"Why did I ever come along on this trip?" whined Pia as she gripped Mace's arm tighter, digging her long nails into his flesh. Mace hissed but didn't push her away.
The harpies landed on the branch above them with a cry. There wasn't enough room for both of them, so the dark harpie flew off and landed in front of the three travelers.
"How are we going to do this?" asked Mace as he held his sword out towards the dark harpie. Jenevi didn't respond. Instead, she didn't break eye contact with the light harpie overhead.
Finally, after analyzing her opponents carefully, the light Harpie jumped down towards Jenevi who rolled away.
Distracted, Mace looked over at Jenevi while the dark Harpie spread her wings. She lunged forward, and Mace was able to deflect her rock hard beak with his sword at the last second. The harpie whacked Mace away forcefully with one of her wings and caught air, grabbed Pia, and started to fly off.
The blonde woman screamed in agony as the dark harpie's sharp talons ripped through her arm and bled. She grabbed the talon with her free hand and started to desperately claw at it as she was dragged away. "Mace!" she screamed, tears running down her face.
Jenevi was cornered with her back hitting the sharp wall of rocks. She tried to look for an exit, but with the white harpie's long wings, finding one made it more difficult. The harpie slowly waddled over to Jenevi, taunting her.
The dark haired woman tsked and thought, why must I be so weak while the sun is up? The harpie lunged forward with her razor sharp beak open, aiming for the young woman's head. Jenevi moved out of the way just in time, but the bird's wings sent her falling to the ground on her back. She did manage to plunge one of her daggers into the harpie successfully, but it was only on the wing.
The large bird screeched in pain before glaring at the woman on the ground. Jenevi held her last dagger in her hand. "Do your worst," she spat.
The white harpie stepped over Jenevi and looked down at her, and if she didn't have a beak, she might as well be smiling.
The Magus stabbed the bird in the chest, but she soon realized that she made a mistake and that killing a harpie would take more than just two tiny little daggers.
Mace scrambled up with his sword tightly in his hand. "Pia!" he yelled as he ran towards the dark harpie. Before they were out of reach, the blacksmith swung his sword and cut through the dark Harpie's talon, releasing Pia, although the claw was still holding on to her.
The harpie shrieked as blood poured out of her stump. She flailed around for a moment before flying around lamely and headed towards Mace with intent to kill. The young blacksmith sidestepped and ducked, causing the bird to fly head first into one of the trees. While she was fazed, Mace rushed over and plunged his sword deep down into the back of the harpie's neck. The dark harpie fell to the side limply, and Mace forcefully pulled out his sword.
He looked over at Jenevi and saw that she was in trouble. The light harpie was standing above her, and Mace couldn't help but remember the derex that they encountered. The blacksmith ran over and without another thought, he stabbed the sword into the bird's neck. The harpie fell on top of Jenevi and started to soak her in blood. Mace pushed the beast away and looked down at Jenevi with a smile as he held his hand out to help her.
"See?" he started. "I can fight pretty well when other people are depending on me."
"You...you killed them," stated Pia when she came over. She managed to remove the talon from her arm, but it was still bleeding.
Jenevi sighed, noticing the wound. "I'll take care of that," she said as she got up, ignoring Mace's hand.
After treating Pia's wounds under the trees with the petals that she saved from treating Mace, the blonde sat on the ground in silence.
"What is it, Pia?" inquired Mace worriedly. "Are you feeling okay?"
"I think I'll leave," responded Pia as she slowly got up. "Jenevi was right. I can't handle this. I don't know why I thought I could."
"Thank you for finally realizing it," said Jenevi sarcastically as she put her medicinal herbs away. The two ignored her.
Mace took Pia's hand and said, "I want you to head to the Village of the Crows. If you ride fast, you'll get there tomorrow morning. Just stay on the trail, alright?"
The stallion came back and stood far from the two dead bodies. He paced back and forth, waiting.
