by K Fisher
Alni wiped the sweat from his brow and started on the next stall, the day passing him by quickly while he worked. The small buzz from the mead providing just enough euphoria for him to look past his sore muscles and the stench. This procedure was repeated over and over again while the horses were relocated, each one more pleasant than the last.
The horses had been obedient, walking out when the stall door was opened, allowing Alni to feed and clean them, and they all seemed to enjoy the attention that they had been lacking. But one stall remained, one horse, until he was allowed to finally rest and take a look at his map and where he would be heading next.
Alni walked over to the last stall and stuck his head in to greet the creature as he had the others. Much to his surprise, the horse stuck its head out and viciously butted Alni in the forehead, knocking him to the floor. He scrambled to his feet and took a step back, glaring at the horse before him as one hand rose tentatively to his forehead, rubbing the sore space there. The beast’s ears were laid back, pinned on his head, nostrils flaring and eyes wide with anger.
“Easy now,” He spoke softly to the horse, trying to calm it down.
Eventually, when the horse seemed docile enough to allow Alni to enter and halter it, he opened the door to the stall and led it out for grooming. After the slower introduction, the horse started to act friendly enough and his hesitation lessened significantly. It stood still as Alni brushed the dirt and grime away, revealing a beautiful chestnut color beneath, one that had been muted and dusty with the debris it had collected.
Alni walked to the backside of the horse and started brushing his flanks, allowing his walls to drop as he started brainstorming his next move. After finding food and a place to sleep, he’d be ready to go again the next morning. He’d head off towards the further villages, with any luck he’d be at Glade in just a few days’ time.
Just as Alni was done with the grooming the horse backed up abruptly, forcing him to shuffle backwards until he was pinned to the wall of the barn. He struggled and tried to push the horse with all his might, but it was no use. He was trapped…just as the boys had trapped him before; just as Silthia had several times in the forest when she was trying to get her point across. Of all the things Alni had endured and put himself through, being pinned one final time broke him down. There were only so many times it could happen before he lost it.
He beat the back of the horse with the brush, but the harder he hit, the harder he was pressed into the wall by the butt of the beast. Alni took what breath he could, sighed and stayed still, finally attempting to calm himself despite the steadily rising rage in the pit of his stomach. It seemed to be a rage the horse could also sense, for a moment later it stepped forward and allowed him to fall to the ground. Alni’s knees fell directly into a large pile of horse dung that that fallen from the top of the wheelbarrow earlier. He yelped and stood up quickly, trying to wipe the dried dung off his trousers as he glared at the horse, eye-to-eye, man-to-beast, trying with all his might to achieve dominance. The horse merely stared back at him from over one, strong shoulder.
Finally, when Alni thought it was submissive enough, he reluctantly decided it was time to clean the horse’s hooves. He walked over to the horse and it snorted irritably in response to the movement, seeming to glare at him with every step. He grabbed the back leg and tugged lightly upward but it would not budge. There was a moment where he wondered if this was even a smart idea to continue attempting to care for the animal, especially when he had little experience with them overall, and this temperamental beast outweighed him drastically.
But the thought of food drove him on.
Alni groaned and pulled harder. The hoof came up, right into his chest with a surge of power, sending him sprawling across the floor and back against the side of the barn. It was obvious that whatever leading force watched over Alni was making a bet on how bad it could harm the boy over the last few days. Hell, it was making a mockery of looking after him the past few years.
Alni looked up at the horse, pick in hand as he contemplated his next steps and what would be done about the situation. He had been working for several hours; he was so hungry it was as though his stomach had sunk into his backbone, and this animal was postponing his well-deserved supper. He was so frustrated he felt the blood rushing to his face and heard his heart beating loudly in his ears, a thudding that drowned out all other things.
It was an anger over the boys, over the life he had left behind, over the misfortunes of his situation, which seemed in that moment to vastly outweigh the good. He knew what was going to happen long before it did, even with his attempts to calm himself and stop it.
Alni yelled out in frustration, dropping the pick as his fingers pointed towards the horse. The lightning of power escaped again, a purple hue as it danced along the air and hit the horse. At first, he was terrified he had hurt the proud animal, but there was no sign from it that the magic had harmed him. Lowering its head, the horse’s ears perked forward, listening to him carefully, no longer pinned and angry as they had been just before. There was a dance of magic between its ears, faint but present. There was a soft shimmering on the horse’s skin, a glow that seemed less like an aura and more as though the outline of the horse was…fuzzy.
Alni slowly moved to the horse’s side, hesitantly extending a hand towards it. The horse bowed his head as Alni came near and its muzzle reached forward, giving his hand a small nudge. From that moment on, the horse was the most subservient friend he had ever had the pleasure of dealing with.
At least this time the magic had not ended in disaster. Perhaps he was able to control the intent of the magic more now than he ever had previously. Although it was not something he was born with, it seemed a part of him after so long. A power just below the surface that he could not rid himself of, one that responded when he was in distress and needed it the most.
