Game Of Lightning

Chapter Seventeen

Ember's POV-

I look out at the night sky. The stars are the only things lighting up the sky. It was my turn to keep watch. I light a fire in my hand so I can see better. I watch the fire dance around, making shadows on the floor. Suddenly, I hear a creak behind me. I jump up, spinning around, the fire lashing out.

"Ember, it's just me!" Rafi yells, jumping backward. I reel the fire back toward me, extinguishing it.

"I'm sorry," I say quietly. "I'm just a little jumpy."

"A little?" he says. "More like a lot. You nearly took off my head."

"I'm tired," I say, shaking my head. The darkness surrounds me as Rafi comes a little closer.

"I'll take you to bed, then," he says. I nod as he guides me to my room.

"I have no idea why I'm this tired," I say, crawling into bed and yawning.

"Maybe it's the stress from the past couple days," he suggests, sitting down on the floor.

"Maybe," I mutter, closing my eyes. "How long has it been since Mom was poisoned?"

"Two days."

"Three more days to find Aralynn and Kade, I guess," I say, yawning again.

"That can wait until tomorrow," Rafi says, standing up. "Goodnight Ember."

He starts to walk towards me but thinks differently. He walks out of my room, shutting my door. I snuggle into the warm covers, slipping into a deep, deep sleep.
(:)(:)(:)
I open my eyes slowly and I look around. I forget where I'm at for a second before remembering. I slowly get up, pushing my hair out of my eyes.

I open the door to see sunlight. I got blinded for a second before I blink a few times. I walk to the deck of the Zodiac to find Rafi looking out over the land. "Are we almost there?" I ask, startling him.

"Yeah," he says, turning around. "I think we'll be there by night, which will be good. We'll have the darkness covering us."

"Good." I walk up to him, standing next to him, looking out on the land as well. "Do you think we'll be able to find Aralynn?"

"I'm not sure," he says. "Do you think we'll find Kade?"

"I'm not sure." We stand in silence, not knowing what to say.

"Um, just so you know, Jivin is a town that hates people who have powers," he says, and I turn toward him.

"Why?" I ask. "And how do you know that?"

"I know that because . . . because I grew up there," he says, his dark hair blowing in the breeze. "I was born in Jivin and when Aria was wanting a warrior from Jivin, my parents made me sign up. And they hate people with powers because they think its a . . . sin."

"Wow." I stand there, shaking my head. "But powers are a good thing."

"Sometimes not," Rafi mutters.

"What do you mean?"

"One of my older sisters was killed by a person with powers," he whispers.

"I'm sorry," I tell him. He turns away from me. I try to put my hand on his shoulder but he moves away. "Rafi, learning I had powers was the best day of my life. Some people just use their powers for evil, but I won't. I promise you."

"I know who killed my older sister," he says. "Its a person who has lightning powers. I think it was your friend, Aralynn."

"What?" I ask, narrowing my eyes. "She wouldn't have done that. She was with us before she went evil."