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“We can’t stay here.” Mira was pacing while we waited for the aether elementalists’ leader to come back. We were supposed to be leaving. Our wounds had healed enough to travel again, and we were getting sick of the offers of help.
“I know,” I said from my chair, flicking fire in my hands. Mira glared at me and I put it out. So maybe in the middle of stacks of paintings wasn’t the best place to play with fire.
“We’ve probably already lost our lead on the Wind Tribe.”
“I know.”
“Then why is he making us wait while he does, whatever it is that he's doing and refusing to tell us about!” She threw up her hands.
“I don’t know, but if you ask me, I think it pretty much sums up our entire relationship with the guy.” Mira stopped her pacing for long enough to cross her arms. She opened her mouth to speak but I cut her off. “You don’t have to be dating someone to have a relationship Mira, you can just be friends.”
“I know. I just . . .” She trailed off, wrapping her arms around herself with a sigh.
“You hate not knowing things.”
She nodded. I could relate. Not knowing how or where she was when we were separated was horrible.
We both turned at the sound of footsteps to see the guy who, in my opinion, started this mess.
“Here, take these for your travels.” He held out two packages. We both took one and looked in them. There was a cloak, a smaller sack filled with money, and some food and medical supplies.
“We can’t take these,” Mira said, trying to give hers back.
“Yes, you can.” He held up his hands to show he wasn’t taking it back.
“We’re not taking a handout.” She shoved the package at his chest.
“It isn’t a handout,” he insisted. “And besides, it’s autumn now, and you don’t know how long you’ll be travelling. You didn’t exactly pack for the cold. At least take the cloak. You need something.”
Mira opened and closed her mouth a few times, clearly trying to come up with an excuse not to take the cloak, but she couldn’t find one. Her clothes weren’t exactly winter wear.
“Fine. We’ll take the cloaks, but nothing else.” She took the cloak out and tossed the package at the guy’s feet. I took the cloak out of my bag as well, holding it up to get a good look at it.
There was something about cloaks that I really liked. The way they flowed out behind me like a trail of flames maybe, or just the fact that it billowed out when I twirled. The cloaks we had been given were brown, the thick linings and large hoods giving them some weight.
The guy who still remained nameless looked at Mira like he was trying to find the right words. Small balls of fire grew in my hands, and I clenched my fists under my cloak to put it out. I didn’t like that look from him.
“Mira, that book in the library, the one it seems only water elementalists can read – Would you like to have it? It’ll be more use to you than us,” he offered. He sounded diplomatic, a trait that reminded me very much of Mira. It irritated me.
Mira hesitated, then gave a nod. “Alright. Thanks. It’s back in the library, right?” She set her things down and went to fetch it. I stayed where I was, but watched her until she turned a corner and was out of sight.
Stalker Guy cleared his throat. “I really am sorry about separating you two,” he said. I kept silent, waiting for Mira. “Oh, wait, there’s a chance it’s in her room, I forgot . . .”
“I’ll go tell her.” I dropped my things and left to find her. I spotted Mira on her way back, with the book in hand.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“That guy said it might still be it in your room.”
“Guess he was wrong. It doesn’t matter. We’re leaving, anyways.”
We returned to where Follower Freak was waiting.
“You found the book?” he asked.
“Yeah, we found the book by her nutso people.”
He looked from me to Mira and back to me again. “Do I even want to know?” he asked.
“Nope,” Mira said with a sigh, stuffing her cloak and the book into her backpack.
“Thanks for treating our wounds and everything,” I said. I was aware of Mira glaring at me, so I added on, “Sorry for, you know, attacking you, and trying to burn your hand with the door.” Mira raised her eyebrows in surprise. I hadn’t told her about trying to burn down the door.
“I probably had it coming,” he said, running a hand through his hair. “Don’t forget this.” He pulled something wrapped in cloth out of his pocket and tossed it to Mira. She unwrapped it to find her Relic.
“I suppose it would be polite to say thank you, except this was always rightfully mine. Now we really do need to get going,” Mira said, starting for the exit.
“Good luck. You’ll need it,” he said. I thought I heard something in his voice, but reading people was more Mira’s department.
“Good bye!” I called, jogging after Mira. “Think that’s the last we’ll see of him?” I asked as we stepped out into the bright afternoon light.
“I doubt it,” she sighed.
I glanced over my shoulder as we walked, the massive building still visible through the trees. I wondered if, and when, the guy would start following us again. He hadn’t exactly explained why he had started in the first place.
