The Raven & The Wolf

Chapter Five

Stanya and I spent the night in our room. Neither of us slept due to Ari’s never ending, verbally abusive, tirade against Stylus. I’ll admit that now I feel guilty for taking Stylus’s memory. Ari had him locked up all night, screaming in agony, while Ari rooted through his mind; trying to find the memory I had removed. Then again, a whole lot of people would be in more trouble if I were found.

By morning we were both still exhausted. I only recovered about a third of my normal strength. Due to the fact that I barely ate, and didn’t sleep, my mind is still exhausted. Because Stanya and I were forced to remain awake, we figured out a plan since an official Sheika hunt is being set. We decided that I’ll send a message to all the Sheika cities, and we’ll branch out and find all the nomad ones, in order to warn them.

After curfew is finally lifted we quickly dress, and head to the stables. It’s hot and musty and it’s an hour until the sun rises. If the temperature continues to rise at this rate, we’ll have heat stroke by mid-day. Stanya checks the stalls and outside as I dig through Macy’s saddle bag. I find a hard, round, perfectly cut emerald. The color of my magic when not thinned out. I grab the gold chain it is attached to and pull it out. The stone is half the size of my palm, but extremely light. Gold swirls inside it, meaning there is power surging through it. My body groans as it touches the hot stone. So much power. Oh how I wish I had this yesterday.

“Hurry!” Stanya hisses.

I nod and blow an ascending note and holding out on the end. It glows as the magic inside turns silver. Different colors shine in the black. The color of the Clans. The stars on my back are glowing, sensing their magic being channeled towards me. Nine faces each appear inside a ball the color of their clan as they spread out in front of me.

“What happened to Master Brin?” Halthin, protector of Brighton, demands once he recognizes me. He’s young. He’s twenty three and has the eyes of fire. His hair matches his eyes while ivory skin easily reveals a light dust of freckles. I’ve always had a crush on him.

“Easy Halthin,” I whisper. “Silence is necessary. I only have a brief moment before I can be found.” His face relaxes so I proceed. “Master Brin came to me separately, while Stanya and I were in Gershwin to meet up with him. He told me of a dream. He found the broken pieces of the prophecy. He told me the wolf is nothing without the pack. That I must not let the pack reunite with the head.

“Shortly after he locked me in my room while I was...distracted. He met Ari in the road and allowed him to kill him, but not after trying to exhaust Ari first.”

“What!” They all shout.

“Hush!” I hiss as Stanya looks around. She nods for me to proceed. “Ari killed Master Brin.”

“Why didn’t you help him?” Alana, protector of the Lightfoot clan, asks. Dark skin gives the opposite edge that short pixie blonde hair gives. It is scarred and aged. She is a true warrior and one that I admire. She’s never been short of words, even when she knows she’s going to lose. That may be why she always has some form of an injury.

I sigh before answering. “Earlier attempts of capture from Tribesman and Ari’s handy man, Stylus, drained me of most of my strength. Also a lot of healing didn’t help. Brin knew that I had no power in me left. He incapacitated me and locked me in my room. He saw his death in a vision and accepted his fate.”

I hold up my hand to stop their additional comments. “I don’t have much time. I requested your presence, because I must warn you that Ari is on the hunt for a Sheika who he does not know. The reason why is because he figured out it was an illusion of a Sheik that stole Brin’s body. Warn all nomads that you meet and prepare your clansmen.”

They all touch their foreheads, a symbol of gratitude. “Thank you for risking your own life and bringing him home to us.”

“By the way,” Halthin says as they lower their hands, “your little creation is still going.”

I start laughing. “I keep forgetting, that I can make them live over distances without much thought.” I flick my wrist. Stanya and I gasp as we feel as if life is being blown into our lungs.

“How did you have enough magic to teleport an illusion and Brin’s body, but none to help him?” Alana asks.

I sigh. This is a question I know must be answered. “By his design, Master Brin separated Stanya from me during the battle. By the time Stanya was able to reach me, it was too late to save him. I borrowed her energy and transported his body instead of ourselves.”

They all touch their foreheads and then their lights vanish. After Stanya and I switch into our traveling clothes, she gets onto Bitzy. She takes my hand as I touch her leg. I look up and see concern in her eyes. “In seven days’ time. Remember that Natasha. Our usual spot.”

I smile up at her, though she can’t see it. “Just work your way up. Get as much of them as you can.” I hesitate for a second. I never could process emotions very well; due to my birthmark, I wasn’t allowed to. “I love you.”

Her eyes light up as she squeezes my hand. “We’ll be together again soon sister.” A green bubble forms around her as I picture the southern sea. I blow a kiss good-bye to her as she vanishes. Quickly, I lead Macy out of the barn and out of the still sleeping city. As soon as the gates close Macy is running.

