"Claire, come on, we don't have time," Draz insisted.
"I know him," Claire said, her voice quiet.
"What? That's impossible-"
"We met, yesterday," Claire continued, her heart beating fast in her chest. She jumped when she felt Draz's hand on her shoulder. She turned and looked at him, his expression was a mixture of urgency and concern.
"There is no way," Draz pressed, "if you had met him, you and I would not be having this conversation right now."
"I'm telling you, Draz," Claire exclaimed, her voice rising in pitch, "I met him on my way here. He was riding the same bus. He sat next to me the whole ride, he got off before me... he..."
Claire looked back towards the man who had introduced himself the day before as Benjamin Stafford and she felt a cold chill sweep over her. He had been so nice. Perhaps it was the shadows, but his face seemed more angular, sharper somehow and the cool, steeliness of his gaze was a far cry from the soft smile and warm eyes the day before.
"Alright, Claire, I believe you, but can we talk about this later?" Draz asked, pulling at her shoulder to guide her away from where Benjamin stood still frozen in place. "I'm still working out the kinks of that particular spell and there is no telling when it will fade. Could be minutes, could be hours, I'd rather not find out."
Claire stared at him a few seconds longer before she conceded and turned to follow Draz down the hallway towards the front of the house. There she paused briefly, pulling on the latch of a narrow door that opened into a small closet. She found a pair of old rain boots and quickly pulled them on. They were too big and felt bulky on her feet, no doubt having belonged to her grandfather, but they would have to do.
"Where are we going?" She asked as she grabbed an over-sized raincoat from the closet as well and pulled it on. It was lined with fleece and the weight of it made her feel warm and secure.
"We need to go someplace where it will be much harder for our new friend there to follow us," Draz explained as he pulled open the front door. He paused in the open archway and held out his hand to her.
"Where is that exactly?" Claire inquired as she took hold of his hand.
"Oria," Draz grinned before ducking through the the door and pulling Claire with him into the night.
The rain continued to fall in thick, icy sheets and Claire was grateful for the coat which protected her from the worst of the cold. Draz didn't seem to care about the rain as he lead her around the side of the house.
Through darkness illuminated by bright blue flashes of lightning, Claire caught sight of the apple orchard whose dark branches stretches towards the sky like bony fingers. Claire felt a shudder dance down the length of her spine. As a child she had loved to play in those trees and had spent many a hot, summer's day hanging upside down from branches and enjoying the fruit the trees had to offer.
She loved those trees so much that she insisted on having a room with a window that overlooked the entire field. On nights like this, however, the trees turned from magical playmates to creatures of the night whose grasping, clawing branches would reach for her, ready to gobble her up just as she had done to the apples.
It had been a silly notion, perhaps spurred on by too many viewings of the Wizard of Oz, but it was a concern that had stuck with Claire throughout the years. Even now, knowing full well that the trees were just trees, Claire felt a sense of unease as Draz pulled them in the direction of the grove.
When the reached the treeline, Claire chanced a glance over her shoulder. At first all she could see was blackness, but as she turned back a flash of lightning casts a dazzling glow across the back yard and Claire caught sight of a lone figure striding purposely across the law, his cloak fluttering wildly on the wind.
The light faded, darkness rushing to fill the void left behind, once again masking the hunter from view.
"We're almost there," Draz called, his voice nearly getting swept away by the storm.
"Almost where?" Claire called back, but Draz either didn't hear her or chose to ignore her because he offered no response.
She started to ask again, but decided against it. Claire had a feeling she would find out soon enough.
Claire focused on running instead. All around her trees swayed, the branches rising and falling in erratic, jerky motions. At times the branches dropped low enough to catch in her hair or pull at her coat, and she did her best to ignore the unease that came with the sensation of being grabbed.
It seemed as though they had run for miles before they burst through the trees into a clearing in the middle of the grove. The clearing struck Claire as strange for two reasons. The first being that she had no recollection of such a space ever having been there before, and two, there was no logical reason for it to exist even if it had. The grove had been planted tree by tree in long, uniformed rows for optimal efficiency. It would be foolish to waste all this space when perfectly good trees could be grown there.
"Only a little further, Claire," Draz insisted, slowing his pace. Claire realized she could hear him clearly. In fact, it dawn on her in that moment that the rain had stopped, the thunder no longer rumbled ominously all around them, and when she looked up she could see a dazzling array of stars scattered across the sky above.
