Back on the streets they went. The sun was completely down by this point. Kendra had Owen check his watch. It was already almost nine o'clock.
"What happened back in there?" Sarah questioned, "Are you okay?"
"That was crazy insane," Owen added, "Like it looked like a unicorn horn one second and the next it was a huge freaking sword!"
She sighed, "I have no clue. Before Bracken went missing this is how we communicated. We just heard each other's thoughts and when one of us called the other, it was kind of this energetic spark that alerted us. I don't know, it's hard to explain. Anyway, that thing has been dead for months. No sort of energy. It could have been an antique you found at the thrift store. Until now, I guess. But I tried in the shop, and after it turned into the sword, it felt just the same as it did before. Lifeless."
It was getting to be really dark outside, and Kendra was beginning to lose her sense of direction. She rubbed her eyes, her hand hurt. She was starting to think they were better off going back to the hotel and resting and going to the potions master tomorrow. She was just about to say something,but Owen spoke first.
"I think that entire ordeal was much more than anyone was anticipating," he said, "I think we'd be much better off going back to the hotel and sleeping this off. Gavin did say we shouldn't stay out too late."
Sarah yawned and stretched her arms, "I second that motion."
Kendra agreed, "I think that's for the best."
They turned around and tried to retrace their steps back to the hotel as accurately as they could. Kendra was a lot more alert on the way back than she had been earlier in the evening. Anything could pop out of them at night. The risk factor had risen significantly.
Kendra then remembered Gavin had asked them to bring him back some food. She kept her eyes open for a few blocks but every restaurant seemed to be closed. They kept on walking and in the distance she saw the bright neon lights of an 'M'. She smirked. He did say he would eat anything. She couldn't help if McDonalds was the only place that was open.
As they approached the fast food joint she stopped her friends. "I'm gonna run in and grab something for Gavin. I'll be right back"
She went inside, having absolutely no idea what he liked or what he wanted. She didn't spend much time on it. She ordered the opposite of what she liked hoping to mess with him a little. She was sure it wasn't going to work. She was just messing around.
She exited the establishment with her food. Their hotel was only a few minutes away from there. She could feel exhaustion continuing to creep up on her. Kendra couldn't wait to fall into oblivion that sleep graciously granted.
"Home sweet home," Sarah commented as they approached the door. Kendra pulled out the room key and swiped it along the lock. A familiar sounding 'pop' noise followed and she turned the handle on the door. "I don't think I could've stayed out any later."
Opening the door, the three of them were greeted with the sight of Gavin laying on top of his map, dead asleep with a little drool coming out of his mouth.
Kendra couldn't hold in her smile, " Some evil he is."
They quietly filed into the room, Kendra immediately walking over to where Gavin was asleep at the desk. She knelt beside him and placed a hand on his back. His eyes lifted open as he stirred.
"Hungry?"
He slowly sat up and with feline grace arched his back in a stretch. He glanced at her warily as though he was not fully awake yet.
"What did you get?" He asked hoarsely.
She held up the bag with a smirk on her face. His eyes instantly lit up.
"Hell yes!"
He grabbed the bag from her hands and dug inside. Within seconds a handful of fries were in his mouth and devoured. Kendra didn't appreciate that her joke had backfired. She should have known he'd like greasy fast food more than any actual real food.
Food was being shoved in his mouth at a rapid pace. All she could do was sit there and watch in amazement. It only took about three minutes for the contents of the bag to completely disappear.
After his final swallow she chuckled, "You good there?"
"That was so good. Exactly what I was in the mood for."
"Do you even know what you just ate?" Owen piped in. "You inhaled that man."
"What can I say, I've got talent."
Sarah joined in with a smile from where she had settled herself on the couch. "Boy oh boy do we have a story for you."
Gavin's smile somewhat faded, Kendra assumed just from the unknown. He looked at her and she feigned a half smile hopefully to offer some reassurance.
"We didn't make it to the potions master. It was getting late and things got intense for a minute."
"That's fine. We can go tomorrow. What happened," his eyes rested on her wrapped hand, "Were you attacked?"
"Not exactly," Owen said.
"Not at all," Kendra corrected, "This was my fault."
"Okay, stop talking cryptically and just tell me what happened."
She let Sarah take the lead. The girl's spirits were continuing to go. Kendra couldn't help but reflect on how Sarah had blindly followed her. If Kendra has been in the girl's shoes she probably would have called her crazy and run away as fast as she could. Sarah hardly had any proof that what Kendra was saying was true, at least at the moment. The horn turning into that sword definitely helped, but before that moment there wasn't much there.
