The Atheil Chronicles: A Call to Fire

Chapter 8

Ariana sat up suddenly, aware that the moon's light was still peeking in through the small opening of the cave. She brushed a hand through her hair, pushing back her damp locks until they trailed over her shoulder limply. She didn't quite remember what had woken her, only that she still felt the remnants of panic that had plagued her in her dreams. She closed her eyes briefly, urging her heart to slow its wild beating and calm down again. As she did, she could almost remember flashes of images; black streaks flying through the air, a mist, and icy coldness that seemed to seep into her bones. She shivered at the thought and pulled her knees to her chest, wrapping her arms around them and tucking her head down into them. The crackling of the green flames was the only noise in the cave and Ariana felt herself tense with worry at the thought of what lay beyond these walls.
Almost without thinking, Ariana lifted her head, reaching up and wiping away a tear she hadn't even realized she'd shed. She finally opened her eyes and looked down at her hand, seeing the tear glisten in the green flickering light. As she did this, she saw movement out of the corner of her eye and looked up. Ryonen was leaning against the wall across from her, regarding her with a look that she couldn't quite figure out. Only the gentle crackling of the fire could be heard as they simply looked at each other.
Finally, Ryonen spoke. "You were restless." He said, matter of fact. "Bad dreams?"
Ariana tried to fake a smile but found that her face didn't want to move. It stayed stiff and motionless as she said, "I don't know." Ryonen continued to look into her eyes, his green ones piercing her from across the fire. "You were scared." He said, simply.
She shrugged, resting her chin on her knees once again. "Yeah," she said, "I think I was."
He thought about this for a moment. "You're still scared." He said, again making it a statement and not a question.
Ariana nodded, but didn't respond. She felt her hands clutching at her own arms, her nails biting the skin there, and tried to let the pain anchor her.
Ryonen didn't speak but he quietly got up and came to stoop in front of Ariana. She turned her eyes up to him and his green eyes, so sincere, met her hazel ones. "I won't let anyone hurt you." He said, finally, reaching out to gingerly pull her hands away from her arms and set them on her lap. He kept them there, his hands firm on hers. "I'm not going anywhere."
"I know." She said, and she felt something stick in her throat and stop her from continuing. She didn't want to think about what she would find at home, and, yet, it was the only thing she could think about.
Ryonen seemed to understand this and he touched her cheek ever so gently, his fingers lingering on the skin there. "Sleep." He said. "It's still a few hours until dawn and we have to go back to search your house."
Ariana realized, quite suddenly, why she was so scared. "What if she isn't alive?" She said, her voice barely a whisper. She could barely get the words out before the lump in her throat came back.
Ryonen looked down and then back up at her. "Don't." He said, his hand now cupping her cheek. Where his skin made contact with hers, she felt a strange buzzing of electricity just as before.
Ariana shook her head, making him drop his hand. "You can't tell me that it's not possible." She said. "They know where I live, you know they do."
Ryonen was silent, now, unable to come up with anything as a response. Ariana felt this was almost worse than him trying to be reassuring. She had pushed him, yes, but some small part of her still wanted him to argue with her and deny the truth in her words. If he lost hope, what chance did she have?
After what felt like forever, Ryonen spoke again. "Sleep." He said, again, and this time he sounded resolute. "As soon as it's okay to head out, I'll wake you."
Ariana thought about arguing with him, but something in his voice made her stop. There was no point in playing this game; whatever was going to happen was already set in motion the second those arrows had started flying.
Ariana settled back down against the wall of the cave, her arm cushioning her head as she locked eyes with Ryonen. They didn't say anything, but simply looked at each other until she felt the lure of drowsiness pull her into sleep. Before she knew it, she had drifted off into oblivion, the sound of the fire still popping somewhere far off.
* * * * *
Ariana started as a hand jostled her awake. She groggily opened her eyes to see Ryonen crouched beside her, his face only a foot away from hers.
"Ariana," he said quietly, "I think it's clear. I've backtracked to the portal and they seem to have gone in the opposite direction. We should go while we have the chance."
His words seemed to send a jolt through Ariana, who had been feeling a bit disoriented after being woken up so suddenly. However, at hearing they could go find her mom, she felt all her tiredness melt away. "Let's go." She said, starting to stumble to her feet.
Ryonen moved back from her but reached out to put a hand on her shoulder. "Slowly," he said, "you've been through a lot. Just take a minute before you get up."
Ariana took a breath and sat back down. He was right; her knees felt weak at the thought of what may lay in wait for her back home. Not to mention the fact that she was now involved in something she didn't quite understand and wasn't even 100% sure she was equipped to handle. She tried gathering her thoughts for a moment before finally standing up. Her eyes met his and she nodded her head ever so slightly.
