The Protector and the Peacemaker

Chapter Twenty One

Chapter Twenty One

(Porter)

Porter awoke with the meager light of dawn, and the first thing he realized was that Sarah was already awake.

"Sarah!" he exclaimed, scrambling to his feet and running to embrace her. "You're all right!"

"I've been awake all night," she confessed, returning the hug.

Porter pulled away, running his eyes over her in concern. "How do you feel?" he asked.

"I feel fine," she answered.

"You feel hot," he corrected her. "I can feel the fire burning in you. Are you sure you don't feel at all different?"

Sarah shook her head. Porter was about to accept her answer, but as he watched her face he noticed something different about it.

"Hold still," he told her, and she paused. He leaned in closer, sure that his eyes must be playing tricks on him. But no, he realized, they weren't.

"Sarah," he said hesitantly, "your eyes are green."

"What?" She got to her feet and, gently pushing Porter out of the way, went to one of the nearby windows. The storm was still going strong outside, but she ignored that and looked at her reflection.

"That's impossible!" she exclaimed. "I've always had brown eyes!"

"It's not surprising." Both of them spun around to see Azkular getting up. Droma and Faska were following suit. "The Keeping Fire was green. Since it's inside you now, it's only natural that it would make its presence known somehow. Your eyes have turned the exact same shade that the fire used to burn."

Sarah turned and looked at her reflection again. "It'll go away once the fire burns out, though, right?"

Azkular nodded. "Yes. Once the fire goes out, there will be nothing left of it. It'll be like you never swallowed it at all."

Porter thought he heard a trace of regret in his friend's voice, but that thought was chased away when he reminded himself what was coming next.

"Well, we've got what we came for," he said decisively. "It's time to go."

He spoke confidently, but his gut was still weighed down with dread. Whatever happened next, this marked the beginning of the end. They woke Misty, Ozzie, and Manchi up and collected their few belongings.

"Where do we need to go?" Porter asked, turning to Azkular.

"Why don't we ask the Slayer?" Azkular suggested, shooting a venomous glare at Granger. The old man was standing a few feet away from them.

"They were heading west," he answered without having to be asked. "The march will take them several days, but eventually it will lead them to Red Castle."

Porter eyed him suspiciously.

"Are you telling us this just to discourage us again?" the young man asked.

Granger glanced at him, and then turned to face the entire group again.

"If you want to defeat Mortoph," he continued, "then you should head off the Mythics at Westwillow."

"Westwillow," Porter echoed, and turned toward Droma. "That's—"

"The town Sarah was captured in," Droma finished for him, nodding.

"That's where they're going?"

"It's not directly in their path," Granger answered, "but it will be the first place of human civilization they reach, so I doubt they will pass on the opportunity to strike there."