Chapter Sixteen

The sky was red and orange, pink and purple, filled with dancing colors. It was sunset.

Istelle and Nayana sat together on the top of the hill, watching the preparations for the following day below them.

Istelle sighed, "I just feel like I'm doing it all wrong."

"Doing what all wrong?"

"The Akeefa warriors, they're trained as well as I am. There's no way I will be able to prepare the Ennell for war against them."

"But you will train them, will you not?"

"Of course. But nothing could prepare them for the Akeefa, who have been preparing for all their lives."

"Ah."

"It's all just so wrong. They don't know what they're up for."

There was a short pause.

"In stories, the hero is always much smaller than the villain," Nayana said.

"Oh?"

"Yes. But the hero is also much smarter than the villain."

"Hm. The Akeefa are not unintelligent."

"Who do they have on the Akeefa? Only humans?"

"Yes. As far as I know, we are the only non-human creatures in these parts."

"See? We have creatures small and big, hoppers and flyers, and everyone is here for a reason. There is hope. Strength isn't always the most important thing. We need a good plan."

"I—" Istelle stopped. "You're right. I just wish Soren was here. It would make everything so much easier."

Nayana cocked her head. "Who is Soren?"

"...my lover."

"Ah. Where is he?"

"I...I don't know."

"Well, where did you last see him?"

"I think...I think it was during my last battle for the Akeefa...I was being chased through an open place...filled with tall grass, almost no trees. It was near the border. I saw him out of the corner of my eye, at the other end of the field."

"And then what?"

"I...I don't know," said Istelle for the second time. "I don't remember what happened next." Her eyes widened, she hadn't realized this before. "The next thing I remember, my friends and I are arriving here."

Nayana looked at her. Istelle looked quite disturbed at the unexpected memory lapse.

"You should go to bed, Istelle. You'll need to get up early tomorrow, to train the army, and make plans."

"Okay." Istelle stood up.

"And don't forget, Soren may not be here, but we are. So don't be afraid to tell us what you're thinking."

Istelle bit her lip and opened the cabin door.

Nayana smiled encouragingly. "Train them hard."

Liz awoke to the singing of the birds, the sun was high in the sky, like usual. She was the last one up today.

After washing her mouth in the kitchen and changing into one of the summer dresses Gwanwyn had made her and Lina, today a pale brown one with white patterns in it, Liz joined the others at the table.

Evan's seat at the end of the table was empty. Arin and Gwanwyn sat on one side and Jude and Lina on the other. As usual. Liz's usual spot was next to Lina, though she noticed that unlike usual, when Lina and Liz sat closer together, Lina was sitting a little closer to Jude today.

Liz took her seat. "Goodmorning!"

"'Morning!" said Jude cheerfully.

"Had a good rest?" asked Gwanwyn, smiling.

"Yeah, thanks. Where's Istelle and the others?"

Nayana and Pendre had stayed at the Cabin that night as well.

"Outside, training," said Lina.

Liz looked out the window, "already? It's so early!"

"They have been up for several hours now, actually," said Jude, and Arin giggled.

Liz finished her breakfast as quickly as she could, then ran to the window. "They aren't there!"

"No," called Gwanwyn from the table, "they are behind the cabin, a little ways into the woods. Except for Nayana and Talion. I think Nayana had another illusion and ran off somewhere, but Talion has it all under control."

"Huh?" Nobody had told them about Nayana's condition.

"Oh," Gwanwyn laughed, "Nayana has Kapworky. It causes her to have illusions, see monsters that don't exist sometimes."

"Is that what's wrong with her eyes?" Arin asked.

"You mean how she has silver patterns on them? I think they're very pretty" said Lina smugly.

Arin looked away from Linaria, her cheeks reddening. "I wasn't asking you!"

"They are also very large," said Jude, helpfully.

Linaria rolled her eyes and Liz sighed. Lina was obviously very tired, and poor Arin seemed to be quite affected by her words.

"I'm going to go see the training."

"No, stay here. I don't think it will be helpful to have an audience," said Gwanwyn.

"Aww."

"But if you want, you guys can try and come up with some ideas for battle plans. We have all kinds of creatures that can do all kinds of things. We even have some magicians."

"That's cool!"

"Or," Gwanwyn continued, "you can copy some maps of the area. We have a few but not a whole lot. You can make copies by hand, but you'll have to be careful to do it just right."

"Just like in the olden days, when they didn't have printers!" Said Jude, excited. Gwanwyn and Arin looked at him. Liz nudged him "Jude, these are the olden days. Way, way, before the printing press."

The others laughed and Gwanwyn went to get some maps and copying materials.

"So...you just want us to trust you, a random stranger, and follow you wherever while you refuse to tell us anything?" Jake called to Soren, walking away.

Soren turned back around. "I am no random stranger. I am Soren, Istelle's lover, and it is fate that brought you two stubborn boys to find me in that cave."

"You still haven't even told us why you were there."

Soren sighed, exasperated. "What did I do to deserve this distrust?" he asked nobody in particular.

"You didn't do anything to earn our trust."

