But Jaden didn’t follow.
Adonis stopped and shone the light back at Jaden. Jaden’s eyes were closed and he was standing completely still in the moon and ring light.
‘What troubles you?’ asked Adonis.
Jaden began to sprint in the opposite direction, his own endobraces now coming alight.
‘Where are you going?’ called out Adonis, and quickly ran after him.
Jaden didn’t turn to answer the questions. He kept on running as fast as he could, dodging through the trees that were lit from the left, then right and then left again his arms moved with his stride. Adonis had trouble keeping up, but always had Jaden in sight, and saw that he had stopped far ahead in a small meadow.
When Adonis arrived, Jaden was tending to a chestnut horse that had been grazing in the meadow. The horse seemed to be comfortable with him, nuzzling at him playfully as he petted it, and both appeared to be oblivious to Adonis standing just a few yards from them.
‘Why did you run?’ asked Adonis.
‘This is Elijenda, Alyssa’s horse,’ said Jaden simply.
Adonis eyed him curiously. ‘How did you find it?’
Jaden shrugged. ‘I heard it call.’
‘I didn’t hear anything,’ said Adonis.
‘No,’ said Jaden. ‘I guess I didn’t hear it. I felt it.’
Adonis cautiously moved around Jaden and the horse to the other side. ‘You found her in the same way,’ he noted aloud. ‘How did you know where they were?’
‘I don’t know,’ said Jaden. ‘Sometimes I sense what’s nearby.’
‘How long have you had this ability?’
‘Since the attack. Sometimes there are whispers. Other times there are movements. I can’t explain it.’
Having nothing more to say, Adonis motioned for Jaden to follow him back to camp, Alyssa’s horse following close behind without needing to be led. Once back at camp, Alyssa ran to them when she saw Jaden with Elijenda. As she embraced the horse, Jaden smiled and moved away, giving her some time alone with him. Adonis offered him a chance to light the fire with the endobraces as a test of his ability. He failed several times before his energy pushed the wood out of place. Adonis repositioned it so that he could try again. His next attempt provided the same result, and Adonis thought it time to step in.
‘Imagine heat coming through you. The energy responds to how you intend it to. Feel it burn, there will be fire. Feel it freeze, there will be ice.’
‘What about the emotion Vennoss taught me about?’ asked Jaden.
‘For more advanced users,’ said Adonis bluntly. ‘He expects too much from you. We will start with simple tasks. Feel it burn.’
Jaden concentrated on feeling fire flow throughout him. He didn’t quite understand what he was meant to do, but imagined heat building in his heart before slowly releasing it through his arms in a steady stream. The endobraces began to glow with orange instead of white as Adonis encouraged him, and then Jaden increased the pressure on the release. His hands felt warm then and burned slightly. When he opened his eyes, smoke was rising from the pile of branches and twigs, and a fire was slowly being born on the side.
‘Continue,’ said Adonis. ‘The fire must not go out.’
Jaden did as he was instructed, and soon the fire was roaring. He looked over his hands as Adonis congratulated him, and then he spun to see Alyssa watching as she hugged Elijenda.
‘We should rest,’ said Blair.
‘Are we going to eat?’ asked Alyssa.
‘Unless you can find food, we will have to wait until tomorrow.’
‘I don’t mean to be any trouble but I’m feeling weak,’ she said, and leaned her weight against her horse.
‘I will find you something. Wait here,’ said Jaden, and stood up to leave the camp.
‘We should all rest, we will not stop tomorrow,’ Blair warned.
‘I’m not tired,’ said Jaden, and with a last look at Alyssa, he disappeared from sight.
Jaden was not sure where he would find food of any sort, but did not want Alyssa to feel hungry. He didn’t feel the need to eat much anymore. There always seemed to be enough energy available to him. When he thought about it, he decided he felt well enough without it. He wondered if it had anything to do with the Daijuar. They did not eat either, even though they had walked away looking for food from time to time. They were strange. But everything seemed strange to him lately, but for the first time since the attack, things were beginning to feel right.
He breathed in the cool night air, thinking of what had happened over the previous weeks. The sickness had all but disappeared once he had left the Daijuarn Monastery, and the dreams of the dark-haired boy no longer plagued his sleep. It was almost as if simply knowing Alyssa was still alive was enough to cure all of his illnesses and make his life seem right again. That was why he felt he had to take care of her, he thought, and why he had run to find food as soon as she had said she wanted some.