Whispers of Time

by Gwendolyn Ilimaris

  Making a split-second decision she clamped her eyes and tightened her grip on the bags. “Ēlipor ntāera raitama.” The supplies disappeared as soon as the words were out of her mouth. As soon as they were gone, she climbed the nearest tree and jumped through the treetops as she ran. She prayed this would confuse the dogs, but she still headed away from the cave until she was sure. Dashing across the branches, she leapt into another tree and stopped on one of its large branches that could conceal her. She laid down on her stomach and waited. Only a handful of minutes passed before the men and dogs came into view with Londar following them. She risked a peek over the side and terror flashed through her eyes when she saw him directly under the branch she was hidden on. Holding her breath, she did not move so that she was as quiet as possible.

  “Well?” Londar snapped making Rin jump. She began to tremble worse and wished she had listened to her brother.

  “They have lost the scent,” one of the men replied.

  Londar spun and kicked the nearest dog. It yelped and scurried away from him. “Like I said, useless!” He paused and looked around. “She must still be close. I felt the hint of magic earlier. Keep looking!” He did not move away from the tree while the humans followed the dogs as they searched.

  Rin struggled to remain as still as possible. She knew even a slight movement could give her away. Again, she was frozen in fear. It was preventing her from making a rational decision and she knew it. She started to feel light headed from hyperventilating when an idea came to her. If she could talk to Sara maybe her brother could help her. She clamped her eyes closed and focused on reaching Sara.

  ***

  Sara was sitting at the back of the cave practicing her magic while Jake trained with Paige and Raven. She glanced up when she saw Kaedin leap to his feet. His head tilted like he was listening to something before he headed for the cave entrance.

  “What is wrong?” Wren asked as he stepped into his path.

  Kaedin frowned but looked at him. “She is afraid, something must have happened. I must go to her.”

  “No, you cannot. We do not know what is going on and we cannot jeopardize our position. She knew what she was getting into when she left alone.”

  Kaedin opened his mouth to argue when bags of food appeared in the middle of the cave. Wren and Kaedin both looked over at them, their surprise visible.

  “She risked a port spell,” Kaedin said as he tilted his head again. “She is moving farther away from the cave.” His gaze turned back to the entrance and he started to leave but Wren grabbed his arm.

  Sara was watching them when she heard Rin’s voice in her head.

  ‘Sara! Sara!’

  Her brows furrowed, ‘Rin?’

  ‘My brother…. or…. or Kaedin…I…I do not know what to do. L…Londar is here.”

  Sara’s eyes widened when she could tell that Rin was frantic from her disjointed, racing thoughts. She got up and hurried over to Wren and Kaedin. They were arguing about whether Kaedin could leave the cave.

  “Wren, Kaedin,” Sara said. Neither one of them heard her the first time.

  ‘Sara, hurry please!’

  “Wren, Kaedin,” she repeated, louder the second time. They both stopped talking and looked down at her when she raised her voice to be heard over them.

  “I can speak with you later,” Wren said as his eyebrow rose. “I apologize but I cann--.”

  “Londar is here,” Sara interrupted. “Rin doesn’t know what to do.”

  “Where?” Wren’s mannerisms changed in an instant and his hand strayed to the katana strapped at his waist. Sara looked down at the ground for a few moments before she looked back up.

  “She said they are tracking her with dogs four or five miles from here. Londar is right under the tree she’s hiding in.”

  Wren tightened his grip on Kaedin’s arm to keep him from leaving. “Tell her to port. We shall risk the exposure of the magic. Let him come here.”

  Sara closed her eyes this time and her brows furrowed as she tried to understand what was going on.

  “Well?” Wren asked, his voice sharp when she did not look back up right away.

  “She said he would know as soon as she tried to port,” Sara said, her voice filled with concern. “She didn’t think she could get the spell off before something. She didn’t finish.”

