raised her arms and with a heavy thrust, she plunged her sword into his chest.

"Good girl," he said with his last breath.

Looking down at Senus, Luken slowly lowered his slingshot, feeling almost disappointed with his precise shot. He looked up to Akira, shaking and still holding her sword in Senus' chest. He gently clasped his hands around hers and helped her pull her sword out. "He was a bad man."

Looking confused, her eyes shifted to the boy. "Who are you?" Before Luken could answer, Brogan arrived.

"Are you all right?"

She nodded. "We need to help Abby."

"This way," he shouted. Leaving the boy behind, Brogan led Akira through the bedlam to reach Abby.

From a distance, Jorin was relieved to see Akira still standing. He looked to the night sky, the first moon was no longer moving; just like Trevina predicted. He needed to stick to the plan and raced after Akira.

Surprising Luken, Valgard grabbed him by the front of the shirt, lifting him up into the air, making him struggle wildly. "There's no Senus to protect you now?" Valgard shook him violently.

Tumble spotted the Spiriton holding a boy up in the air. "What the dragon's guts! What's a boy doing here?" he shouted.

Tumble rushed through the battle, ducking the swinging swords, and reaching Valgard, he rammed him to the ground. Luken rolled off to the side and watched. Tumble and Valgard quickly got to their feet with swords ready, they slowly circled. Valgard was the first to strike, hitting hard on Tumble's blocking sword; Tumble's sword barely moved. Tumble returned a powerful strike, making Valgard's knees buckle. Tumble's sword scratched across Valgard's chest, making him bleed. Valgard winced and backed up, waiting for the wound to heal, but the wound continued to bleed. He quickly realized this man had the Hunter's power to kill. Fearing Tumble, Valgard fled. Tumble grabbed the boy, tucked him up under his arm, and ran toward the cliff.

Moving ahead of Akira, Brogan worked on clearing a path for her. She bolted past Brogan to stop in front of Keeva.

"Release Abby!" She pointed her sword.

"Your sister belongs to me now." Keeva stroked Abby's hair. "She will only listen to my commands."

"Abby?" Akira reached her hand out to her.

Inside, Abby fought to gain control, she screamed with frustration, wanting to tell her she was still there.

"Abby's no longer here."

Akira watched in horror when Keeva's voice came out of Abby's mouth, her cold expression and black lifeless eyes. "Abby! Abby, look at me." Not getting a response, she glared at Keeva; the only way to help Abby was to deal with Keeva first. She thrust forward, but stopped with a jolt when Abby stepped in front of her sword to protect Keeva. Abby stood emotionless. "Abby, what are you doing? Snap out of it!"

A sword chopped down on hers, quickly making her back up to view the three creatures surrounding her. She swiftly dodged and attacked the creatures, killing one and lunging at the next. Spinning to a strike from behind, she came to a jarring halt; everything came to a still, no sounds of men screaming or creatures roaring, no sounds of metal clashing, only the sound of her heart pounding and blood rushing through her veins. Sharp pain exploded in her stomach. She looked down to see the blade in her stomach and her warm blood rushing out. She raised her head with wide questioning eyes; disbelieving Abby was the one holding the hilt of the sword. Dropping her sword, Akira tried to shout out in pain, but all she could do was gasp for air. Her body stiffened with fear and her head felt numb.

"No! Akira!" From inside, Abby shouted in horror at the sight of the sword in her sister's stomach. She screamed so loud she forced the tears to leak from her black eyes.

Akira shook; she was the one to die, but to her disbelief, it was by her sister's hands. She searched Abby's dark eyes, looking for signs of her sister; she spotted the tears. Abby withdrew her sword. Akira cried out in agony, clutching her stomach as she sunk to her knees. Fighting his way past the creatures, Brogan ran to her.

"Akira! I'm here!" Abby's unheard voiced shouted.

"Akira!" Jorin shouted, frantically trying to get to her.

Hidden in the trees, Trevina put her hands into the fire, cupping flames into her hands and rolling into a ball, she threw it with a powerful blast. The streaking ball exploded between Keeva and Rydan, knocking him unconscious and catapulting Keeva back into the trees. Amused with herself, Trevina grinned.

During the distraction, Jorin and Brogan quickly dragged Akira to the cliff's edge.

Jorin knelt beside her. "Hold on, Akira. Please hold on."

"Can you help her?" Brogan panicked.

"I can't, not yet," Jorin said.

Brogan grabbed Jorin's arm. "She's going to die if you don't!"

"You have to trust me, it needs to happen this way," Jorin choked.

"I don't understand," Brogan said, looking confused.

Keeva stormed toward them. "Hand me the stone!" she roared.

Jorin untied the fake stone from around Akira's neck and stood at the edge of the cliff, dangling the necklace out over the raging river. "You will undo the spell on Abby or I will drop this Piece of Five into the river below."

"You are in no position to order anything!"

Jorin loosened his grip on the string, allowing the fake stone to drop a couple of inches.

"No! Stop! I will release her." Keeva mumble a couple of words and with a wave of her hand, Abby's eyes cleared and she collapsed to the ground.

The second moon moved closer to the first, the tips of the trees suddenly bent from the forceful wind roaring into the battle field, swirling with vengeance and whipping up into a wind spout, making everyone struggle to stand.

Jorin shielded his eyes and scanned the night sky. It's time!

Sal and Rin arrived to stand next to Brogan's side.

"What's happening?" Brogan shouted as he covered his face from the debris.

"When the second moon touches the first moon, Keeva will lose her power for only a moment, when that happens, we need to take the girls and jump into the river."

Brogan leaned over the cliff to estimate the jump. "Are you sure?" Jorin nodded.

The brothers looked over. Rin shook his head at the height.

"Do you want me to hold your hand?" Sal grinned at Rin.

Released from the spell, Abby raised her blue eyes to see her sister lying on the ground. Stumbling, she pushed through the wind to reach Akira. Overwhelmed with fear, her heart leapt to her throat, pounding so hard she could barely breathe. Seeing her sister lying in a puddle of blood, shook her, twisting her insides into a nauseous knot. Feeling numb like she was about to faint, she collapsed to her knees next to Akira. Her hands shook uncontrollably as she placed them on top of Akira's stomach, trying to put pressure on the wound. "Akira! What have I done?"

"Abby, I'm sorry I couldn't protect you," Akira whispered weakly.

Abby panicked when Akira's eyes closed. "No! Akira, don't go! Jorin! Do something!" She shook Akira's shoulders. "Open your eyes! Don't leave me!" she cried.

"I can't it's too late, she's dead!" he yelled over the roaring wind.

She shook Akira. "No! Don't go, you're all I have!" she sobbed uncontrollably.

"Abby, we need to get away from here," Brogan shouted.

"Hand me the stone!" Keeva motioned for the stone.

Jorin slowly stepped toward her and she snatched the necklace from his hand.

"Now you will all die!" she shouted.

Just as she raised her hand to cast a spell, the two moons touched. An explosion of light burst out from between the two moons, pushing shock waves through the air, knocking everyone off their feet. The Spiritons out in the open light, melted to the ground, left in agonizing pain as they slowly came back to life. Valgard ran deeper into the dark forest to escape the light. Brogan shouted to the warriors, to retreat. Keeva stood back up, and pointing to Jorin, she rattled off words for a spell, but nothing happened, waving her hands, she tried again, still nothing. She ordered the creatures to attack, but released from her spell, they ran off into the forest. Keeva was left powerless. She shrieked with anger.

Sal and Rin lifted Abby to her feet. Rydan's wings exploded from his back, when he woke to see two men holding Abby. Seizing the moment to save her, he leapt into the air, swooping down to snatch her from their hands, and wrapping his arms around her waist, he flew off with her.

"No Rydan! Put me down!" Abby cried.

Stunned, Jorin watched the flying man take off into the air with Abby, disappearing over the tree tops. His choice was made; he couldn't save Abby first. He had to move quickly if he was going to try and save Akira. He pulled out the small bottle from the leather satchel, put it to Akira's lips and poured the yellow mix into her mouth. He searched the sky, but Abby was gone. Picking Akira up into his arms, he looked down at her pale face; fearing he was too late turned his stomach. Standing at the edge of the cliff, Jorin held her tight, closed his eyes, and fell backward off the cliff. Tumble picked up Luken and the others followed, leaving Keeva in the field with the dead.

Keeva screamed when she watched them disappear off the cliff. "Trevina! Trevina! I know you are here somewhere! You think your stupid little tricks can stop me?"

Trevina stepped out from hiding. "You will be stopped."

"You can't possibly believe those girls can stop me? One is dead and the other no longer has a piece of stone."

A smile crossed Trevina's face. "We will see."

"So, old woman it looks like just you and me. You will pay for your father's betrayal and you will die," she said threateningly. Her power returned. She shot her hands out forward, blasting fire toward Trevina, but the flames shot past her, leaving her unharmed. Holding the fake stone in her hand, she raised the stone to cast a spell, but the glow of the stone faded. She knew instantly something was wrong.

A playful smile crossed Trevina's face. "I will not die today." Before Keeva could cast a spell with the other stone, Trevina's body became transparent and disappeared.

Keeva stood alone. In a rage, she spun in a circle, fire blew up from the ground, flames climbing up her body, and rolling over her head. She leaned back, releasing a screech that shook the mountains. Raising her arms, she disappeared in a fiery explosion.

## 41

Loss

The violent wind retreated when the two moons separated and returned to their original route across the sky. The river swiftly carried the tired swimmers over the smooth bedrocks and around sharp bends, finally releasing them when the narrow banks widened.

Jorin struggled to carry Akira's limp body from the river, shivering, he fell to his knees to lay her on the shore. Tumble carried Luken by the back of his pants, dropping him onto the sand.

Sal crawled out of the river, coughing up water, searching for Rin, and not seeing him on the bank, he panicked. "Rin!" He stumbled down the shore as he searched the raging river. "Rin! Where are you, Brother!" Spotting Brogan further down river helping Rin walk, he rushed to them. "Damn it, Rin. You let go of my hand." He took over Brogan's place to help his brother.

You landed on me, you idiot, Rin signed.

"Was that you? I thought I hit a fish," he smirked.

Brogan stood over Akira's lifeless body and watched Jorin frantically search his shirt and take out a 'Piece of Five'. "I thought Keeva had the stone?"

"Trevina gave me a fake stone to give Keeva. This is the real one. Please be quiet. I need to think." He could barely concentrate as his mind raced with panic. Doubting himself, he smashed his fist onto his forehead, trying to remember what Trevina instructed him to do. He had given the potion to the girl who died, now he had to use the stone to revive her. He clasped the stone in his hand, eyes closed, he pictured in his mind her wound healing from the inside. Minutes passed, he opened his eyes, but nothing was happening. "What am I doing wrong?" He shook her. "Akira, please wake up!" He quickly searched his mind. "I gave her the potion and I was supposed to use the stone." He soon realized he forgot something. "Damn it!" He ripped open her shirt, clasping the stone in one hand, slid his other hand over her heart, closed his eyes, and pictured her wound healing. The stone glowed. He felt a warm sensation travel down his arm, through his hand, and onto Akira's chest. His heart jumped when he felt her chest move. Jorin and Brogan watched with amazement as colour returned to her pale skin. Her eyelids flickered and her mouth opened, gasping for air. Little bubbles formed around the wound on her stomach, sizzling, soon the bubbles faded, leaving no signs of an injury.

"Abby!" She bolted upright.

Jorin hugged Akira.

"Where's Abby?"

"She's gone. A flying man flew off with her," Jorin said.

"A flying man?" She tried to stand up, but feeling weak she collapsed to the ground. "I need to find her."

"We will, but you need to rest."

Still stunned, but relieved, Brogan knelt next to her. "How is this possible? We watched her die."

Akira put her hand to her stomach. Abby's absent face flashed in her mind. "Abby stabbed me. I was dead?"

"Yes. Abby was under Keeva's spell."

She didn't remember taking her last breath, but remembered the pain she felt as Abby's sword cut through her insides, and feeling the warm blood drip from her hands as the metallic smell of her own blood filled her nose; with no relief to the agonizing pain, she remembered almost welcoming death.

"How did you bring me back?"

"Trevina gave me a potion to revive you. She didn't know which sister would die, but now Keeva believes you are dead."

Tired and weak, Akira rolled over onto her side, remembering the last moment she saw her sister.

Tumble sat on a boulder next to the boy. "What is your name?"

He looked up to the large man with red hair. "Luken." He shivered.

"My name is Tumble. What were you doing at the battle?"

"It's a long story." He watched Tumble sway his head.

Jorin made his rounds to check the men for injuries. "Tum...are you all right?"

"I'm fine, I don't need any of your stinky salve," he grumbled.

Jorin didn't see any injuries, other than a few scratches, but Tumble's skin was pale. "Where did the boy come from?"

"Apparently it's a long story."

Tumble slapped Jorin's hand away from his face. "I'm fine. Just..." Tumble slid off the rock into Jorin's arms.

Helping Tumble to the ground, Jorin panicked when he saw the arrow protruding out his back. He cut open Tumble's vest. The arrow was deep. "I'm sorry Tum, this is going to hurt."

"Well, in that case, maybe I should have a real Healer pull it out." He tried to joke. His eyes popped with pain when Jorin pushed the shaft straight through his body so the point of the arrow poked out the front of his upper chest. "Dragon guts! Jorin! I wasn't ready!" he shouted out in pain just before he passed out.

Jorin broke the point off, rubbed salve around the broken end, and pulled the shaft of the arrow out from his back. Watching the scab form, Jorin sat with his friend, waiting for him to wake up.

After a few days, Akira was sitting up and eating, listening to the men talk about the battle. Tired from the sleepless nights, she closed her eyes and rubbed her temples. Every minute of the day or night, her mind tortured her with visions of Abby stabbing her, even when she tried to focus on killing Senus, her mind drifted back to her sister.

"What do we do now?" Sal asked.

"We have to stop her. She'll be looking for the rest of the stones," Tumble said.

"How? Keeva's purple clouds hover above the land, she could be anywhere," Sal said.

"I'm going after Abby," Akira snapped back.

"We have no clue where to start looking for her. She might be dead," Sal said without thinking and received a quick kick to his shin from Rin.

"She's not dead. With or without you, I'm going to find her no matter how long it takes," she snapped angrily.

"We will help you find her." Brogan nodded with a reassuring smile and placed a cup of tea into her hand.

"Thank you," she whispered.

Luken told his story of how he was captured by the Spiritons. Telling them how Senus let him go, but he decided to follow the Spiritons instead of going home. "It was a bad choice," he said quietly.

"I'm glad you followed them, otherwise Senus may have killed me."

Luken gave a quick smile before his eyes dropped down to stare at her stomach, hoping to catch a glimpse of the mark, wanting to see if it was the same as his.

Akira frowned and covered her stomach; this was the fifth time she caught him staring at her. "What are you staring at?"

Luken's eyes darted away. "Ah...sorry...nothing."

"Strange boy," she mumbled to herself.

For over a week, Brogan watched her with concern. Each day the colour of her smooth skin glowed brighter and healthier, her bloodshot eyes cleared leaving her blue eyes sparkling. Standing over her, he watched her beautiful face, sleeping under the sun as she lay on the sandy shore. Sensing someone, she opened her eyes to see him standing above her, only wearing his pants, and holding her clothes. She stared at his bare chest, then looked down to see his vest covering her body. Realizing she was only wearing her undergarments, she panicked.

Clutching his vest, she tried to hide more of herself underneath. "What are you doing with my clothes?" she asked angrily.

His brows wrinkled at her tone. "You took off your clothes to wash them in the river and left them to dry. You fell asleep in your undergarments. It's not very lady-like to leave yourself exposed, especially with men around. So I covered you. Next time I will leave you exposed to whatever might be lurking out there," he grumbled.

"Give me my clothes." She whipped out her hand at him.

Dropping the clothes next to her, he walked away. "I fixed the holes, by the way."

Infuriated, she ruffled up his vest into a ball. She blushed at the thought of him watching her sleep. Hesitating at first she moved his vest to her nose, sniffing his scent. His vest had been washed, but there was still a faint smell of his sweat. Realizing what she was doing, she bolted upright, flinging his vest away from her. Flustered, she struggled to get her clothes on. She ran her hand down the front of her shirt; the hole had been stitched closed.

Next to the fire, Tumble watched Brogan skewer lizard meat onto a pointy stick. Brogan looked up when Akira stood next to him. With a smile, she held his vest out to him.

"Thank you."

Her smile drew his attention, making him hesitate in taking the vest. He returned a smile as his hand blindly searched for the vest. Tumble's eyes darted between the two, Akira's blushing face, and Brogan's warming smile. Akira walked away from them. Tumble looked back at Brogan's bare chest.

"Just what have you two been up to?"

"Nothing. She was sleeping half naked next to the river, so I covered her."

"Is that right? So seeing her half naked you felt the need to go over and cover her?" he questioned with concern. "You wouldn't happen to have feelings for her, would you?"

Brogan's eyes jumped to him. "What? Of course not. Her mood swings are maddening. Besides, Jorin likes her." Feeling flustered, he struggled with a piece of meat and stabbed his finger with the stick. "Ouch, damn it."

Tumble smirked, he wasn't convinced.

Akira spent every moment trying to figure out where to start looking for Abby. She replayed the battle right to the dreadful moment. Each morning was the same, she was relentless with the repeating questions. She knelt next to Jorin. He could feel her stare burning through his back as he pretended to be asleep. He heard her make a noise on purpose, trying to wake him, but he continued to ignore her. She pulled on his shoulder, making him roll toward her.

"Tell me again what happened, tell me every detail!" She drilled him for information.

Jorin flipped away from her. "I have told you everything I know. It was a man with wings. As soon as her spell was broken, he flew down, grabbed her, and took off into the sky."

"Which way did he go?"

"I don't know. I was busy trying to save you," he said with an irritable tone.

She was silent for a moment. "You were to save Abby first."

He rolled back to her. "Again, I'm sorry. I did what I could," he whispered. He thought there was no point explaining anymore as she had already set her mind to believe he chose to save her rather than Abby.

Brogan had enough of Akira's accusing manner and pulled her to her feet. "You need to stop blaming Jorin. He saved you both."

"But Abby is gone. I told him no matter what, save Abby first."

"Are you even hearing what you are being told? It was Jorin who released Abby from her spell, if he hadn't she would still be under Keeva's control. There was nothing any of us could have done. Are you not even grateful you are alive?"

"Yes, I am, but..." she choked as she bowed her head. "How do we find her?"

Brogan dropped his tensed shoulders as he watched tears drip from her eyes; all he wanted to do was take her into his arms to comfort her.

"He flew west." Luken said shyly.

"What?" Akira asked and wiped her eyes.

"The man with the wings, he went west. I think your sister called him Rydan."

The group stared at the boy.

"So, she knew him," Brogan said.

"Why didn't you tell us this before?" Tumble asked.

"I didn't know it was important."

Akira rushed to the red headed boy and hugged him. He blushed at her embrace. While the others discussed their next journey, Akira's fingers fiddled with the stone around her neck. If she knew his name, maybe the man with wings saved her.

Her glossy eyes caught Jorin's attention. By the expression on her face, he knew she was apologizing. His mouth curled a smile and gave a slight nod at her unspoken apology.

Sal looked to Rin, making signs with his hands.

"He wants to know if we are heading west." Sal said.

Akira stood up with certainty. "No, back to Taltorn."

## 42

### The Isle of Adore

Rydan found a safe place to land. As his feet touched the ground, he slowly released Abby onto the soft grass. He knelt next to her, feeling her sweaty face; she was burning up.

"We have to go back." Sobbing, she dropped her face into her hands. "I killed her. How could I have done such a horrible thing?"

"It wasn't your fault. You were under Keeva's spell. There was nothing you could have done."

"Please leave me alone."

"I can't."

"I have no one now."

His wings wrapped around her body as he pulled her into a hug. "I will take you home."

"I have no home." Her body shook as she cried harder.

"I will take you to my home." His wings opened wide, he scooped her up into his arms and leapt into the air. Like a child, she cuddled into his chest and closed her eyes.

Rydan left the safety of the land and flew out over the Great Water. A yellow haze glowed above the horizon just before the sun broke the line and touched the sky. He flexed his muscles to push his wings down harder, forcing the air to carry him higher. Cutting through the wind, he listened to the slight whistle from the wind passing over his wings and felt the warm current sweep across his feathers. Taking in long breaths of fresh air, he marvelled at the power of flight; he never felt so free and alive. His eyesight was that of an eagle, seeing for miles, and the sight of home brought relief. Abby shivered as Rydan neared the mountain. Gliding effortlessly, he dove downward and caught an updraft that carried him up to the castle on the Isle of Adore.

Guards on the wall were the first to see the flying man. Startled, they sounded the alarm and followed him into the main courtyard. Rydan landed and tried to wake Abby, but she was unconscious. He carefully laid her down as his wings folded up against his back. With weapons drawn, the guards rushed in to circle the intruder. People quickly filled the courtyard, gasping and pointing. Rydan scanned the frightened faces; he was so happy to be home, he forgot he was no longer human.

His eyes climbed up the polished stone stairs to find a man with a long white beard standing at the top. The self proclaimed King of Adore, flaunting his richness with a white fur cape hanging off one shoulder, a brown leather shirt with beautiful scroll embroidery, gold buttons, a collar of heavy gold chains circled his neck, and his leather pants tucked into his black leather boots with gold buckles.

"Don't move!" a guard shouted.

"I'm Rydan, son of the King!"

The crowd gasped again. Hearing the shocking announcement, the Queen rushed out and latched onto the King's arm. She was thin and delicate looking, her dark brown hair was braided up into a round bun on the back of her head, and she wore a long yellow gown with rows of white embroidered flowers running the length of her dress.

"How dare you come here and impersonate my son. My son is dead!" the King roared.

"I'm alive, Father!"

"My son is not a creature of the sky. Seize him!"

The guards pushed him to the ground, bound his hands, and wrapped rope around his body to pin his wings to his back. They hauled him up to his bare feet.

"Please you need to let me explain. Mother, please look at me. I'm Rydan."

When the middle-aged woman lifted her long gown from the floor, a servant was quick to rush to her hand to help her down the stairs. She wanted to believe her son was alive; she wanted to believe with all her heart. The guards held him tight when she studied his rough appearance. His soft brown eyes made her heart race. She lifted his hair off the back of his neck to view the childhood scar. She pulled the necklace out from under his shirt to view the bone flower. She clasped his face and slid her hands over his skin to feel the shape of his face. Tears rolled down her cheeks. "My boy. You're alive." She wrapped her arms around him. "You're home!"

A beautiful young woman with long blonde hair and dressed in a long green dress, watched from the crowd. She expressed a face of disgust, horrified by Rydan's appearance. This is not the man to be King—he's a creature.

The crowd parted and a young man on a horse rode into the courtyard. Wearing clothes like the King, his eyes took in the details of his mother hugging a bound man with wings.

Rydan turned to him. "Crevon!"

Crevon slid off his horse and walked toward Rydan.

"Crevon, I have returned."

Crevon's eyes widened with surprise. "Rydan? Is it really you?"

"Yes, my Brother."

"I don't understand. We thought you were dead." Hardly believing his eyes, Crevon watched the wings disappear into his brother's back. He stepped closer to examine his smooth and unmarked skin. He untied Rydan's hands and gave him a rough hug. "Brother, do my eyes deceive me or do you have wings now?"

Rydan nodded as his mother held him tight.

The King walked down the stairs with a scowl on his face. "You will tell us what happened," his father demanded.

"I will, but first help Abby, she's sick."

His father's frown deepened at his son's lack of respect.

Hearing voices, Abby rolled onto her back to curl her fingers into the cool grass, her feverish eyes blinked at the white marble statue of a man towering over her. Zipping over her body, small birds rushed into the neatly trimmed hedges, chirping as they darted between the branches. Beyond the hedges, marble columns lined a narrow channel of water running down the middle of the courtyard, and on either side, the ornate buildings stretched up into the clouds with hundreds of windows peering down on her. Sea birds circled in the sky, and higher yet, her eyes climbed up to view the hugging mountain. It was almost peaceful, if it weren't for all the loud voices.

"The future King has returned!" someone from the crowd shouted, making the people cheer.

"King?" Abby tried to focus on Rydan, but sunk back into darkness.

Not willing to risk that it was, or wasn't Rydan, the woman in the green dress raced toward him, she flung her arms around his neck, kissing him on the lips. Surprised, he pushed her back.

"Rydan, it's me, your fiancée."

Rydan was taken back for a moment, he had almost forgotten about Selene; they were to be married.

With her family of high standing, arrangements were made at the polite force of his parents. An arrangement as far as he was concerned was only a duty to the Kingdom. He had spent his life pleasing his parents, but dreamt of exploring unknown lands, and against their wishes, he left on his adventure before the wedding. Selene only ever had one plan and that was to be married to the King.

Abby's head rolled back and forth in agony, the fever reached its highest point and the nightmares continued. Dragons circled the purple sky. Darkness suddenly surrounded her. She shouted and banged on the black walls, trying to escape. A door opened in front of her, the bright light made her cover her eyes briefly, she looked up to see Akira standing in the doorway. Abby reached out to touch her, but in slow motion, Akira's bloody body fell away from her. Abby looked down at her hands covered in blood. She sat up in bed and screamed.

Healer Morcant slowly pushed her back down on the bed. "There will be nothing I can do, if her fever does not break."

Rydan sat in a chair beside her, gently dabbing her forehead with a cold wet cloth. He spent every moment he could with her. Crevon stepped into the room and shook his head at his brother's obsession.

Rydan and Crevon are a year apart. The facial features are similar, but Crevon has black hair and stands a few inches shorter than his brother. As brothers go they are close, but have different ideas on what life should be. Rydan has no interest in ruling the Kingdom, wanting to be free to travel and explore, but his father is determined to make his first born the King. Second in line, Crevon accepts his place within the family and does his best for the Kingdom, with or without his father's approval.

"Rydan, three days have passed and Father is growing impatient," Crevon said.

"I know, but he will have to wait."

"Brother, you are pushing the boundaries."

"Tell Father, I will meet with the Council of Five when Abby is better." Rydan dipped his two fingers into the healing tea and lightly touched her lips so the liquid could run into her mouth.

Crevon watched his brother's tenderness toward the girl; he wasn't stupid, he could see there was more to this friendship than he was letting on. This friendship he has with her is going to cause some problems. He turned to see Selene standing in the shadows of the room.

Selene slipped out of the shadows, wearing a velvet red dress, and her blonde hair was braided into thin ropes that coiled into a bun on the top of her head. She stood next to Rydan. Her fingers gently caressed his back from one shoulder to the other, she leaned down so the side of her face touched his. She glared at Abby with possessive eyes, hoping she would not survive.

Problem number one, Crevon thought.

"Well, I guess I will go and deliver the bad news to Father. Remember me well, if I do not return," he said with a smirked and left the room.

"Please, Rydan you need to eat and rest. I will watch over her." She took his hand away from Abby's forehead.

Rydan stretched his arms up above his head, he was tired and hungry. "Maybe I will go rest for a bit. Let me know if she wakes." He stood.

She smiled sweetly up at him, but he continued to stare at Abby. "Go rest. I will take care of her."

"Thank you, Selene." He left the room.

Selene sat on the edge of the bed and dipped the cloth into the bowl of cold water. As she placed the wet cloth on Abby's forehead, a flash of jealousy rushed through her. Every day he sits next to her warm body, touching her pretty face, and touching her lips with his wet fingers. Who is she? And why does he care so much about her? She will ruin my only chance to be Queen. She moved the cloth across Abby's forehead, slowly sliding it down to cover her nose and mouth. Curiously, she held the cloth lightly to her face, making it difficult to breathe. She is very ill. She could die any moment and there would be no reason to question her death. Her hand jerked away when the Healer entered the room with a bowl of fresh water.

"Oh Selene, you shouldn't have to stay with her. I will look after her," he said.

"I don't mind. I would do anything for Rydan." She moved the cloth back to Abby's forehead.

A bit surprised, he smiled at her infrequent generosity. "Well then, I will stay and keep you company."

Annoyed, she huffed at his eagerness to help. "I just remember there's something I must attend. Do you mind?" She handed him the cloth and strolled out of the room.

Rydan returned a short time later and continued to care for Abby. He cringed when he heard the hollering and the heavy footsteps thundering down the hall, a sound he didn't hear too often, but knew its intent.

His father burst into the room. "Rydan!"

"Shhh...not so loud."

Stunned for a second by his son's disrespect, he watched Rydan put a wet cloth on her forehead.

"I am tired of waiting for an explanation from you!" he shouted.

"Why are you so angry?"

"How should I react? For over a year your mother and I grieved over our son's death. Now you return as this creature, with no explanation to how or why this happened. Who is this girl? Did I not tell you Piranus was dangerous? What am I to tell the families waiting for their loved ones to come home? The ones you swore to protect! You were to be King and now look at you! What do I tell Selene's parents? All is fine, but my son is half bird now! And the Council of Five is demanding your presence!" The King waited for a reply, but Rydan continued to ignore him. It was obvious Rydan didn't care what anyone thought and was obsessed with caring for the girl, qualities he admired in his son, but there were protocols to be made.

"You think I'm a creature?"

"What? No, I mean..."

"They can wait," Rydan said quietly.

"What happened to you and who is this girl you saved?"

Rydan's disheartened eyes glanced up to his father. "You don't understand. It was Abby, who saved me. I was at my end and death seemed to be my only option to escape the sorceress, then Abby arrived. I want to tell you what happened to those men...and myself, but I can't find the words. The only thing keeping me sane is to make Abby well again."

Sorceress? The agony on his son's face scared him. He had no idea what broke his son and had no idea how to help him. He unclenched his fists and lowered his tense shoulders into a long sigh. He put his hands on Rydan's shoulders. "I will hold off the Council of Five." He left the room quietly.

Rydan laid his head on the edge of Abby's bed and dozed off. Sometime later, he woke to movement. Her fingers started to move and her eyelids fluttered before they opened. He yelled for the Healer.

The Healer felt her forehead. "Her fever has broken."

"I'm thirsty," she whispered.

Rydan held the cup of water to her lips as she slowly drank. She gave him a weak smile.

"You had me so worried." He wiped her wet chin.

"You're going to be a King?"

"Shhh...just rest."

Selene stood in the doorway, her eyes narrowed as she dug her fingernails into her forearm.

## 43

### The Spark

Akira rolled over onto her back, listening to the rocks tumble under the water from the steady force of the river. Her eyes climbed the high cliff above her to see the mist linger along the edge. Today they were heading back to Taltorn and it made her nervous. She was worried what they would find and wouldn't find, but she needed to know if Abby returned to the battlefield.

As they climbed the rock wall, they watched brown hairy creatures, about four-feet long, with claws, narrow necks, and no tails, easily sprint past them and disappear into their dens, carved into the cliff-side. Above, the nervous creatures pushed on loose gravel, making small avalanches fall on the intruders below. Sal cursed at the annoying creatures, shaking his fist up at them. Pulling himself up to a small den, he heard growling from the darkness.

"Show yourself, you stinkin' rat. I'll cut you up for our supper tonight," he shouted into the hole. His head jerked back and almost lost his grip when a large glob of sticky spit flew out of the darkness to hit him in the face. Trying to wipe the spit, his hands became sticky; soon his shirt and pants were covered in the brown goo. He continued to climb, swearing profusely as dirt and debris stuck to his hands. By the time he reached the top of the cliff, he was covered in thick clumps of dirt and twigs. He struggled to remove the caked-on mess as his brother laughed at his plight.

They made the long hike back to the place that not long ago was full of evil. The late afternoon sun beamed down on the remains of the battle, swords and broken weapons sticking out of the ground like tombstones, and the bones of the fallen picked clean by the hungry creatures of the forest, fortunately there were more of Keeva's creatures killed than men. Brogan and the others did their best to gather the remains of the warriors, making a fire so they could send them to their new-life.

Akira found her crossbow and sword. She spotted Abby's blue scarf, caught in a tree branch, swaying in the breeze. She pulled the scarf free and walked to the cliff to stand at the place where she last saw her sister. Wishing all this had been a bad dream, she put her hand to her stomach and felt a twinge of pain—it wasn't Abby, she repeated in her head. She closed her eyes and brushed the scarf across her cheek as she remembered the tears in Abby's dark evil eyes. "I'll find you."

Akira spent the next two days calling for Sable, Samson and Newt, but Samson was the only one to return and flew to her shoulder. She stroked his silky feathers and sent him back into the sky to search for Abby; she sighed at his quick return.