Pia smiled and nodded her head. "Alright. I'm also going to see if I can get in contact with my father. I heard from some of the guards back at home that he was delayed in his return." Mace and Jenevi watched as Pia climbed on her stallion and rode back down the mountain.
When she was out of sight, the dark haired woman turned around and continued upwards. "I tried to warn her," she stated.
"She just wanted to come with us," responded Mace, catching up to his companion.
"She just wanted to be with you. I mean, after what I saw the other day, her intentions were clear."
Mace's face flushed red as he remembered his first kiss, but then he gulped when he remembered what came after. He looked at Jenevi from the corner of his eye and recalled the way her slender body looked in the light of the setting sun.
"You wouldn't have happened to go by the stream at any time after I left you two, did you?" Jenevi looked over at him, and Mace knew that if he told her the truth, she would kill him right then and there.
"No, I was with Pia the whole time," he lied.
Jenevi looked back at the trail, leaving Mace feeling relieved.
The sun was quickly leaving the horizon. They were walking on the same trail for three days since Pia left. Mace was growing weary of walking uphill for an extended period of time and started to complain. "Are we getting closer at least?" he questioned.
Jenevi took out her map and continued to walk as she examined its contents. "We're getting close," she replied, folding the piece of paper and putting it back in her pouch.
"We'll have to stop for camp soon. If we leave early in the morning, we can get there in the afternoon."
Mace groaned and then tried to ignore the blisters forming on his feet. "When we get there, I demand that we rest for two days."
"You can rest for two days. I don’t have time to procrastinate."
Mace sighed. "I've been wondering," started the blacksmith. "What were you planning to do once you find Gaelen?"
"I'm hoping that he'll have the answers that I need. Like why I don't remember anything. And when I do find him, that will be your cue to leave."
"Will do," replied Mace. "Anyways, where are we going to camp?"
"We'll stop when we find a cave. I saw one two hours back, but there would be no point in going there. When it gets dark, I could probably find one easier."
Mace looked up at the sky. "Since we are getting closer to the city, could we possibly eat a bit more tonight?"
Jenevi sighed, but she was getting used to Mace and his stomach. "Fine. Pia left us most of her food anyways, so I guess it's okay for you to pig out just this once."
Once the sun officially left the horizon, Jenevi stopped when her eyes started to glow. She looked around at their surrounding and then said, "There is one up ahead."
The young woman continued forward, leaving Mace for a brief moment as he shook his head and said, "I will never get over this." He caught up with the woman and asked, "If you are a Magus, then what kind are you?"
"What do you mean?" questioned Jenevi.
"Well, from what my father told me, some types could manipulate the earth. He said that they were called Terrae Magus."
"When I meet with this Seeker I can ask him about it."
The two approached the small cave and looked it over. "It's safe," started Jenevi as she walked inside followed by her companion. "The wild animals that I can pick up are at a safe distance, and most of them are daytime creatures. If I sense trouble, I'll wake you up."
Mace smiled, setting himself down on the stone floor and grabbed his food pack. The light from the half-moo
n was giving off enough brightness to see fairly well inside of the cave.
"What are you smiling about this time, boy?" growled Jenevi with a glare.
"You said that you would wake me up if you sensed something. Usually, you would just leave. And speaking of which, please don't leave again. Pia ran off with her horse, so it would be too hard to catch up."
Jenevi joined her travel companion on the ground and pulled out her small animal skin blanket and layed down. "Don't get used to it," she said, closing her eyes.
"You're not going to eat?" inquired Mace, sinking his teeth into his dense loaf of bread.
"I'm not hungry." Jenevi rolled to the other side in annoyance. Sleeping at night was difficult, and she was waiting for the day that she would finally become used to the small noises around her. Then she thought, If I'm getting used to Mace's endless rambling, I'm sure that I will soon be used to these enhanced sounds as well. Finally, she drifted off to sleep.
