Resounding Echo

by Michelle Louring

believed in their protection, Ver’Dohna believed only in power. Their military power was massive and it showed.

  In every town they passed through, they found soldiers patrolling. Until now they had avoided suspicion, but Selissa still held her breath every time they had to pass by the city guards. There was nothing revealing them as Sinarians and the soldiers had no reason to suspect them of anything, but the logic of that didn’t calm her down.

  They would mostly camp out in the forests to avoid staying in populated areas for too long. The dense woodland provided a good cover against prying eyes.

  Hidden by the trees, they had set up camp in a small clearing. Selissa was polishing her swords after yet another training session. After discovering that she possessed the powers of an archangel, she had trained fervently to try and control them. But no matter what she did, she couldn’t make them appear at will.

  How could she learn to control them, if they only appeared when she was mad or scared?

  She pushed her frustration into polishing the already sparkling clean sword. Her movements bordered on aggressive, and it was no surprise Alassane noticed.

  “It’s doesn’t help taking it out on the sword, you know…” He said. He was lying on the grass, a cigarette in his mouth. He was watching the smoke rise absentmindedly.

  She put the sword down. “Sorry.” She muttered. “I’m just restless…”

  “Why are you brooding?” He asked and turned his head to look at her. She pulled her legs to her chest and rested her head on her knees.

  “I’m not sure…” She said quietly. “I just don’t know anymore.”

  Alassane watched her silently for a moment. “It’s rather pathetic seeing you this meek…” He said.

  “Shut up or I’ll break your skull open with the back of my sword…” She answered through gritted teeth.

  He gave her a thumbs-up. “Now that’s the spirit.”

  Her lips twitched slightly. She refused to smile at his odd attempt at cheering her up.

  She lay down on the grass and opted for watching the sky instead. It was darkening, and the moon had just started peeking through the clouds. A few stars were blinking lazily down at her.

  She sighed deeply and watched the clouds flow by. She heard Alassane shift in the grass next to her.

  “We will be at Cadeyrn’s sanctuary in a few days.” He said quietly.

  Selissa turned towards him and was just about to answer, when she heard faint voices coming from the woods.

  She immediately sat up, every muscle in her body tense. Alassane was already at his feet, staring intently into the forest.

  Selissa stood up and walked up to Alassane carefully. The voices were getting clearer, and it was obvious there were several persons.

  Alassane silently motioned for her to follow and side by side they crept closer to the place the noise was coming from. They knelt down behind a couple of large trees, where they had a good view of the clearing in front of them.

  Five men were gathered in the clearing. They were all wearing military armor and talking rather loudly amongst themselves.

  One of them was holding a young boy by the arm, shaking him roughly. “So what do we have here?” He sneered at the boy. The boy whimpered in pain, but didn’t say anything.

  The other men laughed cruelly. “What should we do with this little whelp?” The first one asked the others. Selissa watched a malicious grin spread across his face.

  She leaned a little closer to get a better view. She watched the man throw the boy to the ground and suddenly realized what the problem was.

  The boy was Marked. Half of his face was covered by a black tattoo, but unlike the demonic Demios, there was no malice emitting from him. On the contrary, he was curling together in a ball, shaking in fear.

  One of the men kicked him in the stomach, and he cried out in pain. The others laughed and several of them joined in and started kicked the defenseless boy.

  Selissa sneered in fury and was just about to jump out from her hiding place, when Alassane grabbed her arm. “It’s not your fight.” He whispered.

  She tore her arm away from him. “Like hell it isn’t. I can’t just watch them beat him up!” She hissed at him. She was just about to turn around and charge in, when Alassane wrapped his arm around her stomach to restrain her.

  He leaned down to speak into her ear. “If you’re absolutely going to get involved with something that’s only going to get us in trouble, at least don’t just barge in…”

  Selissa relaxed slightly. “What are you suggesting?”

  She listened intently as he whispered his plan to her. She hesitated for a moment, before nodding. She watched as he disappeared into the shadows of the trees and then waited.

