Defying Equilibrium

Chapter 14: Firelight

The group, which had now grown to include a fifth member, arrived at the entrance to a cave. Ahmed had told them that they would sleep here for the night, as the closest town was still miles away and it was getting dark. The cave entrance was huge, and it opened into an even larger cavern, with large stalactites hanging from the cave ceiling.

At Ahmed's instruction, Dare began trying to get a fire lit. He had seen people lighting fires with two sticks before, but never paid enough attention to how it was done. He rubbed the two sticks together above the kindling until his arms ached, and there was still no spark. Frustrated, he threw the sticks against the cave wall, and the sound echoed around the cavern.

Grinning, Dakora jogged over to him and crouched down over the kindling and firewood. She clicked her fingers, and all of a sudden a spark caught the kindling, turning into a small flame.

"Really? You choose to do this now, after I've been slaving over this fire for so long?" Dare shook his head in annoyance and incredulity. "Why did you make me bother to try so hard if you could have lit the fire so easily?"

She smirked. "Because it was hilarious watching you fail to light it." She laughed. Dare wasn't the kind to get annoyed or sulky, so he laughed too.

In the firelight, Ahmed spread the map out on the cave floor. He pointed to a spot on the map, a tiny distance from where they'd started. "We're here," he said, and the pointed to another location,a good distance from where they were now. "And this is where we should aim to get to by tomorrow night. It's a long walk, but we can make it if we move fast."

The spot he was pointing at was marked with another strange symbol. It looked like a moth, with its sloping wings and antennae.

They all sat around the fire, grateful for the source of warmth. The nights were getting warmer, but the remnants of Winter still hung in the air. Everyone was tired, but spirits were not low. Dakora and Dare joked and laughed, and in the fire's light they made shadow dragons on the cave walls. Oscar and Ahmed were deep in discussion, talking about swords and swordsmen.

Only Sansu sat on her own, gazing into the heart of the fire. No one noticed, but she was crying. A single tear fell from her face and landed on the ground, extinguishing a small ember that had landed there. She didn't know how much more of this she could take. She needed her sister back.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Louise stared vacantly out of the window. Although he hadn't been gone for very long, it still felt odd not having Oscar around. She would be cooking for one, and eating alone tonight, something that she hadn't done for a long time.

Sighing, she turned her attention back to what she held in her hands,which was a shield. Not a proper one, not like they had on the battlefields. It was only a practice one, carved out of wood. She'd carved it herself out of some firewood, many years ago. That was back when she had wanted to be a Shielder, as everyone did. Every child in the city aspired to be one of them. And she was good, too. She was smart, and a good fighter. Many people said that she would make a fine Shielder someday.

But if everything that Oscar had told her was true, then she definitely did not want to be one anymore. She had been feeling that way for a long time actually, even before Oscar had told her what he knew. Something just didn't seem right,and she always trusted her gut feelings.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Strange. People don't normally come around at this hour, as by now it was dark outside. Frowning, she made her way over to the door, and peered out through the side window.

Outside stood two men, Shielders by the looks of their clothing. She opened the door for them, and got a better look. The one on the right, a tall man of about thirty-five, wore the shoulder stripes on his clothing that marked him as a high rank in the Militia. The one on the left was younger, only about twenty years old. Both of them had impassive, stony expressions.

"Louise Escalante?" the older one asked. Louise nodded. "We've come to script you for compulsory military service."

Louise sighed. "Do I have any choice?"

"I'm afraid not. Congratulations, you are now part of the Shielder's Militia."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

"So what else can you do with magic?" asked Dare, out of curiosity. "Besides controlling sound, lighting fires and making fun of me."

"Trust me, the last one requires no magic," Dakora laughed. "But seriously, I don't actually know. I've never been properly trained, as I was the only one in my village with any powers."

"That must have been kinda hard going," said Dare.

She shrugged. "Not really. I mean yeah, no one knew what to do with me and my uncontrollable powers, so when the Shielder's came round and said that they had a job for magic users, my family just handed me right over. But I got out okay, thanks to Ahmed."

Dare smiled. "Yeah, he kind of saved our lives too. And now he's helping us to find our friend. I guess we're all indebted to him, aren't we?"

She wrinkled her nose. "I hate that. I hate the feeling of owing someone something. Then you always feel that debt hanging over you, whenever you're with them."

"I've never really thought of it that way before," said Dare.

All of a sudden, Oscar leapt to his feet. Startled, Dare and Dakora looked around, trying to find the source of his unease, but they couldn't see or hear anything.

"What is it?" Dare asked, leaping to his feet too. He had always trusted Oscar's instincts.

"We're not alone," answered Oscar, reaching for the sword hanging from his belt, all the while staring at the mouth of the cave. Ahmed unsheathed his sword too.

Sansu stood up and backed away, until she hit th back wall of the cave and realised that she could go no further. She had never been more scared in her life, and nothing had even happened yet. She began to cry, and tried to stifle it with her hand, but it didn't work.

A loud sob rang out, echoing off the cave walls. The others turned around to stare at her, but their attention was quickly taken away when they all heard an unmistakeable sound, the sound of a sword being unsheathed.

Sansu shut her eyes and whispered, "Liana, give me strength."

At the mouth of the cave stood two forms, dressed exactly the same as the person who had attacked Oscar and Dare in the forest. Guardians.

And both of them held large, gleaming swords in their hands. Without warning, they attacked.