CALEN?" DANN REPEATED, HIS EYEBROWS raised. "I said, are you okay?"
Calen shook his head, attempting to loose the grogginess from his mind.
"Yeah, I'm okay, Dann. Just got lost in the fire there for a minute."
"Be careful. Stare too long into the fire and it will take pieces of you.
Well, at least that's what Dad always said. Look, there is no way you're all right. These past few days have been insane. Especially…" Dann trailed off, his eyes becoming heavy.
Calen sighed through his nose, turning his attention back to the fire. That feeling hit him again, as if his heart were about to fall into the pit of his stomach. It still wasn't real for him, and he would do everything in his power to keep it that way. His entire family. Gone. A piece of him held out hope that Ella hadn't been in the house, but he knew he was only fooling himself.
"They'll be back soon." Calen hadn't heard Erik approaching; the crackling of the fire covered his footsteps. He sat down on a log beside Calen and Dann, then opened his bag and produced two small wraps of cloth. "Dahlen will see the sign we left him." Inside the first wrap were strips of dried meat. He tossed some to both Calen and Dann, who thanked him hungrily.
"Hold on. There's some bread to go with that. It's a little stale, but it's better than nothing."
Dann looked at Erik apologetically as he swallowed half of his dried meat in one mouthful. He reached out his hand to take some of the bread.
Calen thanked Erik for the bread, and the three of them sat in silence as they ate.
As he struggled through the stale, bark-like excuse for bread, Calen realised that it had been quite a while since he'd eaten. He didn't have lunch the day before, and he had eaten nothing in The Traveller's Rest either. His stomach rumbled. He choked down the rest of the bread and dried meat without complaint.
The sounds of the forest settled into Calen's mind as the group waited for Dahlen and Rist to traipse through the trees. The birdsong collided with the incessant buzz of insects. The leaves rustled as the night's breeze brushed
shoulders with the trees. A nearby brook burbled. But all of it could not match Therin's rumbling snores. He was worse than Dann. He had been sleeping since they set up camp, which didn't surprise Calen. When they found him waiting for them at the tunnel entrance outside Camylin, he had looked like he was about to fall off his horse. Calen didn't think he had ever seen anyone look that way. It was almost unnatural. There were deep recesses under his eyes, his breathing was laboured, and his already pale skin looked as though it were porcelain. It was as if the energy had been dragged, kicking and screaming, from his body.
Aeson sat behind Therin, his back propped up against the base of a tree.
The satchel that sheltered the egg was nestled into his lap, both arms draped around it. His eyes were closed, but Calen was sure he was not asleep. The man never seemed to let his guard down.
Calen turned to face the fire, stuffing his hands into his coat pockets as he did. That's when he felt it. The scarf he had bought his mother in Milltown.
He didn't have to take it out to see it. Autumn red. Vines of gold and cream woven through it in the pattern of leaves blowing through the wind. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up as he ripped his hands out of his pockets. He felt the tears welling up behind his eyes. Everything flashed through his mind. His father's lifeless body laying still, the packed dirt stained with blood. His mother sobbing. His home in flames. The screams.
His stomach twisted. His hands trembled. No. Not now.
Dann leapt to his feet, snatching his bow from the ground beside him. He had an arrow nocked faster than Calen could turn his head. "Dann—"
"Quiet," Dann whispered. He narrowed his eyes as he attempted to see farther into the dark of the forest. Calen followed his gaze but saw nothing except the haze of night, thick with an endless sea of trees. Then he heard it.
Someone – or something – was making its way through the undergrowth at the northern edge of the clearing.
Aeson's eyes opened. He stood, slung the satchel around his back, and drew his swords. Therin joined him, tiredness still set into his face.
"I live by day and die by night. I can fly, I can walk, and I can swim, but I do not get wet. What am I?" came a voice from within the obscurity of the forest.
Erik asked a question with his eyes. Aeson answered with a nod. It was Erik who spoke. "You are the shadow of a bird," he responded, laughter touching the end of his words. "Now get over here, brother!"
Dahlen stumbled into the firelight. He limped on his right leg. He had a few cuts and bruises on his face, and his clothes were caked in dried blood.
"They made it…" muttered Calen, a smile widening across his face. Ican't lose anyone else.
Erik pulled Dahlen into a tight hug, then drew back and grabbed him by the shoulders, checking him over for injuries. "Well, you didn't make it easy on yourself, did you?" He laughed. "Don't worry. I'll teach you a few things."
"Oh, fuck off, will you!" Dahlen scoffed.
Aeson put his swords back in their scabbards and smiled. He gave an approving nod towards Dahlen, who returned the gesture in kind.
"Where's Rist?" Dann asked, his tone curt. He peered off into the darkness. Dahlen didn't reply, but his facial expression changed. The hairs on the back of Calen's neck stood on end. Not Rist. Please, not Rist.
"I'm sorry," Dahlen said, his voice meek. He stared at the ground. "I did everything I could. We fought our way through. He held his own, but—"
"What happened?" Calen shouted. His anger surprised him. He hadn't felt it rising.
"A Fade – I think. I couldn't do anything, I put my blade right through its heart, but it did nothing. It just tossed me aside." Dahlen's voice was vacant, his eyes pleading.
"A Fade? What in the void is a Fade?" Dann asked.
"What would a Fade be doing here, in Camylin?" Aeson said, ignoring Dann's question.
"It came for the egg – I think," Therin said. All heads turned to him. "I ran into it on my way to The Wilted Leaf. It had soldiers under its command. I only just escaped. It knew you were in Camylin, so it had to have been after the egg."
