The Majors, Cold Fury (Book 2)

Chapter 81: Death of a Saint

~Sausage~

I watched as everyone dispersed from the central meeting point.

Scott, Erin, Katherine and Joey had flown off, Joey muttering curses and threats underneath his breath as he went. Jimmy and Lizzie had disappeared into the river. Joel and Shrub had ridden off, and I did a double take when I saw Joel mounting a horse.

Soon, only me Gem and Fwhip remained in the clearing.

"Will you two be able to make it back alright?" I asked, watching as Gem sat beside Fwhip who had propped himself up against one of the stumps surrounding the dead campfire.

"I think so." Gem replied, her new dragonling slithering up and around her shoulders as she spoke. "I have somewhere we can go that'll hopefully be safe from the earthquakes..."

"I'm an idiot." Fwhip mumbled, rubbing his face with his hands in a futile attempt to wipe the soot off of it.

"Fwhip you're not..." Gem began, trailing off. She wore a look of pity, one mixed with concern and slight fear. "Everything will be okay, we'll fix it."

"How do we fix this?" Fwhip asked, practically taking the words right out of my mouth.

Gem opened her own mouth to speak, before closing it and opening it again with a sigh. "We'll...we'll figure it out. But now, I need to bring you back and make sure you're okay."

Fwhip mumbled a response I didn't manage to catch, but honestly at the moment my mind was on other things.

I hoped Pearl's silence was simply a loss of her communicater and not something... graver.

I hardly noticed as the siblings got to their feet, Fwhip wobbling the slightest before leaning into his sister for support. "We'll see you back here then?" He asked.

I nodded absentmindedly, before snapping out of the spot my eyes had zoned out on while watching. "Yes– yes I will. Good luck."

"Don't say it like that–" Gem said quickly. "Don't say it like– like goodbye– it's not." She breathed out slowly. "Everyone will gather back here in a few days. Everyone. Like always. It'll be like nothing happened."

I could tell she was in denial about the situation, it was obvious. "I told you something bad was going to happen." I said just under my breath, too low for either her or Fwhip to hear. "You should have listened."

"What was that?" Fwhip asked, raising an eyebrow in questioning.

"Nothing...just...I'll see you two at the meeting." I said, trying to put on as much confidence as I could. Cheerful, optimistic me. Wear the mask Sausage, just for a little longer.

"Be careful. Be safe." Gem said, taking the amulet from around her neck, the chain lengthening as she did so to form her iconic staff, the purple crystal pulsing faintly.

I nodded. "You too." I replied, my hand tightening around my own staff.

Gem's eyes flicked down at it for just a moment, before she turned with her brother and they both disappeared into the woods, the wizard using her staff like a walking stick.

I'd see them again.

I had to.

Once their flaming red hair had disappeared into the greenery, I was finally left alone in the clearing. Despite the constant quakes, it was strangely peaceful...yet eerie at the same time. No sounds echoed from the woods, no wildlife. It was dead silent.

What a splendid omen.

I gazed over the clearing one last time, taking in the green of the leaves and shrubbery and the orange of the sky, before I locked my eyes on the ground.