Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Chapter Eighteen-One Step Forward

         "I'm waiting." Talia said with a raised eyebrow.
         "I-I was looking for you because I was told you had connections with the Rebels." I said feeling my heart pound in my chest.
         "What makes you think that I have connections with the Rebels?" she questioned.
         "I heard from one in another village that there was a woman here in Karmus that has connections with the Rebels. Then when I asked the guard at the main gate about a woman like that he instantly said your name." I explained still hoping that she doesn't attack me.
         "It's very foolish going around asking about someone connected to the Rebels. Just asking the wrong person could have gotten you reported to those priests that work for Charlie." she pointed out.
         "Trust me I'm well aware of the dangers that Charlie poses. I just need to find Will and I've heard that he's with the Rebels." I replied.
         "Why would I help some love sick girl?" she laughed.
         "I'm not a love sick girl." I snapped. "I need his help in getting home."
         Before I had a chance to blink she moved across the room slamming me against the wall pinning me there with her forearm. The only thing keeping me from retaliating was that she was my only chance at finding Will any time soon. How had she moved so fast? As far as I could tell she was nothing but an ordinary human. 
         "Getting a tone with me child is not too smart." she said. "I don't just help anyone get to the Rebels. Give me one good reason why I should help you?"
         I bit my lower lip trying to think if I should tell her the whole truth. Could I trust her with the information that I'm from another world? I didn't know anything about this woman besides the fact that she's got ties to the Rebels. For all I knew that could be some kind trick to lure in true members of the Rebels so she can hand them over to Charlie. The whole time I was contemplating all of this she watched me closely waiting for an answer. I eventually took a deep breath before finally making my decision.
         "I've been held captive by Charlie for several months and I recently managed to escape." I told her.
         "And you want the Rebels to protect you?" she inquired.
         "No, I'm looking for Will. I know that he can help with getting me home." I repeated.
         "Why would Charlie be interested in keeping you? You don't seem like you're anything special." she smirked.
         "You keep asking me if you can trust me but shouldn't I be asking if I can trust you? For all I know you're actually working for Charlie." I retorted.
         "You're definitely a mouthy one." she commented.
         "Well you're either going to help me get to the Rebels so I can find Will or not." I said looking her dead in the eyes.
         Her eyes narrowed for a moment as if she was trying to examine me. It looked like she was trying to figure me out. Was I really there for the reason I was saying? Could I be a spy that Charlie had sent? Who knows what was going through her head. What ever it was that she was thinking about it caused her to step back and remove her arm from across my chest. Her face softened a little bit but she was still clearly on alert. I could tell that she didn't think that I was a threat any more but the question as to whether or not she believed me was about to be answered.
         "Why would you be looking for Will? He's not the most charming person out there." she wondered.
         "I was with him and Liam a while back before I was kidnapped by Marcus. I was hoping to find at least Will because he was supposed to help me get home." I told her.
         "So you're that Riley." she said the tension completely leaving her body.
         "You've heard of me?" I asked confused.
         "Liam came through her about a month ago and told me about you. He's been looking for you since that night." she explained.
         "Liam was here? Was he doing all right?" I asked in one breath.
         "From what I could tell he was doing just fine. He also explained to me that you're not from this world." she said finally sitting back in her seat.
         "Oh."
       "Don't worry about not telling me right away that you're from the other world. It wouldn't be information I would just hand out to everyone myself. I'm not too sure as to why Charlie would want some little girl from the other world. Care to enlighten me?" she wondered head cocked to one side.
         "Charlie believes that I'm capable of creating portals between my world and this one. He had sent Marcus in to my world to get me and bring me back to him." I told her sitting down on the bed.
         "Why would he want you to do that?" she inquired.
         "Not sure. He never laid out his giant master plan to me. I spent most of my time with him being taught by Lucia how to use magic in general." I shrugged.
         "Sounds like to me that I should get you some places that's a lot safer than Karmus." she finally said.
         "Thank you." I sighed relieved that she had finally said that.
        I was just about to ask her when we were about to leave when she suddenly threw herself across the room. She grabbed hold of my collar of my shirt pulling me down to the ground with her. In that instance an explosion at the window went off engulfing half the room in flames. Talia had managed not only to get out of the way in time but pulled me to safety as well. Lifting my head up I was able to see the gaping hole in the my room the edges still burning softly.
         "I think now will be a very good time to leave Karmus." Talia concluded.
         I couldn't agree with her more on that statement. Talia grabbed my wrist pulling me up to my feet pulling me behind her as she opened the door. I followed her in to the hallway to find the priests from the church in the center of town blocking our way.Each of them had a silver dagger in their hands with a single ruby on the hilt. They must have been the ones that had caused the explosion in my room. It looks like we were going to have to fight our way out of here.