  “Tell her to get back here now, or I shall come out there after her.” A hint of Wren’s anger and frustration began to slip through his calm exterior. Sara closed her eyes again but when she looked back up at Wren, she shook her head. There was no response.

  Rin realized almost too late that communicating with Sara used a slight amount of magic. She broke off communication and held her breath.

  “There it is again,” Londar said. “She is very close. Find her!”

  The men began searching in earnest. They wanted out of this forest. Londar started to pace at the base of the tree before he looked up.

  “One of you check up there.”

  Rin’s eyes widened in panic and she realized the only choice she had now was to port. She closed her eyes and tried to concentrate but the sound of someone climbing the tree threatened to cause her to lose focus. She kept expecting Londar to appear on the branch.

  “My lord, I found her,” the human gasped in surprise. Her eyes flew open and she saw he was on the branch with her. She clamped her eyes closed again.

  “Ēlipor ntāera.” She cried once she was able to picture the cave in her mind. The human dove at her but she disappeared just before he could touch her. When she appeared in the cave, Kaedin was by her side in an instant and he grabbed her by the shoulders.

  “Stop leaving without me,” he said, his voice poorly controlled.

  She looked up at him, her eyes filled with fear as she grabbed his face with both hands. “Do you not understand? He almost killed you. I thought he had, I cannot ris—.” She could not continue when her emotions cut her off. He pulled her to him and held her head against his chest.

  “I understand but I cannot protect you if I am not with you.” He tightened his grip when he could feel her trembling in his arms. “Do not be afraid, I am here.” He did not loosen his grip until he could feel her start to calm.

  “Rin.” She turned her head enough that she could look up at her brother. He was standing beside them and she could tell by his tone that he was not happy. She moved to step back and felt Kaedin tense before he let go of her. After taking a step back, she looked up at Wren.

  “Do not ever go somewhere alone again,” Wren continued. “Not until he is dead. Do you understand?” She nodded, and his hand unconsciously clenched into a fist. “No, say it. Say that you understand. I shall not lose my sister to that elf.”

  Her gaze fell to the floor at his feet, “I understand.”

  He stood silent for several moments before he seized her in a tight hug. “Do not do this again,” he said, his voice softer. “I fear for you now that I know what he is capable of doing. Do not leave Kaedin’s side even for a moment.”

  “I am sorry,” she mumbled.

  He let go of her with a loud sigh before he looked at the others in the cave. “Gather your things, we must leave.”

  It only took a matter of minutes before everything was gathered and they waited by the cave entrance. Wren scanned the area in front of the cave before they headed outside. Hikaru moved away from the group first and transformed back to true form. Raven and Paige climbed up and got situated.

  “Arāesya,” Raven said as Hikaru leapt into the air and they were invisible when he rose above the trees and hovered.

  Rin looked over at Wren and he shook his head no. He would go last. She nodded and Kaedin moved away from her. Sara and Rin hurried to get onto his back once he changed. They were just getting seated when they all heard the howl of dogs. Rin looked over at her brother and he was already moving away from Jaeha.

  “Arāesya.” Rin whispered and Kaedin eased off the ground as soon as they were invisible. He got
above the trees and waited on Jaeha with Hikaru. Rin looked down and watched her brother jump onto Jaeha while Jake scrambled to climb up.

  “Arāesya.” Wren managed to get the invisibility spell cast just as the first dog came into view. He reached down and pulled Jake up when Jaeha spread his wings. They were rising off the ground when Londar ran into view. Londar looked up with a curse when he felt the wind created by Jaeha’s wings.

  “Āega bulāe,” he yelled. A large fireball shot from his hand in the direction he guessed the dragon was in.

  “Ksāetras,” Wren said as he threw up his hand causing them to become visible. A force wall appeared in front of them and the fireball exploded when it slammed into it. Londar glared at them and he began the spell casting movements for a large spell. Jaeha twisted in the air and breathed a huge cone of ice. Londar dove to the side to avoid it and by the time he was back on his feet Jaeha had them out of spell range.

