within a barrier,” Alcander announced. “I assume you know about those?” he asked. Without waiting for an answer, he said to Kiora, “I can feel your power. I would like to see what you can do.” Pointing to the falls he demanded, “Part the water. We sleep behind it tonight.”
CHAPTER FOUR
The Test
KIORA WAS USED TO TESTS, although they still annoyed her. Alcander had held the bubble for the last hour and her magic had built up. She was aching for a release. Raising her hands, her magic leapt eagerly from her fingertips. Under her command, the water of the falls elegantly parted down the middle, much like a crystalline set of drapes.
Drustan laughed out loud. It was the first joy she had seen from him all day. “She did that with flare, wouldn’t you say, Alcander?”
Kiora saw the shock on Alcander’s face a second before he managed to wipe it off.
“What?” Kiora yelled to Drustan who was already riding his horse forward, howling with laughter.
“By the look on our friend’s face,” Drustan yelled back with a flourish of his hand, “I would say he was not expecting such a show.”
Kiora looked at the falls to admire her handy work. She had done a nice job. The water flowed out and to the side, clearing a majority of the stone left behind it. Smiling, she urged her horse forward, following Drustan and Emane. Alcander fell in silently behind her. They rode through the now wide-open entrance into the cavern behind the falls. Letting her magic flow unrestrained had felt wonderful. It lit up her body with a flowing sensation of spine-tingling freedom she was unable to get any other way. She wasn’t ready to lock it down. But as the horses struggled up the wet stones, Kiora reluctantly let the water fall back into place.
The sound of the horses’ hooves echoed loudly in the cavern. Why caves? she thought. Ever since I discovered magic I spend half my time in caves. The back of the cavern opened into a living area. There were ten beds, food, and supplies. The cave was well used by the look of it.
“What is this place?” Kiora asked, sliding off her horse.
“We need somewhere to hide while traveling,” Alcander answered, dismounting with inhuman grace, his feet never touching the stirrups.
Kiora wanted to ask more but decided not to push
“How long will we be staying?” Emane asked.
Alcander looked at him in a way that said he was still surprised Emane could speak. “If it’s safe, we leave in the morning. If not, we will stay until it is.”
“How will we know if it’s safe?” Kiora asked.
“I will monitor the situation while you three rest.”
“What about you, don’t you need rest?” she asked.
“None of you know what you are looking for. I don’t see a choice.” Alcander turned on his heel, leading his horse out of the cavern. “The horses stay back here,” he shot over his shoulder. “When you have unloaded what you need, there is hay and water waiting for them. I will be outside monitoring.”
Kiora, Emane, and Drustan quietly unloaded as they listened to Alcander’s footsteps disappear.
Drustan waited until he was sure that Alcander was on the other side of the falls. “I don’t think I am very fond of this Tavean,” he said, throwing his saddlebag on the floor near one of the beds.
“Me either,” Emane agreed. “What’s a Tavean?”
“It’s what he is. I am a Shifter, you’re a Human, he is Tavean.”
“He is a Tavean with an attitude,” Emane corrected as he set his blanket on a bed.
“That he is,” Drustan agreed.
Kiora looked back and forth between the two of them. “The world must be ending. The two of you are agreeing.”
* * *
KIORA’S HEAD HAD BARELY touched the pillow when the dreams started. Beetles scuttled over her, whispering, “Do not forget.” Her sister’s face flashed periodically, filled with hate. Emane whispered that he loved her. And then something new—the Illusionist’s black face, followed by the giant Aktoowa bird, screeching and snapping its beak. Sitting straight up in bed Kiora gasped, jerking her arm out of the Aktoowa’s way before realizing it was a dream.
Sighing, she wearily dropped her head into her hands. These nightmares followed her everywhere, and every new thing she met seemed all too willing to join in.
Envy stabbed her as she glanced at Emane and Drustan who seemed to be, as usual, sleeping peacefully. Pulling her knees up to her chest, Kiora rested her chin and allowed the pounding