“You are really skinny,” Xavier states after a while of walking, and I cast my eyes downward.
“Food is scarce where I come from,” is all I murmur in return. This bumps us into silence.
We’ve reached the side of the city and are now walking through the trees in the woods off the side of the large city. I have no idea where Xavier is taking me, but nor do I care; I don’t quite trust him yet, but I know that he won’t lead me astray. He wants what I want, and the only way he’s going to get what he wants is if he helps me in what I need. I trust him enough not to kill me, but I do not trust him with anything. If things go my way, by the end of all this, he won’t know anything about me but my name and my brother’s name. He will not know about my life before or after this has all ended, and if he wants to know more, I will simply lie. There is no reason for him to know anything about me apart from the fact that I’m on a quest to take my brother from the angels. It can’t be too hard, can it?
Deep in thought, I don’t see the tree root before my foot snags on it, and I fly forward unexpectantly, slamming my fragile body onto the dirt-covered ground littered with dead leaves. Groaning, I roll over and find Xavier standing over me, looking down at me with confusion flashing through his red eyes.
“You okay?” he asks, but as I don’t reply, he simply holds a slender hand out towards me. Reluctantly, I reach up and take his hand. And frown as I do; I see a blue spark fly from our entwined fingers, but Xavier doesn’t seem to notice. Either that or he doesn’t care.
Feeling oddly stronger than before, I allow Xavier to help me to my feet, in which he does quite easily as if I were a small puppy he just picked up. Even he finds this odd, which I see in his eyes before he lets go of my hand and turns back to the road, leaving me to jog to catch up to him. I reach his side and we continue on quietly, but it doesn’t seem as awkward now. It seems almost… comfortable.
“Where did you come from?” he asks eventually, and I look up.
“Sorry?” I ask, and he shrugs his shoulders slightly.
“You said food is scarce where you come from,” he tells me, not looking at me directly. “So where do you come from?”
I sigh. “A small, dirty place full of Trackers and Arabic guards,” I mutter. “My brother and I were placed in a small cave when I was five years of age and Kai was just a newborn. Every time he was sleeping, I would sneak out and run to the nearest village, and I would use my magic to bring Kai some bread and even some water. We were seen as a threat to most but we never knew why.”
“So you were in hiding for, what- ten years? Alone?”
I nod. “We had no parents, so we had no choice.”
Xavier doesn’t say anything, and I feel like I’ve brought back an unwanted memory or something. But he’s silent for the rest of the time, so I decide not to speak up and break it.
Looking around, I can see that the sun is setting and know that the moon will be up soon. And knowing about the creatures that take refuge in these kind of habitats, I nudge Xavier so lightly with my elbow that I’m not sure he felt a thing.
“Yes?” he asks.
I guess he felt it then.
“We need to stop somewhere,” I tell him. “For the night. There are things out here I wish not to encounter.”
“What would you know about this kind of thing?” Xavier asks bitterly, and I clench my fists together.
“Living in the woods for ten years has taught me something,” I mutter. “I know of the beasts that live off of flesh and I know of the pain they have caused others. When I say rest is compulsory, I say it only for the protection of us both.”
YOU ARE READING
The Dark Side #1
Fantasy#1 in The Dark Side Trilogy Cecily has never lived an ordinary life, being a Warlock. Who would? Her parents are dead, she doesn't know who to trust, and the only family she has left is her eight year old brother Kai. But even though Cecily is seven...
