"W-What happened?" stuttered Mace.
"They wandered off ate poisonous mushrooms last night and went crazy. I'm shocked you stayed asleep through all this. They ran off and quickly died before they could reach the woods. I thought that I might as well give them a nice burial ground to lay in for a bit before the wild animals come to feast on their carcasses."
"Father loved those horses..." said Mace quietly. He glanced over at Jenevi and asked, "How were you able to bring the horses here all by yourself?"
"At night," started the young woman as she crossed her arms. "Not only do my eyes glow, but my senses heighten and so does my strength. I don't understand why... I'm also much faster. I can even hear a lizard crawling on the forest floor from a mile away."
"I've never heard of anything like that ever happening to someone," commented Mace.
"I also woke up in the Forest of Despair when I lost my memories."
Mace's eyes widened. "You were in the Forest of Despair? How did you escape?"
"An old woman. Her mouth was on her throat, and she told me that I was going to die. Then after that, I woke up outside of the forest."
The young man didn't know how to respond. Gaining inhuman powers at night? Waking up in the Forest of Despair? An old woman with her mouth on her throat instead of below her nose where it should be? Just a couple days ago he was a blacksmith's apprentice living with his father and having a normal life. Now he has been opened up to an entirely different world, and he was hungry to find out more about it.
"Let's go find this Gaelen guy," started Mace, adjusting his pack. "Lead the way."
Jenevi glanced at him and nodded her head in approval before taking her map out and figuring where they were supposed to go. The moment she put the map back, they heard a low growl.
"What was that?" questioned Mace as he grabbed the hilt of his sword.
"I don't know," started Jenevi. "But whatever it is, I don't think it's friendly."
Mace looked over at his companion, terrified. He recalled Jenevi saying that she would leave him for bait, and though he believed she wouldn't, the thought scared him.
From the thick bushes, a derex stepped out. At night it would appear to look like an average deer, but during the day you could see its true form. Derex were black with long, sharp fangs. Its eyes were yellow with black slits, and a growl would emerge from its throat when it has found a prey. They were strange beasts with very few in the land, but they were to be avoided nonetheless. For many years they were hunted for their venom, but now they were very hard to find.
"I-I've read about these," whispered Mace. "Their venom is deadly."
"Shh!" scolded Jenevi. She didn't know how to deal with the creature, and since she didn't have her special abilities, she wasn't sure if she could take down the beast.
The two gently backed away as the derex stepped closer towards them. The deer reached the two dead horses and bent her head to sniff them before bringing her head back up to stare at the two travelers.
"What should we do?" whispered Mace. "Can you take her on?"
Jenevi gingerly pulled her dagger out of her boot. "I have no idea." She stepped on a twig and snapped it, causing the beast to run towards them.
Mace and Jenevi turned and ran deeper into the woods, jumping over tree roots and ducking under branches. With all the panic, the two ended up drifting apart from each other, and Jenevi could hear the pounding of the derex’s hooves growing more distant.
The woman stopped and sighed. "Shit," she cursed as she ran after Mace, hoping that she could get to him in time.
Mace lost his footing as he was running through the soft patches of dirt and fell at a small drop, letting go of his pack in the process. He tumbled for a bit before being stopped by a large, prickly bush. Mace tried to scramble up, but the foliage was making it too difficult.
The deer jumped off the drop and was about to land on the young blacksmith when he quickly rolled away. The beast tried to bite the young man, but he got up as fast as he could and started to run. Mace cut through the trees, giving him more time to look for an escape route. He couldn't find any. Instead, he rushed forward, hoping to get as much distance between him and the dangerous animal as possible.
The derex sprinted through the trees and approached Mace. The blacksmith turned as the animal raised her hooves and knocked him down, cutting his shoulder. With Mace on the ground, the animal stood over the man and growled loudly. She opened her mouth, revealing her vicious fangs, and was about to tear into Mace's flesh when a dagger sliced through the air and cut clean through the beast's eye and into her brain.