Hiding themselves inside the forest, they watched the quiet fortress of Taltorn. The gates were closed; there were no signs of the enemy or even the guards of Taltorn. Rin and Sal shot arrows, hitting the tower tops, but nothing happened. They ran the risk of the enemy hiding inside, but decided to chance it. Weapons drawn, they cautiously pushed the gates open to find only a black horse standing in front of them. Excitedly, Akira rushed past them to wrap her arms around Sable's neck. She carefully inspected Sable for any injuries, and finding nothing she hugged him again. She checked her saddlebag and was relieved to find Abby's book still there.

She called for Abby as she searched the empty village, but again she was left disheartened. She called for Newt, but he was still missing. Remembering Trevina telling Hental about a book of spells, she headed straight for her hut. Trevina's room was dishevelled from others searching for valuables. Her eyes shifted to the black dragon skull sitting in the corner of the room, looking just as frightening as a live one. Standing in front of it, she raised her sword and with all her might she struck the skull, splitting it into two, the sides fell away to reveal a brown leather book.

"What is it?" Jorin asked

"Trevina's book of spells." Holding the book in her hands, she wondered if Trevina survived.

Sal and Rin arrived with seven well-packed horses. Akira opened Abby's book to the map and thought about the stones. The yellow symbol flashed briefly on the other side of the Taltorn Mountains along with the red symbol, the blue was still on the Isle of Adore, and the green was still in the Taltorn district. "We need to head south first to find the green stone, and then we will head west to follow the yellow stone. Maybe the stones will help find Abby." They mounted their horses, kicking hard with their heels and snapping their reins, they rode off.

With the help of the map, they rode out from the green trees, onto the barren land, and weaved through the graveyard of burnt trees. They were close as the symbol of the green leaf glowed brighter on the map, but the mountain split into two trails, bringing them to a halt. One trail was wide enough for horses, but the other trail was too narrow to take the horses through.

"Which way do we go?" Tumble asked.

Brogan ran his finger across the map, but it did not indicate which way to go. "We should split up. Akira and I will leave our horses here and go this way, Sal and Rin you go the other way. If you find nothing, ride back and meet us here. Tumble you stay here with Jorin and Luken," Brogan said.

Brogan led the way through the winding narrow trail between the mountains. Akira shielded her face with her hand from the scorching sun. Frustrated with the heat, she stopped walking to wipe the sweat from her forehead.

She peeled off her shirt. "I don't see anything." She held the leather bag of water up to her lips to take a drink.

Brogan turned to see water dribble off her lips, down her slender neck to her chest, over her tight vest, and down her bare stomach. He whipped his water bag up to his mouth, trying to divert his eyes from her glistening skin, and forcing himself to start walking again.

"Maybe we should go back," Akira said.

Brogan said nothing, trying not to look back at her.

"Are you listening to me?" Brogan stopped, and she walked into the back of him. "Why are you stopping?" With no answer, she leaned to look around him.

The trail led them to a large open area and her eyes followed the height of the massive tree standing before them. The old monstrous tree still stood; burnt so black it should have crumbled into ashes long ago. Its agonizing death left the burnt limbs twisted and contorted, eerie and haunting. The blazing sun continued to torture the tree, making it crack and creak in the heat. They walked around the unusual looking tree.

Akira shielded her eyes with her hand as she tried to view the top of the tree. Spotting a hole in the trunk, Trevina's riddle crossed her mind. "The piece of green continues to move, but never leaves its place of hiding."

"What?"

"At one time that tree was growing, moving upwards. There's a hole in the tree. We should check to see if the stone is in the tree." She pointed up.

"I think this tree has been dead for a long time, but it's worth a try." Brogan jumped up to grab onto the first branch to see if it would hold his weight, satisfied he pulled himself up, and Akira followed.

"So, do you have a plan, once we find the green stone?" He struggled to the next branch.

"Yes."

He stopped and looked down.

She hesitated. "No, other than to head west to find Abby."

Almost at the top, Akira climbed up next to Brogan. Balancing herself on his branch, she latched onto his upper arm to curl her body around in front of him to reach the hole in the trunk of the tree. She slipped. With quick reflexes, Brogan grabbed her wrist with one hand and held onto the branch across from him. She dangled briefly before being pulled up against his body and into his arms. Heart racing, she looked down to the ground. She suddenly felt small in his arms and slowly looked up to his face; her heart raced faster.

He smiled. "It's quite the view from up here." Not wanting her to put her hand into the hole, he moved her away from the trunk.

"View?" She looked out to his view. The only thing of colour was the rich blue sky, stretching out over the land between Taltorn and Piranus. The once mighty volcano sat dormant in the distant background and jagged lava rock formations cut up through the ground like fingers reaching up to the sky. The land was harsh and barren, nothing could grow, not even Bowin River could bring life to the useless land, but the shades of greys and blacks gave the land depth; there was a certain beauty about the colourless land. She glanced back to see Brogan stick his hand into the hole and dig his hand under a birds nest. He pulled out the stone.

"You found it!" Her blue eyes flashed excitedly.

When she reached for the stone, he snatched it away from her reach. Stunned, she raised her eyebrows.

"Do I get a reward?" he asked.

She stared, unsure if he was joking or not. "A reward? Just what kind of reward are you expecting?" She frowned at his amused face. "Give me the stone."

She reached out to him, but stopped when she felt something move oddly below her feet. They both started to lose their balance when the tree started to shake. Looking down, they watched the branches sway, crossing back and forth in long sweeping motions. Strangely, there was no wind. The protesting tree groaned, branches grinding, twisting, curling, stretching upwards—the haunting tree was alive. A twisted branch shot up from below, snaking around Akira's legs and squeezing. Brogan grabbed her hands, but before he could help, his legs were leashed together and the branch ripped him from her hands, flinging him out to hang upside down. Akira dropped to the branch she was standing on, wrapping her arms around to hang on, but the strong grip peeled her off, whipping her out into the air, swinging her upside down, below Brogan.

They struggled to get free as the branches swung them back and forth through the air. They covered their heads when they were rushed back toward the centre of the tree, crashing into the hard black bark. The branches continued to swing them up and down, slapping and smashing their flailing bodies against the other branches. Brogan bent up to his waist, taking his knife from his belt, slicing through the air toward Akira's branch, but missed. Akira was whipped up and down between the branches at a frightening speed. Below Brogan, she felt herself snap out to the side. As she passed by, Brogan stabbed her branch with his knife. The branch jerked wildly, releasing her legs. Falling, Akira fell on the branches below her, riding them briefly to fall onto the next branch below, working her way to the ground. Jumping from the last branch she hit the ground. Battered and bruised, she looked up to see Brogan still in the tree's clutches. She grabbed her crossbow and followed the swinging branch.

"Shoot!" he shouted.

"I can't, I might hit you!"

"Shoot! Damn it!"

When he raced by, she shot her arrow, hitting his branch. Released, Brogan bounced off the branches on his way down to the ground, and landed on his back.

She rushed to him. "Are you all right?"

He coughed. "Yes."

They both looked up to watch the branches creak back into place. The tree stood still, looking just as dead as before.

She viewed the gash on his arm. "I hit you!" she panicked.

"I'm okay."

"I'm sorry!" Disdraught, she searched for more injuries.

He moaned slightly. "A bit bruised, but I'm fine."

She became angry. "Why did you tell me to shoot? I could've killed you!"

He took her hand. "I'm okay. Are you all right?"

His gentle touch surprised her, making her eyes dart up to his concerned face.

"Were you hurt?" he asked.

Suddenly feeling nervous and speechless, she nodded, but realizing she answered wrong, she shook her head. Her heart quickened. Why is he holding my hand? With eyes locked, they both swallowed at the same time. Even without looking, she could see his chest was rising faster. She wanted to turn away from the long and intense moment, but couldn't take her eyes off him, asking herself why he suddenly seemed different. His other hand moved up toward her face, touching her cheek. Her face flushed and her insides fluttered. Whether or not he was going to kiss her, she wanted to kiss him; she closed her eyes and leaned in slightly. He leaned in. Startling them, they both jumped at the sound from behind, breaking their hands apart.

"Brogan!" Sal interrupted.

Akira jumped to her feet, looking flustered.

The brothers, both noticed their red faces and wondered if they interrupted something. A big grin crossed Sal's face as he poked Rin in the ribs with his elbow.

"We heard the crashing." Jorin rushed to her. "Are you all right?" He lightly touched the side of her face.

A quick jab of jealousy sparked Brogan, making him look away, cursing himself for being so stupid. There was no announcement from either Akira or Jorin of their intent to be together, but his friend's feelings for Akira had already been made clear with a kiss.

"Yes, but Brogan is hurt," she said with a bright red face, avoiding Jorin's eyes, looking away as if she was caught doing something wrong.

Jorin inspected Brogan's wound.

"We were trying to get the green stone from the tree, but it attacked us," she said nervously.

Sal looked up to the dead tree. "So, the stone was in the tree, and the tree was alive? Then what happened on the ground?" He scratched his beard as he smiled at her. "Did you get the stone?"

"Ah...I don't..." She almost forgot about the stone and searched the ground.

Brogan held up the stone as the men circled to congratulate him. His mind told him to forget about her, but torturing himself, his stupidly searched for her blue eyes; their eyes met briefly between the celebrating.

Akira led the way back through the passage between the Taltorn Mountains. Even though the bright clouds floating below them were calm and quiet, they still felt uneasy, and readied their weapons as they watched for bloodlings. Akira touched her cheek and glanced behind to see all eyes looking her way, except for Brogan's. As they rode out of the narrow passage, they were surprised to see the beautiful but menacing burning vines brown and dying, hacked and chopped down to its roots. Akira turned her head to view the black mountains. Where are you Abby?

***

Hental arrived at the black cave, but Trevina wasn't there. He built a fire and hung a pot of water over the flames. Worried about her, he stared into the darkness as he chewed on his rough fingernails. Startled, his body jerked when he heard a voice.

"Is my tea ready?" Trevina asked.

Hental jumped to his feet and made a place for her to sit. "You had me worried. Are you all right?"

Pouting, Trevina pulled out her chipped teacup from her cloak. "This was my favourite cup and look at it now."

Hental frowned at her frivolous concern. "Have you had more visions?"

"Yes, and it is interesting where your destiny will take you, especially when it is shown to you," she said and hummed to herself.

Hental stared at her with confusion, but that was normal. "What happened at the battle?"

"A turn of events surprised me."

"Did Jorin save one of the girls?"

"Yes, he saved Akira."

"So, Abby died." He shook his head with pity.

"No, she did not die. Akira died."

He raised a single eyebrow. "What? You just said Jorin saved Akira."

"Akira was killed by her sister."

"Killed her sister? Now, I am lost." He scratched his head with confusion.

"Akira was killed by her sister, so one girl was dead when the moons touched. Jorin brought Akira back to life with the Piece of Five and the potion I gave him. Abby was surprisingly saved by a flying man."

"Are you making this up?" he questioned with disbelief.

She shook her head.

"What did you do at the battle?"

"Not much." She shrugged her shoulders as if it was no big deal. "After the battle, I spent a couple of weeks in the village. A black horse showed up one day. I was going to ride him here, but before leaving, I spent the day gathering leaves for Baby, and when I returned, the horse was gone and so was my book of spells." She slouched with an annoyed sigh.

"Did your vision show you who has it?"

"No, unfortunately that vision eludes me." Her frown deepened.

"Do I take you to Elowen to be with our people?"

"No, we will be taking a different path."

Hental waited impatiently, raising his eyebrow, as nothing was ever a straight answer with her.

She held her chipped cup out, wanting tea. "We are going to Belinos."

## 44

Getting Married

Alone, Abby viewed the white drapery hanging from the ceiling and stretching out to the four bedposts. She felt small in the large comfortable bed. Across the room a fire glowed below the white marble mantle piece, the walls were painted with cheery murals of people dancing, and a glass bowl with white blossoms sat on top of a small table. Her head rolled across the plush pillow to look at the sunlight shining through the two large windows. Everything seemed bright and beautiful until she held up her hands; horrified, her eyes widened at the sight of blood dripping from her hands, she slammed her eyes shut. Shaking her head, she opened them again to see no blood. Tears streamed down her face. Akira. She spent weeks in bed crying, grieving for her sister. Rydan forced her to eat and drink, and each day he tried to coax her out of bed, but each day she refused.

A small brown bird landed on the windowsill, its body dipped up and down, flicking its white-fanned tail as it surveyed Abby's room. Puffing up its chest, the bird sang a high piercing song. Abby rolled over and watched the bird perform. Rydan arrived, but watched from the slightly opened door. The performance was long and loud. She curled her pillow around her ears, but nothing could block the annoying sound. She threw her pillow at the window, but the bird flew into the room to sit on top of the chair. It dipped a couple of times and continued with its song. Abby gathered up her blankets over her head, wanting to scream. In a huff, she whipped her blankets off and stood. Rydan almost rushed in to help. She threw herself into a wild frenzy; waving her arms, trying to scare the bird from her room. As she chased, the bird flew to the mantle over the fireplace, and then to the table next to her bed before dashing out the window. When she leaned out to reach for the shutters she took in a deep breath, and a sweet scent of flowers filled her nose. Closing her eyes, she breathed in again, taking in the fresh air. Her body feeling refreshed, she opened her eyes to the stunning view overlooking the water, glistening in the morning sun. The view was beautiful, just like Rydan had described. She stepped in front of a long-standing mirror to admire her beautiful long white nightgown. Delicate beadwork lined the edge of the neckline, down the centre of her stomach, and curled into dainty scroll patterns. She ran her hands down the silky material to her hips and lifting her gown off the floor, she spun in a circle. Rydan smiled at her simple enjoyment. Her moment ended, she stopped to view her reflection; she was just as alone as she was before. For a second she envisioned Akira's face in the mirror. The last of her family was gone and she had no idea where she belonged in this world. What do I do now?

"Good morning." Rydan entered the room and placed the plate of food on her table. He turned to ask her how she was feeling, but changed his mind when he saw the tears welling up in her eyes. He lightly touched her shoulder as he passed by her to leave the room. "I will see you tomorrow."

She looked up when the little bird flew to the top of the mirror. Dipping and twitching its tail, it flew to the table top, hopped to the plate of food and pecked at the edge of the bread. Her stomach growled with hunger. Sitting at the table she took a few bites of her food and dropped a few crumbs to the hungry bird.

With the help of Rydan, each day Abby became stronger. She could hardly wait for the next day when he would visit again, but soon her daily wait became longer when Rydan had no choice but to deal with his rightful duties. Unfortunately, the first on his list was with Selene's parents.

Selene's father quickly poured Rydan another glass of wine. "Rydan, we are so happy you are back. Selene has missed you very much. You will make a wonderful King and with Selene at your side the Kingdom will prosper." The fat man tucked his hands into the small pockets of his bulging vest.

"Are you feeling better?" Selene's mother asked. The chesty woman adjusted the neckline of her tight dress.

Rydan looked up confused. "Better?"

"Well, you know, your illness."

"My illness?"

"The things on your back...it's better?"

"She means your wings," the father grumbled. "You can control them? Right? To have those things exploding out at any time could be embarrassing for Selene and your family."

Rydan frowned at their impertinent questions.

"Oh, don't get us wrong, we only wish the best for the Kingdom," the mother said with a slight giggle, trying to lighten the mood.

"Father, leave Rydan alone, he knows what is right for the Kingdom. He wouldn't scare the people with his condition. I love him, just the way he is." Gushing, she snuggled up to his side.

"We should start making wedding plans," the father grumbled.

Their voices rattled on as Rydan's mind wandered off. How could he make everyone understand what he was feeling? The guilt of leading his men into danger haunted him, and he couldn't bring himself to tell his father he didn't want to marry or take over the Kingdom. His life had been planned even before he was born. He never had a childhood, as his education on the Kingdom started the day he left his mother's womb. Raised by nurses and teachers, and every day he was reminded; the first son will marry a woman of status then he would be named King of Adore. Maybe he wouldn't have minded the marrying part, but the woman he was to marry was decided for him as well.

He nodded every so often when he heard his name in their conversation. Their plans were ridiculous in his eyes. You only wish the best for yourselves. How did I not notice their selfish behaviour before? He had no interest in their lavish wedding plans. I wonder what Abby's doing?

"What if your wings pop out during the wedding? Maybe the Healer can cut them off or maybe there is some potion you can drink," Selene suggested hopefully.

"Abby thought my wings were beautiful," he mumbled under breath.

"What did you say, Rydan?" Selene asked politely.

"Sorry, nothing," he replied.

Selene forced a smile—she knew exactly what he said.

Unnoticed, Selene stared at the bare back of a beautiful girl; her body shape and skin was perfect. I need to get rid of her. She tried to control her jealousy.

Abby was half dressed when she heard something behind her and turned to see Selene standing in her room; she quickly pulled up her dress.

Selene beamed a smile. "I'm sorry, the door was open."

Abby looked at the door, she was sure it was closed.

"I thought we could get to know each other. I am sure we will be good friends. Rydan has told me so much about you." Selene faked another smile.

Abby knew nothing about Selene.

"We must get you a better dress than that old rag." She stepped next to Abby and held the edge of the neckline in the tips of her fingers like it was dirty. "But I guess you are used to it, running around in the forest and all that."

Feeling uncomfortable, Abby leaned back and slowly pulled her dress out of Selene's fingertips. If the woman was trying to make her feel inferior, it was working. Although Abby's dress was beautiful, Selene stood out like a beautiful doll, the kind of doll you were only allowed to admire and never touch.

Selene clapped her hands and a servant rushed in, bringing a plate of sweet buns and tea. Sitting down, she poured two cups of tea. "Are you going to grace my presence half dressed?" She released a huff of air as she impatiently waited for Abby to dress.

Abby zipped up her dress and quickly slid into her chair.

"You are looking well, I am glad to see. We have been so worried about you. Sweet Rydan nursed you day and night."

Abby blushed and curled her hair behind her ears when she thought about Rydan caring for her.

"I heard what happened to you. Must have been horrible, I mean to kill your own sister! I cherish my family. I could never kill any of my family. But now, you must forget all about that nastiness." Selene happily watched Abby's smile disappear. "More tea?"

Abby was still trying to come to terms with her sister's death and didn't know how to explain what really happened, but she didn't like Selene's accusing tone.

"I guess Rydan had no choice to bring you here. I do hope you're not still under the sorceress' spell?" she asked, releasing a slight chuckle. "You don't think this sorceress will come after you, do you? I hope not, it would ruin my wedding."

Abby couldn't bring herself to even fake a smile. "You're getting married?" Abby roughly stuffed a piece of bun in her mouth. Who'd be crazy enough to marry you! She wanted to say out loud.

"Yes, didn't Rydan tell you? We are to be married."

Abby choked on the piece of bun stuck in her throat and quickly forced it down with a gulp of her tea. "You and Rydan?"

A broad smile crossed Selene's face as she nodded. "Well, it must have slipped his mind with all his duties to be King."

Abby's throat burned as she took another large gulp of hot tea. Why didn't he tell me? She now understood the visit, Selene felt threatened—Rydan was hers.

"You must come to the wedding. It will be beautiful. We had made plans years ago, before he disappeared." Selene caught Abby's shocked face. Her job was done, Abby was upset, which proved she was right—Abby had feelings for Rydan.

"I will see. I am not sure I am staying in Adore," she replied quietly.

Selene flashed a smile. "Oh, that would be too bad." She stood abruptly. "I just remembered I must run off and finish sewing my wedding dress."

Disheartened, Abby sat alone, wondering why Rydan never told her.

45

### Hope

"You bastard!" a man's voice shouted out.

Alone, staring at the bread and a lump of white cheese on her plate, Akira didn't even flinch when a bald headed man was thrown to the wall next to her. The bald man slid down the wall into a heap on the tavern floor. The room burst into a brawl, which seemed to be a nightly event in Creston. Akira and the others spent three days in the deplorable village, asking questions about Abby and the flying man, but they were getting nowhere with the drunken village. The idiots gave her nothing but grief, laughing at her questions, thinking she was drunk or crazy. She was just about at her limit with their filthy mouths spouting off indecencies. Be nice, you'll get more information that way. Tumble says. She frowned at his advice.

Ignoring the brawl, she carved off a piece of cheese with her knife, biting it off her blade. Feeling discouraged, she looked at the cup of ale on her table, wondering if she would be better off drunk like the vulgar men in the room. Men continued to bash on each other with no reason, punching, kicking, and throwing anything they could lift.

The bald man against the wall, grabbed the edge of her table, and slowly pulled himself up. "I'm not lying. I know what I saw. It wasn't a dragon!" He staggered and ran back into the fight.

Akira hated ale. Forcing herself, she took a fast gulp; only to spit the bitter ale back out. A thought crossed her mind. What did the bald man see? She slammed her cup down on the table, her eyes aggressively searched for the man. Finding him in the middle of the chaos, she rushed in, ducking the punches, pushing on the idiots that could barely stand. Another man held the bald man up by the scruff of his shirt, about to pummel his face. She hooked her arm on the man's loading punch and jammed her fist into his ribs. Both men fell to the floor. She reached down to grab the bald man, her eyes widened with surprise when someone from behind grabbed her breasts, pulling her backwards.

"Lookie-here at what I found," a man shouted with excitement. He laughed as he groped her tightly.

More hands reached out to her. Raging with anger, she grabbed the two thumbs of the groper, bending them back to make him shout in pain, and grabbing his arm she flipped him over her shoulder, sending him through the window. Taking on others, she punched at any face near her, quickly grabbing wrists to twist them into painful positions, tossing men across the room. Two men charged, she spun and kick one in the stomach and whipped her elbow across the face of the other man to break his nose. When the men backed off, she grabbed the bald man's earlobe and ran him out the door of the tavern, pushing him to the ground. Heaving for air, he rolled his glossy eyes up to see a girl standing over him with her arms crossed.

"You don't have to be so rough, Sweetie. I like my women gentle." He chuckled as he stood. "I can teach you how to be gentle." He flew backward onto the ground. Stunned, he sat up holding his bloody nose. "Ow! You hit me!"

"Enough with being nice!" She knelt down to him. "If you would like to keep your tongue, then you will tell me what you saw." She held her knife up to his face.

His eyelids blinked wildly, trying to think what she was talking about. "I saw?"

"You said it wasn't a dragon. What was it?"

"You aren't going to believe me either." He wiped his nose.

"Try me." She leaned in threateningly.

"At first I thought it was a dragon carrying its prey, but I swear it looked like a flying man carrying something."

Akira's heart jumped, finally someone knew something. "Was he carrying a girl?"

He blinked with surprise. "Yes, that is what it looked like. Do you believe me?"

"Which way did they go?"

The man stood with his arm up in the air, staggering as he stared up into the night sky. "That way." He pointed west.

"They were still heading west," she said to herself.

"Who?"

"Never mind." She dropped a piece of gold next to his feet. "Here. Keep your mouth shut about the flying man."

He grinned at the gold. "No problem. No one believes me anyways."

With hope, they left Creston and continued to travel west. Threatening dark clouds followed them, but thankfully spared them. The rarely used trail narrowed and disappeared under the over growth of underbrush. Akira searched for a new route to take, but her attention was brought back to the sound of her horse snorting nervously. In the distance, she spotted five horses without their riders. She looked to the shadows to see the Spiritons waiting for the sun to set. She waved to the others to hide. When the last of the light faded, the shadows melted into the darkness, leaving the Spiritons ready to storm the night.

Akira and the others quietly crouched down behind the thick bushes to watch the Spiritons ready their horses. Movement between the trees caught Akira's attention. She spotted a small person covered with a hooded cloak, unknowingly walking toward the Spiriton's camp. Akira quietly made her way forward. When she got closer she could tell it was a girl by the blonde hair hanging out from under the hood. From behind, and without warning, she covered the girl's mouth with one hand, wrapped her arm around the girl's waist, and pulled her back behind a tree. Before she could say anything, the girl bit her hand, she winced before she quickly covered the girl's mouth again with more force. She shook the girl. "If you want to live, don't move or make a sound. Understand?" The frightened girl froze.

Akira peeked around the tree to watch the Spiritons ride off. She slowly released her hand. Without looking, the girl spun around, smacked Akira on the head with her bow and ran. Akira rubbed her head. Rin and Sal joined the chase, they tried to corner the girl, but she out manoeuvred them twice, leaving them standing in the forest feeling stupid. Akira took off after the girl.

The girl was fast. Akira had a tough time keeping up with her as branches flung back into her face. This is crazy! Why should I bother! Akira started to slow, but another branch slapped her face, sparking the chase. The girl struggled to climb over the thick log blocking her path. Just as she reached the ground on the other side, Akira hopped on top of the log, leapt into the air, and pulled the girl to the ground. She flipped the girl over and sat on her. The girl fought wildly until Akira caught her arms and pushed them to the ground. "Enough!" Akira shouted. The large brown eyes connected with Akira's, at the same time they realized they recognized each other. "Niyu?" The girl winced and nodded. Seeing Niyu's deformed hand, Akira moved off her to let her sit up.

Rin and Sal arrived huffing for air.

"Niyu? Why did you run from us?" Sal huffed to catch his breath.

"You scared me!"

"Niyu!" Tumble rushed to her side and hugged her. "What are you doing here? What happened?"

She burst into tears. "They attacked Killeen."

"Who?"

"The Spiritons." She bowed her head. "They killed Grandor."

Fear cross Brogan's face for his family, he turned to the others just as worried.

"Who is Grandor?" Akira asked.

"He's our grandfather," Tumble choked. "He raised us when our parents died, long ago."

"Niyu is your sister?"

Tumble nodded and tried to console his weeping sister.

"I'm sorry." Akira put her hand on his shoulder. "We will leave immediately for Killeen!"

Jorin inspected the large scratches on Niyu's arms and face; she was tired and hungry.

"We will build you a fire," Brogan said to Akira.

"What for?"

"Niyu needs to rest. You will stay here with Niyu and Luken for the night."

She frowned. "You're kidding, right?"

"We will ride ahead, too fast for the children," Brogan said.

"Why should I stay here to look after children?"

Luken scoffed at the idea of being called a child.

"Why must everything be a battle with you?" Brogan shouted angrily.

His tone surprised her and she searched his eyes for the same intense stare that pulled her in, making her stomach flutter nervously, but he was back to his domineering self.

"Please, Akira," Jorin said softly.

She dropped her shoulders with a loud huff of air, nodding reluctantly.

"Don't leave me Tum." Niyu fell into his waiting arms and wept.

Tumble reached down and hugged her. "You will be safe with Akira. I will see you soon."

Sal and Rin quickly built a fire. Jorin spun Akira around and hugged her, leaning in to kiss her. Akira politely pushed him back, turning her attention to the others. She watched Brogan's sullen face as he mounted his horse. She opened her mouth to say something, but decided against it. She watched the men ride off; they all looked back except for Brogan.

Akira turned to Luken and Niyu.

"I can look after myself. You can't tell me what to do!" Luken angrily stabbed the meat with a stick and shoved it in the fire. "She's the child, not me." He pointed to Niyu.

"I'm not a child!" Niyu snapped.

Akira closed her eyes, wishing she were with the others.

After a bit of food, Luken tucked his blanket around himself away from the fire. Akira warned him about this part of the forest being damp, and told him he should move closer to the fire, but he rolled over to ignore her. Akira wrapped a blanket around Niyu near the fire and watched her fall asleep. She tucked herself in and laid awake for a long time, worrying about the men.

Luken tossed and turned to the sounds of life moving in the night. The large orange ferns rolled up their long narrow leaves to conserve heat, the glistening moss hanging from the branches of the trees dropped to the ground and crept along the dirt in search of water, the fat worms chewed their way through the moist ground below him, and he tried not to listen to the sounds of claws clicking when the lizards scurried down the bark of the trees. He waved his hands wildly at the lizards sniffing his hair.

Akira woke to find Niyu snuggled up against her back. She remembered being Niyu's age, sleeping next to her mother's warm and comforting body; she envied Niyu for feeling safe and secure.

"Everyone up!"

Niyu rubbed her sleepy eyes. "Ewww..." Niyu crinkled her nose up as she pointed at Luken.

Luken woke to a bitter taste in his mouth and his face felt strange. He put his hand to his face to feel something slimy. He rolled his head to a gooey sound moving next to him. A large snail, larger than his head, slowly pulled its tall round shell across the dirt and leaving a slimy trail, a trail crossing his face. When he sat up, slime dripped from his face, and he rolled his tongue to spit the bitter slime from his mouth. Niyu began to laugh. He tried to tell her to shut up, but he only stuttered and drooled with his numb tongue. She laughed harder.

Akira chuckled to herself, tossing a bag of water. "It will wear off shortly. We eat first then we'll go!"

"I don't want to go back," Niyu whined.

A string of drool hung from his mouth as he tried to talk. "I want to go home."

"First we are heading to Killeen," she ordered.

"My father is the Healer of Orlah and I demand you take me home!"

Akira stepped in front of Luken, raising her eyebrows at his attitude. "Our friends may need our help and I am going to help them, with or without you," she said forcefully.

"You wouldn't leave us out here, alone," he snapped back.

"Do you wish to challenge me?" She huffed in his face. Her glare was long and intimidating.

Luken swallowed and glanced to the ground, mumbling to himself. "No."

"Good. Get your weapons."

To help ease their minds, Akira told them about the plant to kill the Spiritons. After their meal they rubbed the roots onto their weapons. Niyu worked hard to put extra on her arrows. Luken rubbed small rocks into the roots, and counting the rocks, he poured them into a leather bag.

Packing up the horses, they left for Killeen. Niyu rode with Akira, happily wrapping her arms around Akira's waist. Luken followed behind, sulking.

"Niyu, have you ever seen or heard of a man with wings?"

"A man with wings? You mean a man that can fly?" she asked excitedly.

"Yes."

"No, but how amazing would it be to fly!" Her arms flew up into the air. "Have you seen one?"

"No."

"I would like to meet one."

"Me too." Akira sighed.

The journey was slow. They stopped for another break, Luken rushed off into a bush to relieve himself.

Akira grew impatient at the long wait. "Hurry Luken!" she shouted. "Luken?"

"Help! Help me!"

Startled, Akira dropped Niyu and herself to the ground, pulling her sword as she raced toward the sound of his voice. They stopped, stunned; half of Luken's body was missing. It looked like his upper body hung in the air, but from the waist down his lower body disappeared.

Luken wiggled his body like he was stuck in something. "Help me! I can't get out!"

Niyu carefully walked around the other side of Luken, looking through the void like a window, seeing Luken's top half hanging midair and Akira standing nearby. She reached out to touch the unusual air.

"Don't touch it!" Akira ordered.

At first they couldn't see anything holding him in, then a vertical ring circled him, like a ripple on the water, it rolled toward his body; the invisible void sucked him in deeper. Akira dropped her sword to grab onto his wrists, pulling him forward a couple of inches, but a ripple rolled to his body, sucking him in up to his neck. He yelled with terror on his face. Akira dug her heels into the dirt, but started to slide when the void pulled him further in. She released one hand to grab onto a root of a tree sticking up out of the ground and struggled to hang onto him with her other hand. Niyu moved in to help.

She felt the root move. "Stay back! Find something else I can grab onto."

Niyu searched in a panic. Another ripple sucked in his entire body, along with Akira's hand and legs. The root started to pull out of the ground as she sank into the void up to her waist.

"Hurry!"

Niyu pushed on the tall flimsy tree next to her. Taking Akira's sword with her good hand, she hacked wildly at the bottom of the tree. She leaned on the tree until it bent toward the ground, and throwing her body on top, she made it crack. The top of the tree fell toward Akira, partially disappearing into the void. Akira released the root to latch onto the downed tree, hanging in midair. She could no longer feel her hand and had no idea if she still had a hold of Luken. Pulling herself along the tree, she slowly inched her way out of the void. She looked back to see his head pop out of thin air. Feeling the tree moving into the void, she flipped over, grabbing him with both hands. Niyu rushed to her side and pulled on her arm. Akira took in a deep breath and gave a hard yank. Luken's body shot out of the void, landing in her lap, and laying motionless.

"Is he breathing?" Niyu panicked.

Akira put her ear to his chest to listen. Placing her hands on top of his chest she pushed down hard, making air rush out of his mouth. His eyes flew open as he coughed for air.

"Are you okay?" Akira stuttered when she tried to catch her breath.

Luken sat up. "I think so."

Akira checked his body for signs of injuries. "Are you sure? You nearly scared me to death!" Her face wrinkled in anger.

"I'm sorry." He raised his shoulders, waiting for the yelling to start.

She wanted to scold him, more so for scaring her. "Can you ride?"

Surprised by her quiet tone, Luken quickly nodded.

