My feet flew over the ground, following the man's every step. I didn't trust strangers, but this man saved me, and now he was trying to save Barrett. We were running away from town, which I did not understand. Questions ran through my head.
Who was he?
And how had he used magic?
And where was he taking us?
The woods grew darker, more menacing. The path became rocky. I was growing weary when a large fog appeared before us, on the other side a bridge was barely visible. The man walked into the fog, Barrett thrown over his shoulder, and I followed.
As the fog engulfed me, I could see little around me. My senses seemed to be shutting down and the fog wrapped around my brain. I felt dizzy, confused, and the sensation of being pushed backwards. Then a hand grabbed mine and suddenly all was clear, the fog let go, and the could I'd been walking through disappeared. I looked down to see the man's hand in mine, the green light twisting up my arm. "Come on," he pushed, "We need to hurry."
"Where?" I asked, "Who are you?" I pulled my hand away from his and the fog quickly encroached upon me, my head spinning. As his fingers found mine again, the fog cleared. This time, I held on tightly.
"I'm Preston," he quickly explained. "My village is on the other side of those trees beyond the bridge, but we have to hurry. Your friend has lost a lot of blood." He pulled me forward through where the fog was before. When we reached the bridge he dropped my hand. I looked back to see the fog, as if it had always been there and we'd just passed through it. "Come on," he urged, "We're almost there."
"How did you do that?" I demanded.
"I'll telly ou everything after we get to the village," he exclaimed. He took off across the bridge and my boots clopped behind him over the small wooden bridge. Our feet hit dirt again and we reaced through the trees, thick and grown together for about 100 feet. Suddenly we burst through the tree line into a large, open village.
A dirt path kicked up dust below our feet and several cabins stood. There were probably around sixty homes created from logs or stone. Preston led me down the dirt road into the village, passing a few homes before walking up a stone path surrounded by flowers to one cabin. He raised his free hand and banged on the door. "Angel!" he called, "It's Preston, Angel, open up!"
The door slowly opened. "Preston, I'm feeding Mikel, what do you need?" the small young woman with raven hair cropped short and spikey as she wiped her hands on the apron she wore. She looked up, her grey eyes growing huge. "Aron, come quickly," she called. A tall, muscular man appeared behind her and he quickly surveyed the scene then gently took Barrett from Preston's arms and carried him inside. Angel closed the door and Preston let out a long sigh as he placed his back against the wooden wall and slid to the ground.
I stared at him for a long moment, trying to understand what just happened. Finally he looked up at me, his eyes holding my gaze, the grey no longer stormy but instead filled with warmth and concern. "Are you alright?" he asked.
"I'm fine," I answered, slightly taken aback by his calm demeanor. "But what the hell just happened? Who did you give Barrett to? Where are we? How did you do the things you did?"
"One question at a time," Preston smiled at me, holding in a laugh.
"Don't one quesiton at a time me!" I snapped. "After everything that just happened, I htink I have the right to ask questions!" He smiled, as if expecting my outburst. I sighed, annoyed. "Who did you just give Barrett to?" I demanded.
"My sister and her husband," he said. "They're the most advanced healers in the village." I looked at him with confusion and opened my mouth to speak. "It's a long story," he informed me, patting the ground next to him, "You may want to sit."
I looked at the patch of ground he just patted and opted instead to sit on the stone path I was standing on, sitting directly in front of him rather than to his side. I looked at him. "Explain."
"You know how history says 200 years ago the Anaki were wiped out?" Preston asked. I nodded. "Well, your history books got it wrong."
"What do you mean by," I started but Preston cut me off.
"Do you want me to explain or do you want to ask questions?" he asked. I closed my mouth and looked at him frustrated. People didn't just talk to me like that, but I wanted answers. Preston continued, "Most of the Anaki were kileld in the battles, but not all. Those who were left moved deep into the woods to rebuild. Elder Eowli used his magic to dig the ravine then placed the mist around it."
"So the fog was magic," I exclaimed, "Which is why I kept getting confused in it?"
"The mist confuses people and pushes them back unless they know how to use magic to push through it," he paused, "Or are led in by someone who does."