After Mace had finished his loaf of bread, he took off his worn out shoes and rubbed his sore feet. He questioned how Jenevi was so physically fit and immediately became jealous. She was extremely skilled at fighting, and Mace hoped that soon she would be willing to give him a few lessons.
With the harpies, the blacksmith felt like it was just luck that he was able to kill both of them. He even saved Jenevi's life along with Pia's. He observed the Gleamer's unconscious body as her side rose and fell rhythmically. Mace then thought about the time at the stream. To avoid his unholy thoughts, he quickly turned away from Jenevi and layed down, throwing his blanket over himself and forced sleep to enter.
Before the sun rose, Jenevi woke Mace up with a swift kick to the leg. Shocked and in pain, the young blacksmith quickly sat up and cried out as he recoiled and grabbed his limb.
"What was that for?" he yelled, his voice echoing throughout the small cave.
Jenevi walked passed him with her bags already equipped to her person. "We need to leave. I already told you this before I fell asleep." Here eyes were still glowing, but they soon dulled out.
Mace scrambled to grab his things and ran out of the cave to catch up with his companion. His hair was a greasy mess and bits and pieces stuck up in awkward angles. There was dirt smeared on his right cheek, and he smelled of body odor. He grimaced in disgust. Back at the city, he would never let himself get too dirty, for he liked to stay clean. After a hard day at work, he would make sure to scrub himself well that night.
When Jenevi glanced over her shoulder and noticed Mace's distress after he sniffed his armpit, she smirked and turned back around before the young man saw.
They covered the trail faster than Jenevi originally anticipated. The sun was shining brightly, but by the way it was positioned, it wasn't even the afternoon yet.
Sweat covered Mace's body. Working in the smithy, he only worked on his arms and ignored his legs. He hoped that soon his stamina was good enough to be able to catch up to Jenevi with no trouble at all.
"I can see it," pointed out the young woman. Higher up on the mountain, there stood a series of small buildings that were almost the color of the red rocks.
"Finally," sighed Mace in relief. He felt energy build up throughout his body. With the motivation of a bath and good food, they walked faster. With a bit more climbing, they finally reached their destination.
The people of the city looked at them with wide and cautious eyes, surprised to see travelers who came by foot. The people of the Petram City wore light clothing, considering that the weather was much warmer where they were. Most of the men were shirtless, and the women were wearing either a brown or white cropped linen shirt and a long skirt, or a long dress. Kids who were running around stopped when they noticed the visitors and started to whisper. An old dark skinned man with light freckles that ran across his nose approached the two travelers. He was wearing a red robe, and on his neck was a set of sharp animal teeth fashioned into a necklace.
"Hello, my name is Yarock," he started with a white, toothy smile. "What brings you to our City? You two don't look like you've come in place of King Caden, and you don't look like merchants."
"I would like to meet with this Seeker that I've heard about from an old peddler. He told me that this man could help me find who I'm looking for," stated Jenevi.
Upon mentioning the Seeker, more villagers started to break out into whispers, worrying Mace.
Yarock's smile disappeared. "I'm sorry," he began, "but this Seeker you speak of is a myth."
Jenevi narrowed her eyes. She did not come all the way from the Shining City to be denied a meeting with the Seeker. "I would like to meet with the Seeker," she demanded.
Mace nudged her, trying to telepathically suggest that she was too forward. He received a glare in return and immediately took a step away from her.
Yarock's frown deepened. "You are welcome to stay in Petram City, but I must apologize. We do not have a Seeker. It’s just some rumor some people have spread around."
Yarock and Jenevi stared each other down for several anxious moments, creating a thick wave of tension in the air.
"Don't lie to me," said Jenevi through gritted teeth. "I can tell you are hiding something, and I am not leaving here until I meet with your Seeker."
The dark skinned man snarled. "Alright then, girl. Amuse me. If we did have a Seeker, what makes you think you are worthy to see him? If he is so amazing as you make him sound, what makes you think we would just let strangers meet him?"