"Come then." He said. He motioned for her to stay behind him as he made his way out of the cave and up the narrow path through the trees.
After what seemed like forever, they finally breached the foliage at the head of the path and Ariana stepped through it to feel the warm sun caress her face. Ryonen stood a few feet away, twirling a silver ring on his right hand and looking forward.
"I hope you know the way back because I sure as heck wasn't paying any attention to where we were going yesterday." Ariana said, pulling him from his thoughts.
He turned to her, smiling tensely. "It's not too far from here, maybe a 10 minute walk, but we'll need to be quiet and alert; they could come back any time."
Ariana nodded and walked close behind him, feeling paranoid at every crunch of leaves or rustling from the wind. As they passed through the trees, walking in silence, the sunlight grew weaker. The thick leaves let little light shine through, so it cast a spooky glow.
After what seemed like forever, Ryonen finally motioned for Ariana to stop before waving his hand slowly in front of him. As before, a thick fog was produced and then the pond appeared before them, an exact copy of the one back home. This time, Ariana was ready as they stepped into the clear waters and through the silvery haze.
Though she thought she had mentally prepared herself for going through the portal, nothing could have spared her the shock of the extreme pressure as it seemingly crushed her. When she finally landed,  gently this time, on the grass in the clearing, she just sat there in stunned silence. Once again, Ryonen landed gracefully on his feet next to her before turning to lend her a hand.
"Thanks." She muttered, taking his hand and letting him hoist her to her feet. She dusted off her shorts and looked around. She was definitely back home now. The clearing was her familiar one, though it was looking a bit more forlorn than she was used to. The usually lush clearing was now trampled from the barrage of footsteps that had come through here the day before.  Arrows pierced the ground and nearby trees, seeming to blanket the area in them.
In front of her, Ryonen was glancing around, too, his hand laid cautiously on his sword's handle. His body was rigid with tension. After a few sweeps of his head, he looked back at Ariana and motioned for her to follow him.
They made their way up the path and then through the tunnel in complete silence, seeing the evidence of their escape the day before everywhere. Like the clearing, black arrows littered the way back, and they found them lodged in trees and laying broken along the path as they went on. The bushes at the entrance to the tunnel were broken and limp as they pushed through them, finally coming out into the forest near her favorite oak tree.
Once on the path back home, Ariana felt her stomach twisting with anxiety. Every step felt like a blow to her heart, dread filling her up until she felt she could barely carry on. Ryonen seems to sense her distress and he slowed his pace so that he could lay a hand on the small of her back, simultaneously lending her his support and keeping her moving forward at the same time.
Up ahead the trees began to thin out and Ariana knew they'd be seeing the house soon. Her heart rate sped up and suddenly she felt like she could hardly breathe. The panic was building as Ryonen continued to guide her forward, and then the brightness of the day seemed to blind her momentarily as they stepped into the yard.
As her eyes adjusted to her surroundings, Ariana felt her breath latch in her throat. The first thing she saw was the door to the house. It was wide open, the screen door ripped and off of its hinges beside it. An incredible sense of fear began to creep into her, and she began bolting for the house without even thinking, the wind whistling in her ears as she ran.
Behind her, Ryonen began yelling. "Ariana, stop!!" But she hardly heard him, the sound of her own heart pounding loudly in her ears was overtaking everything, even the wind.
To the average person, it just looked like another normal day. The sun was shining against a pale blue sky and even a few fluffy clouds could be seen scattered there, but as Ariana came face to face with that open door, she knew there was absolutely nothing normal about it. She stopped at the doorway for a brief second, trying to steel herself for what was to come. As she finally crossed the threshold, she knew that nothing good could possibly be waiting for her inside.
In front of her, the sitting room was completely thrown out of order, the couch turned on its back and the bookshelves knocked to the ground with their contents scattered across the room. To the right of her, the kitchen was equally destroyed. Pots and pans were thrown on the floor, vases were broken, and the curtains were ripped down and shredded across the counters
Moving down the hallway in a stupor, Ariana avoided stepping on the broken glass that littered the floor from the picture frames that had previously occupied the walls. She turned right into her mom's bedroom and checked under everything for any sign of life, overturning dressers and throwing the clothes in the corner as she did so. A mounting feeling of panic was rising in her chest, and she started to stumble through the wreckage, her heart pounding in her ears the entire time.
Finding nothing, she turned around mechanically and headed to the bathroom. She opened the door and glanced inside quickly before moving on; it was far too small for someone to hide in. Finally, she came to her room. The door was slightly ajar. Without a moment's hesitation, she ran to it and shoved it open. Her room was the worst of all.