"Fuck the egg," Calen said. A shiver ran through his body as he took a step closer to Dahlen. "Where is Rist?"
For a few moments, there was silence.
"It took him."
"It took him?" Dann and Calen repeated at the same time.
"What do you mean it took him?"
Dahlen nodded solemnly. "There was nothing I could do. It threw me around like I was just a plaything. It knocked me unconscious, and when I came to, it was gone, and so was Rist. I'm—"
"You left him?" Calen leapt at Dahlen and shoved him in the chest, causing him to stumble backwards. A droning noise filled the back of Calen's head. It rose to a crescendo as it tried to outmatch his thumping heart.
Dahlen's empty stare gave way to anger. "Do that again and I'll put you on your back. I'm sorry that it took him, but there was nothing I could do."
"You just fucking left him there? On his own?" Calen shouted, his eyes drawing up level to Dahlen's. "You're a coward. You ran when he needed you!" He pushed his hands into Dahlen's chest again, his blood boiling over.
Dahlen stumbled for half a second, then dug his back foot into the ground. He pivoted and landed a punch on Calen's nose. Calen felt a sharp pain, and a thump as he hit the ground. "At least I was there. Where were you?"
With his head still spinning, Calen leapt to his feet, anger burning through him. Before he could react, Dann put his arm across his chest. "Let it go, Calen. This is not the time."
"Let it go?" Calen scoffed, wiping the blood away as it trickled from his nose. "He left Rist to be taken! He left him, Dann!"
"I know." Dann gripped Calen's shoulders, touched their foreheads together, and looked him straight in the eye. "And we will find him, Calen, but now is not the time to be fighting… okay?"
Calen's hands trembled and his breathing was shallow. His heart hammered in his chest. He sighed. "Okay…" his voice dropped to a whisper. "I shouldn't have left him, Dann. I shouldn't have left him…"
Dann sighed and pulled Calen into a tight embrace. "We both did, Calen."
"That was not necessary," Aeson said, turning to Dahlen.
Dahlen was incredulous "What? He shoved me. I—"
Aeson raised his hand in the air and turned away, returning to where he was seated. He slung the satchel around to his lap once more, as if nothing had happened. "Come, son. Tell us what happened, and we will decide what is to be done. Dann, would you see if there are any rabbits caught in the snares we set earlier? I think we could all do with some fresh meat."
Dann took a deep breath in, then pulled away from Calen. "Yeah, sure."
He snatched up his knife and a length of rope, then placed his hand on Calen's shoulder. "Come on, come help me with the snares."
"I think—"
"Calen, help me with the snares."
Dann was right. Calen's emotions were all over the place. One minute, he felt like he was at the bottom of a dark pit with no help in sight; the next, he felt like a bull let loose in a sea of red. He had never been so quick to anger.
He should not have lunged at Dahlen, even if he did leave Rist to be taken by that creature. But he was never going to say that out loud. The thought of losing Rist just made him explode. They needed to get Rist back. They had to.
Most of the snares were empty, but the four rabbits they found dangling from their hind legs would be enough for a small dinner for the group. It was better than nothing – and definitely better than stale bread and dried meat.
Dahlen was at the end of his story when Calen and Dann returned to the camp. Aeson listened intently and stroked his grey-flecked beard, his eyes focused on something in the dark canopy above.
"Did it give any indication of why it wanted Rist?" Therin interjected, sitting forward.
"No." Dahlen sighed and shook his head. "It just said that he was…
interesting."
Erik gestured for Calen and Dann to join them.
"Go ahead," Dann said, "I'm just going to skin these and get them prepped to set up over the fire before I sit down. My stomach is rumbling.
I'll be able to hear fine."
Calen nodded and sat on the ground beside Erik.
"Interesting?" Erik said. Aeson and Therin exchanged a flash of recognition.
"Rist is connected to the Spark," Therin replied. "He has the power to wield magic. And if what I sensed initially is anything to go by, he has to potential to be quite powerful."
Calen stared at him in disbelief, unable to stop his mouth from opening wide. Rist? Rist is…
"Rist is a mage?" Dann said, dumbstruck, halfway through skinning one of the rabbits.
Calen wasn't sure what to say or even what to think. Rist had been one of his closest friends ever since he could remember. They did everything
together. He was not a mage. Mages – or at least, people who could use magic – they were fairy tales. They were the heroes and villains of Therin's stories. Therin. There was somebody else who wasn't who Calen thought he was.
"How are we getting him back?" Dann's voice cut through the silent echoes in Calen's mind.
"I'm not sure that will be possible," Aeson replied, his tone flat. "If that Fade was working with Lorian soldiers, then he will be taking Rist to the High Tower in Berona. That is where the inquisitors bring all young men who can wield the Spark. And if he is strong enough, he will be inducted into the Circle of Magii. The empire would not let a wielder with his potential roam free. And unless I am mistaken, nobody here is in the position to march into the High Tower and demand they release him."
"But…" Calen's voice was brittle, even to his own ears. Helplessness permeated his entire body. He couldn't let that feeling consume him. He would not. "No."
"Calen, I truly am sorry, but Aeson is right. We simply don't have the ability to help him. Not yet, at least." Therin's eyes showed genuine concern.
"I can't just leave him!" shouted Calen. The burning in his veins caused his voice to rise a touch louder than he intended. "I… I can't just leave him.
He would never leave me. Dann, your bags. Make sure you have everything."
Dann had fallen silent for the last few minutes, which was unlike him. He looked up from his feet when Calen spoke. "What? Why?"
"We're going to Berona. We're going after Rist."