by K. Dzr
Chapter Twenty-Six
T H E S T O R M
Twelve months passed quickly for those who journeyed to Asymptier. As Demetrius promised, there was much to learn. The world was far more complicated and grand than Tahir could have imagined. And far more dangerous. Not that he had been oblivious to danger, but he learned now, how ignorant he’d been kept from the darkest side of magic.
It seemed just yesterday that he was but a small boy traveling alone in the desert. Back then, life was so simple; his days were filled with seeking adventure and playing with sprites and mers. Now, here he stood, on the icy tundra of Siberia, covered from head to toe in animal fur, contemplating the battle of the century.
A hummingbird, constructed from folded parchment, circled overhead before flying into his grasp. Once touched, the bird lost all life. Tahir unfolded it to find a short message:
Greetings,
The time has come, my young friend. Gather your comrades, your destiny waits.
-Demetrius
Tahir dropped the letter to the ground, unsurprised to see it transform into a dried leaf. He heard footsteps approaching, but didn’t have to turn to know it was Destiny. Her arms wrapped around his waist and her face rested against his back.
“You are worried,” she said.
“It’s time, already.”
“I know. I can feel it. The twelve are growing stronger, the prison weaker. The wind whispers their names, his name. It is as though he beckons me.”
“Artemisios? He speaks to you?”
“No, not really. But I can feel his power. I find it…” she paused, searching for the word, “intriguing.”
“Intriguing? Your enthusiasm to meet Artemisios concerns me.”
“Oh, don’t tell me you’re jealous?” she said, with a mischievous grin.
“Should I be?”
“Of a thousand-year-old man?”
“Well he is sooo intriguing,” Tahir mocked.
“Oh, stop it!” she laughed and playfully pushed him. “How do you stay out here so long? I’m freezing.” she hugged herself, shivering.
“It’s not so unlike the desert,” he explained, as they headed back into the shelter of the school. “There’s very little rainfall, few animals and less people, but instead of being uncomfortably hot, it’s uncomfortably cold.”
“Uncomfortably cold? Winters in England are uncomfortably cold. This is absolutely frigid!”
“It’s a good thing that’s where we’re headed, then. Gather the others while I summon a carriage.”
Soon they were loading their possessions into the carriage and saying goodbye to their new friends and teachers. Within only hours of receiving Demetrius’ message, they were flying back to England to take on Artemisios; and, little did they know, the entire world.