Deep in thought and careful not to bring forth anymore magic, Alni was finally able to finish the job, and finish it well. He took the time to scrub up his clothes and bathe himself in the water barrel just outside before he went into the tavern for his supper. Begging a spare blanket from the owner, Alni made his way back to the hay bed he made for himself in the corner of the barn and soon fell into a deep and exhausted sleep. Allowing the day of hard work to drift away, he escaped the world the only true way he knew how.
Within a dream.
~
Alni was flying.
His body was in the air, soaring over the lands of Desin. Each village looked like a mere ant to him, pathetic compared to the power he held inside. The power to take over, if he wished it.
Instead of waiting to be called, his magic was a purple light on his fingertips, pulsing and ready to be used as he saw fit. The stone shard in his pocket warmed so hot it almost burned his skin, a reminder of the power he had yet to tap into.
Only no…it was not he that was flying, it was the creature beneath him. The enormous dragon of opal coloring. Scales that cut into his leg where the stone burned him. Her leathery wings beating the smoke-filled air.
Smoke?
Below, the villages and farmlands were getting ever closer. He could now see the cause of the smoke around them, flames eating away at every cottage below. The hot hands of fire destroyed everything in their grasp, even trying to reach him as he soared above in the air. The shrill sounds of screaming filled the air around them as they flew towards a large, dark castle in the distance.
The castle was surrounded by a moat of flames, and perched on each tower waited a dragon. They were dark- bodies curling around the castle like snakes as their crimson eyes spotted Alni coming closer.
Suddenly, he was no longer flying in the air, no longer on Silthia’s back. Alni was back in his home village, standing across from a robust man he was more than familiar with.
The man he had killed the day he left home.
Only this time, the man was walking away. There was no death, no magic, no mistake. The man had paid him no mind
instead of trying to hurt him.
The man just walked away, leaving Alni at his small, makeshift home. It was a small barn sitting aside the charred remains of Alni's childhood home. After his parents untimely death, Alni had inherited the house and tried to keep it safe.
“Do you see the life you could have if your mistakes were erased? It is your fault your parents are dead, your fault you’re in this predicament.”
The words were said in Alni’s ear. He whirled around to face the speaker but there was only empty air. Then more words came, this time into his other ear, a dark whisper that Alni did not recognize. But he knew the intention.
Evil. The one who spoke it was evil. Of that he was certain.
“Dirty half-breed. Had you never been born they never would have been disposed of. Had you never taken what was not yours, the man would still be alive. You are a killer, a danger. Bring the stone to me, and all will be set right. Refuse and the entire world will burn.”
There was the sound of flames. Before Alni’s eyes, his small home, the cottage he had shared with his mother and father, was burning before him at a rapid rate. Moments later it was ashes upon the ground.
In the middle of the black ashes and smoke, two charred hands reached out towards Alni. He found himself racing forward, trying to reach them but it was of no use. No matter how fast he ran, the hands still seemed to be the same distance from him.
The screams that accompanied the reaching hands were what haunted Alni more than anything, what forced him to move ever faster, despite the lack of success.
The screams were his mother and father, there was no mistaking the familiar tones.
Then, the voice spoke once more, drowning out everything else, including his own screams as he scrambled towards the reaching arms of his parents.
“Bring your magic to me, stupid boy.”
Chapter Seven
Alni awoke with a start, jumping up and raising his hand his chest, as if the added weight there could slow his rapidly beating heart. His cheeks were wet, no doubt from the tears induced by the nightmare. He closed his eyes and tried to focus on his breathing, slowly regulating his mind and racing heart with each deep breath.
That was when he smelled burning. Something from within his bag was lighting the ground next to him, the heat quickly catching onto the dryness as it threatened to ignite the bale of hay. He quickly jumped up, filled a bucket from the water trough and poured it over the hay, smoldering the fire just as quickly as it had started. Grabbing his bag, Alni carefully sorted the items, thankful the fire had not touched his journal or the maps within. Had the fire taken hold it would have burned the entire barn to the ground. Just as it had burned a hole in the side of his leather pack.
He poked one finger in at the stone, finding it surprisingly cool to the touch. Grasping onto it, he stuffed it in his pocket at his side, keeping the dangerous magic away from the rest of his things. Although it did not need to be in his grasp for him to call on the magic, the power was irrational and uncontrollable if he didn’t have it near. Much as it had been with the bullies in the forest just the day before.
He was dizzy from the lack of sleep and the adrenaline surging through his body.
Alni quickly checked on the horses to make sure he hadn’t harmed them in his sleep and that they weren’t too spooked from the commotion. They were all at the alert with ears pricked forward, but, luckily none seemed too shaken and the once troublesome horse at the end had already fallen asleep.
He took a deep breath, as he reminded himself to relax his shoulders and jaw, releasing the tension there and avoiding a headache or further teeth gnashing when he fell back asleep. Turning to head back to his makeshift bed, Alni paused, a sound reaching his acute ears.
He had heard running footsteps approaching from outside only a moment before the doors crashed open. A hooded man burst in, closing the door quietly behind him as he seemed to rest against it. Alni remembered the cloak from earlier, the shape and stature of the man was the very same as the one he had run into in the town center. Even in the darkness of the barn he knew it was so.
“What in the mad King do you think you are doing?” Alni growled, the words escaping his lips before he had a chance to stop them.
