Chapter Twenty-Seven

They stayed in the forest just long enough for Moira to regain most of her stamina. Myles ran with Sloane resting in his arms, her hand trailed limply in the wind. Etan flexed his feathered wings and took off into the air, their eyes in the sky in case the elves were still following them. The suns sank below the horizon with no more excitement. They made camp a hundred feet off the well-beaten road in a small clearing nestled between several large trees. Cyrus took first watch.

Sloane still hadn’t woken up, but her color seemed better. Her silvery tone shimmered brighter than before, and her skin wasn’t as cold. Ethan Analyzed her again and found that her health was increasing, just slowly, and thought she would wake up at any time.

Duke had given up his spot next to Sloane to Myles, who’d been carefully watching over her for the last couple of hours. Myles snored loudly from his watchful post next to Sloane. Ethan had fallen asleep several minutes before.

Moira stared up at the stars, wide awake. There were too many thoughts running through her head. Fear of what was to come. A pang of guilt that she’d left her family. And a sense of excitement for the adventure she’d just embarked on. As much as she missed her family, she’d never felt as alive as she did here.

Her thoughts were interrupted when Cyrus settle down beside her. “Can’t sleep?” he asked.

“Can’t sleep,” she replied.

He was quiet. He leaned back, resting on the ground beside her with his arms behind his head.

“Do they look the same on Earth?” Cyrus gestured toward the sky.

“The stars?”

“Yes.”

“No. I’ve been looking for constellations that match, but the placements are all wrong.” She sighed. “Everything is different,” she said, talking about more than the stars.

Cyrus met her gaze, understanding the weight left unsaid. The world paused, a silent conversation passed between them in a second. He looked up, breaking eye contact.

He pointed up to the sky. “If you look there, you can see a bright star. Do you see it?”

Her eyes followed his finger to the bright yellow star at the apex of the sky. “Yes.” She breathed softly.

“That’s called the heart. It guides us on the darkest of nights. If you follow that line of stars down, it almost looks like a hand. That’s Dagda’s hand. There is a myth that he sent his hand through the sky to catch his lover’s heart.”

A soft smile spread across her face. She angled toward him, watching the curve of his face. His eyes twinkled as he pointed out the various constellations. He glanced back at her, catching her staring back at him. He faltered for a second before looking back up at the sky.

“Come on.” He joked, “You’re not even paying attention.”

She looked back at up at the sky and pointed at a bright star in the western sky, that held a glowing haze around it. One that he hadn’t mentioned. “What about that one? What’s the story behind it?”

Cyrus’ gaze followed her hand, landing on the star she was pointing at. He was quiet for a moment. “The Island in the West. Tir nAill. The otherworld. It’s where we go when we die. If you believe in such things.”

Moira watched the star; they laid together against the soft grass, staring up at the sky in silence.

“There. One less thing you’re not familiar with,” he said.

Moira reached for his hand and tentatively grasped it.

He turned toward her. “Moira, you came here for a reason. This is where you’re meant to be. Please. Stay with us in Mons Caput.”

“I need to go home,” she said firmly, letting go of his hand.

They were quiet again, the moment broken. With nothing left to say, she turned away from him. Cyrus lay beside her for several more minutes before pushing to his feet. He reached over her and slowly tugged up her blanket around her shoulders.

She heard him walk about to his post at the perimeter of the camp. Her eyes watered, conflicted between what lay behind her and what lay ahead. Her eyes drooped with the heaviness of sleep, and she finally drifted off.

It felt like she’d just closed her eyes when Ethan shook her awake. She blinked in confusion.

“Watch,” he murmured.

She sat up slowly, stretching. Duke followed her as she leaned against the rough bark of a tree at the edge of camp. They sat together for a couple of hours in the darkness, listening and watching. It wasn’t long before the two suns peaked from behind the horizon.

Rustling blankets and yawning broke her concentration. She turned toward the sound. Sloane sat up, rubbing her eyes. Moira sat very still. She couldn’t believe it. Part of her had thought that Sloane would never wake up, despite Ethan’s assurances. Without another thought, she scrambled to her feet, enveloping Sloane in a tight hug.

“I’m so glad you’re okay,” she whispered. Sloane hugged her back tightly. “You shouldn’t have risked your life like that. You almost died.”