"What's that thing?" Niyu asked.

"I don't know. I've never seen anything like it." Akira watched the void swallow the tree.

Luken mounted his horse. On her horse, Akira held out her hand and pulled Niyu up behind her. She felt Niyu's body tremble. "You were very brave Niyu," Akira whispered. She jerked when Niyu tightly wrapped her arms around her waist. "It's a bit tight, Niyu," she complained as she wiggled.
46

### Master Maelor

Rydan stood in front of the tall wooden door, hesitating. He took in a deep breath as he pushed on the heavy door and stepped inside. Abby followed him into the large bright room. They stood before a long table, set with five goblets of wine, five plates of fresh fruit, and a long scroll of paper ran across the tabletop. Behind the table, stood five majestic chairs with beautiful scenery carved into the wood of the tall backs, glistening white stones embedded the boarders, and black metal curled out for arm rests. Although the chairs were empty, they expressed notability.

Abby nervously chewed on her bottom lip. Without saying a word, Rydan ushered her to a chair next to the window. Her eyes darted to the black metal door, opening on the far wall. Crevon and three other men followed the King into the room, each wearing a bright blue sash around their waists, and not one expressed a welcoming face. They sat in their chairs after the King sat first. She jumped when the King banged a heavy gold mallet down on the table.

Rydan stood before the Council of Five. He glanced over to his brother's encouraging nod. The King raised his hand to signal Rydan to speak. Abby watched their expressions change from moment to moment as Rydan told his story, and every so often each man scribbled something on the scroll in front of them. The King was horrified by his son's ordeal. The others expressed shock and disgust, but one man's face was stern, and not once did it change. The lanky councillor with long blonde hair, continually flared his thin nose as if trying to inhale more air, his posture couldn't have been any straighter, and his frowning eyebrows seemed to be permanently placed—Councillor Niall had heard enough.

"Unbelievable! So, you are standing before us and telling this council Keeva captured you and your men? The same sorceress who died sixty or seventy years ago?" Niall shouted in disbelief. "And how is it that you were the only one to escape the sorceress?"

Rydan struggled to come up with an acceptable answer.

"So, let me get this straight. Keeva is alive, now free to roam the Land of Edon and the first place you thought to come was Adore? To lead her right to our doorstep?"

The King frowned at the rough questions directed at his son, but the council had the right to ask.

Crevon interrupted. "I am sure Rydan would not allow that to happen."

"No, she did not follow," Rydan said.

"And you know this because...?"

Again, he fell silent with no answer.

"You have put us all in danger!" Niall shouted.

Abby stood. "He came back to Adore because he thought his home would welcome him. He is brave and saved my life." She stepped next to Rydan.

"And who are you?" His attention snapped to Abby.

Abby swallowed and nervously searched her mind for an answer. "I am Abby of the Hunter's Clan," she blurted out. She wasn't sure if she said it right, but said it as proudly as she could.

Surprised by her statement, the council fell silent, and Rydan's stunned face turned to her. Crevon stared at his brother, hardly believing he would bring a Hunter to Adore, and he didn't have to glance over to his father to know how he felt about the announcement, but he looked any ways. The King's scolding eyes could have slammed Rydan against the wall.

Out of the silence a burst of anger shot out. "A Hunter? You? You are no bigger than my baby toe!" Niall scoffed.

Without thinking, she picked up a table knife, flipped the blade into her hand and threw it. He froze when the knife sank into the top of his chair above his head. Even though she surprised herself, she glared at the obnoxious man—the point was made.

The King stood. "That's enough! Everyone out! I want to talk to Rydan alone."

Niall flashed the King a displeased glare. Crevon ushered Abby out of the room, and the councillors followed them out into the hallway.

Feeling betrayed by his son, the King slammed the knuckles of his fists down onto the table. "What is the meaning of this, Rydan? How dare you bring a Hunter into my castle!"

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to deceive you. She was hurt and I wanted to help." He didn't know she was a Hunter, but decided to take the blame.

"Do you have any idea what trouble you have brought us?"

"I wouldn't be here if it weren't for her. She is alone and has no one. I would like her to stay as long as she likes."

"That's not possible!"

"So, my life is not worth that?"

The King glared at his son for putting him in this situation. He stood straight. "For now I will grant your wish, but she is your responsibility should anything happen."

Left alone with the councillors, Abby backed herself up against the wall at their questioning stares, wishing she had kept her mouth shut. Her heart raced when Niall stepped in front of her. Crevon put his hand to the top of his hilt as he watched the councillor and the Hunter, worried what the Hunter would do if provoked, but to his surprise, she wasn't expressing any aggression; it was more fear than anything.

"Why are you here?" Niall growled.

"Rydan brought me," she said nervously.

Niall knew Hunters were dangerous, but something about her didn't seem right. "Do you know I could have your head for your threatening actions in there?" He towered over her frightened face.

"I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking. It was a stupid thing to do." Not sure what to do or say next, she stepped toward him.

Startled and a bit afraid, Niall stepped back, assuming the Hunter was about to do something threatening, but to everyone's surprise, she dropped down onto one knee, bowing her head.

"Please, forgive me for my rudeness. It was not my intention to hurt anyone."

Crevon noticed Niall's clenching face; there was no way he was going to forgive her for embarrassing him.

"Are you mocking me?" He shook with anger, lifting his sword from the scabbard hanging from his side.

Abby's eyes widened with panic. "No, please I'm sorry."

Rydan opened the door to see Abby down on one knee in front of Niall, and in what looked like a heated moment. He stepped in front of Niall, making him back up. Rydan knelt down to Abby's level and held out his hand.

"The King has dismissed all of us," Rydan said. "Abby will be staying here as my guest. If anyone has any objections, then they will deal with me."

Still holding his partially drawn sword, Niall glared down to the man kneeling at his feet, trying to remind himself Rydan was the King's son.

Abby glanced up to Rydan's smile, placing her hand in his as he helped her to stand up. Without looking back, Rydan led Abby down the hallway. Niall slammed the guard of his sword back down against his scabbard as he turned and stormed away in the other direction.

Crevon watch his brother walk with the pretty Hunter. "Well, things are going to get interesting," he said to himself.

Rydan stopped Abby. "Where did you learn to throw a knife like that?"

"I had one lesson."

"You did that with one lesson?"

"Well, no. I was aiming for the apple on the table."

"The apple?" He curled a smile as he shook his head in disbelief. He liked being surprised by her, but his next question worried him. "Why didn't you tell me you were a Hunter?"

"Sorry, it kind of just happened." Abby lowered her head.

"I wish you had told me so I could have prepared. Many people resent the Hunters."

Her expression turned cold. "Do you resent me? Is that why you didn't tell me you were engaged to be married!"

He stepped back, surprised. "How did you know?"

"Does it matter?"

"I'm sorry, I didn't want to upset you."

Her eyes jumped at him. "Upset me? Why would it upset me? I think it's wonderful. I hope you two will be very happy." She almost choked on her lie.

Rydan dropped his head, disappointed she wasn't upset.

Selene quickly glided down the hall to Rydan. "There you are Rydan. I have been looking all over the place for you." Selene slipped between them, latching onto his arm to pull him away from Abby. "My father wishes to speak to you."

Selene led him down the hallway. He glanced back over his shoulder, but Abby was gone. Upset, Abby stormed out into the courtyard, pacing, trying to calm herself. She felt stupid for thinking Rydan liked her. Why did he bring me here? He should have just left me. Her attention was drawn to shouting beyond the wall of the courtyard. Following a path out to overlook a training field, she gathered in her long white dress and sat on the edge of the hillside to watch the weapon lesson.

For a week, each morning she sat on the hillside above the archery training area, avoiding Rydan. Another beautiful sunrise and like the other mornings, she wandered out to sit at her usual spot to watch a group of fifteen young boys, from ages twelve to fourteen, push and shove each other. The sound of the teacher arriving drew her attention. Grasping the top of the hilt with the palm of his hand, the metal scabbard swung out in front of the gruff overweight teacher's legs, and leaning on it like a cane, he limped toward the training area. On his round face, a thin line of a beard traced his lower jaw, above his lip was clean-shaven, and not much hair remained on his head. From his wide waist, metal chains jingled when he limped, and a knife hung in a leather sheath engraved with beautiful scroll patterns.

His voice boomed across the field, shouting orders, and sending the boys into flight to get into line. He continued to yell at their lack of focus. From the corner of his eye, he could see he was being watched, again. He knew who she was, as the news of a Hunter in Adore travelled on quick tongues. He became anxious and annoyed that a warrior of the Hunter's Clan was watching him.

Abby raised her eyebrows with surprise when the large man waved her to come down. She looked behind herself unsure if he was referring to her; his wave became more erratic and demanding. Lifting the bottom of her dress, she carefully made her way down the hill. As she neared, she watched the heavyset man limp toward her; she was sure she could feel the ground shake. Her eyes darted around the mid-forties scarred face, giving her the impression he had seen his fare share of battles.

He towered over her, studying her slender body, hardly looking like she could defend herself from a bird. His frown deepened. "So, you're Hunter? Well, maybe you can show these little useless scruffs what to do with a bow?"

The boys stepped out of line to view the girl.

"Ah..." she stuttered.

"Well, come on, you're a great warrior, aren't you? You must have skills that I don't?"

"I can't...I haven't been taught how to use a weapon yet."

"What?" He roared with suspicion.

She closed her eyes at the frightening shout.

"By now you should have many skills!"

Embarrassed, she dropped her head.

She didn't act like any Hunter he had ever met in the past. He was curious, she claimed to be a Hunter, but had no skills. Was she lying or was there more to her story? He wanted to know why she was granted the title. "Well! Just don't stand there. Pick up a bow!"

"But..."

"If you are going to learn from me then you better be quick about listening! You will call me Master Maelor! Do I make myself clear?" He leaned into her face.

Not given the option to decline, she nodded. As she bent over to pick up the bow her foot stepped on the edge of her dress, making her fall to her knees. Maelor crossed his arms. The boys burst into laughter until an angry hand whipped out for silence. She stood, brushing the dirt off her dress, she smiled at him, but her smile ran from her face at the sight of his scowl. She quickly made her way to the end of the line, grasped the bow in her left hand, and stood like the boys. She frowned at the boys' lack of height as she stood out like a large bright bird at the end of their line.

"Stop staring at the girl!" he shouted at the curious boys.

Abby's body shook every time Maelor yelled. He shouted an order and the line lifted their bows. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see the large mass charging up the line. Her bow shook. With veins popping across his forehead, he stopped in front of her. Her heart missed a beat, waiting for something to explode out of his fuming head. He released a huff of air as he adjusted her left hand higher up on the bow. He charged back down the line, slapping the sides of their heads for taking their eyes off their target.

"Ready! Aim! Hold!" He kicked the back of each foot, to put them into the right position. She was grateful she was at the end of the line when she saw the hard kick working toward her, and quickly adjusting her back foot, she froze. Maelor huffed at her correct foot, turned and stormed off.

For hours, with sore shaky arms, they practiced lifting the bow, drawing the string, aiming, and releasing the empty weapon. Abby cringed at the welts on her taut arm from the string slapping her skin. Finally, they got to nock the arrow, but to their frustration they only practiced loading and unloading the arrow. The boys and Abby were growing impatient at the tedious routine, and tired they struggled to keep their bows still. A word was shouted that startled them all.

"Release!"

Unclear of the demand, some boys turned to stare stupidly at Maelor, some with strings only pulled halfway, released anyways to have their arrows drop a few feet in front of them, and the rest of the arrows erratically shot past the targets. It was bedlam. Frustrated, Maelor nearly jammed his eyes up into his head. Abby took her time to readjust her bow; she curled her three fingertips onto the bowstring, slowly drew the string back to the side of her mouth, and curled her bottom lip in to bite as she aimed. The crease in her fingers deepened when the tension in the string tightened, and the welts on her arm reminded her to turn her elbow out slightly. The demand was shouted again, bellowing over the boys chattering in the background. She aimed at the red cloth attached to the post. Her bow shaking, she took in a deep breath, willing herself to calm down. She felt the tight string roll off her fingertips. All eyes watching, the arrow cut through the sudden silence, hitting the post with a thud, inches from the small red target.

"I hit the post!" She gave a quick shout of excitement. Her hand shot up to cover her mouth. Nervously her eyes shifted sideways to see the unimpressed face.

Maelor's face was angry red, out of all of the students only one hit the post. Recognizing the pressure building, the boys stepped back. He exploded. "The lesson is over! Your mothers shoot better than you! Do you need your mamas to hold your hand? Go on, get out of here you little snots!"

As the boys rushed to get out of the way of the cursing and a slight beating, Abby reloaded her arrow. Maelor turned to watch. She shot off two more arrows, one missed the post completely, and the other hit below the target, she stomped a foot in frustration.

"Turn to the side more."

Abby jumped at the voice from behind. She turned to see Maelor frowning down on her.

"Never turn your back on your enemy," he grumbled. "Focus on your target and nothing else."

She adjusted her stance and released the arrow, hitting the edge of the red cloth, she curled her lips tight together to keep from yelling in excitement.

"Good! I will see you here tomorrow at sunrise. I will treat you no different than the others, and don't be late or you will make me grumpy."

She watched him limp off. Make him grumpy? I hate to see him angry.

With her hair pulled back into a tight braid, Abby showed up early wearing her leather outfit. She looked back to the castle, wondering what Rydan was doing. Even though he belonged to someone else, she missed him. Releasing a slow sigh, she nocked her arrow. The boys showed up sleepy eyed and scoffed at her eagerness as she practiced while waiting for Maelor.

The Master's shouting arrived before he did. "If I find anyone lying about before I get there, you will wish you were still in your mommy's womb!" The boys scrambled to their feet. Maelor arrived, throwing woodened swords at their feet. All morning they practiced fighting each other with pretend swords. He broke the group into pairs, placing the tallest boy in front of Abby. The boy slouched with disappointment as the other boys snickered at his misfortune. The routine was easy enough, but the boy did very little to make the practice worthwhile.

Maelor's eyes narrowed at the boy's lack of effort. Charging over, he pushed Abby out of the way. He leaned over the boy. "So...do you think you can pick and choose your attacker in battle? Well, two can play that game. I choose you!" The boy cowered when Maelor flew at him with his wood sword, striking hard and lunging at him. The boy backed up, waving his sword awkwardly at the raging man. Abby and the other boys feared for him. The boy dropped his sword as he fell onto his back. Maelor stopped the point of his sword in front of the boy's face. The boy cowered and the group gasped. "You're dead now and your parents are crying at your burning to the new-life!" His bellow hung in the air as the boy fought to control his tears. Maelor lowered his voice. "Now get up and learn to fight for your life." He helped the boy to his feet, handing him his sword.

Like the boys, Abby was afraid of Maelor, but she saw more than just a cantankerous man. She started to understand Maelor's gruff manner and gruelling lessons; he was trying to save their lives.

The boy turned away from Abby to wipe tears from his face, and turning back to face her; his intent was expressed in no uncertain terms as he took a fighting stance, making Abby rush into her stance. The routine started again. Although she fought hard against the boy, there was no doubt in her mind he would win this battle.
47

The Book of Spells

The trek back to Killeen was agonizingly slow with Niyu and Luken. Their need for food and rest every couple of hours was annoying, and their never-ending arguments over trivial things, frustrated Akira to no end. How is it possible they can argue this long, over whether or not fish could smell?

Again, Luken needed to eat, and they stopped at the river. While Luken stomped through the shallow river chasing fish, Niyu tormented him. Exasperated, Akira tried to ignore them as she sat by the river to read Trevina's book of spells. Opening the book, her eyes chased the unusual words bouncing around the page, within minutes the words slowed and formed sentences. She didn't understand the first spell or what it was for, but found herself wanting to read more. With each spell she read, her reading became faster. She tried to pull her eyes from the book, but it wouldn't release her. She tried to drop the book, but her fingers tightened around the edges. The words floated up off the pages, swirling around in front of her eyes, and disappeared into her head. Unable to stop, she raced through the pages, faster than anyone should be able to read, and the words continued to fill her mind. She reached the last page and slammed the book shut. Hearing voices in her head, reciting the spells all at the same time, she dropped the book and put her hands to her head to shout in pain. Luken and Niyu watched her drop to her knees in agony.

"What's wrong with her?" Niyu panicked.

Luken shook his head. Niyu knelt down. Akira's head jolted back, moaning in pain she pushed her hands into the sides of her head. Frightened, they stepped back from her glowing yellow eyes. She collapsed to the ground, not moving.

Niyu lightly touched Akira's head. "Akira?" She jumped back with fright when Akira rolled over. "Are you all right?"

Akira opened her blue eyes and slowly sat up. To their relief she seemed to be back to normal.

"What happened?" Akira asked.

"You were reading that book then you went all crazy!" Luken replied.

Niyu picked up the book and opened it. "The pages are blank. What happened to all the words?"

"I think they're in my head." Akira rubbed the side of her head. "Some sort of magic, I think."

"Can you do a spell?" Niyu asked.

"I don't know."

"Try something. Light a fire," Luken said.

Akira stared at the pile of sticks. At first she didn't know what to say, then a rush of adrenaline raced through her, making her skin tingle; the words fell from her lips. "These words I command; from the fire deep below the ground, ignite!" The two stones around her neck glowed, large flames burst out from beneath the sticks, making everyone jump back.

"Wow!" Luken said with excitement.

They looked back to find Akira on the ground, rolling in pain. Niyu rushed to her and held her until the pain subsided.

If this was power, she didn't like it. The pain was like a dagger cutting her skull in two. She opened the book to view the blank pages, hoping the words would leave her mind and fill the pages again, but the pages remained blank. She needed to find Trevina. She closed her eyes to rest for a while. Her body jumped when Niyu rushed to her.

"Luken said you have a twin sister and a flying man flew off with her. Is that true?" Niyu asked with excited eyes.

Akira opened her tired eyes and barely nodded.

"Where is she now?"

"I don't know."

"When did you last see her?"

"Over two months ago."

"What is your sister like?"

Akira sighed. "She is like you. She never stops talking."

Niyu's mouth slowly closed and she sat back.

"But...I miss her very much," Akira said to Niyu's disappointed face.

Smiling, Niyu rushed off to find Luken.

Akira lifted her shirt to view her mark on her stomach, she did miss Abby. Can a spell find Abby? She closed her eyes to picture Abby's face; a spell formed. "These words I command; by the spirit of the wind, find that which I seek." Once again Akira grabbed her head in pain.

Niyu aimed at a tree with her bow and arrow, but loosened the string when the afternoon blue sky quickly darkened from the grey clouds, and a strange howl made her look to the trees. The wind rushed out, swirling around her body. She screamed as she covered her eyes with her arm.

Luken ran toward her. "What's happening?"

The wind swirled upward, almost lifting her up off the ground. Not finding what it was looking for, the wind rushed to Luken, twisting around him like a tornado. The wind left Luken and shot through the trees, straight toward Akira. They both shouted for Akira as they ran back to her. They arrived to find the ominous wind swirling around her, encasing her, lifting her up off the ground a couple of feet. Inside, she struggled to free herself as she shouted to Niyu and Luken, but the wind was too loud.

As if she closed her eyes, everything suddenly went black and silent, the wind disappeared. She reached out her hands to feel for something. A sudden burst of light startled her, making her cover her eyes. She cautiously took her arm away to see she was in a cave, and the square light floating in front of her, was a mirror. She stepped toward the mirror to see her reflection. Another mirror appeared with her reflection, more popped up in front of her, all with her staring back. "I don't understand. The spell was to find Abby." Her voice echoed through the cave. "Abby! Abby! Abby!" She covered her ears. She stared at herself in the mirror, her reflection moved, but she didn't. Her eyes widened when she watched the arm of her reflection reach out of the mirror toward her. She jerked with fear when the hand grabbed her wrist, pulling her toward the mirror; her heart raced when the reflection called her Abby. She broke free from the grasp, pushing herself back. "The spell thinks I'm Abby!" In the background of the mirror, she could see Niyu and Luken still fighting against the wind.

Akira panicked when more mirrors appeared, circling her with arms reaching out to her, all calling her Abby. "The spell is repeating itself. How do I stop it?" Hands grabbed her body, pulling her in all directions. "Stop!" A spell formed. "These words I command; bring to a halt and break this spell!" The arms disappeared, one after the other the mirrors cracked, exploding shards of glass toward her, making her crouch for cover. The cave disappeared and she dropped to the ground.

Akira woke to find herself lying on the ground with her head in Niyu's lap. "How long was I out?"

"You have been asleep for two days. I was so worried."

Luken knelt down next to them. "What happened to you?"

"I tried to do a spell to find Abby, but when I pictured her in my mind, I guess the spell thought I was thinking about myself. I was trapped and couldn't get out."

"Maybe you should stay away from the spells or take some lessons," Luken said.

"Maybe you are right."

No words were spoken as they neared Killeen. Recognizing the smell of death, Akira slowed the horses. From behind, Niyu wrapped her arms around Akira's stomach, squeezing with fear. Samson cawed at the sound of other crows calling in the distance. The smell was getting stronger, Luken coughed and gagged. She stopped her horse in the middle of the village to view the decaying bodies. Black crows hopped from one body to the next. Horrified, Niyu's eyes darted away from where her grandfather laid, burying her face into Akira's back.

Akira cautiously searched for Brogan and the others, but there was no movement. The bodies should have been dealt with by now.

Dismounting the horses, they climbed down into the underground tunnels. Niyu clung to Akira's arm as they checked the empty rooms. She ushered Niyu and Luken into a room. "Stay here, I need to take care of the bodies."

"I can help," Luken announced, not wanting to be left behind.

"I need you to protect Niyu." She closed the door.

Akira made her way above ground. By the looks of things most of the villagers escaped, but there was nothing to suggest where they went, and she found no signs of Jorin or the others. Something was wrong. She gathered their bone necklaces and stuffed them into a leather bag to give to their families. She readied the ten bodies for their new-life, covering them with bits of cloth and leaves. She lit the wood beneath them and watched the flames take their souls. "Even with Senus gone, the evil Spiritons still preyed upon the people. All the Spiritons need to die." She turned to find Niyu and Luken standing behind her. Tears streamed down Niyu's face as she watched the burning bodies. Akira knelt down and placed the grandfather's bone necklace over Niyu's head.

"Where's Tum?" Niyu choked as she dropped to her knees with her face in her hands, sobbing uncontrollable. "I'm all alone."

Akira moved beside her, pulling Niyu into a hug. "You're not alone. We will find Tumble." She gently rocked her until her crying slowed.

Luken found three horses and filled the saddlebags with food and supplies.

"It's time to go." Akira mounted her horse. Luken sat on his horse, eager to go. She held the reins of Niyu's horse, waiting for her to get on. "What's wrong?" Niyu stared at the horse, not wanting to get on. "Come on Niyu, we need to go," she said with a huff. Feeling something touch her leg, Akira looked down to see Niyu's sad eyes looking up to her and holding her hand up. "That horse is for you to ride." She pointed, but Niyu continued to hold her hand out. Akira took in a deep breath, grabbing her hand she lifted her up to sit behind her. "We have a long ride ahead of us." Akira kicked her horse into a gallop.

Akira had one place in mind to start looking—the tower.
48

### Doesn't Anyone Knock?

Abby took every chance she could to glance at Rydan, taking in every detail; how he talked, how he walked, and how his eyes always found her in a crowd. Within a short time, she knew what foods he liked, what made him laugh, and she loved the way the corner of his mouth curled to the right when he smiled. Her days of watching him from a distance started to wear on her emotions; her heart ached, making her want to cry at every glance. Rydan and Selene were together everywhere—Selene made sure of that. Trying to take her mind off him, she immersed herself in training, hoping the less she saw of him the better she would feel.

Maelor slapped his forehead with the palm of his hand in frustration, watching the students wildly swing their steel swords. "What the hell are you swinging at? Your target is in the centre!" he shouted at the discouraged students. "You're wasting energy by swinging way out to the side, not to mention you are leaving yourself wide open to be sliced, and have your guts spill out onto your boots. Abby, come here!"

Abby cringed when her name was called again. She hated being his partner for demonstrations. There wasn't a day that went by that she didn't receive a painful blow. Standing before him, she sighed as she stepped back into a fighting stance with her sword angled above her head. Her muscles tensed, but she forced herself not to cower from his powerful strikes.

As he demonstrated, Maelor huffed at Abby's techniques, she was slow and wasting energy on big moves, he wasn't getting through to any of them. He decided to try something different. "Abby! Your blade will touch mine and you will follow my sword no matter where it goes. Your blade will not lose contact with mine. Do you understand?"

Abby really didn't understand, but she nodded nervously as their swords crossed and blades touched. The boys watched curiously. She panicked when she felt his blade move, making her lose contact. He huffed and reset. When his sword moved, her blade followed. He pushed against her sword with just enough pressure she could feel his next move. She clued in pretty quick to push his sword off her centre line when his sword neared. Repeating the same techniques without pausing, her blade followed in a fluid motion of blocks and strikes. Her eyes widened at his sudden step to the side, she stumbled a bit, but was able to keep the contact. The moves were small and swift. Before long he had her stepping in all directions, forward, backward, and sideways. She felt the pace pick up. He startled her when he tried to parry over top of her sword and lunge forward; the routine had changed, and he was looking to take the advantage. She waited for her moment and parried. Pausing, she gasped at the sight of blood on his thumb and backed away.

"You lost contact!" he shouted angrily.

"But..."

"But what?"

"Your thumb is cut."

"So? You're in a sword fight!"

"But you're bleeding!"

"Take your stance!" His face burned.

"I'm sorry I hurt you!"

"Damn it, Abby! Are you going to cry?" he shouted in frustration.

Her bottom lip trembled as she continued to stare at the blood dripping from his hand.

"Abby! Pay attention!"

The boys gasped in fear when Maelor lunged at her with his sword, and before she could react, he cut her thumb.

He set his sword out front. "There, now you are bleeding too! Take your stance!"

Stunned, she viewed her bloody hand, hardly believing he cut her on purpose, she swallowed hard, fighting back her tears as she sat back into her stance. Heart racing, she raised her shaking sword up to lean against his blade. He was quick at getting the routine started again, and before long he had her dancing.

Shades of red and orange streaked the sky above them, the air cooled as the sun dropped behind the tall trees, and the wings of the night-jacks snapped as they zipped across the open fields to catch the glowing beetles crawling out of the soil. The boys yawned at the long lesson and left unnoticed as the battle continued. Glued to his intense eyes, she was lost in the rhythmic motions, easily feeling and anticipating every attacking and defensive technique. He suddenly stopped, releasing her. Exhausted, she dropped to her knees and held up her bloody hand, forgetting she was cut.

"Good! I will see you tomorrow." As he limped away, he looked down at his injured thumb and shook his head in frustration. "Damn girl, she figured it out even before I showed her," he mumbled to himself.

She walked up the hill swinging her sword in the same gliding motions, smiling at how different the sword felt.

Entering the castle, Maelor walked heavily across the creaking wood floors, heading to the Healer's room, shoving on the door, he entered with a scowl. "Morcant!"

Surprised by the booming entrance, the Healer dropped his basket of bandages. Leaning down to pick them up, he noticed Maelor's hand. "Good evening, Maelor. Did you come for tea?" He smirked as he stood up.

"I'm not here to have tea! Just hurry up and put the damn bandage on." He held out his thumb.

The Healer leaned in for a closer look. "I haven't seen a sword wound on you since your battle days. Are you going to tell me what happened?"

"It was an accident."

They both looked up when Abby entered the Healer's room, holding her injured hand. "Oh, I'm sorry to interrupt, I'll come back later."

A grin crossed Morcant's face when he viewed the girl's thumb. "No, no, come in my dear. I won't be long. Sit and tell me what happened."

Abby glanced at Maelor's red face. "It was nothing, just an accident."

"Strange, did you both have the same accident?" he grinned.

"Hurry the hell up!" Maelor shook his thumb at Morcant.

The next day, standing in the cold rain, the students shivered in the miserable morning as the scolding rang their ears.

"If I see one more knife bounce off a tree...I will take that knife and cut the belts that hold your pants up!" Master spit. "For the last time, snap the wrist and leave your hand pointing to the red target on the tree! Does everyone see the big red target?" Knives were flying in all directions, up, down, sideways, and some cutting the hands holding them, but none making it to the target. Maelor stormed over to Abby. Surely she can hit the tree.

Abby rubbed her cold wet hand under her shirt, trying to warm it up. Feeling his overwhelming presence behind her, she nervously held the blade in her hand, waving her arm forward and back to aim at the red target. She jumped when he held her arm out to where she should release the knife.

"Now, don't take your eyes off the target."

With her eyes fixed on the target, she took in a deep breath, pulled her hand back above her shoulder to throw the knife. At the last second something moved, her eyes darted away from the target, only long enough to blink at the small yellow lizard scurrying down the trunk of the tree, but it was too late, she had already released the knife. The aim was perfect; unfortunately the knife did not hit the red target. She gasped in horror at the dead lizard pinned to the tree with her knife. The boys cheered at her precise shot and ran to retrieve her prize from the tree.

Shaking his head at the emotional girl, Maelor watched her sorrowful eyes as she agonized over killing the lizard. Whether she knew it or not, her shot was perfect, the knife hit the target she was looking at. "Did you take your eyes off the target?" he asked quietly. Barely holding in the tears, she dropped her head. "Then, I think you have learned far more than the others ever could have." He roughly patted her on the top of her head. "Blasted boys! Get away from that lizard, or I'll skin ya alive!"

Abby had spent two months learning from Master Maelor, each day was something different, swords, archery, crossbows, hand-to-hand fighting, and throwing knives, which became her favourite. Yesterday was the first time she was able to out-run the boys through the forest; she felt strong and fit. She excelled with her training and became Maelor's favourite student—not that he would admit it.

Today she was excited, they would each receive a horse to ride and care for. Worried about being late, she ran down the hall, and carelessly rounding the corner, the abrupt halt sent her to the floor. She looked up to see Councillor Niall frowning down on her.

"Oh, I'm so sorry." She stood up to his icy glare.

"Just where are you rushing off to?"

"I'm sorry, I was in a hurry to get to my lesson with Master Maelor."

His eyes narrowed. "You're training with Maelor?"

"Yes," she said, avoiding his interrogating eyes.

His nose crinkled up at her. "Respect the King's castle. You may be a Hunter, but this is not a place for reckless behaviour!"

"Yes Sir, I'm sorry." She anxiously bowed her head as she side stepped around him, walking at a steady speed, getting faster as she neared the door, she bolted to the training grounds.

Abby and the boys stood next to the corral of horses. The boys climb the fence, pointing to the horse they thought should be theirs. The boys flew off the fence when an angry horse charged them. Eyes wide with anger, the brown horse with a white patch on its forehead leaned back on its hind legs, kicking its front legs out, dancing around, stomping the ground, shaking its head wildly before racing off to the other end of the corral. I hope I don't get that horse.

"Get away from the horses!" Maelor shouted.

The excitement of receiving a horse was squashed; the only thing they received was a shovel and lesson on cleaning the stalls. She stepped into her stall, wrinkling her nose at the smell. She shook her head at the laughing idiots on the other side of her wall, surely up to no good. Soaked in sweat after a back breaking morning, she finished and stepped outside to watch the brown horse still stomping angrily around the other horses.

Maelor returned to inspect the stalls and the mischievous boys were punished with a slap to their heads. He inspected Abby's stall, it was spotless, just as he expected. He curiously searched for her. "Where's Abby?" A few of the boys pointed to the corral. His eyes widened in fear.

When Abby entered the corral, all the horses except for the brown horse raced to the other side of the corral. She froze when the brown horse rushed her, snorting and shaking its head wildly. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea. The horse kicked out its back legs and shook its head hard, almost losing its balance. "Shhh...it's okay," she whispered, holding out her empty hands. The angry horse raced to the other horses, making them scatter. Bolting out of the herd, it charged.

"Abby! Get out of there!" Maelor shouted as he quickly limped toward the corral. The boys followed at the excitement. "That horse will kill her!" The horses were running in all directions, making him lose sight of her. He reached the corral and opened the gate; he stood dumbfounded. Abby was rubbing the neck of the wild horse.

"Abby, slowly back away from the horse," Maelor said, trying to catch his breath. "That mare has hurt two of my men, she's too dangerous. They're going to kill her in the morning."

"What? Are you crazy?" she snapped. She rubbed the horse's neck. "Shhh...there, there, all better now." The mare snorted lightly and nudged its nose into her hand. "Did your men even check to see why Sophie was so angry?"

"Sophie? Who's Sophie?"

