Book: Secrets of War

Ch. 1 "Rough encounters"

Sounds of small creatures, bustling around and under the dirt and leaves, echoed throughout the forest. Branches creaked from the force of the wind. Leaves blew in circles and twisters as if they were alive as the people who grew them. A tall loan figure made his way sneaking in and around the forest trees. Making sure his every step, the only sound that was heard was his soft even breathing. Using the wind to his advantage he heightened his hearing to alert himself of his surroundings. He kept himself hidden from the forests natural growth, as he waited for his evening meal to come along.

Then he heard it.

There it was, grazing with no care in the world. Soon too become his long awaited food. Xavier had his dinner in sight.

"Come to papa…" Quietly, he held up his bow'n'arrow, steady and level with his target. Xavier was ready to kill for his food when. But he took a moment to admirer its soft features. Then the stag was suddenly startled by something in the forest near by. It pushed hard with its back legs, giving itself a quick kick start as it ran away. It was gone before Xavier could even get a chance to fire at it. Then Xavier moved his attention to what ever startled his food away. As listened carefully he heard the noise that scared the stag. It was the sound of quick and continuous footsteps heading his way. He could distinguish there was about five or six. They weren't that far away. Gradually, it got louder as they got closer. Then the sound of heavy breathing came through the loud thuds of mettle toecap boots hitting the ground. Xavier lifted his bow, ready if they happened to appear. All of a sudden, Xavier threw down his bow'n'arrow as a person hastily ran out from the cover of the bushes, colliding with him. It was a girl. A little put off balance from the impact, he still caught a glimpse of the frightened look in her eyes. They were bright green. Unfortunately the rest of her face was covered. So he took the time look over the rest of her. She wore baggy black trousers that tightened in at the ankles. He didn't know what kind of top she wore because a long black cloak with a hood was obstructing the sight of her top half.

"Let go of me, now!" Xavier didn't notice she was struggling until she was shouting and punching at him. He let go of her wrist. Instantly she pushed herself away from him, a simple wave of her arm created a circle of dust that formed around him. It trapped him for a few moments. He was a little surprised to find out she was an Earth Controller, but he hadn't time to think about that now. So he gathered his will and forced it outwards by simply punching the air in front of him. The dust cleared straight away. This took about a split second to do in which he was still able to grab her arm to stop her from running any further. She struggled again, but this time only for a sort bit. She had stopped to stare at something behind him. Her eyes wide open with fear. Xavier kept a hold of her and looked around to see what frightened her so much. Five of King Demascus's guards stood before him in a line. All of them had a disgusting grin of achievement sprawled on their faces. Well they shouldn't smile yet. Xavier thought to himself. Xavier looked back at the girl then to the guards, wondering why they were after her. He put that question to the back of his mind until later, also. Now he was going to have some fun. The guard in the centre looked at his companions and gave them a little sly smile and laughed to himself before he drew his sword, which gave out a high-pitched ringing noise through out the towering trees.

"Now boy, if you would just kindly move aside, we might'n hurt ye. All we want is de girl". He took a few steps forward before Xavier abruptly stood in front of the girl, blocking the guard's way. They were only a few feet away from each other now. Xavier raised his bow to point at the cloudless sky above him. The guard chuckled a little.

"What you goin te do kid, kill a bird for me, step aside if ye know what's good for ye!" Just as the guard took another step Xavier let the arrow fly into the sky, out of everybody's sight.

"Hahaha, great shot boy, my turn to see what I can kill!" Xavier kept his right arm in the air, clenching his fist. He gathered his control over air in the centre of his body. He pushed it out through his arm to grasp control over the arrow that was still in the air. He pulled his arm down sharply by his side. Suddenly the arrow came shooting back down again, at a phenomenal speed, piercing the guard right through the tip of his skull. Slowly, blood began to drip from his nose and mouth before his body fell limp to the ground in a heap. They all drew their swords ready to charge, but Xavier noticed a little bit of reluctance and alarm in their stare. Xavier looked back at the girl and gave her a little wink. She seemed be too frightened to move or notice. Then Xavier looked back at the guards and smiled.

"Who's next?" He said cheekily. He put out his hand and beckoned them towards him with his hand.

All of the guards hesitated before one of them reluctantly charged head on at Xavier. A little smirk appeared at the side of Xavier's mouth. He gathered his power again, ready to react. Seconds before impact he held out his hands. His palms faced the guard. Xavier's face twitched a bit, as if he were pushing something hard barrier in front of him. He let out a little mumble from the effort of force he was using. As the air found its way out of Xavier's hands. The guard found himself flying into the darkness of the forest. Instantly he was out of sight. Only three of the guards remained. Xavier took one quick glance behind him to see if the girl was still there. She still looked a bit taken aback from what was happening. Xavier saw and heard, by listening with his heightened hearing, the guards trying to think of a way to get rid of him. But they weren't aware that Xavier could hear them perfectly and new what to expect from them. Abruptly, two of the guards started running at Xavier at full speed. At the last minute Xavier flipped over the two guards easily, using his Control over air to give him an extra boost. Just as he was about to land he grabbed one of the guards by the shoulders, placing one of his feet neatly at the centre of his lower back. In one swift movement the guard was thrown into the trunk of a tree. He was immediately knocked out cold. Xavier left no time between the next attack. He thrust both his palms together and pushed them out towards the other guard. Xavier's face began to look slightly contorted as he pushed his will out again. The guard only had time to glance down quickly before he was also being flung into a tree. Xavier was kneeling down on one knee, slightly out of breath from the extensive use of his power. He looked over his shoulder to look at the last guard. The guard was shook uncontrollably as their eyes locked. Xavier gave him a little wave. He gathered one last bit of his power to push himself off with both his legs. Propelling him high into the air. The guard threw his sword to the ground and made a dash in towards the protection of the forest. Xavier was directly over the guard now. Xavier started to spin in mid air, creating a ferocious twister that consumed his whole body and everything around him. He began descending rapidly towards the remaining guard. The closer he got to the ground the harder it became to see.

Dust was being thrown in every direction. The girl fell to the ground from the strength of the wind, covering her eyes from the small dust particles that were blowing towards her. A loud scream came from within the blown covered filth. Unexpectedly, the sound of the twister stopped and the screaming was no more then the sound of small scavengers rustling away in fright. The girl contemplated weather to proceed or not. Gradually the dust began to clear. When it was clear enough for her to see, she saw that the boy was on his hunkers leaning on his toes, staring directly at the guards struggling head. There was no body to be seen. Suddenly realising his body must be buried beneath the ground.

"Why are you after that girl?" Xavier shouted at the guard and pointed directly at her.

She began to panic as she tried to make her body move but her arms and legs didn't seem to want to respond to her brains commands. She desperately didn't want this stranger knowing why the guards were after her. Concentrating, she used what Earth Control she had to create a stake from the rocks beneath the soil. It rose from the ground and pierced the guard's throat, killing him instantly. She felt so relieved. Slowly, she felt her energy leave her. She had run for so long that the sleepiness only started to kick in now. She started to see double as her eyes began to flutter opened and closed. She tried her hardest to keep conscious but her body wouldn't let her. After coming all this way she couldn't give up and get caught now. But her determination was to be denied. As she fell further to the soil she felt soft hands catch her before she came in full contact with solid ground.