Song of the Sword

by K.L. Bauman

Ayden yelled as the Veela's arrow streaked toward Sabina. He shouldn't have worried, however, as the vampiress' quicker-than-lightening reflexes allowed her to catch the arrow before it could imbed itself into her chest.

  Da'ewyn quickly shot a second arrow, but this time, Ayden was ready. He flung Phantom and knocked the weapon from the air. "STOP IT! Killing each other will solve nothing. Get away from each other!" Ayden yelled. When neither of them made a move, he huffily pushed them to opposite ends of the path where they stood. Then, he paced back and forth between the two as they glared at each other, trying to think of what to do.

  "Ayden is right. Fighting with each other will not help any of us. We need to calm down and focus on the path ahead," Volos' deep voice penetrated Ayden's mind. He turned and looked at his large companion, thankful for his presence.

  "What are we supposed to do, Volos?" he asked, suddenly feeling drained.

  "Just like I said. Focus on the path ahead. One step at a time."

  The next several hours were long and silent. Ayden had instructed Sabina and Nya to stay at the rear of the party and he placed Da'ewyn at the front. He knew she wouldn't stay there, though. Sure enough, as soon as they were under way, Da'ewyn vanished into the trees. He had then put himself behind Sabina and Nya to keep an eye on them, and an eye out for Da'ewyn. He couldn't believe that she had almost killed Sabina. Was she really that jealous, or was she feeling the tension in the thickening trees as strongly as he was?

  The fact that an evil sorcerer was lurking somewhere nearby didn't help to ease Ayden's mind or nerves. Why didn't he just show himself and get it over with? That question dominated his thoughts for the rest of the day. And, that night, he presented the question to Sabina.

  "He's waiting until he knows our strengths and weaknesses. That's why he sent Devel. He likes to know exactly what he's up against. Or, it could be that Devel was hungry. He has a fetish for horse meat," Sabina answered.

  "Or maybe he's waiting for us to lead him straight to what we're looking for so he can snatch it for himself," Da'ewyn sneered as she walked by.

  Sabina glared after her before turning to Ayden. "What are you looking for?"

  Ayden could've killed the Veela on the spot. He scowled and answered, "Nothing you need to worry about, Sabina."

  Sabina scowled back. "I've told you everything about me and what I'm doing here. I've trusted you with my darkest secrets. The least you could do is trust me with yours."

  Ayden looked up and saw Volos staring over at them. He shook his head slightly, letting Ayden know he was not to tell the vampiress anything.

  "Look, Sabina," he said quietly turning again to face her, "Please try to trust me. I can't tell you what we're doing here. The more people who know, the more danger there is, especially since we're being followed. I'd like to know how he found us in the first place."

  Sabina scowled deeper, but made no further efforts to speak. Instead, she rose and disappeared into the shadows of the trees.

  Ayden ran his fingers through his hair. It was getting too long and felt thick and heavy. He scratched irritably at the stubble that covered his jaw as he thought. He probably shouldn't have let Sabina go off alone, but he doubted he could've stopped her had he tried.

  Ayden looked over to where Pax was leaning against a tree, reading. The bluish pinpoint of light reflected off of his glasses, hiding his eyes. The young sorcerer looked up momentarily as if he knew he was being watched. Pax scowled and then lifted the book high enough to hide his face. Ayden knew he should try to make amends; maybe he'd wait until tomorrow after Pax had had a chance to cool down.

  He watched Da'ewyn polish her bow for a while, thinking he should try to talk to her about what happened earlier. But she seemed rigid; Ayden didn't feel like bothering her just then.

  Nya was feeding her bird and seemed completely absorbed in the task. The bird cooed and rubbed against her fingers as it pecked seed from the siren's hand. Ayden would have to ask her later if the bird was male or female and if it had a name, but not tonight.