She lifted the mane to reveal a gash in the horse's neck. "This sharp stick was stuck in Sophie's neck!"

"You named the horse?" Maelor shook his head in disbelief.

She pointed to one of the boys. "You! Do you know what the healing plant looks like?" The boy nodded his head. "Good, run as fast as you can and bring it here to me!" She ordered another boy to fetch water. The boy returned with the plant. She quickly mashed the leaves into a paste. The boys huddled around her to watch her apply the paste to the injured mare.

Maelor watched the horse instantly respond to Abby's gentleness. He tried to treat her no different than the boys, but she was different, she saw things the others didn't. Every day before the next lesson he looked forward to her unpredictable talents. He could teach her everything she needed to know about weapons and how to fight, but today he chuckled to himself at learning something from her. He tossed her a rope. "Abby, take your horse to your stall."

She smiled and rubbed the horse's nose.

"The rest of you, back to your stalls! If I find one little smear...you will be sleeping in a steaming pile of horse shit tonight!" The boys raced off to their stalls.

Abby looped the rope over the horse's head. "Come on Sophie." She led her to the stall.

***

Councillor Niall impatiently waited for the trivial issues of the council meeting to be over.

"If there are no other matters, I bring this meeting to an end," the King said. About to stand, he cringed at Niall's voice.

"Wait, I have concerns that need to be addressed."

The King huffed, knowing what was coming and slouch in his chair. He reluctantly lifted his finger for Niall to continue.

"How long do you intend to allow the Hunter to stay? Your people are nervous and suspicious which is spreading inappropriate rumours. What if she brings the Spiritons here?"

Curiously, Crevon watched his father almost squirm at the questions.

"There haven't been Spiritons on the island for many years," the King mumbled.

Niall clenched his fists, trying to control his anger at the weak reply. "You can't deny that you have been on edge since she arrived. She roams freely about the Kingdom and has been training with Maelor, which I find very strange for a Hunter. I have to worry she may have ulterior motives."

"My son trusts her and wishes for her to stay as long as she likes."

"We have noticed the extra guards patrolling the castle and shores. It is obvious you don't trust her. Rydan is to be King and if the people are already uneasy with this unusual relationship he has with the Hunter. How will he gain the trust of his people? Especially if she brings the enemy."

The King frowned and took in a deep, annoyed breath, as these were the same concerns that gnawed at his insides from the moment she announced she was a Hunter. "I will look into this matter."

"I could handle this stressing situation for you." Niall continued to test the limits of his position. "If left too long, I can assure you this will only..."

"Damn it Niall! Did you not hear what I said?" The King slammed his fist down on the table and stood.

Crevon watched the glaring eyes between his father and Niall.

"Yes, I did. I'm sorry. I will leave the matter in your good hands."

After the meeting, Crevon stayed behind with Niall.

"I'm sorry my father was so abrupt with you. Do you really believe this Hunter will bring trouble?"

Niall nodded as he gathered up his papers. "Do you understand what it means to be King?"

"Yes, the King can't rule with his heart."

Niall's eyes shifted to the side. "Then, it's a shame that you were born second."

***

After spending the day with horses, Abby looked forward to a bath. When she entered the room, she spotted a blue dress on her bed. Holding the dress up against herself as she viewed herself in the mirror, she remembered the banquet celebrating Rydan and Selene's engagement was that night.

Rydan poked his head around the open door. "Hello Abby. May I come in?"

Startled, she clutched the dress up to her neck and smiled for him to enter. Her heart raced when he stepped into her room.

He was pleased to see her holding the dress. "I thought you might like it."

"Rydan, it's beautiful. Thank you," she said shyly as she tried to curl her messy hair behind her ears.

"I hear you are training with Maelor. He says you are doing well." Seeing her blue eyes sparkle made his heart race. "I'm sorry we haven't spent much time together."

"I understand." She glanced away, not knowing what else to say.

"So, I will see you tonight?" he asked hopefully.

She really wasn't sure she wanted to go, but she couldn't help but nod when he smiled.

"Good. We have so much to catch up on." He glanced one more time over his shoulder before he closed the door.

When he left, she clutched the dress to her body and excitedly spun herself in a circle. She undressed and lowered herself into a warm tub of water. After washing herself, she closed her eyes as she leaned back in the tub. Her eyes flew open at the sound of someone clearing their throat, and found Rydan's mother standing above her holding a towel out. Abby tried to cover herself. Doesn't anyone knock around here?

"Hello, my dear. Time to get ready," she said, looking impatient.

Abby shyly stood with her arms crossing the front of her body. The Queen wrapped the towel around her and rushing her over to sit next to the fire, she vigorously dried her hair with another towel.

Before Abby could blink, the towel was ripped from her body. The Queen held the dress up. "I will help you with your dress."

Embarrassed, Abby crouched down. "I can dress myself, thank you."

The Queen released an annoyed snort of air. "A bashful Hunter?" she said when she turned away to let Abby dress.

Abby said nothing and quickly dressed herself.

The Queen did up the buttons on the back of the dress. "Your dress is beautiful. Twirl around." Abby did as she was told. The Queen shook her head at the ghastly sight of dirty dress shoes on Abby's feet. "Just what have you been doing in those? Don't you dare leave this room in those shoes!" The Queen ordered a servant to bring her new dress shoes. "Hunter or not, we do not go stomping through the mud in our dress shoes." Sitting Abby in a chair, she clasped Abby's head and forcibly placed it in front of the mirror.

Abby watched the woman fuss with her stubborn hair.

"So, Rydan and you spent a lot of time together?"

Abby smiled politely.

"He talks highly of you."

Abby's eyes widened with surprise. "He talks about me?" Her face brightened.

The Queen smiled at her excited expression. "Yes, he does. He said if it weren't for you, he would have died in that cave. You must be very special to him." She finished tying up Abby's hair. Well, what do you think?" The Queen leaned down, looking into the mirror to view Abby's hair.

"I do like him..." Realizing the Queen was no longer talking about Rydan, Abby caught herself, almost revealing her feelings for him; her face blushed. "Ah...I do like my hair. Thank you," she stammered.

The Queen caught sight of her blushing face and with a mischievous grin, she pulled the neckline of Abby's dress down off her shoulders to rest on her upper arms, revealing more of her chest. She lightly brushed Abby's face, neck, and upper chest with a pinkish powder. "There, that's better." She rushed Abby over to the long mirror. "I will see you tonight." The Queen smiled sweetly. She opened the door and glanced back before she left the room.

Alone, Abby stepped into the new shoes and stared at herself in the mirror. The light blue silk dress flowed to the floor, the edges were trimmed with fine white lace, a line of white beads ran down the long arms, and a delicate lace bow on the back pulled her waistline into shape. The reflection was pretty, but she didn't recognize herself as being the attractive person in the mirror, and feeling too self-conscious she looked away. About to undo everything and stay in her room, she was startled when her door opened and a man dressed in a white suit with white gloves, stepped into her room.

"The Queen has sent me to escort you and I am not to take no for an answer," he said.

Before she opened her mouth, he took her hand, placed it on his stern arm, and escorted her down the hall.

Abby peered into the large room to see men wearing dark tunics with family emblems embroider on their left chest, bright sashes tied around their waists, and like colourful butterflies clinging to their arms were women dressed in long flowing gowns of satins, velvets, and silk fabrics, lace and tassels, flaunting their beauty to the rich room. White ribbons hung from the ceiling, all streaming to the center of the room to join up together with a large bouquet of roses. The table tops were adorned with white silk cloths, elegant silver candle holders, long stemmed roses in tall vases, gold plates, gold cutlery, and sparkling goblets made of crystal. Servants rushed around the room, placing food onto the already overflowing table and quickly filling the empty glasses with wine and ale. Her escort led her deeper into the room. Turning to her, he bowed and left her to stand alone.

Uninterested in the pretentious drivel between Selene and another couple, Rydan's eyes wandered the room. He took in a stuttered breath when he found her—Abby was stunning. Rudely leaving the conversation he quick stepped through the crowd, rushing up to her, took her hand, and bowing he kissed the back of her hand. Surprised, she gasped.

"Abby, you're beautiful." He stared with wide eyes taking in her glowing complexion, her sea-blue eyes were circled by a thin black line of makeup, her smooth midnight hair was pulled up tight into a bun on the back of her head, the shape of her neck was elegant and slender, down to her soft rounded shoulders and to the pinkish skin of her upper chest; his eyes darted away.

Abby blushed, she felt like she was in a fairy tale. "Thank you for the dress."

Selene glided up behind Rydan, grabbing his arm she whipped herself around to stand between them. "Abby, what a lovely blue dress."

"Thank you. It's from Rydan."

Unnoticed, Selene's teeth clinched together, remembering Rydan's dislike of the blue dress she wanted to wear. She patted him on the chest. "Rydan, you're such a gentleman, but maybe you should leave picking out the colour to me." She turned to Abby. "He's terrible at colours." She giggled, as she pulled on his arm. "Hurry, we must meet all the guests."

Abby watched them hurry off. Crevon rushed to her side. "Abby, you look amazing. You must save me a dance."

Abby blushed again. Crevon sat her in a chair next to him. He tried to distract her with all his charm, but her eyes followed Rydan's every move. Rydan was handsome in his blue velvet jacket, white pants, and tall black boots. His hair was neatly combed behind his ears, and his face clean-shaven, shiny and smooth.

Maelor sat at the end of the table and downed two glasses of wine before he acknowledged anyone. He watched Abby and Rydan take quick glances, leaning and bobbing to view each other. "Idiots," he grumbled under his breath.

Crevon tried to coax Abby to dance with him, but she refused at each attempt. The more he tried to take her mind off Rydan, the more she wished she never came. Maelor downed another glass of wine as he limped over to Abby. Disheartened, she glanced up to his frown.

Crevon intervened, trying to save her from the cantankerous man. "Come on Abby, come dance with me." Crevon grabbed her wrist, raising her up to her feet.

A voice boomed out above the music. "Here, here to the promising King and Queen of Adore! We shall follow wholeheartedly."

Abby watched Rydan take Selene's hand, the room exploded into cheers; she wanted to cry. "Please let me go, I want to leave." She tried to free herself from Crevon's grip.

Maelor's large hand clamped down on Crevon's hand, forcing him to release her wrist. "Abby has a bow lesson right now," he grumbled.

She looked at Maelor, confused.

Crevon laughed. "A bow lesson? Now?"

Wrinkles rolled down Maelor's forehead as he leaned into Crevon's face. "Yes, now. Do you have a problem with that?"

Even though Crevon was the son of the King, he was not one to disobey Maelor. Seeing tears in Abby's eyes, he stepped back. Maelor grabbed Abby roughly by the upper arm and ushered her out of the room.

Unable to view Abby, Rydan peeled himself away from Selene and made his way to his brother. "Where's Abby?"

"Idiot!" Crevon snorted and walked away.

Abby was relieved, but really didn't want a bow lesson. Without saying a word, she felt him place a bow in her hand, nock an arrow, and move her arms into a ready position to shoot. She tried to focus, but her eyes refused to find the target. She heard his fingers tapping impatiently on the side of his thigh, waiting for her to release, but she couldn't move and barely felt like she could breathe. With a long sigh he removed the bow and arrow from her shaking hands. She couldn't hold it in any longer, spinning around she pushed her face into his chest to cry. Surprised, Maelor scanned the grounds hoping no one was watching. His hand lightly patted her back as he led her to a bench to sit. Tears streamed down her face as she told him her story. She buried her face into her hands as she told him about the loss of her twin sister. He gently rocked her as she spoke, trying to comprehend her past.

"Do you love him?"

She nodded.

"Are you going to tell him?"

"I can't. He is to marry Selene and become the King. I can't do that to the people of Adore."

Maelor sighed.

"I feel so alone!" she sobbed.

"So what are you going to do, sit here in self pity?"

She sniffed. "What?"

"Yes, when people die, you grieve them, they leave you, and you say goodbye. If you are still alone, it is because you allow yourself to be alone. Rydan's destiny is out of your hands. If you sit here waiting for him, you will always feel alone. Don't dwell on what you don't have. Surround yourself with new people and make a new home. Hunter or not, take charge of your life; make it have meaning and purpose. Do you understand?"

She wiped her eyes. "Yes, I think so. Thank you," she whispered. She sat quietly for a moment. He was right, Rydan was engaged and she could do nothing about it. She needed to sort out her own life. She stood and fussed with her undone hair.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"Back to the banquet. It would be rude of me, if I didn't return." She really didn't want to go back.

"I don't think so, you're in the middle of a lesson." He handed her the bow and arrow.

Surprising him, she sat back down and hugged him. He pushed her back with a frown and pointed to the target. She stood up and aimed her arrow.

"Lift your elbow!" he scolded her.

She smiled.

## 49

### Cripet

It fluttered between the dark trees and danced excitedly in the beams of light shining down from the two moons. A gust of wind caught the large green moth by surprise, sending it tumbling through the air. Latching onto the bark of a tree, the moth slowed its fluttering wings down to a smooth rhythmic wave to rest. Summoned again, the moth released itself into the passing wind. Its wings fluttered erratically to carry itself up the black mountainside and into the palm of a hand.

Keeva carried the moth through the entrance of her cave, and carefully placing it on the stone altar, she gently stroked the back of the delicate creature with her finger. With a wave of her hand a flame lit the candle. The moth fluttered excitedly. Tilting the candle, a single bead of hot wax dropped onto the back of the unsuspecting moth. In pain, the moth fluttered madly as it ran across the stone altar. Keeva grabbed its tiny wings, plucking them from its body. The moth collapsed to its side, and for a moment laid still. Its body began to shake as it started to change, rapidly growing and stretching into a creature the size of a one-year-old child. As its body grew larger, two arms, two legs developed, and leathery wings stretched out of its hairless new body. A small nose pushed out from the greenish toned skin, a mouth with sharp teeth opened wide, and two large eyes bulged forward. Keeva snapped her fingers, adding a long leather vest with a black belt, covering the creature's body. The creature reached up behind its bald head with its long bony fingers, brushing over its large pointy ears. "Yes! Yes! Yes!" The creature eagerly waited for her instructions.

"Cripet, you will find Jorin," Keeva ordered. She held out the fake stone from Jorin.

Cripet sniffed vigorously, then giggled as he brushed his fingers over his ears. "Yes! Yes! Cripet will find Jorin! Find Jorin!" He flapped his wings wildly to get himself up into the night sky. Flying for a long distance, he followed the scent. Sniffing and tasting the air, he drooled; he was close. Gliding down to a glow in the forest, he landed to peek around a tree, his excited eyes widened at the sight of the beautiful hot flames, yellow and orange, jumping joyously, beckoning him to release them from their earthy bounds. He curled his fingers up to his mouth and giggled lightly.

When Luken and Niyu fell asleep, Akira rolled onto her side and pulled her blanket up over her shoulders. About to drift off, her eyes opened when she heard a sound. She smirked at the poor attempt. "Are you always this noisy when sneaking up on someone?"

Niyu froze.

Akira released a sigh. "Hurry up then, I want to get some sleep."

Niyu dragged her blanket across the ground, flopping down, she lay next to Akira, snuggling up against her back.

"Are you really the last Hunter?" Niyu whispered.

"I don't know. They thought my mother was before she died."

"Are you going to kill all the Spiritons?"

"I made a promise to my mother."

"If I made a promise to kill the Spiritons, could I become a Hunter too?"

Surprised by her question, Akira rolled over to face Niyu. "What?"

"They killed Grandor and maybe Tumble too. I want to be like you and kill them all."

Akira lightly laughed. "You don't want a life of a Hunter. It makes you grumpy."

Niyu raised her head. "Don't laugh at me, I'm serious!"

"Okay, I'm sorry." Akira glanced at Niyu's deformed hand. Knowing what she knows now about being a Hunter, she wondered if she were given the opportunity, would she choose an ordinary life or follow the path of a lonely Hunter.

With a scowl on her face, Niyu tucked her deformed hand under the blanket. "I could do it with one hand," she insisted.

"I'm sure you could, but I think one promise is enough. Go back to sleep." She pushed Niyu's head back to the ground. Niyu huffed as she curled her blanket up over her head. Akira rolled back over.

"I don't think you're grumpy," Niyu whispered.

"Shhh...go to sleep or I will feed you to a dragon," she grumbled.

Luken woke to a strange noise, sitting up he looked over to Niyu, cuddled up next to Akira, both still asleep. He scanned the area, but saw nothing. He tossed another a piece of wood on the fire, making sparks jump into the air. The creature released another excited giggle. This time, Luken was sure there was something. He loaded his slingshot as he watched the darkness. Hearing the giggle sound, he whipped a small rock off.

"Hurt! Hurt! Hurt!" Cripet yelped, jumping out into view holding his head.

Akira and Niyu were now awake, watching the ugly creature howling in pain.

"Akira, what is it?" Niyu quivered.

Cripet sniffed the air for Jorin, but the scent brought him to Akira. Not seeing Jorin, he ran to the saddlebags, pulling out the contents to search for anything to bring back to Keeva.

"Hey! Stop that!" Akira shouted.

She shot off an arrow next to the creature. He continued to search. She grabbed his wing. He turned on her, spitting into her face, making her stumble backward, rubbing her stinging eyes. Niyu jumped up and grabbed Akira's saddlebag.

"Ah...Keeva wants!" The creature jumped at Niyu, grasping the bag, trying to pull it away from her. As they fought over the bag, the spell book fell to the ground.

"The spell book!" Niyu grabbed the book.

"Cripet wants!"

He could see it was something of importance and lunged at her. She screamed. Luken rushed to help her. They both held onto the book as Cripet tugged on the other side. Akira aimed her crossbow, but the three of them were moving too erratically. The creature spat into their faces. Luke and Niyu released the book, wildly wiping their faces. Akira shot off an arrow as the creature launched itself into the air, but the arrow missed and the creature disappeared into the darkness with the book.

"Are you two all right?" she asked.

"Yes, but your spell book is gone," Niyu whimpered.

"It was no good to us now anyway." She tried to reassure them. She looked into the night sky, losing the book was not what she feared—Keeva knows where we are.

***

Cripet flew into Keeva's cave, landing on the stone altar. He dropped the book in front of her and whispered into her ear.

Her eyes narrowed. "Akira is still alive? How is this possible? He must have used the real stone to bring her back to life." Keeva opened the book. "This is a book of spells?" She flipped through the blank pages. "What is the meaning of this? There's nothing written in this book!" Her arm flew out, striking the creature with the back of her hand, knocking him to the floor. She whipped the book at him. "You are useless!" About to destroy the cowering creature, a different thought came to mind, and she lowered her arms. "You will find Abby! Don't come back until you do!"

He wildly sniffed the chains that bound Abby in the cave. "Cripet find Abby! Find Abby!" He flew off before Keeva could change her mind.

Her body spun, creating the purple mist. "Find a Piece of Five!" she commanded.

The obedient mist rushed through the tunnels and shot out into the sky.

## 50

The Void

Akira found a clearing on top of a hill just before sunset. In one direction she could see the tower not far off, and as she feared, in the other direction the purple mist curled over the top of the Taltorn Mountains—she wouldn't have much time.

Hiding behind boulders along the trail to the tower, she remembered the small door for loading firewood into the kitchen. Her heart raced when she spotted Jorin's horse with the other horses, and feared the worst for them. It was getting darker; she needed to hurry. She whispered to Luken and Niyu to stay behind. A whimper made her turn to see two Spiritons holding Luken and Niyu by their throats. Not risking it, she gave up her weapons. Pushing her, they forcibly led Akira and the others to the tower.

Damn it! I'm so stupid! They knew I was coming.

As they climbed the tower stairs, Akira took every opportunity to glance out the windows toward the mountains. They stepped into Senus' old room. She shook her head, just when she thought she had defeated the leader of the Spiritons, another was quick to take his place.

"I knew you would come for your friends, but I am also pleased you brought my old friend, Luken." Valgard rose from his chair. "Luken and I have some unfinished business."

Luken swallowed hard, frightened by Valgard's tone.

Akira pushed Luken and Niyu behind her. "You have me, let them go." She took a quick glance to the covered window.

"I don't think so. I will take the stone now. I will not make stupid mistakes like Senus made," Valgard growled.

"But you already have," Akira insisted.

"Is that so?"

She stared at the window as she talked. "I've been followed."

He laughed. "By who? More children?"

"The purple mist. It belongs to Keeva and it searches for the Pieces of Five?"

Valgard followed her eyes to the window. Curious, he pulled back the drapes to view the setting sky. The purple mist rolled over the hills and into the Orlah Forest, heading straight for the tower. "You brought Keeva to the tower? Have you lost your mind! Stupid girl!" he shouted. He quickly ordered the Spiritons to retreat.

"What of the prisoners?" one Spiriton asked.

"You can stay behind and kill them," he ordered.

The Spiriton watched the others rush out the door, leaving him behind. Outraged, he growled and raised his sword. Niyu cowered with fright.

"Run!" Luken shouted.

Niyu and Luken separated, running opposite directions of the room, leaving Akira to stand before the Spiriton. She delivered a hard kick into his stomach, only stunning him for a second. He swung his sword down, and in one sweeping motion, she stepped inside his swing, turning so her back was up against his body, grabbed his wrist, dropped down to one knee, and pulled his wrist down to her hip. The swift move was too quick for the Spiriton and he flipped over onto his back. Shouting as his wrist twisted into another painful position, he released his sword to Akira.

Flicking the point of the sword, she gestured him to stand. "I give you the opportunity to run, but if you continue to fight, I can make sure enough time is wasted and Keeva will arrive to find you and the stones." She didn't have time to fight him and hoped he would run. Taunting him, she dangled the stones out in front of him.

He nervously looked to the window; slowly backing away from the sword, he ran out the door.

Luken ran to the window. "What do we do? The purple mist is still heading our way."

Akira gathered up her weapons. "We have to find the others. Hurry!"

They ran down the stairs, through the halls to stop in front of a bolted door. She slid the metal bar off the large door and entered into the sparsely lit room. When her eyes adjusted, she found the men chained to the wall with their arms above their heads. She ran to Jorin first. "Jorin!" She carefully lifted his head to see his bloody and bruised face.

"I knew you would come," he whispered.

Niyu ran to Tumble and shook him, but he was unconscious. "Tum...please wake up!"

Akira tugged on Jorin's chain. "Damn it, I need the keys."

"I'll find the keys!" Luken shouted and ran off.

"No Luken!" Akira shouted.

Luken ran down the hall and back to Valgard's room. He spied the keys on the table and grabbed them. Curious, he slowly approached the window. The sight of the mist rolling out from the trees made him stumble into a run. Luken exploded into the room. "The purple mist is at the tower! What are we going to do?" He handed the keys to Akira.

She released Jorin and rushed to Brogan, leaning on his body, she reached up to the shackles with the key. He lifted his battered face to greet her. She lowered her hand down onto the side of his bloody face and helped him to the floor. Panicking, her hands shook as she unlocked the others. They were all in rough shape, especially Tumble. There was no way she would be able to get them out of the tower in time. She knew the mist was seeking the stones, but were could she hide them. She froze when a spell formed in her mind. "These words I command; out of the light and into the darkness, open thy hollow!" In front of the wall, a large cloudy circle formed, the cloud faded leaving the circle translucent. Ripples formed, rolling to the centre of the circle. Surprised, Luken backed up as it was just like the void that trapped him in the forest. Niyu heard the spell and rushed to Akira when she collapsed to the floor in pain.

Holding his bruised ribs, Sal stood at the door. "The mist is coming down the hall!"

Moaning, Akira locked one shackle around her wrist, tugging on the chain to make sure it was still attached to the wall, she waited and when a large ripple rolled toward the centre, she jumped into the void, disappearing before their stunned eyes. The chain hanging midair jerked tight and partially disappeared into the void. Jorin moved in to pull on the chain.

"No! Wait! I think she's hiding the stones." Luken shouted.

Hearing the wind blow by her ears, Akira opened her eyes and gasped with fright at the unfathomable height. Holding the chain bound to the shackle around her wrist, she dangled by one arm, swaying in a dark red sky, grey clouds rolled violently below her feet with blue shards of light streaking through the darkness like lightning, and boiling orange lava spewed over the dead landscape. She looked up to where the chain disappeared, but couldn't see the others. The air turned thin, her hair and anything loose floated upward, including the stones. From the corner of her eye, something startled her. Black wispy shadows streaked by her, returning to swirl around her like a tornado with hand-like shapes reaching out to touch her. A large shadow rushed toward her, stopping in front of her face. She shook with fear when the shape of an eerie face formed against the blackness—it grinned. It tried to grab the stones, but couldn't grasp them with its translucent hands. Seeing the mark on her bare stomach, it reached out and touched the Healer's mark, making it glow red. She shouted in pain and swung wildly when she felt her skin burn. As if hurt, it snatched its hand back from the mark, it tried to touch her body elsewhere, but passed right through her. Angry, it shrieked as it swirled around her, gaining speed, creating cracks of blue lightning in its trail, and in an upper ward motion, a shard of blue light cut her forearm. She shouted and tried to reach her arm. The shadows disappeared.

Sal and the others froze when the mist rolled into the room, weaving between them, searching. Niyu shivered and tried to brush the mist away. They held their breaths with fear when the bolt at wall popped out an inch. The mist followed the floating chain until it bounced off the invisible wall, recoiling, it dropped to the floor and retreated from the room. Catching their breaths, they rushed to the chain.

"Quick, pull her up!" Brogan shouted.

They struggled to pull her up, they would gain a couple of feet then something would yank her back down. The tug-o-war continued to drain them with the chain slipping through their hands.

"I can't hold it much longer," Brogan growled.

The bolt popped out more.

"Hang on! We're losing her!" Jorin shouted as more links slipped through his fingers.

A sudden stop and a jerk backward made them look behind.

"Father!" Luken shouted.

Cattar held the end of the chain, nodding for them to continue pulling. Muscles straining they pulled hard, yanking Akira out of the void and into Brogan's arms.

"I see you are still as reckless as ever," Brogan said sternly.

She looked up to his swollen face, but she didn't care what he said or how angry he was, the sound of his voice warmed her. She dropped her head onto his chest and clutched his shirt. He slowly circled his arms around her.

Luken rushed into his father's arms. "Father!"

"Luken, I'm so glad you are safe." He hugged him.

"Akira, are you all right?" Jorin knelt down to unshackle her arm.

She nodded and pushed herself away from Brogan. Holding the small gash on her forearm, she stared back at the void, hoping whatever was in there wasn't coming out. The void clouded over and disappeared.

"What was in there?" Luken asked.

"Nothing."

"Sal, Rin, help me carry Tumble," Brogan ordered.

Holding his father's hand, Luken peeked out into the hall to make sure it was clear, he waved them on. They rushed outside to gather as many horses as they could find, tied Tumble to a horse, and made their escape.

Daylight arrived deep in the Orlah forest, allowing the weary riders to rest. Luken took this father's hand rushing him to help Tumble.

He pulled Luken back, "I can't help these people. We have to go home."

Helping Jorin, Akira growled with angry as once again the Healer treated like vermin. She stood to confront him, but Jorin pulled her back down.

"We have to help Tumble first." Luken pulled his reluctant father to Tumble.

Cattar knelt down next to Tumble to assess his injuries. "He'll be fine, Luken." He looked over to Akira and nervously watched her, as she used the stones to heal the injured. The power frightened him. That kind of power will bring evil. He backed away and scanned the forest.

Tumble woke to find Niyu clutching his arm. Smiling, he patted her on the head. "I'm okay, Niyu."

Brogan wrapped a bandage around his hand. He envied Jorin as he watched Akira care for him.

Akira held a cup of water to Jorin's cut lips. "What happened at Killeen?"

He put his hands over hers and took another sip. "When we arrived, the village was abandoned except for the dead. The Spiritons were waiting for us and we were out numbered. We can only hope our families got away safely."

"I'm sorry. I wish I could have helped."

"You did. I knew you would find us." Jorin put his hand on hers.

She smiled as she slipped her hand out. "I'm going to check on the others." She wandered off to sit on her own.

Sal rolled something around in his mouth and spit it out into his hand. "Damn it! They knocked out my tooth! A perfectly good meat-chewing tooth!"

I can mash your food up and feed you like a baby. Rin smirked, before wincing at his broken nose.

"Very funny. Let me fix that for you." Sal grabbed his brother's nose and with a quick jerk, cracked it back into place.

Rin covered his nose as his eyes watered from the pain.

Sal removed Rin's hand and took a closer look. "Not quite straight yet. Kind of leans to one side. Let me try again."

Rin waved him off. Do that again and you will lose more than a chewing tooth.

Akira looked down to view the unusual looking cut on her arm, wondering how the shadow could cut her. She slowly lifted up her shirt to inspect her burnt skin, strangely only the Healer's mark was burnt. Luken sat down beside her and stared at the bright red mark; the mark was the same as his.

"Luken?" She pulled her shirt back down.

He didn't answer. He flashed back to the days when he lay in pain as his father tried to burn his mark off.

"Luken, what's wrong?" she asked.

He looked up. "Ah...nothing. Are you all right?"

"Yes, I am fine. When you were in the void, did you see anything?"

"No, it was black inside there. Why?"

"Never mind, just thought I saw something."

"I thought I heard something, but I can't be sure."

"What?" She waited impatiently.

"I must have heard it wrong, but it sounded like...lizard will return."

"Lizard will return? That makes no sense, must have been the wind."

"What did you see?"

"Nothing."

As he watched her walk away, he had a feeling something happened inside the void. He stood up wanting to tell her about his mark, but his father interrupted.

Cattar pulled his son aside and hugged him. "I'm so happy you're safe and grateful they helped you, but we need to go."

Luken pushed his father back. "They need our help."

"If the Spiritons find them here, they will kill our people."

"Father, it's not the Spiritons you need to be afraid of, it's Keeva. We need to help them defeat her."

"I need to protect my family and the village."

Luken shook his head; he couldn't believe what his father was saying. "You won't help?"

"They will bring trouble..."

Luken interrupted. "Why did you tell me the mark on my stomach was a curse?" His father's eyes widened with surprise. "It's not a curse. It's the mark of the Healer. Isn't it? Why would you make me believe I had some terrible curse?" Luken shouted angrily. "Making me hide my mark in shame. You made me feel like an outcast. Do you have any idea how painful it was when you burned my skin?"

"We were trying to protect you!"

Luken turned to leave.

"Where are you going?"

"To help them."

"No, you are not. You are a thirteen-year-old boy and you are coming home with me," he demanded.

"I have done all right so far."

"Enough. We are going!"

The scowl on this father's face rendered him silent.

Hearing Cattar's stern voice Akira looked up to see him walk over to Brogan.

"For the safety of my village, I ask you to leave Orlah forest."

Bitter, Akira stepped in front of Brogan to face Cattar, making him step back. "You betrayed us once and even after we brought your son home, you still treat us like the enemy?" She pulled her knife, holding it sideways to his throat. He held his hands up in a panic. She scoffed at his cowardice.

"Akira, enough!" Brogan shouted, but she ignored him. He pulled on her arm, roughly ushering her way from Cattar.

She snapped her arm away from his grip. "How can you let him treat us this way?"

"He is trying to protect his village and his family. I would do the same, just as you would do anything to protect your sister."

Her fired-up expression changed to concern. She leaned into his face, making him lean back from her sudden closeness. His heart raced.

"You're bleeding."

"Huh?"

"Your lip, it's bleeding."

She lightly touched his cut lip with her finger and held it up to show him. All he could focus on was her pretty face. She touched his lip again with her thumb to wipe off more blood. He didn't care if he was bleeding, he wanted to kiss her, but her frown returned.

She walked away annoyed. "I guess you don't need protecting."

He touched his lip with his finger. Damn it. It would be so much easier if I hated her.

"We will go," Brogan announced to the others.

"What about Luken?" Niyu asked.

"Thank you for bringing my son home, but he will not be travelling with you." He roughly lifted Luken up on his horse before getting up himself.

For two days they slowly continued west, allowing the men to recover from their injuries.

Hearing birds rush out of the bushes behind them, Sal stopped his horse, releasing an annoyed huff of air. "He's still following us," he grumbled.

Tumble stopped next to him. "We have tried to catch Luken four times now and he has outsmarted us all."

"We could shoot him." Sal grinned, pointing his finger in the direction he figured Luken was hiding. "You can't hide from us forever. I might mistake you for a deer!"

Akira continually looked behind herself, searching the forest for Luken. It concerned her that he was following them on his own, obviously without his father's permission. It also concerned her Valgard had threatened him. She needed to catch the stupid boy. Before sunset and before they made camp, she scanned the forest, studying the shape of the trees. Waiting until dark, while the others slept, she snuck out under the cover of a thin veil of fog. She figured he was sleeping in a tree somewhere. It wasn't long before she spotted something clinging to a branch in a tree. Approaching quietly, she stood underneath him, shaking her head; he had tied himself to the trunk of the tree so not to fall out.

