Searching for Darkness

by Leah Ward

  They were just about to pass Edwin’s house.

  “There is something else I need to tell you too. The flames didn’t stop once they killed Agmund. They engulfed the entire house. That’s why I have my backpack; it has a few things I was able to grab before it burned to the ground.” Edwin said.

  Lena stared at him in disbelief, “So… What does that mean? What are you going to do?” She asked.

  “I really don’t know. I have no one else, nowhere to stay.” Edwin said sadly.

  Lena knew what she should do, even though it would go against what she had been trying to accomplish for years – solitude. Instead of giving him the answer he was looking for, she tried to change the subject.

  “Wow…so…what ever happened to my bow and arrow?” She asked.

  “Oh, when we first rode Satiya, I accidentally left them behind.” Edwin admitted, not knowing how she would react.

  “Oh man! Well, I guess that’s okay. I’ll just have to make a new one. My canister was dented and half the arrows were broke anyway. Hey! Maybe I can show you how to make one!” Lena said, hopefully cheering Edwin up.

  “That would be cool.” He said, not as excited as Lena had hoped.

  They continued to walk and soon they passed Edwin’s house. The pain resurfaced every time he thought about the house, and it hit especially hard when he saw it in person.

  “Hey I have an idea!” Lena said.

  “What’s that?” Edwin asked, curious of the direction this was heading.

  “Watch…” Lena said, and then screamed at the top of her lungs, “SATIYA!”

  Edwin reached for his ears at the surprise of her scream. He looked at her as if she was insane. Unfortunately, after a minute or so, Satiya didn’t show up.

  “Well that’s a bummer.” She said and shrugged her shoulders.

  A heavy gust of wind picked up, and then the sun suddenly grew dark, like something was covering it…

  “Satiya!” They both yelled in unison, and started waving their arms up at the sky.

  With a deafening ‘whoosh’ the dragon landed swiftly in front of them, so light on her feet that if she would’ve landed behind them they probably wouldn’t have heard it.

  “Satiya! We thought we would never see you again!” Edwin said, extremely perky all of a sudden. Lena was glad his mood had lifted even if it was for a few minutes.

  ‘I’m glad to see both of you, Lena I see you are doing much better.’

  Edwin translated for her and when he did she started to talk as if Satiya would actually be able to understand what she was saying.

  “Yup! Look at how many stitches I got!” She said happily as she lifted the sides of her shirt to show off her battle scars.

  “Could you do us one last favor?” Edwin asked.

  ‘I am at your service, Edwin.’

  “Could you perhaps fly us to Lena’s tree house? It’s not that far from here, especially on your back.” He said.

  ‘Of course I can. If you ever need my assistance, don’t hesitate to call out my name.’

  “Wait, you could hear Lena when she yelled?” Edwin asked, confused on how it would have been possible.

  ‘Yes, my name is the only thing I can understand from her. Remember she called for me on the side of the mountain? Apparently I can comprehend that from her, but nothing else. I don’t know why I would only be able to translate bits and pieces though.’

  “Lena is a half Seer! That must be it!” Edwin said excitedly.

  “Neat!” Lena said.

  The two of them climbed onto Satiya’s back, Edwin in front and Lena holding onto his sides. With a flap of her wings they were already several feet off the ground. In a few seconds, they were high enough to see the entire town where Agmund had raised Edwin. The sun was at its peak for the day, so the sky was a bright blue with very few clouds in sight. The rays from the sun enhanced every bit of greenery below them, making the flower’s perfect coloring and the trees luscious and vibrant. From this angle, the forest didn’t look half bad.

  The exhilarating ride gave Edwin satisfaction in his quest. He was happy that he found Lena, or rather that Lena found him. He was happy that he succeeded in destroying the book; even if it wasn’t the way he had pictured it to be. And, he was even happy that he found out about Agmund, because living a life of secrecy and deceit would have been far worse than learning the truth. Of course he would have much rather had a ‘happy ending’ with Agmund, but that obviously wasn’t meant to be.

  It only took Satiya twenty minutes to reach Lena’s tree house, and she had even taken the long way to weave in and out of trees, making the ride more intense and adventurous.

  Once she landed, Edwin and Lena climbed off. It was such a relief to finally be home, for Lena at least.

  “Hey Satiya, let me ask you something I’ve been wondering about.” Edwin said, partially because he wanted to know, and partially because he didn’t want her to leave yet.

  ‘Yes Edwin?’

  “How come you have beautiful white scales, yet your kids had grey scales?” He asked. Lena hadn’t considered that before, but now she was curious to know the answer.

