CIRCLE OF SHADOWS Part 1: Shadow Chaser

Galen looks at Virian across the morning fire, smoke drifting languidly into the grey morning sky seen in the gap through the trees above the grassy meadow.

‘Uh...’ Muttering before hesitating, dropping his gaze back to the fire as Virian’s eyes flick to him. Looking at him quizzically, a glimmer of a smile pulling at the edges of her mouth, Virian stays silent.

Lifting his bound arms up in front of him and pointing with his chin towards the bandages, he states flatly. ‘Uhm... I just wanted to thank you for this.’

Virian remains quiet but nods her head, the smile flowering over her face. Red lips peel back slightly, revealing the small white teeth underneath. Dropping his arms back down to his lap Galen looks pointedly at her, their eyes locking together, before he speaks.

‘How long are we going to be walking and where are you taking me?’ he asks, fatigue and resignation sounding thick in his voice. Looking at him in silence, Virian looks away, her eyes dropping to the fire in front of her before answering in a soft voice.

‘I am taking you to my village. It lies roughly in that direction,’ Turning slightly she points a finger in a north westerly direction. ‘I would say we are at most a day away. If we push really hard we could be there late tonight or sometime in the morning.’ Looking back at him, she drags a hand through her long hair, her fingers caught in the loose hanging locks, slightly tangled from the previous night’s sleep.

‘So what is the name of your village?’ Struggling to keep the tone in his voice civil, Galen flicks a stone lying by his feet away from him. Annoyed with being held against his will he sighs loudly, kicking at another stone lying nearby.

Sensing his mood Virian answers in a clipped fashion, mockingly evasive as she looks back at him baring a toothy grin. ‘Reishod.’

Galen, eyes flashing in annoyance, pushes down the urge to yell back. ‘How many people are there? What do they do?’

Ignoring the questions Virian looks around, idly scratching her shoulder with her nails as Galen stares at her, his face flushing in anger as his fists clench and unclench next to him. Whipping her head around, Virian glares distrustfully at Galen, her voice hardening as her eyes lock with his. ‘Why this sudden civil approach, Galen?’ Her voice tightening she continues thickly. ‘What is it you aim to gain by asking these questions?’

Struggling to maintain his composure Galen drops his eyes, lips pulling back as he tenses, throat muscles knotting in a tight bunch as he bites down violently on his jaw. Breathing deeply, steadily he forces himself to calm down and his anger subsides.

‘I am only curious as to who and what you are, where you are taking me... and for what purpose, Virian.’

Looking intently at his face, uncertainty flashing through her eyes Virian considers her next words, before speaking in a hushed voice.

‘To be honest with you... A sitting will be called by the elders, before which, you shall be brought and judged.’

Mouth dropping open, Galen stammers as he searches frantically for words. ‘But... but, I have not even done anything wrong! I found myself shipwrecked on an unknown beach! Saw a light and started walking towards it. If you recall, you attacked me... me and then proceeded in dragging me unwillingly into this blasted forest. Like I was some kind of animal you had caught in your trap!’

Lifting her hands placatingly up to halt the stream of words, Virian shakes her head gently, waving her hand through the air as she speaks.

‘The how’s and why’s are none of my concern Galen. The Protocols... our rules... clearly states that any trespasser, human or not, found within the boundary of Reish must be captured and taken before a sitting where they will be judged accordingly.’

Shaking his head in disbelief, Galen leans closer his voice raising a pitch or two.

‘So for walking into this damned forest I am accused of some crime?’

Virian sits quietly, her mouth tight and eyes sharp, waiting until Galen moves backwards. Mumbling, Galen gestures animatedly with his bound hands as he sits back. ‘These people must be insane! How can they judge me of something I had no idea it existed? Who made these blasted rules? What kind of people follows it so blindly?’

Pausing in the middle of his monologue, he looks back up at her, his eyes narrowing suspiciously as he asks. ‘What did you mean by any human or non-human found inside the forest? What does that mean?’

Virian sits mutely on the other side of the fire looking at Galen, amusement flickering in her eyes.

‘That cannot be true!’ he yells, anguish painted in his face. ‘No! I cannot believe this. I... I... I saw you naked in the water!’ The confession shocks him and he drops his eyes to the ground.

