"You are way too stubborn," Cedrik accuses me.
Normally I would snap at him. However he is right. Allegedly, it is a trait that I inherited from my mother. It is part of me that will never change, no matter what.
Hence I say, "Can't tell you other wise," and he shakes his head in defeat.
He knows that he can't change my mind. In the past he tried many times, yet he always failed. I have to give him credit for sticking with me for such a long time. I even consider him my best friend, since we know each other from a young age.
As we continue our journey, we have to pass the mountains of Neverrin. About 100 years ago, people used to live there, their houses build at the edge of rocks. But living in the canyon made the humans careless and a lot of them died, because of their own ignorance.
I look down into the ravine, seeing nothing but an endless path. I know one wrong move could kill. There is a reason why, you only meet lost animals here, most of them about to die. No human dares to get close to Nevverin, only if they have a death wish.
But the mountains are no problem for us. Soon we leave them behind and get closer to the woods. The prison itself is build deep into Forverest. A forest, which residents a lot of wild, dangerous animals. I notice how their dark eyes follow us, watch us with suspicion.
It is the perfect place, to host criminals. No one will ever try to get in or get someone out. Until today, I think, containing my grin. Why am I doing it? Well, we need Caspar. He is a part of our team and even though he is crazy, he is gifted.
Why is he locked up? He broke a few laws from what I heard. Somehow they captured him. When I first heard of it, I didn't care. It is his fault for getting himself in trouble. Though I ask myself why didn't he free himself. I'm sure he is capable of that.
"There it is," Chris says.
When I step next to him, he crosses his arms against his chest. He doesn't look at me and purses his cracked up lips.
We are standing in front of a huge building, made out of wood and stone. With it's height it looks out of place, but the way they constructed it, it fits well into this forest. They used a few of the bigger trees to stabilize the roof and the stones are a good foundation to keep everything together. And to some it may look invulnerable, but there is a way to get out of every jail.
"And what now?" Chris asks, and I know that he is talking to me.
I snort at his question. It is not that he doesn't know what to do. This is his way of showing that he doesn't like the idea of it.
Cedrik comes surprisingly to my defense,"Come on Chris, don't be so sulky."
"What? Now you find this idea good?" he wants to know, and I can feel that this is going to be a big argument.
However, I just listen to their conversation.
"No, I didn't say that. I mean Caspar is Caspar. Talented but crazy. More important, he is a part of our team and we swore that we would help each other. He would do the same for us."
With that, Chris is quiet, because he knows that Cedrik is right. Caspar may be crazy, but he is still loyal and would never abandon one of us.
"Fine," Chris mumbles afterwards and that is the time I speak up.
"Use your power," is my answer to his first question and he gives me a halfhearted glare.
"I know, I know."
Chris looks from left to right, while doing so he only uses his eyes. The rest of his body is still. He does it once, then waits for a few seconds and repeats that movement. Not even a strand of his cinnamon colored hair moves.
After another awful minute, he finally stops that nonsense and looks ahead. As he does, he stops blinking and his eyes focus on his aim. The light brown color changes almost to the color of his hair.
That is one of the reason why Chris is part of this team. His power was always useful and with him I'm sure we will find a way to get into this building. But this is not his only power. Every one of us has a few. It is the reason, why we are called Caelestius. Only hearing the word brings back memories.
Frohgun 947 years ago:
"What is this?" the little six year old in front of me asks, as he looks at his glowing hands.
His eyes get bigger, when the light shade of pink turns into a fire red and he holds them away from his body, trying to protect himself.
I chuckle at how ridiculous he looks and take a hold of his hands. He tries to push me away.
"No, don't. Maybe it will hurt you," he exclaims, but I grip them only tighter.
Then I turn them in my palms,"Look, they will neither hurt you nor me." To proof my point I don't let go yet.
Still unsure, he shakes his head, while staring at our hands. "What am I?" he whispers, gripping onto my hand.
"You are a Calestius, just like me" I reply, keeping my head up high.
As no words leave his mouth I continue my explanation. "You are born with special powers. Caelestius means something like "messenger of the gods" and it implies that you have god's blood pumping through your veins."
His face is still blank and I press my lips together. "One of your ancestors was a god or a goddess," I say, pulling my hands away and throwing them up into the cold air.
"Do you know what that is?"
"Of course I do. I'm not dumb Inanna!"
I give him a pointing look," Sure Cedrik. Whatever you say."
However there are not that many Caelestius left, because of the godly war, where a lot of us died, I think, when the memory flows away.
"What do you see?" Cedrik asks Chris after a while.
He has been staring at the building for a few minutes now and all we can do in the meantime is wait.
"Don't be impatient."
"He isn't, but I am," I tell him.
I know I can be difficult, but he knows me long enough to get over this fact.
"It is as you wanted to hear. There is a way to get in," he announces and the corner of my mouth lifts up.
They all know what it means. We are going in.
The way we choose to get in isn't the easiest or most convenient. To say it in other words, no normal human being would be able to climb that high up. They don't have the strength and endurance.
We are climbing on the back side of the building, using the tree and the branches for support. It's a longer way, though it is one we use to not get caught. With his power Chris was able to detect a small open window at the top of the building. Someone probably forgot to close it and we use that to our advantage.
Chris is in front, followed by Cedrik and Pablo. I'm last, to observe our surroundings. So far nobody noticed us.
We are fast and soon Chris glides inside. For a moment the others wait, but then Chris's heads pops out again and he mentions for us to follow him.
Once I'm inside I look around. We are standing in a long corridor. Every few meters there is a room on either side. I don't think it is were they keep their prisoners. It looks too fancy and clean. I'm sure it is for their guards or anyone else that lives here or has a high status.
Silently, we wander through the halls. Again Chris is in front, because he can look through the walls and make sure that nobody surprises us.
We take steps and turns and go deeper and deeper into the building. The lower we get the darker and surprisingly, nosier it gets. It seems like something is going on down there and I can make out deep voices. People are talking across each other, until their sounds mix into a chant of cheering.
I walk faster, until I stand in front of a big, wooden door. More chanting and more cheering is what I make out.
I ask Chris, "What do you see?"
He takes a step forward listening. After a second he frowns. The scar on his forehead moving along.
"So?" I question.
He shrugs his shoulders and opens the door, revealing a new side of the prison.
"Not what you would expect."
Second chapter is up. What do you think about the story so far?