Spirit of Shadows

| Chapter Thirteen |

Em had been the first one up that morning. She went into the tree line to gather some small berries off a bush and then bent down to pluck some mushrooms; she'd ask Jonah about them later to make sure they were okay to eat.

By the time the sun rose over the horizon and scattered through the canopy of the trees, Em was impatient with the boys who were still sleeping.

"Matthias!" Em yelled, walking over toward him. He was still sound asleep, his eyes closed and lips parted slightly. He looked so peaceful. Em almost felt bad about shaking him awake, but if he ever wants to find his sister, they needed to get a move on.

She shook him slightly at first but he still didn't barge. She let out a sigh of annoyance and this time began to shake his shoulders some more. She even slapped his cheeks–gently of course–but still. He was a heavy sleeper.

"Matthias!" She yelled and leaned over him to grab his wrist and pull him up.

Although, that plan failed when Matthias immediately shot up, his forehead connecting with Em's. She groaned and rubbed the spot as Matthias did the same.

"What the hell, Em." He mumbled, his voice still rough with sleep. She stilled at the sound of it and pulled the hood of her cloak over her head to hide her flushing cheeks.

"Time to go." She answered and stood up without another word.

One boy down, one more to go.

Jonah was easier to get up than Matthias had been. All she had to do was bend down next to him and tell "RUN! OH MY GODS RUN!" and the boy was sitting up, scrambling in confusion.

Em smiled and Matthias had bursted out laughing at the boy's reaction.

Jonah blinked quickly and whipped his head around, obviously confused.

"Oh that was so funny, Em!" Jonah said sarcastically. Finally he stood up and dusted the mud off of his clothes, mumbling something about "being a brat".

Em couldn't suppress her giggles as she finished collecting her things.

"Ready boys?" She asked.

Jonah rose an eyebrow at her suggestively, his lips pulling into a smirk.

"For what, little dove." He winked.

Matthias choked on his water, the canteen sloshing around in his hand as he tried to swallow. Jonah laughed and put a hand on the boy's shoulder as if they were pals.

Matthias shrugged it off just as quickly and stomped forward through the clearing. Em and Jonah following closely behind.

At least this morning things weren't so...serious. It was nice to have some of the pressure relieved by the light mood.

...

Matthias was right. The border for Mistshore was only ten minutes away and when they had finally reached it, her mouth dropped open.

There was a huge stone wall that blocked anyone from seeing into the swamp of Wyvernwick, but Em could still see the large oasis beyond it. The castle's top tower was peeking out over the wall, a speck in the distance.