The Halo Of Vakh (BOOK 1)

PEACE

The few crooked trees rose in front of them. Rueen tried not to show the fear gripping her heart as she stared at the blazing sea of red in the air. Yet, they walked towards the danger they knew loomed before them. The dark of the night settled deeper and she tried to calm her rapid heart. They had seen blood splattered on the yellowed plains just a small way behind. She did not let her mind ponder on it.

And then as they passed a small cluster of burnt twisting trees, an arm wrapped around her neck, pushing her back into one of the rough barks till it cut into her nape. There was a blast, a flashing streak of blue and a yell. Gaining her wits back she focused on the dark skinned man who had taken hold of her, pressing the cold tip of an arrowhead against her neck. She frantically turned her eyes around her, trying to take in the state of her companions. Andrew and Thomas were on the ground, roots growing around their bodies, holding them down. Her father was nowhere in sight and nervousness clawed at her. She still didn't dare turn her head, afraid the point would pierce her throat.

"We gave them your message," Sander's voice cut through all the panting and grunts.

"What are you doing here, then?"

And Rueen could laugh with relief at the familiar voice. She turned her eyes to where Sapphire stood, holding her blade right above the man's jugular.

"We're travelling with your friend," Sander said. "Now, please let me and my friends go. The ones you need are here as well. Let us go. Please."

She saw Sapphire turn her head slightly towards her. The moment her eyes landed somewhere to her left, she pushed herself away from Sander and grimaced.

"Ileeyan let them go," she said and Rueen felt the arrow being drawn away from her. She wondered who the man was. Maybe, Sapphire had met him the same way they had met Sander and his friends. She looked around and her gaze fell on her father, pulling dark vines away from his body, his eyes snapping between Sapphire and Ileeyan. The man's green gold eyes made unease coil in her stomach.

"Where in the Faranthamies were you?" Sapphire asked, throwing her arms around Rueen and pulling her into a tight embrace. "You should have been here two nights ago." The indignation had mixed with fear. Sapphire let go of her and looked over to her father. "I thought you never got my message."

There was a slight tremor in Sapphire's voice and Rueen knew there was more that had troubled her. She knew Sapphire thought they had been caught. Hadn't they feared the same? The bruises beneath Sapphire's eyes from her lack of sleep confirmed her speculations.

"I don't know if you know," Rueen started to explain, "but rebellions have broken out all over the place. Parr's men are crawling all over the place like locusts on wheat. We got caught in the middle of a revolt in Medlar."

With the help of the others, Rueen and James managed to lay the occurrences of their previous days bare. The look of horror on the younger woman's face reciprocated her feelings towards the massacred village. A small distance to their left, the Vakhor roared in the sky, sending out an occasional ray of burning red fire into the air. It would usually dissipate above their heads in a shower of orange sparks but twice, it fell onto a small shrub, reducing it to a dark skeleton.

They told their tales, sitting there beside the Vakh with the Vakhor looming above their heads, shrieking and screaming.

Rueen could feel the chill in her blood at the words. Sapphire had almost died and none of them had known. They sat in silence after that, none of them saying anything to break the quiet that had settled over them. They had reached the end of a rope, the edge of a cliff. What were they to do now? There was nowhere for them to go. The Vakhor territory in the distance was all that kept them safe and sound. Perhaps, they could stay together and make some semblance of normality in the ruins by hiding from Parr's men. She didn't want to run anymore. There was nowhere to run. A single step further would topple them to their deaths.