Avengard: The Fall of Senvia

Chapter 17 - Shades

The trees didn't welcome our light. Jenny's spell haunted us through those branches, casting shadows that had our eyes looking off into every corner, expecting to see something that was never quite there. All the while, whatever fears the other two may have had swirling in their heads, my mind tracked the things behind us, whatever they were. I only hoped they were behind us, and now I was putting some distance from the wagon.

A knot settled into my stomach at the thought of leaving the horses, but, I reasoned, they should have survived. It was just the dark, after all. Horses were a valuable resource to humans and Kindred alike. Our wagon was filled with food and supplies. They would keep it, use it, and keep the horses alive.

Right?

But that shiver down my spine told me another story. That the horses were already dead, and I had left them to die in the dark, lonely and cold.

"Eskir, knock it off."

"I can't see!" He had been stepping on her heels as we walked, trying to get closer to the light. A thump sounded from below, and I shot my hand out to his shoulder. Eskir had tripped on a root and nearly fallen straight into Jenny.

"Learn to walk," she spat.

"Learn to cast a spell properly."

I smacked Eskir on the back of the head, took a large step forward, and did the same to Jenny. "Behave," I said. "Are you two trying to get us killed?"

"I can't help it when I get nervous," said Eskir. Jenny didn't speak, but I saw the frame of her shoulders tense up.

"You can and you will. Both of you. Whoever cast this Hunak was not playing around, and something's out there. Shut up, watch where you're putting your feet, and walk."

"What is it?" asked Eskir, gesturing behind us in the same direction I kept glancing, dreading I'd see or sense something in the abyss of the forest. In a way, it would have been reassuring if I had. The dark was an endless ocean, and we were blinded by the depths.

I gave him a stern look. He could only barely see it in what little light we had, but he clamped his mouth shut and looked back towards Jenny's light.

I knew so little about magic, but from what I remembered from Lyana's lessons about Hunak, they were probably shades. Manifestations of the spell. Not sentient beings, but byproducts, like an infection. They weren't hunting us, not really. Not intentionally. They had no intentions, no more than a tornado intended to bash your head against the rocks.

And I was caught with two bickering children, drawing in the unconscious ire of the shades.

Even with their reluctant silence, the walk dragged on for an eternity. We had no destination, and the faint light gave us no direction. Normally, I could tell which way was north quite easily. I used to carry a compass while escorting Lyana, but it was rarely essential. But now, my instincts pulled up nothing at all. We were aimless and lost.

And it was only after hours that the shades finally moved.

"Xera, I think I hear something," said Eskir.

Shut up, I wanted to say. Instead, I moved to clamp my hand around his mouth. Neither of them knew what they were. It was my responsibility to keep them safe.

Mine alone.

"Mghfm!" Eskir mumbled through my hand. Why wouldn't he shut the hell up?

"AH!" Jenny shrieked. I glanced up, and her light vanished. Another cry came from Eskir, quieter this time, muffled again by the omnipresent dark.