Firewind

Chapter 19-Diero

The morning after we had our bonfire, Ronan went out into the forest and came back with a small drawstring bag. Whatever was inside it was clinking. We packed up our bags and said goodbye to the small wooden cabin which had been our temporary home. Ronan led us to the main road heading north around the desert.

Talkinn was pretty happy most of the time. He would pick flowers and chase butterflies across the dirt road. Leshanna was dragging her feet and looked like she had hardly slept. There were deep purple circles under her usually bright blue eyes. Her face was paler than usual. Her golden blond hair was frightfully messy as if she had tossed and turned all night.

Ronan was as cheerful as usual. His eyes bright and his silver hair glowing in the sunlight. He talked on and on about different places he's been to. He talked about funny things that happened at the Academy for Seers and about pretty much anything else living beneath the sun. At least we were never bored.

Just after we had stopped for lunch, we heard hooves pounding towards us from the south. We turned and saw royal guards in their gold and emerald green uniforms. We stood at the side of the road to let them pass. The head of the group slowed their horse and dismounted, coming up to meet us. He had dark brown hair that went well with the uniform.

"Afternoon," he called. "I am Ander Rein, Captain of the Royal Guard of Luxar. We are searching for a young man named Zander Liadon. He has blond wavy hair, is around my height, slight build. Have you seen him pass this way?"

"No," Ronan answered. "We haven't seen anyone on the road other than you, Sir."

"If you do," he said, mounting his horse, "please contact the nearest village. There shall be guards in every village, alert them at once if you know of his position."

"If you don't mind my asking, but why are you searching for this man? What crime has he committed?"

"Haven't you heard?"

"No, we haven't," I said. What had happened since we left?

"Her Majesty, Queen Fyevarra Clarissa Aila Hala-Dracard the II, has passed away. The only two living heirs have gone missing. Zander and his sister are nowhere to be found."

With that, he and his troupe of guards galloped off.

***

That night, we slept under the stars. I was keeping watch when I heard a faint whisper. I couldn't make out what it was saying. I stood up and looked around. I saw a faint glow in the distance. I followed the strange blue light to a small stream. There were three oganae dancing on the water, their wisp-like shapes moving gracefully across the surface. They were the gift of the spirit Naeco. One of them drew close to me and whispered:

"Why are you dead, pretty one?"

It drew close to my face and pulled a single strand of my hair from my head. It was twirling and rubbing it between its watery fingers, giggling to itself.

"Such a shame. Takes all the fun away..."

It pulled the hair taught and snapped it with an evil grin. The ogana began to grow in size, doubling until it was the size of a human. It reached out a glowing blue arm and pulled me into the water. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't see. I heard it cackling as I struggled to swim to the surface. What had been just a stream seemed to have also grown in size, becoming an endless pit of water. And possibly my grave.

I woke up with a start to Leshanna's worried expression. The suns had already risen and Ronan was packing his stuff up. Talkinn was still sleeping peacefully, his little chest rising and falling in even breaths. I stood up and started packing my stuff angrily. I had fallen asleep! I was supposed to protect my family and couldn't bear staying up half the night.

We set out after a small breakfast at a faster pace than usual. I was walking as fast as I could, the others trailing behind me. I kicked a stone. I had made a promise to myself. I had made a promise to Althaea. I had made a promise to Leshanna and Talkinn. And I had almost let them down. Next time, I'll be sure to stay up the whole night if it kills me. Besides, that way I can also avoid the nightmares that are sure to plague my every sleeping moment.

"Diero!" Leshanna yelled. "You're going too fast!"

I turned and saw that the others were far behind me. Ronan was struggling to tap his stick in front of him fast enough to walk. Leshanna was guiding him. Talkinn was nowhere to be seen. I panicked. Because of my ignorance, he could get hurt or worse-

"Where's Talkinn?" I yelled.

"I thought he was up there with you!" Leshanna answered.

"TALKINN!" I yelled. Leshanna and Ronan joined me.

"RORO!" I heard Talkinn cry in the distance.

I followed his voice. It was fading quickly as if he was running away from us. I ran faster. I couldn't hear anyone coming after me so I assumed they stayed back on the road. I turned my head to scan the trees as I went, moving branches out of my way and ducking when they couldn't be moved. I couldn't hear Talkinn anymore. I stopped and ran my fingers through my hair pulling on the ends and turning frantically in amongst the trees.

"TALKINN!" I called again. I heard Talkinn's weak response in the distance and raced towards it again.

I found him with his cloak caught on a branch surrounded by an angry swarm of htraephim. They were tying him in place by growing vines. He was struggling but his efforts grew weaker and weaker. He looked at me when I burst through the underbrush. The htraephim immediately turned my way in unison with a murderous look in their eyes. They advanced slowly, their wings flapping quickly to keep them hovering. My steps faltered. One of them screeched and they all flew towards me, hands sparkling with magic.