Just before sunrise, curious lizards flew to Luken's branch and nipped at his fingers. Annoyed, Luken woke. Untying himself, he climbed down the tree, when his feet touched the ground, rope hidden under the dirt snapped out, whipping across his waist, slamming him back against the tree. Panicking, he struggled to free himself from the tight rope.

"You should know I was pretty close to letting Sal shoot you." Akira stepped out from behind the tree, holding the end of the rope.

He sighed with disappointment. "How did you find me?"

She smirked. "You made it tough."

"Are you going to take me back?"

"If I do, what are you going to do?"

"Run away, again."

"Why?"

Luken turned his head away, not wanting to answer.

"Is it because of Valgard?"

Luken swallowed and bowed his head. "I'm afraid he will come after me and harm my family." That wasn't his only reason; he also wanted to know why he had the Healer's mark.

"Are you hungry?" She untied his rope. "I'm sure Tum has meat cooking by now."

He looked up surprised. "Are you taking me back?"

"I rather not bother if you are going to run away again. Stay out here on your own if you wish." She walked away from him, smiling when she heard him walking behind her. "You know you are going to get a pretty good beating when your father catches up with you."

"Yes, but he has to catch me first."

51

### Jealously

The wind whistled across a narrow outcrop of rock hanging high above the shores below. Rydan walked out to the edge and sat in the twilight to watch the sweet light just before sunrise. Slowly erasing the night sky, a thin orange haze appeared above the horizon. He marvelled at the intensity and passion in the sky as it prepared for the sun to arrive. No matter how many times he viewed the sunrise, not one was the same. Erupting into a fiery blaze, a single shaft of light cracked the morning sky. He gazed at its beauty as he visualized himself leaping off the edge and into the inviting sky.

"I thought I would find you here." Crevon sat next to his brother and watched the sky grow brighter. "Well, how are the wedding plans going?"

"Fine," Rydan mumbled.

"You don't seem to be very excited about it."

"It's fine."

"Do you really want to marry Selene?"

"Of course," Rydan snapped.

"I have seen the way you look at Abby. Do you have feelings for her?"

"What? No! She's just a friend." Rydan frowned at his brother's prying questions.

Crevon stood. "Well then, if she is only a friend, you won't mind if I get to know her better?" With a sneer, Crevon turned away from Rydan's perturbed expression. "Enjoy your morning."

Rydan anxiously searched for Abby and found her in the weapons training area. Before he could rush to her, Selene curled her arms around his arm. Abby looked back to see Selene lean in and kiss him on the cheek. She beamed a spiteful smile at Abby.

Abby wanted to leave, but didn't want to make it look so obvious. She nocked an arrow onto her bow. She took aim, hesitating, hoping they would leave. Her bow started to shake. Flustered, she released the arrow, missing the target. Damn it! Why won't they leave?

Selene pulled Rydan to sit under a tree and rattled on about the wedding. Selene tugged on his arm. "Now, as I was saying Rydan?" She knew he wasn't listening to her. "I hear Abby is leaving us soon."

Rydan heard Abby's name. "Leaving?"

"Yes, that is what she told me. There is nothing here for her and she plans to leave before the wedding. I tried to talk her into staying, but she said, no."

Rydan was surprised and disappointed she felt there was nothing here for her. Why didn't she tell me?

Abby struggled to hold the arrow in place, knowing their eyes were still on her. Crevon startled her when he leaned into her body from behind. She felt his cheek brush against hers.

"Let me help you," he whispered into her ear. "Focus on your target." He touched her hands, adjusting them on the bow.

She swallowed, feeling her face heat up. Her target was the last thing on her mind when he snuggled closer. Uncomfortable, she tried to turn her head to look at Rydan, but Crevon turned her head to face the target.

She wiggled. "What are you doing?"

"Rydan said you weren't seeing anyone and thought maybe you might need some company."

"What? Just who does he think he is?" She fumed. He's feeling sorry for me so he tossed me his brother and now he's going to sit up there and watch? Well, if that is what he wants. She clenched her teeth. Steaming with anger, she decided to play along with Crevon's advances.

"Oh look, Crevon and Abby are together. Don't they make a cute couple?" Selene cuddled up against him.

Rydan's heart nearly leapt from his chest at the sight of Crevon's body up against hers. With his hands under her arms, Crevon lifted them back up to hold the bow out front. He ran his hands across the top of her arms to her shoulders and gently brushed her hair to one side to view her neck. He glanced over his shoulder to make sure his brother was watching. Rydan stood up, clenching his fists. Abby raised her eyebrows in surprise when she felt Crevon run his hand down her side, onto her hip and slid across her stomach. She cringed; maybe this was going a bit too far.

Rydan tightened his muscles, trying to stop it, but he was losing control. The anger was cutting his gut, snapping his ribs like twigs. He growled in excruciating pain. Crevon licked Abby's ear. With disgust, a shiver ran her spine. She had had enough and pushed Crevon back. With wings exploding out his back, Rydan roared in anger.

Crevon grinned at his brother. That was easy enough.

The gusting wind from his wings made Selene clutch her dress when it blew up her legs, and her neatly pinned up hair whipped up over her head, making her scream. She shuffled herself sideways to get away from him; she hated his wings. "Rydan! Stop it, put them away!"

Ignoring her, he charged down the hill toward Crevon, wildly flapping his wings as his feet left the ground. Startled, Abby jumped out of the way when Rydan slammed into Crevon, both tumbling across the ground, coming to a stop, they stood, before Crevon could utter a word, Rydan hit him across the jaw, knocking him to the ground.

"Rydan!" Abby yelled.

Crevon rubbed his sore jaw. "The spirit of jealousy exposes you, Brother."

Rydan glanced at Abby's angry face, unable to say anything to her. She shook her head and ran off. Looking down at Crevon, anguish crossed his face. "I'm sorry Crevon. I don't know what possessed me. I lost control of myself. I don't know what's wrong with me." He dropped to his knees, viewing the palm of his hands. "Have I become more of a creature and less of a man?"

"No, you are still just a dumb man who's in love and won't admit it." He stood and held out his hand to his brother, helping him stand. "You need to accept your feelings for Abby. Don't marry Selene because you think it is the right thing to do for the Kingdom."

"Why would Abby have any interest in a creature like me?"

He smirked. "I am starting to wonder that too."

"What should I do?"

"If you are asking me, then you really are dumb."

For two days Rydan stressed about telling his father; the response wasn't going to be good. Heart pounding, Rydan paced back and forth in front of his father's chamber, reciting the words he needed to tell his parents. He knocked on the door. Hearing his father's voice made him swallow hard. He stepped into their room. Both his parents sat at a table, his father reading a book and his mother sewing a pattern into a long silk tapestry.

"Oh, Rydan, perfect timing. We wanted to talk to you about a wedding gift," his father said.

Rydan rolled his nervous eyes down. "Mother, Father, I have something to say. I love you both and I love the Kingdom, but I can't marry Selene. I can't be King."

Crevon listened to their conversation on the other side of the door.

For a second the King thought he was joking, but Rydan's serious face made him jump to his feet. "You can't mean that! You've been under a lot of pressure lately! You don't know what you are saying!"

"I will lead my own life."

"You can't do this to us!" He slammed his hands down on the table. "What possible reason would you have to give up your right to be King?"

A soft smile crossed his mother's face; she knew the reason. "Dear, let him be."

"We have been preparing for this long before he was born! We lost him once, and now we are about to lose him again!"

His mother stood up. "Do you love her?"

Connecting with his mother's eyes, he smiled. "Yes."

The King snorted at the stupid answer. "Of course he loves Selene."

"Not Selene, Dear." She touched her husband's hand.

Angry and confused, he looked at his wife's face, he didn't like being the last to know. "Not Selene? Then who?" It took him a second to catch on. "Abby? The girl from the cave? Have you lost your mind? She's a Hunter!" He cringed in disgust. "How will you get the Kingdom's approval and respect?"

"I don't need anyone's approval," Rydan grumbled back.

His mother moved around to the front of the table. "Is this really what you want?"

Rydan took in a deep breath. "Yes. I'm sorry."

"You can't be sorry for love." She rushed to hug him.

"He's giving up the Kingdom for that girl, a Hunter!" he shouted in an insulting tone.

"I have always wanted to live freely and in a strange way I have been given the chance with my wings and with Abby." He lightly squeezed his mother's hand. "Crevon will make a great King."

"I did not spend all those years training you so Crevon could take over! Crevon is nothing like you!"

Crevon clutched his fists at his father's insulting words, as once again he was tossed aside.

His father angrily whipped the book across the room. "How can you do this to me?" He leaned on the table, barely controlling the fist he wanted to strike his son with.

"It will be all right, my dear. Let him go," she said softly to her husband.

"But..."

"Shhh...just sit for a minute," she said, trying to hush him. "Rydan, are you sure about this?"

"Yes."

By his wife's polite demand, he huffed as he slouched down into his chair, shaking his head at his wife, so easily swayed by the power of love. The longer he sat the angrier he became. He wasn't about to let his son give up everything for some girl he thought he loved, especially a Hunter. He stood, fists clenched. "Go and be with this girl. You'll never be able to have a relationship with a girl from the Hunter's Clan. I will give you time to think about the mistake you are making. You will realize this is where you belong." He angrily pointed to the door. He watched Rydan leave. "It would have been better for all of us if that girl had died," the King growled.

Crevon stormed down the narrow stairs, bursting out into the kitchen. "Get out!" The startled kitchen maids ran out from the room. He raged through the kitchen grabbing and smashing anything he could get his hands on, turning the kitchen upside-down. Heaving for air he stopped when he grabbed a bottle of wine, yanking the cork out with his teeth he sat down and gulped the wine. Looking to the corner of the room he noticed a young maiden hiding in the shadow of the tall shelf.

"Come here," he growled. She hesitated. Flinging his chair back he rushed her, grabbing her roughly, slapping her face, he shoved her to the floor. Picking her up, he shook her as she cried. "You will do as a say. One day I will be your King." He threw her across the table and onto the floor. He took a gulp of wine as he stomped toward her, grabbing her upper arm, he pulled up against his body. He poured wine over her head. "It's time for you to be good to your future King." He licked her face.

It was late and Abby stretched her back from the long day of shooting arrows while riding a horse. She entered her room, dark except for the glowing light from the fire. Too tired to light the candles, she walked over to the tub of water next to the fire and dipped her finger in; it was still warm. She slid out of her clothes and climbed into the tub. After washing, she dunked her head one more time and pushed her wet hair back. She stepped out of the tub to stand in front of the fire. After drying herself off, she held a white silk slip above her head and wiggled to let it flow down her body to her thighs. When she bent down to reach for the metal fire poker, she moaned a little, feeling her sore muscles complain from the rough day. She pushed the logs together, making the flames grow. When she straightened up, her body jerked with fright when someone grabbed her from behind, and before she could scream, a sweaty hand clammed over her mouth. She stopped struggling when a knife moved in front of her face.

"Scream and I will slit your throat," the man's voice threatened. He slid the blade under her chin, slowly released her mouth, and wrapped his arm around her stomach, pulling her tight up against his body.

She trembled. "What do you want?"

He leaned his head to her ear. "I have a message."

Her skin crawled when she felt his hot breath on her ear. "From who?"

"That doesn't matter. What matters, Hunter, is that you obey. You will leave Adore and never return. If you don't leave, you will die. We are watching you. Do you understand?"

She gave a slight nod. Her body stiffened when she heard him sniff her skin.

"You smell good, for a Hunter." Moving his knife to the side of her face, he touched her skin with the back of his fingers, slowly moving down her neck to her chest. "I must say I was a little apprehensive about sneaking up on a Hunter, but I am pleasantly surprised at how soft and delicate you are."

Her heart pounded hard. Still holding the fire poker in her hand with the tip in the fire, she tightened her grip. As soon as she felt his hand slide up her stomach, she moved her head to the side, swinging the hot end of the poker over her shoulder to strike him in the forehead. The red hot metal sizzled as it burned his skin. Yelling, he released her. She swung around, hitting him across the side of his head, sending him to his knees. She raised the poker to strike him again, but he lunged at her, knocking her to the floor. He sat on her stomach with his hand grasping her throat.

He laid the edge of the blade on her cheek. "You little witch! Fortunately for you, I was paid well or I would have sliced you open from head to toe. You will not speak to anyone of this, or not only will I kill you, I will kill those you care about. Do I make myself clear?"

Her chest heaved. "Yes." She stared at the angry man with a black beard and a red burnt mark on his forehead.

Hearing voices in the hall, her eyes darted to the door, wanting to shout for help. He squeezed her throat, making her look back to his desperate eyes. His knife shook as he listened. As soon as the voices disappeared, he bolted to the windowsill and climbed out. Relieved he was gone, Abby released her held breath. She stood on shaky legs, rushing to the door, she put her hand on the door handle, ready to shout for help, but stopped herself as his threatening words shook her. She released the door handle, locked the door and shutters. She curled herself up into bed with her knife tightly grasped in her hand. A sleepless night left her wondering who ordered the threatening message, wanting her gone; bad enough they threatened to kill. Maybe Maelor could help, but what if someone is watching? He could get hurt. Do I tell Rydan? Rydan is getting married, there's no reason to stay. She turned her face into the pillow and cried.

## 52

The Right Decision

Greeting the morning sun, the birds chirped cheerfully outside her window. Abby ran her hand over the blue dress from Rydan. She gently folded the beautiful dress with the full intent of leaving it on the bed, but she turned back and stuffed the dress into her saddlebag. She took one last view of her beautiful room, quietly stepped out and walked down the long hallway. She stopped in front of Rydan's room, raised her hand to knock on his door, but hesitated. She didn't want to leave without saying goodbye, but her heart ached to see his face for the last time. She swallowed hard, trying to control her tears. If he opens it, how will I control myself from throwing myself into his arms? Her mind went blank at what to say to him. When she spun away from his door to think, she bumped into Selene. Abby looked to the ceiling—of all people to run into.

Selene spotted Abby's packed bags. "Are you leaving?" she asked hopefully.

"Yes, it's time for me to head home. Goodbye." She rushed by her.

A malicious sneer of victory crossed Selene as she watched Abby run down the hall.

Annoyed Selene saw her, she cursed profusely all the way to the stable. She rushed to saddle her horse and load her saddlebags. Holding the reins, she walked Sophie from her stall. A shadow crossed her path.

Maelor blocked her way. "That is a lot of swearing, even for a Hunter! Were you not going to say goodbye?" His eyebrows creased together.

"How did you know I was leaving?"

"The boys beat you to the lesson this morning."

She glanced to the ground, feeling guilty for trying to sneak away. "I'm sorry, but I have to go." She slowly lifted her eyes. "I will never forget what you have done for me."

From his back, he swung out a large package bound in leather. Holding it out, he grunted for her to take it. "Safe journey," he grumbled as he limped away.

Abby knelt down to the ground to unwrap the leather package. She leaned back surprised at the sight of a bow with a quiver of arrows, a thin metal scabbard with a sword, and she choked back her tears when she recognized Maelor's knife and leather sheath. Her eyes darted to find him, but he was gone; she smiled at his grumpy generosity.

She patted Sophie's neck and gently urged her to carry her down the steep gravel road. Nervous, she held the reins tight, trying not to let her eyes drift to the side where the road edge fell away to rugged rocks far below. She stopped when the road disappeared into a tunnel carved into the mountainside. Above the entrance of the tunnel was the shape of a crescent moon carved into the rock. It reminded her of the blue symbol on the map. She remembered the riddle from Trevina. "The light at the beginning is the same as the end, but never in the middle. Could the blue stone be hidden in the tunnel?"

She pulled out a torch from her saddlebag, lit the oily cloth with her flint, and walked her horse into the dark tunnel. She held the torch up higher to scan the black walls and ceiling, carved out of solid rock. A little flash caught her eye. She brought the light back to see a fist-sized rock protruding from the wall. It was too high for her to reach, so she dropped the torch on the ground, climbed onto her horse and stood on the saddle. She pulled the loose rock free and the small stone fell into her hand.

She sat back down in her saddle, hardly believing she had found the 'Piece of Five'. All this time, people passed through the tunnel without ever realizing the precious blue stone was hidden only a few feet above their heads. She tied the string around her neck. She held the stone in the palm of her hand. "I wish Akira were here," she whispered. She jumped down to pick up the torch, a sudden gust of wind rushed through the tunnel, making her turn. She screamed when she felt something rip the torch from her hand. Unable to clearly see who was holding the torch, she squinted at the ghostly light bouncing down the tunnel. She gasped when the torch dove into the dirt, and the tunnel went black.

Frightened, she reached out to feel for her horse and startled herself when she found Sophie. Sitting on the saddle she fumbled for the reins as she kicked her horse to move. The sound of her horse's hooves echoed in the darkness as she tried to focus on the daylight at the end of the tunnel. She pulled her horse to stop. What was that sound? Hearing nothing, she lightly squeezed her legs for her horse to continue. Again, she stopped and strained to hear. Her head snapped to look behind; it sounded like a giggle. Her heart pounded as she tried to focus through the darkness. She turned back to the light at the end of the tunnel; it wasn't far. She kicked her horse hard, racing for the light. The giggling increased. She screamed when she was hit hard from behind and fell to the ground. She watched her horse race out into the light. As she got to her feet, she pulled her sword from her back, slowly backing, pointing her sword in the darkness.

"Cripet sees you." A voice crept out from the dark.

"Who are you? What do you want?"

"Cripet found you! Cripet, found Abby!"

Abby was terrified; whatever was in the darkness knew her name. She turned and ran. The hair on the back of her neck stood when she heard wings flapping above her head.

"Abby, Abby, Abby!" Her name echoed.

She was almost at the end of the tunnel and pushed her legs harder. As her legs crossed over the end of the darkness, she dove out into the light of day, rolling over, she pointed her sword up at the tunnel as her chest heaved for air. She heard a faint giggle, then nothing. Shaking, she mounted her horse, wildly kicking to move her horse faster.

She continued on down the road, hoping she didn't have to pass through anymore tunnels. After an unnerving ride she breathed a sigh of relief when she reached the shores of Adore. In the distance she could see the empty dock; she would have to wait until morning for the ship to Belinos.

After making a small fire on the beach, she leaned herself up against a log in the sand. She gazed up to the amazing night sky, freckled with twinkling stars, as fast as a blink of the eye shooting stars streaked bright lines, and illuminating like a moonlit cloud, a ribbon of dense tiny stars stretched across the endless dark background. The night belonged to the stars, showing off their brilliance for all to see. When she closed her eyes, she could hear the water rush up on the shore, making the small stones roll and rattle together. The smell of the salty air made her think about the first time she saw the ocean, remembering the day Akira found the shell for her. She would have given anything to go back to that day. A large flapping sound made her open her eyes to scan the sky.

"So, pretty, pretty, pretty," said a crackly voice.

Abby jumped to her feet with her sword in hand. "Who's there?"

"Pretty, pretty light." Cripet stepped out of the shadow and into the light of the fire.

She backed up from the strange little creature. Mesmerized by the flames, the winged creature walked toward the fire. It giggled. She moved her sword to her shoulder when its bulging eyes glanced up to her.

"Abby...Abby," Cripet said with a spooky tone. "Keeva wants Abby."

Her heart raced as she scanned the beach. "Keeva!" Now she was really frightened. How did she find me? Her eyes darted back to the creature just in time to see it launch itself at her. She swung her sword when it flew at her, but dropped her sword when the creature spat into her face. Wiping her face, she backed up. Spotting the stone around her neck, he jumped at her again. She opened her watery eyes when she felt the creature rip the necklace from her neck.

"Give that back!"

Cripet giggled as he held the stone up in front of his face. "It's mine, mine, mine!" Cripet's eyes darted to the fire when sparks cracked above the flames.

Realizing the creature was attracted to the light, she grabbed a flaming branch from the fire, waving it, she caught the creature's attention.

"Pretty." Cripet followed the waving glow.

She grasped her knife from her waist, flipped the blade into her hand and whipped it at the creature, pinning his wing to the log. Cripet howled in pain and struggled to get free.

"Hurts, hurts...hurts! Cripet hurt, hurt, hurt!"

She pointed her sword as she cautiously approached. Cripet cowered and dropped the stone onto the sand. She held her sword in front of its stomach as she slowly reached down to pick up the stone.

"Please, Cripet hurt!"

The helpless creature expressed human emotions of pain on its face and making a sound like it was crying. She couldn't bring herself to kill it or leave it to die. Against her better judgement she pulled the knife out of its wing.

Cripet fell to the ground, and viewed his torn wing. He cowered, unsure what she was about to do. His eyes darted to the glowing blue stone, he felt her touch his wing, but couldn't take his eyes off the blue stone. When the glow disappeared, he looked back at his wing; the hole was healed.

"I healed your wing. Now leave and never come back!" she ordered. She had no idea if it understood her or not, but she waved her sword.

Cripet stared at her blue eyes. "Pretty." He flapped his wings excitedly and took off into the air. He fluttered wildly up into the windy night sky. Singing to himself as he flew back to tell Keeva. "Cripet, Cripet, Cripet finds...Abby...Abby, Abby...stone, stone, stone!"

The sails were dropped as the ship from Belinos eased into the side of the dock. The eager passengers rushed off the ship with unsteady legs, and the goods were unloaded all before sunrise. Abby woke to see a line of people waiting to board the ship. She quickly gathered her belongings and hurried to the line. Abby led Sophie onto the deck of the ship. Feeling the unstable movement of the ship, her horse gave a nervous snort of air and flung her head up. Abby pulled the reins, leading her to the bow of the ship. Like Sophie, the other horses were tied into individual stalls on the deck of the ship.

The deckhands wasted no time, freeing the ship from the dock, the large sails were hoisted and snapped to the side when they caught the wind. The double-mast vessel slowly pulled away from the dock. Picking up speed, the wooden ship creaked and groaned as it leaned slightly to one side.

Abby felt a nauseous twinge in her stomach. Did I make the right decision? She peered over the side to watch the froth from the bow wave run along the side of the ship and into the wake trailing behind. Her eyes scaled the mountain to the beautiful Kingdom carved into the mountainside. Her throat burned when she fought off the tears, not only did the threat force her to leave Adore, but so did her love for Rydan; she couldn't stay to watch him marry Selene. She inhaled the cool air and released a deep painful sigh.

What should I do with my new life? Should I become a Hunter and kill Spiritons like Akira and mother? Should I try to get the stones back from Keeva? If Keeva is after me, maybe I should just disappear with the stone. She held the stone in her hand and couldn't help but feel the responsibilities of protecting the 'Piece of Five.' I hope Brogan and the others survived the battle.

***

Rydan knocked on Abby's door. His heart raced at the thought of telling her how he felt about her, but worried she didn't feel the same. He knocked again. Unable to wait any longer he burst into her room with a speech at the tip of his tongue. Standing in the empty room, he released a disappointing sigh.

Selene stepped into the room. "She's gone."

"Where?"

Selene nervously tugged on the side of her dress. "Back home."

"She doesn't have a home."

"Too bad she had to leave, but now we can get on with our wedding." She rushed to him, wanting to hug him.

He held out his arms to stop her and lowered his head. "Sit down Selene, I have something to tell you."

Crevon gave Rydan a rough hug. "I will miss you."

"You will make a great King!" Rydan patted his brother on the back.

Crevon gave a half-hearted smile. "Where will you go?"

"I don't know, but I will let the winds will carry me to Abby."

"I wish you well, Brother."

Rydan untucked the back of his loose shirt, leaving it to hang from his neck like a short cape. With a quick gust, his wings rushed out from his back, stretching out to his sides. His wings flapped, lifting him effortlessly into the air. His brother watched in awe as Rydan disappeared over the trees.

Rydan skimmed over the treetops, following the road down the mountain to look for Abby. He landed on the shore to search the beach. Spotting the empty dock, he took off into the air, crossing the Great Water. With his strong vision he spied the ship ahead. He flew with speed, but failed to slow once he reached the ship. His body slammed onto the top of the mast, making the ship lurch forward.

Abby's attention was pulled away when she felt the ship shake and move oddly. People on the ship shouted and pointed up. Abby raised her hand to block the blinding sun. Startled, she jumped back when Rydan landed on the deck in front of her. Everyone stared at the magnificent wings hanging from his back. Abby's eyelids blinked wildly, hardly believing it was him.

He swallowed. "You left without saying goodbye."

Abby was too stunned to say anything, and lowered her head.

He stepped forward, slid his hand lightly under her chin to lift her head so he could view her eyes, but she glanced to the side. He leaned in to kiss her.

She pushed him away. "Please don't. This is wrong."

Rydan's heart sank, just as he feared, she didn't want him.

"You're marrying Selene and I need to go," she choked as she backed away from him. He stepped forward. She cried more. "Please don't. Just go!"

He took in a deep breath, hoping his words would change everything. "I am not marrying Selene, nor am I to be King."

People gasped at his announcement and watch with suspense.

"Why are you telling me this?"

His heart raced. "I can't marry Selene, when I am in love with someone else," he said quietly.

Her weepy eyes connected with his warm brown eyes, the moment seemed like forever as she tried to read his face and understand what he was saying. He held his hand out to her.

She released more tears, shaking her head; not really believing he meant her. "I can't stay."

He took another step closer. "I love you. I want to be with you no matter where you go."

She took in a stuttered breath as she threw herself up against him, laying the side of her face onto his chest, and placing her hand over his heart. "Rydan, I love you too," she cried out.

Embracing her tightly with his arms, his soft wings curled around her. He closed his eyes and lightly touched the top of her head with his chin. He released her enough so he could see her intense blue eyes, his hands gently traced the sides of her blushing face. She closed her eyes when his hands guided her to his lips. Her insides quaked with excitement when she felt his warm lips touch hers. Releasing a little moan, she pulled her lips away from his, and bit down on her bottom lip at the sensation building inside her. She pressed her lips against his and brought her hand up to his face, fingers poised to touch his cheek. She separated from his lips to take in a deep breath, her eyes opened to linger on his lips. She could feel her face heating up with anticipation as she waited for his smile to curl to one side. She touched the side of his smile with her fingertips, their lips met again.

## 53

Building an Army

Torgul watched the angry purple clouds above the Taltorn Mountains. His attention turned to the screeching sounds from above, and quickly pulled his horse under a tree. Three dragons flew overhead; with Keeva now free to enter Edon, so were her dragons.

It seemed all creatures in Edon knew evil was coming. The jittery winged lizards scurried along the ground too frightened to fly, creatures bolted through the forest from the ominous silence, and even the gallant trees seemed spooked, creaking and moaning as the wind carried the news.

He squeezed the 'Piece of Five' in his hand. He knew Keeva had Abby's yellow stone, but wondered if the other pieces were found and who had them. He had watched most of the battle to see Akira die at the hands of her sister. With one girl dead, he was disappointed he lost the chance to bind the stones back together. One piece is better than none.

He cuddled up to his small fire, his heavy eyelids blinked slowly as he tried to watch the flames, but sleep was winning. He looked up to the clear night sky and before his eyes dropped back to his fire, he was asleep. Having found the stone, the purple mist swirled around Torgul. He shivered in the cool morning air. When he opened his eyes, it surprised him to see a beautiful woman smiling down on him.

"Good morning," she said warmly.

At first, he thought he was dreaming, but with a jolt, he realized who she was—it wasn't a dream. Fear raced through him as he struggled to get to his feet.

"I know you have a Piece of Five," Keeva said.

His nervous eyes glanced down to his boot as he shifted his foot inside to feel for the stone. He swallowed hard, realizing he gave away his hiding place. She smiled at his mistake and waved her hand across his face. He felt himself falling deep inside himself, trapped inside with no control over his body. She ordered him to take his boot off. His body obeyed and he watched himself hand her the red stone.

"Now you will follow me," she ordered. "I need to rebuild my army."

Unnerved, Valgard stood in the shadow of a tree staring back at Keeva. She could easily do something to him as he waited for the sun to set, but she quietly waited. When darkness crept in, the shadows retreated, leaving the Spiritons behind. Valgard pushed back his hood to view Torgul's vacant eyes. She somehow had control over him. He remembered what she did to Senus.

"Do you fear me, Valgard?"

His eyes narrowed. "What do you want?" he asked nervously.

"Help me get the Pieces of Five and Edon is yours."

"How can I trust you?"

"You can't, but I will only make this offer once."

He really had no choice, but to make a deal with the sorceress.

"Both girls are alive and one of them is heading to Belinos," she said before he could answer. "I will need you to capture as many men as you can."

"For what?"

"For our army."

From inside his body, Torgul could hear Keeva making a deal with the Spiritons. He was surprised to hear both girls were still alive. He stared through his shell of a body for many hours, watching the two evils work together. He felt a strange sensation, to his surprise his hand slightly moved; the spell was wearing off. As he took control over his body, he pretended to still be under her spell. His escape was not going to be easy.

Before sunrise the Spiritons returned with many men, all with hands bound together. He recognized two men from Killeen, they called out to him, but his eyes darted away to stare straight ahead.

With daylight approaching, Valgard backed into the shadows to watch Keeva change the captured men into creatures. He watched their faces transform and fall under her control; a power he desired to have. Torgul also watched, waiting for the right moment to escape.

Keeva shot her arm up above her head, sending a burst of light up into the air. Before Torgul could see it, he heard the beats of heavy wings; the dragon landed before her. She ran her hand along its scaly neck. Content, the dragon returned a low rumble sound from its throat. Her affection for the horrible beast made Torgul cringe with disgust.

Torgul had a better chance of escaping from the Spiritons, with the sun rising. His eyes darted nervously, when no one was watching he quickly ducked behind the tree, and started to run. The dragon's black pupils widened at the sudden movement. Keeva turned to see the vacant spot where she left Torgul. In a rage, she pulled a Spiriton out from the shadows. He screeched at the sunlight burning his skin.

"Find Torgul and kill him!" she demanded.

At first the Spiriton refused, but Keeva convinced him, if he didn't obey, she would make sure he was left out in the sun to burn for eternity. The Spiriton took off after Torgul, screeching in pain as his burnt skin peeled from his body.

Torgul could hear the terrifying sounds getting closer. Panting, he stopped and leaned over to catch his breath. He stumbled back in fear when a sword cut the air above his head. Looking like he had just risen up out of his grave, the Spiriton screeched in pain as his grey skin continued to peel off his partially skeleton body. Torgul jumped back at the swinging sword, but the sharp tip cut across his stomach. He shouted in pain. The Spiriton dodged the sunlight, trying to stay in the shadows of the trees. Torgul rushed him, knocking him out into the direct sunlight. The Spiriton dropped to the ground in a cloud of smoke, his body rolled and jumped into spasms as he burned. Torgul held his stomach and ran.

## 54

My Sister

Akira held her hand up for everyone to stop. Startled birds flew out of the bush. At the sound of something larger coming toward them, they readied their weapons. They were surprised when an injured man stepped out and fell forward onto his stomach. Tumble rolled him over.

"Torgul!" Jorin shouted.

Brogan moved the point of his sword to Torgul's throat.

"Please, wait!" Torgul coughed and raised his bloody hand.

"Why should I? You were responsible for my father's death."

"I didn't kill Rolic, it was Senus. He forced me to lie. If I didn't help him, he was going to kill everyone in Killeen."

Brogan slightly pushed the tip into Torgul's skin.

"I have information about Keeva!" he begged.

Jorin pulled Brogan's arm back. "We should find out what he knows."

"And if he lies?" Akira placed her sword at the dot of blood on his throat.

"By the looks of his wounds, he will not last long without help," Jorin said. "What do you know and we will help you."

Torgul swallowed and held his stomach. "Keeva knows the twins are both alive. She said one twin is heading Belinos."

"It must be Abby!" Akira shouted with an excited tone.

"Keeva now has two stones." Torgul coughed and moaned in pain.

"Search him for the Piece of Five," Akira ordered.

Tumble ripped open Torgul's shirt and searched his pockets.

"Check his boots," Luken said.

Convinced that Torgul didn't have the stone, they allowed Jorin to treat him. Not making eye contact, Jorin knelt next to Torgul to rub the healing plant on his wound. "You will live."

Torgul grabbed Jorin's wrist. "Jorin, you have to believe everything I did was for our people. I took the stone to be a better Healer."

Jorin didn't know what to believe, but by the expression on Brogan's and Akira's face; Torgul's days were numbered, and wondered which one would get to him first.

