The Phoenix Stone

Chapter Eight

"Where am I?" I mumbled, though it sounded a lot more like 'whereami?' I couldn't see properly but I knew I was lying next to a fire and that there was a warm body pressed against my feet. My back was aching as was my head but I ignored it.

"You are lying in the same clearing that you woke up in last night," Kael said sternly from somewhere near me.

"Who's at my feet?" I still couldn't see enough to distinguish the person.

"Evander."

"Is he okay?" I hoped desperately that he was okay, otherwise it would be my solely fault that he'd gotten hurt. Actually, I decided, it was my fault either way, if he was hurt badly or if he wasn't. I was the one who'd run away in the first place so it would always be my fault.

"He will be." Kael added under his breath, "Eventually." I could tell that he was annoyed with me. Maybe even angry at me. He certainly sounded like it.

"Are you okay?"

He snorted. "Yes. Just a few minor cuts and bruises."

"Izel?"

"I'm fine," she grunted from somewhere to my left. "You should be more worried for Evander. He got an entire dose of poison unlike you. You only got half a dose that's why you're awake and he's not."

"Do you have any healing supplies," I asked them, sitting up slowly. My head screamed at me as I pulled myself up but I tried to ignore the best I could. My eyes had cleared enough for me to be able to distinguish most details on everything.

"Yes." Kael shook his head, obviously frustrated. "But Evander was the best trained in medics and since he's obviously decapitated right now "

My grandmother had trained me very thoroughly in medics but I had never had to use my knowledge before. "I could try," I offered shyly.

"No!" Kael snapped. "Don't you think you've done enough, Nyx? He'll be fine. I'll figure something out." He stormed out of the clearing.

Izel looked at me apologetically for the first time ever. "Stay here. I'll talk some sense into him." She stood up and followed Kael.

As I sat there I felt guilty for what I'd done. My actions had once again hurt someone and once again, I hadn't meant to. At least this time I could say that I didn't know that there were spiders in the forest. They were gone for at least an hour so I had lots of time to think about all the things I'd done wrong in the past few weeks.

By the time they'd come back I was extremely guilty and to make matters worse, Evander still hadn't woken up.

"Nyx?"

I jumped. I had been so stuck in my thoughts that I hadn't realized that they'd come back. "Yeah?"

He shuffled his feet, looking more awkward than I thought was possible for a fifty-something year old. "I'm sorry for my outburst earlier. It was extremely rude of me and I know you didn't mean to do any harm. I will try to be more gracious towards you. Forgive me?"

"Of course!" I stood up as quickly as I dared and squeezed him. The last big mistake I'd made, the people had tried to kill me instead of apologizing for their reaction. This was very important to me and made me feel very loved.

Kael smiled. "Thank you. And by the way, if you really don't want to come with us, you can go back home. I can see how much your grandmother means to you and if this choice hurts you, you don't have to come with."

I paused. I had no idea what to think now. "I thought your task was to bring me back, no matter what?"

He sighed. "Yes. But I can deal with the consequences. What you want matters more than my completion of a task."