Her bed was completely ripped apart. The covers that she had left strewn at the end of the bed were barely held together and the feathers from her pillows were littered all over the floor. The mirror lay in pieces on top of the dresser and all of the drawers were open, their contents thrown around the room unceremoniously.
Tears sprang to her eyes and began flowing uncontrollably as she surveyed the remnants of her room. Ariana didn't even try to stop them; she couldn't have even if she wanted to. Her home, her oasis, was destroyed, and her mom was nowhere to be seen. Suddenly, she no longer had control of herself and she fell to the floor, reaching for what was left of her favorite comforter. She brought it to her, stuffing her face into its soft fabric and letting the sobs wrack through her.
Vaguely, Ariana heard Ryonen walk in behind her. She tried to calm down, but she was far too worked up to gain control over herself. Her whole body heaved with each sob that forced its way up her throat. Mom, she thought desperately, where are you? She pictured her frail body lying unconscious on the floor as the people who did this ripped apart the house around her.
Why take her? Ariana felt herself losing control again and beat her fists against the comforter. They had wanted her, not her mom. If she had only been home then her mom would be okay, they probably would have just left her behind and taken Ariana. She'd probably be doing yoga in the living room or reading a book by the window, not kidnapped by psycho Elves that were after Ariana.
She lifted her head long enough to rest it on the mattress behind her. Oh God, she thought miserably, this was all her fault. This was all her freaking fault. In her misery, she barely felt Ryonen's hand gripping her shoulder. She took a shuddering breath before looking up.
Ryonen's eyes were gentle as he held her gaze, kneeling down on the ground beside her. Running his hands from her shoulders down to her arms, he steadied her. "It'll be okay, Ariana. We're going to find her."
Ariana looked up at him, her eyes glistening with fresh tears that began flowing down her cheeks. "How do you know?" She whispered, her voice hoarse from crying.
"I just do." He said. "Do you trust me?" He stood up and held out his hand for her to take.
Ariana thought about everything that had happened. Seeing the pond that first day, going back and finding Ryonen there, trying over and over again to find him before finally finding him and realizing that she actually felt some sort of comradery, that he actually seemed to understand her. The way he hadn't hesitated to save her life when they had been attacked in the forest, taking her to his world even though he knew it was expressly forbidden for him to do so. All of these things flashed through her mind as she stared at his outstretched hand. Right now, she thought, there was nothing left for her here. Nothing and no one.
So as Ariana moved her eyes to his, she decided to take a chance. She reached up and placed her hand in his "I trust you." She said.
They held each other's gaze for a moment before he pulled her to her feet. He let go of her hands and stood up straight, thinking, before he finally spoke. "You should probably gather some things to bring with you. I'm not sure how long we'll be gone."
Ariana nodded and wiped at her eyes quickly before looking around the room. What items do you take when you don't know if you'll ever be coming back home, she thought. Her eyes moved to the closet. It was closed. Some part of her brain noted how strange that was in contrast to the messiness of the rest of the room. Maybe they didn't notice it when they were messing up the house, she reasoned.
Curious, Ariana stepped toward it and, without thinking, reached her hand out and grasped the door knob. It felt unnaturally cold. "Ryonen," She said uneasily, "I think there's something wrong with the-" She stopped talking abruptly as everything went dark.
In her mind, Ariana was surrounded by darkness and then a mist began rolling in. The way that it moved was unnatural. It seemed to slither like a snake over the ground, reaching out to wrap around her ankles. As it began winding its way around her legs, its grip became tighter and tighter until it seemed to have her in a vice. In her fear, Ariana tried to kick it away but it held her in place, the ice cold tendrils progressing until they had half of her engulfed in their grip.
A high pitched laugh echoed through the darkness, startling Ariana and causing goosebumps to cover her body. She surveyed the surrounding area but couldn't see anything except the darkness and the almost blinding whiteness of the mist.
Without warning, the mist parted in front of her and she saw a figure laying on the floor in a heap. As the mist moved farther away, the darkness let up until Ariana could clearly make out who it was.
"Mom!" She yelled, feeling the panic rise up in her throat at the words. She fought at the mist that still bound her body, struggling to free herself so she could run to her mother's lifeless form.
Her attempts were in vain, though, and the mist only began wrapping her up further, now advancing to just under her arms. Ariana squinted her eyes, trying to see any sign of movement from her mother, any indication that she was alright or even just breathing. From what she could see, she looked fine except for some dirt smudged on her cheek. Her red hair was splayed around her in tangles and seemed to glow like fire against the black of her surroundings.
"Mom, are you okay?" Ariana whispered, her voice barely managing to come out. She didn't move. "Mom?"
