CRYSTALLUM LOST DREAMS | Fantasy Novel |

Chapter 12 - Part 1

At dawn, Cora was already ready to set off. The sky was cloudy and it seemed like rain would make an appearance soon.

"We need to make a small detour," Camiel began. "We're close to a path, and I heard some strange noises from that direction last night."

They had been on the road for three days now. They had gone past the mountains, leaving them to the north, and had taken the road that followed the Darn River, just a few steps away from Badur. Luckily, their guide had been skillful in avoiding exposed routes as much as possible.

"Kharzanians?" Fez asked, terror in his eyes.

Camiel pressed his lips together and nodded. "Their Cec systems," he said. "I'm sure of it. I think they're sweeping the area and I have no intention of facing them with you in tow."

Aran straightened his shoulders and headed towards the forest. "We can't slow down."

Cora watched him go. He seemed strong, but she was sure he hadn't slept a wink the night before. Aran had gotten up from his bed and spent the time comforting Marmorel by stroking her hand. It was such a different behavior from the one he had in Edel, from the one he had always shown towards her. Had he changed his mind?

They set off without further delay, with Camiel at the head of the group. Elidana and Cora walked close together, in the middle of the line. "The sun is still low, and I'm already tired," he said.

She gestured towards Marmorel. "She's barely standing," she said. The young woman was dragging her feet, clinging to Aran's hand.

They stepped past a large oak tree covered in moss, and Fez turned to the others, his eyes wide. "There are three dead wolves here."

"We had a small argument last night. I'm sorry for them," Camiel explained. Marmorel choked back a scream and took refuge in the arms of the young Allet.

They were big, much more threatening than the beast they had faced alone a few days earlier: only the fangs were twice as long. Cora barely held back a tremble.

The density of the forest made it difficult to orient oneself, and the thick, humid summer air didn't even allow them to enjoy the shade of a natural shelter. Camiel started to move forward, looking up among the branches. "This way."

As the line of boys reformed, the roar of a gunshot tore through the silence and flocks of birds flew up from the branches above their heads.

Cora looked around. Aran froze, and a trickle of blood stained the rest of his sleeve from his shoulder. He was breathless.

"Quick, hide!" Camiel ordered, pointing to a large hollow trunk. He turned towards the direction from which the shot had come.

Elidana and Fez held Aran up and laid him on the ground; he was still conscious. "It's a superficial wound," Elidana said.

Marmorel jerked and held him by the head. Cora, on the other hand, leaned forward to observe the Hozman warrior and remained very careful not to blink so as not to miss any details.

Camiel drew his sword in one motion and approached the tree in front of him. He narrowed his eyes for a few moments and quickly set off towards a nearby boulder, before a wide clearing.

Cora stepped over the wolf carcasses and walked crouched to take the spot just left by the warrior. He struggled through the branches of a large bush and watched Camiel closely as he approached the man spread out on the rock with his rifle in his hands. The barrel shone with its own light.

In the moments when the wind didn't move the leaves, you could hear the screech of the stone inserted into the Cec system, a buzz like the flight of a hornet. Cora moved even closer. He wanted to see him, he wanted to know if he really was a Kharzanian. A mixture of terror and curiosity moved his last steps. It was the first time he risked so much to have a certainty.