"Listen." he turned to Zavier. "Do you ever want to be able to speak again? Because I know where to find Istelle. And I'm going to find her. So come with me or don't come with me, the choice is yours, but I'm going to go get myself some food now no matter what you choose."

The mages looked at each other, then followed him.

Soren carved some sticks with a knife he carried on his belt, then set them up with a log and put a berry on the end of one of the sticks. A little critter trap.

Then, he headed off into the woods, telling the mages to stay away from the trap and that he would be back in two hours.

"I can't believe this guy."

And yet he obeyed, not knowing why, and the two mages found a grassy place to sit and rest.

By the time Soren returned with a dead rabbit, they were both asleep. That was okay, it left him to prepare the meat in peace.

When the mages awoke, Soren was finishing up with his meal and the three set out together.

Jake wanted to have a conversation with Soren; finally, a person to talk to who could actually talk back, but the mage didn't know how to start and Soren didn't seem to have any intention of doing it for him, buried in his own thoughts.

They reached a fork in the path. The mages looked up to see Soren's eyes widening in recognition. "You know this place?" Jake asked. "Not exactly…"

"So? Which way do we go?" he was impatient. The older boy's eyes darted back and forth between paths, looking uncertain, seeming to be struggling, then he swallowed and took a step in the direction of the right side path, eyes lowered.

They continued their walk through the forest as it slowly began thinning out until there were so few trees that it was more like a clearing.

Something hard hit the bottom of Jake's back, thrusting him forward and nearly knocking him over "Ow!" he spun around to Alekzavier behind him "Hey why'd you kick—" he felt the wind rustle his hair and a shadow pass right over him.

If Soren didn't yell "Look out!" to him right then, the Gryffin would've been clutching more than a shred of cloth from his shirt in it's shiny talons as it swooped over him a second time.

There were four of them, lion-bird beasts.

Soren was slashing at the attackers with his knife ahead of Jake. But the mage had no weapons. He turned to see Alekzavier shooting air bullets at the creatures, the same way he'd shot one at Jake back under the rock during the forest fire. But he shot harder this time, harder and faster, blasting them back with invisible bullets, sending their feathers falling like autumn leaves.

Jake quickly began copying the motions.

Until two of them began an attack on Zavier, one swooping in, then retreating a little before it was shot. As it retreated, the other moved in. Each time they approached, they moved closer and closer until— "Kisnebha!" Jake held his palm up to the sky where the Griffins flew, then quickly moved it through the air to face the ground in a slamming motion.

As if the force of gravity had suddenly intensified, the monsters were driven to the earth, one of them dropping the boy it had just grabbed in its talons. The boy whose eyes were scrunched shut. Who was now quivering on the ground. Who had blood slowly seeping through what was left of his shredded shirt, but whose mouth was clenched tightly shut, not uttering a sound.

Jake and Soren ran to Zavier, helping him to his feet and guiding him away from the unconscious creatures as fast as they could.

"I'm sorry guys," said Soren, wiping his Gryffin blood-stained knife off on the grass. "It's fine. I don't know why it took me so long to get what was going on." Jake was applying newly crushed medicinal leaves to the wounds the Griffins talons had made in Alekzavier the way Soren had instructed him.

"No," said Soren, "I mean, I should have warned you." He frowned. "But I couldn't. There was no way I could warn you."

Jake looked up. "What do you mean?"

Soren said nothing.

"You mean you knew the Griffins were there? Yes? Why did you tell us?" Jake was on his feet now, glaring at Soren, who's eyes were on his knife, avoiding looking at the mage.

"All that damage! That could've been avoided, but you! You!"

"I couldn't have told you. And I couldn't have gone the other way either." Soren spoke quietly. "See, I know everything that is to happen already. And there is nothing I can do to change it. I may know there's a hole in front of me, but I wouldn't be able to stop myself from stepping into it."

"W-why not?" Jake was completely bewildered.

Soren looked over and Zavier, laying shirtless on the ground. "Are you done with him yet? Maybe we can move on now. Istelle is currently," he paused, "less than a day's hike away."

The rest of the walk was uneventful, Zavier walked with the help of a stick Soren gave him and the other two were quiet, following the stream. It was nearly sunset when Soren stopped.

"Now all you need to do is go over that hill and into the valley. One of the hills has a big cabin sitting on it. That's where you should find her."

"You mean you aren't coming with us?"

"But besides the Servadem, there is something else I need you to tell her after Zavier is relieved from the bindings of the spell."

"Uh...okay. What is it?"

"It's a lot. I need you to remember all this, okay?"

"Yeah, what is it?"

"Tell her…" Soren bit his lip. "Tell her she died in that meadow to a Lette warrior. And that I killed every one of her pursuers, and that I am now the heir. Tell her that I visited Cyan, that she predicted my fate, and I am forced to follow it. Give her the Hole example I gave you earlier. And tell her that the Akeefa are going to win this war."

"That's gotta be the weirdest messages I've ever had to give. But I haven't ever had to give that many…"

"Just do it."

As the mages started up the hill, Soren's legs turned him around the other way, just following fate's path, as his whole heart pushed the other way. He had to walk away from Istelle when she was so close...it was the hardest thing he ever had to do.