The Seeker

Chapter 4- The First Visitor

"We have poisonous arrows, they are protective." Said Firenze. "We have a medicine to cure it, it's important we have that with us at all times, just in case things go wrong. We can cure him." He turned to one of the other centaurs. "Nightslayer, bring out your medicine. We need to help this boy." The centaur called Nightslayer nodded.
"It's okay, Gabe. Your going to be fine." Liana whispered softly to Gabe.
"While your brother is healing, you must come with me. There is much I have to explain." Firenze looked anxious.
"I'm not leaving Gabe. We stay together." Liana wasn't parting with her brother for even a second.
"Once he is healed he will be with you again. But right now he must heal. And you must know the truth." Firenze now looked reassuring.
Liana looked at Gabe. "You are sure he'll be okay?"
Firenze nodded. "Of course." They made eye contact. "He is with us."
That is what convinced her. She just barely met the centaurs, and yet she felt like they were old friends she has just reunited with. 
Firenze led Liana into the trees away from the other centaurs and Gabe.
"Liana Wood. You are special." Firenze looked at her with an amused expression.
"How am I special? I've never done anything important. What makes me special? What is this place? How did you-" Liana was interrupted... by a shriek.
Liana jumped. "What was that?" She asked with a shaky voice.
"I'll explain later. Right now, you need to learn who are." Firenze looked very worried now.
Liana was interested but skeptical.
"Liana, I need you to tell me everything about how you got that parchment." Firenze pointed to the paper Liana still clutched on to. "How did you find it?"
"Um, it was on a tree on the other side of the tunnel. It was- singing- there on a big pine tree." Liana tried to remember exactly what happened.
"That was all? How did you know where it was?" Firenze knew there was more, and was waiting to hear it.
"Chiron asked me that earlier. I just had a weird feeling. It made me go to it." Liana couldn't describe the feeling.
"Feeling." Firenze repeated, clearly thinking hard about something.
"Yes, feeling. Now can I please go check on my brother?" Liana just wanted to be with Gabe now, back at their house, with Liliana and Gabriel.
"Liana. This is going to be hard for you to believe. But..." Firenze hesitated. "Liana, you are a Seeker."
"Okay, great. Now take me to my brother." Liana didn't know what a Seeker was, and she didn't want to know right now.
"Liana, you cannot avoid this conversation. It's for your protection. You are in danger. We all are." Firenze was clearly looking at something behind Liana. And he was worried about it.
"Okay, fine. What's a Seeker?" Liana wasn't interested in listening. She wanted to go to Gabe.
Firenze glanced behind Liana again and his eyes bulged out of his head. "Not now, come on! Follow me, quick!" There was something behind them that was dangerous. And Liana didn't dare look now.
"Liana, get on my back!" Good thing Firenze was half-horse. He could run extremely fast. When they got back to the clearing, all the centaurs looked up, and the centaur treating Gabe picked him up. "Go! It's here!"
A few of the female centaurs screamed. And the one with Gabe was the first to run. There was something about Liana and Gabe, and they need the most protection, though they still didn't know why.
There were twigs snapping loudly in the forest. Wait, those weren't twigs. Those were logs being snapped, and branches being snapped off trees when something big ran into them.
"Liana, hold on tight! There will be a lot of running here! This is the other side. Get used to it!" Firenze shouted over his shoulder while bolting away from something in the forest. "It's a Minotaur! They're half man, half bull. And they're huge! Deadly creatures! The best we can do right now is run from it! We don't have all of our arrows with us now, the rest are at Camp! We must save these, there are worse monsters we need to fight!" Firenze sped up leading the centaurs away from the Minotaur.
Liana looked back to see where Gabe was. One of the centaurs was holding him tight so he didn't fall when they were running.
Liana also saw something else when she turned. The Minotaur. Firenze wasn't wrong about it at all. It was huge. Giant horns sticking out of its head. Enormous hands. And really, really ugly.
Liana shrieked. One of Liana's greatest fears all her life was bulls. They scared her ever since, well, let's just say if it wasn't for bulls, Liana could still have two siblings, which is why she has sworn to protect Gabe.
The Minotaur was fast for such a huge thing. But the centaurs were just a little faster.