"Wait, so this," I started, everything clicking. He nodded, "And you?"
He nodded again. "We've lived in secret for years, training our own in magic, keeping a weary eye on the outside world, waiting and preparing."
"Preparing for what?" I questioned.
Preston opened his mouth, searching for the right words, but the door opened as he thought. "You can come in," Angel offered, seeming more tired than she had only moments ago.
"Is he alright?" I jumped up.
"He needs rest," she explained, "But he will be fine."
I followed her inside, feeling the warmth radiating from the hearth. The house smelled of herbs, cedar, and cinnamon and the combination filled my nose, summoning long supressed memories of my mother. I pushed them away as she led me into a small side room, Preston on my heels. There, on a bed that was low to the ground, lay Barrett. His breathing was normal and he smiled at me. "Sorry," he softly spoke. "Next time I'll listen to your feelings." I took in a deep breath, not sure how to respond. "Hey Alex," he tried to smile, "Did you know there's still Anaki? I bled, a lot, and Angle and Aron, they're Anaki healers, they saved me."
"I know Barrett," I smiled gently, "They want you to be able to go home to Alison."
"Me too," Barrett yawned, "After we finish our mission."
"Right," I assured him, "Now get some sleep."
"I will," he yawned again as his lids hung low. I watched as they closed. Barrett settled into a sound sleep. His chest rose and sank lightly and I stood there a moment before turning to Angel.
"Thank you," I offered her with deep gratitude. "I have no clue what you did for him, but you saved him. Thank you."
Angel smiled with warm eyes, reaching her hand to rest comfortably on my shoulder. "It is what we do," she told me. "Some destory, some manipulate, some protect, and we restore. All are important if we are to maintain balance, as you will soon learn." Preston's eyebrows raised at her last statement and Angel nodded understandingly. "Your friend will need to stay here to rest."
"Where will I stay?" I requested. The room was small and I worried I might be in the way if I tried to sleep on the floor.
"With Preston of course," Aron spoke from behind me. I looked at him questioningly.
"What Aron means is it is late and I have an extra room in my cabin," Preston attempted to clarify, "If that suites your desires."
I nodded, "I sleep on the ground in the woods most of the year. And accomadations at all are positively wonderful."
"Excellent," Preston smiled, "Thank you Angel and Aron for everything. We shall see you both tomorrow."
"Goodnight Preston," she responded, "Have a good night too Alexandria." I looked at her, confused and perplexed. No one called me Alexandria since my parents died, except Eddie when he was trying to be smart.
"Good night," I said wearily. We walked out the door and the smell of the town filled my senses. I had been in such a hurry before, I'd missed the smell of the flowers, the smoke rising from the chimneys, and the fresh water smell.
"It's great, isn't it," Preston said, noticing that I was breathing deeply.
"Yes," I looked down. "How did your sister know my name?"
"Barrett must have said it," Preston looked uneasy.
"Barrett only knows me as Alex," I insisted, "Your sister knew my full name."
Preston took in a deep sigh, "It's a really long story that I think it's too late to get into tonight."
"What are you talking about?" I demanded. Then Preston stopped in his tracks so aburptly that I crashed into his side. "What?"
"Well, I guess you'll find out soon enough," Preston whispered. I followed his gaze to the large wood cabin in front of us with rocking chairs on the front porch. In one of those chairs sat a wrinkled man with flowing white hair and a beard as long as his torso. Preston approached then bowed slightly. "Elder Cartu," he greeted and I gave a slight bow too.
"Rise Preston," he smiled, "Rise Alexandria." I slowly rose and studied the face of this man. His blue eyes twinkled like Uncle John's use to and when he smiled, even with all the wrinkles, he gave off a young glow. His body was hidden beneath a large coat of skins and in his hand was a large walking stick.
"Elder Cartu," I finally asked, "How do you know my name?"
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Twist... What did you think? Please let me know. Comment, vote, fan, share, ect. I really enjoy feed back :)
Oh, and this is dedicated to supernatural-lover, who talked to me while I had to retype this whole thing after firefox crashed... thanks for keeping me sane girl. Check out her story.