  Finally, his eyes rested on Volos. His enormous form was stretched out over the leaf-infested ground with his hands resting behind his head. Ayden felt a pang of home-sickness. What happened to the days when he and Volos had fun sparring near the waterfall and playing practical jokes on each other? They seemed like such long ago memories. Somehow, his reality had become distant bits of fading dreams, and his dreams had become an overbearing, unpleasant reality.

  Fatigue crept into Ayden's body and the stress of the day took its toll. He turned away from the others; he didn't want them to see the unwelcome tears that involuntarily streamed down his cheeks. He crossed his arms over his curled up knees and lowered his head, trying to remember what Freya had told him to think about during meditation. "When it seems as if everything in the world is against you, remember this: You always have the love and support of your family, the love of your friends, your training, and your gifts. You are never alone."

  Then why did he feel so alone? He took a few deep breaths and repeated Freya's words in his mind. They did help some, but his uneasiness refused to be thwarted.

  The rest of the night was restless as Ayden tossed and turned. The few minutes of sleep he did get were plagued with nightmares. At long last, the sun began to rise. Ayden had never been so glad and so disappointed at the same time--glad the night was over and disappointed that he didn't have more time to try to catch some sleep.

  A white, heavy fog clung to the morning. Ayden and Volos quickly checked the map on Pax's back to determine the day's travel plan. Pax still wasn't speaking, and Ayden was too tired and too eager to be under way to attempt to mend the rift between them. The fog and thick trees felt oppressive; he wanted to get away from them as soon as possible.

  Studying the map, Ayden noticed a small trail that broke away from their path not far from where they stood; it ran through a small open area and then connected to their original path. "Look. If we take this little jog through here, we could save at least a day's traveling. It's a nice little short-cut," he said to Volos.

  Volos studied the short cut for several minutes. Then he shook his head. "I think we'd better stay on the main path. That area could be trouble."

  "I don't think it'll be a-" Ayden began, but the sound of buzzing wings interrupted him and Pax hastily hid the map.

  Nyxia appeared again through the fog. She landed on Volos' outstretched hand and relayed her message. With her whistling voice she said, "Freya has taken a turn for the worse. Nienna doesn't know what else to do for her and urges you to make haste."

  Ayden's heart thumped against his chest. He turned to Volos, "You see? We need to take that path. We can't lose a second!"

  A worried crease had formed between Volos' brows. He gave Nyxia a small bit of gold as payment for her message, but she didn't leave right away. Instead, she looked at Ayden and said, "The fog is thick, but I think I know the path you speak of well. I could lead you straight to it to save time looking."

  Ayden looked to Volos with pleading eyes. "What can it hurt? The fog will hide us. I don't think it'll be lifting any time soon."

  Volos' shoulders slumped slightly and Ayden knew he'd won his case. "Alright. But we need to be extra wary. The fog will hide us, but it will also hide everything else. There are those who use the fog as their ally. Our ears will have to be our main guides today."

  After everyone had gathered their belongings, they made a single-file line and followed the pixie to the short cut. It didn't take long before Nyxia signaled that they had reached the smaller path. She turned and fluttered along, leading them through ever thinning trees until they were plainly in an open area. The fog was no thinner here, but everyone seemed to breathe easier as the trees no longer offered added oppression.

  Ayden was in the lead, focusing on Nyxia's fluttering form. She flew faster and faster, and he was having trouble keeping up.
In her whistling language, he shouted, "Slow down, Nyxia!" But before he could blink, the pixie was swallowed in the blanket of thick, white fog.

  Oh, well, Ayden thought. They were on the right path now and would soon be across the open area. He was feeling good about noticing this short cut on the map. With any luck, they'd be at the hiding place of the Sword of Songs very soon. "Luck does not exist. It is only an excuse man uses to try to explain why bad things happen, and to not give proper credit where it is due when good things happen!" Freya's ever-present voice sounded in Ayden's mind.

  But this is different. We need luck to get help for you faster! Ayden argued.

