(no subject)
"My Lord, we need to make camp here tonight," said a guard.
"Very well, Daniel. Set up camp."
They were outside Senger. The city was going to be searched tomorrow, just in case.
"Celestina, we’re resting here," the hooded man said to his sister without looking at her.
"Very well, brother. I’m going to the stream we just passed. I saw some herbs I can use in my remedies."
He was watching the soldiers set up camp. He nodded to show he heard her.
He heard her cloak rustle the leaves, and knew she had left.
We are getting closer. I can feel it. Celestina feels it too.
He inhaled deeply, and walked toward the camp.
* * * *
Christopher grew worried. It had been three hours, it was getting dark, and Celestina hadn’t returned. He stood up.
"I’m going to look for my sister." He thought about fire. It’s warmth, the flicker of its flames, its light. Still focusing on fire, he twisted his wrist, and a small ball of flame appeared over his hand. Smiling, he turned to leave. Then a soldier spoke.
"My Lord, you should take some men with you."
Christopher clenched his jaw. I know what you’re thinking, Daniel. And I really don’t like it."No, I don’t need your assistance. I’m perfectly capable of finding my sister without your help."
"But sir..."
Christopher wheeled around. "You will stay here and guard the camp. Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes sir."
Someone chuckled from the darkness. The sound was very quiet, and the soldiers couldn’t hear it; but Christopher with his acute senses, had heard it. Christopher recognized the voice. How could he have thought she would stay in Sori?
He felt a bit of pressure in the back of his mind.
"When will they ever learn? We have reasons to keep our distance. Oh, by the way, Lenea and Amina are coming. Amina sent Peace to tell me. They have fully recovered and will meet us in Windy Meadow. And, you’re right of course. I couldn’t possibly sit at home while you and the guards had all the fun. Besides, I’ll be good and stay out of your way. If you need me, just call. It doesn’t have to be loud, I’ll hear it. I’ll be following you at a distance. You guys attract too much attention without me adding to it. Well, I’ll let you be on your way."
Christopher felt the telepathic contact break, and he smiled. Always count on one of them to follow. He knew her talents could be useful, so before he left, he sent a telepathic message.
"Are we close to finding her?" he asked the voice.
He saw a stream of images flash before his eyes, and heard a mutter of many voices in his head. Then the girl responded.
"Yes, you are close. Poor girl, she had some terrifying visions from what I can see. She is in Windy Meadow. Try to hurry! She really needs our help. I would go, but seeing as there are certain complications for me..." the voice trailed off delicately. He understood what she meant. She was strong, but she had her weaknesses; especially her hunger. It would be very stupid to send her into a populated area unsupervised when she wasn’t in control of her hunger. Very stupid indeed. If she was in control, it would be different. That’s probably why she was a safe distance away from the camp, and had contacted him telepathically.
"Christopher, the poor girl has a lot on her mind. She believes she’s going mad. Her mother is also pretty sick. Try to get there soon. Tell you what, don’t worry about Senger. I already told you where she is. I’ll search it after I eat, and you can go to Windy Meadow. Agreed?"
"Agreed. Let me know when Lenea and Amina arrive."
"Very well. I’ll be out of contact for a while. I’ll talk to you when I’m within reach, and I’ll keep loose tabs on the girl."
"What would I do without you? You and your family?"
"Well, seeing as my family isn’t here, you can manage quite nicely without them. Seeing as I’m here, you’d be lost without me."
"Whatever you say."
"You asked. Well, gotta go before I do something really stupid, such as attacking these approaching travelers ..." she paused. "Oh dammit! Why do they need to come this way! They’ll definitely see me!" She withdrew contact, and Christopher headed into the forest to find his sister. He wasn’t worried about her; she could take care of herself, but he hoped her hunger wasn’t strong enough to make her blow her cover.