Six days had passed, and I came across a total of seven nomads. They’re hard to find, but they can find each other like a dog hunting a rabbit. These guys are survivors and know how to hide. They can sense danger miles away, and can kill you without so much as a warning. You do not mess with a nomad Sheik.

It’s nearly nightfall on the sixth day. The trees provide some protection from the fading sun and give a warm red glow. Crickets are chirping, providing some more of comfort as the fire sparks. I can’t place the cause, but my entire body is twitching. The hair on the back of my neck is standing up. Macy is perfectly at ease however, so I am not too worried.

When I can’t stand the twitching anymore, I go and put my mask on and traveling clothes. The disguise is enough to comfort me sufficiently so I can relax. My stomach growls as it process something other than paranoia. Reluctantly, I get up and look around for something to eat; since Macy broke into my bag, again, last night.

Something slams into my back, knocking me flat on my face. My back is ice, and I can’t breathe. Paralysis spreads up my body, trapping me. Quickly, my mind processes the magic that is spreading through me. The level is strong, but I’m stronger. Barely. My body tries to push myself up, but I am met with another blow to the head. This time I can’t even blink, and more of the foreign power is being fed into this paralyzing spell. It’s also feeding off of my own strength, and quickly draining it. His hit has also left my mind stunned. My brain is trying to work through the attack, and it’s fighting off the invasion attack valiantly. I hear many sets of boots in the dirt as Macy takes off into the woods. There is only one person that can scare her into running when I’m in trouble. Ari.

The sound of dirt being kicked announces someone coming to me. Torn brown boots soon meet my face. I look up and nearly scream. My suspicion is confirmed. Ari. At first he’s in shock as he sees the only part of me he remembers. My eyes. A sick grin crosses his face. He raises his hand, making me rise as well. He flicks his wrist, throwing me into the trees as if I am a doll. Tree branches rip into my flesh as they protest their forced movement. My back explodes in pain as it meets with a solid tree trunk. I can’t do anything about it because I have to stop him from taking my mind. I can feel his cold magic trying to creep into my memories, trying to find who I am. I’m blocking him though, which is angering him. A cold, hard, feeling clasps around my throat, making me dangle as he holds me in the air. I can’t claw at it, because my hands are completely paralyzed from his previous two attacks.

Ari and his menacing face takes a step towards me. He raises his hand, revealing the black wolf. It’s pulsing and growing, giving off the sound of a heartbeat. He grins triumphantly. “My little raven girl.” I can’t scream. My mind won’t let me. His surprise attack is forcing my mind to work to keep up now. My body is still being drained and fed into him. He raises his other hand and takes a step towards me.

“No,” I scream as I feel a magical rope tying me to the tree. This is a good sign. I’m gaining control of my body again. He chuckles, then stops as his face twists in pain. He drops to one knee as he cries in agony. The source is now clear. An arrow is sticking out of his calf.

Ari’s face turns red as the ground starts to shake. Soon a figure flying through the air is all I can see before he slams it into a tree. As soon as that happens I drop to the ground. I’m not on Ari’s list right now. He’s out for blood on this unknown savior. I look to see who he is before Ari kills him. My eyes widen in surprise. It’s the Hunter. Ari has black swirling around him. No!

Quick as I can I hold my trembling palm up. I draw out a green ball and throw it at the back of Ari’s head. A giggle breaks the dead and serious air. He turns around with an angered bewildered face as I stand on shaky legs. His eyes widen as he looks me over. I grin and curl a finger inward, inviting him to attack.

His eyes narrow. “How are you still standing?”

“Lets find out shall we?” I make my voice slick and challenging. Since he no longer has a hold of me, my energy is quickly coming back. Behind him I can see the Hunter struggling to get up. His arms give up and drops to the ground. When that happened, Ari attacks.

A wave of black magic comes straight for me like a striking wolf. I slash my hand, dispersing it like it was child’s play. A black ball surrounds me. I can feel its crushing blow as it tries sucking my power. I laugh and flick my finger, picturing a needle popping a bubble. It pops and rains down like thick sand. As the magic falls, I turn my hand and throw the collapsing magic right back at him. As his arms cross over his face, to shield himself, I put my hands five inches apart and close my eyes. A green diamond forms as I imagine the lineup of soldiers surrounding my camp.

A slight whoosh sounds, nearly breaking my concentration. My eyes snap open to see black arrows heading towards me. I put the diamond up to my face and blow at it. It shatters and ruptures the arrows like dry breadcrumbs as it explodes. Tree bark cracks as everyone goes sailing. I get a lock on all the soldiers life sources and Ari. I close my eyes and picture a high mountainous peak. When I open them green bubbles are forming around them while my energy drains beyond its intended source.

“No!” Ari screams as he tries to run at me and then poof. He’s gone.

My body shakes as my breathing grows shallow. The Hunter is finally on his feet, looking at me in complete fear. He asks me a question, but it fades out. Everything goes white as ringing fills my ears. I feel something hard hit my body, then I feel nothing.