Shock floods across Virian’s’ face, a faint blush creeping up from her neck and over her cheeks. Reddened she averts her eyes as Galen looks back up at her ashamedly, whispering softly. ‘I am sorry for spying on you. It was not on purpose. I woke up and heard a splashing in the water so I went to investigate.’ Uncomfortable with the silence hanging between them he stammers wretchedly on. ‘I did not see anything, really! The light was very weak, too dark to see a few feet in front of your face.’

Looking back slowly Virian, taken aback with the sincerity written all over Galen’s face, ventures a weak smile, lifting her hand and waving away his stammered apologies before standing up and turning away. Feeling absurdly remorseful, Galen falls quiet. Virian, picking up the pot by the fire turns gracefully and walks away towards the pond. Singing back into the makeshift bed, Galen closes his eyes, resting his folded arms over his eyes. Risking a glance in her direction, he sees her bending over as she dips the pot in the clear water before turning and walking back towards him. As she gets closer, her voice floats lightly to his ears.

‘We had better get ready to move out. We have a long way to go today.’ Flinging the water over the burning logs, steam and ash whoosh in a grey cloud into the air, ‘I want to reach Reishod before tomorrow.’

Galen gets up stiffly, his bound hands making it difficult to move around easily.

‘Are you going to bind my legs to my arms again?’

Virian looks at him, biting her lip as she considers.

‘I do not think that will be necessary. You will have to be able to keep up with me and tying you up will only slow us down.’ Looking sideways at him she ventures a smile, ’Even if you did try to escape you would not get too far before another Protector found you.’

His fleeting glimpse at possible escape dashed, Galen bends down and silently gathers the items lying scattered around the fire pit. Within moments they are ready to go and walking ahead of him, cutting a straight north westerly line, Virian heads back into the dark shade of the dense forest. Renewed energy coursing through his body Galen follows close behind her, her lengthening stride easy to match. A tingling warmth spills down his arms and legs as a sense of power throbbing beneath his forces Galen to match Virian’s steady pace.

Reaching for her bottle as she pauses underneath a large pine tree, the branches spreading wide and intertwining with the limbs of its neighbours, Virian takes a deep swig, mopping the sweat from her brow. The thick air between the trees making it hard to breath, her whole body feels sticky and constricted. Looking over at Galen sitting on top of an old gnarled root, fragmented leaves caught in his long hair making him appear more dishevelled then she feels… she smiles.

‘Galen!’ She flicks the closed bottle towards him as she yells. Reacting quickly and agilely, Galen catches the bottle with the tips of his fingers, movement impeded by the ropes tying them together.

‘Thanks.’ His chest heaving, up and down as he struggles to pull enough air into his lungs, he huffs. ‘How can you stand this heat? It is like a vice gripping my lungs together.’

Shrugging Virian pulls at the blouse clinging tightly to her upper body, looking around as she answers, ‘You get used to it.’ her voice edged.

Taking a large mouthful of water, gagging as the metallic tasting water flows down his throat, Galen splutters.

‘Ach! That is horrible!’

Smiling his way, mirth glinting in her eyes, Virian turns around and points down the path they have been following for most of the day.

‘I reckon we are seven, maybe eight more leagues from the village.’

‘That close, huh?’ Galen pulls his face, incomprehension blanking his face as he mocks her. Shrugging indifferently Virian continues, ‘Yes, we have made excellent time.’

Looking into the darkness of the forest surrounding them, Virian spins around before sitting down flat on the ground, her feet tucked neatly underneath her folded legs. ‘Now, I need to do something before we continue. Do not try to escape. You will not get very far and you will probably be killed. There are more Protectors in this area, more than in any other part of the forest.’ Without saying anything else or watching for his compliance Virian closes her eyes, slowing her breathing as she relaxes her body.

