Jay's Journey

Chapter 21

Their pace while backtracking was slow. They had to be ready for Zira's teachers to emerge at any moment so they didn't have the element of surprise. That way, things would go smoothly, they'd get it over with, and everything would be fine.

Of course, being tense and alert for several hours straight was utterly exhausting and subconsciously the two of them gave it up. Vayen was the first to break off from awareness, instead focusing on kicking a pinecone along the path until Zira got annoyed and asked him to stop.

Unfortunately, she couldn't last forever either. Constantly keeping her mind quiet and attentive to all noise in the background was driving her insane.

As the sun passed its zenith in the sky, the forest became darker again, and her ability to pay attention to her surroundings had withered away.She didn't notice that she was instinctively walking silently and Vayen wasn't. Her ears were keen, but they weren't well trained enough to hear what was coming.

The sky was dark, the sun was going to set within the hour, but it felt far later due to the thick forest. It was the kind of light where they were looking for camp, and thus their minds were preoccupied with finding a place to sleep.

Even with the relative absence of the sun, the steel still shimmered as it flew through the air.

It impacted Vayen in the abdomen, not quite in his stomach, but too on target to graze off. Zira instantly fell into her stance. Her two teachers emerged on opposite sides of them. Their location was too miniscule to be a proper clearing, but it was enough open space to be a clear throw.

Vayen called up the magic in him. His brown hair instantly turned to stark white, his muscles grew in size, and a cloak of thick white fur and eyes undulated in the air behind him. One hand clutched his side, and his teeth were visibly gritted. He lunged at Mistress Thorne and nailed her in the throat with a punch. She instantly went down, wetly gasping for breath through a damaged windpipe. Vayen collapsed to his knees and the magical transformation receded. His eyes were wide as they stared at the ground, and he was hyperventilating.

She couldn't think about him right now. He was out of the fight and had to stay that way. Mistress Calleen charged forward with dagger in hand. Zira shoved the arm aside so the dagger didn't hit her.

Zira was on the defensive, and her opponent knew it. She almost never stopped moving forward, and thus Zira couldn't stop moving either. She couldn't stop moving when tears started pouring out of her eyes. She couldn't stop moving when she was gasping for breath.

Vayen was lying on his side, propped up on his elbows. His eyes were still wide, he was still hyperventilating, and now his hands were trembling.

She barely dodged the swing that came for her throat.

It was painful not knowing if Vayen was okay as she fought. The worst case scenario had played out, so she was at a disadvantage. She had to finish this, Vayen needed help. Every second, the part of her suspecting he was dead grew louder and louder.

She dodged too slowly, and her arm was cut by the dagger. She hissed in pain and gritted her teeth in discomfort as the blood trickled down her arm.

"I taught you better than to let your guard down." Mistress Calleen scolded. Zira bit back a reply, keeping her focus solely on the imminent danger of her opponent. She dodged a few more swings and thrusts before her enemy stepped back.

"You're sloppy. Is it him? I taught you better than to worry like that."

"I don't give a shit what you taught me." Zira snapped.

"I saved you, girl. I made you strong. Does that count for nothing?" Mistress Calleen wondered. Zira knew she had to hold herself back. She knew that being riled up would throw her off balance.