The Night Rider

Chapter 18

Rafiki

'No, absolutely not' My mother stands up after her words and is firmly convinced of her opinion.  My eyes glide back to Celeste, who only bites her lip.  Her eyes are questionable, as if she is far out into her thoughts .  I know why my mother rejects the only proposal, she has experience with it.

It's not for nothing that the Narvik spell is the most feared.  The chances of dying from this spell are greater than surviving it, and if you've already survived, the question is what the consequences will be.  Besides, the power I have isn't big enough for the spell, I can feel it in every cell in my body.  I am weakened, and that will only become more.

'Maybe we should consider it.', The words gently leave Celeste's mouth.  The doubt is audible in every sound of her words.  Even her choice of words tells me she's not sure of her case.  I can't say I'm sure of my opinion either.  I know the consequences and the manner of the spell, they do not invite me.  Also, I know the consequences of not trying, which is no ideal either.

'No we're not going to think about it for a second.  I won't even let Rafiki try to do this deadly spell.  It's the deadliest spell for a reason'.  My mother crosses her arms and stands up to defend her point.  I bite my lip and look at the scene as if it were a play, the play about my life.

I knock the blankets off and sit up straight.  The world turns before my eyes, but I won't let that ruin my action.  I get up and grab the edge of the bed for support.  I turn to Novak.  His dark red eyes are worried.  I know the man only from stories and vague memories.  The stories are always about his wisdom, knowledge and courage.  He's known as a hero in our history.  The man has been around this world for many years.

'I appreciate your suggestion, but I'm not strong enough to survive this spell', I hear a relieved sigh coming from behind me, clearly from my mother's mouth.  I can see in Novak's eyes that his thoughts are shooting through his head.  He gets up from my bed and carefully grabs my hand.  He lets his eyes go over my black lines again.

'The only way we can give you more time is to maintain your lifelines.  There must be a way to bring your strength back, I just wonder if that strength can come from you'.  It's more like he's saying his thoughts out loud than he's telling me.  I listen in silence and try to think along with him.

'Stones"?  The Andes?'.  I look up and I see my mother saying the words.  Novak shakes his head.  'It's needs to be stronger than that,' he mumbles.  His hand strengthens his chin and gives him the expression of thought.  'The blood'.  I look up to Celeste and see her eyes glisten far away.  I don't understand her proposal, but everyone around me seems to do.

'Elien changed because of Chea's blood, that must be possible'.  Celeste seems cheerful.  'It could work.  Except, I doubt Chea's strong enough for that.  We're talking about a very different kind of issue here.  Elien was like this because he's like this. All we had to do was change him temporarily so he wouldn't stand out.  In this case, we need to keep Rafiki alive', Novak is clear.

'Is it an option to ask Noa for help?' We're all looking up to the door where Chea's been standing.  Sometime I forget the boy's existence.  Noa is the unplanned son of Chea and Elien.  It never became clear what bond those two shared until Chea got unplanned pregnant.  They're still not officially together.

Noa is now in his early twenties and hasn't lived here for years.  The young wizard lives hidden in the forest.  His bond with his parents is complicated, but not without love.  Life here is simply not for him, he looks a lot like his parents.  In appearance it is also clearly visible who the boy's parents are, his pitch black hair and blue eyes is a good combination of his parents.

Nuri nods over Chea's proposal.  'Let a guard bring him'.  Chea shakes her head immediately.  'I'm going on horseback with Rafiki', Although my mother clearly disagrees with Chea's decision, she doesn't have her place to go against it.  She just nods.  I look at Chea and see a little grin on her lips.

'Come Rafiki,' Chea breaks the silence that had arisen.  I am still wavering on my legs with my hand on the bed for balans. 'She's not strong enough for that.' I look at my mother with raised eyebrows.  To prove her otherwise, I start walking towards Chea in small steps.  One step at a time, it gets better and I find my balance, until I stand in front of Chea.

Her eyes are satisfied, as if she knew what would happen.  'Don't wait for us', Chea grins and turns after her words.  She starts walking down the hallway.  I speed up my pass and start walking next to her.  'Shouldn't we pack our things?' Even though I've known Chea for a while now her plan isn't entirely clear to me.  Her blue eyes sparkle.  'No, she'll be fine'

'Are we really going to Noah's?' I'm asking slightly confused.  'Yeah, we're definitely going to Noah, just not on horseback',. I look at her with a raised eyebrow.  'What are we going through the woods with?m In the meantime, we'll continue our way through the hallways until we get to the outside doors.  'I'd better ask you.' My eyes gets bigger and hundreds of questions play through my head.