Mace pushed himself back before the animal could fall on top of him. The man looked behind him and saw Jenevi with her arm extended. She was panting heavily with sweat covering her face, and clumps of her black hair stuck to her forehead.
Jenevi grabbed Mace's good arm and helped him up. He winced in pain. Now that the adrenaline died down, he now felt the sharp sting of his wound. Blood seeped through his dirty tan shirt, and he put pressure on the cut with his hand.
"I'll have to treat it. How are your other wounds?" asked Jenevi, pulling out the dagger that was lodged into the deer's eyes. Blood poured out of the mutilated eye.
"Nothing else opened." Mace stopped worrying about his shoulder for a moment to look his savior in the eyes. "Thank you. You saved my life...again."
The young woman frowned. "I knew you would be useless. Now I have to take time off to treat your wounds so that you won't die of an infection. I should have just left you."
Mace smiled. "But you didn't"
Jenevi's frown deepened. She ordered the blacksmith to sit on a boulder, and when he did so, she ripped off the bloody sleeve to reveal the deep wound. She then ripped off the sleeve from his other arm and tied it around the cut. "I'll be right back. I'm just going to gather whatever herbs I can find to treat this. Be wary of predators. Some might be able to smell your blood."
Mace's heart started to pound in fear once again as he watched his companion walk off. He had to trust her. She has had multiple chances to kill him or leave him for dead, but she has yet to do so. The sun in the sky barely moved by the time Jenevi returned. In her hand was a pink petal with a large bulge, and on her shoulder was Mace's pack.
"What is that?" inquired Mace once the young woman approached.
"Rosea sanabi," she replied. "The liquid from inside the petal can be used to help heal wounds and prevent infections. I spotted it while I was running over here." Jenevi took the bloody wrap off of Mace's arm and held his arm tightly. She quickly squeezed the liquid onto the open wound and roughly scrubbed the petal into it.
Mace cried out in pain and tears formed in his eyes. It felt worse than pouring alcohol into an open wound.
Even without her powers, Jenevi was strong enough to keep the young blacksmith where he was. The sound of Mace crying out in pain inflicted by her was music to her ears.
When Jenevi finally pulled away, Mace quickly got off the boulder and back away from the woman as he clutched his still stinging arm close to his body. "You could have warned me that it was going to sting!" He yelled. Mace looked at the wound and saw that white bubbles formed on the cut and the bleeding stopped. "And for someone who doesn't remember anything, you sure know a lot."
"We better keep moving," stated Jenevi as she handed Mace's pack to him. "Your girlish cries may have attracted more animals."
The young man narrowed his eyes, but he didn't talk back. With a million questions on his mind, he followed the mysterious woman through the small forest and into another field.
Deep in the dungeons of the Strongwill castle, Verdin Nickles, captain of the Shining City guards, sat tied to a chair. Sweat and blood matted his wrinkled forehead. His dark eyes were sunken in, and his head hung low.
"I don't want to rough you up too much," came another older man standing beside the captain. He wore a clean and fashionable black tunic. His dark brown h
air was neatly combed back, and his brown beard was neatly trimmed. "I need you to be presentable for when you see my brother. I don't want him to suspect anything. After all, you are more of a brother to him than I ever was."
"Gaelen," wheezed Verdin. "Don't do this. Don't murder. I know you…"
Gaelen smiled, showing a set of straight but yellow teeth. "I'm not the one who will be murdering." The king's brother straightened himself and called for his wife, Oria.
A middle age woman appeared in a long, tight fitting red dress to match her curly red hair. Her blue eyes crinkled as she smiled widely. "It's so good to see you again, Verdin. I've missed you."
Verdin tilted his head up, shocked. "Oria?" he questioned as he squinted to make sure he saw right. "Is that really you?"
The woman slapped the guard across the face and smiled wider. "Ever since you left me for that blonde whore, I've wanted to kill you. But now, I'll be witnessing something greater."
