Akia
“Think I should follow her?” Sam asked.
“Nah,” Akia responded. “If anyone should follow her it should be Zeke. He should apologize.” Zeke looked at her, eyebrows raised. Without so much as a sound, he got up and headed in the direction Falyn had gone.
Akia waited until he was out of sight. “Tell me you know him from somewhere, Sam.”
Sam shook his head. “Sorry. Haven’t met him before.” Akia groaned. There was something about him that tugged at her memory. She knew that if she didn’t figure it out soon it would keep nagging at her until she couldn’t take it anymore.
After a while, Akia sighed and stood. “Well we need to get out of here as soon as possible. If Zeke doesn’t come back soon we’ll have to go after them.”
As soon as she finished talking, Zeke walked back into the clearing. He was staring at the ground, hands stuffed in his pockets. Akia sighed with relief. He was back; they could leave.
But looking behind him, she realized that Falyn wasn’t with him.
“Where is she?”
“Who?”
“Falyn you idiot,” she retorted. “You didn’t bring her with you?”
“Didn’t know that was my job.”
“Are you stupid,” Sam snapped. “Something could happen to her! We’re not the only ones who know she’s the moonstar. And we’re not the only ones who want her on our side.”
There was a sudden cry from the woods. As everyone watched, a green light flashed through the trees.
Akia jumped up and took off running. She could hear Sam yelling at Zeke as she continued deeper into the woods. She looked around desperately, hoping for any sign of Falyn.
Suddenly a wall of air hit her from the right side and sent her flying into a tree. Her side ached, but she didn’t have time to feel pain. Picking herself up, she staggered about looking for whoever had attacked her.
Another wave of air hit her. This one wrapped around her, holding her body motionless. She struggled against the invisible bonds, but had no luck.
A familiar laugh bounced off of the trees and reached her ears. “You know you can’t escape, daughter of Kit.”
Akia’s eyes widened as she saw Rhys step out from behind a tree. He looked the same as always; short black hair, tight chin, piercing green eyes. He was even dressed in his old Lightport outfit, his all black uniform and that stupid purple sash.
“Why are you so surprised to see me? Did you really expect me to let you go?”
“Of course not,” she responded. “I just didn’t know you were smart enough to find me already.”
Rhys narrowed his eyes. “You’ve got some nerve.”
“I always have.”
“This would be a lot easier if you just came with me.” As he spoke, two Hund Warriors stepped out and stood with him. They were meant to be intimidating, Akia knew, with their pale skin and red eyes. But she wasn’t afraid of them.
What she was afraid of was losing Falyn. She had to get to the moonstar before anything happened. But she couldn’t do anything if Rhys had her in his grasp.
Her heart was pounding furiously and her mind was working overtime. Although she put up a tough exterior, she was anything but on the inside.
How had Rhys caught up with her? It had been weeks since they had last met. All hadn’t turn out well for Rhys. She hadn’t been all that easy on him. It should’ve taken him much longer to heal. But instead here he was, following her.
There has to be some kind of spell for this! She thought. She racked her brain, searching and praying for something that would help. But nothing came to mind. The air was wrapped too tight around her; she couldn’t move.
“So what do you say,” Rhys asked. “Give up your little journey and come with me? You can join Falyn.”
Akia froze. “Falyn? You have Falyn?”
“Yes I do. It’s a shame really,” he clicked his tongue and smirked. “Why did you let her go somewhere on her own? Not too smart of you, daughter of Kit.”
“Stop calling me that,” Akia growled.
Rhys raised his eyebrows. “You don’t want to be reminded of your dear father?”
“I don’t want you speaking his name ever again,” she said, barely able to hold back her anger. “You have no right to.”
“Oh, I have no right, huh?” Rhys shook his head and chuckled.
There was a sound of crunching leaves behind them. Akia twisted her head just enough to see Mina and Sam rushing over. They froze at the sight of Rhys and the Warriors. Mina had no idea what was going on, Akia was sure. But Sam knew all too well. She could see it in her eyes.
“Well would you look at that. Your sidekick is here, Akia.” Rhys snapped his fingers and a wall of air appeared. Mina furiously pushed against it, trying to get past.
Just give up! It’s not gonna work! Akia wanted to shout. But Sam took care of it. He grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her back.
“You won’t get away with this, Rhys,” he shouted.
“Oh, I won’t?” He smirked and pointed his palm at Akia. There was a flash of yellow light. She shielded her eyes as it filled her vision.
