When War Calls(103)

He smiled to himself, almost unable to believe that after all the chances he had missed talking to her because of Ardim or her riding away somewhere in the mountains, he now had the rest of his life to be with her. It did not take away the pain of losing his family and friends, but he had found a little piece of light in an otherwise dark and unforgiving world.

As he came to a stop, he looked about him. He had run all the way to the meadow where Elijenda had been grazing. He hadn’t noticed, so lost he had been in his own thoughts. Remembering why he had come, he began to search for food of any kind, lighting the way with the endobraces. But he shut the light off as soon as it had come alive. Adonis and Blair had used low levels of light because of Alliance scouts potentially lurking nearby. It occurred to him then that he probably shouldn’t have run off so quickly without one of them to protect him. He was alone under the cold blue light of the rings above, out in the open of the grassy meadow. It was as empty as the forest had been thick, and it ran directly alongside their path. The Daijuar must have chosen to move through the forest to avoid prying eyes, but Jaden now no longer had the luxury of such safety.

Carefully, he began to walk forward, alert to each sound as if it were an approaching scout, each piece of dirt that fell underneath his feet as if it were an Alliance landmine. Fear of the unknown in the darkness made him want to turn and run back to camp, but the need to find food for Alyssa kept him in the meadow, completely alert to all that was nearby.

A moment later he froze. He had sensed something nearby, moving toward him. It was not a horse this time, or any other inhuman animal. It was a being on two feet, moving swiftly across the meadow. He could see nothing, but knew that it was getting closer. He would have fled if not for the noise he would have made. Although there was a hint of danger to the presence, running now would have meant certain capture.

Jaden lowered himself to the ground and held his position. The white of his Daijuarn lower garments was all he needed to conceal, as without the vest his skin reflected only a little of the light from above. He took a breath as he guessed the being was now changing direction. He could barely sense it anymore, and decided it must have been moving away. What it truly was, he couldn’t guess. It did not seem human, but it walked almost as if it were.

Relaxing slightly, he remained on one knee and turned to his left, where he thought he had felt something like a shadow next to him, mimicking his every movement. As he turned, he saw a woman crouched on one knee as he was, staring in the same direction as if hunting the very same thing he was.

Jaden yelped as he jumped away from the woman kneeling beside him, catching himself on his hands as he fell backward, his heart racing as the shock sent adrenaline through his veins. When he had a chance to breathe again, the woman stood up and smiled at him, then walked straight past.

‘Raquel?’ he asked.

The woman gave no reply. Jaden quickly hopped up and chased after her.

‘Raquel, wait!’ he called out. ‘Where are you going?’

‘I am going north.’

‘I know, but … where have you been? I thought I lost you.’

‘You did.’

Jaden took a moment to regain composure. He had found Raquel again, or she had found him, and now that she was here, he didn’t know what to say.

‘I am training to become of the Daijuar. See?’ he asked, displaying his wrists to her.

Raquel paid no attention to what she was being shown. ‘Your path is long,’ she said.

‘What do you mean? Raquel, please stop,’ Jaden tried to reason with her as he continually fell behind her step. ‘I can’t go too far, I am with some people. They have made a camp not far from here. You can come join us if you want to … we are going north as well.’

Raquel paused, turning to him as if only to give him a small chance to speak.

‘I don’t know who you are or where you are from,’ Jaden began, ‘but I know I want to speak with you.’

‘What would you speak about?’

‘I don’t know. No, please wait!’ he called out again as she continued on her way.

Jaden tried to think back to all that he had learned of her in the short time they had together. She had not answered a lot of his questions, but she had always seemed to understand him better than he understood himself. She would speak in riddles as much as she spoke directly and in plain fact. And for all the care and compassion she held in her eyes, she was equally as free from her own and others’ emotions. He had to search for a way to make her stay with him; if she would not travel with them, he could at least hold her company for a little while longer.