  Her stomach lurched at the sight of the poor boy getting beaten, his strangled cries filling the air, but she knew she had to give Alassane time to get in position.

  Making sure not to make any noise, she bent down and picked up a rock. Aiming, she threw it with all her strength at the nearest soldier’s head.

  It hit its target spot on, and the man yelled out in pain and surprise. The others stopped their assault in surprise, and all of them looked around to find the person who threw the rock.

  That was Selissa’s cue to make her entrance. She jumped out from behind the tree and landed in front of the men in the clearing. “You really should fight someone your own size.” She said calmly. The comment itself was ridiculous as each of the men was probably twice her size, but they would soon regret underestimating her.

  They started laughing at her, and she couldn’t help grinning.

  “You’re going to fight us?” One of them said mockingly. Selissa just smiled sweetly at him.

  “No, I’m not. But he is.” She said and pointed behind them.

  They all turned to look at the direction she was pointing, just as two of them fell unconscious to the ground.

  Selissa didn’t hesitate to take out the next two as they were still distracted, just as Alassane made quick work of the last one.

  In less than a minute, all five men were lying scattered on the ground. The boy was looking at them with wide, scared eyes.

  “Don’t look at us like that, boy.” Alassane scoffed. “Get going before they wake up.”

  He didn’t need to say that twice. The boy stumbled to his feet and ran as fast as his legs could carry him. He stumbled over his own feet, before finally disappearing into the shadows of the trees.

  Selissa watched the place he disappeared as Alassane bent down to examine one of the soldiers.

  “What are you doing?” She asked as she turned to see him rummaging through the man’s bag.

  “Looking for something…” He said without looking at her. Apparently he found what he was looking for, because he threw something at her. She caught it and looked at it curiously.

  “What is it?” She asked as she turned the metal badge in her hands. A symbol was carved in the front.

  “A Ver’Dohnian military badge. They might get useful.” He said as he started searching the next soldier. He pulled another badge from that one and placed it in his coat pocket.

  “So we can identify ourselves as Ver’Dohnian guards?” Selissa asked curiously. No more passing borders illegally it seemed.

  “Indeed.” He answered, before standing. “We have to get moving. It won’t be long before they wake up, and they will search all over this place for us when they do. That’s what you get for meddling.”

  Selissa laughed silently before following him back to their camp to pack up their stuff. At least she hadn’t gotten beaten up this time.

  26

  As Alassane had promised, it only took them two days before reaching their destination.

  Selissa felt a wave of anticipation as the first glimpse of the temple walls appeared. She was not sure what she expected to find, but she had a feeling a lot of things would become much clearer as soon as she got within those walls.
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  As they neared the temple, the gates towered above them. The sanctuary was enormous and must have been a magnificent sight in its days of glory, but centuries of decay had left its marks.

  Great stone walls were crumbling and in several places the roof was collapsing. The gardens, which were visible through the collapsed walls, were unkempt and overgrown with scrubs and vines. What must have once been a place filled with life was now nothing but a ghostly memory.

  The gate had succumbed to years of deterioration, and they had to cross the fallen rubble to enter the temple halls.

  A deep feeling of peace spread through Selissa’s chest as she passed the fallen gateway. A feeling of belonging she had never experienced before.

  Confusion flicked through her mind, before she realized it wasn’t her own feelings she was feeling. This is your home, isn’t it? She spoke quietly in her mind. Memories of life bustling through the halls flashed through her mind. Memories that weren’t hers either.

  “Where do you want to go?” Alassane’s voice brought her from her reverie. She looked over her shoulder at him.

  “I think…” She started uncertain. “I think I want to go alone.”

  She didn’t want anyone around. Somehow this seemed too private. Like visiting a loved one’s grave. She didn’t know how to explain, and she didn’t think he would understand anyway.

  She saw him clench his jaw, but nod his consent anyway. “If that’s what you need…” He said reluctantly. Selissa sent him a grateful smile.

  She trailed her fingers along the walls as she walked down one of the many hallways. Dim light was