Defender of Mirago

Chapter 13

Brimblebrushes blew past them from behind, as they made a slow pace through the hot cracked earth. Rakabu's hopped in their holes as their footsteps got near.

"Where is my cube going? It's never strayed this far before."

"It will be okay," Rayble assured her. He was just thankful they survived the Korugals, and that he was next to a girl whose company he thoroughly enjoyed.

The sun was beginning to set when they saw some barren trees ahead. While they had no leaves, their bark seemed to be made of a beautiful crystal. The reds of the setting sun reflected off of them in a light show of warm colors. It suited Kessa's red umbrella well, which she gave to Rayble to put in his satchel.

"It's beautiful. I've never seen anything like it around Mirago." Said Rayble.

"They're my favorite," Kessa said, as she held up her diamond next to them and watched the colors and lights play.

Black and white birds sat mixed upon high branches. They watched the two as they traversed below them.

It wasn't long before they saw a white tower with a red roof far ahead on a golden hill. Rayble and Kessa were familiar with the towers. They had been built sporadically throughout the continent to protect travelers from the red clouds. As soon as they saw it, they felt a push from behind them. It was a strong gust, that signaled the coming of the red clouds.

Rayble gaged the distance between the winds, them, and the towers, as well as the speed at which the cube was moving. At the rate the red clouds traveled, fumbling like mad towards them, they wouldn't make the tower, assuming the cube was headed to the tower. Rayble's heart matched the pace of the oncoming winds, thudding ever quicker against his chest. His stomach dropped and he refused to think of what he had to do. But it was his only option. He would have to defend Kessa. He swallowed hard, having difficulty pushing it through his throat as he grabbed onto a Spear seed.

Kessa's cube stopped and Rayble stepped between her and the oncoming massive red clouds that devoured the landscape. It roared, shaking the very earth he stood upon. He held out the seed directly towards the threatening winds. His hand shook with fear. It never shook. He had trained it not to shake. Why was it shaking? "Be still, be still." Rayble pleaded with himself. "Oh God, help me!"

Closer the red clouds came, screaming at them. The black and white birds cawed and screeched, fleeing before the winds cut them down. The crystal trees no longer reflected the red sunset, but the red of the oncoming clouds. A color like blood, all around them.

Rayble's hand, held directly at the clouds, shook. The Spear seed in between his fingers slipped. "I'm sorry, I can't!" Rayble picked up the seed and ran for the tower, leaving Kessa behind.

"Rayble!" she yelled. She was bound to her cube, standing alone among the crystal trees, between a storm and a safe place. The red clouds consumed her in a minute. As Rayble stood at the door to the tower he looked back one more time. He could not see Kessa any longer, only a wall of red that continued to push forward. He rushed inside the tower and closed the door quickly behind him. Not a second after he did the whole tower shook from the powerful winds. Rayble sat, cradled alone in the corner, and cried. He left her defenseless.

It was dark when Rayble emerged from the white tower. He looked out to where the patch of crystal trees and Kessa were. Branches were thrown about, sliced in thousands of pieces. They laid scattered on the desert floor like broken shards, catching glimpses of the stars above. They said the stars were always brightest after a storm. Rayble trembled as he walked closer.

He saw her cube first, hovering over a pile of branches. It was dark, but a closer look revealed her head and limbs. He pushed the debris quickly off of her. Her clothes were shredded, and her body covered in cuts. Her warm blood got onto his hands as he tried to wake her. She was unresponsive. Rayble wept. It was all his fault. How could he call himself a defender when he couldn't even protect someone he was beginning to love. He cared about her so much, but he realized he cared about himself more. He was selfish, weak, afraid. He was human. He needed God, but God was last on his mind. Not until it was too late, did he run to the All-Powerful, All-Loving, All-Merciful.

"Forgive me, God." Rayble prayed as tears fell upon Kessa. "I am so weak, so flawed. God, you are strong, you are perfect. Forgive me for not turning to you. Please, amend my mistakes, mend her wounds. Save her God, because I couldn't, and I never will be able to. Only with you, can I be a worthy defender. Selfless and brave. Only with you can I love others, the way you made them to be loved. Please, God, I ask you again, forgive me for this terrible mistake. Make right, what I've made wrong. Bring us a miracle, and save your precious daughter."

After a few moments, Kessa's cube began to float away in a new direction. Rayble carefully picked up Kessa and followed it.