I walked away from Annik, trying to find some geographic hint as to where we were
Second Chapter! YAY! Please remember that Alex and Sam have been trapped in Bolvangr for the last 8 years. They don't remember anything about the normal world. And for future reference ALEX IS A BOY!! And a witch… HMMM….
Enjoy. :D
I walked away from Annik, trying to find some geographic hint as to where we were.
I took out my needle-pointer and said the Latin incantation. The blade spun inches above my hand, soon disappearing into a blur of black. It suddenly stopped and words formed in white against the blade. It read: California.
"Can that thing tell you where we are?" Annik asked.
"Yes. It says we are in the Country of California."
"Where is that?"
"Hell if I know. Sam, go see if you can scout the terrain."
Samentos changed from his panther form into a falcon, and flew into the sky, quickly disappearing above the high mountaintops. Alasdair shifted into a parrot, and left too. "Alasdair no!!" Annik double over with pain as Alasdair flew farther, beating her wings harder as she got farther. Not even 20 feet away, she turned and sped into Annik's arms.
I shook my head and waited for Samentos.
We started walking away from the beach, laughing at Annik slipping down the sand dunes.
I looked up at the sun blaring down on us. I realized how hot I was and pulled off my tunic; exposing my rough jagged scars and my hard six pack. I looked over at Annik, who seemed mesmerized by my chest. I smiled at him, and walked away.
"Whoa. Dude. I didn't know you looked this good…"
"Thanks. But it came with a price." I concentrated and removed all the spells covering my scars. My back looked as if a 2 year old had drawn all over it. I replaced the spells, and recovered the scars.
"That's what 6 years at Bolvangr will do to you…"
"What is this Bolvangr place?" He asked me as Alasdiar cawed on his shoulder.
"An evil experimental place. The separate you and your daemons forcibly. And they just had a field day with me and Sam."
"Right because of your ability to separate anyway."
"Unfortunately."
I heard the caw of a golden eagle.
"Sam is coming back…" Annik said.
"No. Sam is a falcon."
Sam flew just above the peaks, examining the rugged terrain. He flew down when he saw a woven basket on one of the cliffs. He landed in the basket, and saw two baby birds. Now who would leave birds on the mountain, in a shabby old wicker basket?
He heard the caw of a eagle and turned around. There was a giant bald eagle flapping her wings right above the nest. Sam shrieked and dove out of the nest. He looked back to see the silhouette of the eagle above, blocking the sun. Sam pulled up, and almost instantly felt the claws of the eagle rake along his left wing. He shifted into a cougar and grabbed the eagle. The eagle started shrieking and frantically flapping her wings to dislodge the cat. Sam hissed in her face, scaring the crap out of the bird.
Sam let go and the eagle flew back to her nest in a hurry. He shifted back into a falcon and slowed his rapid descent. He dove and pulled his wings against his body. He slowly tilted upwards, extending his wings carefully. The wind caught under his wings, and slowed him to an almost stop.
He rode the wind back to Alex and Annik. He relayed the environment, and told the story of the protective bird.
"Can I ask you a question?" Annik said.
"Sure, shoot."
"Not to be mean, or offensive, but aren't witches normally female?"
I stopped walking. He had asked me the single question I couldn't answer.
" I don't know… The scientists at Bolvangr didn't either."
"Oh."
"Can I ask you one now?"
"I guess."
"What did your Father give you whenever you said goodbye?"
Annik reached into his pocket, and pulled out a leather case. Inside the case was a dagger. Annik unsheathed it and I marveled at the spectacle. The dagger was two sided, and about 8 inches long. The handle was rosewood, with golden wires in a design forming what looked like an angel. The blade, dull at first glance, hid an entire spectrum of brilliant colors.
It was the subtle knife.