  ‘A dragon’s scales change over time. As they grow, they lighten. Once dragons reach adulthood, their scales become white.’

  “Whoa, that’s really neat.” Edwin said.

  ‘Indeed. I must go now; a dragon of my size should never stay in one spot for too long. Remember, call for me if you ever need me, and I will come.’

  Edwin was sad to hear that, he was definitely going to miss her. He also knew however that he would be calling for her often and they would see each other again soon.

  With a long goodbye, and a meaningful thanking, Satiya flew off into the sky, her white scales iridescent in the light of the sun.

  “Well…” Edwin said, not knowing what to do next.

  “Edwin, I was thinking, and well, you are welcome to stay in my tree house. If you want? I mean… I have an extra bedroom in there but it’s really small and –” Lena said but was cut off.

  “I’ll take it!” He said, quickly booming with eagerness and relief.

  Lena laughed and said, “Okay, well good!”

  They walked into the tree house together and Lena showed Edwin the bedroom she had been talking about. Instead of going upstairs where Edwin thought the room would be Lena actually went to the corner where there was a small hidden staircase.

  It wasn’t a very long staircase but it was indeed steep. Although Lena went first and lit the way Edwin almost fell several times. “There is a room down here?” He asked, unsure if she was leading him to a bedroom, or some sort of medieval-like dungeon.

  “Yes, it’s a pretty neat place.” Lena said. When she lit the lanterns along the room wall, Edwin was astounded at what he saw. Thick intertwining roots for the walls, and some even went through the center of the room creating a very naturist vibe. There was a small bed, big enough for Edwin to lay flat on, a wooden dresser perfect for his clothes, and a desk with a few books on it.

  As Lena gave Edwin the tour of the tiny room, she went over to the desk and grabbed two of the books, keeping them close to her side.

  “This is where my mom would write. It’s quiet and peaceful, and the sun gives it a cool feel don’tcha think?” Lena said.

  She was absolutely right. The sun’s glow came shining through thin but long windows that were near the ceiling of the room and circled all the way around. The light filled the room but most of it was directly angled towards the center, creating a gathering place for the end of the beams.

  “Your mom?” Edwin asked, not knowing that there had been anyone here besides Lena.

  “Yes, when Agmund left we were poor. Couldn’t afford to live in a house in town, had to move somewhere else. Where does someone with no money move to? So, we camped in the woods for a while and then we found this gorgeous tree house, already made. Seemed like it was destiny and made for us. No one was in it and so we stayed. We were going to stay
only until someone came, but no one ever did. Don’t know why they didn’t.” Lena answered.

  “Wow, that’s incredible luck.” He said, not sure if luck was even that generous.

  “It sure was.” She said. In the moment of silence, she decided to talk about something she had been avoiding for a while now.

  “Listen, Edwin…can we talk about something?” She asked.

  Edwin didn’t know what to think about her introduction to her next statement, but it sounded serious. “Sure. What’s that?” He replied.

  “Well…it’s about the other day…when you uhm…” She said.

  “Oh. That. I remember.” He said simply, wondering where she was going with this conversation.

  “You see…I’m not really sure that would be best…I mean…I want to be your friend, and I’m not really a people person so… I don’t really have a ‘relationship’ at the top of my priorities. Do you know what I mean? Especially if you are living here…I don’t want things to be awkward.” She said, her words trailing off throughout her sentences.

  “I understand. I guess it was a ‘heat of the moment’ thing.” He said, knowing that it wasn’t.

  She didn’t respond, she probably didn’t know what else could be said.

  “Thank you for letting me stay here, it’s really nice of you.” Edwin said. “Of course. I’ve been in your situation – no house – and it’s not fun…” She responded rather awkwardly.

  “So…friends?” Edwin asked, trying to continue to lighten the mood.

  “The best!” Lena said, glad that he wasn’t upset with her. She felt like a huge awkward weight had been lifted from her shoulders.

  “But anyhow, you can stay in here. I’ll let you unpack your things.” She said, as he nodded to her thankfully.

  He took out his clothes and placed them neatly into the drawers, his extra pair of shoes he just sat beside the chest. The only thing left was his box of mementos that he sat on the desk in the corner.

  Lena went upstairs to put the books in her room, under her bed, safely hidden. One was her mother’s journal that she had told Edwin about, and the other was her own. Neither of which she wanted Edwin to read.

  As she slid them under the bed, she hesitated on hers. Instead, she untied the leather strap, and laid the journal flat out on the bed. She took her pencil and started to write.

