Safehaven

Chapter 14

Several hours had passed. Badon had answered questions, mostly on the creatures, and had shown us up to our own chambers, which I have to say were pretty cool. He had explained that we should take it easy the next few days, being new to the whole magic thing and all. And the six of us completely agreed. Now, we each had a personal room that led out to a common area were we could all chill. A huge fireplace dominated the back wall the room, while numerous chairs and plush sofas lay strewn around it. Stairs went up to a second floor with a landing where our rooms lay. This was where things got interesting. Instead of lock on the privet rooms, a talking doorknocker asked for a password. If you got it wrong, a chute would open and you would end up with the week's laundry. If you actually could manage to open the door and step inside, the doorway would disappear from both sides until someone said the password again. The doorknocker always remained. Inside, a large four poster bed lay aside to one wall and a dresser on the other. Bookshelves lined yet a third, and the fourth was entirely made of glass, like a giant window. Through the window, miles and miles of forest stretched as far as the eye could see and purple mountains painted the distance. For the creature, a small platform had been raised next to the bed and had been lined with pillows and fabric. Gwindol lay there now, enjoying the tender softness and gently snoring. I, on the other hand, stood gazing out the window and into the distance, thinking hard about the last few days. I pondered the things Badon had said, and Nathen before that. Everything was jumbled up in my mind like a tangled ball of yarn the cat had swatted. Prophesies, dragons, magic, and lots of other things surfaced here and there, but nothing really stuck in my brain. How could I be descended from and ancient family? Had Galloren even had kids? Even so, I had been born into the "below", as the magic folk called it. There was nothing magical about that place. But my friends and I had been brought up there and look where we all are now. I turned and walked back to the center of my new accommodations, wishing for a nice warm fire. Outside, the sun was already setting. Time must run differently here. Because just hours ago, the sun had been high in the sky. Time is different here because Safehaven is only but a mere shadow. The laws of time and existence do not function properly here. I turned my head to look at Gwindol, his keen eyes glared back. This place is not supposed to exist. It's not possible to explain. He lay his head down on his scaly paws, still staring at my intently. I wondered if any of the other creatures spoke to their masters like this. Suddenly, there came a heavy nock on the wall where the door was supposed to be. "Shiloh, open up! We need to talk." The voice sounded like Holly. I ran to the doorknocker and whispered into its ears. It winked and the door appeared. It burst open and Holly stood there, framed by the light of the fire downstairs. "I want to talk about them." She said, nodding in the direction of her kitsune, who had followed her. I let her and her fox in, closing the door. It became non-existent once more. She sat down on the bed and I followed suit. Her beast joined mine on the platform. "I wanted to talk to you alone, Shiloh, about the creatures." Holly shifted uncomfortable. And for the first time, I noticed the shape of what looked like puff of smoke inside of her necklace. I had a similar one in mine, from when Gwindol and I had first made contact. Holly spoke up. "I was in my room and looking through the books when I found this." She held up a thick volume that had been tucked within the folds of her cloak. She flipped through. "It's sort of like the history of Safehaven, magic and all." She paused and let that sink in. I looked my friend in the eye. "This has all the answers we've been looking for?" Holly nodded. From day one, we had known that Badon and Nathen had been holding back on us, and we wanted to know why. Now, we had the cheat sheet right in front of us! Holly lay the book on her lap and opened to the middle, where curled letters made my eyes spin. The girl began to skim the text. "I looked through this earlier and I found something rather odd. Here, listen to this." She started to read from the text. "... It is believed that once a bond between the man and beast is formed, nothing can break it. The two should become inseparable and, over time, should learn to talk to each other telepathically. Once the bond has reached this point, then, sometimes, a rare event occurs. Depending on the creature, a gift from the beast will transfer to the master, making the two most powerful. After this stage, the bond will be complete and the two will truly be one in spirit." Holly closed the book with a dull thud. "That has already started to happen to me and Rinal." She gestured to her kitsune. "She can talk to me and I to her. And check this out." Holly slid off the bed and held out her hand, palm facing up. Rinal quickly leaped down from the perch and came to stand by her master. Immediately, a thin, white mist began to swirl over the tips of Holly's fingers. The mist turned from white to dark blue. Images flashed in the fog: A winged creature, a huge battle. Other images flashed by, but they were too fast to register. The girl closed her fist, and the images dissipated. "As far as I can tell, that's what's coming to pass. It might be glimpses of the future. Also," Holly pushed the sleeves up on her robes. "This has been happening." Thick, rud fur had begun to grow on the backs of her arms, the same color as Rinal's. "I think I'm turning into a kitsune!" She wailed. I got up and gave her a reassuring hug. "Nobody is turning into anything." I whispered into her ear. "Plus, I do think that you would make a pretty sleek fox indeed!" She pulled away, keeping her hands in mine. A tear trickled down her cheek. She desperately tried to brush it away. "Sorry." She muttered. "It's been a stressful day. I think that I need a good night's sleep." I nodded. "I think we all do." Holly managed a weak smile. "Alright then. Come on, Rinal. It's time for bed." I walked her to the so called door and uttered the password. The wooden entryway appeared and opened, and I watched my good friend walk to her room. Closing my door, I shuffled over to my dresser and slipped on a night gown. I crawled into bed. The sun had kissed the horizon long ago(I still didn't get how that worked), and the moon now hung in the sky. As I started to tuck myself in, Gwindol climbed down from his bed and into mine, curling up beside me. Your bed is more comfortable. Plus, it's warmer. He said, eyes closed. Seconds later, his heavy breathing hinted that he had drifted off. I lay down and pulled the blankets up around us. I snapped my fingers and the oil lamp that hung from the ceiling extinguished itself. I do have to admit. Power over Fyr was pretty cool. And with that, I drifted off to sleep. The deep rumblings of the dragon beside me my lullaby.