"Where are we?" Claire asked, her voice sounding strange to her ears. "I thought we were going back to Oria? Is the train going to pick us up here?"
"This place has no name," Draz said, his voice also sounded a bit off. "There are many pathways to Oria, some darker than others. This way won't be as comfortable as the train, but it will be faster."
Comfortable? What part of that infamous train ride had been comfortable?
As they neared the center of the meadow, each step seemed to be harder than the next. Claire's pace began to slow as her feet sank into the softening soil. It was as though she were suddenly walking through thick mud. There was a loud popping sound as her foot came free and the next step landed her with one booted foot buried to the ankle.
Letting out a startled shout, she lost her grip on Draz's hand and went toppling forward. She landed on her hands and knees, both of which began sinking into the muck at an alarming rate. She tried to pull free but found it to be impossible.
"Draz!" She shouted, though she needn't of bothered. He was already closing the distance between them with long strides seemingly unhindered by the same shifting ground that had ensnared Claire.
"There's no use fighting it," a voice called out. Claire looked over her shoulder to see Benjamin strolling towards them. "There is only one thing that will break that spell and--"
"Close your eyes, Claire," Draz hissed, cutting off whatever else Benjamin had been about to say. "Do you trust me?"
"What?" She asked, surprised by the question. She closed her eyes as he asked.
"Do you trust me, Claire."
"Yes."
Claire saw a flicker behind her eyelids and felt her heart leap into her throat.
Fire.
A moment later she felt an intense heat sweep over her and waited for the pain, or the very least the smell of something burning. The only thing she felt was an uncomfortable tingling sensation, like when one sat too close to a bonfire for too long. She felt the muck begin to harden and then crack as all the moisture was drawn out by the flames.
Claire opened her eyes and was awestruck by the reddish blue glow of flames that rose and fell around her, their dance almost hypnotic. Draz reached through the rippling ring of fire and grabbed hold of one of her wrists. He gave a pull and it came free of the earth, the soil crumbling away into a fine powder. Once she realized how easy it would be to get free now, Claire jerked her other hand and her foot free from the dried mud.
With Draz's help she got to her feet, the fire swirling and sparking around them.
"Listen carefully, Claire," Draz began, "there is a pool in the center of this field. When you reach the edge I want you to take a deep breath, jump out as far as you can and then swim towards the bottom."
"What about you?" Claire asked, not liking what remained unspoken.
"I'll be right behind you," Draz assured her. "I am just giving you a head start. When I tell you to go, run as fast as you can and don't stop. I'm running out of magic, this is our only shot."
"Draz-"
"Go!"
Before Claire could say more, Draz used his hold on her wrist to twist her around and pressed his hand to the small of her back to propel her forward and through the wildly dancing flames. The field beyond was pitch black but she could make out the silver glimmer of moonlight reflecting off water. She stumbled forward, needing a step or two in order to regain her balance.
She was halfway across the clearing when she heard a loud whooshing sound and the whole field lit up in an orange glow. Claire didn't have time to look back. The pool was yards away and rushing towards her. Reaching the water's edge, Claire didn't give herself time to hesitate or back down, she took a deep breath and launched herself into the air.
The water stung when she hit the surface and the unexpected cold nearly forced the air from her lungs. She felt the water move away from her body as she submerged and then come rushing back in to fill the space left behind.
The world above became muffled and distant, almost dream like, and Claire struggled for to gain her bearings. There was a brief moment of panic as the over-sized coat and too large boots prevented her from gaining any traction in the water and she could feel herself sinking quickly. She quickly shed the dead weight and began to swim just as Draz had instruction.
As she moved deeper, impossibly deep it seemed, the water grew colder and darker. As seconds slid by and she felt the air trapped in her lungs begin to dissipate, a new concern swept in. What if Draz was wrong? Far above her she could make out the faint outline of a full moon, and below nothing but darkness.
Almost complete darkness.
There was a pinprick of light that seemed to be free floating several yards ahead of her. Claire began to swim towards it, doing her best to ignore the fire burning in her lungs and the desperate need to inhale. If she gave in now she would surely drown. If she drowned, she would never get to see Alek again.
Half swimming, half dragging herself through the water, her arms feeling heavier and heavier with each stroke, the floating orb seemed to be growing larger and brighter. Soon it was all she could see and it shimmered and swirled like liquid gold.
Desperate for air and knowing she had only seconds left before her body betrayed her, Claire reached out and touched the light.