The Sword Bearer

Chapter 29

I calculated the amount of days it would take us to get to the stone. If we kept going at this slow pace we would reach there is four days but if started walking at our normal pace we would be there in three and a half. It wasn’t bad and I needed time to think as well. I didn’t want to take the sword to an unsecure place. Niray had a talent at finding us when we were close to her. We had to stay far away from her lair. I remembered it was close to the shack. That crossed it out. I frowned. I was actually considering that a very good place to stay. “What’s with the long face?” he asked me jokingly. “Just thinking” I said. I was trying not to break my train of thought but he talked to me I couldn’t help but look at his face. His happy face just made me stop thinking. I sighed and gave up after I could recall where my thoughts had been. “You always think” he said. “I know but its hard not to when we are in such a tense situation” I groaned. He nodded at me his expression going serious. “Well when you think you go in a day-dream like state. Its actually one of the things I really like about you” he said smiling at me thoughtfully. “Thanks” I said happily. I would tell him that we needed to decide tonight. I didn’t really want to ruin his happy mood. He seemed to have forgotten about all the problems we were facing. I didn’t want to remind him anyway. He seemed happy enough after how grumpy he was earlier. I just smiled at him. We talked a little while we walked for the remainder of the day but most of the time the conversation would drift off. The day sped up after that. Before I knew it the sun was setting and Daren was asking me to help him set up camp. When we were done making the fire he seemed back in his grim mood. He was frowning and kept staring into the fire. I knew he was thinking about his dad. “Are you okay?” I asked him quietly. “No” he said. His voice cracked as he said this. Tears started to stream out of his eyes. I went and sat next to him and let him cry on my shoulder. “I can’t believe he is gone. All these years I spent hating him for leaving and now I miss him. I’m so confused,” he said crying. I knew how he felt. I had felt the same way when I had first had my visions. I hugged him as he cried. After a while his sobs subsided. I gave him one last squeeze then started to walk away but then I heard his voice saying, “Erica please stay”. I nodded at him. He pulled me back into a hug.

I never remembered how I fell asleep. I felt someone’s arms around me when I woke up. I felt protected. I smiled with my eyes still closed. I curled up into a ball comfortable. I opened my eyes and looked at who was holding me. I gasped in surprise when I saw Daren lying next to me. He was still asleep but his arms were gripping me firmly around my waist. I tried to squirm out of him grip but all he did was groan softly and tighten his grip. I gave up and closed my eyes again. It actually felt good to be in his arms. I felt safe like nothing could hurt me anymore. I curled up and waited for Daren to wake up. After I while I felt his arms move. His breath got shallower and I felt his body move away from mine. I shivered a little. I felt so exposed now. After I was sure he was preoccupied doing something I slowly got up. I saw that he was burying the remains of the fire. Without even looking at me he said “Good morning sunshine”. He was in a cheery mood and I took that as a good sign. “Good Morning” I yawned at him while stretching. After he was done he came over to me and gave me hug. He took me by surprise so I didn’t hug him back for a second. “Thanks for staying with me last night” he whispered in my ear. His breath tickled my neck. He was dangerously close. I nodded breathlessly. He stepped back and I started to breath again. I had been breathless in a good way. He smirked at me. I turned my head embarrassed. After a while the hug was forgotten and we talked like we normally would. Just two more days before I would finally reach the sword. This time I wasn’t going to let anyone or anything stop me. I had waited for too long to stop now. I could wait two days then we would have to something g about Niray. I had been thinking about trying to bargain with her. I didn’t want to resort to violence to solve this problem. Too many people had sacrificed what they had to have more bloodshed.