Falyn
Things had gotten way out of hand in the past few days.
Falyn knew that there would be danger if she went along with Akia, but she
wanted to get away from the man who’d attacked her back home. She also knew
that Akia could protect her from all of this, from the people who were after
her. That’s one of the only reasons she went along.
Akia was out cold in the middle of the forest floor.
Falyn didn’t blame her. She knew enough about magic to know how much energy it
took to create a tornado that swallowed up that man who was trying to kill her.
Sam and Zeke were sitting next to Akia, whispering about
something. It was rather suspicious. When did they become such good friends?
Falyn figured she’d be the one in charge of watching
Archie. No one else seemed to care about him.
They’d knocked him out when the man had tackled Akia. Archie
had made the mistake of turning his attention away. Sam was the one who did it,
picking up a large branch and slamming it into the side of Archie’s head.
That’s when he’d run away to help Akia, leaving Falyn and
Mina to deal with a grown man lying on the ground like a rag doll.
Falyn sank to the ground, leaning up against a tree
across from the man she grew up with. The thought really hadn’t sunk in yet,
that Archie wasn’t her father. She understood that he wasn’t her father, but
she hadn’t quite accepted it yet. How can someone so close to her be someone so
far?
“What’re we gonna do with those other guys?”
Falyn looked up to see Mina standing there, her eyes
looking at the members of the Force that had followed Archie into the woods.
They were both lying on the ground, but unlike their leader, they were still
conscious. It was obvious that someone, probably Sam, cast a sleeping spell on
them, keeping them from doing any harm to any of them. They would wake up
eventually though. Hopefully they’d be far away at that point.
“No idea,” Falyn admitted. “I guess just leave ‘em here
for someone else to find.”
Mina laughed. “I can see it now. They’ll wake up in a few
hours, ready to jump at us. But we won’t be here. Can’t you just imagine their
confusion?”
“What about him?” Falyn pointed to Archie. “I’m not sure
if I can leave Agathi without him. What if we never see each other again?”
“Leave—leave Agathi? That’s what we’re doing?”
Falyn looked at her, dumbfounded. “Yes, haven’t you been
listening? We’re going to Lightport.”
“But the river,” Mina hissed. “We won’t be able to make
it over. We’re mages; mages can’t cross.”
Falyn hadn’t thought about that before now. She had been
following Akia blindly, not thinking of anything that would stand in their way.
She cursed herself for being so stupid.
Then again, maybe Akia had some magic up her sleeve that
could get them across. Falyn was sure Akia and Sam could make it across the
river. They weren’t mages after all; the barrier wouldn’t apply to them. And
they had to have gotten over to Agathi somehow.
“I just—let me talk to Sam,” Mina said, finally regaining
her composure. “He’ll know something at least. And he’ll listen to me.” Falyn
had all but forgotten that Mina and Sam were friends before all this happened.
Now that she knew that Sam wasn’t really from Agathi, he seemed like a
completely different person.
She watched Mina stalk over and interrupt whatever Sam
and Zeke were talking about. It didn’t seem like they appreciated it, but they
did turn to listen to her. Zeke’s eyes found Falyn’s and she turned away,
blushing.
When had this happened? Zeke had always been the odd one
out. No one really knew why he was there and why he had chose to tag along with
them. He’d turned out to be quite a help though. He saved Akia and Falyn from
Rhys and was also able to help fight off the Force. Whether they wanted to
admit it or not, Zeke was an integral part of the journey.
“You like that boy, don’t you?”
Falyn nearly jumped out of her skin. Looking up, she
realized that Archie was awake. His face was plain, no emotion showing through.
She couldn’t tell if he was trying to have a serious conversation with her or
if he was just teasing her. Either way, she didn’t feel like talking to him.
“I thought it was Sam you were after,” Archie continued.
“I know his name came up a lot back home.”
“Why didn’t you tell me you weren’t my father?” Falyn
asked, not able to hold it in her any longer. Archie raised his eyebrows.
“It’s because of Akia, isn’t it,” he said, completely
ignoring her question. “She’s spending all her time with Sam and you can’t
stand it.”
Falyn pursed her lips. “Sam doesn’t want me. He’s with
Akia now. They’re best friends. He doesn’t need anyone else.”
Archie nodded. “So this is about Akia. You know, I can
get rid of her for you. If you let me go, I’ll arrest her, throw her in prison,
and you can have Sam. And all of this will go away. You can have me back. We
can start a family—a real family. I can convince Professor Lankis to let you
into extra schooling. You deserve to be there. We can get our lives back. Isn’t
that what you want?”
What do I want?
All of that sounded good to Falyn, but she wasn’t sure if she wanted it all.
Not after finding out that Rhys was after her, that she was more important than
she had thought. She couldn’t just drop everything and head back to the life
she had had. Who would defend Akia? Akia could take care of herself, sure, but
Rhys was a lot stronger than she’d admit. Without someone like Falyn to
distract him, he’d kill Akia in five minutes.
No, she couldn’t leave. Akia was part of her new family.
Falyn would make a new life for herself over in Lightport. It was the only
option. Sure she could go home and start again with her father—Archie, with
Archie. But he couldn’t protect her from the Hund Warriors (whoever they were).
She’d be back in the same situation she was in the beginning.
Not to mention, she’d have to go back to school. She
wasn’t sure that she could show her face around Professor Lankis again. She
still thought that Falyn wasn’t ready for extra schooling. Falyn wouldn’t
survive school if she was being held back. And it wouldn’t be the same without
Sam.
Sam. Falyn looked passed the tree at the boys sitting
with Akia. They were still talking, mumbling back and forth about something
that Falyn still couldn’t make out. She wanted to know what they were talking
about, but the only way to do that would be to get close to them. No doubt
they’d give up their conversation if they saw her coming.
“You don’t wanna leave them, do you?” Archie asked. His
voice was anything but caring. In fact, it came out as an accusing question.
“No, I don’t,” Falyn responded, sitting up straight. “They
are my friends.”
Archie raised an eyebrow. “They’ve done nothing but put
you in danger.”
“But they always got me out of it. They even fought you
off.”
Archie shook his head. “I’ve never lost, my dear. This is
all part of the plan. You will never make it over the river.”
Falyn narrowed her eyes. She couldn’t tell if he was
taunting her or if he was being serious. He laughed at the look on her face.
“You don’t believe me, do you? You think I’d lie to you?
Despite what you might believe my dear, I still care about you. I am your
father after all.
“You are not my father!”
“Your parents were nice people, Falyn,” Archie said
quietly. “They cared about you. But their work wasn’t finished back in
Lightport. They had no choice. They had to leave. So they entrusted you in my
care.”
Falyn’s breath came in heavy gasps as she tried to
comprehend what Archie had said. He sounded like he was her father; like he
hadn’t tried to arrest her friends or ordered the Force to attack them all. It
confused her. How could he switch his feelings so quickly?
“They split up you and your sister though. She was sent
to—”
“Sister?” Falyn snapped, cutting him off. “I have no
sister.”
“Oh, but you do. And you’ve been around her for long
enough, you just haven’t noticed.”
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