In A Time Of Darkness
Page 35
* * * * *
Not far from Grahamas, all seemed calm and everyone was fast asleep.
Almost everyone.
Samsun, as usual, was patrolling. His eyes scanned everywhere, searching for anything out of the ordinary as he rode back and forth. Usually the night was a time of peace for Sam; with everyone else retired he was alone in his duty—his mind left to wander.
Normally.
This night however, Sam had a companion aside from his usual gnome. Tonight, it was Elryia, sitting in front of the fire, as she had been earlier, and where she remained even after everyone had left. Samsun had passed several times and wondered about her. She didn’t seem worried or stressed, or even sad; perhaps she just couldn’t sleep. Something was on her mind. Samsun could see that much, even in the dark. “You well?” he asked as he rode up casually. Elryia’s eyes remained locked on the fire as if she didn’t see or hear him, “El?”
She blinked, then turned towards him, “Aye…just thinking.” She said with a slightly confused look on her face.
“Sure?” he questioned.
Elryia nodded, but her expression did not agree, “Have you ever felt like something is not right? You can’t place it…it’s just something in the air?”
Sam stopped his horse completely, “Aye. It’s intuition. A very powerful tool for a wizard.” He made eye contact with her, his face serious, as always, “It’s important to listen to it.”
Her expression tightened even more and her dazzling blue eyes fell upon the fire as she spoke, “What if I don’t know what it’s saying?”
Sam grew a bit more concerned, “What does it feel like?”
Elryia sighed and her shoulders heaved slightly, “Like something bad.” She stared deeper as her mind wandered, exploring the feeling.
“Perhaps its intuition, but I imagine you have that feeling quite often, as well as Graham. You both carry a heavy burden. Maybe it’s starting to wear on you.”
Elryia thought about it for a moment, then about Graham, wondering if it was true for him. Which led to her simply thinking about the man himself; realizing that she’s never—or at least couldn’t recall—having that feeling when he was around. And it dawned on her that was probably the reason she was disturbed. She missed him—plain and simple. Though she would never tell Samsun that. “You’re probably right,” she said and turned her back towards him, “or perhaps I just need rest.”
Sam sighed slightly, “If it is your insight, I don’t want you to worry. I will be even more alert now.” His horse took a few steps forward, “Get some sleep.”
She nodded and smiled, sliding down and tucking her bag behind her head, “Be safe Sam.” He nodded quickly to her, facing his horse towards the road and continuing his patrol as Elryia sank down a bit further. “I wish you were here Grahamas,” she whispered, thoughts of him, misting into dreams as her mind faded away, unknowing of the fact that he was well on his way.