Zakara: Fire Within (An Allanon Fanfic)

Chapter Seven - Memory Wipe

We made it back to the old broken down house Allanon had found earlier. The boys were both looking tired from walking so long, Alyster kept saying rude things quietly... as if that'd help him now.

This was all my fault. They could have just gone on their way if I hadn't been stupid enough to use my magic I didn't even know how to control. I could have killed all of them! I kept my head low, sensing how angry Allanon was. I was sure he'd give up on me, and force me to go back to my aunt before our deal was over.

Once we made it to the small house, Allanon tied the horses to the old fencing, then turned to the two frightened boys.

"Let us go, peasant!" Alyster glared. "You have no right to kidnap us!"

"You'll be free soon enough," Allanon said quietly, untying them from the horse. 

I thought I heard him add, "After I wipe your memory", but his mouth didn't move, and the boys didn't react. Had I just read his mind? The puzzled look on my face made Allanon raise his eyebrows at me, but he didn't say anything until he got the two boys situated. 

He found a good place to tie them up outside, far enough away from each other, so they couldn't help each other get away in the night. Then Allanon turned to me. I clutched my hands together behind my back as a nervous gesture, wanting to run as he came towards me, but I stayed put.

"You can't just go around using your magic like that," he said quietly, but very angrily.

"I-I'm sorry," I stuttered. "I can do better. I promise!"

He glared down at me, and just walked away without another word, going towards the woods.

"Where are you going now?" I shouted.

"Just stay put and don't talk to the prisoners!" He said back without looking at me.

Once he disappeared, I sighed. That didn't go very well. I put my hand in my pocket to feel for the ice, and played around with it as I paced back and forth. The water woman was probably right about me hiding my powers. I needed to tell Allanon before I froze someone solid. I had to.

~oOo~

Allanon didn't come back until that next morning. I slept outside with the boys, so they wouldn't try to get away, but it was very cold. I was kind of surprised none of us got sick. Allanon's horse was making friends with the other two horses, but their riders were anything but friends.

"Prepare their horses," Allanon told me. "We're letting them go."

"Why?" I wondered. "They know about my powers now."

He looked down at the ground without answering me. I raised an eyebrow in suspicion. "Are you really going to wipe their memory?"

Allanon was thoroughly surprised as he made eye contact again. "How did you-"

"Are you letting us go free, peasant?" Came Alyster's voice, interrupting Allanon's sentence.

Allanon ignored me for the time being as he prepared himself to do the spell. I knew Allanon was really mad, so I prepared the horses to keep him from getting even angrier. Right when I led them over to the two boys, they were out cold. "We must bring them back to the path to get to the castle."

I rolled my eyes and helped him lift them onto their own horses. We were both silent as we led them back to the clearing and then further on where there was an obvious dirt path, and just in time. Right when Allanon pulled me behind a tree, the two boys awoke.

"Wow... that was weird," Alyster said, looking around, disoriented. 

"At least we've apparently found the path again," Levi replied, rubbing his forehead. "Let's get on with our journey before my headache gets any worse."

"Agreed," Alyster nodded. "I would like to be out of the forest before someone tries robbing us for a third time." 

"You mean a forth?" I whispered to myself, glancing at Allanon with a glare. "At least that time it wouldn't be their memory being robbed."

Allanon glared back, and once the boys were gone, made me follow him back to the old house. Once there, we both helped each other make a fire to cook some of the fish he had caught the other day. As we ate, neither of us spoke, but just as the sun reached the middle of the sky, Allanon broke the silence.

"Your mother would have wanted you to have better," he said out of the blue.

I was taken by surprise, so I didn't answer for a long time. "You know my mother?"

He nodded slowly, but did not bother to explain how. Instead, he moved onto a different subject. "Zakara, if you run away one more time, I swear I will not hesitate to bring you home. How am I to help and protect you when you keep running off into the sunset without even knowing why."

I smiled at the words "running off into the sunset". I didn't know why, but it just kind of sounded funny. Allanon stayed dead serious. 

"This is an urgent matter, Zakara," he said, sounding so commanding, that I looked him in the eyes. "I need to know that I can trust you if I am to be your mentor. Do I have your word to stay here and do as I say?"

I thought for a few moments and finally decided that staying with him would be way better than being off by myself or with my aunt. I finally nodded, but before he could reply, I added, "Do I have to do everything you say?"

Allanon finally smiled a little, noticing my joking tone. "Unfortunately for you, yes, if you are to get better at controlling your powers."

I could tell his hard feelings had disappeared enough that he was beginning to forgive me, but when I thought about my behavior again, I wasn't sure if I could forgive myself for my stupidity. "Allanon," I said after a few moments.

He glanced at me in response.

"Can people with powers read the minds of other people who have powers?" I asked.

Allanon looked at me for a while, then nodded. "It is possible, if that person allows it, but it could also mean that the person reading the other's mind is very powerful."

I half smiled, knowing Allanon was a very powerful druid. If I could read his mind, did that mean that I was just as powerful, or even more powerful than he? 

Allanon seemed to know what I was thinking. I could tell he knew that I could read his mind, but instead of being mad about it, I was pretty sure he wanted me to strengthen that talent. I just hoped that he wouldn't be too strict of a teacher, because I didn't do very well under that much pressure.

"When do we start lessons?" I wondered.

"If you're finished eating, we can start now," he said.

I nodded nervously, only then realizing that this was actually happening. Allanon was actually real, and he was really going to teach me! The things happening now had only been dreams, but they were now dreams that had come true.

I'm sorry it has been such a long time since the last update, but I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I will make sure to update at least once a month, hopefully more, but I will do a chapter each month. I'm planning on finishing it this summer, so please stayed tuned! And please leave a like and comment if you would like.

Thanks!

     -Becketha Rowndy