“Who are you talking to?” Olivia snapped, giving her a look of disgust. “No, seriously? Do you realize who you’re talking to? I’m fine, Remi. You’re the one that needs help.” She pointed at Remi’s face and Remi nearly slapped her. What was she trying to say? That she wasn’t beautiful?
“It’s your face,” Olivia reiterated. “There’s blood coming from your nose.”
“Oh!” Remi replied, reaching up and dabbing her left nostril. A thin drop of blood sat on the tip of her artificial finger. “Geez, what’s that all about?”
“Who knows?” Olivia said, rising to her feet. “You stay here and take care of that, okay? I’ll be back.”
“Wait, where are you going?”
“I’ll be right back.”
Remi growled and began dabbing at her nose over and over. It looked like the outpour was getting worse, but thankfully Ian came to her rescue. He handed her a handkerchief and she put it under her nostrils.
“Lift your head,” he said and she tilted her head back. The sensation of the blood sliding back into her nasal cavity nearly made her gag.
“At least I’m good for something,” he chuckled. “You okay?”
“Don’t know where that came from,” Remi muttered. “But I’ll be okay.”
“You told me that on Terra you were sick all the time. Do you feel any different?”
“No,” she said, scowling. “And don’t you start thinking otherwise.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he laughed. “By the way, you can keep that. My first gift to you.”
“And I have nothing for you,” she said through her nasally voice. “I’m terrible.”
“You can pay me back later. A kiss would suffice.”
“I’m bleeding out of my nose and you’re thinking of kisses?”
“I can’t help myself.”
“You’re sick.”
“Then we’re more alike than I thought.”
Remi laughed and shook her head. He was so freaking weird, but at least he made her laugh. Still, laughter wasn’t going to be enough for what was to come. Not by a long shot. And after the lavish life Ian had lived back in Paragon, there was no guarantee that he would stay so chipper. It was part of the reason why she didn’t feel right leading Ian on. He was cute, funny and sweet, but she had a lot more to worry about, and besides, Kace was still in Cimmerian, most likely being tortured while she giggled with the boy next door. The thought made her sick to her stomach.
“I want to be alone,” she said, and Ian bowed and took his leave. He didn’t question why, and she was happy for it. She had to stay focused.
***
With the help of Ian’s foraging and Harlan’s knowledge of outdoor living, they had a relatively easy time making it across the terrain. Though Remi had been inclined to ask about the Sorcerers back in Paragon, now she realized that the more knowledge they kept to themselves, the better. To the outsider, they looked like a band of kids heading toward a new adventure, kind of like the bands of young Quietus that Kace used to tell her about. They weren’t trying to bother anyone. They were just looking for their version of sport.
Of course, this wasn’t true, and there were some that stared at them with suspicion. But they gave them little reason to pursue. Whenever they passed by a city’s walls or a town’s gates, they kept their eyes forward and continued on, as if they had passed by those places a hundred times. It had been Olivia’s suggestion to avoid as many as possible, and since she seemed so confident in her beliefs, they listened attentively.
The days turned into weeks, and the weeks quickly became months as they walked along, wondering if they would arrive at their destination. At times it seemed like the shard was leading them of its own pleasure and volition, as if it had no intention of taking them where they needed to be. But since they hadn’t seen all of Terra, they continued along, having only each other for company.
For most of the journey, they kept to themselves until they sat down for the night, but once the shard’s light made a sudden sharp turn and told them to go west instead of south, it was like all of their spirits had perked up. Remi wasn’t sure if it was because the change in direction felt like new things were ahead or because they would end up back in Paragon if the shard made one more directional shift.
Whatever the reason, the walks became livelier. Milo would entertain them with tales of his sister and all of the crazy schemes and inventions she would come up with. Harlan would talk about the different creatures that dared to attack his crops, and Ian would speak in detail of the majestic and wonderful things he had seen in the deep countryside of Paragon. After hearing of such wonders, Remi began to hope that they would end up back in Paragon, if only so that she could one day see them.
Eckard actually started to get hyper, asking questions faster than they could be answered until Olivia finally told him to shut up. And as for Olivia herself? She wouldn’t say too much, but Remi could tell that she enjoyed the stories and banter. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t hide her smile.
Remi admired Olivia in that moment, though she wouldn’t dare admit it. Though Remi had been deemed the leader, it was Olivia that had taken over the role, usually choosing the appropriate place to camp for the night, or asking if everyone was still feeling well enough to complete the journey. Though they were all hungrier than they cared to be at times, they were all in good health.
Except for Remi.
Sure, she had the nosebleed in the beginning, but then a whole month had gone by without incident and so she chalked up the moment to an isolated occurrence. When the exhaustion began kicking in, she figured it was because of all the walking they had been doing, but when she compared her stride to that of the others, she saw that that wasn’t the case. She was getting slower while they remained the same. Her hair was beginning to lose a bit of its color. Her hands ached occasionally, and in the third month, Olivia had to start waking her up in the mornings. If she hadn’t, Remi suspected that she would have kept sleeping for quite a few hours more.
She wasn’t what she had been, but that girl was slowly returning.
And that only put in her mind a renewed sense of urgency.
