Magical

Magical - Chapter 5

Chapter 5

A Turn for the Worse...

By the end of the night I had met quite a lot of people that wanted to join my team. Caius had told me that it was wisest to not have too many people because it was easier to travel in a smaller party. We were also less likely to be seen, though I argued that with Septa we were pretty obvious.

My team now consisted of a few more individuals. Alexander and his brother, Kale were my archers. Kale was a darker centaur that had long black hair and a goatee to match. I had yet to see him smile, but Alexander assured me that he was great at what he did. Caius had also told me he had a few mercenaries in mind that would prove helpful, so I left that part to him.

I didn’t dance much more at the ball, I was too busy being bombarded with introductions from Atra’s nobility. They were all very eager to meet Lekila’s descendant.

I even met Elira’s husband to be, Henry. He was a knight from the neighboring kingdom I had heard about. He seemed nice enough, and when he was around Elira he looked at her with an adoring gaze. She seemed to be enjoying his company, so I didn’t understand why she seemed to hate her arranged marriage so much. I thought they were a cute couple to be honest, and I could see them being fairly happy. Perhaps she was just upset that it wasn’t her choice?

I soon feigned weariness and excused myself from my own party to head back up to my room. I started heading back and I felt a brush against my leg. I looked down to see Alume staring up at me.      

“Leaving so soon?” He asked, and I bent down to pick him up. I cuddled him to my chest.

“Where have you been all night?”

“Enjoying our party of course.” He yawned and I laughed.

“You’ve been sleeping in a corner, haven’t you?” I teased.

“I have not!” he snapped defensively. “I have been meeting other familiars and speaking with them.”

“Any cute cats?” I joked and he snorted.

“None.” I laughed in response and opened the door to our room. I walked over to the window and opened it looking down. Septa was still out on the field looking up at the stars. His gaze turned to me before he turned away and headed into the forest. There was something in the look he gave me that was worrying. Something was wrong. Then I felt it.

The rumble.

The last time I had felt the rumble was shortly before I was taken into the forest, and before that when I was a little girl. I remembered Alume and Caius talking about it as well.

“You felt it too?” Alume asked from my bed. I didn’t answer and let out a gasp when I felt it again. “It’s Hirúk. He’s breaking free of his bindings. It’s happening more and more frequently. I was talking about it with Chi. She said it’s been getting worse.”

“Time is running out.” My voice barely came out as a whisper, but I was terrified.

I didn’t sleep well that night. My dreams were plagued with fire and screams. I asked Septa about it the next day when we started lessons. I could tell he was distracted though.

“It’s probably Lekila’s memories that you’re sensing. What you can do is pay attention, learn from her actions and her past.” That was all the help he would give me. I understood what he meant, but it was easier said than done. I wasn’t used to this world, and all that was expected of me. Lekila’s memories were filled with so much war, and even more death. I woke up every morning the next week in a cold sweat, heart fluttering in fear, and out of breath. Alume seemed to be having similar dreams and we discussed them often. We were guessing he was seeing Lekila’s familiar’s memories. It didn’t help that the rumbling happened constantly and it made me nervous that our time really was running out too fast.