Insects buzz around my ears. My legs cramp up with discomfort as I pull myself over a overgrown, dead log. Crunching footsteps pace in front where Tracker walks ahead, pushing heavy green leaves to the side. It’s been a few hours since leaving the cave. Tracker has been steadily going over our traces of movement and wiping them away like an eraser to a drawing. Truly, that was the most useful ability he had. Or what I can privately admit anyway.

Marching through the forests, the farther we go, the less tropical the air feels. The moisture from the atmosphere gradually lessens as the green plants slowly become varieties of reds, purples, and oranges. I look around, observing the ever-so-tall trees above, swaying in the cooling, soft breeze.

“How long before we get there?” I ask, craning my neck as the man jumps down into a divot.

“Not far,” he answers. “We’re now approaching Aralin’s hunting grounds.”

His words sound ominous as I follow down his pass through the dip. The ground slopes abruptly and I try not to slide down the hill, dipping my sharp toes in the ground for some friction.

“I’ll tell you when we have to duck low,” he says.

After trudging some more, eventually we make it to another divot. It’s deeper than the last, dipping at a few feet before stopping. It’s length is at least ten feet while its width is only three. On the far left I notice large roots sticking out of the dirt walls, creating some form of shelter.

“The sun will rise soon, so we’ll stay down here for now,” he advises.

“Are you sure this is wise?”

The man shrugs. “Hasn’t failed me yet.”

A lot of people say that before disaster strikes.

As we crawl under the complete shadows of roots, I notice a few bones sticking out of the ground in corners of the hole. An old piece of pale lenin sits at the back. Tracker points over to the cloth for me to sit on. We both get adjusted, watch the sun begin to shine through the entrance.

“I have a question for you,” I offer, adjusting my hind side against the cloth. It’s scratchy against my bare butt so I eventually just tuck the cloak underneath for better comfort.

“Ask any question, new blood,” he replies, leaning on the left side of the wooded wall, his legs crossed together. His yellow eyes glow as the subtle light from outside hits them.

“How do abilities work, really?”

“Abilities? You don’t know?” His eyes light up with curiosity at my words.

“Not really. All I know is that by revealing them helps get used to them.”

Tracker shakes his head. “If you don’t know what you have you can’t use it at all.” My face scrunches in confusion and by Tracker’s eyes growing wider, I think he has an inkling about what’s going on. “You don’t know what your ability is?” He gapes. “Then how did you kill Gale in such a way? How did you steal Avalon’s powers?”

I shrug, a concerned frown on my face. “It just happened,” I replied.

Telling him about the voice in my head would only raise more suspicion. I should just tell him about how Gavin died and the events that took place with Avalon. Maybe he had some insight on how things work. That would give me more clues about what’s going on with me without revealing everything.

“So, what did you do to kill Gavin?” He asks, his face morphing into a more serious look.

“I just… touched him,” I answer, unsure how to explain it. “As he tried to stab me, I grabbed his hand. He then started leaking blood from everywhere and collapsed.”

He narrows his eyes. “By the scene and the amounts of blood tracked through the woods, I’m sure more than that happened.”

I tense, expecting him to grill me more but he says nothing, suddenly turning to the entrance and staring outside. “I won’t ask too much, though it is strange. Scary. But scary is good. Scary will save us if something goes wrong. I just hope I can do the right things for you where killing me won’t be necessary.”

I nod, my shoulders slowly relaxing.

Yes, it would be good, wouldn’t it?

“Glad to know you think I’m scary enough not to cross me.”

“I don’t want to die,” he admits. “I’m sure you don’t either. It’s in our best interests.”

“Yeah,” I yawn, tiredness brimming in my eyes.

“You should rest. I’ll keep watch. Holy Knights patrol often here so it’s better to have one eye open just in case.”

“Aye,” I reply, drowsiness encapsulating my vision.

It doesn’t take long for me to drift asleep.

~

[Analyzing…]

[Ra Congratulates You, Prince Talen Jyves!]

[She Hopes You Can Prove Yourself In The Coming Days Of Challenges!]

[You Are Her Blessing After All!]

[Keep Yourself Alive!]

[Ra Has Plans For You!]

I jolt awake, a familiar hum of a voice bouncing in my head.

What was that?

As soon as I awoke, the words began to fade from my mind. I try to relax but my skin still prickles with anxiety. I look around the hole, Tracker sleeping peacefully curled in a fetal position. Outside the sun just now setting, the last golden rays trickling through the canopy of leaves.

Something feels odd.

It’s like an alarm is going off in my head after I woke up. Was that what the voice was talking about? I don’t even remember what it said.

Standing up, I tip toe over to Tracker. I touch his arm and slightly shake him. Kneeling over, I say, “Tracker. Wake up. I think something is up.”

As soon as the words leave my mouth, I hear glass shattering in front of the hole. Tracker’s eyes snap open while a smell of gas breeches my nose.

