Mystic

Chapter 22, Amira

Amira walked slowly towards Javan, towards her home. Her group walked silently behind her, but they were now down a member. Matthew and Orion had left during the night. Amira tried to tell herself that it was for the better, but she knew it was a lie. She had started her journey with him, and it felt strange now that he was gone. It was her fault. She had told him to leave before they started back down the mountain. Her heart was full of nothing but regret. The group kept walking, and the sun started to set. Amira knew nothing about the wilderness, and a pang of guilt hit her yet again.

"We need to make camp." Amira said. There were relieved sighs from everyone in the group, and Amira smiled. She too was desperately in need of rest. However, she knew there was work to be done.

"Before we start to set up, there is something that needs done." Amira said.

"How many of you have had combat training, or at least know how to use a sword?" Amira asked. Everyone but Pirin remained silent.

"I have used a blade before." He said.

"Then you are in charge of training." Amira said.

"Training?"

"You must train the others so that they may be ready to fight when the time comes. When the sun is at it's highest from hear on out, training will commence and last for as long as necessary." Amira concluded, inspiring a collective groan from the entire group.

"In the middle of the day!?" Someone shouted.

"Yes. In the middle of the day." Amira repeated, "Now we must make camp. Pirin, please gather some wood for the fire. Edir, could you get some water from the stream to boil?" Amira directed the activities, and everyone had a task to do. The dragon, Zanyth, stood behind Amira, looming over the group. The dragon had helped carry immense loads, and Amira knew she could trust her, but the sight of the dragon made her think of what had happened on the mountain. Every single time she saw the dragon's golden eyes, she felt a pang of guilt tugging at her heart. The mountain wasn't all bad, though. The mystics they had met in the forest were wise to send her there. The Sun Guardian Spirit lived in that circle of stones, and Amira had felt it's energy. It had told her that it was her destiny to bring great change to Javan, and it sent Zanyth to her aid. 

But that didn't change what she had witnessed afterwards. Amira wondered how such a calm, quiet boy could suddenly snap like that. Despite sometimes being a bit morbid, there was nothing about Matthew that would hint at such ruthlessness. Amira sighed and went back to surveying the group's work. Almost everyone was done, and all they had to do was light the fire. Edir, an extremely quiet and thoughtful boy created sparks by scraping an odd rock against the blade of a knife. Sparks flew, but nothing caught for more than a few seconds.

"What's wrong?" Amira asked.

"It's too wet, it won't light." Edir said.

"That was the driest I could find!" Exclaimed Pirin.

"The driest wood you could find was.... down by a creek?" Cairo commented.

"Yes. What of it?" Pirin challenged.

"You should have looked harder." Farah said pointedly. She was really starting to annoy Amira. She wasn't a leader by any means, but never differentiated from what she was told, and constantly reminded others to do the same. She acted superior to the others. Ever since they had left the mountain, she had gotten worse.

"Stop!" Amira shouted over their bickering, and it instantly died down.

"Zanyth, would you do the honors?" Amira asked the dragon. Zanyth took three seconds to prepare, then sent a burst of flames down on the sad little pile of wood. Nothing caught, not even a tiny twig. Didn't Matthew say something about Dragons having to wait three seconds to fire? Amira shoved the thought away, then said:

"Pirin, could you get some more wood?" 

"It rained here recently, nothing is dry. this is the best we will get." Pirin resolved. Farah scoffed.

"Then we will have to sleep without a fire." Amira said. The group groaned, and sat down on the moist earth. everyone pulled out their blankets and attempted to make themselves comfortable. Amira shifted on the damp earth, feeling alone. Nothing she did turned out right.

Sorry this is a shorter chapter...

If you are enjoying this story, please leave a comment on this chapter and encourage others to read it! Any support you give will be greatly appreciated!!