Tumble put Torgul on a horse and tied his hands.

Akira rode up next to Torgul. "Make one wrong move and I will not hesitate to kill you."

Torgul gave a quick glance at the two stones around Akira's neck. His eyes narrowed. We will see.

Sal winked at Rin when they rode by Torgul. "You know Rin, when I saw Akira skin that poor fellow while he was still alive, I almost puked, especially when he ran around without his skin before he died," Sal said with a straight face. "She must really hate Healers."

Torgul nervously glanced over to the Hunter's hateful eyes.

It was dark and Belinos was not far. They decided to camp for the night so they could approach the village by daylight. Sal and Rin left to hunt for food, Brogan and Jorin went to a nearby spring to wash up while Tumble took Niyu and Luken to gather more wood for the fire, leaving Akira alone with Torgul.

She called for Samson, but with no reply, she huffed, annoyed by his misbehaving antics. She sat next to the fire to boil water for tea. She cringed when Torgul moaned in pain. Irritated by his snivelling, she clenched her fists, barely able to contain herself from lashing out at him. She released the tea leaves into the pot. Torgul sat up and asked if he could have some food. She wanted to ignore him, but held out a plate of meat. He raised his tied hands, expressing he couldn't hold the plate. She huffed and untied his hands.

"May I have some tea?"

Akira growled and turned away from him.

"Please, I am very thirsty."

Cursing at him, she stomped over to a leather bag to fetch another cup. With her back turned to him, Torgul quickly pulled a small leather satchel from inside his shirt and poured the powder into her cup. Akira returned and poured the tea into the two cups. He weakly took the cup and thanked her. She sneered. He watched her drink her tea and patiently waited for the sleeping potion to work.

Akira felt strange as she rubbed her heavy eyelids, and found herself wanting to sleep. She opened her eyes to see Torgul grinning at her. Her cup fell from her hand. Something is wrong. She jerked herself awake to see him standing, and each time she opened her eyes, he was closer. Feeling her head drooping, she lifted her hand up to grab her sword off her back. She forced her eyes open, but she was too late; he knocked her to the ground. He jumped on top of her with one hand on her throat and the other holding a knife, ready to stab her. She struggled to hold his knife hand back. She could feel herself slipping away, her eyes popped open again. With her free hand, she poked him in the eyes with her fingers. He swore at her and leaned in again. She could feel the point of the blade touching her shoulder—she was fading. She pried her heavy eyelids open to see his surprised face wrinkle up in pain. She felt him release her throat. He stood up. She could see blood streaming from his shoulder, and he was staring past her. She weakly rolled over onto her stomach to look. Barely able to focus, she caught a glimpse of someone holding a bow and arrow, pointing toward Torgul. She heard the bow release the arrow, and no longer able to hold her eyelids open, she fell into a deep sleep.

Akira woke from her sleep, but before she opened her eyes, she felt someone holding her hand and heard voices, but one voice stood out above the others. Her eyes flew open.

"Hey, sleepyhead," Abby whispered with a warm smile. Afraid of letting her go, Abby squeezed her hand.

Akira blinked uncontrollably at the sight of her sister sitting next to her. "Abby?" She sat up.

Abby's lower lip trembled. She burst into tears as she flung her arms around Akira, pulling her into a tight hug. "Akira, I thought you were dead. I grieved for you for so long. I still can't believe it's you. I never want to let go of you again. I tried to stop my body from stabbing you, and I shouted out to you, but you couldn't hear me. I'm so sorry." She sobbed into Akira's shoulder.

Abby's heartfelt words brought Akira to tears. She stroked the back of Abby's head. "Shhh...it's okay, now." She held Abby's shaking body for a long time, trying to calm her down. She smirked when she heard Abby's stomach growl. "Are you hungry?"

Abby lifted her head and nodded. "I am sorry for what I did."

"Don't, I know it wasn't you."

Abby hugged her again. "I can't believe that you're alive."

Akira pushed her back. "Come on, let's get you some food."

Abby helped her to stand.

"Where have you been all this time?" Akira asked.

"Rydan took me to his home on the Isle of Adore."

Akira glanced over to the only person she didn't recognize, sitting next to the fire. Rydan greeted her with a smile.

Abby rushed to his side. "Rydan saved my life," she said, holding his hand lovingly.

Akira glanced at their hands; it seemed there was something between the two.

Luken ran up to Akira and loudly whispered into her ear. "He's the one with the wings."

She looked away when she realized she had been staring too long at the handsome man. "How did you find us?"

Abby pointed to Samson. "Your crazy crow. We arrived at Belinos days ago and this crow would not leave me alone. I wasn't sure it was Samson, but how many crows are white? So, we followed. He brought me to you. I couldn't believe it was you when I arrived."

Brogan interrupted their moment. "We have a lot to catch up on. We will tell stories as we eat."

Akira stood next to Brogan, watching Rydan help Abby unpack her gear from her horse. "What happened to Torgul?" she asked.

"He's dead."

"How?"

Brogan hesitated. "Abby killed him."

Surprised, Akira turned to him, trying to remember the person she saw holding the bow when Torgul tried to kill her.

Tumble laid his arm across Abby's shoulder, clutching her tightly. "Li'l Kin, come and tell us about your adventure."

They spent the night telling their adventures. Niyu and Luken stared at Rydan's back hoping his wings to appear. As Abby talked about her days trapped in Keeva's cave, Akira couldn't help but feel guilty for not being able to protect her. Abby affectionately latched onto Rydan's arm and continued to tell them about his bravery and his home. They laughed at her stories of her lessons with Master Maelor. They were surprised when she pulled out a "Piece of Five" and talked about a small flying creature attacking her. Akira sipped on her tea as she watched Abby with new eyes; she seemed more confident, happy, and seemed to be in love. She glanced over to Jorin. Am I in love too? Her eyes shifted over to Brogan.

"So, Akira, what things happened while I was gone?" Abby asked.

"Not much," she replied.

"Not much! Are you kidding?" Luken shouted excitedly. "Not only was I swallowed up by an invisible void, but we were also captured by the Spiritons, and Akira had to hide in the void from the mist, and..." he rambled on.

Akira gently rubbed the bandage on her arm as she thought back to the eerie shadows from the void. Abby noticed her arm.

"All right, it's late. We all need to rest," Brogan announced.

The light from the moons fell on Abby's face, she rolled over and noticed Akira's empty blanket. She got up and followed a sound not too far off. Assuming Akira was practicing, she sat quietly to watch. Akira repeatedly shot arrows at a tree, running out of arrows, she swung her sword out, cutting through a tall bush, and as hard as she could, she wildly chopped into the thick bark of the tree. Exhausted, Akira stabbed the blade into the ground when she fell to her knees.

Abby was wrong; Akira wasn't practicing, she was angry. "Do you really think the tree deserved it?" She raised her eyebrows.

Akira whipped her head around with a scowl on her face. "Go back to sleep," she grumbled as she stood up.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"So, chopping the forest up into little bits, is nothing?"

"I'm angry and I want to be left alone."

"Angry at what?"

"Myself!"

"Why?"

"Just leave me alone."

"I see your attitude hasn't changed." Abby frowned. "I think you have been alone far too long."

Akira lowered her head. "I'm sorry you had to kill Torgul. I should have killed him long ago."

"He's gone. Let's leave it at that." She didn't regret killing Torgul to save her sister and felt she would do it again if need be, but it was over and she did not want to dwell on it. She grabbed her sister's arm, pulling her to sit down. She unwrapped the cloth bandage from Akira's arm to inspect the wound, the cut was almost healed, but the skin was still red and irritated. "Wait here." Abby returned with a new bandage and healing salve.

Akira released a long sigh. "I have done nothing right since I started this quest and now everyone is in danger."

"Oh...so you are feeling sorry for yourself. Keeva is too powerful. You did nothing wrong." She gently rubbed salve on her skin and wrapped a new bandage around her arm.

"I couldn't protect my sister!" She stood and angrily threw her knife at the tree.

A smile swept across Abby's face as she stood.

"What are you smiling about?"

"You said my sister."

"So, aren't you?"

"Yes, but you never called me sister before."

"Oh, don't get all mushy or I will take it back."

"I'm your sister and you are mine," she chuckled happily. Pushing Akira aside before she could say something insulting, Abby threw her knife, hitting the tree next to her sister's knife. She brushed by Akira, pulled both knives from the tree and walked back to stand in front of her surprised eyes. She lifted Akira's hand and gently placed her knife back into her hand. "You know, if you snap your wrist harder and release a bit sooner..." Abby instructed as her knife sunk deep into the tree. "I can show you how to use your crossbow as well, if you like." She beamed a sarcastic smile.

She stared at Abby as she rambled on about her newfound skills. From the day she lost her mother, she had built a wall around herself so she would never feel that kind of pain again. She tried everything to avoid feeling close to Abby, but Abby broke through, and the same loving connection she had with her mother she now felt with her sister.

"What's wrong," Abby asked her vacant face.

"Nothing." She shook herself from her thoughts. "You're still holding the knife wrong."

"I don't think so. Maelor would bite my head off if I held it differently."

Akira chuckled. "I think I would like this Maelor."

Unable to sleep, the girls sat at the fire while the others slept.

"I see that you and Rydan are...together."

"Yes." Abby looked over to Rydan sleeping and smiled. "What about you and Jorin?"

Hearing the girls talking, Jorin rolled his head to listen, but was disappointed when she had no answer. What do I mean to her?

Akira shrugged her shoulders as a reply. She was confused by how she felt or what she didn't feel; she didn't know what they were.

"What happened to Newt?" Abby asked.

"I don't know. I left him with Sable and Samson, away from the battle, but when I returned, he was gone. I searched, but I couldn't fine him. I'm sorry."

Abby nodded. "What of Trevina?"

"She too, disappeared after the battle."

"Do I dare ask where Keeva is?"

Akira shook her head. "We don't know."

"So, I see that you gathered a couple of children along the way."

"Shhh...whatever you do, don't call them children. They will eat you alive."

Abby laughed. "Niyu is Tumble's sister?"

"Yes, she reminds me of you. Never stops talking." She smiled, jokingly.

"Luken was the boy I saw in the tower."

"He was also with the Spiritons at the battle."

"And Senus?"

"He's dead..." She hesitated. She didn't want to say she was the one who killed their uncle.

Abby watched her toss twigs into the fire and assumed she killed him.

"Good."

"I found your scarf."Akira took out the blue scarf from her saddlebag.

"Thank you."With a warm smile, Abby whipped it around her neck.

"What was Adore like?"

"It's beautiful, built high on a mountainside. I made a few friends and a few enemies."

"Enemies? What did you do?"

"Well, I almost killed one of the councillors with a knife. It was kind of an accident; I was aiming for his apple."

"Apple? Why did you throw a knife?"

"He didn't believe I was a Hunter."

Surprised, Akira's eyes widened. "You told him you were a Hunter?"

"Yes. Was that okay?"

Smiling, she nodded. "I would have liked to have seen that councillor's face."

"The woman engaged to Rydan was none too happy about my presence. I must have died a thousand times with stabbing glares I received from her."

"Is that why you left?"

"That and the threat on my life."

"Who threatened you? That woman?" Akira asked with concern.

"I don't know, but it didn't matter. Rydan was to be King and marry her, so there was no reason to stay."

Akira expressed confusion. "But Rydan is with you now."

"It turns out he wants to be with me."

"Rydan was to be the King, and he left all that to be with you?"

"Well, when you put it that way, you make it sound like a bad thing." Abby crossed her arms.

"I didn't mean it to sound like that. You must be very special to him then."

Abby sat quietly for a moment and lowered her arms. He did give up everything for her and she was flattered, but now she worried as his whole life had been about being King one day. Did he feel forced to leave because of me?

"You've changed a little. You look stronger." Akira gazed into the fire.

Abby grinned. "Was that a compliment?"

"Shut up."

"Where did you find the green stone?" Abby asked.

"It was in a dead tree, or at least we thought it was dead." She explained that the branches grabbed them by their feet, swinging them through the air. "Brogan saved me, then I almost killed him with my arrow."

"You shot at him on purpose?"

"I did what he told me to do."

"That would be the first." Abby brought her hand up to her mouth to hold in a laugh.

"Do you want to hear the story or not?"

"Sounds like you and Brogan are getting along better."

Akira changed the subject. "We must still deal with Keeva."

Abby whipped her hand toward the others. "We will, together. Our family is larger now. We will stop her."

Akira smirked at her sister's optimistic expression, then viewed the sleeping members of their family. "Are you going to cling onto everyone you meet and make them family?" She shook her head.

"If you two don't shut-up so I can sleep, you will have one very grumpy brother in the morning," Tumble growled at them.

Abby lay down next to Akira, and pulled her blanket up over herself. Too excited to sleep, she stared at the stars. Her heart was full; her sister was alive, as well as the others she called family, and the man she loved wanted to be with her. Distracting her, she listened to the noise. Rolling her head over, she watched Niyu, half asleep, drag her blanket across the ground toward her. Like Akira was expecting her, she shuffled herself sideways, making a gap between them. Niyu lay down next to Akira to cuddle into her back. Well, it seems I wasn't the only one that changed.

## 55

### Snow

Akira sat next to Brogan and they both glanced over to watch Rydan braid Abby's hair. He was gentle and loving with every movement. Of course, Abby was talking non-stop until he touched her shoulder, making her look up at him, lightly touched her lips with his finger, and leaned down to kiss her.

Akira and Brogan, both blushed as they quickly looked away.

"Do you think we can stop Keeva?" Akira asked, looking at him.

He couldn't control his eyes when they leapt to her waiting blue eyes, he didn't want to have feelings for her, but couldn't stop it. "I have to believe we can. I need to believe in a future."

It annoyed her that she couldn't control herself from watching Brogan, but her glances were getting longer, her eyes almost obsessed with him, watching his every move, and her ears strained to hear his every word. What would have happened at the burnt tree if we weren't interrupted? She touched her lips with her fingers.

Jorin watched Akira and Brogan, for a second he thought he caught a glimpse of a shared moment between the two.

Niyu and Luken quickly made their wager when Rin tossed the small sticks with tiny stone arrowheads, into the air. Luken shouted at his good fortune when more sticks landed in his circle and snatched up his winnings of small pink berries.

Sal frowned at his misfortune. "Someone is cheating!"

Rin smiled at his brother's childish outburst, then stood abruptly, making the others look up with concern. Rin scanned the surrounding trees. His hands signed something was wrong. The forest was silent.

"You and your big ears. What do you hear now?" Sal chuckled.

Rin pressed his hand over Sal's mouth to silence him. Rin picked up his sword, which alert the others to do the same. The thick purple mist rolled to the edge of the tree line and stopped, swirling, rolling, stretching out to the sides, it ripped up roots from the ground, grasping rocks and branches, curling them up into itself. The roots snaked around the rocks and branches, pulling them tight together, dirt and debris fell away when the mist surged upward into a thirty-foot beast with arms and legs. The frightening beast stepped forward, making the ground shake. It swung its arms with large boulders hanging from the ends, out toward them. They ducked and scattered from the hulking swing.

Even without eyes, it turned to any movement below. Sal and Rin stabbed their swords into the leg of the beast, but with wide eyes they jumped aside when the beast slammed its arm down between them, making a deep impression in the ground. Abby, Niyu, and Luken, huddled behind a tree. Jorin grabbed Akira, pulling her out of the way of the swinging arm, they ducked when the arm hit the tree next to them, snapping the top half of the tree off. Brogan and Tumble shouted and waved their swords at the beast. Akira's heart skipped a beat when she saw the beast swing around, hitting both men, sending them flying through the air. Still dazed, Brogan slowly rolled over. Horrified by the loading arm above Brogan, Akira forcibly pushed herself free from Jorin's grasp, so hard he almost fell backward, and rushed to Brogan. She pulled him aside, cradling him in her arms just as the arm crashed down next to them. Even in the frightening moments, Jorin couldn't help but feel jealous at the sight of Brogan in her arms. Rydan flew above the beast's head, stabbing it with his sword. It turned to the brothers rushing in, roots stabbed the ground, racing underground and exploding up in front of them, flinging the men into the air. Akira helped Brogan to stand. They looked up to see the arm whipping down toward them. Brogan pushed Akira out of the way, latched onto the moving arm, and was hoisted high into the air. He stabbed his sword into the beast, roots snaked out, curling and weaving around Brogan's struggling body, encasing him inside the beast's arm.

Like an annoying fly buzzing around the beast's head, Rydan poked and stabbed, cutting into the roots to release rocks and dirt. Catching him off guard, roots shot up at him, coiling around his legs, pulling him down. With sword in hand, Akira flung herself at the beast's body, climbing the roots to reach Brogan, only able to see his hand sticking out, she hacked with force, cutting the roots. Roots crept out, coiling around her waist; she gasped. She struggled when more wrapped around her arms and legs, before long she was trapped inside the beast's body. In a panic, Abby raced out, dodging and jumping the attacking roots rising up out of the ground. almost at the beast, she pulled her sword from her back.

"Abby stay back!" Akira shouted as she poked her arm out between the growing roots.

Just as Abby raised her sword to strike, the roots grabbed her by the arms, snatching her from the ground, slamming her against the body, next to Akira. Abby winced at the tightening roots and looked up to see Akira's face, peering through a small opening.

"You idiot! I told you to stay back!" Akira shouted.

"Don't yell at me! I was trying to save you!"

"What are you going to do now? Now we are both trapped in here!"

"You're the one that got herself trapped in the first place!" Abby shouted back.

"Shut up, the both of you!" Brogan shouted from somewhere inside the arm.

The girls heard yelling and peeked out between the roots to see Niyu and Luken waving their arms.

"Run!" Abby shouted.

The ground shook as the beast stomped toward them, dragging Sal and Rin behind. Rydan's legs were trapped in the top of the beast's head with roots climbing up his body. Tumble chased after the brothers, cutting them free. Splitting up, Niyu and Luken ran between the trees, zipping in and out in different directions, confusing the beast. It smashed on the branches as it tried to fit between the larger trees. Akira heard Luken shouting something.

"Akira! Use your spells!" Luken shouted.

Akira closed her eyes, frantically searching for a spell; her eyes flew open.

Abby looked up to Akira. "Spells? What's he talking about?"

Akira glared at Abby. "These words I command; water rise and roll a wave!" She shouted with a roar of pain.

Confused, Abby watched Akira's face contort with pain. "Akira? What's wrong?" She tried to stretch her arm out to her.

The ground started to shake, loud sounds of trees cracking and crashing echoed through the forest, rumbling like the sound of thunder, they looked up to see an enormous wave of water towering over the tree tops, rolling down on them. The wave hit the beast hard, causing the roots to loosen. The beast staggered when rocks and branches fell from its body and into the water. The water splashed against the beast, quickly eroding its body. Releasing its prisoners, the tower of roots disintegrated, disappearing into the water. Seeing Akira rolling under the water, Abby kicked hard, swimming toward her, she latched onto Akira's waist. As the water retreated, the others clutch madly for anything to hang onto, leaving them sprawled out on the ground among the trees, gasping for air. Wings wet and unable to fly, Rydan stood and searched for Abby, calling out her name. Still clutching a tree, Niyu called out to Akira. The men searched. Scanning the area, Jorin picked up Akira's sword from the ground.

The sisters tumbled and rolled with the retreating water. The wave rushed back into the river, pulling the girls in. Abby bumped her head on a rock and released Akira. She tried to get back to her, but the river swiftly carried them down the many levels of small falls. Abby struggled to stay above the water. Akira latched onto to a log rushing by, and reaching out, she grabbed Abby by the arm. She tried to put Abby's arm over the log, but Abby slipped under the water, she caught her by the bow still hanging on her back and hauled her up to the log. Akira turned around so she was riding the current backwards, grabbing the log with one arm, she let the current push Abby's body up against hers so she could hold her up. As they rode the log for a long distance, she searched for a way to shore. Spotting the debris of branches jamming up part way across the river, she released the log, and grabbing a clump of branches, she pulled herself and Abby out of the swift current. She dragged her sister to shore and dropped herself to the ground, exhausted. Abby rolled over to cough up water.

"Are you okay?" Akira asked out of breath.

Abby rubbed the bump on her head. "I think so. What the hell happened?"

Akira shivered. "I think I should have said what size of wave."

Abby frowned. "When were you going to tell me about the spells?"

"We need to make a fire." She ignored her question.

"I hope the others are okay." Abby said. "How far do you think we traveled?" She shivered.

"I think we are a long ways away from them." Akira found her knife still in her boot. "My sword is gone."

"I only have my bow. I have no arrows," Abby said.

With night approaching, Akira moaned when she rolled over onto her knees and slowly stood. She gathered up twigs, dried moss, and more wood for a fire. She found a small bird's nest made of fine bits of bark and feathers. Holding a chunk of white quartz in her hand, she placed a little piece of tree fungus on top, holding it with her thumb, she struck the sharp edge of the quartz with the back of her knife to make sparks. Igniting the fungus, she placed the glowing ember into the bird's nest, letting it smolder. Blowing lightly, she placed the twigs and branches around the flames, and continued to add larger sticks as the flames grew.

Abby crawled to the fire. They undressed down to their undergarments, and hung their wet clothes to dry on a frame made with branches. With their muscles still jumping in the cold, they huddled by the flames and held out their hands to welcome the heat.

"Well, tell me how you made that wave." Abby's teeth chattered.

Akira sighed. "After the battle we went back to Taltorn. Trevina wasn't there. I took her book of spells. Somehow, when I started reading the spells, the words left the pages and are now in my head. I can't get them out."

Abby raised her eyebrows with surprise. "You can conjure up spells?"

Akira touched the temples of her head. "Yes, but at a price. I need to find Trevina."

Shivering, Abby got to her feet and gathered an arm full of dry moss. She fluffed the moss out next to Akira and left to retrieve more.

Akira rubbed her cold arms. "What are you doing? We need to get back to the others."

"We need to rest."

"We don't have time to rest."

"I am not putting those wet clothes back on. I'm cold, I'm tired and..." she turned to see Akira snuggle into the dry moss and close her eyes. "...And so I think we should rest," she said to herself.

Akira's nightmare made her toss and turn; she was back in the void and the hand of the creepy shadow was reaching out to her. She woke with a jolt, rubbing the red scar on her arm. She looked up surprised, Abby was standing with a frightened look on her face. She slowly rolled over, took her knife from her boot, and stood pointing it at the creature.

Cripet nervously stared at the fire, rubbing his hands over top of each other; he didn't seem to care she had a weapon.

"That creature belongs to Keeva," Abby said.

"I know." Akira carefully approached the creature.

Cripet's eyes darted to the forest; the distant scream startled them all. Frightened, Cripet covered his ears and crouched to the ground. Abby's heart raced, recognizing the horrifying sound. With another scream, Cripet ran to Abby, latching onto her bare leg, cowering. Akira reached out to Cripet with her knife.

"Wait!" Abby said, pulling Akira's arm back.

"He serves Keeva. He could tell her where we are."

Abby viewed the frightened creature. "He genuinely seems afraid."

"Keeva wants to kill Cripet...kill Cripet!" He shook.

The screams became louder. Cripet was now in Abby's arms clinging to her like a child. Fear rushed through her body. "I think we should go."

"Get dressed." Akira pulled on her pants. "Wait here. I will go and look."

Abby's eyes jumped to the eerie silhouettes. "I'm not staying here alone." She peeled Cripet from her body and quickly changed. Before she took a step, he climbed her body to sit back in her arms.

They followed the light flickering between the trees. Finding the source of the screams, they crouched down to peer through a bush. A man tied to the ground, struggling to get free. Akira watched Keeva stand over his body, chanting strange words. Purple smoke swirled around him, he screamed. Abby and Cripet covered their ears. Akira forced herself to watch when the head of a dog-like creature rose up out of the smoke and roared. Her eyes darted to the Spiritons, herding men like cattle so Keeva could change them into creatures for her army.

"Let's go," Abby whispered, anxiously pulling on Akira's shoulder.

"Cripet, go, go, go..."

"Shhh..." Akira whispered.

Hearing a noise, Keeva waved her hand for silence and scanned the darkness. They leaned further back into the bush. Their hearts nearly stopped when Keeva stepped toward them. There was no way they could run now, without being seen. Keeva was almost at their place of hiding. Akira looked back to see Cripet fighting to free himself from Abby's grip, she waved them to be quiet, but Cripet broke free. Surprised he didn't fly away, they watched him fly out of the bush toward Keeva. She turned and shot flames out at Cripet. He dodged the flames and continued to fly wildly at her. During the distraction, Akira grabbed Abby's hand and they made their escape.

"What about Cripet?"

"He will have to fend for himself. Run!"

They travelled most of the night, stopping briefly to rest.

"We need to warn Belinos. Her army is already large." Akira nervously scanned the darkness.

"Do you know which way to go?"

"I will have a better idea when the sun comes up."

"How will we stop her?"

Akira didn't answer.

"What's wrong?" Abby asked.

"Shhh...I'm not sure." Akira continued to search.

A large white deer popped out of the shadows.

"It's Snow!" Abby said excitedly. She walked over to Snow with her hand out. He greeted her with a snort. She rubbed his nose affectionately. "You scared us Snow. Where have you been? Did you miss me? I missed you." She brushed her fingers through his white coat as she continued to talk to him.

Snow's head snapped to the side. A sound startled Abby and she felt the deer's body lurch forward. Confused, she watched Snow fall away from her hands and drop sideways to the ground. She screamed at the sight of blood staining his white coat and the arrow in the side of his stomach; she put her hands to her mouth in shock. Another arrow sank into the tree next to her. Akira grabbed Abby's bow from her shoulder, pulled the missed arrow from the tree, and she crouched down with the bow loaded, scanning the darkness.

In shock, Abby dropped to her knees and reached out to feel if he was breathing. His body shook with a heavy snort. She watched his large eyelashes blink once, hopeful, she waited for him to blink again. She looked down to her hand on his belly, he wasn't breathing. She panicked and shook him, trying to make him move. She watched for his glassy eye to move, but his eye was still, as if gazing up at the night sky.

Tears rolled down her face. "No!" she shouted.

Akira eyed another arrow streaking out from between the trees, she pushed Abby off to the side, and the arrow sank into the ground next to the deer. She took aim at the eyes of the Spiriton and released her arrow. The Spiriton staggered out from the shadow with the arrow protruding from his forehead, he fell to the ground.

"Come on, we have to get out of here! We don't have much time!" Akira shouted, searching the forest for more trouble.

"No, I need to help Snow!" she cried.

"It's too late. He's gone. We have to go."

Latching onto the deer's thick neck with tears dripping from her eyes, Abby refused to go. She rubbed her face into his beautiful white coat, affectionately stroked his long nose and down the side of his jaw. She took the necklace off her neck and held the stone tightly in her hand. "Why isn't it glowing?"

Akira looked to the sky and was relieved to see the sun about to rise, but it wasn't soon enough; she ducked as a sword cut across the empty air above her head. Abby shuffled back up against Snow. The Spiriton broke off the end of the arrow from his forehead, then retraced his swing to catch Akira on the way back. She rolled out of the way, and pointing her blade up, she cut deep across his sword hand. He howled, and no longer able to hold his sword, his weapon fell to the ground. Akira's knife broke the curse, but she still needed to kill him.

He made her side step in a circle. "I will kill you!"

She couldn't risk throwing her knife, for fear she missed him, but she needed to get closer to use her knife. She glared back at him. "You have something stuck in your head." She provoked him.

Raging, he charged her. She allowed him to grab her free hand, knowing he would pull her in closer, as he did, she stabbed him in the chest. He knocked her to the ground as he screeched. Pulling the knife out, he staggered and weaved trying to steady himself, remembering there were two girls, he turned to find the other girl pointing the sword at him. The large ghoulish man stepped toward her with a knife in his hand. Abby held the sword with both hands, trembling inside.

"Do I frighten you, little girl? I should, because you are going to die." He staggered closer to her.

She took in one long, deep breath, and even when he stabbed the air to make her strike first, she stood still. Blood continued to flow from his deep wounds, making him weaker. Abby waited. He waved the knife weakly back and forth in front of her.

Akira got to her feet. "Abby, pass me the sword."

The Spiriton growled and waved the knife at Akira, making her jump back. Abby never took her eyes off him. Finally, the Spiriton could wait no more, and thrust the knife straight at her. Abby gasped, but reacted swiftly; rolling her sword over top of his arm, she swept his arm across the front of his body and jammed the blade into his stomach. The knife fell, clutching his stomach, he slouched down to his knees, and his surprised eyes rolled up to view her frightened face; neither one of them moved.

Akira circled around the dead Spiriton, still staring up at Abby. She put her hands over top of Abby's and helped her pull the sword out; the Spiriton slumped forward. She took the sword from her. "Are you all right?"

Abby took in a sudden stuttered breath. "He killed Snow."

"I know. I'm sorry Abby."

Abby knelt down next to Snow and ran her hand across his belly. "Why didn't the stone heal him?"

"It was too late, he was already dead."

"The stone saved you."

"I think it had more to do with Trevina."

Tears streamed down her face. "I should have saved him."

"Snow saved you. The Spiriton was tracking us. If it wasn't for Snow, we would have never seen those arrows." Akira took Abby by her arm to lift her to her feet.

Abby angrily ripped her arm free and pushed her back. "What the hell is the point of having this useless piece of stone?" She threw the stone at Akira, hitting her in the chest. "We have been running around after the stones, risking our lives and for what? To be denied its power?"

"The stone was made by evil, to be used by evil." Akira picked up the stone.

"If they are no good to us, what are we going to do when we find all the pieces?" she choked and lowered her head to cry. "...Then what?"

Akira wrapped her arms around her. "I wish I had the answers," Akira said quietly. Abby dropped her face onto Akira's shoulder and sobbed. When Abby's crying slowed, she turned Abby's hand over and placed the stone into her hand. "All we can do for now is to try and keep the pieces out of evil hands."

Sniffing, Abby nodded. "What do we do with Snow?" She tied the stone back around her neck.

"We will have to leave him."

"No." Abby knelt down and started digging into the dirt.

"What are you doing?"

"I am digging a hole."

"Why?"

"To bury Snow."

"We don't bury animals, Abby. We leave them to the forest."

Akira put her hand on Abby's shoulder. At that moment, nothing was going to console her and she continued to dig. Akira knelt down beside her, gently stroking the deer's coat. More than anything she wished she could bring back Snow to her sister, she searched her mind for a spell, but to her disappointment, none formed. Abby was right, they have power in the palm of their hands, and yet they were unable to use it. She sighed as she helped her sister dig the hole.

Abby tossed the last of the dirt on top of the grave and bowed her head. She never knew why the deer would appear out of nowhere to save the day, but she had grown attached to the beautiful animal, and her heart ached that she couldn't save him. Tired, the girls laid back against the mound.

"Was he your pet?" a little voice asked.

Startled, Akira leapt to her feet to point her sword at a small girl of about eight, dressed in leather pants with a short dress over top. Unafraid and smiling sweetly, the perfectly blonde, blue-eyed little girl fluttered her long eyelashes at them. Dashing out from the trees, two older girls ran out with long sticks to stand in front of the little girl, pointing their weapons at Akira.

"Step back or we will spear you," a blonde girl of thirteen said.

Surprised to see the three blonde girls, Abby stood up.

The girl around the age of ten waved her pointy stick at Akira. "My sister will put a big hole into your stomach."

The little girl peeked around her sisters. "Do you want to come for tea?"

"Tena, be quiet." The eldest sister pushed her back.

"But I want to have tea with them," she pouted.

"Shhh...Tena."

Abby stepped in front of Akira. "We won't hurt you."

The eldest girl poked her stick toward Abby. "We will hurt you."

Abby waved her hand. "Akira, lower your sword."

Children or not, Akira wasn't about to drop her weapon.

Tena ran past her sisters and stood over the dead Spiriton.

"Tena get back!" said her sister.

The little girl crouched down to have a closer look. "Did you kill him?" she asked, looking up to Abby.

Abby nodded.

"Good. Can I kick him?"

Abby raised her eyebrows at the strange question. "I guess so."

Akira and the other two girls continued to point their weapons.

Tena pulled her leg back and kicked the body as hard as she could. Unsatisfied, she rolled saliva around in her mouth and spat on him. Her bright blue eyes darted up to Abby. "Don't tell my mother I spit."

"What are you doing out here alone?" Abby asked

"I'm not alone, I'm with my sisters," she said happily.

"Well, where are your parents?"

"Just beyond the trees. That's where our house is. Do you want to see it?" she asked excitedly. Rushing up to Abby, she took her by the hand, leading her past her sisters, still in a face-off with Akira. "Suma, Brit, I'm going to tell mother you were pointing sticks again." Tena turned her nose up at her sisters as she led Abby away.