  “Āega bulāe,” Londar yelled and another fireball flew toward them, but Jaeha dodged it with no trouble.

  “Arāesya,” Wren said, his voice hard. They disappeared from view and all three dragons flew hard. “If I had no one else with me this would have ended tonight.” He glanced back at the tiny figures on the ground.

  Jake glanced back but did not say anything. His attention was on Sara. He did not want her to get caught up in something because of Rin.

  “Rin would allow nothing to happen to her,” Wren said when he caught Jake’s expression.

  Jake pressed his lips into a firm line. “I’m not so sure. It would be an accident, but she can’t control everything. We’ve already seen that.”

  “Do not doubt my sister. She would sacrifice herself without a second thought to keep someone else from suffering for her.”

  Jake leaned back from Wren with a grimace. He had not intended to make him angry. Wren’s eyes narrowed when Jake said nothing further and he returned his attention to where they were going.

  The dragons all flew as fast as Kaedin could manage. They only had a couple of hours before sunrise and they needed to get across the mountains. Rin looked back again. She felt foolish for allowing Londar to get so close to them. Her hand clenched into a fist when she swore that she would be more careful. They had to make it to Caradthrad in one piece. When she turned back to face the mountains, she prayed they would be able to shake off any pursuit. She shook her head, somehow, she did not think it would be that easy.

  The dragons flew hard over the next several hours to get them over the mountains before the sun rose. When they landed on the far side even Jaeha was showing signs of fatigue. The almost sixty-mile flight took them near the coast. Wren made the choice to fly the longer distance because it gave them more of a chance to travel undetected since they would be farther from any major roads.

  Rin had her hand on Kaedin’s back when he returned to elven form. He staggered, and she grabbed him with both hands to keep him from falling over.

  “Apologies,” he mumbled as he straightened back up. He was exhausted from the long flight even with the assistance of Rin’s spells

  “We need a place to rest,” Wren said when he stopped beside his sister.

  Rin’s eyes were worried when she glanced up at him, “I know of nothing that is not hours from here.”

  Wren frowned as he observed the group. Kaedin appeared almost asleep on his feet while Hikaru was laying on the ground flat on his back. Jaeha looked up at him from where he was sitting with his back against a tree trunk.

  “We shall do what we must,” Jaeha said, his voice firm. “If we must continue to travel then we shall do so.” He glanced at Hikaru and Kaedin as he spoke. The two younger dragons both nodded.

  “I will be fine,” Kaedin whispered to Rin. “Do what you must.”

  Rin’s expression did not change before she looked to her brother for his decision.

  “Get us to a safe place,” Wren said. “Everyone is in need of a decent rest before we attempt to traverse the marshes.” He reached down and picked up Jaeha’s pack before he could get to it. “Divide the load so they are free from the added weight.”

  The dragons tried to protest, but neither Wren nor Rin would listen, and they quickly divided their things among them. Once they were finished, Rin led them away from the mountains. She weaved her way through the enormous deciduous trees that grew on this side. Their leaves of crimson and silver had a subtle sheen from the early morning sun.

  Traveling on this side of the mountains was much easier due to the lessened underbrush but after only a couple of hours, Rin dropped back to walk beside Kaedin. She rested her hand on his back as they walked. Not long after Raven moved so that he was closer to Hikaru and kept a close eye on him as they walked.

  Wren and Jaeha exchanged worried glances. They knew that the younger two dragons were struggling to remain on their feet. The almost sixty-mile flight in a handful of hours left them exhausted.

  “How much farther?” Wren asked as he moved to walk with Rin.

