Anna walked directly in front of me this time, and I pushed aside her hair with a puff of breeze. The dragon was close, and I briefly wondered why it hadn’t come to protect Kendra, then realized the entire conflict had only lasted the time it took to draw two or three breaths. The dragon didn’t have time to even unfurl her wings.
However, Anna was another puzzle that needed to be put together. The sun wouldn’t go down for a while, and that gave me plenty of time to experiment. My mind reached out to hers, to the warm, safe place I’d briefly touched before. While concentrating on things around us, the right words were repeated. Evergreen trees. Blue sky. Cloud. Mountain. And a dozen others. Then I repeated each of them.
“Look at that cloud,” I said so softly only Anna could hear.
Her head instantly tilted upward.
That was all I needed to know for now. Perhaps Kendra could help me formulate a list of helpful words, or a method to better teach Anna our language. It would be a topic of conversation at the campfire tonight I hoped to enjoy because of the chill in the air. By morning, it would be cold, near freezing if my guess was right.
Little Emma trudged along in front of Kendra. She also needed to learn our language, and while we were walking without danger present, I decided to catch her up with Anna. She could learn the same words, and perhaps provide a hint of how to improve my teaching methods.
I reached out with my mind as before. A tendril of inquiry, like fingers of fog, advanced and sought out her mind. Not wishing to scare her, I slowed my mental advance and gently moved the tendril slowly, probing and inquiring. Finally, I used the first word I taught Anna.
Fletching. In my mind, I sounded it slowly, concentrating on each part of the word, and as I pictured an arrow, especially the end. Fletching.
A blast of red heat struck my mind, filling it with rage and turning darker and darker until it turned black and my eyes couldn’t see, my mind didn’t think, and my legs went as limp as if they were transformed into mush. It was as if a giant had used the trunk of a tree to swing at my head—and it struck solidly.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
I woke cold and confused. Blankets covered me. A fire burned at my side. The others were sitting beside it. At first glance, they appeared worried and scared. Flier tossed another piece of wood on the fire, his eyes averted from the brightness. He stood and backed away, turning to peer into the darkness outside the circle of light, as if a guard on watch and knowing to look directly at a fire caused his night-sight to suffer. Tracks of dried tears streaked Kendra’s dirty cheeks. Anna’s eyes danced in fear, watching all around with tiny birdlike jerks of her head.
Emma sat cross-legged in the dirt, her eyes centered on a spot where her ankles crossed. Her head slumped, and she seemed listless. Perhaps scared would explain her actions better. A scared child. One that had used her mind to blast mine into darkness during the late afternoon. It now was full dark, so I’d been unconscious for a long time.
“He’s awake,” Kendra said, leaping to my side. “Are you, all right?”
Struggling to sit and clear my thinking, I found a bloody scrape on my left forearm, and my knee hurt. It must have struck a rock as I fell. “I think so.”
Anna had joined her at my side, and Flier rushed back. While sitting and examining myself for more wounds or hurts, from the corner of my eye, Emma still sat in the same position. She didn’t even look up at me.
“Where are we?” I asked, more to deflect the conversation away from me to a safer subject.
Flier said, “Almost to the summit, where you fell. A poor place to spend the night, but with you hurt, we had no choice.”
Kendra said, “Was it a mage?”
Avoiding even a glance at Emma, I spoke, “I don’t know what it was. Nothing like that has ever happened.”
Anna used a damp rag to wipe the sand and grit off my face, then moved on to gently clean the bloody arm. Kendra fussed, and Flier was concerned but had taken over the role of protector, his new sword worn at his side as if he expected trouble. Only Emma sat alone.
Because the campfire was burning brightly, and all were awake, it wasn’t late. Around a campfire, people tend to go to sleep early. I said, “Flier, have you been over the summit today?”
“Not yet.”
“If it isn’t too far, and if you can navigate in the dark, it would be good to know we’re alone up here. From up there, you can see the campfires of anyone on the other slope, right?”
He said, “Good idea. I’ll be back before long.”
“Wait,” I called. “Take Anna with you. An extra pair of eyes might help.”
He seemed to like the idea as he called over his shoulder, “Come on Anna, keep me company.”
Neither grasped my intention of remaining alone with Kendra and Emma. When they were lost to us in the darkness, Kendra asked, “What is that all about?”
“Can you bring Emma over here?”
She frowned, but called, “Emma? Come here.”
The girl remained motionless as if she hadn’t heard. She looked at her feet.
Kendra called again, “Emma?”
I managed to get my feet under me and stood on weak legs. “Let me talk to her. Alone.”
Kendra drew back, clearly puzzled and confused.
At Emma’s side, I knelt and lifted her chin with my index finger. Her eyes were wet. I pulled her close and wrapped my arms around her thin shoulders without talking. She sobbed and clung to me.
When she quit, I sat beside her and talked softly, letting her know what happened was not her fault, or if it was, she hadn’t intended it. She didn’t understand the words, but she did recognize the tone of my voice and the fact I was not upset with her.
Kendra remained at a distance until Emma sat up and looked in her direction. Kendra came to us, placed more wood on the fire, and said, “What’s happening?”
I told her in a few words.
“Both of them control magic?” she asked with a voice that sounded as bewildered and astonished as I felt. “You’re sure?”
“I don’t know their limits or abilities, but both use essence. I can’t even tell if they are sorceresses or mages, a combination of both, or something new. Like you and me, they draw on essence, and don’t know what they can and cannot do.”
She reacted as if the remark was a personal assault, then her anger evaporated as she grasped the implications “This little girl did that to you? With her mind? Like she banished the Blue Woman?”
“Don’t blame her for what happened to me. I started it.” My intention was to add a little humor to the situation—but failed.
“Have you ever heard of such a thing?” Kendra asked.
“No.” My answer was simple and direct. Not even a hint of a rumor told of magic used the way Emma had. It had been a flight or fight response, a reaction like kicking at a charging dog. You run if possible, or kick if not. Emma had kicked, but in no way was I angry and believed she had done it on purpose. She probably didn’t know how she did it and couldn’t do it again. However, I didn’t want to find out by attempting it again.
That thought slowed me down a little as I considered the event rationally. It wouldn’t be me that put the idea to the test until figuring out how to protect myself. Flier and Anna returned, all smiles and wanting to rush to the fire and warm their hands. We three exchanged wary glances and kept quiet.