Between the Shadows

The Desert

5

Damae

Following Thorsen down the path, leaving the abandoned town, I watch the way he rides his horse. His back is straight and strong as his muscles move with the sway of the horse’s walk. I tap Luck’s side to trot up next to him.

“You never answered my question,” I state. His shoulders tense, his hand grips his reins a little tighter. He looks at me out of the corner of his eye. His head is still straight, like he doesn’t want to fully look at me. “Why are you in Jalari, Thorsen?”

“I never said I would have to answer you, or even talk to you.” He smirks and kicks his horse into a trot. I watch as he rides into the dark desert ahead of us.

“Then why did you even want me to ride with you!” I yell after him and give Luck a click to urge him to go faster. I have never had a worse birthday in my life. All day on horseback, attacked, then beaten by the man whom I was kissing a week ago. “Thorsen.”

He stops his horse quickly, Luck and I almost speed past him. He dismounts his horse and grabs something out of his saddlebag. Staying on my horse, I watch as he lays out a blanket and a wooden post that he buries into the sand, tying his horse's reins to it.

I am not staying here in the middle of the desert, and definitely not with him. I start to continue on with Luck, but not three steps away, a wall of smoke rises up in front of me, and Luck rears, and I fall off the saddle, once again landing on my back in sand.

“I never said you could leave.” Thorsen stands above me. I can barely make out any of his features as the sun sets on the horizon. I can see his grey eyes staring into mine.

“I will walk then.” Rolling onto my side, I stand and again start to walk away. His grip on my arm is the only thing that stops me. My back slams against his front. His free hand roams up to my stomach. I feel his large, rough hand through the fabric of my shirt. My breathing halts.

“You lost our bet, Danger. You are now mine.” His hand creeps higher, and his fingers now lay under my breast. My head feels heavy, and I lay it back onto his chest. This man is so tall, I feel him lay his chin on the top of my head. “You act all tough, yet when I touch you, your body melts to mine.”

That was all I needed to correct myself. I will not let him distract me any more than he has. Luck is definitely on my side tonight since my horse didn’t run off again. I push away from Thorsen and grab my sleep sack from my saddlebag. I lay it on the ground, slip into it, and ignore whatever else my body might want to do tonight.

As I lay there under the stars, I can hear Thorsen get into his own blanket and his heavy sigh. I keep my eyes closed, forcing my body to relax and try to sleep. Minutes past, as the sound of nothing starts to drag me under.

“Goodnight Danger. Happy Birthday.” Thorsen whispers. I don’t dare to respond, I am sure he thinks I am sleeping. How does he know it’s my birthday?

……………………………………..

The sun is warm on my face, and the grass is tickling my feet. The sound of the sea slams on the cliff.

“Darling, you are so strong. You can do anything you accomplish.” I abruptly turn and my mother is standing behind me. Her face is just as I remember, the dark hair, emerald green eyes, her smile bright and inviting.

I run to her as fast as I can. I wrap her in a hug, we slowly drop to the grass holding each other as I sob.

“I thought you were gone. You're gone.” I bury my head into her chest.

“I am right here, Damae. I will never leave you.” She runs her hand over my hair. It is calming, but something doesn’t feel right. This doesn’t feel real.

“I love you mom. Dad isn’t the same. You need to go to him. Nalmaire needs you. They need you.” I sob harder.

“You, my sweet child, are the one who needs me. Wake up. Wake up, Damae.” I lift my head and look at her. She grips my face in her hands. “WAKE UP!”

My eyes snap open, and Thorsen is in my face. His hands warm my face. He looks up away from me. I follow his line of sight. It is early sunrise, the light from the sun casting a single line of orange over the horizon. There are six shadows all on horseback racing towards us.

“Get up, Damae!” Thorsen rushes to get his sleep-sack back into his saddlebag. I follow suit as Luck is still sleeping, standing next to me.

“What is going on?” I am shaking, rattled from the dream I was ripped away from.

“The reason I didn’t let you wander off into the desert alone is what,” Thorsen says through his teeth.

“Okay? That doesn’t answer my question!” I yell at him. In an instant, he is in front of me with his hand over my mouth. His breath is warm on my forehead. His eyes are looking over Luck’s saddle. I poke him in the chest, and he moves his attention to me. I try to talk, but it comes out as a muffled sound.

“Those men are the reason you would have died on the way to Central. You are going to get on your horse and run as fast as you can, the way they came from.” He whispers to me. His eyes move quickly between mine, looking for understanding.

“What about you?”

“I’ll be fine.” Thorsen grabs me by my hips and lifts me onto my saddle. His hand lingers on my thigh. “Don’t stop no matter what, and don’t let them kill you. That is my job in the Trials.” I see the truth in his statement, but his smirk sends warmth throughout my entire body. “Get behind my horse, and when they are close, you go. Got it?”

I nod in response. I walk to Luck, where Thorsen told me to go. His horse is standing tall, head high, and its ears are at attention. It is like he knows what is coming. I wish I had a clue of what is happening. Who are those men, and why does Thorsen know about them if they are from Jalari?

The hooves of six horses thunder closer. The men finally come into view as the sun rises more over the horizon. They are all in black hoods, swords, and axes strapped to their backs. Thorsen walks forward towards them, his hands at his sides, his posture straight.

The men are almost upon us. Each one of them pulls out their weapons and speeds up their horses. Luck starts to move his feet; he knows something awful is about to happen. Just my luck that I have a horse that is scared of just about everything. Just when I thought I was going to fly off of Luck’s back again, Thorsen raises his hands, and a wall of smoke appears, trapping Thorsen and those men inside of it. I take that as my sign. I kick Luck’s side and force him into a run. We run past the shadow. Thorsen has them surrounded by it. Why is Thorsen saving me again, when we are destined to kill each other in two days? I keep riding farther and farther into the desert, and the sun is all the way above the horizon. I start to feel the heat of the sun, even at this high speed, the wind doesn’t have any cooling effect. I slow Luck to a stop. Looking back, I don’t see Thorsen’s shadows anymore, and I can’t see any figures in the distance.

I dismount Luck and grab my water jug, and start to tip it into Luck’s mouth. His body is sweaty, and he drinks the water with urgency.

“There you go, Luck. Keep drinking.” I lay my head on his neck. Well, now what? Do I stand here and wait, or continue to Central? I honestly don’t know where I am or if I am going in the right direction. “Let’s keep going.” Taking a swig of water and putting it away, I remount Luck. With a click of my tongue, we start back into a walk.