Whispers from the Dark

9. Darkness has arrived

Our travel continued towards Erandur. The tension from the day before completely forgotten. So now and then Ash and I had some small talk and I became more at ease with him. I still didn't trust him, but at least he stopped trying to possess me with his magic. It was a hot summers day. The sun was high in a clear blue sky and you could see the farmers sweat while ploughing the fields. Apart from the buzzing sound of crickets and the heavy breathing of Ash and Artemis, it was quiet. A little too quiet for a summer day like this. In the small pieces of forest there were no birds tjirping. Small animals hid away in the shadows. The shadows from the trees gave a little cooling from the burning sun on our skin. Ash groped for his waterskin and heaved it above his mouth. But only a few drops fell out of it on his thin lips. He desperately shook his waterskin to get more water out of it and licked his dry lips. "Here take mine. I still have some left." I offered him my waterskin and gladly he took it with a small smile. "We need to find a place to fill our supplies and our waterskins," I said. He handed me my half empty waterskin and I filled my mouth with a small amount of water too. It had warmed up during the day and tasted like leather, but it lessened the thirst a bit. "Tonight, we'll arrive at Dew. We can fill our supplies there," Ash answered me. We don't have money, Wen. Those thieves took the last coins we had, Artemis growled. I sighed. The heat made my head weary and I had barely energy left to move let alone think straight. So, I shove the thinking problem towards Ash. "We don't have money." Ash looked down at me. He looked just as tired as I looked. His nose was a little burned by the sun and gave more colour to his creamy white face. He grinned, showing his beautiful white teeth. "Don't worry darling. I have my ways to get what we need." He gently stroked my cheek and looked back in front of him. I wasn't very pleased with his answer, but I knew that there was no other way to get our supplies. We have no time to work for money. Maybe we should just go along with his "ways to get our supplies". I send the thought to Artemis. I heard Artemis sigh as only a wolf can do. It almost felt as if he rolled his eyes. I'll look the other way for this time, he answered me.

After what felt like days walking, I collapsed on the ground. Artemis whined and tried to drag me towards a big rock that gave a little shade for the sun. With the help of Artemis, I crawled towards the rock. Ash knelt down in front of me with a concerned look on his face. "Are you alright?" he asked me. I heard myself laugh and answered. "My body just decided to take a break." Ash laughed and sat down beside me in the shadows. "I agree with your body," he grinned. He took my waterskin from my belt and moved it to his lips. Just in the last second, he stopped and looked at me. He pressed his lips together and with a little reluctance gave me the waterskin. "Drink." Was all he said. I nodded and drank the last bit of water from the bottle, sharing a few drops with Artemis. He moved a little away from me and stared in the distance. I smell water nearby, Wen. Weary I tried to look in the same direction but saw nothing else then yellowish grass and a few trees here and there. "Go check it out," I said to Artemis forgetting that Ash wasn't used to me speaking to my wolf out loud. "You go check it out whatever it is you want to check out," Ash answered irritated. I looked confused in his direction. "No stupid, I'm talking to my wolf. He smells water."

"Stupid? You're calling me stupid? You know what you are? You're a... a... wait water? Where is water?" I rolled my eyes at him and pointed vaguely somewhere behind me. Ash leaned over me to look around the corner of the rock. "I don't see water," he said. I pushed him off me and he gave me a little shove back then sat back on his place. "That's why Artemis is checking it out. He can't see it either, just smells it," I explained. Ash mumbled something in agreement and leaned back against the rock. I was to weary to respond to any of his mumbling and also leaned back against the rock. Looking up at the clear blue sky. My legs were burning in the sun, but my upper body was partly in the shadows of the rock. According to Ash we would reach Dew in the evening. I remembered the shady little town very well. Especially the improvised escape in the middle of the night. I was wondering where that horse would be when the sound of a pen on paper brought me back from my daydreams. I looked to my side and saw Ash writing in a small brown leather book. He noticed me looking at him and closed the book a little. His eyes narrowed, and he moved a little away from me, looking accusingly back at me from over his book. "I wasn't planning to read your secret diary or something," I said. He smirked. "Good, because these stories are not for children to read." I raised my eyebrows and shook my head disappointingly. "You're pathetic," I answered him. He looked angrily at me not saying a word and continued his writing. What a jerk. I can't deal with him sometimes. One moment he is all nice and sweet and charming, but the next he treats me like dirt. I hate him. I hate him for causing so much chaos inside my head. I needed some distraction from this messy feeling Ash was giving me. Hey buddy, found anything? I closed my eyes and tried to find him. He wasn't far away and soon I felt my spirit collide with his. I looked out of his eyes and felt the cold water flow through his throat. When he had enough he looked up and pushed me away from his mind. I'm on my way, was all he said. Within a second I was back in my own thirsty body, waiting for Artemis to come back.