Awakening - The Last Science #1

Chapter 8 - Tidings of Fire - II

  Cinza fell back a few steps to join her. Rachel was still feeling dazed from the encounter with the monsters, and she flinched at the approach. Cinza nodded, a look of understanding flitting across her eyes.

  "You've never been in a fight," she stated. Rachel was taken aback by how calm Cinza appeared. Her own blood was still coursing like a river in a storm. Her skull and chest were visibly pounding from her heart still working on overdrive. Cinza handed her a bottle of water, which Rachel drained gratefully. "It gets easier."

  "Your followers seem well-drilled," Rachel commented as she watched them navigate around a thicket. She pulled a handkerchief from her bag and wiped her mouth dry. Cinza raised an eyebrow. "I'm just surprised. This seems almost like a small private army."

  "We know how the world typically reacts to groups like ours," the girl replied. Rachel looked down at her. Cinza didn't clear five feet, while Rachel was over six. By her first impression, Rachel had assumed a weak, small and deluded girl worshipping an entity they knew almost nothing about. After the display tonight, she was rapidly revising her assessment to a capable leader and someone quick on her feet in a crisis—if still a little bit insane.

  "So you've trained them to fight."

  "I've helped them learn to defend themselves," Cinza answered, her eyes narrowing defensively.

  "Where did you learn to fight?"

  She smiled wistfully. "One of many fathers."

  Rachel had never been quite so close to her before. She examined Cinza more thoroughly. With her hood and cloak removed after the heat of the flames and her exertion, Cinza was dressed very practically in tight clothes that were easy to move in, with a single bag strapped to her waist in such a way that it wouldn't bounce or inhibit action. She was small but deceptively strong, with more than enough muscle hidden away beneath her skin, now visible through her sweat-drenched white shirt. Her hair was still pure silver-grey from the ritual dance, but she hadn't applied any of her other illusions, so Rachel was able to see her dark eyes clearly. They burned with a passion and fury she didn't quite understand. Was it residual from the fight, or inspired by their discussion?

  The necklace she wore with the eight-pointed star was more than just decor. A small variety of gemstones were inlaid in slots at the intersections and the points of the star, giving Cinza a wealth of reinforcement should she need it at any time. Below the star, there were scars on her chest, just barely visible within the hem of her shirt. Thin, easily disguised scars. Rachel wondered if she would hide them if she knew Rachel could see, or wear them proudly and defiantly. There were too many mysteries about this girl.

  "Ask me your questions. You'll never get the whole story with just your eyes," Cinza said quietly. Rachel jumped. Her mind must have still been disoriented from the fight, if Cinza had noticed her analyzing. Usually she could take in every detail about a person long before they even noticed. Either that, or Cinza was an unusually aware individual.

  "Would you tell me the whole story if I asked?" Rachel replied, a bit more pithy than she intended.

  "Were the world an open book, and everyone had read it cover to cover, none of us would have anything to talk about anymore."

  Rachel walked silently for a few moments, considering her words. Cinza was scanning the trees around them as they began to close on the edge of the forest, watching for any further threats. Her small figure seemed coiled to lash out at a moment's notice, barely committing to any movement and remaining light on her toes.

  "It doesn't matter where I came from," Cinza continued without prompting, surprising Rachel once again. "It doesn't matter who I was, where I fought and bled. My old story is unimportant. It's all in the past, and the future is with her."