by Bre Faucheux
Madison looked forward. The wind gained force. The light that had once lit the valley below the wooded hills on either side of her was no longer visible.
“How are we so important that this was brought upon us?” she said delicately.
“We were not so important. But we are now. Everything we do now is important,” he said.
“What of it then?”
“We return home, and find as many infected people as we can. If what Caspar said was true, there are rabid vampyrs lurking across the continent. We must find them, and heal them if they can be saved,” he said. The certainty in his voice was comforting to her. “And at some point, I must journey back to Inazin and his people. I have a feeling that there is more to this than what he told me. There is a chance that he does not know the entire story either.”
“And how, dare I ask my leader,” sarcasm seeping through her tone, “do we make sure that such a future does not happen to the Sioux or the other tribes.”
“In whatever ways we can. We make friends in high places, the church, the nobility, even royalty. Perhaps even the armies. If we can influence man’s decisions, we can direct things in the manner we believe they should be directed. In the same way the Vam-pyr-ei-ak did. And you dear sister,” he said, taking her shoulder in his arm, “are quite persuasive now, are you not? Or did you not convince Jayden, the most stubborn one amongst us to go to Inazin for help?”
“How do we know that our way is the right one,” she said flatly.
“We don’t. But then at least we have tried something. Man must make discoveries west of Europe slowly. If they are given too much too quickly, well, you know the measures the Vam-pyr-ei-ak took to stop that. Other tribes will be eager to defend their lands as well.”
Footsteps came from behind Jamison and Madison. Neither of them needed to turn around to know who it was. Jayden had taken to making his presence known through penetrating the emotions of anyone close by before they could see him.
“I heard my name spoken,” he said.
“I dare to say that you heard much more than that,” said Jamison.
“It’s all very enlightening, Jamison.”
“Yes, indeed, there is only one complication in its entirety.”
Madison looked at both of them now, curling her knee in her lap. She had grown fond of watching the two of them quarrel on one issue to another over the past weeks. Both she and Jayden waited for Jamison to continue.
“Your inability to be charming,” he said. “I doubt you could befriend a rogue let alone anyone of any stature in society.”
“I’m sure your sister can vouch for me in that area,” said Jayden. “I do believe she has grown fond of my less than finely tuned charms.”
Madison rolled her eyes and jumped from the edge of the fortress wall, landing softly below. This was an argument she didn’t wish to listen to for once. She made it halfway back to their lodgings before someone belted into her from the side, completely knocking her down to the ground. She quickly arose and looked about for who it was. It took little effort when Jayden was close. He never hid his emotions from her now.
“Amused are you?” she yelled, still searching for where he had gone.
“Thrilled, mistress,” he said from above. He looked down from one of the staggering trees beside her, its limbs creaking from his weight. “For I don’t believe I have ever raced you as a storm brewed.” Lightning reached down for the ground near them and she felt the forest ground vibrate from its powerful blow.
“Don’t make such a proposal unless you can deliver, sir,” she yelled back at him.
He jumped down and came close to her. For a moment she thought he would draw her into him. He took her face in his hands as he had many times before and drew her eyes within his, only to vanish the next second. The sound he left behind drifted in the air as he ran off. She darted away to catch him as the rain began to plummet to the ground.
“Whatever happened to giving me a head start?” she yelled.
She trailed right behind him, attempting to grab for his tunic to slow his pace, or possibly topple him over.
“I didn’t think you needed one anymore.”
THE END
Bre Faucheux
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