The Shadow Wanderers

Chapter 28

Calista woke up abruptly to the sound of a terrible scream. Her heart pounding, she shuffled and fell out of her hammock. Wincing, she stood up on her unsteady feet and felt the immediate need to rush out of the cave to the source of the commotion.

The white fog was still dense all around, flowing around her feet, telling Calista it was still night. As she reached the entrance of the cave, she was perplexed to see the soldier appointed outside her cave on the floor, eyes open, his face blue. Calista gasped and crouched down to take a look at him. His eyes were bloodshot and he had been clutching his chest before he died.

Another piercing scream ran through the area and reverberated through the cave walls. And then another cry followed, quickly becoming a chorus of wails through the meadow. Her heartbeat out of control, Calista jumped down from the caved hill, and—still not able to see anything in the dense fog—trusted her muscle memory to take her to the meadow where all of them had sat last night.

The shrieks were piercing and louder in the meadow, and she resisted the urge to press her hands to her ears. Her head hurt by such loud noises as she had just woken up. She walked until she reached a tree, by whose trunk she saw a female soldier leaning against. Calista immediately crouched down next to her, recognizing her as the soldier with the braided hair from last night. Calista could see no visible injury on her but she was gasping for breath. Her thoughts racing, she placed a hand on the back of the soldier's head and forced her to look her in the eye.

"Help—" she was able to gasp out before her breath left her, her unblinking eyes staring back at Calista.

Horrified, Calista stood up and backed a few paces. This didn't make sense. What was going on? Where was Zayden?

Calista turned around, ready to pace in any direction that could tell her or show her what had been taking the lives of the soldiers so mercilessly, depriving them of their breaths.

She staggered on her unsteady feet, trying to get to the next nearest tree, but a figure appeared from the whiteness and stumbled into her. Calista gasped at the suddenness of it, her head still reeling. She rubbed her eyes and looked up at the shining figure from the ground.

"Calista!" Serafiel Ransley said, his skin still shimmering in the white nothingness that surrounded them. He helped her onto her feet and kept her steady by holding her shoulders. "Are you okay? Where does it hurt?"

Calista frowned, peering up at him. "I'm fine! What's going on? I saw the soldiers—Is it some creature?" she asked with unsteady breaths.

Ransley didn't seem to listen to her, he kept inspecting her face for any signs of irritation. He looked straight into her eyes and held up one of her eyelids. "Do your eyes feel teary?"

Calista felt annoyed and confused at the same time. "Honestly, I'm fine, Ransley! Would you please tell me what's going on?"

Ransley blinked and stepped back, as though seeing her for the first time. "The poison was in the food everyone ate last night. I thought I was the only one it didn't affect, but now I reckon it must be you too," he said, his words free of any worry. Calista's breath hitched in her throat, and she suspected it wasn't because of the poison.

"Zayden!" she suddenly said, thinking about him, her heart speeding up at an abnormal pace.

"I'm trying to save everyone I can, Calista, but there are too many. I would need your help. And I still can't locate the king; he's not in his cave."

Calista's thoughts raced for a second before coming to a bizarre conclusion. "I know where he might be," she said, turning back to Ransley.

He nodded, seemingly trusting her. Calista noticed the pot he had been holding as he urged it into her arms. He materialized a cup for her to hold. "I made this potion in a hurry. Go find the king and make him drink this. Also, help as many soldiers as you can on the way," he directed her.