* * * *
He held up his handful of fire, and quickly headed toward the stream. When he rounded an oak tree, he saw a girl looking at the sky. A blue cloak lay on a nearby rock. She was wearing a light blue dress, her black hair standing out against the fabric. Her skin was pale, and seemed to be glowing. She was tall, and a belt hung at her side, holding a sword. She was gazing thoughtfully at the sky, apparently lost in thought.
He took a step forward. The girl wheeled around; hair flying, and pulled out her sword.
"There’s no need, Celestina." He walked forward and she sheathed her sword. Up close, he could see her brown eyes, and the red streaks in her hair. He had the same pale skin, the same hair, and the same eyes.
"You startled me," she said in a soft voice.
He pulled off his hood. "Sorry. Did Madeline contact you? She told me where the girl is, and she said Lenea and Amina are going to meet us in Windy Meadow."
She looked at him thoughtfully. "No, she didn’t. Is she close?"
"Yes, but a safe distance away."
Celestina smiled. "I see. She’s hungry?"
"Yes. She volunteered to search Senger tomorrow after she eats...and throws off some travelers approaching her hiding place. She wants us to go ahead to Windy Meadow."
"Fine by me."
"I was concerned about you. Why are you here so long?"
"I found lots of herbs and decided to spend some time alone. I realized we’ll have an eclipse this year."
"Excellent. An opportune time to charge our powers."
"We should head back. We need a head start tomorrow."
He nodded and picked up her cloak, which he handed to her.
"Thank you," she replied. And with that, the siblings headed back to the camp.
* * * *
The next morning was a flurry of activity. They had to pack up their tents and supplies. Celestina tentatively contacted Madeline.
"Did you have a nice meal?"
"You can say that. At least I don’t rely on the moon which isn’t always out. My energy source is always available. But then again, you have a clear conscious."
"What about the travelers?"
"I took care of them."
She heard Celestina gasp, and quickly said, "No! No! Not that way! I simply slipped away before they saw me."
"What a relief. For a second there I thought..."
"You better get a move on. I’m heading to Senger, even though it’s pointless. Amina and Lenea will meet me there, and we should meet you in Windy Meadow in two days."
"Thanks Madeline. I’ll talk to you later."
Celestina informed the soldiers of their new plans, and reported the conversation to her brother.
"They won’t take two days. Madeline will make them move fast; she hates moving slow." Christopher strapped his sword to his belt. "Let’s move out!" he shouted to the soldiers.
They filed out of the clearing along the path heading toward Windy Meadow. The sun had barely peeked above the treetops, so the forest was dark. The soldiers didn’t carry torches at the twins’s request. They just followed the path, and if they strayed, Celestina or Christopher would inform to get back on the path.
Around noon, they stopped. The soldiers thought it was just to eat, but Christopher could tell by his sister’s expression that wasn’t the only reason why they stopped.
She had balled her hands up in fists under her cloak, her eyes filled with tears, softly flowing down her face. In the shelter of the forest, they didn’t put their hoods up. He could see pain in her eyes.
"Celestina?" he extended his hand and put it on her arm. "What’s wrong?"
She looked at him with pained eyes. "Madeline just contacted me. Remember how she said she was keeping tabs on the girl? Well, apparently, one of her reoccurring nightmares came true. The girl didn’t realize what it was, of course. Anyhow, she predicted the death of someone dear to her, and it happened. She’s very distraught. She blames herself, and she’s kind of sent herself into a trance-like state." Celestina paused, struggling to continue. "Madeline fears she’ll try to kill herself; the thought crossed her mind more than once, but a friend of hers is keeping a close eye on her so she can’t hurt herself. We need to get there soon. She can’t go on like this, Christopher."
"Who died?"
Celestina turned away from her brother, but he heard what she said, even if it was barely a whisper.
"Her mother." Celestina walked into the forest, and Christopher knew she was going to contact Madeline.
However, Christopher felt a surge of pity for this girl. The girl had never chosen this life, and her mother just died. He felt sickened at the heap of worries she would be carrying after they found her.
