Darkness & Light: Book 1: Shatter Our Fates [COMPLETED]

2 - Hayley

We hurry along as fast as possible, Tiber in front of me, his sharp gaze darting about the road as we go. The city of Tempyria — which is on the outskirts of our home, a small town called Noxyk — lurks just on the horizon. But first, we need to through the Whispering Weald. The Weald is full of boggarts and wolves, and no one knows if when they enter the Weald, you will return the same.

As we walk down the narrow strip of cobblestones, rain begins to fall from the cloudy, gray sky. I pull my hood up over my head, sighing. My wooden cane clacks against the stones, and I wish I could hide that sound, but the rain muffles it a bit. The wind kicks up a bit, and Tiber and I walk up to the edge of the Weald.

He glances back at me, clutching his satchel and backpack. Yes, before we'd left the only place we'd ever called home, we had packed some bags. But not enough to let our Mom know she'd lost her kids. After all, the wicked woman is likely to kill us before we entered the Weald.

We enter the Weald, and as soon as we step inside the dark woods, the rain sounds fade a bit. So does the sound of my cane hitting the ground, since we are on grass. I clutch the handle of my cane a bit tighter, making sure to be careful with where I step. The roots of trees stick up, and the grass is uneven. There is no road through the Weald. No one goes into it to reach Tempyria, as they'd rather go the long way.

But on foot? On foot, the long way would take months. And we'd have to wander through the Soul Wastes. Which is arguably more dangerous than the Weald. Especially on foot.

We walk in silence through the Weald, my brother holding a compass in his palm, held out in front of him. We don't speak because we know that the Weald's listening. Always watching and listening.

It's dark in here, and the rain barely reaches us from the canopy above us, as the trees are so thick, as are their branches and leaves. We walk down a slope, and as we do, I nearly slip, but Aldrea somehow adds some strength to my legs, making it easier for me to walk. I finally catch up to Tiber.

He looks at me. A soft smile crosses my brother's pale face, and his long black hair sways into his brown eyes. We are in our late teens, both of us. I'm older than he is, I am eighteen and he is sixteen. But no one could tell that just by looking at us, as he's so much taller than I am.

Suddenly, there's a howling noise in the woods. I freeze, as does Tiber. He looks at me, his dark eyes wide. Tiber swallows audibly, and we walk forward once more.

The howls grow faint, but as we near the sound of a gurgling stream, they get louder. Much, much louder. I clutch my cane tight, hard enough that my knuckles go white. Aldrea is silent, but I can feel her, in the back of my mind.

We move slow but not too slow, and before long, we are at the stream. And it is moving fast, too fast to swim through safely. It's also wide. And, judging by the air, it is also cold as hells.

Tiber nudges me, and I turn to see the small stone bridge across the stream. I nod, and we head toward the bridge. But when we reach it, there's a howl that pierces the Weald. I look up, and sense Aldrea and her .... strange powers.

I look around again, and Tiber rests his hand on my hand. I look to him, and he signals for me to cross the bridge. We don't talk, since we don't want to have the howling creature find us.

When we reach the bridge and are halfway across it, something above us, in the trees, snarls and moves through the leaves. I bite down on my lip in an effort to stop a scream that begs to be free. Aldrea rises within me.

"Do not look up, Hayley," she whispers in my mind. "Keep moving. Trust me."

I obey her, although my curiosity wants me to look up. So, so, so bad. But I do my best to ignore that, just stare at the uneven rocks as we step onto the bank on the other side of the stream. Tiber looks at me, nodding once. Then, he and I walk along a bit faster, my legs aching.

Aldrea's magick helps my legs stay strong, but the magick doesn't do much for my chronic pain. Tiber needs to help me with my meds, once we reach safety.

Tiber is an alchemist, and he mixes a tonic for me to drink with my meds he's made for my pain, to enhance it. But we must stop for me to dig in my bag, as I need both hands, and I can barely walk without my cane. I use it mainly for balance and such, but also because it alleviates some of my pain in my hips, legs, and knees.

My wings twitch under the cloak Tiber gave me. I tuck them close to my spine, hoping that I do not slow him down too much. But then, the howling sounds out, and it is so close, so nearby, that I clamp my hand over my mouth and bite my lip to stop a scream.

Aldrea is there, her power swirling in me. In my veins. I feel like I'm being both warmed and cooled at the same time. And she makes me feel .... alive. Electrified.

Tiber and I walk faster, but my legs give out at the worst  possible second, and I collapse to the grassy knoll below me.