Before she realized it Jake's longer legs had brought him up to the path next to her then several strides ahead.
"Come on! Keep up." He chided, throwing a smile back over his shoulder at her. Nadya stretched her legs as long as they would go, forcing herself to go faster, but soon she was out of breath and he was several turns ahead of her.
After losing sight of him for a moment she spotted him again standing on the side of the path waiting for her. Nadya staggered to a halt, bending over and resting her hands on her knees trying to catch her breath.
"You know it's not a competition, right?" She finally said glancing up at him, but Jake's eyes were still staring off at nothing.
"I think August would be a good month. The weather would still be nice for moving your stuff into my apartment,” he said almost to himself.
"Your apartment?"
He finally glanced over at her. "Yeah. No offense Nadya, but you have to admit that mine is a lot better than yours."
"Well, yes, but mine is closer to the college and I was hoping to start taking some classes there."
Jake frowned. "Why would you want to go back to college?"
Nadya rolled her eyes. "You think I like busing tables at Marty's? I'd like to do something more with my life. I was hoping to get a degree in something."
"Like what?" Jake asked still frowning.
"I don't know yet. Something."
Jake reached over and brushed the sweaty golden curls from her face. "Look, once were married you won't need to bus tables anymore. You won't have to worry about getting a degree either. I make enough money to support both of us easily." He looped an arm around her waist and drew her closer. "We can settle down somewhere and you won't have a care in the world. All right?"
Nadya gave him a small smile and nodded. "All right."
"Good. Then August it is. I'll call my parents tomorrow and let them know."
"Wait, isn't that kind of fast? It's only May. We can't get everything ready in time, can we?"
"Sure we can." Jake smiled at her. "Don't worry so much." He laughed and started back on the path again. Nadya sighed, but forced herself to keep up.
"I guess. It just seems like it would take longer to get everyone here."
Jake glanced back over his shoulder. "Come on, it won't be that hard. All my family lives within a day's drive of here and it's not like you have any family that needs to rush out."
Nadya stopped dead in her tracks, feeling the sting of his words as her stomach twisted. Jake paused noticing that she wasn't following.
"Nadya, you've got to stop being so sensitive. It's been, what, seven years since your parents died? Don't you think that's long enough?"
Nadya swallowed her tears, feeling warmth coming to her cheeks.
"I know. I just…" She stopped, feeling a lump in her throat. "I don't really feel like running anymore today."
"No, don't you dare. Come on. We only have another mile left." Jake beckoned for her to follow. Nadya sighed, falling in line behind him again, but this time she didn't have the energy to keep up with him nor did she really feel like trying. The ring bounced with an unfamiliar weight on her finger with each stride, keeping her from the peace that she normally felt on her jogs.
Soon Jake was totally out of view. Coming around the corner, she paused as the path split in two directions. The black paved way snaked off further into the park and the other dirt path ducked down beneath an old moss covered bridge.
Which way did he go? They normally stayed on the paved path, but Jake liked to change things up. Did he turn off the path and just forget to tell her?
"Jake!” she called, hoping that he would still be close enough to hear.
Nothing.
He must be farther ahead than she had realized. Turning to the right, she started down the path leading further into the park.
A brilliant flash like lightning shone out from under the bridge. Nadya spun around just as the soft sound of clattering stones echoed out from beneath the arching shadow.
"Jake?" She called. Nothing but silence answered her. She stood for a moment before taking a hesitant step forward towards the bridge. Peering through, she could see there was no one there, but what had that light been? She crept forward, coming to the dark edge of the bridge's shadow.
"Hello?" Maybe there was someone on the other side. But the dirt path didn't show any signs of being disturbed in a long time.
She was just about to turn away, when the gleam of something shiny caught her eye. Scooting forward, she nudged her toe through a small pile of rocks that had fallen onto the dusty floor. One rock tumbled to the side, revealing the glint of something beneath it. Bending down, Nadya felt a smoothness like glass and wrapped her fingers around it. As she pulled it from the debris, a slender chain snaked out through the dust with it. Nadya held the pendant towards the light, turning it in her hand as she wiped the dust from its smooth, faceted surface. It looked to be some kind of clear crystal, carved smooth on three sides to form a triangular shape. The polished stone reflected a small flash of Nadya's face back to her. The heart of the crystal sparkled softly and she found that she could not turn away. The tiny reflection of her own eyes seemed to stare back at her from untold depths. A light began to grow there, warming the surface of the crystal in her hands before disappearing again.
As the light faded Nadya felt a rush of dizziness come over her and she was forced to reach out for the wall to steady herself. The stone she laid her hand on suddenly sprang to life, a new light flickering and glimmering along its edge. With a start, Nadya pulled her hand back and the light disappeared.
Inching forward again, she saw that the stone was different from the others. It was a more blue-green color than the brown and gray tinted stones around it and where the others were dusty and worn, this one was clean. Cautiously, she reached out and touched some of the stones around it.