  She glanced around to verify their location, “Two hours if we can maintain this pace.” She glanced at Kaedin and he made so sign of response. He just kept walking. Her brows furrowed with worry when she could sense his fatigue. She wished she could do something to help him, but she had already used all of the spells she could, and they were not helping anymore. Glancing down, she stopped when she saw the bag of Myrabelle’s potions. The others all came to a stop and looked at her confused. She did not acknowledge them as she rummaged through the bag of glass bottles and pulled out one that had a bluish liquid in it.

  “I believe we need to use some of Myrabelle’s potions if we are going to make it,” she said as she held up the bottle. “This will take away their fatigue for a short time, but it will come back, and it shall worsen when it wears off.” She looked to Wren again for his decision.

  Wren glanced over and saw Hikaru leaning on Raven to remain on his feet. “Use it.”

  Rin hurried over to Hikaru and handed him the bottle. “Drink one small sip,” she said. He did as she asked and made a face after he swallowed it. A look of understanding flashed across Rin’s face. She had had to use a potion or two in the past and knew they tasted terrible.

  When Hikaru was finished she took the bottle and went back to Kaedin. He took a small sip but made no response to the taste. His face was blank when he handed it back to her. She put the stopper back in the top and slipped it back into the bag while they waited. Only a few minutes passed before the effects of the potion were noticeable. Hikaru was no longer leaning on Raven and appeared much more alert. Kaedin took his bag back from Rin and she could sense he was no longer so exhausted.

  They started moving again, this time faster than before, she knew they had to reach the safe place before the potion wore off. A little less than two hours passed when Rin led them up to the trunk of a massive willow tree. She waved her hand in front of it and a door appeared in the side of the trunk. Grabbing what looked like a small lever, she pulled it, and the door opened to reveal a narrow set of stairs leading up into the tree. She looked back over her shoulder.

  “Be very cautious,” she said. “The way is quite narrow and there are no handholds.” She turned back and started up the stairs. When she reached the top, she stopped and waited for the others on the small five-foot square platform thirty feet above the forest floor. She waited until they were all present before she took several steps onto a shaky, unsteady walkway that connected to another much larger platform.

  “I would recommend that Paige and Sara should sit to cross,” she said. “It shall move so you must cross one at a time.” She crossed the rest of the way with no issue.

  Kaedin followed her, then Hikaru and Raven, but when Sara approached the walkway, she froze at the edge of the platform. Her eyes were wide as she stared at what she was supposed to somehow cross. The tiny, rope bridge was only about a foot wide with no sides, and it swayed and shook just from the light breeze.

  “There’s no other w
ay across?” Jake asked when he got a good look at the bridge. He knew Sara was not the most coordinated and did not think she was going to make it across.

  “No,” Rin answered from the other side.

  Jake sighed before he turned to Sara. “I’ll go first. Do like she said and sit down. You’ll be fine, and I’ll do what I can to help from the other side.”

  She nodded but started to fidget with the bottom of her shirt. Jake watched her for a second before he turned his attention back to the walkway. He stepped out onto it and a frown crossed his face when he realized it was quite unstable. Putting both arms out to the side for balance, he focused on the tree ahead of him and crossed it. When he reached the other side, he motioned for Sara to follow him. She sat down on the edge of the platform and slid onto the walkway. Her legs hung off either side and she could only use her arms to try and scoot forward. After only making a third of the way across Sara was stuck. She did not have the upper body strength to keep moving.

  Rin shook her head with an exasperated sigh. She had never met someone who was so physically inept. Rin was forced to walk back out onto the walkway and help her. She stepped over Sara and put her arms under hers before she lifted and helped push forward while Sara slid. They only managed to move little bits at a time and Rin’s expression grew more unpleased by the second. Lifting a hundred pounds was not easy for her, but she had the best balance of all of them.

  When they only had about a quarter of the path left Rin’s grip on Sara slipped. She sat back down hard on the walkway causing it to tilt. Rin lost her balance and slipped off the edge. She twisted in the air and managed to catch hold of Sara’s legs. Sara gasped and leaned forward as she clung to the platform with both arms to keep from sliding off.