Anya

Chapter Nine

Chapter Nine

   Dimitri had succumbed to the tiredness and slept for four hours on the hard floor with no blanket but as soon as his eyes became adjusted to the nonexistent light in the cave he looked straight to where Alexandra slept last night and relief rushed through him when he saw that she was still there, curled in that horrible spot she decided on.

   The air was bitterly cold and even in the cave the wind whipped at him and although he knew that using his wand was dangerous he couldn’t help it as he brought it out and whispered, “Ignis.” A small, controlled fire appeared in front of him and settled on to the ground. Putting his wand back away he placed his hands in front of the only source of heat he had.

   Dimitri was doing this mission for his family and in all honesty he never wanted to leave them alone in Anceps at all. They now only had two sorcerers with Rolchov dead and he gone which meant they were much more vulnerable and it also meant that he could go back to no family at all and make this mission completely useless which made him on edge already.

   He knew that he needed to get there as fast as he could but he also needed a plan, he didn’t know this land at all and he needed help and hopefully this girl could point him in the right direction. Plus, if he did go back to his family dead the demon race would last about five minutes because he would wipe the whole race out.  

   The girl stirred in her sleep and her head lolled forward, just missing the cave wall by an inch and Dimitri winced, she would definitely have a sore neck when she woke up.

   Mumbling a few incoherent words, her head snapped up, catching the edge of a rock sticking out and a huge crack echoed out in the silence, this time not so lucky to miss it. She groaned and pulled the hood off of her head and Dimitri caught her blue eyes once again when her eyes fluttered open.

   Her expression was blank as she eyed the fire and Dimitri but she stood to her feet and coming out of the crevice without putting the hood back on much to Dimitri’s delight.

   “Have a good sleep?” He mused as she stretched her limbs before settling herself in front of the fire.

   “I suppose there isn’t any point in trying to hide now is there?” She chuckled sarcastically as she copied Dimitri and placed her hands around the fire.

   He shook his head, “Not much.”

      She pulled the cloak around her tighter and sighed, “Do you know who I am?” She muttered whilst eyeing him cautiously.

   He frowned, “Should I?”

      She appeared to be stunned and Dimitri looked confused. Was she some kind of famous person? After a tense minute or so, she shook her head. “No, I was just wondering,” she passed off but Dimitri still wasn’t sure.

   “Oh, okay.”

      The air between them was awkward and tense and both of them were avoiding the gazes each gave each other as much as possible. She was obviously hiding a secret and it was a little off-putting to Dimitri if he was being completely honest. He didn’t know her and wasn’t expecting her life story or anything but when she was being this obvious about it, it did make him curious.

   “So, where did you get the tattoo from?” She asked him and Dimitri’s hand instinctively rubbed the back of his neck where it was. His skin was starting to warm back up now thanks to the heat of the fire and he was more than glad.

   “It is a birthmark,” he informed her.

      She shuffled closer to him to take a better look. “It is beautiful,” she complimented. It was a mark that every sorcerer was born with; it was a single feather with the detailing that most would recognise as the bird Dailile a sorcerer’s symbol.