“I know. It was stupid. I should’ve dropped it earlier. I just didn’t want you guys to be hurt by me,” she said, her big eyes staring up at her with a sense of naivety.

“I know. Just don’t do it again.” Moira let go and held her arms out to get a good look at Sloane. Her skin was back to its normal glow, but her eyes still had cavernous dark circles beneath them. Sloane smiled back weakly.

Duke used the opening to jump into her lap and frantically kissed Sloane’s face.

“Did you miss me, buddy?” Sloane laughed, the sound a twinkle of bells.

Myles sat up, his eyebrows scrunched in confusion. His hair had fallen out of his bun at some point in the night and now was haphazardly sticking out at different angles. When he realized who was laughing, he stumbled toward Sloane and wrapped her in a bear hug. Sloane’s arms hung at her side.

“I’m sorry I was so harsh with you. I’m just so glad you’re okay.”

Sloane gently returned his hug. After a minute, he pulled away and awkwardly rubbed his hair. “I suppose I should wake Ethan so he can officially give you a clean bill of health.”

She nodded back.

“You know, he carried you the whole way here,” Moira whispered. “He was really upset when you collapsed and didn’t wake up. Even more than Duke, I think.”

Sloane’s eyes softened and her gaze followed Myles, watching him thoughtfully.

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Myles roughly jostled Ethan awake. “What?” he spat.

He pointed toward Sloane. Ethan sighed, pushing to his feet and trudging over to Sloane. He examined her with great efficiency, covering up a yawn with his hand.

“She’s fine. Can I go back to sleep now?” he asked pointedly.

“It’s already daybreak,” Moira said. He ignored her and ambled back to his bedroll.

Sloane turned back to Moira. “How long have I been out?”

“A full day. We were getting worried, but Ethan kept saying your health was improving.”

Sloane reached for her neck, sighing in relief when she felt the pendant beneath her shirt.

“It had a tracking spell. It’s how they found us before. Myles and I removed it.”

“Oops. I hadn’t thought of a tracking spell.” Sloane frowned.

Moira placed her hand on Sloane’s shoulder. “Big oops.” Sloane cringed.

“I don’t get it. Why’d you steal it, anyway? I get it’s special, but—” She wavered off, letting silence complete her thought.

Sloane pulled out the pendant from her shirt and stroked the red gem. Holding it close, she turned back to Moira. “This was my grandmother’s pendant. It’d been in my family for centuries. When my dad left, my mom needed money, so she sold it.” Sloane paused, looking down at the pendant. “It was our family’s most prized possession. But we were starving and food meant more than family heirlooms. After mom passed, I couldn’t bear to have someone else have it. I searched for it for months. That’s the real reason why I broke into Fendrik’s. I was searching through his records. He was the one my mom originally traded it to. But he caught me and banned me. He had some sort of magic alarm in place.” She paused.

“I got another opportunity when you walked into town. I palmed his spare key when you sold that core and snuck in after you passed out at Tracy’s. Then, the night before we left Tersus, I made my move. Breaking into the governor’s place was a hell of a lot easier than Fendriks. That old dwarf is more suspicious than anyone else in town.”

Moira blinked, digesting the wealth of information that Sloane had just dropped. She decided not to comment and asked. “You’ve been planning this since your mother passed?”

Sloane nodded. “My mother always talked about the pendant. She always regretted having to sell it. She used to say that one day she’d make enough to buy it back—but she never did.”

Moira patted her hand. “I’m sure she’d be happy you have it back.”

Sloane smiled sadly and replaced the necklace under her shirt. Myles had been quietly listening beside them. “I didn’t realize it’d been your family’s. Why didn’t you tell us before?”

“I would’ve told you all, eventually. I honestly wasn’t expecting you to call me out so early. I thought I’d built up to the whole thief thing.”

“Well—”

Crack!

All three of them turned their heads towards the sound. Something leaped out of the forest. It streaked through the campsite, a blur of orange and red. Cyrus leaped up from his bedroll, reaching for his sword. In the same moment, Ethan jumped to his feet and stumbled backwards, away from the creature.

It sped by again, darting around the camp. Myles created a ball of fire in his hand and searched for the creature warily. The orange and red blur dashed passed, swiping at Myles. Moira pulled out her bow, and Sloane grabbed her dagger.