Oria grabbed Verdin's head and made him look into her glowing blue eyes. Everything that he knew, his entire life, disappeared. The memories of being a guard, gone. The memories of being a husband, gone. The memories of being a father...changed.
Verdin's brown eyes dilated and his breathing stopped for a moment. The rest of the memories of the man that he once was disappeared, but a few names stayed in his mind. His eyes had rolled to the back of his head before his head hung down limply.
Oria looked over at her husband and smirked. Gaelen had a scowl on his face, and the middle-aged woman could tell what he was thinking.
"It was a long time ago," she said in her deep, silky voice. She stepped back from the chair and crossed her arms. "He didn't age as well as I thought he would. It's a shame. He was quite the handsome young man."
"I didn't realize you two were already acquainted," hissed Gaelen through gritted teeth.
Oria shrugged. "Would you have searched to the end of the skies to find another Memoria Magus? I don't think so. Nothing would have changed even if you did know."
Gaelen huffed through his nose and said, "It's time for you to leave, dear. Once he wakes up, I'll tell him what he needs to do."
Oria took one last longing glance at the man tied up in the chair before disappearing through the heavy wooden door.
The king's brother paced back and forth across the cold stone floor of the dungeon. The flames from the torches attached to the walls flickered, and Gaelen's shadow danced. When he heard Verdin start to stir, Gaelen untied the captain and knelt down in front of him. "Verdin?" he questioned in a worried tone.
Verdin's eyes slowly opened, and immediately he started crying. "Pia..." he whispered. "My sweet, sweet little pea...Why did he-" The man burst into sobs and clutched his face with his hands. Gaelen stood up and stroked his back.
"There, there," soothed Gaelen. "What has been done is done. All we can do now is get revenge."
Verdin looked up at the older man. "Why would King Caden send his troops to kill my daughter? My baby girl? I thought he was my friend..." Verdin went back to covering his face with his hands. "I trusted him..."
"You can get your revenge, and I will gladly help you. What my brother did was unbelievably wrong, and he's only going downhill from here. He's going to harm Slarin knows how many more innocent people like your unfortunate, young daughter."
Verdin stopped crying and looked back up at Gaelen. "What do you want me to do?"
Gaelen smiled widely before delivering his instructions.
CHAPTER FOUR
The sun was beating down on the two travelers as they traveled on foot to their destination. Mace was about to take out his water pouch when Jenevi shot him a glare.
"Don't waste our water, boy," she said before turning her head forward.
Mace sighed and put his pouch back. "But it's my water..." he mumbled. "How much longer? We need to restock soon."
Jenevi scoffed. "We wouldn't have to restock so early if you didn't pig out on everything. I had a good plan for rationing our supplies."
Mace patted his stomach. "My dad says I've got a bottomless pit for a stomach. Most boys are like that."
"What I could do is leave you and take the rest of the supplies."
The young blacksmith rolled his eyes. "You're not going to do that."
The trail the two were following was starting to appear more and more used. Jenevi was sure they would eventually run into people. Her thought came true, and not too long later, an old man on a horse that was pulling a cart came into view. The man had on a straw hat and was wearing loose-fitting clothing and a red robe. When the man got closer, he stopped and smiled at the two travelers.
"Looks like a peddler," said Mace with a smile. "He probably has some food we can buy. Peter gave me some money." He turned to the man who was getting off his horse and said, "Good day, kind sir! Do you have any food we can buy?"
The peddler smiled and said, "Oh, of course!"
"Wait," said Jenevi, halting the old man from turning to his cart. "We don't need food."
Mace looked at his companion with his mouth gaping. "What do you mean we don't need food? I'm not superhuman like you!"
"Sorry," said Jenevi towards the peddler, ignoring Mace. "We're trying to ration our food. What we would like to buy, though, is information."
Mace crossed his arms, giving up. He would have to get used to eating small portions.
"I've traveled many places," started the peddler, his smile widening. "There is a good chance have the answer you seek."