Looking, interest piqued by this strange behaviour, Galen watches the female sitting in front of him intently. Eyes running over her face, following the smooth contours of her cheek into her neck, Galen notices the faint rustle of fabric over Virian’s rounded breasts, the cascade of raven black tumbling over her slender shoulders; lustrous and shining in the faint daylight streaming in through the canopy above. Dragging his eyes from her chest, he diverts his eyes to her knees, the creamy skin of her legs sloping upwards dragging his eyes to the soft expanse of her inner thighs, slightly exposed where the skirt had hitched up as she had sat down. A dull ringing sound echoes through his ears, a thickening feeling creeping deeper and deeper into his skull and he closes his eyes as a pain stabs behind his orbs. Lifting his bound hands to his temple, he runs the back of his hand over the skin, pressing harder and harder. Sensing a ripple in the atmosphere around him his eyes pop open, flicking back to Virian’s face as she lifts her head from her chest, her eyes cracked thinly open, glazed eyes peeking out from under hooded eyelids.

Galen gasps for air, straining against the impulse to hold his breath against the overwhelming pressure pressing in around him. Sinking to his knees, he breathes heavily, desperately trying to creep closer to Virian. With a sharp intake of breath Virian’s eyes snap wide, a fearful look of pain crossing her face. Pale cheekbones etched starkly against the flushed skin of her face. Gasping for breath Virian bends over and heaves her stomach contents onto the ground in front of her.

‘Virian?’ Galen ventures softly, getting to his feet and inching towards Virian retching loudly, her hand waving weakly through the air as she motions him back. Straining against the invisible force preventing him from approaching her, Galen moves one foot in front of the other, slowly inching forwards. Sweat streaming down his face, Galen struggles through the quagmire, finally reaching Virian, collapsing tiredly on the ground next to her. Looking up at him, her eyes glazed, her lips pulled back in a feral sneer, she growls inhumanly at him, baring her teeth in anger. Shocked by this display of anger Galen flings the water reflexively into her face. The strange pressure surrounding Galen lifts abruptly, freeing him from its hold and he collapses weakly at Virian’s feet, heart racing as he takes deep breaths.

Virian grabs at her head as the sudden backlash pounds savagely against her skull, a sharp cry of agony ripping from her mouth as darkness descends over her mind, limply crumpling up next to Galen’s prone body.

Eyes fluttering open, a cool feeling washing over her inflamed brow, Virian looks into the coppery face hanging suspended above her.

‘Amazingly attractive’ she mumbles.

Galen looks at her sharply, eyes narrowing as his eyes inch closer.

‘What did you say?’

‘Hmmm...’ she replies weakly, mumbling unintelligibly. ’Hmmm... nothing.’

One eyebrow cocking up he looks at her suspiciously before moving one hand behind her head as he helps her shuffle into a sitting position against a tree.

Virian smiles weakly, her eyes feeling puffy and swollen. An image of blue rings contrasting harshly with her creamy skin flashes through her mind and she groans. Pushing back her dark hair Galen notices the slightly pointed ear, gingerly running his finger over the tip. Jerking her head away from his touch, Virian bangs it against the tree behind her, a curse flowing past her lips before she can stop it.

‘Sorry.’ Muttering dejectedly under his breath Galen ask, ‘Is that what you mean by pointedly capturing humans? You have pointy ears and are not human?’

Clamping her mouth shut Virian looks away sullenly, the pressure inside her head intensified by the hard bang against the tree.

‘It actually looks quite... intriguing.’ Smiling innocently, Galen lifts his hand and brushes some hair out of the way, exposing Virian’s ear. Glaring daggers at him, Virian pulls her head back, her hair falling down to cover the side of her face as Galen sits back onto his heels.

‘Ok. Fine. Let’s drop that.’ His eyes flick accusingly at her, ‘Now tell me truthfully... What happened earlier?’

Starting, Virian looks at him, suddenly remembering the things she had witnessed.

‘What was that thing you did? What was that pressure? And... and that ringing noise in my head? Not to mention the thing I had to push through to get to you!’ Asking gently he inches closer, hoping to coerce her into divulging her tale.

Lying back, Virian closes her eyes, looking as if she is falling asleep again, but after a few breaths of air, she opens her eyes, turning her head slightly to the side. Seeing Galen’s eyes observing her with genuine concern, she bursts into tears.

‘That...was a... a sensing.’ Words tumbling haggardly from her she tries to stifle the sobs and sniffles, rubbing a sleeve over her nose. Taking a deep breath she leans back, her eyes looking into the treetops above her, birdsong chorusing around them helping to ease her stretched out nerves and loosening her tightly wound emotions.

