Mystic

Chapter 13; Amira

Amira looked around wildly, startled by the loud noise. Matthew was crouched down, ready for an attack. Nothing happened for several minutes, and Amira started to believe that she had imagined the sound. However, all of her doubts were erased when Matthew shouted:

"Come down here and fight like real men, you cowards!" 

Several thugs sprang down on them from the trees, weapons drawn and ready to pounce. She saw the look on Matthew's face when six men dropped from the trees. He clearly didn't expect this many attackers. Matthew kicked the first attacker in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him. The next thug had a long beard, and Matthew used this to his advantage. He dodged the man's ax, then gave his beard a hard tug, putting all of his weight into it. The man fell flat on his face, but the first man had recovered by then. He and two others had Matthew trapped. They closed in slowly, Making sure that their prey could not escape. Matthew shot a burst of flames at the first man, then tried to dart around a larger man who had many scars, but failed. The man grabbed him with one muscular arm and the other two helped tackle him to the floor. Matthew gave the man who grabbed him a nasty burn, but other than that, the fight was over. The bearded man stood up groggily, stumbled over to Matthew, then knocked him out with a heavy blow from the hilt of his ax.

"Get the girl. She's the one we will be wanting." The muscular man grabbed her hair and tugged her backwards. the bearded man walked over to her and said in a gravely voice:

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" The man's breath smelled of whiskey and rotten food. Amira couldn't move, couldn't think. She was paralyzed with fear. Just when she thought hope was lost, the muscular man yelped in pain. Amira reacted the instant the man released his grip, scrambling to her feet. She saw that the man's hand was glowing bright red, as if there was a fire burning inside his fist. he howled in pain, and the bearded man was so distracted by the phenomenon that he didn't notice Orion sprint onto the path. He swung his tail around, knocking out both the muscular man and the bearded man in one stroke. He then fired blue flames at the man farthest from Matthew, igniting the man's tunic. He pounced and knocked over two of the other men guarding Matthew. Orion scooped up Matthew gently, then turned to Amira and gave her a pleading look. She looked around. Two of the attackers were unconscious, but the others were already getting to their feet. It looked as if Amira had only one option. She ran to Orion and climbed on his back best she could. The second Amira was secure, Orion took off at full speed, soaring into the blue skies. The feeling was spectacular, and made Amira wonder why she hadn't taken Matthew's initial offer to fly. She felt weightless, as if she had been chained to the earth all her life and was suddenly freed. She enjoyed every second of the brief flight. Orion quickly found a safe place to land, and set Amira and Matthew down. Matthew was still unconscious from the bearded man's blow. Amira went over to him and inspected the wound. Blood oozed from his forehead, making his hair wet and sticky. Amira had no idea how to treat such a wound, but she assumed she would need to stop the bleeding. she tore a piece of her thin blanket off and wrapped it around Matthew's head. 

"He's going to be okay, right?" Amira asked nervously to no one in particular. Orion growled softly and nodded his head. Amira admired his bright blue horns and his wings that reflected the night sky. Amira decided that she would make herself useful for a change. she gathered some sticks from the forest and set them up neatly in the center of their new camp. Also, with great difficulty, she moved a log over for them to sit on. Orion, of course, did the honor of lighting the fire. It blazed a bright blue and emitted more heat than a regular flame. Amira stepped back to admire her handiwork.  Behind her, she heard Matthew cough.

"Are you okay?" Amira asked, rushing over to him. He squinted against the bright light of the fire.

"No. My head hurts like hell." Amira laughed as Orion bounded over to Matthew and playfully shoved him. Matthew got to his feet slowly and moved closer to the blue flames of the fire. 

"We should get going, we should be able to make it to the next town if we h--" He looked up at the sky, and Amira could see his confusion. The stars shined brilliantly against a darkened sky. "Oh. Never-mind." Matthew sat back down, leaning against Orion. "Um... how did we get here, anyway?"

"Orion flew us here." Amira answered. Matthew smiled.

"So finally gave in. Was it as bad as you expected?"

"No. It was... amazing."

"So I guess you wouldn't mind if we flew the rest of the way."

"I would mind, thank you." Amira folded her arms indignantly.

"Well, the damage has already been done; why not make things easier on yourself?" 

Amira thought for a moment. She didn't want to anger the gods any further, but Matthew had a point; the damage was done. Amira also knew that Matthew was worried about supplies, and flying would probably eliminate that concern.

"Okay." Amira relented.

"Really?" Matthew asked, surprised.

"Yes, really." 

"Wow. I didn't think it would be that easy."

"I'll be sure to make it harder for you next time." Amira joked. Matthew rested his head against Orion and closed his eyes. Amira spread her blanket out neatly on the soft earth and laid down. Slowly but surely, she drifted into a steady sleep.