Worries that concerned the prophecy and her true identity. Worries that involved her "sight" and destiny. And worries that she alone, would decide the fate of Light against the Dark. All in all, when they found her, the girl was in for a harsh surprise. In fact, Christopher believed it was so harsh to pile all these worries on top of the ones the girl was already experiencing, that it was almost cruel.
With a sigh, he turned to the soldiers and gave them orders to set up camp, even though it was early in the day. Celestina would surely be gone a while, and when she came back, he was sure they would need to change their plans and figure out how they would explain everything to the Seri when they arrived at their destination.
He walked into his tent and decided to start planning without his sister. If he needed to change anything, he would.
As he suspected, Celestina didn’t come back from the forest until the sun started to sink over the horizon. The soldiers were sitting around cooking fires, telling stories and playing cards. Christopher often wondered why they took delight in gambling. He preffered seeing the soldiers practicing archery or swordplay; talents he knew would be needed shortly, even if others turned a blind eye and looked the other way. If only they would take the time to notice the signs, they wouldn’t be gambling.
This war would effect the humans as well. Islaya had control over a few major human cities and ports, and with places like that at her fingertips, she could cause harm to the human populace. So, a mission of the army would be to take down those cities. Even as they sat camped in the forest, he knew in Sori, the queen and her advisors were planning the attack on Point Hope; a major port specialized in metals and gemstones.
Celestina strode from the forest, cloak billowing behind her. She stood in front of her brother who had just emerged from the tent and glared angrily at him. When she spoke, her voice was a harsh whisper, "Why are you still here? You could have gone on ahead, I would’ve found you. You wasted a whole day’s worth of traveling just so you could sit here and wait for me! We still have about three days of travel ahead of us, and Lenea, Amina, and Madeline are supposed to meet us at Windy Meadow in two! How do you think they’ll react when they find out we’re going to be late? Did you also forget we have another assignment to complete before we go home and the Seri is with us? Did you not realize your choices now affect how quickly we return home and the Seri starts her training? It will be a hell of a lot harder to teach her while we travel, but I suppose because of this, we’ll have to start teaching her the basics. Plus, did you not realize it will take us another week to complete our second assignment, and two months to arrive back in Sori? Really Christopher, what were you thinking!" When she finished she glared at him, then made an effort to calm herself. "Well, I suppose there’s no use in crying over lost time. We’ll just have to work a lot harder and get more miles in a day if we can so we make it in time. Now, besides waiting for me, why else did you stay here? I’m sure waiting for me wasn’t the only reason, and Madeline will be livid if you don’t have another one either. You know as well as I do she hates being away from her family. She worries they’ll slip up while she’s away, even though Marcus definitly has them under control and Amanda has an iron will to keep them in check."
Christopher flinched under his sister’s rage. "I figured it would be wise to wait in case any information Madeline gave you was of importance."
She scowled and looked away. The she sighed. "I don’t fancy telling Madeline about your er...misjudgement. You however, can tell her. I need rest." She turned back to him. "Know that I will ask her later if you told her of your error. I really don’t envy you," she added on a lighter note. "Madeline will be in a fury."
"Don’t I know it?" Christopher mumbled. Celestina was right. Madeline would be furious when he told her, so he figured best get it out of the way. He walked into his tent and reached out with his conciousness, focusing only on Madeline. He felt a sense of dread when he sensed her mind. He prodded the barrier surrounding it, and muttered something inside his head in a strange language. Madeline lowered the barriers and he sensed curiousity.
"Christopher." It was a statement. He could tell from her surprise she hadn’t expected to talk to him only minutes after his sister finished. "To what do I owe the pleasure?
"Madeline, we will be a day late."
A wave of concern rolled into his mind. "Did something happen? Is everyone alright?"
"Yes. Everything and everyone is fine. Actually better than we expected."
Her worry faded into confusion. "What happened then?" A wave of guilt radiated off of him. When she next spoke, her tone was calm. He knew her well enough to sense something brewing behind the calm. Whether they spoke telepathically or not, her voice was the same. And she felt his guilt. "Christopher, what did you do?"