Though she was the most tired of them all, she pushed for them to go on a couple hours more. Whenever she could, she took the lead with the shard so that they were forced to follow at her pace. She did whatever she could to make up for her failing body, but it was only a matter of time before someone noticed. Before someone got concerned enough to ask.
And she wanted the journey to be over before then.
Long before.
“Who’s up for a jog?” she shouted with red shard in hand. Olivia rolled her eyes.
“What for?” she asked, but Remi ignored her. She took a deep breath and began sprinting forward.
Milo fumbled with his suitcase. “What kind of jog is that?” he yelled as she laughed maniacally and kept moving. They all caught up to her easily and she found that a bit disconcerting, but she wasn’t about to let them know.
“We’re wasting energy,” Olivia shouted.
“And sunlight,” Remi said.
“What are you talking about? It’s noon.”
“Which means the morning is already gone!”
“What is wrong with her?” Ian said as Harlan bounded in front of Remi and started running backwards.
“You okay, girl?” he asked.
Remi scowled at him. “Never been better. Why?”
“I don’t know. I just want to know what the rush is.”
“I feel like we’re getting closer.”
“I doubt it. There’s not even a light coming from the shard.”
“Of course there—what?” Remi stopped in her tracks and Harlan slowed down so that they wouldn’t crash into each other. As the others gathered around them, Harlan and Remi gave the shard a closer inspection.
“Did you shut it down internally?” he asked but Remi was adamant that she hadn’t.
“No, not at all…you want to
try?” she asked, handing him the shard.
He took it in his hands and lifted it high, closing his eyes and willing it to show him the way. The light within it remained dim. “Nothing,” he said, scratching his head.
“I take it as a good thing,” Ian replied. “We all kept talking about how it wouldn’t be this easy, right? Maybe this means we’re in the general area, but it’s up to us to explore from here.”
“That’s kind of exciting,” Remi said.
“Riiiiight,” Olivia said. “I would have chosen a different adjective, but we’re here now so let’s think. Should we keep heading straight?”
“Depends on the terrain,” Ian said, trying to look off in the distance. They were still in the forest. That hadn’t changed, but Remi had to admit that once she gazed ahead, her vision got blurry, as if the world before her was an illusion.
“Manifestation?” Remi asked. Olivia squint her eyes too.
“I have no idea,” she said. “If that’s a manifestation, then it’s a big one. That’s a lot of power being emitted.”
“You think it’s a Sorcerer?” Milo asked.
“Could be a weapon.”
“If that’s a weapon,” Remi said, “then he or she is a lot more powerful than I am.”
“Let’s move forward cautiously,” Olivia replied. Taking one step at a time, they moved slowly, unsure of they were about to walk into. As they got closer to the haze before them, Remi felt her heart began to race. This wasn’t a matter of not being able to see now. It was right before them. There was something visibly wrong with the land in front of them, and stepping past the veil might set off a chain of events that she wasn’t sure she was prepared for.
Harlan stuck a finger through the veil and waited. “Well, nothing’s biting it off.”
“Why don’t you go all the way through?” Ian said.
Harlan hesitated. “Perhaps I will.”
“I was joking. We don’t have to—” Before he could finish his sentence, Harlan stepped through the blurry transparent curtain, disappearing from their sight completely.
No one moved.
Until Harlan burst out from the other side with a big smile on his face.
“Guys, you have to come see this.”
They all took a step forward, and onto the other side.
Chapter 33 – Breath of Fire
It was the exact same forest they had been traveling through for the past six months, except on the other side of the veil, it was all covered in snow. Mounds of it. It was so heavy that it fell off the tree branches in clumps. It was so high that they nearly fell over after taking one step forward. The chill in the air was so cold that it made their lungs burn and a few of them started coughing as a result.
Remi bent down and rubbed a hand across the snow’s hardened surface.
“We don’t really have clothes for this,” Olivia said. “Not much, right?”
“I brought a coat,” Remi said. “I think Milo has it.”
“Yep,” Milo said, as he just finished fastening the buttons on her coat over his shoulders. “Yes, that should do nicely.”
“That’s mine, you little imp.”
“You could come catch me if you like.”
“Like that’s going to happen,” Remi muttered. She was afraid to sprint for fear of falling on her face. Olivia took a deep breath and began heating up her body, making the snow melt around her.
“Guess I’m taking lead again,” she sighed.
“What else is new?” Harlan said. Olivia glared at him and then began walking forward slowly, allowing the snow to melt around them. Remi took note of the ground underneath the winter wonderland. There was no grass, no leaves. Nothing but dirt, and it told her that the snow had in fact been there for a very long time. But how was that possible? Did they enter a new world somehow?
“Shush,” Olivia said, putting a finger to her lips. “Did anyone hear that?”
Remi froze in her tracks and began searching her environment meticulously, but the air was still and the woods were dead. Nothing had moved as far as she could tell, but that didn’t mean they weren’t in danger. Remi allowed the tip of her eidolon to stick out of her right shoulder, but after a few seconds passed, she realized that it wasn’t enough. She unsheathed it completely.
“Wait!” Olivia cried out. “Someone might think we’re trying to attack!”