Calm and fully in control Virian looks at Galen, her mouth opening and closing as she tries to find the words to explain.

‘I used a Sensing spell to see whether my father was in the village.’

‘And was he there?’

‘Yes. Yes, he was there. My younger sister, Talli, was with him as well.’

Scratching his head thoughtfully, Galen ventures lightly, not wanting to be overly presumptuous or pushy.

‘Did something happen to them while you were busy?’

‘In a way. You won’t understand any of this but they have been sealed in.’

‘Sealed in? Into what?’ Incomprehension written in his frown Galen shakes his head, motioning Virian to continue.

‘It is similar to being placed inside a void where the flow is concerned. You cannot touch on your powers at all. For that to have happened something must be wrong. My father is one of the Elders.’ Words tumble from Virian’s lips as she tries to explain. ‘I then focussed my sensing on the other Elders. I found them where they were secretly meeting inside Beril’s cabin.’ Voice dripping venom, Virian begins to shake in anger as she utters the name.

‘Beril?’ Galen chuckles. ’I take it the two of you are not close friends.’

‘I loathe that despicable man. He once attempted to force a suit on me and did not take the rejection as well as he should have. I would rather die. Better that if forced to choose between death and partnering with that evil, self centered beast,’ Shaking uncontrollably with fury Virian stops her rambling, looking up at Galen suddenly as she snarls.

‘I would kill him if he tried to lay a finger on me!’

Sitting silently, watching the emotions rampaging through her eyes, Galen waits a moment before attempting a different question.

‘I still do not understand why you reacted that way or what all of that was.’

‘Very well, Galen. I will try to explain but I am not sure why I am telling you this,’ Pausing, Virian takes a deep breath. ‘As I said, I was Sensing the village and then the meeting. I transformed the spell to a Listening spell. They were all strangely agitated and in the process of discussing some crimes committed in the village. They mentioned my father and sister’s names and it appeared to me that the two of them are being accused of these crimes... by Beril.’ Virian glances up, ensuring that Galen is still following before continuing. ‘They decided to hold a sitting to judge them but from what I could gather they have already decided, and no matter what, that the judgement would be death!’

‘So they want to kill your family? Why?’ Galen asks pointedly, interrupting the flow of words.

‘Beril!’ Disgust thickens her voice huskily as she spits his name. ‘He aims for the Central Seat!’

‘So much for your... what did you call them earlier... your Protocols.’ Teasing Galen pushes his finger into her shoulder, having to duck quickly as Virian’s fist comes swinging through the air, narrowly missing his ear.

‘This is no joke! They will die and Beril will get what he wants,’ jabbing her finger violently into her chest. ‘Me!’

‘I can’t belief it. How?’

‘The sitting will grant him rule over my father’s estate. Un-partnered daughters are part of the estate.’ A chilling silence descends over the two sitting closely together and Galen clears his throat, tactfully avoiding Virian’s eyes as he begins to talk haltingly.

‘Would you do anything to help them? To free them?’

A sharp intake of breath sounds next to him and he risks a glance upwards, right into two eyes suspiciously following his every move. Clenching her teeth tightly Virian nods her head.

’Are you willing to trust me to help you?

Her eyes narrowing into thin slits Virian whispers, scarcely audible, ‘Why would you help me?’

Galen looks her in the eyes, mouth tightening as he raises his hands.

‘For one, I don’t like my own odds in front of a sitting of elders who conspires against one of their own.’ One finger sticks into the air as he counts, ‘Two, strange as it may be, I am actually starting to enjoy this whole captivity thing.’

Virian smiles, her eyes dropping to the ground.

‘And three, I am starting to find your company pleasing and I am interested to hear what you have to say about all these spells and all that inexplicable pressure, as you seem to know quite a bit about it.’

Sitting back, mouth agape in astonishment, cheeks flushed scarlet, Virian shakes her head. Continuing unperturbed, Galen gets to his feet, moving away slightly as he stretches his legs. ’Now all we need is a plan!’

A light breeze rustling past the branches above them, shadows lengthening around the two figures, heads bent closely together in secretive discussion, as the sun shifts lower.