The Crossing (Book 1)

Chapter 17

     The rain seemed to fall in bigger drops as they left the mist behind. Cera looked around and saw a forest surrounding them, but there was an obvious path through the trees in front of her and Brae. This path didn't look anything like the one she had followed with Tom. As Cera and Brae walked through the puddles made by the rain, Cera noticed that the trees changed the farther away they got from the mist. The trees closest to the valley were tall and dark with tons of leaves that hid the branches holding them while the trees farther from the valley were growing shorter and were a much lighter green. All the branches were visible and anything that may have been up in the trees could be seen.

     Brae shook his head and sighed deeply. He turned to Cera as she quickly grabbed his arm and let go, but it was quick enough for him to hear her silent question asking if he's alright, "I'm still trying to figure out what I'm missing from the story. Why Trill thinks I know something about why my mother didn't tell me the story directly."

     Cera was quiet as she thought about it, "Maybe it has to do with the dragons' oaths."

     Brae turned from Cera before he asked her why she thought it had to do with the oaths. Looking farther ahead of them he relaxed when he was sure they were completely alone. He hadn't realized that he had been anticipating trouble waiting for them.

     Emerging from the trees, Cera saw what looked like a few scattered houses in the distance and wondered if any of them were Brae's home. Cera began trying to picture him in his house by himself and wondered what he did during the day and was also even more curious as to what he did at night. She blushed at the direction her mind had taken her and knew she needed to think of something else.

     "Is your sister's place close?"

     "She lives past me. It's not as far as it looks."

     "Oh. So, your house is around here?"

     "It's this first one closest to us, closest to the valley." Brae looked over at his house and narrowed his eyes.

     Cera looked at Brae and then stared at the house that was getting bigger and bigger the more they neared it. The house was made of stone with two stories. She couldn't be certain, but the layered shingles looked to be molded clay. Each layer looked to be perfectly sculpted to the house. She was reminded of Spanish style rooftops from her world. The stones ranged from a light earth brown to a murky charcoal gray. Every window had light gray wooden shutters and a ledge that made Cera think of freshly baked pie cooling in the breeze. Cera noticed that all but one window was open and so was his door.

     "You leave your door and windows open all the time?"

     "Of course, you don't?"

     "No. Anyone could walk in and take what doesn't belong to them."

     "That doesn't happen here too often. Amarundia keeps a close watch on her lands. Her sisters do the same for their lands too."

     "Guess I could use a dragon or five back home. That would definitely make a difference."

     Brae smiled and led her past his house. He kept his head down and stared at the ground. Brae was completely silent while Cera took in her surroundings.

     Cera noticed that Brae hardly looked up as they walked to Crina's house. She knew without a doubt that he could get there with his eyes closed. Cera felt so happy to be walking instead of being in a car that she started to think about how long they had been walking. In her world, she would be walking on the street by now with nothing but dirt and bushes surrounding her. One thing she was glad that was missing was the heat. The sun was starting to peek out of the clearing clouds and the temperature was warm without any humidity. As they passed the houses the rain started to fade and Cera stared out into the distance. She saw nothing but tall green grass for miles and miles. They were surrounded by rolling hills and magnificent mountains. The air was fresh and the breeze brought a fruity scent with it.