by K.L. Bauman
Something took a hold of Ayden's guts and twisted them into a thousand knots. He wished he could dissolve into the cave walls and disappear. Or dig a hole and hide until the next day was over. Or die in his sleep--if he could sleep.
The warmth of a soft hand in his slowly drew his mind out of its dark reverie. It took effort to turn his head to look at Nya, his muscles were so tense and knotted. She didn't smile as usual, but gazed with concern into his eyes. With her gentle language, she spoke, "Ayden, I won't deny that I am terrified. I cannot tell you not to be afraid. I cannot promise that all will be well by the end of what is to come. But know here," she touched his chest, "and here," she touched his head, " that I, I mean, that we are with you to the death. You will not fight this battle alone."
Nya's words meant a lot to Ayden, but they brought no comfort. "What if I screw up, Nya? What if I fail and Freya dies sick and alone? What if Degus is too powerful and gets the sword and all of Shae Vale falls to her lunacy? What if--" Nya placed two fingers on his lips to stop his river of "what ifs".
"Shhh. Move your thoughts, Ayden. They are in dangerous territory. You cannot afford to allow them to linger there."
"I can't, Nya," Ayden said as he removed Nya's fingers. He had no control over the panic screaming in his heart.
"You must."
"How? How can I? I'm in way over my head!"
"Look at me."
"I am looking at you!"
"Look closer."
Ayden looked at Nya. Her eyes shown with the flashes of light that erupted in the sky. Something else shown in them that caused a new sensation to stir inside Ayden. He feared it, too, but in a different way. "Nya, I--" He didn't know what he thought he was going to say. His brain was suddenly useless.
Nya took Ayden's hands in hers and squeezed. She came closer to Ayden and locked him in her gaze. Should he draw away? Should he stay put? Should he breathe?
The thunder seemed to crescendo--or maybe that was his heart, he wasn't sure. Beautiful music played in his mind and heat enveloped his body. His dark thoughts were really no longer a problem; emotion was completely taking over. Nya drew closer, and her soft breath caressed Ayden's face.
Then, the softness of her lips on his; it was like lightning, thunder, like being suddenly weightless, like beautiful music, like nothing--and everything--he'd ever experienced ever in his life. He embraced her tightly, not wanting the moment to ever end. He could exist here forever.
But every good and perfect moment does end. It was almost painful when Nya drew back. Her eyes were shining, but not with the white fire that Ayden had seen before. Her entire face emanated a glowing energy that engulfed Ayden with joy.
She spoke softly, "Have your thoughts been moved?"
"My whole world has been moved, Nya," he whispered as he caressed her face with his hand. Her cheeks flushed as they continued to gaze into one another's eyes. Endia cooed from a stone on the cave wall, echoing Nya's emotion.
Ayden's skin prickled as he felt several pairs of eyes staring at them. He forced himself to look away from Nya. The companions were smiling at them.
Volos looked past them through the cave door, his smile dissolving. "Well, I hate to be the party crasher, but I think our storm is calming."
"Why not just hit me in the face with one of those nice, jagged boulders? It'd be less painful," Ayden said as the horror of what was coming came back so fast it nearly knocked him to his knees. And yet, after what he'd just experienced, things didn't seem quite as horrid as they had a while ago.
"Sorry, but we'd better get our game faces on. We need to get a look at what we'll be up against."
Devlin spoke for the first time in a long while. "Why don't Da'ewyn and I go scouting? We can take a look at this supposed army. Maybe there's a way around it."
Ayden thought for a moment. He wasn't fond of the idea of anyone separating at this point. "There is hope in unity." But Devlin was right, they needed to know what they were up against.
"Okay. But be careful and DO NOT let anyone or anything see you. Get back here as fast as you can. And watch the sky."
Da'ewyn and Devlin were gone within seconds. Now, the waiting. I hate waiting! Nya squeezed his hand again and smiled. He couldn't help his own smile. Now he understood how Volos and Keena could eat before. If this is what they felt for each other, eating food before battling the greatest sorceress to the death didn't seem like such a bad thing.
Another thought struck Ayden. "I'd better talk to Pax," he told Nya. He forced himself to let go of her hand and walked deeper into the shadows. The clouds outside were beginning to dissolve, allowing some sunlight to enter into the cave. Ayden squinted in the dim light. "Pax? Where are you, man? Look, I know you've heard this from me a hundred times, but I'm sorry. I'm a jerk. Please come out and talk."
Silence.
"Pax?"
That frightening, empty feeling formed in the pit of Ayden's stomach. Something was wrong. He turned back to where the others were waiting for him. "Sabina, I need your eyes!"
Sabina floated to where he stood. "What's wrong?"
"I don't know. I can't see in the dark, and Pax isn't answering."
Sabina walked confidently forward. She became one with the shadows as Ayden and the others waited anxiously. "Sabina? Can you see anything?"
Sabina's gasp echoed strangely against the cave walls. The hair on Ayden's arms prickled. "What is it? What's happened?"
Circles of light, reflected off a pair of eyes, preceded Sabina's form as she materialized from the shadows. She held a bag filled with books in one hand; and in the other, a small leather pouch, its contents causing rounded bulges.
Sabina's voice was barely a whisper, "He's gone."
Ayden didn't want to accept it. How could he be gone? "Are you sure? Maybe he just had to go take care of business, yah know?"
Sabina's widened eyes stayed focused on Ayden as her head slowly moved from side to side. "No, Ayden. The cave ends just a few feet further back. There is no other entrance. And he couldn't have just walked past all of us without being seen."
Volos spoke, "If he's vanished, the only logical explanation is that he wended out of here. Maybe he just wanted to be alone."
Yes! Yes, that made sense. He was upset. He needed some alone time. "Does he know how to wend?"
Everyone looked blankly at each other. No one knew. They filed out of the cave. Trying not to yell his name and draw attention to themselves, they searched in close proximity of the cave. Several minutes of searching had passed when Ayden heard approaching footsteps. Just in case, he pulled his cloak around his body as he hid behind a boulder and waited.
Ayden knew who approached before he saw. He stood abruptly and then held up his hands as Da'ewyn drew an arrow before he could even blink. "Sorry! I wasn't thinking," he said quickly.
Da'ewyn lowered her arrow and breathed. "You better be sorry! I almost killed you!" When Ayden didn't speak, she asked, "What's wrong? What's happened?"
"Pax is missing. He vanished from inside the cave. No one saw him leave, and he left his stuff behind. Did you see him anywhere?" Ayden asked anxiously.
"No," Da'ewyn said as Devlin approached from a different direction accompanied by Volos and Sabina. Nya walked carefully along the rocks toward them from yet another direction. Once everyone was gathered, Ayden asked for a report.
"I didn't see anything."
"Not a trace."
"Sorry."
Da'ewyn jerked as if she'd just remembered something important. As she spoke, fear shone in her eyes for the first time Ayden could remember, "Ayden, not that Pax isn't important, but we have a greater problem. Over that ridge," she pointed toward a part of the lake that was hidden behind a large jagged ridge of rock, "an army is gathering. There is no doubt that they greatly outnumber us."
Words with no comfort.
The sun was now free from its b
lack cloud prison and shed a red glow as it neared the western horizon. The light reflected off of the newly formed lake, causing the water to look like a giant pool of blood surrounded by jagged, black teeth. Ayden shivered. Pax, where are you? Their unity was broken along with Ayden's hope.
Chapter Forty-Two
Wing It