At least after a few days rest and decent food we could go at a decent speed. The ground had a healthy layer of leaves, and a few branches were starting to look bare. The bright oranges, yellows, and reds reminded me of fire. Everything was easier to burn in fall when it was dry.
We kept walking until the sun set with no sign of a town, and made camp amid the trees. Our small fire cast a cheery glow.
“At least these things will make decent blankets,” I said as I pulled out my cloak. I heard a jingle in my satchel and froze.
“What’s wrong?” Mira asked.
I opened my satchel wider. My jaw dropped as I saw what was inside. There was food and a small bag filled with money.
“Fera?”
“Nothing.” I slammed it shut.
“Fera!”
“Well, I think I figured out why he sent me to look for you. He put food and money in my bag.”
“What?!” She pulled out her cloak and threw her backpack to the ground. “He did the same to me. Food and money. Argh! I have half a mind to go back there and – and –”
“Make him take it back?” I laughed; she wasn’t very good with threats for the most part. It was comical at times. “If we see him again, we can yell at him.”
“Fine.” She looked back in the direction we had come from murderously. “He better hope we’re not near water if we see him again.”
“Now that is a threat.”
“Ha ha. Funny.” She scowled.
The next morning we were up early and walking. Mira played with some water from her Relic, making intricate patterns that I knew I couldn’t duplicate with fire. I kept alert for any danger or any signs of us being followed by the creep who still remained nameless.
I’m not sure how she knew about the obstacle in our way first, but she did.
“You’re not going to like this,” she said, letting her water fall to the ground in a beautiful spiral.
“What am I not going to like?” I asked, dodging the splash of the water. Then I noticed the subtle roar.
The trees thinned to reveal a river, about fifty feet wide, and the gods knew how deep. “More water?” I remembered the line in the clue as Mira said it out loud.
“Time for a swim, time for a dip.”
“What are we going to do? If we’re supposed to swim, I can’t. I’m not going in that,” I started to panic.
“Fera.”
“I can’t, it’s too big. We can’t get across. It’s huge, I can’t do it.”
“Fera!”
“There’s no way across and we can’t keep going, and the Wind Tribe will get the crystal. I can’t do it.” I turned to bolt, but Mira grabbed my arm, turning me back around.
“Fera! Look!” She held my shoulders so I was facing downstream.
“Oh.” In the distance there was a bridge spanning the river.
“Also, I could have just frozen a section so we could cross,” she said.
We started toward the bridge, Mira between me and the river.
The bridge was beautiful brickwork and not heavily trafficked, only a few people crossing with baskets or carts. “This must not have been here when the clue was written,” Mira said, running her hand across the smooth stones.
“Come on.” I walked quickly across the bridge while Mira took her time, looking over the side at the water. I didn’t want to spend any more time over water than I had to.
“You know the water isn’t going to jump up and pull you off the bridge, right?” she teased.
The town wasn’t far from the bridge. It seemed sad somehow, a run down place with mossy buildings, and although there were people wandering the streets, it seemed too empty.
“Is it just me?” I whispered to Mira. Something in the town made even a whisper seem loud.
“Something isn’t right,” she answered.
“You’re really going?” A woman standing in a doorway was speaking to a man with a backpack. She held a baby in her arms, and a young boy was at her side holding the skirt of her dress.
“For now,” he said. “I don’t know why they’re calling for muster – probably something to do with those new policies that are, frankly, moronic, but I’m honor bound to go. I know Avlemere is far north, and it’ll be a while, but maybe I’ll make them see some sense. The Wind Tribe is going to tear apart families if they continue like this. I won’t let them do that to us.”
“It shouldn’t be up to you –”
“I’m sorry, honey, but this is all I can do.” A small motion from him, and a gentle breeze caressed the woman’s face. The man knelt in front of the boy. “You be good and listen to your mother. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
Even though no one was technically doing anything wrong, my sister and I still turned and hastily walked away before the man left his family.
“He was –” I started.
“From the Wind Tribe,” Mira finished. “And he –”
“Wasn’t happy. So that means –”
“Not all of them want the Crystal.”
“This is good, isn’t it?”
“I’ll take what we can get,” Mira answered, looping her arm through mine.
I didn’t want to say, it was probably going to take more than we were handed to do this. I didn’t want to think like that. We were going to get that crystal before the Wind Tribe. If they were already splintering, that just meant it would be easier. Hopefully.