The Frozen Moon - By J.D. Swinn Page 0,6
were supposed to go out and find a nest of hobgoblins in some subway station. We wandered for a while, not realizing that they take well to hiding, if we hadn’t been able to sense them behind us, we may have been ripped to pieces.”
“I wonder what Mira is, then.” she mused. “I wonder if Wyd would be a Senser too, if he weren’t a warlock.”
“You certainly do a lot of wondering, don’t you?”
“I am a curious person, I suppose.”
“She’ll find out on her own someday, Mira I mean. Come on,” he said quickly, “let’s go. Dawn’s coming and the others will be waking up soon.” She followed him toward the edge of the park, the cold pendant around her neck the only reminder of what they left behind.
Even though several minutes had passed, Max still felt his heart pounding in his chest, aggravated by something other than battle. The scent she carried was nearly intoxicating, though she had no knowledge of it, and the breeze brushed it temptingly against him. She wandered on unknowingly, probably ignorant of how his breath was catching in his throat, he thought. Feelings were usually much easier to suppress, but he couldn’t choke these out, a frightening realization.
He couldn’t keep his eyes off how her fair skin and pure white hair caught the lingering moonlight. Her dark eyes seemed to perfectly mirror the night sky, and she was at peace in the night. They passed a small pond surrounded in lush grass, and Nameh immediately turned off toward it. He knew that dawn was coming fast, but he couldn’t bring himself to pull her away. He was sure that her stomach couldn’t be twisting as his was, that her heart couldn’t be screaming and taking her so off guard like his was. She couldn’t feel like he was feeling, his mind told him.
Nameh dragged a slender foot over the surface of the water, having removed her shoe, drawing gentle ripples in the pond. He saw the relief in her eyes at the cool water’s touch, and a soft smile crossed her features. Silently, he sat on the bank beside her and gazed off at the surroundings. He had always preferred being out at night, when the world seemed to sleep and problems of the day seemed to fade into silence for a time.
You know… he began, but was cut off by Nameh’s finger on his lips as she leaned toward him.
“Not now” she whispered, brushing a butterfly kiss on his lips, retreating just enough to look him straight in the eyes, intently watching his response.
After what felt like an eternity, he gently answered her kiss. For a moment, they were two people feeling completely at ease, not two Markbearers with dark futures and death likely awaiting them. He framed the moment in his mind, hoping to capture its essence indefinitely. The scene stretched on for a lifetime, and was over in a breath- he didn’t know or care. They lost themselves in the closeness of each other and the shadows plaguing their souls retreated for a time. They felt love. But dawn was approaching fast.
CHAPTER TWELVE: PREPARATIONS
Mira’s eyelids fluttered open to reveal a groggy world bathed in the early morning sunlight. She admired the golden beauty for a moment before stirring; it was going to be a good day, she thought. She sat up and brushed a curl from her face; she hadn’t put it up last night as she usually did, she had simply been too tired. The wretched book laid sprawled open next to her bed, the infernal thing had taken all of her energy in exchange for its knowledge. She had retained many of the spells and techniques from its pages, but not without great effort. She preferred making connections throughout history, repeated mistakes and successes.
At the thought of her friend, she glanced over to find Nameh’s bed empty. She sheets and blanket lay in a crumpled heap; she rarely bothered to make her bed. Mira stood and began to smooth her own covers into a neat arrangement, tucking the edges beneath the mattress. When she finished, she surveyed her work; order brought her calm, whereas Nameh thrived on chaos. She rubbed at her eyes, trying to clear her sleepy mind. Coffee, she thought, I need coffee. She began to think of the places that Nameh could have gone; she wouldn’t be in the cafeteria because they were avoiding questioning teachers; they hadn’t been attending classes. Max’s room? She wasn’t exactly