He took two long steps towards the intruder, hands already balled into fists. It was clear this was someone who did not need to be there, someone who had to be in some sort of trouble, or looking for it.
“Shh! Shut your stupid mouth,” came the hissed response, the voice higher and softer than Alni had anticipated.
The man’s hands were nimble and fast, lifting a scrap piece of wood from behind the barn door, wedging it beneath the opening and shutting the two doors firmly into a locked position.
“Who are you and what do you want?”
Alni found his voice coming out in an angry whisper as he moved closer, eyes looking to each of the hooded man’s hands, searching them for a weapon.
“Not that I’m against adventure, mind you. But I was having a grand night of sleep before you came running in. Grand. Lots of fire and whatnot. I also may need to go to the bathroom or…leave at some point. So…stop locking us in, would you?” The stranger was still gathering wood, and the pitchfork Alni had used earlier, using them to wedge through the barn door handles.
“Would you STOP that!”
The hooded man whirled around and looked directly at Alni, the whites of his eyes shining from beneath the cloak, “How about you hide me and I promise you some coin in exchange?”
Alni opened his mouth to protest, but the sounds of yelling stopped him. Footsteps near the side of the barn demanded his silence as he looked back to the hooded man. He had nothing to lose, but he had a decision to further implicate his position in exchange for an easy means to travel, or refuse to help and turn in this intruder.
Instead of speaking, he jerked his head towards the bale he had fashioned into a bed for himself. The small hooded man raced towards it, taking one long look at Alni before digging into the loose hay. Soon enough, nothing but a corner of his cloak remained. Alni approached, tucking it into the bale. Before he had a chance to pull his hand away, the intruder’s hand erupted from the hay and grabbed his wrist. The voice was at his ear, hand pulling his body close, but that close he was easily able to pick up on the tone. It was now a voice that was unmistakingly female. It was a wonder he had not realized long before then.
“Betray me and you’ll be dead before they get their hands on me,” she hissed out to him.
There was a smash against the door and all her attempts at fail-safes went flying, none strong enough to withstand the strength that demanded entrance. The barn doors crashed open for a second time that night and the barn was illuminated by four men, each with torches in their hands. One held a long, gleaming sword, lowering it to his side as his dark eyes scanned the inside of the barn and landed on Alni.
“What are ye doing in here?” He growled, eyes searching around further, deeming Alni a non-threatening presence.
Alni looked the man up and down, nodding his head as he rubbed one hand up his face, moving his maroon cap and running it through his red hair. Feigning exhaustion, although it wasn’t hard to do so.
“I did some work and the owner allowed me to stay here. What’s the commotion about?”
The man holding the sword handed off his torch to another, taking out a bit of parchment from his pocket as he approached Alni. The man waved the familiar wanted sign in front of him rigorously.
“Have you seen this girl?”
“I’ve seen no girl tonight,” murmured Alni. Certain he felt a shift in energy from behind him, from the pile of hay and the woman hiding within it, “just you gentlemen, feel free to search wherever. Please, be quick about it. I’d love to get more sleep before the morning.”
He yawned, stretching his arms upward above his head, flinching momentarily as the movement pulled one of his bruised muscles.
“We were told she was seen running this dire
ction…”
There was suspicion in the man’s voice as his eyes scanned behind Alni then continued to look over the barn.
“I’m glad you won’t mind us looking.”
Not waiting for any further response, he pushed Alni aside and walked into the barn to begin the search. The horses started up, snorting and restlessly pacing in their stalls. Alni slowly took a seat on the haystack, something firm under his left leg that he was certain was a piece of the intruder’s body.
“See, no one else here, like I said,” he said then, yawning once more as he looked to the four men searching the barn.
Suddenly, there was a loud sneeze that erupted from beneath the pile of hay beside him and everything went incredibly quiet. The stranger did not wait for the sound to register. Moving faster than anything Alni had ever seen, she jumped from beneath the hay and raced towards the barn doors.
The guard nearest him started the chase and Alni promptly stuck his foot out in the man’s way, causing him to fall sprawled out on the barn floor. The hooded figure was yelling as she opened the door and raced out into the darkness of night. Words that pushed Alni into action and lifted him from his position on the hay. Soon enough, her call had him running ahead of the upright three guards and through the door, pack held closely at his side and stone in his pocket.
“Come on! Run!”
There were yells behind them, footsteps that sounded far too close.
“Thief and her accomplice found!” The declaration left a sinking feeling in Alni’s stomach as he realized what he had just done to himself and what her words of action had demanded he do.
Ahead of them lay the Nevina forest, dark and cruel that night, in direct opposition to the lush and beautiful scene he had been in just earlier that day. Behind them, the footsteps started to sound further off, wheezing accompanying them as at least one of the guards gave up the chase.
He continued to follow her through the forest until they were surrounded by the dark trees and out of direct sight. Her body was weaving ahead, coming to a stop at the bottom of a gnarled, full tree. One hand grasped onto a low branch and the next second she had pulled her body into the air. Nimble and fast, she kept climbing until she disappeared upward into the dark branches; the night providing perfect camouflage from the villagers searching for the two of them.
