Edge of Endarys

It Begins

It was deadly quiet everywhere. I didn't like it. The sky had turned to a deep red and was covered in a blanket of black clouds blocking out the sun. I usually loved muted light—I always have the best pictures then—but this was more than just a little cover from the intense rays. This might as well have been nightfall it was so dark.

I kept an almost constant watch over Dad through his golden pathway. It was difficult to keep the link open very long. Instead of the ease of tensing a muscle as it was with the others, linking with Dad took real concentration like balancing a tray of full water glasses on your head while walking a tightrope hundreds of feet off the ground while saying the alphabet backward kind of concentration. That is not an over-exaggeration. That's not exaggerated nearly enough but it gets my point across. Keeping a link with Dad was tough and very draining.

Silver worried about my well-being and would occasionally link with Dad for me. They were only momentary glimpses but since he was trained for this sort of thing it took less concentration. It was still taxing even on Silver. He was afraid that if he tried too much, he would be too drained to protect me.

Deshawn and Raven decided to explore the hideout on foot. There was a small entrance, big enough for a horse and rider to barely squeeze through, hidden in vines at the back of the castle. Raven showed everyone how to get in. They kept a link open while searching for nonzombie survivors.

Silver and I followed cautiously on horseback. I leaned into him without even thinking about it and pushed lowered vines out of his line of sight. The area was dank and our footsteps echoed off the stone walls. There was a mist that carpeted the ground that seemed to get thicker as time passed on. I felt incredibly uneasy.

"Are you feeling all right, My Lady?" Silver asked.

"Yes," I smiled at him.

"You seem nervous."

"I just don't like being separated from everyone. I'm not strong enough to stay in constant contact. I hate that."

He smiled. "Everyone is fine."

I pushed away more lowered vines. "I wonder what causes someone to change so drastically."

"The woman Lady Aldain knew as her sister is no longer in control of that body. She did not change because she wanted to."

I looked up at his face and gently moved his hair away from his eyes. "What if the same thing happens to me? What if I get taken over? Would you kill me?"

The question hurt him. "I doubt the evil which holds Priestess Aldain can control a heart as pure as yours, My Lady." He let his head drop onto mine. "But if I had to, I am not entirely certain I could take the life of someone I loved."

I kissed him gently on the cheek. "Thank you for being so kind."

I searched through my pathways to Dad again. He was fine but very frustrated. Serena wasn't in the altar room and the entire castle was just as empty as the second hideout. He wanted to get back to regroup as soon as possible but couldn't think of a safe enough place to do it. He linked quickly between all the jor for a moment to see, through their eyes, what their area looked like and wasn't satisfied that either place was safe.

"Cricket," Dad spoke through the pathway. "I need you to get out of there, quickly".

"Dad? Why?" I spoke out loud like an idiot, but whatever.

"That mist is dangerous"

"The mist?" My head started throbbing. "Ow, it hurts."

"What hurts, Sweetling?"