Somewhere Under the Stars

Chapter Three: Serenity

      I feel so stupid for falling asleep with a psychopathic  human in my room. Somehow he had found one of my swords. And it was aimed at me. Once I see him standing over me with my sword I instantly go into fighting mode. I knock the sword out of his hand and leap out of bed. Unfortunately, my foot gets caught in my sheets and I topple on top of the human. The human groans in pain and I pull a dagger out of my boot and press it to his throat. 

   " Don't... move." I snarl. The boy stares back at me. He looks a bit shocked.  

" W-what are you?" he asks barely above a whisper.

     I furrow my brow. That's not usually what people say when they have a knife at their throat. Most just plead for mercy. " I'm flesh and blood, but not.... human. I'm Halcyon." The boy pales once the words leave my lips. I can feel his heart pounding.  " What did you think I was?" I ask.

There's fear in the boy's eyes. " E-elf." He stutters.

I scoff " Elf? How dense are you?"I should kill him just for thinking I'm elf, but then again I don't look anything like the Halcyons. I look more elf or human.  " What's your name, human?"

" Maverick Ashwood." This time he doesn't stutter. He's getting bolder. 

" So you're a human? Like one hundred percent human? " I ask, getting curious. 

     He nods. " I am." Then he does something unexpected and very stupid. He flips me onto my back and shoves my sword against my throat. He pushes a little too hard, I can feel blood start to trickle down my neck. My dagger lies just out of reach. I scowl up at him, he would regret this later. He gives me a slightly smug look. " I need your help." He says firmly.

    I laugh. I actually laugh. The last time I laughed was the day before my parents died. " Why would I ever help you? You have a sword at my throat."

     " Hey it's your fault we're in this mess! You're the one that brought me here."

     " You're the one that was bleeding in the woods. I practically saved your life! A babirusa could've eaten you!"

    He looks at me confused, " There are still babirusas around?" 

    I roll my eyes, " Irrelevant, my point is you owe me." 

   He shakes his head, " Listen, I could've killed you when you were asleep. So I think we're pretty even. "

    I sigh, " Fine, so you go on your way and I'll pretend I never saw you."

    He considers this for a moment. " No. I need your help," He pauses, " I have something that could change everything."

    I quirk an eyebrow, " That's what they all say. "

    "No, you don't understand. I have clue. A clue that will help me find..." He stops.

   " Find what?" I inquire impatiently. 

   "Hiraeth." 

    I'm shocked. Hiraeth is a legend. Halcyons have tried to find it, but none of us has even gotten close to finding Hiraeth. A few selected Halcyons have sailed away to find it, but about a month later someone always finds their ship on the shore. The ships are always unscathed, but every crew member is dead. " You're lying. Hiraeth is a legend. We've sent brave warriors to find it and they show up dead a month later."

    " Ah, but you Halcyons don't have the map. The map that will show you the right way to go. And I have part of that map."

    I shake my head, " How do I know I can trust you?"

   " You don't know. This is going to be a leap of faith. So you can either help me discover the legendary Hiraeth or go on thinking ' What if?' for the rest of your life." 

     I look the human right in the eyes. All Halcyon have  certain abilities. Mine is the ability to tell when someone's lying. I use that ability to tell if this human is lying to me. He isn't. I take a deep breath, " Count me in."