The Breeze Trials

Chapter 15

I listened intently as Jace finished explaining his conversation with the Mage, even if it didn't sound incredibly promising. "It sounds like  he isn't sending anyone to help us." I commented when he had finished.
Jace sighed and ran a hand through his chocolate brown hair, something I'd realized was a habit when he was conflicted. The loose waves straightened slightly around his fingers. "You guessed right; it's just us. I was told that he need his resources to rally against the fight. He doesn't believe that we can change fate, but don't look so defeated yet, alright? He said the connection between stones is much stronger here than most places, so we can use Blue, and of course your tracking skills, to find Purple."

"Okay, but doesn't that mean ours should be reacting?"

"Spells, Breeze, they sort of... inhibit that function, but I don't know how long it'll last. That means, though, that we have to be quick and the reaction on the path may not have been a hint." I growled in frustration. "Why can't something be easy for once?"

"I don't know," His voice sounded distracted. "But we need to start moving and you're going to lead the way."  He grinned at me, obviously pleased with the incredulous look I gave. I knew it made sense for me to take the front, due to my tracking skills, but that didn't mean I wanted to be trusted with so much. "What if I can't?" I asked softly, knitting my fingers together in my lap. "I know you can. I've seen your potential. You usually go on instinct and it always works out, doesn't it? I think that's why you were included to help us face the shadows. You have the strongest sense of instinct due to your animal origin, and you aren't as held back by the things we humans get distracted by." His words wrapped around me like a soft blanket, even if his words were a poor attempt at an explanation. At least he was trying to cheer me up. "Thanks..." I muttered.

I had to lead us. I had to succeed. I stood up. "I'll trust my instinct, just like you said, so let's go." Jace stood up as well and we set out toward the nearby trees.

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We went confidently through the dense forest, my stone more often than not looking like a magical strobe light. Squirrels and winged rabbits rustled around in the trees above our heads. Even with me ignoring the hunting instinct and following my tracking, we often were mindlessly wandering, waiting for a glow or temperature change against my skin.

"This is impossible!" I shouted. The day was nearly gone by now, which helped us see hints, but meant we'd already wasted so much time. I leaned against a large tree, too tired to care about the bark gently tugging on my honeyed curls with every movement I made.

"Maybe the spell wore off and I'm interfering..." Jace was pacing across the forest floor. A memory arose of my old life of my mother scolding me for scaring away all the prey, reminding me that everything I worried about then was no longer relevant. "So what, Jace, do you just want me to run off on my own?" My fatigue was making me cranky. "That'll work great until I meet the witch herself and get my tail handed to me." I needed Jace in order for Aaron to have a chance. Him leaving me alone wasn't an option. We couldn't fail. Jace scowled at me.

I closed my eyes and waited for a better idea to come, trying to think of one of my own, but my thoughts were pulled astray by a thump beside me, and suddenly the scent of the forest was drowned. I could feel breath on my ear and a hand winding itself into my untamed hair.

My eyes flew open to meet my companions face. "What are you doing?" I couldn't move a centimeter without my body ending up against his. He'd somehow trapped me. "I would never abandon you, even if you only keep me around to save your boyfriend." I felt a shiver in my body and my chest tightened. I wondered if I had spoken my earlier thoughts aloud. "I-." My train of thought crashed off of the tracks the moment I found his eyes. They were a solid red-ocher.

I was vaguely aware of Jace saying my name, but I was too wrapped up in his features to respond. He was different this time. I recognized him completely now, the awkward nerdy boy from the wall. His entire face was softer, his expression so far from what I was used to. This was him before the magic. This was a Jace I didn't know. The realization was strange and I felt uncertain.

"We need to keep moving." And just like that, his low, now gravelly, voice snapped me back to reality, where the boy I knew was too close and bringing up things I'd started to bury. "Okay, but first I need to be able to move without running into a wall of guy." I somehow sounded even more cranky than before. Even so, Jace smiled and pushed off of the tree, giving me room to breathe. "Of course. Now lead the way, and try not to think about it too much." Did he mean the mission, or something more? Anxious electricity began running through my muscles. I needed to run.

"You know what? I want to try something new." I said. Away from the tree as well now, I was bouncing on my feet. I listened to my instincts and just started running. I was practically flying over dead leaves, sticks, and gnarled roots. I was tired of wasting time on something unreliable and I was tired of not being in control of anything. I needed to find something.

My mind only vaguely registered Jace keeping a steady pace behind me. His fatigue hadn't gone away like mine had, so he was becoming winded and sluggish, but I felt his determination the same as my own.

I knew abruptly that we were close. With that came the realization that I'd shifted from tracking Karina to Aaron himself.

Here.

I stopped as quickly as I could with my momentum, moving to the side to dodge a surprised Jace.  He doubled back with wild, tangerine-speckled eyes. "Why'd-?" I held up my hand, chipped and dirty nails facing me. "He's here, but... where?" I spun around searching for a cave or another cabin; anything. "What?" Jace was doing the same, and seeing with me that nothing was around but more forest.

"Jace, I swear they're, o-or at at least Aaron is, here." I shuddered before speaking more rapidly. "Blue is burning up right now. Is there something I'm missing?" There was desperation in my voice, heavy and thick. My mind was fuzzy as I held a fistful of my own hair in one hand and the fabric of Jace's shirt in the other.

Could I have made a terrible mistake? Will Aaron end up dead because of me? Was this where he'd already died?

"Breeze, calm down!" Jace had his own form of desperation showing now, both of my wrists were held his hands. Golden strands were floating down around us, ripped from my own head. "What's gotten into you, Breeze?" He was quiet and gentle, searching my face as if some sort of divine answer were written there. "I'm sorry... I don't know." My voice sounded as if it were still back home.

"Just breathe. Damn, Kitty cat. You're scaring me and that isn't exactly easy to do." For a few moments, my eyes couldn't focus on anything, but when they did, it was his face, all familiar and yet not at the same time, just as before. His grip loosened on my wrists, as if he'd just realized he might've been hurting me. I couldn't feel anything more than the presence of his touch, but he didn't know that. 

 "What do we do? What do I do?" I asked, my voice trembling. He breathed, long and heavy. His breath smelled oddly like cinnamon. "I don't know. We keep trying."

"But, Jace, I've never dealt with this. We didn't have battles when I was old enough to remember. The tribes were at peace. I've never lost someone. I-I was training to be a healer." I might as well have been outside of myself.

My knees buckled and I fell to the ground. Jace held me, lowering us smoothly and sat me in his lap before speaking. I was starting to notice his fingers pulling leaves from my hair. I was coming back to reality slowly.

"Don't worry, you're strong and you always have been. You're acting like a healer right now, Breeze. You're worried about your patient; you want to make sure he's okay, that he can still breathe easily and be healthy so that no one loses him. 

"Breeze, you don't realize how special you are, and not just because of the magic. It's cheesy, but you have powers that even I can't catch up to." My head rested on his shoulder. I knew I shouldn't be sitting down, that I shouldn't be selfish, but I hate that my life now is so different. I can't handle this anymore.

Everything crashed into me and my body started the ache sharply. I was tired and at my limit. "Jace..." I didn't know what I wanted to tell him, what to say, so I spoke his name before dropping into unconsciousness.