{ELEMENTISTS OF WILLOW FOREST BOOK I} The Path of Fire

Night

21:  Night

It took a while to find Alex.  Sasha had to search the whole camp, which basically gave her a completed self-guided tour of Echo Valley.  Alex turned out to be at the furthest place possible away from the Death Wolves, right at the other side of the camp, hiding behind this huge training arena and right next to the rock walls of the gorge.

 "Hello, Alex."

Alex turned around, not in the least surprised to see her.  He looked nervous.  Really nervous, like he was worried something would jump out at any moment.  Sasha scratched behind his ears.  He always liked that.  "You okay?"

Alex nodded slowly.  "What he tell you?"

Sasha repeated her conversation with her brother.  "Isn't it brilliant, Alex?  Felix is my brother!  And he's ultra-powerful, and I can stay here, and help fight Olivia, and-"

The male lion shook his head.  "No.  He tell you all lies.  All lies.  Or perhaps most lies.  I was there that day.  I know.  You have the medallion of Hephzibah, don't you?"

Sasha nodded.

"We must go, Sasha.  We must go quick.  We must go very quick.  If we start move quick now, we can go back to Willow Forest in few days."

Sasha refused to believe it.  "No.  You're wrong, Alex.  What he says makes sense."  She blinked back tears, for she feared that Alex was right.  "Alex, he's my brother.  I have to believe him.  I have to stay here, and-" To upset to continue, Sasha buried her face in his mane and wept freely.

A week ago, she’d been completely alone.  She’d been on the streets with no family, no friends, no place to go.  She’d found a home.  A place where she fitted in.  But then she had to leave, only to find she had a brother.  Somebody else.  Family.  She’d learnt that the first place she’d went to was wrong, and bad, but at least she had a brother, and another home.  But now it turned out that her brother was evil, and this place was bad.  She’d have to go back to the other place, but she doubted she’d fit in anymore, like she had before.  She’d burnt half the place down, and her newly found brother was evil.  How was she going to be normal, even in a place that where nobody was normal, after that?

Normal.  Sasha wanted to be normal more than anything.  But it was looking like she would never have a chance to be normal again.

It was so unfair.  Why couldn’t she be a normal girl, with a normal family, and go to a normal school, and have friends, and moan about teachers and parents, but still have a good time, and just be, well normal.

She couldn’t be normal.  Ever.  Sasha was just going to have to except that.  So why not go to the place where people like her were normal?  Where she could have friends who could compensate for a family, and people never asked questions, and the things she’d done didn’t matter?

"We go?"  Alex asked hopefully.

"Yes."  Sasha got up and wiped her eyes.  She smiled.  "We go.  We go quick now."

She climbed on Alex's back and rode off into the night under the cover of darkness.