Seekers of Nazar

Chapter Twenty

Townspeople began flooding out of their homes, confused by the sound of the alarms. The thick ash in the air made them cough. A man began shoving his way through the crowd. He was demanding to know what was happening. The sound of children crying seemed to echo off walls in every direction.

A group was gathering across the street, gaping at the orange inferno consuming the horizon. Leilandri walked towards them. "You have to go!" She pointed to the road out of town. "The volcano erupted. It's not safe."

They ignored her.

Leilandri tried again. "You have to hurry! It will be here soon." They turned to each other and began talking among themselves. A woman ran by. "My chickens," she cried hysterically. "I have to find my chickens!"

Leilandri stood helplessly while the panic began to grow. She made her way through the crowd to the town square and sat on the edge of the stone fountain. She closed her eyes and began pulling her magic inward. A rush of golden light grew in her chest.

She pictured the scene from above as if she were standing on a mountain looking down. From that distance, the villagers seemed like ants running everywhere. She pulled energy from all around her and channeled it down. A cold sweat broke out on her forehead.

The chaos pulled hard against her. She wrestled with it, drawing even more energy into her chest. She merged her will with the scurrying people and held an image of them lining up. She fed it more power until she felt it begin to snap into place. She imagined the villagers moving out of town in an orderly fashion.

Leilandri held onto the energy for what seemed like an eternity, infusing it with golden light. The exertion was draining her. She began to pant as the energy threatened to pull her apart. Finally, she felt the last piece click into place. She knew it was done as a wave of exhaustion washed over her.

When she opened her eyes, a man was jogging into the center of the crowd. He had powerful forearms and the leather apron of a craftsman. He began barking orders, calling people by their names. The villagers responded as if waking from a dream. He told the woman searching for her chickens to pack a bag and follow the others out of town. Miraculously, she followed his orders without question. Others began to join him. Yielding to his authority as they evacuated Riverbend.

Leilandri closed her eyes in relief, sitting for a moment to catch her breath. When she opened them again, Tori and Jena were racing towards her with Amira.

"Thank goodness," Leilandri's eyes welled with tears. She stood quickly to greet her friends.

"Stink bait works every time," Tori said, beaming from ear to ear.

"I need you to wait here for Tol-Aka and Jeremiah. Meet us on the north road. I must go to Elleric in case Grady wakes up. I'm the only one that can quell her power."

"Be careful. The air is getting thick. It's hard to see once you get past the town lights."

Before Leilandri could leave, Tol-Aka ran up. "I sounded the alarms, is everyone evacuating?"

"Yes, finally." Leilandri looked over at the man in the leather apron. "They just needed a little nudge in the right direction."

Tol-Aka nodded approvingly.

"Where's my dad?" Jena asked, looking around for Jeremiah.

"He's still in the house. I couldn't wake him. Grady must have put something in his liquor. I need help carrying him out."

Jena started running towards her home while the others followed.

"We have to hurry," Tol-Aka yelled over the noise. "Buildings are starting to catch fire."