SGE His Guarded Heart (Prequel to His Darkened Heart)

Chapter 9 Anywhere but Here

But then the two girls suddenly stopped walking and just stood there, backs turned on him. And then Elaine turned and the witch Krushem knew was back.

Her blue eyes flashed red in warning. She stormed towards him, hand outstretched as if to cast some terrible spell.

"You!" She screeched, her voice cold. "What are you doing here! Get away!"

Krushem was too shocked to say anything. He stepped backwards, only to fall onto the ground. He stared up at Elaine as she drew forth, her black cloak trailing across the ground.

"Get out of my head!" She shouted. "Leave!"

Just as Krushem found the courage to speak, he suddenly found himself lurching awake.

Krushem was already wide awake then, somehow. Because the strange dream he'd just had didn't matter to him right now. All he needed to know was where he was and how'd he gotten here.

He stumbled to his feet and spun about, taking in the trees that surrounded him on all sides. He searched the top of the trees in vain, hoping to catch the familiar sight of the towering structure of the schools somewhere beyond the trees. But all he saw was tree after tree with no end in sight.

How had he gotten here? What happened in the Trial? Where was Aric?

These questions plagued him as he struggled to think of how he'd possibly ended up here in the woods.

That's when a twig snapped behind him and he spun around, grabbing ahold of his sword to fend off the intruder without a second thought.

"Dude, put the sword down. It's me, dumbass," Armeq's voice chastised him. Armeq held his arms up in playful surrender, palms outward, but he was staring at the blade of Krushem's sword warily.

Krushem relaxed a bit, but still, he was on edge. "Ho—how did I get here? Where are we? Wh—what happened?"

Armeq chuckled as if he was amused by Krushem's shocked state, and he leant against a nearby tree, scrubbing a hand down his face. "The trial went bad," Armeq told Krushem. "The girls and boys started fighting each other for real, trying to kill each other. You got knocked out, and I dragged you out of there into the endless woods. Left the schools behind. Met up with Balleng. He had the same idea as I did."

Armeq continued to talk, but Krushem could no longer hear him. The blood roared in Krushem's ears, blocking out the sound of Armeq's voice droning on. Krushem's heart was pounding against his rib cage, and he felt a cold chill run down his spine as he recalled Aric about to kill his own mother.

Krushem hadn't made it to Aric. He could've stopped Aric. He could've saved him, but he hadn't done enough.

Krushem hadn't been ready to go. He had had the plan to leave after the trial and go home, but that didn't mean he'd wanted to leave Aric behind, especially after having told Aric that he wouldn't abandon him like his mother had.

A wave of fiery hot anger seized Krushem as he grabbed ahold of Armeq's arm and squeezed it in a vice like grip. Armeq looked stunned, wincing in pain as Krushem shoved his arm against the tree.

"What's the damn problem, Krushem? I saved you. Those girls would've killed you. You should thank me, you ungrateful jerk," Armeq spat back at Krushem.

"No, no. It's all wrong," Krushem muttered, shaking his head hard. "I was gonna save him! I had to save him! I have to go back. I have to—"