The Shadow Wanderers

Chapter 6

"Behind me!" Zayden shouted.

The girls acted on instinct and turned to stand behind him. They didn't know what to expect from him, a man who was just a stranger to them.

The ball of fire seemed to get bigger with every passing second, and Zayden stood in a defensive position, his arms held out, as though waiting for a perfect moment to act.

Calista's heart thumped as the ball of fire traveled in a projectile over the sea, hurtling toward them with an unprecedented speed. Her eyes couldn't believe what she was seeing; it felt like the sun itself was coming to engulf them.

Zayden's hand twitched and an electrifying current seemed to escape his fingers. The girls braced themselves, every passing second a big lurch to their hearts. Within no time, the fire seemed to hit them, but before it could, it slammed into an invisible wall that left Zayden's hands. His whole body shivered as he strained against the impact of the fire.

The girls watched in awe as they saw the fire recoil in on itself and never quite reaching them, the invisible electrifying shield keeping it at bay. It seemed to get stronger, and apparently, the shield was not so big because the fire made its way sideways and traveled towards the woods behind them, the nearest trees catching fire. As the trees went up in flames, Calista called Zayden's name as she saw him straining more, his feet dragging themselves into the rocks.

In no time, it was over. The approaching fire seemed to back away, as though satisfied with the damage it had inflicted upon the trees. Zayden straightened up, and the three turned around to assess the woods. Naomi and Calista watched with horror as the fire caught from one tree to another―it seemed to engulf the woods hungrily.

"I have to go find its source. My people will take care of that!" Zayden shouted over the deafening crackling of the fire.

"Your what?!" Naomi shouted back, but he seemed to have disappeared from their view.

Naomi grabbed Calista's hand in urgency and dragged her behind. "Cal, we have to go." But Calista seemed to be transfixed in a trance, she watched the fire, recoiling and coiling, eating up one tree after the other. It was not long before they noticed people approaching, shouting. They seemed to look as shocked by the fire as the girls were. Calista saw the blackening smoke that rose up into the air and knew it had attracted the people. She knew what it meant to them; she knew what would happen. The crowd on the cliff seemed to get bigger and bigger but the fire didn't seem to stop. Calista was frozen, hoping for a miracle, praying for a miracle.

It was not long before the people noticed her, it wasn't hard when her hair matched the color of the engulfing fire. It was not long when she started hearing the shouts and flinched. "Witch!" It snapped her out of her trance and her flight instincts kicked in. She realized she was more scared of the Erinians than she was when she saw the ball of fire hurtling towards them.

They'll try to sue you if they see any other happenings of the sort.

Like fires out of the blue.

Naomi and Calista clasped each other's hands and ran. They didn't stop when a few people followed them. They didn't stop when the nearing houses filled them with hope. They reached her house's front steps and stumbled blindly upon them. Calista slammed the door behind her and bolted it shut.

The girls panted, never taking their eyes off the door, afraid it would burst open any second. The burning glares of the Erinians burned in the back of her head. She saw death in their eyes. Their shouts calling her a witch echoed off the walls of her house. She hadn't wanted to run and escape the island as much as she did at that moment, sitting on the floor in front of the door, expecting it to burst open any second.