Chapter 52

Sylvi 

A clap of thunder echoed in the air, even though it was too late in the year for thunderstorms, and no dark clouds gathered above us. Kim froze, looking at me, and I could feel a wave of fear ripple through the air. Cat… It was her signal to pack the camp. Something must have gone wrong.

“We need to get ready!”, Kim cried, breaking my stream of thoughts.

I watched her start to pack the camp as I fought back against the rising panic in the air.

“What is happening?”

Aicha jumped from the log she had been sitting on and looked at us, confused, but Kim ignored her.

“Get the horse ready!”

I glanced towards the forest, but I was too blinded by the fear of my companions to see anything.

“What is happening?”, Aicha asked again.

“We need to go”, Kim snapped.

I took Aicha’s hand, hoping the small gesture would help her resist the rising panic that was taking over her heart, and pulled her towards the horse tied to the tree next to our shelter.

“Help me”, I told her.

She looked at me with wild eyes but didn’t move, and I was forced to let go of her hand and help Kim load our supplies. Only when we were done did I become aware of the sudden stillness that permeated the forest and the stormy clouds gathering above our heads.

“We need to go North”, Kim said, glancing at the woods.

“They will come…”, I said, trying to comfort her, but my voice lost its softness as the fear grew in my chest.

What if they didn’t…? What if…? Aicha shivered next to me, and I reached out and took her hand again as heavy droplets of rain began to fall.

“Can you feel them?”, Kim asked.

I shook my head as the vision of flames consuming the world danced before my eyes once more.

“We should go...”, Kim said again, but I could tell she wasn’t sure it was the right decision.

I wished I could offer her some help, but I was even more lost than she was. What if…?

Kim turned to Aicha.

“Can you lead us there?”

She nodded, but I could see how uncertain she was about the task. Could her tracking magic really guide us there as we hoped it would? At least it gave us a better chance than only the two of us trying to find our way through the unfamiliar lands. But would her magic falter as mine did when fear and despair took hold of my heart? I didn’t know.

“And Sara and Cat…?”, she whispered.

“Let’s wait a bit longer”, I said.

I didn’t know if it was the right thing to do, but I couldn’t bring myself to leave them behind, even if I was sure that by now they should have come. I pulled my hood on, trying to find some protection from the rain, when I felt something in the forest.

“I feel them. They are coming…”