Jenevi stayed silent for a moment. Everyone in the city, including Mace, waited anxiously for her answer. If she wanted to see the Seeker, she would have to come up with something good.
Yarock sighed and continued. "Alright. Only those worthy are allowed to see him. His powers are great, and it would be a shame if it were overused. I have turned down the few people who have traveled here to seek help. When they refused to accept denial, we killed them. There are guardians all over this mountain that you can't see and will not hesitate to kill you if you try to run. In fact, I was informed a day ago that you two would be coming. We like to keep our Seeker protected and hidden, but there is something about you. What is it?"
Mace took a step back and whispered, "Jenevi...I think we should go."
Jenevi stayed planted on the ground. She already knew about the guardians that spied on her and Mace, though she didn't tell the blacksmith for his own good. Finally, she said, "I am a Magus."
The people looked at her, wide-eyed.
"A Magus?"
"Did she just say she is a Magus?"
"Does she have powers just like our beloved Seeker?"
Chatter scattered amongst the people. Mace stared at the young woman in shock, surprised that she would tell people that she may have special abilities, but then focused on the conversations going on in front of him.
Yarock looked at Jenevi sternly and asked, "A Magus, you say? Now just what kind of powers do you possess?"
"I'm not entirely sure," said the dark-haired woman, "But I gain my powers at night."
The older man's eyes widened, and his bushy black eyebrows climbed upwards in surprise. "You mean... A Tenebrae Magus? Do your eyes glow at night?"
Jenevi nodded, creating more chatter throughout the people of the city.
Yarock crossed his arms and nodded once. "Alright," started the dark man. "If you are a Tenebrae Magus like you say you are and your eyes glow at night, I will permit you to see the Seeker. We don't have too much to offer, but we do have a small tavern up ahead. Are you two joined by marriage?"
Mace quickly shook his head and was the first to speak. "We are not!" he quickly spat out.
Yarock left, leaving the two on their own. As they walked towards the tavern, people followed Jenevi with their eyes, but they weren't looking at her with fear. They were looking at her with respect and awe.
When they walked into the tavern named Arcus, they immediately noticed it was empty except for two people: the person tendin
g to the bar, and a customer sitting by himself. He had on a gray cloak and had his hood up. He had a cup of something in front of him, and when the two travelers entered, he glanced up at them with one eye visible.
Mace and Jenevi went up to the bar and was greeted by the bartender who had long, light brown hair and dark brown eyes. He was tall and a bit skinny. The man looked at Mace and smiled. "What can I get for you?" He asked in a voice higher than was anticipated.
"I don't drink," stated Mace, sitting on a stool by the bar.
Jenevi sat by him and asked, "Then what were you doing at the tavern back at your village?"
Mace looked away, ashamed to answer, but felt like he needed to. "My friend dragged me there. I've never had a drink or been to a tavern prior, but my father wanted me to go. One of the escorts, Catherine, was being friendly to me. Ronen didn't like it, and...well...you know the rest."
"Oh dear, that's not okay," started the man at the bar. "No one here will do anything like that." He glanced over at the cloaked man and added, “at least I don’t think so."
"I'll have a shot of your strongest," stated Jenevi. "Today is the only day that I've received good news in what feels like forever."
"Will do." The man went to grab a bottle when Jenevi noticed from the corner of her eye that the cloaked man got up and was walking towards them. He sat four stools away from Jenevi and ordered a shot of Lunar Nectar, which was a white, and slightly bitter, drink.
The young woman was growing irritated when she realized the man kept glancing over at her. When the bartender set down a shot of a mysterious drink, Jenevi immediately gulped it down without making a face. The bartender looked at her, shocked.
Jenevi looked over at the cloaked man and asked, "May I help you?"
The man took his hood off with both hands. He had tan skin, dark brown eyes, a chiseled jawline, and had a sharp, pointy nose. There was also a long scar on his right cheek. "I heard that you're a Tenebrae Magus looking for the Seeker's help."
Darkness Falls (The Dark Series Book 1) Page 6