Nothing.
Nadya bit her lip as she lightly touched the blue-green stone again. As soon as her fingers brushed the smooth surface the light returned, curling around the edge of the stone. The air seemed to tingle around her.
With lightning speed the light swarmed from the edges to her hand, climbing up her arm in a warm rush. Nadya tried to pull her hand back, but it was held firm in the flood of light that was now crawling over her body. Opening her mouth, she tried to scream, but was suddenly pulled off her feet in a swirl of color. The world tipped and tilted in a sea of flashing light. She was tumbling through the air with nothing to hold on to. The light suddenly fell away and Nadya was thrust out into the open, her tennis shoes crunching on uneven stones as she fell forward onto the ground.
Gasping, Nadya clung to the rocks beneath her, trying to get her vision to stop spinning. A hot blast of air hit her face, blowing back loose strands of her hair. Nadya blinked the grit from her eyes, her gaze drawn up the sheer walls of red stone that rose to imposing heights above her. Another smooth wall was to the other side of her, forming a narrow canyon. Light filtered down from above, shining off the rock with a blood red haze.
Nadya rose with shaking legs and turned, coming face-to-face with a glassy, blue-green monolith of stone. Words were carved along the top in bold letters, but the script was one she had never seen before. The stone stood out with stark contrast against the red of the canyon that wound away behind it. Nadya took a step away from the stone, fearful of whatever power had brought her here. Wherever here was. It couldn't be a coincidence that the stone under the bridge was the same color.
Nadya glanced down to the three-sided pendant in her hand. Did this have anything to do with it? Maybe if she tried to put it back it would take her home again.
She raised a shaking hand towards the stone, biting her lip as she again touched it. Just as quickly as before the light sprang to life along the edges of the stone before swarming down to her hand. The light raced over her with tingling warmth and frightening power.
An instant later she was pushed back into the light of d
ay. Cool air blew over her smelling of damp earth and pine. Wide-eyed, Nadya turned in place looking at the thick forest around her. A soft mist floated in and out of the low branches of the pine trees.
This was definitely not where she wanted to be.
Nadya took a step away from the towering stone behind her. Though the stone was the same color as the other, it was shorter and broader. Like the other one this one was roughhewn with a single smooth cut side. The stone was so smooth that she could see her reflection like a dark mirror in its glassy surface. Looking down to her hand she saw that she still clutched the pendant in her fist. For a fleeting moment she thought of throwing it away in frustration, but something made her keep hold of it. Glancing down at her feet she saw what looked to be cobblestones, half-hidden beneath the moss. To the side were other stones forming a half-collapsed circle surrounding where she stood. Whoever had made this hadn't taken care of it for many years.
Before she had a chance to think of what to do next, Nadya heard the soft snap of a stick breaking underfoot. She spun around just in time to see a huge white tiger spring into the clearing. The creature spotted her and slid to a halt.
Nadya eyes widened as she recognized wings rising from the tiger's shoulders, sweeping back in a graceful arch. Nadya was frozen with fear as the tiger eyed her. She found that she could not look away from the creature's deep blue eyes.
Something whizzed through the air and clattered onto the stones right at the tiger's feet. Its gaze was broken and Nadya glanced down to see a white-fletched arrow laying on the stones. Another shot whizzed through the feathers of the tiger's wings, sticking fast into a tree. The creature growled deep in its throat and took off again, sprinting right past Nadya and disappearing into the underbrush.
The branches of the trees shook and clashed as a group of riders came charging through. Five men on horseback pulled to a stop in the clearing directly across from her. The men looked like they had come out of some ancient history book. Two of them had quivers of arrows strapped to their backs, daggers hanging from thick leather belts at their sides. One of the men even had a sword, its shining silver crosspiece gleaming in the forest light as his horse shifted nervously. All the men except one wore thick leather breastplates, the shape of a white rose in full bloom painted right in the center. Each had olive skin, as well as dark hair and eyes. A stark contrast against her own fair skin and golden locks.
As soon as the men spotted her the two archers drew back their bows, arrows trained right on her. For a split second Nadya thought of trying to touch the stone thing again, but there was no way she would make it before they shot her.
"Oche ash me'vore?" The closest riders snapped.
All Nadya could give him was a wide-eyed stare.
Author’s Note:
Thank you for reading Farseer. If you enjoyed your read, please consider leaving a review or putting out the word. Indie authors depend on word of mouth and the support of their readers to find an audience.
About the Author:
Griffin Asher is a part time writer, full time overachiever who lives in North Idaho with her neurotic little dog, pretty little finches and tarantulas (both big and small).
For more on her and her work, check out her website: www.GriffinAsher.com
Every effort has been made to make this text clean of errors, but some always fall through the cracks. If any jump out at you, please let me know by emailing me at [email protected] so I can fix them for future additions.
Thank you for reading!
Farseer Page 6