Abby glanced back to Akira and shrugged her shoulders. Akira lowered her sword and waited for the other two girls to follow.

"I'm sorry your pet died. My pet frog died too. I forgot to feed him. I have three rabbits now, Flick, Mucky and Gick. Do you like rabbits?"

Abby smiled, unable to get a word in.

"I do, too. My father likes to eat rabbits, but not me. What's your name?"

"Abby and my sister is Akira."

"My name is Tena and my sisters are Suma and Brit. They like to think they are the bosses of me. Do you know you look the same as your sister?" She caught her breath and pointed. "See there's our house."

The trees parted and there stood a small stone house with a grass roof. The large field had just been turned and the soil was ready to plant. Akira noticed a large amount of the Ternet plant growing nearby; in fact, it seemed to circle their land.

The three sisters rushed by, calling for their parents. The father dropped what he was doing to reach for his sword, and the mother gathered her children to her side.

"Tena, how many times have I told you not to bring strangers home," the mother scolded.

"They're not strangers, it's Abby and Akira," Tena said. "They've come for tea."

By the way the father held his sword, Akira knew immediately he had skill.

"We are sorry for the intrusion, but your daughter was quite persistent," Abby said.

"They killed a Spiriton." Tena's eyes widened excitedly. "But I didn't go near him." She shook her head.

Surprised, the father's eyes darted back to the strangers. "You killed a Spiriton?"

"Yes Father, just like you did." Tena ran to him.

Akira was just as surprised as he was.

"Please, come and have some food," the mother offered at the silent moment. "My name is Suki and this is my husband, Lar."

They sat at a table outside the house. Suki brought buns and tea. The girls sat across from them.

"How did you kill a Spiriton if they can't die?" Lar asked.

"I could ask you the same question," she asked suspiciously.

He touched his wife's hand. Understanding his signal she ushered the reluctant children away from the table to go play.

"My father was a Hunter." He lowered his head, looking as though he was ashamed of his father's title.

"So, that makes you a Hunter then?" Abby asked, hopefully.

He didn't answer. Sweat beaded his forehead. Nervously tapping his fingers on the table, he watched his children. Akira frowned. He was a Hunter and he was hiding from his rightful title. Could there be more Hunters hiding in Edon? More who could help? It angered her that she was left alone to kill the Spiritons and protect the stones.

"Our mother was a Hunter," Abby said.

Akira snapped a quick kick under the table to Abby's shin, giving her an icy glare. Abby winced and tried to hide her pain.

He swallowed hard. "Are you hunting?"

Akira glared at him. She wanted to call him a coward for hiding from the responsibilities of being a Hunter. Her mother died trying to protect the people from the Spiritons, and here he sits having a normal life. Tena rushed up to her father, happily wrapping her arms around his neck, kissed him on the cheek then squished her cheek against his. Akira watched his eyes glisten with love when he hugged Tena and kissed on her cheek. He tickled her, making her laugh, and patting her backside with affection, he sent her back to play with her sisters.

Akira sighed. "No." She glanced away.

He caught Abby's surprised expression, making him assume they were lying. He started to fidget with his fingers, worried they would expose him or even worse, expect him to hunt with them. "What are you doing out here?"

"We were separated from our friends." Akira took a bite of her bun.

"Are there more Hunters out there?" Abby asked.

"I don't know." He smiled at his girls when they waved at him.

Akira glanced over to the children, then stood. "We thank you for your kindness, but we must be off to find our friends."

Abby stood, confused by her sister's haste, wondering why she wasn't asking him for help.

Relief crossed his face and he stood. "I would like to offer you a night's stay and you will take two of my horses." He stared at Akira with grateful eyes, begging her to take all he could offer them. "Please."

Akira nodded. "Thank you."

Tena squealed with delight at the announcement. She ran to the twins and grabbed their hands. "You must come and see my rabbits!"

Akira insisted they sleep outside. The father gratefully smiled at their offer of protection. He quickly made a lean-to and made a soft bed of hay for them to sleep.

Akira crawled into her bed and found a piece of root from the Ternet plant. She looked up at the warm house and heard their laughter. She envied his life. Could it be that simple to just walk away from the life of a Hunter? Did Mother try?

"Why didn't you ask him to help?" Abby asked as she crawled in next to her.

"He chose his family. I couldn't bring myself to take him away from his children."

Abby snickered. "I think I am rubbing off on you."

Akira released a snort of air.

Abby peeked out and searched the sky again, hoping to see Rydan fly by, but the night sky was empty except for the two moons. "Which way do we go? Back to where we last saw the others?"

"No, Brogan will assume we will head to Belinos to save time."

"Maybe more Hunters are out there and they can help."

Akira shrugged her shoulders, not really caring at that moment.

"Have you ever thought about leaving the Hunter's Clan?"

"No, this is the life I chose," she replied, as her envious eyes fell away from the house.

The next morning they were invited for breakfast. Akira sat alone with Lar at the table and watched Abby play with the children. "Can I ask you something?" Akira's eyes dropped to the ground.

"Yes."

"Was it easy to leave?"

He knew what she meant. "It was a decision I made with a heavy heart, then I saw my eldest daughter open her eyes for the first time. I thought my heart would leap out of my chest with joy. There was no going back. Nothing is more important than protecting my family." He was silent for a moment. "How long have you been hunting?"

She sighed. "How did you know?"

"I know pain when I see it."

"About a year. Senus killed my mother. I promised her I would kill them all."

"By yourself?"

She watched Abby laughing with the girls. "Yes."

"Sometimes promises are made to ease a broken heart, and sometimes those promises do nothing but bring a lifetime of misery." He put his hand on her shoulder. "Have you thought about leaving?"

"Sometimes when things are going wrong, I wonder what it would be like," she said.

"We have all wanted to run away at one time."

"I'm not a coward!" she snapped back.

"I would never call you a coward. You are the bravest person I know for choosing this life, but make sure the reason you are a Hunter is because you want to protect and not because you made a promise."

Although the promise still tugged at her heart, her devotion to protect the people from the Spiritons was stronger than ever as she watched his happy family. "You should take your family away from here and head south for a while. Stay away from Belinos."

Surprised, he leaned back at the warning and nodded. "Thank you. I wish you and your sister a safe journey."

"Here is some food for the journey," Suki said, handing Akira a satchel of food.

Akira nodded with a smile as she mounted her horse. "Abby, it's time to go." She lightly kicked her horse to move.

Tena held a red rabbit in her arms. "Abby, I would like to give you my rabbit so you don't get hungry. He's fat." She hugged her rabbit affectionately.

Abby smiled at the precious offer as she stroked the back of the rabbit. She leaned down to Tena's ear. "No thank you, I don't like eating rabbits either."

Tena beamed a wide smile and hugged her rabbit lovingly. Abby sat in her saddle, and waved to the family as she kicked her horse into a gallop to catch up with Akira.

Abby rode up next to her. "What were you and Lars talking about?"

"It was nothing."

Abby frowned.

"Abby, I am glad we are sisters."

Surprised, Abby stopped her horse, not sure she heard her right. "What?"

"Don't make me say it again. Come on, move your ass!" she shouted.

Still stunned by her words, Abby watched Akira gallop away from her.

"Hurry up or I will leave you behind!"
56

### Belinos

Early morning, farmers could be seen in the distance moving their cattle through the low lining fog toward the upper fields. Along the road merchants passed by with over loaded carts of goods, whipping at their horses to move faster. Riding fast, a small group of guardsmen thundered by, making Akira and Abby steer their horses into the field to get out of the way. They continued up the road, and into the village of Belinos. When Abby dismounted, her foot barely touched the ground when a wave of merchants rushed to her, all trying to sell their goods. She pushed the items away from her face, politely trying to decline their aggressiveness. She looked back to see Akira's distant face.

"Akira, are you coming?" Abby pushed through the merchants.

Akira found it hard to breathe and didn't want to remember. She tried to think about something else, but her weepy eyes betrayed her, drifting to the exact place she held her mother in her arms for the last time.

"I don't think I can." She closed her eyes.

"You don't think you can?"

"This is where Mother died."

Like a knife cutting Abby's insides, she gasped and scanned the village. How horrible it must have been. Her heart ached; nothing could fill the emptiness she felt in her heart for the mother she never knew. She couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy for the memories Akira had with their mother. Her sister's still grieving face was an agonizing reminder she had no connection or memories, just an empty love for someone she wished she knew. She opened her mouth to say something, but no words could reach her tongue. With a low head, she walked over to Akira, gently pulled on the reins of her horse, and led her into the village.

The village road was wide with stone houses lining both sides, wagons and carts were side by side with merchants shouting and waving at customers. The main road carried on down to the city built on a large platform extending out to the wharf with wooden ships of all shapes and sizes. Movement around the ships was nonstop, loading and unloading passengers and cargo. The wharf-city, mostly of taverns, gambling dens, and brothels was noisy and busy with merriment. The Village of Belinos was alive and thriving—oblivious to the approaching evil.

Leaving their horses at the stable, the girls headed to the wharf in search of food. Dashing between the crowds, a line of young children raced past the girls, laughing and playing. Akira reached out, grabbing a young boy by the back of his shirt. He looked up surprised and cowered.

"Have you seen a large man with red hair?"

He blinked wildly at her.

"Well?"

He pointed to a tall building with scantily dressed women standing outside. Akira rolled her eyes and released him.

"Akira!" Niyu rushed to Akira, latching onto her arm with both hands.

Just as Akira predicted, Brogan and the others were waiting for them. Seeing Rydan in the crowd, Abby ran into his open arms. Jorin rushed to Akira wanting to hug her, but stopped at her short smile. She glanced over to Brogan's relieved smile.

Tumble stumbled out of the tavern smelling of ale, his happy face dropped into an angry scowl. "It's about time you two arrived. You had us beyond worried. I should think leashing you like children would restrain your reckless ways, and don't think I won't confine you both!" He angrily shook his finger at them.

Abby lovingly latched onto his arm. "We missed you too, Tum."

"Li'l Kin, stop that! I am angry and that silly grin of yours will not get you out of a scolding."

***

A slight breeze blew the scent of fresh brewed tea down the road of the village, temping customers with the pleasant aroma of roasted nuts. Selling tea from her cart, an old woman with shaky hands stirred her boiling brew of nuts and black leaves. She looked up when a person under a hooded cloak held out a chipped cup to her.

"May I please have some of your delightful tea?"

***

Brogan and the twins requested to meet with the Council of Five. Two guards returned and ordered them to leave their weapons behind. The guards impatiently waited for Akira. Brogan nodded for her to obey. Reluctantly, she knelt down and placed her weapons on the ground, unnoticed, she pushed her knife deeper inside her boot. The guards escorted them out of the village that crouched beneath the shadow of the majestic castle.

They followed the black cobbled road to the thick wooden drawbridge spanning the width of the deep moat surrounding the dark castle. Abby sniffed the salty breeze when she viewed the wide channel, it was high tide and the Great Water filled the moat, making the castle sit on its own island. They wasted no time crossing the bridge at the unnerving sounds of the straining heavy chains holding the bridge, and the wood creaking under their feet. Hard black rock carved into oversized bricks, neatly built the thick walls to protect the smaller castle inside. Abby leaned her head back to view the hulking height of the black stone walls, the castle was massive from a distance, but standing below the towering eighty-foot high walls made her sink into her boots. They looked back to see the bridge draw away from the land to stand upright in the air— there was no turning back. Abby marvelled at the beauty of the metal gate with bars swirling into beautiful circles and leaf shapes. Akira's eyes dropped from the unclimbable walls to the impregnable metal gate, with bars twisted and sharp ends curling to point outward to impale any imposing threats. The black, eerie stronghold was meant to impress and intimidate.

They watched the line of men on the other side of the gate dig their heels into the dirt to lift the heavy gate high above their heads. They walked through the mouth of the archway and into the large courtyard, lined with horses, and wooden racks holding large quantities of steel weapons, all ready at a moment's notice. Startled, Akira turned to the gate slamming down, closing them in. She was impressed by the sheer power of the castle to hold intruders out, but it worried her about the power to hold them in.

The centre of the courtyard was divided into two with another twenty-foot wall surrounding the round tower, and another metal gate to pass through. Four round towers stood at each corner of the square castle, and four swivelling catapults, each sitting on the top of the walls between the towers. From every angle of the castle, warriors could aim at their enemy.

The second gate was lifted and they entered.

"I will speak for us. You two will say nothing unless invited to talk." Brogan looked directly at Akira.

Their footsteps echoed loudly in the wide spiral staircase, leading them up to the third floor. As the guard walked ahead of them, Akira noticed the guard's hand nervously clutching the top of his hilt at his side. She felt stupid for agreeing to leave her weapons behind. Two doors opened and they stepped into the large open room. The walls were painted bright yellow, long grey tapestries hung from the ceilings, one large window with yellow coloured glass, filled the room with light, and metal bars on the outside of the window did not allow anyway in, or out. Abby looked down to the beautiful black polished marble floors, viewing her reflection, she hesitated at stepping on the floors with her dirty boots.

Akira viewed the same floors, wondering how many times blood was spilled on the over- polished floor. Someone clearing their throat drew her attention. Five anxious men sat at a black metal table, one with a demanding scowl. His bald head glistened with sweat, his flat nose wrinkled, pulling his upper lip up as if he smelt something bad, his short chubby arms barely folded across his fat belly, and he wore clothes fit for a king.

"We are the Council of Five. I am Healer Durin. Son of Rolic, what news do you bring before us?" he asked annoyingly.

"Keeva is alive and is now free to roam the Land of Edon," Brogan announced.

"And how do you know this?"

"We did battle against her and her creatures at Taltorn. The people of Taltorn have abandoned their village. She is on her way here with more creatures, and bringing the Spiritons as well."

"The Spiritons!" the Healer shouted, sending the other four members into a panic. He wasn't sure if he should believe him, but he was the son of one of the Councillors of Five. "Well, we don't intend to abandon Belinos!" He looked over to the twins, giving them a good glance up and down. "And who are these girls you travel with? Your wives?" He grinned at the idea.

Akira raised her eyebrows, then forced them down into a deep frown at the fat man's remark. Brogan stepped in front of her before she said something offending.

"They are the last of the Hunter's Clan."

"Hunter's Clan? Is this a joke?" Durin tried to catch his smile before they noticed, but Akira caught the smirk and stepped around Brogan.

The room fell silent at her glare. "Do you not believe us?"

Durin slowly stood at the insulting tone. "There haven't been Hunters for many years, all supposedly dead or ran off, leaving us defenceless against the Spiritons!"

Akira's body stiffened. "We can prove it...if you like?" She clenched her fists.

Abby panicked, she had already been down this road before in Adore; if Akira was angry there was no telling what she would do. She noticed Akira's arm move; most likely to do something threatening, she quickly stepped next to her and grabbed her arm, holding it to her side.

"Do you know who you are talking too? I did not give you the right to speak!" Durin shouted as his angry eyes darted to Brogan.

Brogan closed his eyes to think quickly. "I would like to apologize for their rude behaviour as they have been living in the forest on their own for a long time, and as you well know, Hunters are a little lacking in courtly manners." Brogan forced a smirk, trying to ease the tension. The other four men chuckled. Abby held Akira's arm tighter.

"Yes, they certainly are," Durin grumbled and slowly sat down. He accepted Brogan's explanation and continued with the issue at hand. "Brogan, this is most disturbing information you have brought us. How long do you think we have?"

"Two days at the most," Brogan replied. "The attack will be at night as the Spiritons have joined forces with Keeva."

"Since you have been to battle with her before, what do you suggest we do?"

"First you need to get your people inside the castle. I will need all your warriors and those that can fight."

"It will be done!" Durin shouted. "We heard the news of your father's death. He was a great man."

Brogan lowered his head. "The Spiritons attacked our village. Do you know if our people escaped to your village?" Brogan asked with concern of his mother.

"We've had no communication with your village for many weeks now. They may have fled to Elowen."

"Thank you." Brogan bowed his head politely, then ushered the girls out of the room.

Durin's unforgiving eyes followed Akira, Hunter or not, he disliked her.

When they reached the village, Brogan pulled Akira aside. "Damn it, Akira. Did I not say no talking?" he asked angrily.

"He didn't believe us!"

"What were you going to do? Fight them all to prove you are a Hunter? We are on the same side!"

Akira shook her head. "So, now what are we going to do?"

He said nothing, trying to gather his thoughts.

"We should attack her first," she blurted out.

"No! She will come to us and we will be ready," he answered.

"Why? We have three stones and she only has two."

"She has more power this time and an army of Spiritons on her side," he snapped back.

"I can use my spells."

"What good are your spells if you can't control them? You could end up doing more harm than good."

"My spell saved you from that mist creature!" she shouted angrily.

"Your spell almost got us killed!" he growled. "I suggest you start thinking before you act!"

Abby stepped between them. "Okay...ah, what can we do, Brogan?"

"Abby, gather as much of the Ternet roots as you can. Akira, you will clean the warrior's weapons with the roots." Glaring at her, he waited for her to object.

She reluctantly nodded.

"Good!" Brogan stormed off.

"What is it with you two? Why do you get him so worked up?" Abby shook her head.

"Get him worked up?" Akira grumbled.

"You two have been at each other's throat from day one." Abby's eyes narrowed. "Do you like him?"

"Who? Brogan?"

"Yes, Brogan."

"No, why would you think that? He makes me crazy!"

"I think you enjoy arguing with Brogan, because you like him."

"Don't be stupid. He's annoying."

Abby glanced past Akira to see Rydan walking toward them. Her face lit up.

"Abby, I need to leave for a short time," Rydan said, standing in front of her.

"Why?"

"I sent two ships to Adore to get help. I need to see how close the ships are to Belinos."

"I don't want you to go." She hugged him.

"I will be back for you, I promise." He kissed her on her forehead

Stunned, Akira stepped back when Rydan's wings cut through the skin on his back, unfolding and stretching out to the side like some magnificent bird. A forceful gust of air whirled up at her when he flapped his powerful white wings, making her cover her eyes. Lifting himself into the air, he flew out over the ocean. Abby's heart sank as he disappeared from her view.

"Don't worry, it won't take him too long," Akira said. "Hand me your weapons."

Akira attentively examined the edge of Abby's blade, looking for any imperfections. She ran her finger down the line of the bowstring and plucked at the string to test it. "Do you love Rydan?"

Her question surprised Abby, making her blush. "Yes."

"How do you know that you love him?"

"He makes my heart race every time I see him. He's all I think about, day and night. He makes my insides tingle when his soft brown eyes look deep into my eyes. I feel like my body is melting when he holds me. It's hard to explain these feelings bursting inside me." She gazed into the sky. "He fills my heart." She looked down to Akira's puzzled face. "Does Jorin fill your heart?"

Akira continued to fuss with the weapons. Jorin is gentle and nurturing, but I don't think about him every minute of the day. Brogan mostly makes me angry, but he is always on my mind. She hit the side of her head with the palm of her hand. It's too hard to love someone.

"Sometimes I wonder if I have a heart," Akira mumbled quietly.

"Of course you do, dummy. Just open it up a little." Abby smiled and took her weapons back. "I will see you in a bit. I am going to gather Ternet roots with Luken and Niyu."

Brogan spent day and night with the warriors, learning everything he could about Belinos. He was happy the warriors were well trained, but what excited him the most was the tunnel underground, leading out from the castle, under the moat, and out to the forest edge.

Akira slipped under the tent in the courtyard where battle plans were being made. Leaders of the army circled a table, each drawing out a battle strategy. She watched Brogan from a distance. It was his turn to suggest a plan. His strong hands gently brushed across the map to flatten out the wrinkles. As he spoke, she listened to his calm and encouraging voice; he was smart and methodical about all his plans. The men stood, excited about his ideas. Brogan stood back, allowing them to take his suggestions further. He flex the muscles in his arms when he stretched them up behind his head, dropped his arms to tug on the bottom of his vest, he continually shifted his weight from one leg to the other, crossed his arms, only to uncross them seconds later. Picking up an apple from a bowl on the table, he bounced it in his hand. Taking a large bite, his tongue shot out to try and catch the juice dribbling down his chin, scratching the side of his head, he leaned into the circle of men to point out another idea. Akira smirked at the tuft of hair sticking out the side of his head.

From the corner of his eye, he knew she was watching him, and trying not to think about her, he forced himself not to look, but he could barely concentrate on what he was doing. He gave in and looked up, but she was gone.

Seeking protection, people from the village rushed to the castle, pouring through the gates to fill the stone stronghold. Women and children hid in the hallways, and men able to fight, readied their weapons, with quivers full of arrows, archers ran out to find their place along the top of the walls. Next to the four swivelling catapults, head-sized clay balls filled with liquid fire were piled neatly and carefully, ready to be hurled into the advancing enemy.

Durin nervously paced in the tower above, looking out every so often to see the anxiety building below.

One of the councillors stepped into the room. "Healer Durin, did you know that the Prince of Adore is travelling with the Hunters?" he said with a condescending tone.

"What? Where did you hear this?"

"Apparently Rydan sent two ships to Adore to bring help."

Durin's face flushed with anger. "I'm in charge here. I gave no such order!"

"You mean the Council of Five, gave no such order." The councillor corrected him.

Durin glared and lowered his voice. "Yes, of course I mean the Council of Five." He turned away from him. "Where is Rydan?"

"We don't know."

"If you wouldn't mind, please ask a couple of guards to find him," Durin said politely.

The councillor nodded with a hint of a smile and left the room.

Durin poured himself a glass of wine, downing it in one gulp. Belinos is mine. The last thing I need is Adore's army marching in here like they are going to save us. I don't want to owe a debt of gratitude, especially to Adore. He cringed at the idea; he whipped his empty glass at the wall.

Along the edge of the forest, Abby, Niyu and Luken painstakingly searched for more Ternet plants.

"Just how many of these plants are we going to gather?" Luken complained.

Abby flashed him a frown. "A couple more and we will head back." She bent over to pick up her bag. Niyu's sudden scream made her jump with fright. A dragon swooped down to land in front of them. She pulled Niyu and Luken down behind a large boulder. Fire blew over their heads. The dragon charged them, but stopped to look up. Abby panicked at the sight of a smaller dragon arriving, but to her surprise it flew down to attack the dragon on the ground. Loud shrieks pierced the air, grunting and snorting as they charged each other with rolling flames of fire shooting from their mouths. Leaping, their leathery wings flapped madly as their sharp claws tried to rip into each other. The ground shook as they rolled back and forth. The bigger dragon escaped into the sky, but the smaller dragon stomped its way to the boulder. Abby drew her sword. Niyu and Luken huddled together. The dragon rounded the boulder. "Run!" Abby shouted. She waved her sword to distract the dragon as Niyu and Luken ran. The dragon's yellow eyes darted back to her. She slowly raised her sword. The dragon jumped at her. Falling backward as the dragon leapt over her, she dropped her sword. Lying on her back, she reached her hand out for her sword, but snatched her hand back with fright when the dragon nudged her hand with its nose. Her scream startled the dragon for a second, making it stop to stare at her. Terror paralysed her, if she could have forced herself to faint, she would have. Shaking, she closed her eyes and gagged at the stench of its breath. She couldn't imagine anything more horrifying than a dragon biting into her, and hoped she would die quickly. She shouted out when its nose pushed into her stomach, sniffing her. She wiggled and squirmed as its sniffing nose ran up the middle of her chest and up into her hair, sucking her hair up into its nostrils. She felt a snort of air blow on her face. She held her breath at the sudden silence. Again, it touched her hand with its nose. She peeked through one eye to see the dragon circle two times, stretch out alongside her, and nudged her arm like it was seeking her affection. What is it doing? For a second she lay motionless, her chest pounded hard. Its odd behaviour seemed familiar. The dragon moved his large body closer, almost lying on top of her. Rolling over, it wiggled his back into the dirt. With disbelief, she spotted the white scale on its belly. She cautiously touched his side. The dragon rolled over and dropped its head on her stomach, making her gasp. "Newt? Is it really you? You're a dragon? How is this possible?" She gently rubbed his snout. His eyes closed. "Trevina said nothing about you being a dragon." She continued to pet him as she breathed a sigh of relief. "Newt, you have bad breath."

"Abby, is the dragon eating you?" Niyu cried out from the bushes.

Abby smiled. "How am I going to explain this to everyone?"

## 57

The Battle

"You want to do, what?" the guard at the gate asked. "I think she has lost her mind," he said to the other guard.

"It's okay, he won't hurt anyone." Abby tried to convince them by petting Newt's neck. The guards jumped back with fright when Newt curiously poked his nose between the bars to sniff them.

"You're crazy! It's a dragon! You're not bringing him in here!" he shouted as he slammed the wooden doors closed.

"What do we do now?" Luken asked.

"Get Niyu inside. I will get Newt to safety!"

After a long time convincing the guards the dragon was gone they let Luken and Niyu inside.

"Where's Abby?" Tumble asked.

"She's getting Newt to safety," Niyu said.

"The little lizard from Taltorn?" Tumble asked with a puzzled look.

Luken saw Akira moving toward him and thought maybe it was time to tell her about his matching mark. "Akira, I need to tell you something."

"Not now, Luken," she said in an irritated tone. She pushed him aside and angrily searched for Brogan.

She stormed into the cold room to find him alone and leaning over a map on a table. "Brogan! You told Jorin, I was to stay behind?"

He continued to stare down at the map.

She walked heavily across the marble floor and stopped next to him. "Brogan! Did you hear me?"

"I heard you. The whole village heard you." He slowly rolled up the map into his hand.

"Why?"

"Because that is the way I want it!" he said.

"You can't possibly think I wouldn't fight. Who put you in charge?" Fuming, she pulled on his arm, forcing him to look at her. He turned and put his hand on hers to remove it from his arm. Catching her off guard, her stomach fluttered at his touch, her emotions surprised her and in a flash they turned on her. Her eyes jumped up to his ever changing, demanding, and heartwarming eyes, her breathing quickened, her tense muscles released her leaving her feeling limp, her throat ached holding back the emotions trying to escape; she was losing herself—nothing mattered anymore.

He steadied his voice, not wanting to fall into a heated confrontation with her. "Do you not think I am capable to lead them and make sure everyone is safe, including you and...?" Her captivating blue eyes gazing deeply into his, suddenly made him forget what he was going to say.

She was lost in his eyes and there was no turning back, she wanted to be near him, she wanted to touch him, the tension reached her limit, her defences left without warning, and a sudden impulse rushed through her. She clasped his face with her hands, stood up on her toes and pulled him into her lips. He reacted instantly, returning the same intensity, making their kiss long and passionate. She felt his hands touch her waist, then slide up her back; she released a little gasp of air when he pulled her in closer. She pushed on her toes, pushing him back against the wall.

His hands slid down her arms and pushed her back to slow down. His eyes melted at the sight of her beautiful face. "I have longed to gather you up into my arms and kiss you. Every day I was tormented by your beauty, wanting to touch the skin on your face, to stare at you without ever having to look away, and wanting your sparkling blue eyes to only see me and no one else." His hand reached up and gently touched her forehead with his fingertips, drifting down to her rosy cheek, and stopped to linger on her soft lips. He slid his fingers under her chin, tilting her head up slightly, and before he leaned in to kiss her again, he glanced to her waiting eyes.

The familiar scent of his body filled her nose, her eyes retraced the lines of his face and his strong hands, the same lines already carved in her mind forever, his skin was hot to the touch when she placed her hand on the side of his neck; she felt his quick pulse. She was pulled in tight, feeling her heart pound hard on his chest. His warm lips pushed into hers and she melted into his arms—her heart felt full.

Unnoticed, Jorin walked into the room. "Brogan..." Shocked, his heart sank at the sight of them kissing.

Akira separated from Brogan and tried to catch her breath. Brogan quickly took his hands from her back. She felt the guilt rush through her veins at the sight of Jorin's shocked face. She ran out of the room, leaving them to stand in front of each other. Ashamed, Brogan tried to look anywhere but at Jorin. What have I done?

He wasn't sure before, but now there was no doubt that Akira had feelings for Brogan. Feeling betrayed he curled his fingers into fists. There was no stopping the jealous rage surging inside him. Brogan swallowed hard, he knew what was coming, and didn't flinch at the painful punch across his jaw. Shaking the pain from his fingers, Jorin stood ready to fight his friend. Brogan willingly took another punch to his face, staggering back up against the wall, he straightened up to take more punishment. Jorin stood back, watching the blood run down Brogan's chin. Heartbroken, he shook his head as he left the room.

***

The two moons glowed against the night sky, reflecting their brilliant light on the water in the moat. Abby ran across the bridge with Newt following behind. Reaching out to a thick, tall tree, she patted her hand on the bark, trying to coax him up into the tree. Newt seemed to understand and leapt at the trunk to claw his way up the tree. She looked up to see two dragons flying overhead. They swooped down, shooting fire into the village, igniting everything in their path. Another blast of fire exploded in the courtyard of the castle. Abby ran to the nearest stone cottage and huddled down. She looked at the bridge, worried it would be raised before she could get back across.

Archers on the castle wall shot their arrows, and the catapults released the flaming clay balls into the air, trying to strike the flying creatures. The dragons dove and shot fire along the top of the wall, making warriors leap to their deaths.

She looked back, but Newt was gone. She cowered when a dragon flew above her. With a loud shriek, Newt streaked in sideways, ramming his head into the dragon's side. They tumbled in the air, falling to the ground they crashed into a cottage with a fiery explosion. Abby ducked at the flaming rubble flying toward her. The two dragons climbed out of the fire to attack each other, biting and tearing into each other's scales. Even though Newt was smaller, he was much faster with his strikes. The other dragon flapped its wings hard, trying to escape. Newt latched onto the tail with his claws, pulling the dragon down, the stone wall collapsed, and they rolled out of the rubble, setting the ground on fire. The large dragon rolled over on top of Newt's back, but before it could bite down, Newt curled his head around, biting into the dragon, ripping his bite from the dragon's neck. The dragon slumped to the ground, dead.

With a bloody snout, Newt's wild yellow eyes darted to Abby. She froze, almost afraid of him. Newt shot off into the sky to attack the other dragon. Abby panicked when she saw the bridge start to rise, jumping over the flames, she raced for the bridge, now four-feet off the ground, she dove over the top edge, and slid down to the other side. Still trying to catch her breath, she raised her head when she heard loud roars. Her heart skipped at the sight of Keeva's creatures running out from the trees. The creatures stopped at the edge of the moat, standing still like they were waiting for something. The purple mist glided across the land, between the legs of the creatures, and slipped out over the water in the moat. Abby heard crackling sounds, the mist disappeared, leaving the water frozen. The creatures ran onto the ice.

***

Hearing the dragons attacking, people rushed through the hallways. The tunnel was noisy with nervous warriors as they readied themselves for battle. Akira, Brogan and Jorin stood away from each other, avoiding eye contact. Sal and Rin noticed the strange tension between them.

What happened to Brogan's face? Rin signed.

"I don't know, maybe Akira finally hit him," Sal said with a chuckle.

Angry with himself for kissing Akira, Brogan clenched his fists. He felt like a hypocrite, all this time he had been warning Jorin she was a Hunter and their relationship would be too complicated, and now he was stepping into the same tortuous situation. At a moment of weakness he had let his heart take over, and in doing so he betrayed his friend.

With his head hanging low, Jorin stared at the wet stone floor. He was angry at Brogan, but just as angry at himself for hitting him. Pain and anger ate at his insides, making him sick to his stomach. He felt stupid for carrying on like he did, chasing after her and kissing her, when she had feelings for Brogan. The awkward moments in the tunnel were agonizing, and if he didn't get into the battle soon, he was going to explode.

Akira thought about her kiss with Brogan. Maybe it didn't mean anything and maybe I do love Jorin. She glanced over to Jorin's sullen face. She bowed her head in shame; her feeling for Brogan felt different than Jorin's, all she wanted to do was kiss Brogan again. Her eyes wandered over to Brogan, but he was avoiding her. I think I made a terrible mistake.

"They're at the castle!" a man rushed into the tunnel.

Brogan led the group of warriors quickly through the wet tunnel, under the village, and out into the moonlit forest. Half the village was on fire, and just as Brogan hoped, the creatures were already in the village. From behind, the warriors rushed the creatures.

Akira shot off her crossbow as she ran toward them, killing two before she pulled her sword. Making her way into the battle, slicing swiftly, but she found it hard to stay focused when her eyes continually searched for Brogan.

Brogan stepped aside from the thrusting spear, grabbing the spear with both hands, he twirled it like a windmill spinning in front the creature's face, and ripped it out of the creature's hands to stab him in the chest. He searched for Akira.