“I have to,” Remi replied as she stuck her eidolon high into the air, the purple light emanating from it reflecting off of the shiny silver surfaces of the snow. Remi didn’t sense anything around them. But there was still something strange in the air. It was as if the oxygen had gotten thinner and drier. But it was on such a microscopic level, was it really a cause for concern? Was—
“Get down!” Remi shouted as she leapt onto her belly. Olivia glared at her with wide eyes but she crouched down low. The others obeyed, unsure of why.
“What are we doing?” Ian whispered, but Remi put a finger to her lips. Though the snow was freezing against her thin shirt and pants, she remained still. A second ago she had sensed an entity. It was very real, very angry, and very, very big.
A screech sounded off across the sky like a shockwave, shaking the tree branches above them. More piles of snow rained down on top of them. Remi took a deep breath and kept silent. It was near.
Another screech made Milo shake so hard that he scurried to his feet in a panic. Remi shouted for him to stay still but he was in caught up in a frenzy. He picked up his grey suitcase and started running toward the veil they had come from. But just when he was about to leap past its border, a tsunami of fire cut off his path. It happened so fast, it was as if the ground below had opened up and burst into flames. The wall of fire was so high that there was no way he could get past without being severely burned. Milo fell onto his butt.
“What’s going on?!” he yelled and Remi ran to his side.
“I’m not sure,” she shouted. “But we have to be careful. Whatever that thing is, it’s so powerful that I’m sure we could be killed with one blow.”
“Screw that,” Olivia said, cracking her knuckles. She then reached down and unsheathed her sword. “This blade of mine’s been thirsty. I’m ready to give it drink.”
“Livi, we have to be careful.”
“Now I know we’re in trouble,” she sighed. “You only call me ‘Livi’ when it’s about to get real.”
Remi ‘s eidolon screamed and she snapped her head forward. Another wall of fire was heading straight for them. Remi tackled Harlan and pushed him out of the way as Olivia and Milo grabbed Eckard and Ian respectively. The wall of fire separated them into two groups. Olivia and Eckard were the only two on the left side of the blazing wall.
“Let’s keep moving forward!” Olivia shouted. “If this whole forest goes up in flames, we’re done anyways!”
“Agreed!” Milo said, grabbing his suitcase and sprinting forward. But he only made it a few feet when he stopped. “Does anyone else see that?”
The forest was crashing down in front of them, the trees started being knocked down like pins and that was when their adversary became clear.
With a wingspan that had to be a half mile wide, the dragon was in the midst of slowing its descent to greet the intruders. It had a horn sticking out of its forehead. It had red, almost metallic skin with green patches blended into its thick hide. Its scales were sharp and moved in the breeze like gills. The dragon’s eyes were a bright yellow and the pupils were black. The teeth showing from its gigantic maw were so sharp that they could cut on contact, regardless of the size of the creature’s prey. Its claws were gigantic and nimble, and it proved its mobility when it reached out, wrapped its scaly fingers around a tree’s entire body and ripped it from the ground. The dragon threw it behind it and huffed, its breath smelling of sulfur and oil.
Remi was in awe over the massive creature before her. It was unlike anything she had ever seen. Though its aura radiated danger, she could also tell that it was intelligent. The way its p
upils dilated upon taking in each member of the group. The way it maintained a healthy distance from their blades. The dragon was no dummy, and she was inclined to treat it with the utmost respect.
Remi jumped in her skin as the dragon suddenly slammed its tail into a few more trees, separating them from its roots instantly. At the end of its long tail was a club, almost as if someone had attached a boulder at the end. Just one look at it, and Remi knew that a blow from it meant instant death.
The dragon huffed again and stretched its neck high, revealing its ribs and stomach underneath—a sickly green and yellow abdomen that resembled a shield in some ways. The creature yawned and lowered its head once more, its nostrils flaring as it closed its mouth.
“What do we do?” Milo asked and the dragon’s eyes darted over to him. He raised his hands in surrender.
“Whatever it wants,” Olivia replied. Her hands were trembling around her sword’s hilt. She was trying to stop, but she knew that the creature was faster than it looked.
“Take it slow,” Olivia said, and the dragon responded instantly. It growled and snapped its jaws toward her, causing her to barely roll out of the way. Remi lunged forward and slashed at the dragon’s lip, but it didn’t do anything. Her blade grazed off the surface as if it was made of glass. The dragon turned to her and opened its jaw wide.
“Remi!” Ian shouted, but she was already taking defensive measures.
The dragon scooped her up in its mouth and clamped its fangs down on top of her, but thankfully, she had summoned her armor just in time. Two of the fangs chipped on contact and the dragon spit her out of its mouth and began to crane its neck upward, howling at the pain that shot through the roof of its mouth.
“Now!” Olivia shouted, making her sword as hot as possible. She slashed at the dragon’s leg but it didn’t even cause a mark. Harlan ran forward and gripped one of its toes, trying to raise it from off the ground.
“What in the world are you doing?” Milo shrieked.
Harlan groaned as he broke out in a sweat. “I have no clue!”
The Complete Seven Sorcerers Trilogy Page 32