         Before I had a chance to even try to think about a plan Talia shot forward like a bullet from a gun. I hadn't even blinked before she was across the hallway. Each of the priests were lying on the ground groaning in pain. At the end of the hallway Talia looked back at me waiting for me to follow her. I quickly ran after her stepping between the priests lying on the ground. I followed Talia down the stairs in to the front of the inn where there were even more priests waiting for us. Just like up stairs she darted forward barely visible taking down each of the priests without killing them. I should really learn how she does that. Maybe it will make staying away from Charlie ten times easier. Moving at that kind of speed would be ideal in fighting almost anything and any one.
         Running out of the inn out on to the street we found us surrounded by even more priests. How many priests were in this town? It felt like there was an army of them at this rate. Even with how fast Talia I very much doubt she could keep up with that speed forever. I'm sure even Talia has her limits like every person does. Even so Talia braced herself for a moment the entire street going silent as the priests waited for what she was about to do. The priests all had to blink several times when she suddenly vanished. The next thing they knew their comrades began falling left and right. I stood there wondering what exactly what I should do now. Sure enough that answer came quickly.
         Two of the robed men jumped at me grabbing my arms in an attempt to make sure I didn't go anywhere. They each squeezed there hands tightly around my arms seeming like they were sure that they had me. The two were surprised when I set flames a blaze over my arms burning their hands. They both jumped back howling in pain getting the attention of a few more of their friends. Several of them rushed forward towards me clearly mad that I had hurt their friends. I quickly reacted throwing out a pulse in front of me knocking all of them back. I managed to knock all of them on to their backs dazed for a few minutes. I knew better than to just stand there like a dear in the head lights. There were still a great deal of robed men standing all around me each one now watching me cautiously. None of them want to be taken down the same way their friends were.
            Just then Talia showed back up at my side grabbing a hold of my upper arm. I saw the men around me take a few steps back unsure of what Talia was going to do next. After seeing so many of their friends taken down so easily by her they weren't too keen to jump on her.
            "Take a deep breath." Talia said under her breath to me.
            "Why?" I asked confused.
            She doesn't bother explaining before pulling me with her. I wasn't sure what happened next but the next thing I knew the world around me became a blur of colors and rushing wind. It felt like the air had been sucked out from around me making it hard to get a good breath. In a way it felt like I was on a roller coaster going as fast as a bullet can travel. When I began to see little spots dancing around my vision due to the lack of oxygen was when I came to a sudden stop.
            We stopped so suddenly that I tripped over my own feet falling down to my hands and knees. It took me a minute to catch my breath now that I was able to get a full breath of air. My head was spinning a little as I stayed where I was till it felt like everything was steady again. When I got my bearings back I slowing got back to my feet making sure I didn't fall over again. Looking around me I saw that Talia had pulled me deep in to the forest plunging us in to the darkness. I wasn't really able to see much before the clouds passed shedding moonlight in to the surrounding area. I was surprised to see that Talia had two packs at her feet. I recognized one of them as mine. How had she had time to pack everything up with all the robed men trying to stop us from going anywhere?
            I jumped when I heard sudden rustling in the bushes behind me. Talia instantly got on the defensive stepping between me and what ever was behind me. Turning around I sighed with relief when I saw Cloud coming out of the darkness. I put a hand on Talia's shoulder telling her that it was all right. I walked over to Cloud placing a hand on the side of his neck. Talia gave me a quizzical look before shrugging her shoulders and relaxing a bit.
         "What are we going to do now?" I wondered.
         "What makes you think that we're going anywhere together?" she replied.
         "Why else would you help me get out of there?" I pointed out.
         "Touche." she sighed. "After learning who you were I knew it wouldn't be long till the priests came looking for you."
            "How do you know that?" I questioned.
            "They work for Charlie so it was only a matter of time before they learned that Charlie is looking for you. They probably wanted to catch you in order to get some kind of reward from him." she explained. "It also means that you're better off staying far from hand town or city."
            "Why is that?" I asked confused.
            "Because if Charlie wants you back bad enough he'll make sure that everyone of his followers knows what you look like. He'll also make sure to let everyone know if they try to hide you there will be some serious consequences. There are too many people scared of him right now that wouldn't turn you in without a second thought." she said.
            "So what are we supposed to do?" I asked.
           "We start walking." she stated.
            I groaned slightly really wishing there wasn't any faster way to travel besides walking. I was so tired of walking everywhere but at least each step got me closer to getting back home. With each step I was closer to seeing my parents again. With each step I got further and further away from Charle. So I just kept putting one foot in front of the other since it was all that I could do at the moment.