Echoes of the Past

Chapter Seventeen - Part One

Chapter Seventeen: Goodbye to New And Old Friends - Part One 

A hand shaking Evan's shoulder woke him.

His mind adjusted to his surroundings, fighting off the weariness of sleep. His eyes felt bruised and puffy as he looked up to see Sam standing over him.

"Time to get going, buddy," Sam said quietly.

Through the dim lamp light, Evan saw James standing across the room, strapping on his sword belt. A black sky showed through the window slats.

Evan rose and sat on the edge of the bed, nodding to Sam. "Aye," Evan rasped, finding it hard to speak. The sheets felt cold and wet where his hand lay, and he realised he had sweated in the night.

"You okay?" Sam asked, still watching him. "We tried waking you earlier but you wouldn't budge. Figured we'd give you a few more minutes."

Evan rubbed the sleep from his eyes. "We are ready to go?" he asked, deflecting Sam's question.

Sam said, "Ready when you are. Best to be on our way before the sun clears the horizon. There'll be fewer eyes watching us that way."

Evan nodded again. A deep sadness was upon him. Thinking about Reisa and the others, particularly that night in Moon Bay, always drew him into a disturbed melancholy. He began pulling on his long boots, attempting to focus his thoughts on the present.

"Sam," James said. "I have a question, about what you said last night. If my father could wield the power of all the Gynen Crystals, why didn't he use it when he came to rescue me from Doon? In the... Dalgredda Valley attack. Or just use one or two of the crystals during the fight?"

Sam turned to him, standing in the centre of the room. "The power of the Gynen Crystals is not something Hayden would have wanted to use in front of his enemies. I don't even think he ever intended on using them, for anything. He likely would have wanted them kept hidden, away from anyone's use."

Evan did not need his gift-which was not active right then anyway-to see that James had gathered a lot of questions during the night.

"And so Doon and the Dark Sorcerer are still looking for me," James said thoughtfully.

"Once we determine what Jaxx's plans are for the Riondon Iron Forge, we can focus on tracking down Hayden and getting you on track with a fresh start to your life."

James nodded, looking away with a troubled expression.

Evan slung his father's sword over him and collected the sceptre from against the wall. There was no discernible power coming from the sceptre, but he was still not comfortable possessing it, remembering how disturbed Tabetha had been from what she had sensed from it. He strapped it to a loop on his leather belt, the wider end hanging down.

A feeling within told him to look up. His gift was present.

Sam held a cloud of dark blue mist over him, steadily shifting calmly. Evan had to admire Sam's strong will and determination that showed in his aura, although he found the dark saturation somewhat troubling. Darker shades were never a good thing, he had come to realise. James's glow was the usual purple with shimmers of pale green. His guard was up, and he was scared. Or uncertain. It was a subtle art, Evan had found, to determination exactly what the shades and textures of the colours really meant, and while he had mostly tried to ignore his ability, he had learned a few things over the years.

Evan turned away from them, finding it difficult enough to fight off a throbbing headache, let alone concentrate on the intricate ramifications of a person's Glow. He wished he could shut off the colours when he wanted. Or at least have some control over when they showed.