Solivagant

Chapter Six

Something cold and wet struck Asher's cheek. He opened his eyes just as another fat raindrop rolled off of the leaves above him and hit his arm. Wiping away the freezing droplet, he looked up through the oak's leaves. The sky was covered in thick, dark clouds, and a rainy haze filled the air. A faint gray light near the edge of the horizon promised dawn would soon come.

He pushed himself into a sitting position, rubbing sleep from his eyes. The headache had finally vanished, and his leg wasn't quite so painful.

Well, I'm not dead yet. He couldn't help but be surprised he'd made it this far.

Asher listened to the dull thrum of rain for a few minutes before cautiously getting to his hands and knees. Gripping the oak's trunk for support, he began to awkwardly climb down the tree, careful not to slip on the wet wood.

He jumped the last six feet to the forest floor. A dull pain flared up in his leg as his feet sunk a few inches into the muddy ground. Grateful he was wearing boots, Asher surveyed the area. Nothing--not even a squirrel or bird was out in this weather. The woods were eerily silent. Hopefully, the Valkir had lost his trail.

Asher shook his head. The assassin could use magic--there was no doubt he could find Asher. In fact, Asher didn't know how the man hadn't found him already. Why didn't he teleport, as Asher had done only two days before? Something must've been holding the man back, but what?

Something moved in the darkness, throwing the thought from Asher's mind and making his heart skip a beat. It was just the barest shift of a shadow, but he could tell something large was lurking behind a grove of nearby trees. He raised his arm and summoned a bright ball of flames, half of his mind marvelling at how easy it was becoming to reach for the magic. The light cut through the rain, revealing a dark, scaly tail. It quickly vanished from sight, leaving him unsure whether he'd seen it at all.

Asher swallowed and took a step back. He'd heard tales of monsters and strange beasts in the woods, but he'd thought they were just stories. Tales to scare children away from the dense, dark forest.

A minute passed, and nothing happened. If there had even been a creature, it was likely passive. Asher hesitated, and then fled from the site, angling towards the distant mountains. In his fear, the barrier between him and magic partly fell away. The forest seemed to come to life as the magical currents running through it were revealed. A faint hum reached his ears over the rain, and he was surprised to see sparks of silvery energy dancing around his hands.

Asher reluctantly allowed the connection, forcing himself to ignore the world of energy suddenly at his fingertips. After all, magic was his best and only weapon, and he may need it.

The rain steadily grew worse as the minutes passed. Soon, Asher was completely drenched, struggling to keep moving as the ground became more and more saturated with rain. He tripped and fell on the slick mud twice, splattering himself with the stuff and badly scraping his palms. After he'd travelled a mile or two, he was forced to slow down. He caught his breath under the shelter of a young tree, suspiciously peering out into the pouring rain.

He stiffened as the magic suddenly flared someplace behind him, like a sun emerging amongst stars. He darted to the side just as a streak of red light shot past his head. It hit the tree with a loud crack. Asher spun around to see the Valkir watching him from the shadow of another tree, the hood of his cloak drawn up against the downpour. The man's hands began to glow a faint red, and Asher felt another spike in the magic. Did that happen every time a magic-user wielded it?

Asher froze, looking for something to use, but the cursed rain kept him from seeing--

The rain.