  Today, Edwin destroyed the book, keeping it away from Agmund – ending my worries that he would get ahold of it. Unfortunately he was killed in the process. I hate that he never returned from the evil side. I hate that he thought spells and magic were more important than mom and I. I hate that he never got the chance to know me. Edwin had no clue that Agmund was really abusive and cruel, but how could he not? How could Agmund show love to Edwin, but not to his own flesh and blood? Edwin didn’t know that Agmund was Nefarious, and neither did I. I can’t believe that he cursed the entire world. Who does that? Who is capable of that kind of power? Even as much as I dislike Agmund, I don’t believe that he was fully behind this on his own. I fear there is someone else out there, someone that Agmund obeyed or was an apprentice to. I fear to know any more, yet how can I live without knowing?

  She paused her writing when she heard Edwin coming up the stairs from the room on the bottom level. She resumed when his name ran through her thoughts.

  Edwin – no one has ever made me feel more confused. He kissed me the other day, and he has saved my life more times than I can count. Even after Agmund had the book that could potentially end the world, he still chose to take me to the hospital over finding him. Before that, he was going to get Satiya to take me to the hospital, leaving himself stranded on the side of a mountain in the middle of nowhere with no way home. Who is that selfless? Who is that kind? Why do I feel safer with him, even when I am stronger and am the one who knows how to survive?

  Once he was done, he went up the stairs to find Lena and saw she was up in her loft sitting beside her bed.

  This is why I need his company in my tree house; this is why I offered him my mother’s room. Not because I pity him, or know that he needs a place to sleep, but because I care for him in a way that I need him around to make me feel whole.

  When he glanced at the small staircase leading up to her, it looked like she was writing. He crept up the stairs closer to get a better look, he was curious. What was she writing in?

  I think I may actually

  She saw him from the corner of her eye and jumped up. She scrambled around, and threw the journal under her bed.

  “What are you doing?” He asked her.

  “Uh…nothing, just putting on my boots.” She responded.

  Knowing that wasn’t what she was doing, he figured it was private, and went along with what she said.

  “Where are you going?” He asked curiously, seeing as how they had just arrived home.

  “Well, I need to make dinner and I can’t do that without a bow. So…I need to go out and make a bow. Wanna come?” She asked him rhetorically - she definitely already knew what his answer would be.

  “Awesome! Can I make one too?” He asked bright with eagerness.

  “Well, sure. I suppose it couldn’t hurt to teach you how to hunt.” Lena said, excited for the challenge.

  She walked downstairs and the two of them went outside. Lena began explaining the certain types of vines that they needed, and the type of wood. Even though Edwin was ecstatic to begin making his custom weapon, he hadn’t heard much of what she was saying.

  “So wait a minute,” He said as he interrupted her rant on thickness of the vine. “Why did you make me sleep on an uncomfortable cot when you had a nice bedroom downstairs?”

  “Well, you could’ve been a psycho. How was I supposed to know?” She said as she smirked and chuckled to herself.

  She was adorable, how could he not laugh with her?

  “Once again, I was the insane one, when you tied me up and dragged me to your house in the middle of nowhere? Remember?” He said, bumping his shoulder into hers playfully.

  Reminiscing of their first terrible moments together made them both laugh. What an adventure that came from that very instant.

  “I’ll race you to the creek?!” Lena said as she took off running.

  “There’s a creek around here?” Edwin said, inevitably bound to lose.

  They ran off contentedly into the woods, disappearing between the trees and in the brush. In a world that had almost fallen apart ten years ago, it was surely now on the road to recovery – at least Edwin’s world.

  THE END.

  Acknowledgements

  Many talented and generous people helped bring the story of Edwin and Lena to life. From the beginning Taylor Leopold provided enthusiasm and pushed me to publish – something I had never thought of doing for a novel. Melissa Ward and Geraldine Blinson provided the perfect mix of critical insight, support and patience as they helped to be editors and model readers. My coworkers at the local bookstore, along with my grandmother, provided invaluable enthusiasm. Tiffany Lee generously guided me with promotional ideas and bookings. She also helped to bring the cover together, and found a talented artist for the illustrations. Alexis Grimm Musgrove gave an unforgettable contribution towards the book – the artwork. Without your insanely gifted artsy self, I would never have had the beautiful and eye-catching front and back cover that I do now. Thank you to all those that helped behind the scenes whether it was encouragement or critic, it was all greatly appreciated.

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  Keep an eye out for the sequel to

  Searching for darkness

  SEARCHING

  FOR

  DARKNESS

  Leah Ward

  Illustrated by

  Alexis GRIMM Musgrove

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