The Anaki Prophecy

The Anaki Prophecy ~ Ch. 6

My feet flew over the ground, following the man's every step. I didn't trust strangers, but this man saved me, and now he was trying to save Barrett. We were running away from town, which I did not understand. Questions ran through my head.

Who was he?

And how had he used magic?

And where was he taking us?

The woods grew darker, more menacing. The path became rocky. I was growing weary when a large fog appeared before us, on the other side a bridge was barely visible. The man walked into the fog, Barrett thrown over his shoulder, and I followed.

As the fog engulfed me, I could see little around me. My senses seemed to be shutting down and the fog wrapped around my brain. I felt dizzy, confused, and the sensation of being pushed backwards. Then a hand grabbed mine and suddenly all was clear, the fog let go, and the could I'd been walking through disappeared. I looked down to see the man's hand in mine, the green light twisting up my arm. "Come on," he pushed, "We need to hurry."

"Where?" I asked, "Who are you?" I pulled my hand away from his and the fog quickly encroached upon me, my head spinning. As his fingers found mine again, the fog cleared. This time, I held on tightly.

"I'm Preston," he quickly explained. "My village is on the other side of those trees beyond the bridge, but we have to hurry. Your friend has lost a lot of blood." He pulled me forward through where the fog was before. When we reached the bridge he dropped my hand. I looked back to see the fog, as if it had always been there and we'd just passed through it. "Come on," he urged, "We're almost there."

"How did you do that?" I demanded.

"I'll telly ou everything after we get to the village," he exclaimed. He took off across the bridge and my boots clopped behind him over the small wooden bridge. Our feet hit dirt again and we reaced through the trees, thick and grown together for about 100 feet. Suddenly we burst through the tree line into a large, open village.

A dirt path kicked up dust below our feet and several cabins stood. There were probably around sixty homes created from logs or stone. Preston led me down the dirt road into the village, passing a few homes before walking up a stone path surrounded by flowers to one cabin. He raised his free hand and banged on the door. "Angel!" he called, "It's Preston, Angel, open up!"

The door slowly opened. "Preston, I'm feeding Mikel, what do you need?" the small young woman with raven hair cropped short and spikey as she wiped her hands on the apron she wore. She looked up, her grey eyes growing huge. "Aron, come quickly," she called. A tall, muscular man appeared behind her and he quickly surveyed the scene then gently took Barrett from Preston's arms and carried him inside. Angel closed the door and Preston let out a long sigh as he placed his back against the wooden wall and slid to the ground.

I stared at him for a long moment, trying to understand what just happened. Finally he looked up at me, his eyes holding my gaze, the grey no longer stormy but instead filled with warmth and concern. "Are you alright?" he asked.

"I'm fine," I answered, slightly taken aback by his calm demeanor. "But what the hell just happened? Who did you give Barrett to? Where are we? How did you do the things you did?"

"One question at a time," Preston smiled at me, holding in a laugh.

"Don't one quesiton at a time me!" I snapped. "After everything that just happened, I htink I have the right to ask questions!" He smiled, as if expecting my outburst. I sighed, annoyed. "Who did you just give Barrett to?" I demanded.

"My sister and her husband," he said. "They're the most advanced healers in the village." I looked at him with confusion and opened my mouth to speak. "It's a long story," he informed me, patting the ground next to him, "You may want to sit."