Winds to Light up the World

Chapter 22

Something was nagging at Tanora, sitting in the back of her mind, like an itch she couldn't scratch. Always there but nothing to do about it, at least if she didn't find out what was bugging her about this situation, the Hall. She was trudging behind the others on their way back to their things. The light of the Stone even lit up the very first turn of the hallway, dispersing the darkness like the sun dew in the early morning. A beacon to safety. The light! The Stone of Lum, that's what was the irksome itch in the back of her mind.

She caught up to Cove and pulled him back a bit, making sure they stayed out of earshot of Shayla and Rane. "Cove! Cove!" she hissed.

"What?" he whispered back.

Without knowing why, she erected a shield of hard air around them, stopping all sound from escaping. "We need the Stone of Lum!" Cove looked confused. Why wouldn't his oh-so-smart brain get it. "Light, dark...," she supplied, and realization dawned.

"A light that can light up even the darkest places," he said more to himself. "Yes! Tanora you're a genius!" He pulled her into a tight embrace, something he had never done before. Surprisingly Tanora found she rather liked it.

They started walking before the others noticed they had stopped. Tanora didn't know why she didn't tell them. Did she not trust them? Or did she want to keep this thing from her goddess to herself? One way or another it seemed so selfish, yet Tanora couldn't get herself to tell Rane and Shayla. If Cove had noticed her withholding their realization he didn't comment, for which she was glad.

Back in the Hall of Storms Tanora told Rane and Shayla to go ahead, she said she wanted to look around the Hall one more time. Rane, thinking she wanted some time in the haven of her people, nudged Shayla along. Tanora and Cove waited a few minutes until they were sure their friends would keep going and not turn back.

"Now let's try this," she murmured.

Cove stood supportively behind her while Tanora raised her arms directing her magic toward the glowing stone, willing the air to carry it to her. She felt the currents huggig the stone, trying to get underneath it to lift it up. 

It didn't budge.

Tanora sighed, "Of course it wouldn't work. That's would've been too convenient."

She turned around but was stopped by Cove's hand on her shoulder. "Wait. Try again."

And so Tanora did. Raising her hand in another attempt she heard Cove's voice whisper in her ear, "The arms are just a crutch, try it without."

"Magic lessons now?" she hissed. Cove just nudged her.

So, she dropped her hands and called the currents of air to her. With slightly more concentration than without her arms they swirled up the statue of Leevana and curled themselves around the Stone of Breathing, trying and still failing to shift the stone. More and more winds churned around the stone, almost a little storm.

And then she felt Cove's hand on her shoulder, as if supporting her. But something entirely different happened. She could see the air currents flowing around the Stone of Lum. It was as if Cove illuminated her magic, making the thing usually only felt by her, visible for everyone. She gasped at the beauty of it, the wispy lines of light twisting around the Stone. Tanora imagined she could see things in the swirling masses: a girl and a boy, dancing; a leaf, twirling through the air; lightning, striking and mesmerizing.

Suddenly the lit air currents curled around the bottom of the fist-sized stone. Cove inhaled sharply and Tanora, busy looking at the scenes churning in the illuminated in the winds, looked at the Stone, which was levitating a few inches above the upstretched palms of Leevana. As if in a daze she made it come closer, letting it drop in her own outstretched hand.

"How did we do that?" Tanora whispered. She was just stunned at the feat. They actually removed a holy object from its alleged unremovable spot.

Cove shook his head. "No idea. I simply acted on a gut feeling I had. But hey, it worked!" He beamed at her.

Hesitantly, she smiled back. And despite the great feeling that came with this accomplishment, something inside her told her there was more to it, more to the way their had magic entwined, more to the Stone itself. But Cove didn't seem to share her concerns, or else he hid them, so she put the Stone in her jacket pocket, where it surprisingly didn't shine through the thin cloth, as if it knew it should stay hidden.

"We should be heading out", Cove remarked.

Tanora nodded in agreement. They had been standing in front of the statue for more than ten minutes, Rane and Shayla had to wondering where they were.

And truly when they climbed up the ladder up to the natural, but murky light of the dilapidated house, Tanora saw Rane and Shayla staring down at them.

"You know, I honestly believe that to solve this mission you shouldn't waste time making out in musty old caverns", her best friend said, smirking at them.

Tanora blushed furiously, for the first time noticing her slightly ruffled hair and flushed cheeks, that came from playing with the winds. "We didn't... That wasn't...," she stammered. Cove, she noticed, wasn't fazed by Rane's assumption. How dare he encourage such outraging ideas!

-------

Have a nice day!