The Quest for Onyx (Book 1)

Chapter 18

We push through a group of bushes and we come to a clearing. On one side there is a waterfall cascading down into a pool of crystal clear water. On the other side there is a couple of trees with bright colored fruit on them. Tucked in the middle of the clearing is the yawning mouth of a cave.

The wolf walks down into the cave until she comes to a place where it looks like someone lives.

"Here we are." She says with a sweep of her hand. "Welcome to my home."

There are bottles lined up on the ledges of the cave wall. Each one of them has a different colored substance inside. Stacked beside the bottle are some books. On the floor there is a bed made of leaves and some sheets. At the top of if is a pillow with an ice crystal sewn onto it.

The wolf gently sets me down on another bed. "There we go. See that wasn't so bad was it?"

"I say now that you've carried me here I think I have the right to know your name." I say suspiciously.

She crosses her arms. "They call me the warrior of the ice." She replies.

"Uh...ok?" I say awkwardly.

Tiny just stares confused. Unsure of what to say.

The wolf busts out laughing. "Haha just kidding! You should've seen the looks on your faces, they were priceless!" She pauses to wipe the tears from her eyes from laughing so hard. "My name is Star."

"You think this is funny?" I snap irritatedly.

"Sheesh I'm sorry alright? It's been a while since I've had anyone to talk to. It gets kinda lonely around here ya know..." Star says.

She goes over to a shelf and picks up a bottle with a gold colored liquid in it.

"Here drink this." Star says as she hands the bottle to me.

I look at her suspiciously. "Wait, what did you do to it?"

"Relax," Star says "it's  just a potion I made for healing serious injuries and sicknesses."

"Hmm you're a healer of some sort?" I ask as I carefully drink the potion.

"Yeah you could say that." She pauses and chuckles as she sees me grimace from the bitterness of the potion. "Yeah that one is really bitter, but my mom always said it did wonders for injuries."

"Ooh tell us more about yourself!" Tiny says "Your life must be interesting if you can do magic and make potions!"

Star smiles and pats Tiny's head. "Alright, but only because you're so cute. Gather around children it's storytime."

"Yay story time!! I love story time!!" Tiny exclaims excitedly.

Star sits down on the bed beside me. "I'm from the north most region of Orea called the Beaks. It got its name from the big ice pillars that look like bird beaks. I grew up in a small snow village there with a family of polar bears."

"Why were you raised by polar bears? I thought you were a wolf?" Tiny asks.

Star tenses up and curls her hands into fists.

I smack Tiny "You can't just ask outright ask someone that. That's personal."

"Oh I'm sorry!" Tiny says quickly.

"No it's ok. He didn't mean any harm. To answer your question, I was abandoned at birth by my parents, so a family of polar bears in the village found me and took me in." She shrugs "As far as I was concerned at the time they were my parents."

Star pauses and her expression darkens. She looks down at the cave floor. "One day when I had gotten older, I began to realize I had psychic powers. I didn't ever hurt anyone, I just used them for doing my jobs around the village. That didn't sit well with most of the other villagers. They thought I was dangerous. My adoptive parents tried every way they could to save me, but in the end they couldn't keep me safe from the village. They killed them and cast me out into the unforgiving cold of the Beaks."

Star takes a deep shuddering breath like recalling this memory is causing her great pain. "I somehow managed to survive out there and eventually found my way here in Kodiak Forest. Now I use my psychic powers to protect myself and I make potions for the creatures in the forest that get injured."

At first neither me nor Tiny say anything. No one should have to go through what Star did. And it was terrible.

"Star...I'm sorry I was mean to you...I was just being grouchy because I was in pain and didn't want to ask for help." I say.

Star manages a smile. I can tell that it was forced because I've been there done that the day Erin died. "Don't worry about it Essix."

I can't keep the surprise off of my face. "How do you know my name?!"

Star laughs "I know lots about you, for instance; your brother there his name is Tiny."

"Woah how are you doing this?!" Tiny asks amazes.

She smirks. "Don't be so surprised. I have psychic powers remember. That means I can read minds." She waves her hand dismissively "But enough of that, how about something to eat?"

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Hey guys!!

Sorry I've been slacking lately. I'm still in the during process. People reading this I'm sorry please bear with me I'm trying my hardest to get this done for you guys. If you don't mind waiting a little bit and I'll get some more of it edited for you all to read!

So thanks for understanding!! Stick with me for more amazing action to come!!
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------ScarletApollo99 😎