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“It’s a trap!” Tracker calls, pushing himself up and dragging me out by the arm.

As we run out of the rooted shade, an explosion sounds behind us. I feel my skin on my back boil at the heat and yelp in pain. Tracker continues to drag us up through the trench, but as he hooks his foot on the curve, he stops.

“What is it?” I whisper through clenched teeth, looking behind me to see the once root shelter ablaze.

“We’re surrounded, Talen.”

Thunk!

I don’t even see it. I just hear a hollow thud resonate in the air as Tracker trembles. I don’t even realize him falling to the ground when something whizzes past my ear. I duck, following Tracker’s still body as he slides back down to the bottom of the divot.

When I reach him, I see a golden arrow poking out of his chest. His eyes shoot to mine, his mouth twisting in a silent pain. Blood gradually forms, soaking his leather armor in red.

“Leave me here,” he grunts in a hush voice. “I’m a burden now.”

“No!” I snap, anger riling at the suggestion or even the thought. “You’re my only way out of here. Unless you tell me how to cross the border, I can’t leave you to die.”

He closes his eyes, a tired smile forming on his lips. “Then you better prepare to die a sooner death or fight like your life depends on it, which it does.”

I grimace.

So much for a man admitting it didn’t want to die ealier.

I don’t know what we’re up against but they drove us out with fire and shot Tracker with a painfully bright arrow. These guys are not Avalon’s guards. They’re most likely the Holy Knights. If I peek my head out, I’ll just meet the same fate as Tracker and then what?

“You said you wanted to live, right? Then live.” I grab the arrow and yank it out. Tracker coughs, more blood flowing from his open wound. It looks up at me in confusion as I toss the arrow to the side. “You know these woods better than I do, so lead me out.”

“Are you crazy? We’re surrounded,” he croaks, holding his hand against his wound.

“There has to be a better way out than facing them,” I argue. “You knew this was a temporary spot. You must have an exit in mind somewhere.”

He coughs a laugh, “you have too much faith in me, new blood.” He shakes his head solemnly. “I wasn’t prepared for this. It must have been some kind of stake out.”

“So you’re telling me you don’t have any routes?”

“We have to fight our way out or decieve them somehow.”

Shit.

If only there was a way to trick them…

[Activation: Illusion!]

[Success!]

“What is that?” I hear a voice call from above.

I look up, noticing a large, shadowy mist hovering above us. Powerful wings shoot from its back, causing it to look larger than the trench itself.

“Retreat! It’s a dragon!”

A dragon?

I look more closely at the creature. It looks more like a plume of smoke with small fine details. Red orbs glow above us as it stands there wavering. It doesn’t look like a dragon at all.

“Huh? What’s going on?” I hear Tracker ask.

“I don’t know,” I admit.

Illusion. It makes sense but it looks like a ball of undistinguished fluff. Not a dragon. Unless they can’t tell in the dark.

I hear running footsteps fade away, leaving the mist to continue swaying above. As soon as silence echoes through the night, the smokey visige disappears.

“You’re something else, Talen.”

“Can you heal?” I ask, turning my attention to him as he slowly slides himself up to the curved wall.

“With time. I don’t have regeneration as an ability,” he huffs before giving out a lungful cough. He looks at the burning roots with a frown. “We need to move. They’ll bring larger reinforcements for that dragon.”

I nod. “You’re right.”

“Help me,” he reaches out his arms.

I lift him up with my own, allowing him to lean against my shoulder and his arm wrap around my waist. As soon as he gets his footing, I help him crawl out of the divot.

I hear a voice, “I knew there was something up.”

A golden light flashes in my eyes. Startled, I fall back, dropping Tracker and tumbling into the trench. As I land on my back at the bottom, my eyes begin to burn. Closing them, I fight the urge to scream as tears roll down my face.

“Talen! Gah-“

There’s a loud crunch. My chest tightens expecting the worst. As I slowly begin to stand, I hear a whoosh that causes me to jump back again. A flash of heat touches my face which makes my skin immediately begin to boil. Ducking, I open my eyes a little to see two metal boots land in front of me. I keep one eye open despite it stinging and grab its foot, causing it to fall back.

“Filth!” The metal armored man grunts as his back hits the dirt.

I stand, wiping tears, changing to blood, from my eyes and take a good look at my opponent.

He’s wearing thick, shiny metal armor that seems to be made out of steel. He has a full helmet, only three holes indicating where his eyes may be. His gloves and boots are black with steel tips and there are strange golden markings tracing along the front of his armor like an X. His sword from what I can spot is red and gold with a long black hilt.

This must be one of the Holy Knights

I don’t think I can touch him with that armor to do any damage so my only option really is to run.

I dart over to the right, digging my toes in to climb up the gradual hill.

“No, you don’t,” mutters the knight.

