Chapter 11

I must have fallen asleep and only woke up when Karim gently shook me. The sun was already setting, and I stretched and sat up. My body ached, and I really wished I could have that cup of coffee I had talked about yesterday. Karim put a hand on my shoulder and smiled, but I could see that he was tired as well.

“Tomorrow, we will cross the river”, he said, trying to encourage me as I got up and dressed.

I fastened my sword as the last and joined the rest. It was getting colder now that the sun had set, and I zipped up my jacket as we began to walk. Slowly, my body came to life, and by now, I had learned to ignore the slight headache I always had ever since I began to help Aki.

I glanced at the dark shadow of Selene in front. She hadn’t let go of my hand yesterday, even after Aki was done, and I suspected she had almost cried as she told me she didn’t want anyone else to die. I didn’t know what to do about it. What had she wanted me to respond? I shook my head. Better not to think about it, I told myself as we continued walking, but I found myself glancing at her as we traversed the forest, relieved that she was at least at the front so she wouldn’t notice it.

Luckily, it turned out to be an uneventful night and as the darkness slowly gave way to a new day, we halted and set up camp. I wanted to rest, but Karim gestured for me to follow him, and I sighed, but did as he asked. He led me through the trees and then halted at a clearance and crouched down. He pointed at something between the trees, and I looked at where his hand was directed. I could see water shimmering on the other side. The river… I glanced at him and he nodded. Soon, we would be in friendly land. I wondered how they planned to cross it. I didn’t see any bridge, but by now I trusted them enough to believe they had a plan.

He got up and gestured for me, and we headed back to camp.

“We will need to be careful. They will expect us to cross the river, but if the goddess will, the night will hide us from their watch”, he said as we walked back.

I thought back on the ambush and shivered.

“How do we cross it?”, I said, in an attempt to take my mind off what might come.

“This time of the year, the river is shallow, but you’ll still need to be careful. The current is still strong”, he explained as we joined the others.

I sat down, and Uruk handed me a bowl of food. I took it and then paused. The strange uneasiness that I knew so well by now crept up on me. I froze.

“The Drakes. They are coming”, I said, putting the bowl to the side.

The others paused mid-eating and peered up at the sky.

“They know we are here”, Karim replied. “But they don’t have enough soldiers to comb the forest and find us. If I were them, I would keep the Drakes in the air for as long as I could, so if nothing else, they would deny us any rest. They want to scare us out of our hideout”, he added.

Uruk frowned.

“It is better to prepare for the worst”

Karim got up.

“Let's stay close. They may still send someone to comb the forest when the Drakes are resting.”

I stood up, and we hurried over to a large thicket and crept underneath it. I could feel the panic rising, and I forced myself to breath, so I wouldn’t be overcome by the fear. It felt like it would be a long day, and for good or bad, Selene chose to lie next to me.

“They are close”, Uruk whispered, clenching his fists.

I could hear Karim praying and Selene put her arm around me.

“It will be okay”, she whispered.

“Aren't you afraid?”, I asked.

Her stoical demeanour always surprised me.

“I am, everyone is. But I have more important things to focus on than my fear.”

“Like what?”

“I don’t want anyone else to die a senseless death”, she said quietly, and her hold tightened.

Instinctively, I put my hand on hers.

“I don’t plan to die, okay?”

She tried to smile, and I squeezed her hand as a wave of fear rushed over me.

Karim was right. The Drakes circled above us the whole day, trying to drain us with every pass, and none of us got any meaningful rest. During the brief breaks when they left, we kept our senses on high alert, listening for any unexpected sounds that might come from the woods.

When the sun finally set, we were exhausted. Selene let go of me and got up.

“We need to leave. The Imperium soldiers will be on the move once the Drakes have left.”

I stumbled up and helped Uruk strap Aki to his back. Karim gestured for us, and we carefully followed him towards the river. We weren’t even by the banks when the forest before us suddenly burst into flames.

“They want to burn us out of the valley!”, Karim cried.

“We can’t retreat! Keep going!”, Uruk barked, cutting his way through the thicket as the pines dried by the summer heat burst into flames all around him.

Selene grabbed my hand.

“Follow me! Stay low once we reach the riverbank.”

She pulled me behind her as we made our way through a burning inferno. I flinched as the trees burst into flames around us and soon, we were almost surrounded.

“Fall back!”, Karim ordered, trying to extinguish the sparks that got caught in his beard. “We need to fall back!”

“No! To me!”, Selene cried.

She let go of my hand and raised her arms into the air. A dome weaved from the wind descended over us, protecting us from the flames.

“Hurry!”

We ran shoulder to shoulder through the burning flames, but none of them touched us. The moment we reached the riverbank, the bubble vanished, and Selene stumbled and almost fell. I caught her, supporting her limp body as I turned to look at the burning forest behind us. It was ablaze, and I almost froze on the spot in panic, but Uruk spurred me forward toward the water. Karim wrapped his arms around Selene, and together, we helped her into the water.

It was freezing, and even though it only reached my waist, the current was strong, just as Karim had said. I struggled to keep myself upright, still holding on to Selene so she wouldn’t go under. As we reached the other bank, I almost collapsed under her weight.

“Keep going, Rina”

Uruk tapped my shoulder, pointing towards the forest at the edge of the riverbank. I clenched my teeth and forced myself to get up. Karim took hold of Selene, and we stumbled our way towards safety.