Skye's Arrival

When I wake, I hear the chittering sound of gabbins. Their loud sounds are obnoxious and remind me of strangled chickens. I groan as I try to open my eyes. Where am I? I’m on something soft, but whatever has me is sturdy.

I turn my head and am face first into a solid chest. The scent coming from it calms me, banishing an image of Koan sinking his teeth into my neck. Unconsciously, I bury my face towards it, trying to stop the images from resurfacing.

“Skye,” Rafi’s voice asks, a little worry in his voice.

An image of Koan grabbing my face comes to my mind, making me scream. I swear I can feel his hand on my face. “Stop!” I beg, trying to push myself away from him.

“Skye stop,” Rafi says, grabbing my arms. There is nothing I can do. My body feels paralyzed. I know I’m awake, but I can’t escape the dream. The sharp neck pain I felt when Koan would yank my head over to expose my neck is very real as his face nears my neck.

“Koan don’t,” I beg, tears starting to come down my face. Then something unexpected happens. I hear a small hum starting as I feel my body being held in a tight embrace, stilling Koan’s pursuit.

“Tell him to go,” Rafi hums to me. “You control your dreams.”

Forcing free of my paralyzing fear, I push through my dream; imagining myself as strong and free as I am now. I will Koan to vanish, not wanting him there with me. His form starts to melt away as I picture him gone.

I gasp as my eyes snap open. I sit up, my eyes locking with Rafi’s as I try to control my breathing. It’s dark and I can only see his face because of the fire.

“What happened?” Rafi demands, putting my face between his hands, forcing me to look at him. “You’re safe. Tell me what happened.”

I realize that I’m still crying, my hands clenched around his shirt. I force one loose as I put my hand on the top of his hand. “Koan,” I breathe.

“What did Koan do?” He demands, his face tight.

“He was mad.” I start crying harder, still panicked about what I remembered. “He was angry I was late from training. I didn’t mean to be, and I knew he wanted me home at certain times. It was my fault. He got angry and we were supposed to meet his friends. He didn’t want me to be sweaty and look like I just got home from work, so he backed me into a corner and bit me. He made me stay home and locked me in a closet.”

Rafi’s eyes widen as he lets me go. I bury my face into his chest as I cry. Why did I have to remember this? Ever since I saw Koan again and he started biting me, I’m starting to remember. Every second I sleep is my brain recalling all of the times he’d bite me just so he wouldn’t have to deal with me. Our entire relationship wasn’t all bad, and most of it was truly amazing; but when he had his dark moments it was truly terrifying.

“How many times would he do this?” Rafi asks, his voice cold.

I shake my head, trying to stop the image from coming back. “I lost count.” I answer while Rafi strokes my hair and start crying harder.

“Shh,” Rafi soothes as he starts humming, letting me cry until I fall back asleep, to a mercifully dreamless state.

I’m woken by the sound of gabbins and find that I am alone. Rafi is away from the dead fire, and so is Gerrickson. I’m still in nothing but a night shirt, and it’s the middle of the day. How long have I been asleep? I stand on shaky legs, very aware that I’m starting to grow soft. Maybe I should eat?

I look around and find our camp basically abandoned. Rafi’s sleeping roll is flung open, and Gerrickson’s is as well. The horses are gone as well as their weapons. Where is Dawn? I didn’t think they’d leave me alone.

I step onto the white sand; the sand absorbing all sound as I walk across it. My bare feet are burning hot as I walk towards the gabbins sound. Maybe Rafi went to get the ingredients I told him about.

Carefully, I walk to the pack Rafi made for me and sift through it. I change into a pair of sandals that tie off at my calf and some black shorts that cut off just above midthigh. I take out a yellow top that cuts off mid stomach and attach the black coreset to it before lacing it up. After brushing my hair, the boys still haven’t come back. I start thinking as I twist my hair in a side ponytail. Well, as long as we’re here…

I dig through the bag and find a brown satchel in there that is empty. I strap it across my chest, letting it rest on my left hip, and grab a dagger that is in the bag. I strap it to my thigh and start my search. I still feel weak, but I feel a lot better than what I had been. Certainly well enough to look for gabbin bones. Besides, I can hopefully call Dawn if I get in trouble.