I feel a sharp pain in my back and lose my grip. Tumbling, I slide down the slope and am greeted by a foot striking my chest. I cough out blood, rolling further away from the wall. I hold up my arms as I lie on the ground, trying to block the next strike but instead a hot blade pierces my arms and into my chest. I scream as my body burns with pain. The burning sensation spreads throughout my chest and the smell of burnt flesh tickles my nose.

He’s burning me from the inside out!

I look up at the man as he hovers above me, twisting the blade deeper until I can feel it scrape my spine. My vision darkens, the dull sensation of heat slowly fading along with my vision.

This can’t be it! This can’t be…

[Overriding…]

[Activation: Ice Warlock!]

A chill air brushes against me, almost refreshing. I watch with blurry eyes as a glacier spike darts into the knight’s side, causing him to pull out his sword from my chest and block the attack.

Am I controlling this or is someone doing it for me?

I attempt to crawl back, using my left arm for support. My right is practically dangling by an inch of skin, dragging across the dirt with trails of blood.

“Is that your ability?” The knight mutters, melting the shard that managed to embed into his side using the heat of his blade. “Bothersome.”

He stomps over to me. I hold out my hand, willing a conscious attack. An ice shard produces, seemingly sucking the water out of the ground, plants, and air. It launches forward but the man cuts it away.

“You must be fresh. No matter. You’ll die soon enough like your friend there.”

He raises his sword, preparing to slash down. I use my arm to shield and a slate of ice forms between us. I quickly imagine an offensive, hoping that would help control the power. The ice slate immediately forms thorns that extend into the knight. It doesn’t do much damage but it manages to find a gap in his armor that pierces a part of his torso.

“Ah!” He cries, swinging the sword down prematurely. It gets stuck between the ice and I use that to mentally form an ice needle above him.

I think I’m getting the hang of this.

I swing the needle down with my mind. The attack hits him square on the right shoulder, stabbing through his armor but seemingly not injuring him.

“Pest!” He cries as suddenly breaks the slate in front of him.

Fear runs through me as I crawl away again, raising my arm to form another barrier. I watch his blade heat up, the once golden look becoming completely red. He melts away the ice with one strike creating water to splash to the ground. I form another shield and three needles to dart behind him. I hear them embed themselves into his back but he continues his assault with new found strength. Sweeping his sword down, he cuts through the ice once again, this time vertically slashing the thigh of my right leg.

I scream out as my skin boils but the pain quickly goes away when I form ice around the open wound.

“Got you.” I can hear the smile on his lips.

I need to pierce his armor so that I can touch him.

He lifts his sword but I freeze it into the ground as I shuffle further away. It doesn’t take long for the blade to melt and the man to continue to follow closely.

Be creative! What can I do?

An idea pops in my head, imagining a Razor Wolf jumping into the fight. If I can’t attack him using spells, I can at least have someone attack him for me.

A block of ice rises from the ground between us. The familiar form of the monster shapes itself in only a few moments before leaping at my opponent. It’s taller than him, I realize, as he uses his ice shards for teeth to bite into his shoulder. The knight is obviously surprised by this, not even reacting fast enough to block it, takes the hit. The Ice Razor shakes him away, tossing him into the nearby dirt wall. With a cough, he starts to stand, but the beast pounces on him again.

I silently cheer it on as it takes his head in its jaws and begins to shake. It rips his helmet from his head with a sharp crunch, shattering the piece of armor.

“What the hell is this?” He utters. I can barely see his face over the looming beast as it bites down on his head one more time with a sickening snap.

The Ice Razor melts away, revealing a headless body of armor. I subtly smile, my eyes fluttering close from exhaustion.

“Talen!”

I open my eyes at the sound of a familiar voice. I’m greeted by Tracker’s familiar face as he holds me in his arms. Blood leaks from his forehead turning his face completely red.

“Tracker, you’re alive?” I croak.

The man cracks a rare smile. “Us monsters are stronger than you think. How else would you survive such grievous wounds?”

I look over at my detached arm and the ice-covered wound on my leg. It would explain my not immediate death when he struck me with his heat sword.

“Come on,” he urges. “We have to leave. They’ll be here any moment now.”

“I know.”

I force myself to stand as he supports my weight on his shoulder. I limp with him out of the divot as we make ourselves quick. Trudging through the woods at our fastest pace possible, we find ourselves coming across a small river.

“Can you swim?” He asks, looking over his shoulder periodically.

“I think,” I gasp, the wound in my chest stinging suddenly.

“Well, we either swim or get caught.”

I look at the water, barely rushing but it’s still going to be a pain getting across. There’s no natural crossings from what I can see either.

“I’ll help you,” he offers.

I let him as we both walked into the river. My body trembles as cold water rushes under me. He holds me tightly though as we walk until our feet barely touch the bottom. My wounds sting as we waddle through the waves, some rough causing me to gasp. It takes only a few minutes to reach the other side, my limbs exhausted from the ordeal.

“Now it’s just ahead,” he pants, giving me a small, encouraging smile.