Chapter 11
1052 Words
11
“Very good,” Var noted as he admired the little vial with the nightroot berries. “Very good. It’s been a while since I saw any of those.”
“Can you make that promised potion then?” I asked, fueled with impatience. So much time had gone to waste, by now, Ryoko had to be going crazy, especially as a Sun Dragon. From what she explained, the sun was to her what the wind was to me. She craved it like a fish out of water and lungs needed air.
Var hummed as he rubbed circles through his beard. “Hmmmm… I’ll get started.”
“How long will it take?”
He glared at me. “As long as I need.”
I shifted my weight. “I’m a bit in a hurry.”
“And you don’t think I am?” he countered, the accusation flickering in his eyes. “Wait outside.”
“But—”
“I said, wait outside,” he repeated, the threat clear in his voice.
I didn’t know why that was necessary, but I wasn’t going to start an argument here. The sooner he finished, the sooner I could release my inner wings again.
With a huff, I walked past the sleeping dusk wolf and took residence on the step outside of his hut.
“Hfff?” A pair of ears popped up from my pocket and Pickles took a good sniff from the air. “Hfff.”
“Yes, I’m glad to be out of the cold too.”
I stroked her fluff, strangely comforted by her presence. It was almost like carrying a piece of Ryoko with me, but in the form of a sassy ball of fur.
“Hff.” She climbed out of my pocket and onto my lap. With a happy wiggle, she nestled herself in my lap and yawned like only she could. “Hff?”
“You’re hungry again?”
I fed her the last strip of paper I had and offered her a piece of grass. “What about this?”
She gave it a little sniff before carefully nibbling on the leaf. With an insulted huff, she spat it out and gave me a pedantic tail flick.
Picky.
“I guess not then.”
She stared at me, practically rolling her eyes, before crawling back into my pocket. At least she really liked that space then.
Just as I settled in to be comfortable, the door swung back open and Var poked his head out. “Done.”
“Done?” I stared at him. “That didn’t take long.”
Lick pushed through Var’s legs and hobbled down the stairs, his tail flicking lazily. He shot me a questioning look and folded his legs together. “Awroo?”
“Yes, yes.” I gave him a quick scratch under the chin before I turned back to Var. “What’s in the potion?”
“Oh, I made the potion up.” He waved a little bottle with black fluid around. “It’s just water and berries. Technically, the berries on their own enhance your connection to the Veil. I just needed to pack.”
“What! Why didn’t you tell me? I could’ve come down here so much faster through the Veil.”
Anger curled in my stomach. If I’d known that, I could’ve saved so much time and saved Ryoko and the rest two nights in the bunker.
He shrugged. “I didn’t trust you’d come back.”
That stung. After all I did to help him.
I glared at him, annoyed at his tricks. “I promised I would.”
“And now I trust you.” He held out his hand and a silver chain dangled down. “I already poisoned it.”
A lump formed in my throat. I’d been working towards this for days now, but the reality of it was scary. I was only just getting used to going into the Veil on my own, but guiding someone… That was a whole different thing. The responsibility of the task was dawning on me.
There was a good reason it was forbidden to guide without proper training and the license to match. There were so many things that could go wrong. Astrid and I were incredibly lucky things hadn’t.
That didn’t change the magnitude of what I was attempting. If I messed up, it would cost Var his life. And that didn’t include the risk of shadow walking my three fellow students out of the bunker.
There was a lot on the line and it was all on me.
I took a deep sigh, composing myself. If I didn’t go ahead with it now, I’d never find the courage to do what had to be done. “I’m ready.”
Var matched my sigh with one of his own. His eyes flickered with an undefined emotion as he stared at his hut. “Alright. I’m ready.”
That made one of us.
I held out my hand and accepted the silver chain. It was a lot thinner than I remembered, but it would do well. Precious metals were good conductors for souls.
Carefully, I wound the chain around my wrist, tightening it even though it probably made no difference. The strength of the guide bond was mostly related to the competence of the guide. Unfortunately, I wasn’t one.
As I reached out to secure the bond around Var’s wrist, he stopped me halfway through. “Whatever you do, don’t break the bond.”
I nodded as I secured the chain. “I know.”
“Alright. Here.” He handed me the little vial of nightroot berry juice. “Just a drop will do.”
Carefully, I took the tiniest of sips and let the strange taste melt on my tongue. It was bitter and strangely enough, both cold and hot. As the juice spread and coated my mouth, the world shifted.
From the corners of my eyes, I saw the world around me turn into smoke. Trees, leaves, grass all blurring until they were a grey fog that couldn’t be mistaken for anything else than it was. The Veil.
The anticipation thrummed through my veins as I mentally prepared for what was to come. The poison sizzled into my skin, the sting a painful reminder of what was at stake.
A burning sensation grew between my shoulders, taunting me with a promise. Encouraged by the nightroot, my wings combusted from my shoulders and cast a large shadow over Var and me.
Were they always this large? I could swear they were bigger than last time.
I had no time to admire or ponder. The berries accelerated everything and before I knew it, a dark haze fell over the world.
Just as I was ready to depart from the Forest of Illusions, I caught a glimpse of Lick.
Worry shot through me. “Wait! What about your wolf?”
“He’s fine. He’s not bound by the Keeper,” Var said, his last words as the shadows swallowed us.
- Writer