Moira felt the world pause. The creature was moving around them, but she was frozen in space. Time slowed for several moments. She glanced around, unmoving. Sloane, Cyrus, Myles, and Duke were all frozen. They seemed unaware that time had slowed. Ethan, however, was still moving. He appeared to be casting something, but she couldn’t turn her head to look.

Moira felt a surge of energy flow through her.

Ding!

Party Member Ethan has cast Health Buff. Your health is increased by 20% for 3 minutes.

Suddenly, Moira could move again. She looked down at the bow in her hands and quickly pulled it up, aiming for the creature. She shot off several arrows in quick succession. The added weight of the bow was noticeable, adding extra power to her arrows. Only one made impact. Slowing the creature to a stop.

It was large and muscular, standing on four feet. It had bright orange and yellow feathers that flowed against it’s back. Its snout was short and catlike. It had long pointed ears that pitched back from its head and down it’s back. It snarled angrily at Moira, revealing long fangs.

Duke leaped at the creature from behind, tearing into its hind legs before teleporting back to her side using Mind Walker. The creature screeched, pulling back from the group. Moira raised her bow, ready to shoot, when she felt herself freeze again.

Her eyes widened as she realized she was stuck. Glancing down, she noticed Duke also once frozen at her side.

The monster roared, revealing its fangs. Sloane suddenly sprung to action from her left. Running towards the screeching monster. She leaped over it, slashing at its neck before landing gracefully behind it. Moira watched as Sloane suddenly stiffened in a crouched position.

The creature darted forward in a panic, choking on its own blood. Cyrus charged it, stabbing the monster in the chest. Blood spewed forth, and the creature collapsed on the ground, dead. Moira’s muscles unclenched and she could move again.

She looked around at her teammates, waiting for their reaction. They panted but didn’t seem overly concerned about being unable to move during a fight. She walked over towards the dead monster and nudged it with her foot.

Ding!

Congratulations! You assisted in defeating the Ignis Feline lvl 20.

Congratulations! You’ve reached level 16

You now have 10 free attribute points available!

Would you like to Loot?

Yes/No

Moira selected yes.

(1)Tunic of the Ignis Feline has been added to your inventory.

(3)Healing Potions have been added to your inventory.

(1)Monster Core of the Ignis Feline has been added to your inventory.

(1)Scroll of the Ignis Feline has been added to your inventory.

Moira glanced through the rewards quickly before turning back to her teammates. “Is everyone okay?”

“We’re all fine,” Ethan called.

“What was with that?”

“What?” Cyrus asked.

“The freezing.”

Sloane, Myles, Cyrus, and Ethan all gave her a funny look. “What do you mean? None of us were using Ice magic,” Cyrus replied.

“No. It was like only one of us could fight at a time.”

“Are you feeling okay?” he asked, observing her.

Moira shook her head and looked down at Duke. “Did I imagine that? Everyone seemed frozen to you, too, right?”

“I saw.” He shook his head. “Didn’t like.”

“Maybe it’s an Outworlder skill? But I don’t know how that would benefit us, though. And I didn’t get a notification.”

She looked up at Cyrus, realizing he was still waiting for a response.

“Never mind. I’m fine.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’m fine.” She insisted.

Cyrus shook his head and approached the beast. He pulled out a knife and plunged it into it’s chest.

“Shit. Wait.”

“What? I’m just getting the core.”

“I already looted it.”

Cyrus looked down at his knife dripping with black blood and slowly dragged it out of the monster carcass. “Right. I forgot you had that.”

“You have a looting ability?” Myles asked excitedly. “Those are almost unheard of. How does it work?”

“I just touch the monster after it’s dead, and it gives me the option to loot. If I select yes, then it automatically puts the rewards in my Inventory. Although usually it combusts into flames,” she said thoughtfully.

Suddenly, it combusted into flames. Cyrus leaped away to avoid getting burned.

“What? That’s so convenient. What rewards did you get?” Myles asked, completely ignoring the inferno.

Moira listed off the rewards from her notifications. They all grinned when they heard them.

“That’s amazing,” said Sloane.

“It’s pretty nice. I don’t have to go digging around in dead carcasses.”

They all laughed, except for Cyrus, who grumbled to himself.