What if every magical creature you'd ever heard of was real, driven into hiding by an army of violent zealots? This is reality for Sarah Heisen and Porter Collins. Sarah is a sphinx living a life of luxury in her family's mansion. Hidden from all da...
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Chapter Seven
(Porter)
Morning came too soon for Porter. Sunlight flooded through the door of his hut, rousing him from sleep. He yawned, stretched, and then bit back a yelp when he moved his broken leg in a way it didn't like. After a few tense seconds, the pain faded. Sarah was still asleep by his side, paws crossed in front of her as pillow. Looking at her, Porter felt a spark of happiness.
Friends.
He had a friend. He may be lost in the middle of nowhere with a broken leg and a tribe of weird, dice reading elves, but at least he was with a friend. He smiled and eased himself up onto his good leg, propped up by his crutch, and crept away as quietly as he could to keep from waking her. Outside, he found the Ragga elves already up and working around the camp. Did they even sleep, he wondered?
He made his way towards the center of camp, where Lowatai's hut had been. To his relief, the elves greeted him with quick nods as they passed, but did not try to speak to him. As he approached, he found the leading elf sitting in front of her hut, holding a long, thin parcel in her lap. She smiled when she saw him.
"Did you sleep well?" she asked.
"Yes, thank you." he replied. "But what are Sarah and I going to do now? Are we coming with you?"
Lowatai shook her head. "No, the Ragga elves have our own duties to see to. You cannot come with us."
Porter nodded, "All right. Thank you for your help. Sarah and I appreciate it."
"The sphinx," Lowatai mused, "she will be a good friend to you. You will have to protect her with all your strength."
"I will," Porter promised. Sarah was the only person he had, even if she wasn't really a "person" at all. Lowatai didn't need to tell him to protect her.
"Not in that state, you won't."
For a moment, Porter thought she was referring to his amnesia. But no, she was gesturing toward his broken leg.
"Sit down," she told him. He did, and the elf extended a hand to hold it over his leg. A beam of light came from her palm, alighting on his leg. For a few seconds, Porter wasn't sure what was happening. Then he realized the pain in his leg was fading. The sharp, biting pain became a dull ache, and then disappeared completely.
"Undo your binding and try standing on it," Lowatai instructed. Porter hurried to do so, and stood up.
"It doesn't hurt at all!" he exclaimed. "You fixed it!"
Lowatai smiled. "I have a few talents outside of reading destinies. I saw that you would need to be at your strongest for what is coming, so I decided to heal you."
"Thank you," Porter said for the third time, flexing his knee. It felt good to stand on both legs again. "Is there anything I can do to repay you?"