Jorin kept his sword skill to simple and precise movements, not wanting to make a mistake; his battles were long, but effective. He willed himself not to look for Akira.

Wielding his axe in one hand and his sword in the other, Sal chopped into the creature. "Take this, you ugly butt of a pig!" Sal shouted at the creature as it dropped dead. "That's eight, Rin. I'm winning." Sal turned to see two creatures race toward his brother.

Rin jammed his sword into the stomach of the first creature, with the tip of the blade sticking out the creature's back, Rin pushed the creature into the second creature running toward him, nailing them together; they both fell to the ground. Rin spun around to Sal with a smile, holding up his fingers to the count of nine.

"You cheated!" Sal shouted.

Sal's eyes widened when Rin bolted toward him, pointing his sword. Rin knocked his brother to the ground, out of the way of the oncoming attack, and sliced the creature's head clean off. The head bounced on the ground to land between Sal's legs.

Sal dug his heels into the dirt to push himself away from the head. "You did that on purpose!"

Rin made a hand signal. Ten.

Akira's unrelenting strikes swept through the chaos as one after another rushed in to attack. She heard a snort from behind, dropping down to one knee, she swung her sword behind, slicing off the creature's leg. As it fell to the ground, she turned her attention to the front to block a thrusting spear, finishing him off with a quick jab to the chest. Feeling the one-legged creature grab her foot, she flipped over onto her back and kicked him in the face. Heaving for air, she stood and turned to the creature holding a shield with his sword above his head, charging straight for her. She raced toward him. Before they clashed, she easily blocked his downward strike as she hurled herself body sideways at his legs, knocking him to the ground, and flipping her blade up over top of his back, she stabbed him. Pulling herself up from the ground, she watched more creatures rush out from the trees, overtaking the warriors. "Damn it! They outnumber us!"

Hearing the sounds of wings flapping above her, she spotted Rydan in the sky. She looked over to the shore and watched with relief when the warriors from Adore lined the top of the bank. Thrusting their swords above their heads, they shouted a battle cry as they raced into the bloodshed.

Abby swore at herself for being caught on the wrong side of the wall and shook the bars of the gate, yelling for them to let her in. She heard a loud grunt and turned to see a creature racing toward her. With shaky arms, she drew her bow and shot off an arrow. She hit her target in the leg, but the arrow did little to slow it down. She sent another arrow into his upper arm, but the creature still charged. She pulled her sword to ready herself to battle the creature, but no matter how many times she practiced with her sword, she was frightened. "Breathe! Abby, Breathe!" She took in a deep breath and blocked the first strike. The strike was hard and the vibration hurt her hands. She blocked the thrusting sword to the side and blocked above her head, moving in a sweeping motion, trying to anticipate its every move. Her sword followed his, making it hard for him to strike. She backed the creature up with a combination of quick strikes. She knocked its sword from its hand and pointed her sword to take the upper hand, but she hesitated, and the creature took the advantage.

She was shocked when the creature purposely thrust itself onto her blade, ramming its stomach right up to the guard of the sword, now, so close she could smell the stench of its breath. She stumbled backward without her sword, falling onto her back. Her hands shot up to fight off the creature when it leaned down over top of her. As she struggled she could hear the sharp pointy teeth snapping at her throat. Panicking, she wasn't sure she could hold him off any longer. She heard the sound of an arrow cutting the air and hitting the creature. The creature squealed and stood up, grabbing at the arrow protruding from the side of its throat. It turned and started to run; another arrow followed behind, breaking the back of the creature's skull. She watched the creature crash to the ground. Without warning she felt herself being hauled up to her feet. A loud voice startled her.

"Did I not teach you anything?" Maelor shouted angrily. "Poke him in the eyes and..."

"Maelor!" Abby jumped at him with a hug. "I mean Master Maelor!" she beamed.

He smiled to himself and pushed her back. "Now's not the time, or have you forgotten there's a battle going on?" He retrieved her sword from the body. "Now, try to hang onto it!" he shouted at her smile.

She followed Maelor back to the battle. She glanced down the side of the castle wall and stopped. Spiritons were entering the side wall; somehow magically they were able to walk through the stone wall. She panicked as Niyu and Luken were inside. Maelor was already fighting, she searched for someone to tell, but everyone had their hands full. She rushed to the gate. "The Spiritons are getting inside the castle!" she shouted, but the gate remained closed.

"Abby, what's wrong?" Rydan asked and flew down to her.

"Rydan, the Spiritons are inside. Niyu and Luken are in there!"

Rydan grabbed Abby by the waist, lifting her up into the air and over the castle wall.

The Spiritons rushed into the courtyard with their swords swinging, but they were met with weapons that broke their curse, making the battle man against man. Rydan and Abby landed in front of the second gate, then made their way up the stairs, looking for Luken and Niyu.

As Akira fought, something didn't feel right; they were only fighting the creatures. She searched the battlefield and couldn't see Keeva or the Spiritons anywhere. "They must have found another way in!" she shouted to herself and ran back to the castle.

Brogan watched Akira race back toward the tunnel. He shouted at Jorin, pointing at Akira. Knowing something was wrong, they both chased after her.

Akira ran back through the tunnel and up into the centre of the castle to find the warriors in battle with the Spiritons. Worried about the others, she worked her way along the walls to the tower, ran up the stairs, and into the councillors' room. Her eyes followed the trail of blood across the marble floor to the four dead councillors. Durin was leaning up against the wall, badly injured. Tumble, also injured, lay on the floor with Niyu and Luken huddled next to him. Akira gasped with fear when she found Abby and Rydan, magically pinned upside down on the wall with blood dripping from their faces.

"Abby!"

Abby moaned.

Akira's eyes darted to the movement by the window and watched Valgard pull his sword from his hip. Keeva stood next to him and continued to stare out the window.

"I've been waiting for you," Keeva said calmly. Her long white gown swirled around her legs when she turned to face Akira. She held Abby's blue stone in the palm of her hand. "Shall we do a count now? Let's see, you have two stones and I have three."

Akira's heart raced at Keeva's unnerving tone. She raised her sword to one side and tried to control her breathing when Keeva moved toward her. Keeva gracefully glided across the floor with her long blonde hair flowing behind her, the gown gently rippled to the sides of her shapely body, her soft white complexion, and intense green eyes moving closer; Akira couldn't move. How could something so beautiful be so evil? Her arms shook as she squeezed the hilt of her sword tighter. I can't move. The mesmerizing emerald eyes were now so close she could see her own reflection; she fell into the deepness of Keeva's spellbound eyes. A sudden feeling of calm released her tense muscles, making her lower her sword. Not even the shouting from Niyu and Luken could reach her now.

"Just as beautiful as my Abby," Keeva whispered, curling a few strands of Akira's hair around her ear. She dropped her hand to Akira's chest, smiling as she touched the stones.

The door burst opened, startling Keeva. Releasing Akira, she spun around to Brogan and Jorin rushing into the room. Confused, Akira shook herself from her trance. Keeva waved her hand. A rope of purple circled Brogan and Jorin, pulling from the room and out into the hallway. They stood, but before they could enter, the doors slammed shut by themselves. The metal table flew through the air, slamming up against the doors. The men banged on the doors, trying to get in. She turned her attention back to Akira just in time to see a sword swing toward her; the sword came to a jolting halt at the side of her neck. Akira's arms trembled as she tried to finish her strike, but something invisible was blocking her sword. She was stunned when her sword leapt out of her hand, flew across the room to stab the wall between Abby and Rydan. Without hesitation she ran, throwing herself onto the polished floor, and as she slid forward, she grabbed a sword next to a dead man. She stood up and turned to face Keeva, but found Valgard instead, striking down at her with his sword. She barely had time to deflect his blade and felt the sharp edge cut her upper arm. As she dove to the side, she kicked out her leg and rammed it into his ribs, making him bend over. She jumped to her feet and swung her sword at the back of his neck, but his sword blocked her when he spun around to face her. They charged each other with full power, quick strikes and blocks, shaking their bodies in pain. Valgard shouted when he received two cuts to his chest and for a split second fear shook him as he waited for the curse to break, then remembered she had someone else's sword. He stepped back, grinning as his wounds healed. Akira heaved for air as she glanced to her sword stuck in the wall. She knew this fight would never end if she couldn't break the curse. She reset her fighting stance.

Keeva impatiently watched them charge at each other. "Enough, I don't have time to watch this useless fight!" Her hand whipped out, sending a powerful surge of air toward Akira and Valgard, flipping their bodies up into the air, and flinging them into the window with metal bars on the outside. The glass exploded when they hit the window, showering them with broken glass as they fell to the floor.

"Akira!" Niyu grabbed Akira's sword from the wall and rushed to her.

Valgard struggled to pull a large piece of glass out from his back. Akira looked up through her heavy brows, slowly lifting herself up from the floor with bits of sharp broken glass sticking out of her back. She took the sword and pushed Niyu back out of the way. Blood streamed down her face as she glared out between the loose strands of hair. She pointed her sword at Keeva. She knew she couldn't stop Keeva with only her sword and searched her mind for a spell. She took in a deep breath and whispered a spell; the stones around her neck glowed. A clap of thunder shook the castle followed by a bolt of lightning shooting through the window and into Akira's back, making her body jolt forward. She shook violently, hot power travelled her body, shards of lightning streaked through her hair, and she cried out in pain when the lightning shot out the tip of her sword. With an explosion of light, the blinding streak hit Keeva in the chest, throwing her back through the air to crash into the far wall.

Akira dropped to the floor holding her head. She felt a sudden tingle sensation on her stomach and lifted her shirt to see her mark glowing. She heard Trevina's voice in her head. Only the two that bear the mark of the Healer can bind the stones. You must bind the stones to defeat the sorceress. A spell formed in her head and she crawled toward Abby. She blindly reached for Abby's hand. "These words I command; we are bonded by..." Akira started say, but didn't get to finish the spell.

Luken felt a strange sensation above his navel, lifting his shirt to see the symbol glowing red, he realized Akira was trying to cast a spell and it had something to do with the mark of the Healer.

On his knees, Valgard pulled Akira from Abby's hand, dragging her by her legs across the floor. Valgard stood and lifted his sword to strike her. Luken quickly loaded his slingshot and struck Valgard in the eye, making him drop his sword and cover his eye. Luken ran to Akira's side and grabbed her hand.

"Say the spell now!" he said.

She looked at him confused. It surprised her when Luken showed her the glowing mark on his stomach.

"Trust me, say the spell!"

Remembering Trevina's words, does it mean you share the mark of one, or the mark of two? Maybe as twins they only counted as one. She tightened her grip on Luken's hand. "These words I command; we are bonded by the Healer's mark and cast this spell to bind the Pieces of Five to its original form." She moaned in pain.

Hearing the spell, Keeva screamed when the stones around her neck disappear and reappeared around Akira's neck. She now had all five pieces. In a rage, Keeva waved Luken across the floor, and threw Akira against the wall. Akira shouted in agony when she felt the bits of glass push deeper into her skin.

***

Sal pulled his axe from the creature's head; he stopped to think, swore at himself for losing his count. He glanced over at Rin fighting hard. Seeing a creature running with a long wooden spear pointing at Rin's back, Sal shouted, but Rin couldn't hear him. Sal ran, bracing his back up against Rin's back.

Rin killed the creature in front of him, then felt Sal's back against his, and smiled at his brother's foolery. Sal tried to block the thrusting spear.

Rin felt a sudden sharp pain in his back and turned. Fear jolted his insides when he saw the bloody wooden tip of a spear protruding out Sal's back. Rin caught his brother when he collapsed to his knees. He helped him down onto his side. You idiot. What have you done? Rin's hands signed.

Sal groaned in agony. "Please, pull the spear out."

Rin quickly yanked the spear from Sal's body. Sal yelled out in pain. Rin rolled him carefully onto his back. He put pressure on Sal's wound with his hand, but the blood continued to flow.

Blood trickled from Sal's lips. "Take my necklace," he choked.

Rin shook his head with disbelief. No, you're not going to die.

Sal pulled his bone necklace from his neck, placing it into Rin's hand, and grabbed his wrist. "Promise me, you will never give up fighting for our people."

Panic filled Rin's eyes as he searched for help. He felt Sal pull on his wrist. Shaking his head, tears fell from his eyes when looked back down.

"I will bet you two gold pieces I can still out shoot you in the new-life," he choked.

Rin touched the side of Sal's face and watched the life slowly drain from his smiling eyes. I will take that bet. He signed with his hand. He pulled his brother up into his lap. We will meet again in the new-life and I will still call you Brother. He watched Sal curl a slight smile as his eyes partially closed, his chest rose one last time to release his last breath. Broken hearted, Rin opened his mouth and released a silent roar of pain. Crying, he leaned over to hug his brother.

***

Keeva slowly pulled herself out from the cracked wall and stood tall. She walked toward Abby and Rydan to view their upside down faces. With a menacing grin, she licked her finger and gently slid it across Rydan's lips. Unable to move his body, he clenched his teeth when she moved to Abby.

"Abby, you're bleeding, again," she said affectionately. She gently ran her hand down the side of her face. "I think I will take you and Rydan with me. I missed our time together."

Abby cringed and tried to see Rydan.

Keeva stood in front of Akira, still struggling to free herself. She grabbed a handful of hair on top of Akira's head and banged the back of her head on the wall. She leaned into her ear and whispered. "Stupid girl. Not even the demon from the underworld could stop me. Did you honestly think you could stop me?" Keeva's eyes narrowed at the sight of all five stones around Akira's neck, glowing brightly, and with a flash they fused together—the 'Pieces of Five' were now one. Keeva ripped the stone from Akira's neck. "It's back where it belongs. Now you will die."

Keeva raised her hand at Akira, but stopped when she felt something strange, she looked down, fear crossed her face when she viewed a semi-transparent hand poking out of her stomach, grabbing the stone from her hand, and pulling it back through her body. Keeva screamed when she felt the stone burn her insides. She released Akira. Keeva's body began to shake. "What's happening to me?" She trembled and reached for the chair to hold herself up. She leaned over to view her reflection in the marble floor, horrified by the sight, she screamed. Her skin felt heavy as it started to sag off her bones, she put her hand to her face and pushed up her skin, but it continued to sag. "Make it stop!" she shouted in fear as she watched her unrecognizable face. She tried waving her hand to cast a spell, but her skin dripped from her fingers, she fell to her knees screaming in pain as her skin melted and dripped to the floor.

Akira froze in fear when the long white bones grasped her wrist. Keeva's wide bulging eyes rolled up, begging her for help. Akira could do nothing but watch the once beautiful woman melt before her eyes. Keeva's other hand grabbed onto Akira's arm, pulling herself up. Akira backed up, trying to pry her fingers off, but the skeleton of a woman stood up in front of her. Akira cringed, leaning her head back from Keeva's partially exposed skull. Keeva's jaw dropped open to release an agonizing scream. With a frightening flash, her bones liquefied, sending her to the floor with a splash.

All too stunned to notice, Valgard took the opportunity to flee.

Akira looked up to see Trevina standing behind the puddle on the floor with the stone in her hand. Abby and Rydan fell to the floor, and the table fell, releasing the doors for Brogan and Jorin to enter.

Akira ran to Abby's side and helped her to sit up. "Trevina, please help the others."

Trevina didn't move, with dark evil eyes, she glanced sideways at Akira.

"Trevina, what's wrong?" Akira questioned with concern, something didn't seem right. She walked over to Trevina. "Maybe I should hold the stone."

"I don't think so. I have waited a long time for this day."

"What do you mean?"

Trevina flashed Akira a furious glare. "The stone belongs to me."

Akira stepped back when Trevina's appearance started to change. Trevina's skin started to shrink, pulling the wrinkles tight, her old bent body stretched and thinned into a taller position, blonde hair pushed the white roots out from her scalp, leaving long shiny hair—she was young and beautiful again.

Abby got to her feet. "Why are you doing this? We almost died trying to find the stones. We thought you were helping us."

Trevina turned to her. "Did you really think this was all a coincidence? The spell on Cairndow, the butterflies, the deer, and even your father...?"

"What do you know about my father?" Abby didn't understand what she was talking about.

"You made all this happen?" Akira questioned.

"It was getting harder to slow you down, you were very resourceful. There were certain things I had to do to insure everything happened in a timely order to get to the exact moment when the stone could be restored." She looped the necklace over her head to wear the stone. "Akira, did your back scar from the whippings?"

An unsettling chill shook Akira when a malicious smile crossed Trevina's face. "You did that to me?" Akira clenched her fists.

"It was all their doing, but let's just say I gave them a little push in the right direction."

"Why would you do this to us? That man could have killed her," Abby shouted angrily.

"You could thank me Abby for making sure the tolverine didn't eat you."

"You are Gamal's daughter. You should be protecting the stone." Akira stepped closer. "Your father was a great man and..."

Hental kicked Akira behind her knee, pulling her down to both knees, and slid his sword up under her chin, making her bleed. Brogan stepped to help, but stopped when Hental shook his head at him as he pulled Akira's head back to expose more of her neck.

"What gives you the right to judge my father as a great man?" she asked angrily. "I have spent my life in misery. How do you think I acquired this special gift? My father used the stone to give me powers. What kind of father would put a spell on his daughter, giving her limited powers she couldn't control, making her own people turn on her, casting her out as a witch, and making her have horrifying dreams of things to come, but never knowing the outcome."

"Please, take the stone and go!" Abby panicked when Hental made the cut longer.

"I wish it was that easy," Trevina grumbled.

"Please stop! Stop and I will do anything for you," Abby begged.

Trevina closed her eyes for a second, her eyes flew open. "Yes Abby, you will owe me." She nodded at Hental to release Akira. "We will meet again, but I am afraid it won't be under any better terms." She raised her hands up into the air, purple mist swirled around Hental and herself, and in a flash of flames, they disappeared.

Abby rushed to Akira and hugged her. "Is it over?"

"Yes, I think so," Akira said with uncertainty, worried about what kind of threat Trevina was.

Questions flooded Abby's mind. What did Trevina know about Father's death? What spell did she have on Cairndow? And what about Mr. Lieven, did he know?

Luken looked out the window to watch the creatures and the Spiritons make their escape from the castle. In the distance he could hear the loud cheers from the warriors. Niyu helped Tumble to his feet. They looked up when Rin entered the room alone.

"Where's Sal?" Tumble asked.

Words were not needed when Tumble viewed Sal's bone necklace in the bloody palm of Rin's hand. His mournful expression made Tumble rush to him with a hug. The others watched in disbelief.

## 58

The Shell

Smoke lingered above the cheers, but the sounds of victory soon fell silent to the moaning and crying. A small battle continued, as the scent of blood brought tolverines and dragons, snatching bodies from the field of the dead. The Village of Belinos worked quickly to put out the fires and painstakingly searched for survivors.

Cattar arrived at Belinos, his heart raced as he frantically searched for his son among the injured and the dead. He stopped when he saw his son helping the wounded. Luken looked up to see his father standing above him. Even though he had been angry with his father, he was relieved to see him. He slowly stood up and swallowed hard, not knowing what to expect.

His father reached out and pulled him into a hug. "I don't know what I would have done if something had happened to you," his father choked.

"I'm sorry," Luken said, squeezing him harder. "I will come home, but people are hurt."

"I know. We will stay for a while and help."

As angry and frightened he was for his son, he was proud. Luken took him by the hand and led him to the injured.

Niyu raced to Tumble when he sat for a moment to rest. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and rubbed his hand across his face, smudging the dirt and dust. The task of digging out bodies from under the rubble was gruelling and disheartening. Niyu dipped a cloth into the water and gently cleaned Tumble's face. He smiled at her affectionately.

"Tum, what will we do now? Where will we go?" she asked with a worried look.

"Wherever we go, we will stay together. All right?" He put his hand gently under her chin, raising her face to his to make sure she heard him. "I think Belinos is a nice place to live. What do you think?"

She flew at him and kissed him on the cheek.

"I will take that as a yes."

Refusing help, Rin readied Sal's body for the burning to the new-life. The group moved in silence as they grieved for Sal. Before sunset they moved out into the field where eighty other bodies were wrapped and placed on wooden altars in a large circle. People surrounded the circle to begin mourning their loved ones.

Rin stood with a lit torch and waited. Except for Akira, the others stood in line next to him. Abby's eyes searched for Akira and found her watching from the trees. When the last of the sunlight disappeared behind the mountains, each person with a torch took a turn and lit their altar. The flames rushed around the circle. Rin was last, but he couldn't move. He stared at the shape of his brother's body wrapped in a blanket. Tumble placed his hand on Rin's shaking torch and helped him light the wood, making the circle complete. Rin listened to the chanting and unable to chant for his brother, he fell to his knees, releasing tears as the flames took his brother.

Leaning against a tree, Akira watched the bright circle. With tears streaming down her face, she closed her eyes. Even with her eyes closed, she could still see the flaming circle burning the inside of her eyelids. She was grateful Keeva was gone, and the battle was over, but everything still felt wrong. The Spiritons were still alive, Trevina had disappeared with the stone, and worst of all, Rin's brother was dead. She looked out to the people grieving, eyes fell on Rin. She clutched her fist to her chest; she had opened her heart, but it was full of nothing but pain. So, overwhelmed by the confusion of what to do next she stared between the trees, wanting to run, and never stop. Taking a step, she felt someone take her hand, and turned to see Abby. In an emotional burst, she collapsed down to her knees with her hands to her face to cry.

Abby knelt down next to her and hugged her. "You weren't responsible for Sal's death."

"How can I not feel responsible for everything that has happened?"

"It was Trevina who betrayed us. We had no control over what happened. Sal was very brave and he would have given his life for anyone of us. Trevina may have the stone, but at least it is out of Keeva's evil hands. As for the Spiritons, we will deal with them in time." Abby wiped her sister's tears with her fingers. "I will call Jorin over to look at your wounds."

She looked away in shame. "Please don't. He's angry with me."

"Why?"

"Jorin saw me kiss Brogan."

Abby was not surprised. "What are you going to do?"

"I don't know. Neither one of them will talk to me. I don't know what to do next, I have messed up everything. I thought Brogan wanted to be with me."

"Father always told me to deal with one thing at a time, make it right and move on to the next."

Her worried eyes looked up at Abby. "What will you do now?"

"Maybe eat. I am a bit hungry."

"No, I mean after all this. Will you go back home?"

"I don't have a home to go to. I will make a home wherever you are, if that's okay with you?" As Akira mouth started to curl into a smile, Abby hugged her tightly. "Besides, who else is going to patch up your holes?" She leaned back to inspect her wounds.

Abby ran on tired legs, rushing to help people in need. She busied herself with the next chore and tore long strips of cloth for bandages. When Rydan approached her, she gasped at the sight of his wing. "You're missing some feathers!" Panicking, she forced him to sit down. "Does it hurt?"

"No. They will grow again."

"Let me put some salve on your wing. Are you hurt anywhere else?" she asked and circled him to inspect.

"No." He grabbed her hand and pulled her down in front of him. He took a piece of cloth, dipped it in water, and gently wiped the dry blood from the cut in the corner of her mouth. "Rest now." He dabbed at the cut above her eye.

"I can't," she insisted.

Wrapping his arm around her, he tucked her into a cuddle, and lightly stroked her hair with his hand. She was tired and the cuddle was so inviting that it did not take long for her to fall asleep in his arms.

For two days, Akira kept to herself, trying to sort out in her mind how to deal with everything.

"Akira, have you seen Rin?" Tumble asked.

"No, I haven't seen him since the burning to the new-life," she replied with concern. "Where's his horse?"

"His horse is missing too."

Akira could only think of one place he might be going. "I will find him."

She mounted her horse and rode hard. She cursed at herself for being so self-absorbed with her own problems she forgot how devastated Rin must be. Seeing him in the distance, she yelled for him to stop, but he continued to ride. She raced after him, pulling her horse to stop in front of Rin's horse. "Where are you going?"

He pointed to the direction of Killeen and put his fist over his heart.

She could only assume he was saying he was going back home. "There's nothing there for you. Your people are gone."

He bowed his head.

"I'm sorry about your brother." She paused to watch him swallow hard. "I found his axe and thought you might like to have it." She held the axe out to him.

Without looking, he shook his head and kicked his horse to move. With a determined face, she pulled her horse around in front to stop him.

"Brother, please stay with us. Your family needs you."

Before he could disagree, she reached down for his reins and pulled his horse to follow her. On their ride back to Belinos she held out the axe at him, refusing to lower it until he took it. He finally gave in to her stubbornness and took the axe. His fingertips lightly traced over the leather handle, curling his fingers around the worn grip to feel the size of his brother's hand. He tucked the axe under his shirt.

She glanced over at his low hanging head. "Rin, how do you say horse?"

He looked up surprised and leaned back in his saddle to stop his horse.

"How do you make your hands say horse?"

He frowned. She raised her eyebrows, impatiently waiting for an answer. Rin moved his hands to sign the word horse. She watched and tried to copy him.

"Is this right?"

He huffed at her as he leaned over to adjust her fingers. She nodded and kicked her horse. He watched her move ahead, practicing the hand movements. He looked over his shoulder toward Killeen.

"Damn it!" she shook her fingers out and tried again.

He turned and followed her.

Crevon grabbed Rydan's forearm in a long handshake. "Well, Brother, I didn't expect to see you so soon. What will you do now? Or is that a stupid question?" Smiling, Crevon watched his brother's eyes follow Abby as she rushed about.

"I will stay with Abby."

"Has Father made plans for you to be King?"

Crevon's eyes shifted to the ground. "No. I think he still believes you will return."

"You can remind Father that I do not want to be King."

"Maybe in time he will come to terms with it." Crevon tried to smile. "Stay well, Brother and we will see you again, soon. Our ships leave in the morning," Crevon said as he patted his brother on the back.

They both looked up when they heard yelling. Maelor shouted orders to men from Belinos and anyone standing in earshot of his demanding voice.

"I forgot to tell you, Maelor has decided to stay with you and help." Crevon slapped him on the back. "And by the looks of things, he will have Belinos up and running in no time."

"Rydan! Crevon! Do I have to send word to your mother that her two boys are loafing about like two lazy lizards basking in the sun?" Maelor shouted at them.

As Jorin treated the wounded, a spark of passion for healing people reminded him why he became a Healer's apprentice in the first place. His village was now without a Healer; he needed to leave and find his people. Even if I could win Akira's heart, she would never settle down to be a Healer's wife. His eyes shifted to the side when Akira sat down next to him. He noticed her scratching the red scar on her arm.

"Would you like me to take a look at that?" he asked.

She quickly took her hand away from her arm. "No thanks, it's nothing." She shyly looked away from him. She had so many things to say to him, but she couldn't sort out the words in her mind to say anything. The awkward moment lingered. She nervously fussed with her hands.

He spoke first. "I need to leave. Our lives are too different to be together. You must go where your heart takes you and so must I."

She sighed. "I'm sorry I hurt you."

"I will live."

"Will I see you again?" She put her hand on top of his.

"One never knows, but I wish you well." He couldn't help himself and gazed into her beautiful blue eyes for the last time. He forced himself to look away, pulling his hand out from under hers, he stood and left.

Akira looked over at Brogan gathering up his things. She stood behind him. Her heart raced as she tried to gather up enough courage to tell him how she felt. "I thought it was easier to be a shell of a person and not care about anyone. From the day we met I fought hard to block you out of my heart, but you continued to battle me. I think my heart was lost for a long time and without realizing it, you found it."

He stood still listening to her words. He wanted to turn to her, but suddenly found himself afraid. "I can't stay. I need to go and find my mother," he said, as he continued to gather supplies.

"I will come with you."

He jammed some food into a saddlebag. "No, I think it would be better for all of us if you stay here."

Her heart slammed shut at his crushing words, she had opened herself up to him, but he didn't want her. Swallowing hard, she bowed her head to hide her tears and quickly walked away from him. Brogan turned; his heart ached as he watched her rush off. He reached out his hand, wanting to tell her to stop, wanting to pull her into his arms; his hand dropped when she disappeared from his view.

Tum threw a leather bag at Jorin with force making him gasp a little.

"Here, I gathered up some those plants for medicine."

"Thanks Tum, but how did you know what ones?"

"Some medicine woman dragged me out into the forest for days, forcing me to gather. I didn't someone could blabber on about plants as much as you do."

Jorin and Tom grab each other's hand then pulled into a hug.

"Practice wheeling your sword, so you don't end up with chicken arms."

"I will."

Tum pushed him roughly and walked away.

Jorin continued to pack his horse. He glanced over to the boots standing next to him. He knew it was Brogan, but continued to check his supplies.

Brogan held out a bag of bread and cheese. "I would like to ride with you to find our people."

Without looking at Brogan, he took the bag. "No, I think you should stay. Stay here with Akira."

"I'm sorry Jorin. We have been friends for a long time. I didn't mean for this to happen."

Jorin smiled weakly. "Akira and I were not meant to be, it just took me a lot longer to realize it. I saw the way she looks at you. You should stay."

Brogan put his hand on Jorin's shoulder. "I can't stay. I first need to find my mother."

"Are you running away?" Jorin tied his blanket to the saddle.

Brogan frowned. "I'm not running away from anything."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm leaving."

Jorin turned around to Brogan's bruised face. "I'm sorry I hit you."

"Hit me? You hit me twice." He smirked as he rubbed his jaw. "Picking plants have made your hands strong."

Jorin gave a half smile to his friend. "Hurry up and gather up your stuff. I'm not waiting."

Brogan smiled.

"I will miss you, Jorin." Abby hugged him. "I hope to see you again."

Jorin nodded.

She stood in front of Brogan with her head down and tears in her eyes. "Can't you stay?"

"There are things I must do and sort out."

She knew what he meant. "Akira loves you."

He hugged her. "Take care of yourself and your sister. Stay out of trouble." He moved her back to smile at her. He shook Tum's hand with a strong grip.

"I will keep an eye on them. If they get out of hand, I will fix them with a good spanking," he released a loud laugh.

Brogan put his hand on Rin's shoulder. "Keep them safe." Rin nodded and put his fist to his heart. His eyes quickly searched for Akira.

Akira leaned on a tree to watch Jorin and Brogan mount their horses. She felt broken. She curled around the other side of the tree when they rode off together. Her throat burned as she tried not to cry, she didn't want to care about anyone, but she did and it ripped at her insides. She became angry for allowing herself to lose control of her emotions. She dropped her forehead onto the tree and smashed her fists hard against the bark; she cringed in pain. Tears dripped from her eyes.

"Akira."

Her body jerked when Brogan rode up next to her. Without looking at him she walked away from him.

"Akira!" He jumped from his horse and grabbed her arm. "I'm sorry I hurt you. I was afraid to open up my heart too. I think if we can go at this slow we can open up together."

"Leave me alone," she choked and pulled her arm free.

He pulled on her arm, swinging her around into his arms. She struggled at the hug. "You're the most infuriating person I have ever met!" He clasped her face with his hands and kissed her. He roughly pushed back her stunned face. He gazed into her teary blue eyes. A warm smile crossed his face as he wiped the tears from her cheeks. He took her hand, gently placed his bone necklace into her palm, and folded her fingers tightly over top of it. "Hold this while I'm gone. Don't lose it. I'll be back for it," Brogan ordered.

Still not able to say a word, she lightly touched her lips with her fingertips as she watched him mount his horse and ride off. She waited with anticipation; she smiled when he looked back at her.

The high winds swiftly carried the purple clouds across the sky and over the Taltorn Mountains. The menacing clouds soon faded, leaving the sky in an orange haze as the sun lowered itself behind the dark mountains. Akira climbed the hill to see Abby sitting by herself, running her scarf through her hand. She sat down next to her sister.

"I believe this stupid thing belongs to you." She held the two halves of the shell in her hand.

Surprised, Abby watched her carefully fit the halves together to make the shell whole. She smiled and took the shell from her. "You kept it?"

"What's so special about a shell anyways?"

"It reminds me of us, we were separated and against all odds...we found each other."

Akira snorted with a slight laugh. "Well..." she started to say.

Abby covered Akira's mouth with her hand. "No, don't say anything to spoil the moment. Thank you for keeping my shell safe," she smiled and pulled her into a tight hug.

They sat quietly together and watched the nightfall.

Newt flew into view, forcing his wings to carry him higher into the sky. Without warning, his glide was interrupted, making him turn away from the ominous wind. The rushing air blew over the top of mountains and down into the trees, carrying the whisper for a long distance until it reached her ear. Akira closed her eyes and felt the warm but unusual wind on her face, her eyes popped open when her ears caught the eerie whisper—Lysrinth, will return.

The End

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