  "Ayden, are you sure you know where you're going?" Sabina's voice, muffled by the fog, trailed to Ayden. He'd been so lost in his thoughts that he hadn't actually been paying attention to where he was going. The ground beneath his feet had turned from a smooth dirt path to crunchy, dry grass. He stopped and tried to look around. Nothing but white fog met is eyes. Not ready to admit that he'd screwed up, Ayden yelled over his shoulder, "This way. I think we're almost through."

  They still hadn't found their way through the dead valley in what seemed an hour later. Volos spoke up, "We need to stop and rest for a moment. I think we're going in circles."

  "You don't know that. We may be just two paces from the path," Ayden grumbled.

  "We should've been through here long ago," Volos replied and Ayden knew he was right.

  Frustrated, Ayden said, "I should've listened to you. We're taking even longer than if we would've stayed on main path to begin with. We'll never get there in time to save Freya."

  "Don't dwell on what's past or what might happen. This is the choice we made and this is where we are now. Let's try to focus on what we can do now to get us through," Volos spoke more softly than Ayden felt he deserved.

  "We need someone who can see through this muck. What about you?" Da'ewyn said, wrinkling her nose at Sabina.

  "What about me?" Sabina glared back.

  "Can't vampires see through stuff like this? You should be able to get us through without a problem."

  Sabina shook with ripples of controlled rage. "I can see in the dark, you twit, not through cotton-thick fog."

  Ayden turned to Nya. "What about your bird? Can it fly above this fog and tell you where we are?"

  Nya turned her body to show Ayden the bird fast asleep under her arm. In strained English, she said, "Thee fog, eet make Endia to sleep."

  "Wonderful," Da'ewyn mumbled beneath her breath.

  "We won't be able to do anything until this fog li-" Da'ewyn began. She nocked an arrow and readied her bow. Ayden and the others turned toward where the Veela fixed her gaze. Tendrils of fog were curling around each other unnaturally before them. The hairs on Ayden's neck prickled as his thoughts went to the hag that had attacked them at the inn. But hags wouldn't be able to appear in daylight, would they?

  As they all stood and watched, the tendrils of fog swirled and danced with each other until they converged and took on the form of a very large, silvery wolf. The apparition stood immobile, staring calmly at them with glowing eyes. No one moved a muscle, and the air was deathly quiet. They all waited tensely, uncertain of what to expect.

  It's gaze bore into Ayden's eyes. The wolf's bright blue eyes reminded him of something, but he couldn't think of what. Strangely, he felt more relaxed. "I think it's trying to help us. C'mon!" he motioned for all to follow.

  "Are you sure?" Da'ewyn asked, but Ayden had already begun to follow the specter as it turned and walked slowly ahead of them.

  Once again forming a single file line with Ayden in the lead, the group followed the trail of the trotting animals. "Keep close; we don't want to lose anyone in this fog," Ayden yelled as he trotted after the wolf.

  They trudged through the fog like they were in a never-ending dream. Ayden had to concentrate as it was hard to make any distinction between the wolf and the mist around it. The labored breathing of his companions reached Ayden's ears. His own limbs were growing tired and he wondered if they would be stopping soon.

  Just as Ayden was beginning to think that following the ghostly animal had been another bad idea, they came to the edge of a forest. The fog was thinning and streams of sunlight pierced through the mist. The wolf was once again more visible and stood on a clear, straight path.

  Ayden stopped and leaned against his knees as he caught his breath. When everyone had reached the path, Ayden finally took a good look at their bearings. "This is our path! It's led us back to where we started!" he stated with surprise and excitement. All eyes turned to the wolf. "I don't know how to thank you," Ayden said to it, half expecting it to speak back. The apparition merely looked at him with a knowing gaze. Then, the mist swirled around it once again as the form of the wolf slowly disappeared until all that remained were its glowing blue eyes. An eerie howl echoed through the trees and the apparition was gone.

  "Th-that w-was c-creepy," Pax said in a whisper.

  "It was a little. But we're back on the right track now," Ayden said with a smile as a new sense of energy welled inside of him.

  Chapter Twenty Four

  Wild Ride