"Good," said Jenevi as she pulled out the money pouch she stole from Mace. Realizing it wasn't on his person, he patted his hip where the cloth used to hang and then stared at the young woman, baffled. "I'm trying to look for a person, but all I know is that his name is Gaelen. I understand this isn't an uncommon name in this kingdom, but I need to start somewhere."
The old man held his hand out as Jenevi dug through the pouch and pulled out a few silver coins.
"Why so much?" complained Mace. "We could have bought a lot of food from that!"
Jenevi eyed him, quickly shutting the teenager up.
After the peddler counted the money and stuffed it in his pocket, he said, "I know exactly where you should go, but since you two are on foot, it may take you quite a while until you arrive. There is an ancient man, a Seeker, I believe, who lives in the Petram City. The people in this city worship him, and since they're so protective, I don't know how well you'll be able to get in to have an audience with the man. He can find anyone that you're thinking of, from what I've heard, but I believe he is just a myth, so I can’t guarantee this information is true. No one has ever seen him, and the people there are crazy. Getting to the city is a little tricky, though. I would advise you two to get a horse as soon as possible and be very wary. There are many predators up there."
Jenevi took out her map and pinpointed where Petram City was. She put it away and said, "Thank you, peddler. I wish you safe travels."
The old man took a small loaf of bread from his cart and tossed it towards Mace who caught it. "For you two love doves."
The young blacksmith blushed, but Jenevi moved forward as the peddler got back on his horse and rode off. Mace quickly caught up with his companion. He was about to bite into his bread when he thought better and stuffed it into his bag with a sigh.
"Good boy," commented Jenevi. "We'll need to find horses like the peddler said. I can only imagine that the path to the mountains is going to be steep."
"Well," started Mace. "What are we going to do? Catch a wild horse? The closest village is the Village of the Crows, and we're not even headed there anymore."
The cool wind started to pick up, rustling the leaves on the trees. Jenevi's hair flew onto her face, and she struggled to move it behind her, but since it was so tangled, it kept getting stuck between her fingers.
"You have long hair," Mace commented. "Shouldn't you put it up in a bun or something?"
"I don't know h
ow," mumbled Jenevi.
The young blacksmith laughed. "What? You're a woman! Shouldn't you know how to do that? Don't you know that having long hair in battle is dangerous?"
Jenevi gave him a sideways glance. "I just don't know how to, okay? Don't worry about it." She took off her cloak and put it back on with her hair tucked into it. "Let's just keep on moving. We have a long way to go, and don't you dare eat our food."
Mace smiled. "Yes, ma'am." He jogged to Jenevi's side and said, "I've meant to ask you a question. What is the Forest of Despair like?"
"Like what it sounds."
"Yeah, but I mean, did you see...demons?"
The young woman wanted to ignore the blacksmith, but she knew he would not stop talking if she didn't answer his questions. "What in Slarin's name do you think I am, boy?"
"A young woman with crazy special abilities? I think you're something like what the Seeker is, if he exists. But now that I think about it...When I was a little boy, Peter would tell me these strange stories before bed. He said that long ago, there were people that had abilities like you. And whenever they used their powers, their eyes..." Mace stopped walking and stared at Jenevi who stopped as well to turn around and look at her companion. "Glowed..."
"Tell me about this story," demanded Jenevi, eyes sparkling with interest.
"Well, I don't remember much...he said society wasn't very acceptable when it came to these people that were called Magus. There were some that went rogue and thought that since they had these special abilities, they were meant to be in control of everything and everyone. A big group of them came together and decided to take over the kingdom. They weren't successful since there were Magus that possessed stronger powers and were working for the king of that time. But even though they helped take down the rebellion, the king ordered the knights in secret to kill the Magus that resided in the castle. After that, the king ordered the guards from each city and village to kill whatever Gleamers they could find. Man, woman, and child. The majority of them died while a few went into hiding. All this happened lifetimes ago, and I've always thought that this story was just a work of fiction. I guess it may be true."
Darkness Falls (The Dark Series Book 1) Page 4