Elle's Journey (Book I, Foretold Trilogy)

Chapter Seven

Chapter Seven

Darkness comes from the East and surrounds the girl-mage.

The Hunter and Shadow-warrior as guides, their fates

entwined,

but not yet set, unless they fail to defeat the Betrayer from the North,

whose words will sound like honey but taste of poison.

I, Karqala, have warned the holders of the magestones, yet

I See my messages distorted, like my reflection in water,

and greed will pursue the stones through this era and the next.

 

“The Five Foretold”

Translated excerpt from the lost poetry of Karqala

* * *

Elle watched the two Hunters talk a short distance away. The morning air was heavy, flavored by rain, and she glanced to the east, where dark gray streaked the sky from steely clouds to earth. With a frown, she swung on her cloak. Another day of rain to dampen her hope.

After a brief arm clasp, the two men parted, the one called Laka leading his horse towards the road. The other, Catan, watched him until he disappeared over a small rise before turning towards the camp. He spoke and indicated her foot. She flipped up her foot to show him the wound was healed. He muttered and crossed to his saddle and bag, and she rolled her eyes at his back.

It would be a long journey with the Hunter that seemed much moodier than the other.

Thunder rumbled overhead. They were expected to go west, Ridel had said. No one but the four of them had known had known their destination. They avoided towns at Kerri’s advice, spoke to no one outside their party, except for Kerri’s occasional supply runs into towns …

Kerri. He was not a smart man, and he seemed to care less for his companions than he did for his horse. Was he, too, a bounty?

“Elle,” Catan spoke.

She turned. Horse reins in one hand and cloak slung over one shoulder, he held the other hand parallel to the ground and made several downward motions, patting the air. She raised an eyebrow. He dropped his hand with an irritated look and led his horse away from the camp. She followed, assuming they were leaving for the north.

He stopped, turned, and shook his head, patting the air once again. He added a few words, and she crossed her arms. Catan released the horse and strode towards her. He gripped her arms and forced her back a few steps, released her, and patted the air again.

“You want me to stay?”

He patted the air more urgently. Elle echoed the motion and pointed down at the ground at her feet. He nodded and strode away once more, pulling himself into the saddle. Without another look, he urged the bay into a quick pace and rode away.

Elle watched him, puzzled. He was headed north with everything but her. She turned to glance around the camp and found all traces of a fire had vanished. He’d even used brush to hide all their footprints. Surprised, she looked north. The Nuchan had vanished.

A gust of wind from the east brought the first few sprinkles, and lightning rippled through clouds overhead. Elle pulled up her hood and straightened, debating whether to follow him or seek some sort of shelter. She wasn’t standing in the middle of the prairie in a thunderstorm!