"We stopped at noon in a clearing while Celestina went to talk to you. We spent the whole day there. I wasted a day of travel, and Celestina already ripped into me for it, but if you want to, you have the right. This is wasting your time as well."
When she spoke, her voice rang with rage. Her rage was just as terrifying as it would have been if she had been standing right next to him, if not worse. If she had been standing next to him, he could’ve blocked it out with magic, but since it was inside his head, he had to let her rage run its course.
"Why the hell would you do that? You know as well as I do, that Celsetina could’ve found you. Do you realize that with each passing day, we are drawing closer to war? What if Sori is forced into war before we bring them the Seri? What do you think will happen? The girl needs training, and if Anna is correct, which I’m sure she is, and my powers are to be trusted, which they are, you have another assignment to complete before we reach Sori. I suppose when we meet in three days, we’ll have to decide on further action. Until then, travel through tomarrow night. That will help you gain ground. If you refuse to do that, you better find a way to meet us in two days because time is something we don’t have. Amina and Lenea are here with me, and I assure you, they won’t be pleased either. I need to go now. Do not contact me unless it’s important. I’ll see you in two days."
With that, she withdrew from contact, leaving him to ponder her words.
The next day, Celestina didn’t speak much to her brother. They exchanged simple "Good mornings" but then refused to speak. Christopher worried about what Madeline would do should he arrive late, and Celestina was letting her brother solve his own issues while maintaining a mental link with Madeline.
The camp moved for the next two days with a few breaks to eat. They understood they had to arrive in Windy Meadow in a short amount of time. Celestina and Christopher pushed them as far as they could. Their tempers were on a breaking point. Neither had a plan, though Madeline had said she had an idea when she contacted them the day before they arrived in Windy Meadow.
The day they arrived was sunny and there were no clouds in the sky. A slight breeze blew through the field they had set up a camp in. The soldiers were delighted to have some rest and a good meal. Celestina had allowed them to hunt small game to cook for stew. Amina and Lenea had greeted them, both fully recovered and in good spirits. Madeline had greeted them in her simple, quiet, manner, then had pulled Celestina aside to discuss the plan. They had left Christopher to supervise the set up of the camp, and both were still angry with him.
That evening, Madeline announced the plan. It was quite simple. Celestina, Christopher, Lenea, and herself were to dress up in human clothing and go to a club that the Seri, a girl named Addison Flow, went to every Friday night with her friends. Madeline had learned this while observing the girl’s mind. She was pleased with her discoveries. Celestina had reluctantly agreed to the plan. Madeline’s plan had many risks to it, one of which included them exposing themselves as non-humans.
Madeline handed them a bag of human clothes she had found and ordered them to change. They would have to go tonight. They all wore sneakers, blue jeans, and black shirts. They told the guards to stay put, and if anything happened, send word immediately. Amina had offered to stay behind and serve as a telepathic outlet. Should the group encounter any trouble, they could communicate telepathically.
Madeline led the way, having learned it from the Seri’s mind. They arrived at a brick building with black windows. The sign said Nightmare Café.
"How pleasant," Celestina mused.
Madeline chuckled. "I assure you, there are interesting people here."
Lenea stared at her. "You were never here! How would you know?"
"Memories."
"Yes, but that doesn’t count."
Celestina told them to be quiet and they entered the building. A band was playing loud, hard, rock music. The people there paid them little attention. Madeline scanned the crowd and pointed to a table.
"That’s them there. I can’t stay here. I’m going back to camp. Too many people."
The others nodded. She was in control. They trusted her. However, being in such close proximity with these people could spell trouble. They were not going to risk it. Madelien left. Celestina kept tabs on her until she saw the camp in Madeline’s thoughts.
"Do we just go over and explain this to her or...?" Lenea asked. She was the youngest there. Only 15.
"Not quite." Celestina thought for a moment and whispered her plan to the other two. They agreed and together, they walked toward the table where their only hope sat.