The sun is hot today, and there is no shade except for the small bushes and trees that pop up in odd little patches. I check those, looking for some gabbin carcasses. Please make this one easy. Gabbins are nasty birds half the size of an average human. They’re half black and half white, trying to match their terrain. The black is to help blend them in at night, and they’ll hide the white part from the pray they’re hunting; vice versa in the day-their white is to help blend in with the sand. They also have razor sharp claws that will slice through your skin like it was jelly.

After searching through the fourth set of bushes, I found a recently deceased one. I cock my head as I look at it. There are scorch marks on its wings. When I look closer, there are traces of dark magic. This is recent. Like really recent. I lift up its wing and gasp once I recognize the copper swirl in the magic.

Okay, don’t panic. Don’t panic. I sit down in the bush and do my best to hide. Why is this happening? “Dawn,” I hiss, hoping she’ll hear me. I scream as I hear something explode. Something landed hard several miles from me, and dust is covering the air. Yep, I’m screwed. I need to get out of here. Quickly, I break down the carcass of the bird, and take way more bones than I need.

I scream again as another explosion happens. Staying hunched down I move to a different set of vegetation. Think Skye, think. How do I get out of this? Well, I’m too weak to fight; but I can get away with a spell if I need to. I’m hoping it doesn’t come to that.

“Skye!” Someone yells, making me jump. I know that voice. Gerrickson. I quickly start moving towards the voice, my heart nearly in my chest as adrenaline is starting to fuel me.

I slow after a second. Wait, why would Gerrickson be calling for me? I’m pretty sure he’d want to keep my location to himself. Right? Am I just being paranoid?

“Skye!” Comes the same direction as Gerrickson’s voice. Nope nope nope. That’s Adam. I know that haunting voice anywhere. So, if Adam knows Gerrickson, then he knows what he looks like…I’m going to have to go towards the giant dust cloud, aren’t I? Internally groaning, I turn around and start heading towards the giant cloud of dust.

After reaching the site my mouth drops open. There is a crater the size of a small lake. At the very bottom is Gerrickson, who is groaning as his body tries to repair itself. He’s down there all by himself, but I sense this is a trap.

“Where is she?” A voice yells, making my stomach quiver.

“Leave her alone,” Rafi yells, his voice echoing through the air. Maybe I should have stayed with Adam. “You’ve done enough to her.”

Koan starts laughing while I feel a hand over my mouth, “Scream, and you’re dead.” I stiffen at the sound of Heathe’s voice.

Koan moves into his turn to talk. “She’s my bledded one Rafiale. That’s for me to determine.”

“She’s not anymore,” Rafi yells, another explosion breaking through the air. “You died, remember?”

“She’s mine! As long as I live, she will always be mine.” He starts cackling, making panic creep up my throat.

“Come on,” Heathe says, pushing his body against mine. “Don’t make this harder Skye. You know how I hate hurting you.”

I grimace as I remember just how lethal that man truly is. Heathe has a perverted twisted side when it comes to me. Adam is one of the few that can balance Heathe out; which is likely why Adam is here. Adam is the oldest living thing out there. He’s skilled, ancient, and just loves reining Heathe in. No one can beat Adam except for one. Koan is the only one to have beaten him. Adam mops the floor with me. Adam doesn’t believe in good or bad. All he believes in is following his leaders. Since he’s Koan’s personal guard, he’s just doing his job.

“Heathe, don’t.” I beg as he shoves me closer to the fight.

“Save it dear.” He puts his face close to my ear as he whispers, “You’ll need your strength.”