Valkyrie (Complete)

16: Reunion

After the reunion, they decide to go back to the caves because it's safer than the forest. It's better protected, has more food and can offer shelter. Plus, at the end of four tunnels, there were open caverns with high ceilings. They were full of beds, blankets, pillows and food, leading the Mauliks to believe that Valkyrie's father had been planning that the Ankathians would invade again.

When they lead their people back to the cave, they're shocked. None of them knew it was here. Valkyrie was very glad her father has trusted her enough to tell her about this secret, almost as if he knew what was coming.

Could her father have been a Seer? The reunion with their people proved that Kaj was one, but could it have been more common than they thought? Before it was assumed that only one person every hundred years was a Seer, but could both her father and Kaj be Seers?

A strong hand takes hers. She's broken from her thoughts as she looks down, then follows the arm up to find Phoenix. 

He looks happy. His eyes are lighter and the lines from stress on his face have all but disappeared. He nudges her with his shoulder, giving her a gentle smile. "Are you okay?"

She nods. "I'm fine."

"Are you sure?"

"I don't really want to talk about it, okay? Not right now."

"Okay." He kisses the side of her head. "I'm here whenever you do though."

She smiles up at him. "I know you are. Thank you."

They lead the way back to the cave, stopping only briefly for rest. During the month that the Eikonidian people were hiding in the forest, they struggled. Food was scarce and hard to find, and very few had the proper knowledge of plants to know which were edible and which were not. Many of them lost a lot of weight and therefore a lot of muscle, so they could not travel as far and fast as the Mauliks. They stop for a rest after about two hours, which was roughly two-thirds of the way back to the cave.

They set up a camp and Valkyrie and Phoenix pass out food while Kaj takes care of any injuries. There aren't many, but the few that are injured seem to have sustained those wounds during the initial attack. Two young boys were hit with swords and a girl was hit with a bullet, both of which required Kaj's immediate attention. The children were lucky their wounds weren't infected, but they seem to have also been taken care of as much as possible while they were in the forest.

Soon, everyone is taken care of and they agree to keep moving. The safest place is is in the cave, so they're in a bit of a hurry.

Finally, they reach it. The people look around in confusion, wondering why the Mauliks led them to a rocky outcropping. Valkyrie steps forward and pushes the boulder out of the way, and a sense of hope floods through everyone. 

The Mauliks are their saviors, their hope, their heroes. They always have been and it's sweet relief when they're inside.

The boulder is closed after the last person and the darkness of the cave is chased away by the lighting of the torches. A soft orange glow streams through the rock hallways and lights up the way for the exhausted people. The injured are taken into a smaller cavern where the Mauliks will continue to treat their injuries, and then the rest of the people are divided among the other three caverns and given mattresses, blankets and pillows. Soon, everyone is asleep and the hallways are silent.

Phoenix, Kaj and Valkyrie make their way back to their area in the cave. They stay closest to the opening and the river where they have easy access to an exit and the only probable place where the Ankathians could come in, which allows them to keep their people safe.