Dark Woods. Land of Beonia Book 1

Chapter 11

"You sure she went this way?" A voice I recognize asks. I use my 'sight' to look outside of the cave. Low and behold there is Storshu and Ahorn along with two other Lurani walking about. I close my eyes and inch further back into the cave.

"I'm sure. She was here a few minutes ago." Ahorn replies looking around

"But you lost her?" one of the Lurani asks with an annoyed tone.

"She couldn't have gone far. She isn't well trained." Ahorn replies.

"Night is coming soon. Let's go down." The other Lurani states, a hint of fear in his voice.

"Is this Nadartach so terrifying?" Ahorn questions.

"You and the Ventini can't find your friend or it...of course it's terrifying." The first Lurani responds. I can tell he is already moving away from the mountain and heading down. I listen as they start to walk away until a blast of wind runs through the cave.

"There's a cave there. Has anyone ever checked it?" Storshu asks.

In a panic I stand and make my way further back using the walls to guide me but stumble on a few rocks. I hear the group reach the mouth of the cave as one Lurani holds a fireball. My heart is pounding as I force myself to continue to go back, the darkness seeming to go on forever, my eyes failing to adjust.

"Throw it." Ahorn says and I watch as the fireball is thrown into the cave. It spirals towards my direction and I duck praying it doesn't hit or show me. Instead, I watch in shock as the fire is engulfed by the darkness and disappears. The men at the entrance are shocked too.

"What happened?" Storshu asks noticing the two Lurani getting nervous.

"This is it's cave." One responds.

"We need to leave now while we still have light." The other states.

Storshu sends a blast of wind and I feel myself getting pinned against the wall. I try to keep myself from making any noise but a small gasp escapes me and Storshu's wind dies down.

"Anything?" Ahorn asks.

"Nothing."Storshu shakes his head while looking into the cave. I whisper thank you and he nods. "Let's go."

"Wait." Ahorn suddenly says. I watch as he moves trees and boulders in front of the cave. What little light I could see has now completely gone. "This will keep it from getting out."

I wait until their voices and steps are gone before I let out a cry of pain. There's a rock in my arm thanks to the wind. My control of rocks is limited and trying to remove it is painful. I try my best to focus on the rock but an immense wave of pain shoots through me every time I get it to move. I let my left arm just hang at my side as I use my right to guide me to the entrance. I'm able to move the plants a bit but this stupid boulder won't budge. "That's right, Raydenia. Only so much an untrained Nadartach can do." I whisper to myself sitting with my back against the boulder. I try again to remove the stone from my arm. My emotions, anger, disappointment, doubt and fear all are focused on this stupid stone. With a loud cry I give one more pull just to have the stone refuse to move.

"I should have stayed home." I mumble letting tears stream down my face. All I can picture is Abak's face. How he had to pick me out of the crowd and demand I go on this journey. "This can't be how it ends." I whisper.

"You could stand up." A voice from the darkness suddenly says breaking the silence.

My eyes dart around trying to figure out who spoke. "Are you the Nadartach that the Lurani are afraid of?" I ask trying to keep my voice from trembling. No response. But, I notice my eyes have suddenly adjusted to the darkness. Deciding to follow what the voice had said I stand.

"Just walk straight. There's nothing in front of you. After a few minutes you'll get to the other opening." The voice plainly states.

"Um....thank you?" I whisper slightly confused. Why are the Lurani so afraid of it? "Why are you helping me?" I ask slowly walking.

"You are hurt." It responds

"Can you help with it?" I ask

After a long pause I notice the darkness fading a little bit ahead of me. The cave suddenly opens up into a clearing surrounded by the mountains and lined with trees. The full moon shines reflecting off a small stream running through the meadow and out of another opening, probably a waterfall. I notice a small shelter built on one side and a small garden. I make a small movement with my left arm that sends pain shooting through my arm. I make my way downstream and rinse my arm off with the water. The cooling water feels great but my arm has started to go numb.

"If you don't take that out soon it's going to really damage your arm." A voice reports behind me.

I turn around and look up at a tall, semi-tanned man. His hair and eyes are a deep black. He is very thin but toned as his shirt is ripped and he isn't wearing any shoes. "I...I...I know." I stammer I clear my throat to calm my nerves. "But I can't get the stone out."

He kneels down in front of me and I notice that I really can't see his pupils. He gently touches my arm as I wince a little. "You've pushed it further in." He states.

I widen my eyes in shock. "I've been trying to pull it out."

"Try putting your hand behind your arm." He suggests. As weird as it sounds I try. The stone slightly vibrates, the pain shoots through me as I shake. With a loud yell I push and the stone flies out and rolls a bit across the ground.

"That hurt way more than I thought it would." I reply with heavy breathing. "Thank you...um...you?"

He seems to hesitate and then says, "Elan."

"Why are the Lurani after you?"

"Because I'm not like them...even though I was born there." He remarks sadly.

"Wait, you're Luran?" I ask shocked. Elan nods his head as he wraps my wound with some bandages.

"Elan. People are after you. Why?" I ask

"What is your name?" He redirects.

"Raydenia. Now please tell me why."

"How much time do you have?" He responds with a slight smile.

"Well Branam wants me dead I think so I don't really want to go back out there." I respond.

"Then I can tell you the long story." He says offering me his hand. I take it as he leads me to his small shelter. He clears off a chair for me to sit and sits on the other. He takes a deep breath and then looks me in the eyes. "My name is Elan. I am from the Luran tribe at the base of this mountain. I am a Nadartach but I am not Luran Nadartach.