Ariana tried to reach out a shaking hand to touch her, but the tendrils had now worked their way up to wrap around her arms, slowly pinning them to her sides. She tried again, summoning every ounce of strength she had left in her, but her arms wouldn't budge against their restraints.
Ariana felt sheer panic flush over her, making her begin to physically shake with fear. "Mom!" She said more urgently. The mist that had parted before was now coming back. New tendrils began to wrap around her mother's body, slowly engulfing her.
"Mom, no! Ariana screamed. She writhed, clenching her fists at her side, trying desperately to force her way out of the mists hold on her, but it was useless; Ariana never got any closer to reaching her. Her body grew limp in her defeat, her hands hanging by her side as the mist continued to cover her mother, swallowing her whole. In those last moments before the white seemed to envelope her, Ariana was able to catch the slightest glimpse of her face.
Her green eyes were wide open and full of absolute terror.
"No!" Ariana screamed.
Ryonen's hands shook her shoulders roughly and her eyes flew open. She blinked hard, taking in her surroundings. She was back in her room, laying on the floor in front of the closet. "What happened?" She asked, feeling a bit disoriented at the sudden shift in atmosphere.
"You tell me." Ryonen said. "You opened the door and a bunch of fog spilled out and you just fell like a rock the second it touched you. I tried to pull you out of it, but it was like it wasn't really fog at all." He swallowed. "I couldn't get to you."
Ariana sat up slowly. "Was it-" She stopped, taking a deep breath. Her heart was still pounding wildly in her chest but she was beginning to calm down. "Was it magic?"
He shook his head. "I don't know. I've never seen anything like it. If it is, it's very old and very powerful. Either way, I think it's safe to assume our little friends left it behind for us." He took a steadying breath before looking down at her, a concerned look filling his sharp features. "Are you hurt? What did it do?" He touched her arm gently as if he feared she might break.
Ariana put a hand to her head. "I'm not hurt...but that thing, whatever it was, was sent as a message. It showed me my mom." Ariana then explained to Ryonen what she had seen while she had been out of it. He listened intently as she spoke. "You should have seen her." Ariana said, finally. "Ryonen, she looked terrified." She breathed in deeply, trying not to cry again. "Why are they doing this to me?"
He looked frustrated as he stood up, and then he began to pace. "I don't know." He said. "None of this makes sense. I spent all night trying to figure it out and it just doesn't add up. Why kidnap a human, even if I had talked to them?" He stopped pacing and turned to Ariana. "No offense, of course." He added, a sheepish look crossing his face.
"None taken." She said, feeling amused despite herself.
"But," he continued, "what I meant to say is that you're just a human. Why go to such great lengths to capture you? If he did succeed in catching me, what would he intend to do with you afterward?"
"Ryonen," Ariana said, pulling him from his thoughts, "maybe we should just hurry up and leave. You know, before we find any more surprises waiting for us." In truth, Ariana was beginning to feel sick the longer looked at the remnants of her home. The violation of coming here, to her safe place, and then taking her mother, was getting to her. She just wanted to leave.
He looked like he was going to argue but he just nodded. "You're right. But don't bring too much stuff. Just things you'll need.
"Okay." She said, turning back to the closet. "Do you think it's safe now?"
"I think so." He said, though he looked uncertain.
Ariana stepped into the closet wearily. When nothing seemed to happen, she let out the breath she had been holding in. She reached up onto the shelf and felt around until her hands met with the soft leather of her satchel. Exiting the closet, Ariana knelt down to pick up some extra clothes, ruffling through the debris to find what she deemed to be appropriate for a trek through the woods. However, she wondered if anything she had would really be fit for where they were going. After making a final sweep through her room, she buttoned the bag closed and turned to Ryonen, who was now leaning against the door to her room. "I'm ready." She said, pulling the satchel over her head and letting it fall until it sat nestled on her hip. 
"Are you sure?" He asked. "Because we might not be back for a long time."
"Yeah." She said, just wanting to go. "I'm positive."
He stepped lightly over all the stuff on the floor and made his way to the front of the house where the door still lay open. As Ariana made her way slowly through the house, she held out a hand and let it brush the walls, almost in a caress. She let herself take it all in, trying to remember it as it was before and not how it was now. The memories of growing up in this house flooded through her and she felt tears spring to her eyes. As she crossed the threshold and finally stepped off the porch onto the soft grass, she turned and looked back at the house.
Ariana took in its beautiful log cabin appearance and realized that this could be the last time she would be seeing this place. This house, her home, was being left behind and she had no idea if she would be coming back to it, but it didn't matter; it would never be home without her mom there. So Ariana turned her back on the house, along with everything she'd ever known, and followed Ryonen into the trees beyond.