Losing Light

1

“Don’t look now,” I said softly. “But I think we are being followed.”
Did I sound calm? I hope so. It was hard to hear my own voice over the beating in my chest. My brothers face went white, his hands stopped moving, freezing on the reins. Like an instinct his head began turning in the direction of my warning.
    “Archer!” I hissed.
    His head jerked back quickly, guiltily. I had hope for a moment that the movement would go unnoticed by the eight riders trailing us. I looked back slowly. They hadn’t appeared to concerned, so far. But the fact still remained that, the men were still following us. Even as we left the main road 4 hours ago. And any sensible man would take the road more traveled.
    The sun was falling, and the darkness was overtaking the land, it was not long until the light totally disappeared. I had hoped that the people behind us might have stopped and made camp but it seems that was not in their desires. Even though we had very many sites on our journey.
    “How do you know that they are following us?” Archer asked in a loud fashion. Our horses continued their steady climb into the dark hillside. “Shouldn’t we be stopping soon?” he added, looking towards the sky “I’m sure they will continue on, and then you will see you are worried over nothing.”
    “Archer,” I said through my clenched jaw “what they are carrying in their saddlebags are far too light for a trek like this. That is far from nothing.”
    “So?”
    I had to force myself to keep my frustration at bay. It’s not my fault that this is not his area of expertise, he faction was Restoration, healing.
    “Only fools or people who plan on stealing  would travel so empty handed. And even fools would know to take the main road into a inn…” I swallowed my spit.
            “Ari. I believe you.” Shook ran through me, Archer was never one to believe me. With that in mind we began to to set our plan. At my motion of the hand we are gonna split up and go in separate directions. After that we would continue to get them off the track. Then meet up at the nearest inn after about  two hours. If one of use was unable to make on time the other was to set off in the direction of the other.
         My movement was small unnoticeable to the naked eye. Two tapes on the reins. Sent my brother in I in high speed. Tree were blurring as I moved quickly through the forest. As we moved the sound of the wind was defying, although I found still here the help of surprise from our followers. The sound of the whistle of a small blade, a knife, following through the wind. With a sharp pain coursed through me when the knife struck me in the calf, I gripped the reins tighter as I fought not to turn back now.
          The stench of blood surrounded me, pain engulfed me. The world was begging to blur and the sound of anything washed away. My mares  movements became small, my world went upside down as I ended up on my back in the cold mud. I was being lifted, I don't know how or by who by, but I was.
           “One small knick of this poison can paralyze you, well I guess you learned that the hard way.” Anger coursed through me as I proved him right as I tried to slap him, but no avail. All of my limbs were numb and unmoving. If only I could summon my magic like Archer could then I would be free of this filthy mutts hands. That was the reason for us going to the academy in the first place, to learn music. One of his hands began to reach for my face, touching it.
    “Boys!” The man called out “We got ourselves a girl here!” Cheers erupted.  The Forest around me began to close in as the men came closer. Each step that they took closer to me the more my limbs began to tingle as if they were waking up.
            The wind began to pick up. Rattling the branches of the tree and shaking the ground.  My dark black hair came out of the braid that held it back, smacking the man in the face. The storm ran forward with so much force it knocked the men down. Although one of the men's hand was still firmly clasped around my shirt. Taking me down with him.
            I screamed as he landed on my leg. Around me the storm grew picking me and the men of the ground. Wind surrounded me, my hair totally out of the braid that trapped it, framing my face.
              Magic!
             I had magic!
            I looked down at the men that floated below me.”You witch!”Anger flashed through me and the men jolted forward into the treeline.