When the light disappeared, she looked around. She was in a small room that had wooden walls and a single light hanging from the ceiling. It didn’t give the room much light. The center was completely lit while the edges and the walls were covered in shadows.
The air that had been holding her captive suddenly released her. She collapsed to the ground. Freedom had never felt so good. She moved her arms and legs just to move them.
As if she suddenly remembered what was going on, she pushed herself up and hurried across the room. The door was made of the same wood that the walls were made of. It blended in, but she was able to find the doorknob. She tugged at it furiously, trying to yank the door open. It was a futile movement. Of course the door wouldn’t open.
She sank to the floor and buried her head in her hands. How could she have let this happen? Her plan had been flawless: go to Agathi, find the moonstar, bring her to Lightport. But then the Force got involved and Mina had to come along. Not to mention Zeke…
“Where is that bastard?” she suddenly cried out. Zeke was there with them in the clearing, but then he disappeared all of the sudden. Why hadn’t he come to help them?
There was a loud rumble that rang out through the room. Akia looked around frantically, waiting for the room to start collapsing in on itself. But all she saw was the walls lowering slowly. She looked from the left to the right. There were other rooms as far as she could see. They were all empty except for the one to her right.
There was a little girl held to the ground with chains, the same way her father had been many years before. The girl didn’t seem to be in any immediate danger though, so Akia relaxed. But she tensed up again just a few seconds later when she realized who it was.
Her voice failed her. All she could do was stumble over her own feet as she raced towards the other room. Just as she reached it, she ran into something and fell backward. When she looked up, she realized that the rooms were still separated by walls, just not the kind that could be seen.
“More air walls,” she muttered.
“Why do you always underestimate me?” Rhys asked.
Akia searched the room for him, but she couldn’t see him.
“Do you really think I would let you get to Falyn that easily?”
“I know exactly what you’re capable of, Rhys,” she retorted. “Stop acting like I’m an idiot.”
“If you insist,” he replied. “I’ll leave you here to figure a way out by yourself. In the meantime I’ll pay a visit to your friend next door.”
Akia watched as the door opened to Falyn’s room and Rhys walked in. Falyn looked up at him, but didn’t shrink back in fear. Rhys said something to her and she said something back. Akia had no idea what they were saying.
She turned away as the screams started. It wasn’t something that she wanted to see. There had been enough times that Rhys had forced her to watch someone be tortured. She didn’t want to watch another one.
It was quiet again after a while. Aki counted to ten before turning to look into the other room. Falyn was lying on her back, staring at the ceiling. Her chest was moving up and down quickly. Her eyes were empty, as if there wasn’t much life left in them.
“Do you see what you do to the people around you?” Rhys’s voice filled the room once again. Akia couldn’t tear her eyes away from Falyn. They had only known each other for a few days, but she felt like she was responsible for her. She didn’t want anything to happen to her.
“If you weren’t so stubborn, things like these wouldn’t happen.”
Akia glowered, her hands shaking in tight fists. “I’m not telling you anything, Rhys!”
A yellow cloud circled in the middle of the room. Rhys appeared when it dissipated. He narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms.
“You will tell me where that locket is.”
“No,” Akia responded. “The locket is somewhere you can never get to it. And I will never give it up.”
Rhys flexed his fingers and Akia twisted in pain. Taking a deep breath, she focused on the muscles in her core. She imagined herself somewhere else, trying to ignore the pain. Slowly, the feeling spread from her stomach to the rest of her body. She froze her nerves, successfully keeping the pain from taking over.
She stood and stared at Rhys, daring him to attack again. He simply glared at her.
“I will find that locket. You think you’re high and mighty because you’re part of the chosen few in Lightport. But you’ll never be good enough to defeat me.”
Akia kept her eye contact with Rhys, not daring to look away.
“And don’t think I’ll stop looking,” Rhys said, his face now inches away from her. “I will never give up even when your pathetic little life is over, I will continue my search and get revenge on the mages and seers and all the magical people of this land.”
The yellow cloud appeared again and swallowed up Rhys. He was gone. She was alone.
She made her way over to the air wall separating her and Falyn. She dropped to her knees and watched as Falyn’s chest rose and fell with every breath. As long as the moonstar was alive, everything would be fine. They could escape and reach Lightport in less than a day.
They just had to get Rhys and his Hund Warriors off of their tail. Easier said than done.
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