The Elemental Saga

Chapter 15

It's a lengthy walk and when I see the end of the tunnel, I break into a sprint. Xander follows suit. We break out into the Damek greenery. My lungs expand fully for the first time since my test as I breathe in deeply. I hear Xander do the same. I spin to take in our surroundings when a ball of blue energy collides into me. "Sindhu's stealthy waters, you made it!" Jo cries into my ear. I look past her embrace and see Maurice, Sylvia, Florian, and Elaine. Jo releases me but stays well within my personal bubble. She notices Xander's shirtless state and glances back at me slyly.

"No," I say firmly, stopping any flow of questions.

Xander smiles evilly but slips past us to where all of our horses stand. He pulls a jacket form his pack and zips it up for now. We go over to the others. They look okay. Shaken up, but okay. Florian's eyes are chlorophyll green and red, like he was crying. Sylvia and Elaine are silent and withdrawn. Maurice acts like normal, silent and always separated from the group. Although Jo clings to me, I can sense a slight shift in her and wonder about her test. I look at the two remaining horses with a small weight filling my stomach. "Where are Tobi and Iridessa?" Jo purses her lips.

"They haven't come through yet."

I nod, trying not to let it bother me too much. "How long have you been out here?"

Jo frowns over to Maurice. She must have been paired with him. "Two days, maybe three? Maurice and I were first, and then Elaine, Sylvia, and Florian." Xander and I were in there for three days? It felt like two hours. Two, long hours, but only two hours not days. She reads my expression and shrugs. "We didn't know how long was too long, so we just made camp and waited."

Xander comes over to us. "Then, we'll keep waiting. They can't be far behind."

Everyone murmurs a small agreement but it seems halfhearted. I look up at the sunlight fading through the trees. "We can definitely wait another night. Do we even have a second course of action?"

Jo makes a small humming noise and Elaine speaks up. "The Foreseer's prophecy didn't really give us another step, but we've thought of some options."

"Okay," I say, rubbing my eyes. "Let's sit and you can tell us."

I feel like I could sleep for a millennia but force myself to focus for a little longer as we all settle. Jo sits next to me and I think I see her beckon to Maurice but he shakes his head and stands a bit to the side. Xander distances himself across from me, lounging on his side. Florian rests with his head in Elaine's lap while she strokes his head. Sylvia starts talking. "We tried to go over what the Foreseer said but it's too broad. And it tells us nothing about how to seal the mirror." Oh right, that's what this quest was about. I lean back against a tree. I had completely forgotten about everything in the tunnels. Sylvia goes on, "Florian mentioned that there may be something in the ancient libraries of Damek's palace. Or I thought about Prince Caird's grand library." She stops for our input.

Xander speaks, his voice muffled by the way he rests it tiredly on his arm. "When Tobi and Iridessa get out, let's confer this with them again. But I say, we try the Damekian libraries while here and can resort to Beshiltheeni if we don't find anything." Everyone nods. It sounds like a solid plan. We sit in silence for a few moments, the nighttime woods moving around us. Then Sylvia mumbles something about going for a walk to think. Elaine takes a snoring Florian and carries him away for the night. Xander's eyes are closed but his breaths are not even enough to be asleep yet. Jo stares into space next to me.

"I'm going to go sit near the tunnel," I whisper to her, unfolding myself from my position and treading lightly away. She stays put, her mind somewhere else.

I settle near where Xander and I emerged and create a comfortable space in the bed of foliage around me. I nestle my head on my folded arms and stare at the black mouth of the tunnel for so long that my brain starts creating figures within. When that happens, I close my eyes and fall asleep.