"Nero!" A deep loud voice echos in my ears and my head immediately starts pounding in protest. I open my eyes to decaying leaves and dirt, pain ebbs at a particular spot on the back of my head. I slowly reach up to the gash and feel a warm wetness against my fingers. I grunt at the pain and look around at my surroundings and see multiple pairs of feet running towards me.
"Nero! Are you okay?" Ryan's shocked face swims into view and I squint to steady my surroundings. Hands grab at my arms and torso, lifting me from the ground. Squeezing my eyes shut I try to keep my wits about me as my stomach lurches from sudden the movement. I can barely get my feet under me before the twins bombard me with questions.
"Where is Sage?"
"Were you guys attacked? Should we look for her?"
"How many are we tracking?"
They get me seated by the fire and Ryan immediaty sets to work with stitching me up. I look at the twins watching how their emotions take ahold of them. None of us knew her, but yet they are concerned about her well being. It seems Sage touched all of us in the short amount of time that she was here. A part of me isn't surprized at all that a beautiful woman such as her is able to reach so many people in such a profound way.
"I was attacked, but I don't know where she is. I need to find her. Will you guys help me, or am I going alone?" I ask the group already knowing what their answer would be. Darren answered for both James and himself immediately.
"We will go with you to find Sage." A confident look passed between the two brothers at the decision, they turned to look behind me at Ryan for his answer.
Ryan continues stitching for a moment before answering the groups silence.
"Im almost done with cleaning your wound. Darren, James, begin packing please. We leave as soon as possible." With a nod from the twins they set off to break camp. As soon as the twins are out of sight Ryan speaks quietly.
"There is something special about that girl, no? The entire time I've been traveling with you, I've never seen you bested. Now you suddenly show up, by yourself, wounded, and the girl missing?"
I think for a moment how much I should tell Ryan. Sage had obviously confided in someone before and been betrayed. Decision made I answer his question carefully.
"She is special. How? I'm not sure, but I was definitely surprized when I was attacked." A tap on my shoulder signaled the end to the probing of my now sealed head wound. Standing, I turn and reach my hand down to aid Ryan in standing.
"Are you able to remember what happened?" He asks me as he stands.
"Yes." Ryan nodded his head in response to my short answer, knowing not to pry. Determination settled like a blanket over Ryans face.
"Lets go find this special girl then."
***
Trudging slowly, I lazily reach down to snatch a small edible wildflower and pop it in my mouth. A tiny zing of energy surges through me, its just enough to keep me on my feet. Dragging Nero all the way back to the main camp with my powers drained me more than I would appreciate. It's late evening by now the sun is just starting to set. They should have already found an unconcious Nero, I left him in a well traversed part of their camp. Gathering enough energy to lift my head again, I spot the meadow and river up ahead.
"FINALLY!" I half sob half groan as I pick up a little speed at the welcoming sight. I make my way to the river as fast as my tired legs will allow, Which isn't more than a hobble, and snag as many flowers as I can on the way to snack on. Making it to the waters edge I scoop up water with my hands and gulp heavily, once satisfied I sit back on my haunches and begin to eat. I begin to meditate and call my powers to heal me once more. Slowly my energy levels rise and I no longer feel as if I'm about to fall over from exhaustion.
Looking around, it's now a hand full of minutes away from being completely dark. Deciding it's probably best if I don't spend the night sleeping in plain sight, I make my way over to some stones in a shallow part of the river and set off into the forest on the other side. As I make my way home on the path I've worn into the forest floor, I cant stop my thoughts from straying to Nero. A blush heats my cheeks when I think of the first time we met in the meadow.
He seemed surprized, or at least thats what I thought I saw peaking through the cracks of his stoic features. He is so closed off to his emotions that it's hard to tell if he even has them. The only time it seemed that he couldn't hide his true feelings was when I was using my powers on him. How his face lit up with genuine amusement. Gooseflesh raises the hairs on my arms as I recall how he laughed. What an odd reaction to have to someone capturing you against your will.
I smack my hand to my forehead at the stupidity of my decisions once again I've inadvertently made not only one enemy but four. I'll be lucky if they aren't tracking me right now. Stopping immediately I turn around and listen for any movement behind me along the path.
"Better safe than sorry, Sage." I whisper to myself as I crouch down to the path I've used for years without fear. Now I'll have to be careful just going outside around my home. Touching the dirt path I close my eyes and imagine pushing my gift past my fingers and into the hard earth to bring forth life. Opening my eyes I see that its worked, quite well actually. And I'm not completely drained. In fact I feel just as I did before I used my magic.
"Huh." I say to myself in amazement as I turn to continue down the path into lush green opening surrounding my home.