When it was her turn to speak, Kendra felt herself choke on words. "Uh, I don't really know. His horn started glowing and then I grabbed onto it and when it started burning I didn't let go." She reached into her backpack, " and now it's just as silent as before. Just a sword."
Gavin pursed his lips. Kendra couldn't get a read on his face. She wouldn't know what she would think if she was in his situation. It was at least three minutes of silence before Gavin spoke again.
"He's trying to communicate with you. To tell you something," his voice drifted off quietly and he began mumbling under his breath, "which doesn't make any sense because he has no idea that she's going after him."
"Maybe he just wanted me to know he was still alive?"
"Maybe he can hear you when you talk to him, but he can't communicate back."
Her heart stopped.
She didn't know if she wanted that to be true or not.
Kendra hadn't considered that possibility. Her first reaction was an overwhelming amount of guilt. Once it was clear the horn was silent she hadn't really tried to talk to it much, only to communicate her own sad,helpless, thoughts.
Within an instant a thought snapped into her head.
This entire mission had been selfishly about her.
The wind was knocked out of her. Her hand flew to her heart.
Sure, she couldn't stop thinking about Bracken and the condition he was in.
But mostly, she could only think about how much she missed him and how much she wanted to escape from Wyrmroost. Escape what she had become.
She hadn't thought about her family, the damage that could come to them, or the people in her company. What could possibly happen to Sarah, Owen, and even Gavin.
Who was she?
Gavin clearly noticed what that thought did to her and slowly dropped down to her level, thankfully not enticing any more panic.
"Hey, it's just a possibility. No need to freak out."
Her heart continued to beat rapidly. She tried to slow it down by breathing in and out but it wasn't working. Gavin placed a hand on her shoulder and she latched onto it.
Sarah and Owen stood back, not quite sure what to do with themselves.
"I-I-I," she tried to get out.
"Just take your time Kendra."
It took her a few more minutes but she got her composure.
"I need to call my family."
Gavin gently debated with her for a few minutes. He knew she was the one in charge. That this was her mission. And he gave in. She hadn't told him why. She didn't really know what she was going to say anyway.
Sarah stood in the corner uncomfortably, Owen whispering reassurance in her ears. Kendra wished she could get the words out to say that she wasn't incriminating the girl. That she had faith that if she just explained herself things would be better. That's they'd stop chasing her. That she could live with herself a little more once she faced this.
Gavin had done his best to secure a phone that couldn't be tracked. He had gone down to the lobby and pay per minute plastic phone they luckily sold. Even in her moment of anxiety, Kendra still wondered where he was getting all the money.
She had moved to the edge of one of the beds and as Gavin came back up from the library he sat beside her.
"You know a number to call?"
She nodded her head.
"Alright, I hope you know what you're doing."
"Me too," she whispered.
She dialed the number. Each beep of the phone filled the silent room with a tension of the unknown.
It had been a long day for everyone in the room. By that point, Kendra was sure they were begging for it to be over.
She pressed the call button.
It rang a few times.
Scattering static and then
"Hello?"
It was Warren's voice.
She choked out a sob.
"I'm so sorry."
"Kendra?"
"So so so so sorry."
"Hey-hey-hey, what's going on? Are you in trouble?"
"No," she sniffed, "I'm just an asshole."
She could tell he tried not to laugh. "I'm not hurt. Neither is the knight we sent to find you in Arizona."
She was silent. She hadn't really even considered how she'd react if someone had become hurt because of her.
She didn't respond to him.
"Where are you Ken?"
Again, silence.
"I'm not going to come after you. I'm not going to tell anyone where you are. We all decided it was best to let you be."
"I don't believe you," she said slowly.
"I know you don't," he sighed, "but it's the truth."
"Maybe in finding him I'll fix this entire situation."
"That isn't your responsibility," his voice rose slightly, "This isn't all on you. I'm sorry you feel like we didn't prioritize your needs before and that all of this happened. Just come home before you put yourself in anymore danger!"
"This is on me because I caused this! When I left I caused so many issues! I was selfish and I need to fix this!"
"Kendra. You do what you need to do and then come home. Just promise me you'll come home."
"Where is home? I don't know anymore."
"You know," he began slowly, "I know you do. You know it's where your family is."
"My family was at Wyrmroost. That was not my home."
"Maybe not. But maybe you were also pushing us away. Maybe you still are."
"Can I talk to Seth?"
"Kendra-"
"Can I talk to Seth?" She repeated.
Warren sighed, "I don't know if that is such a good idea."
"Why not?" He voice grew darker in tone.
"I don't want him to get any ideas. Like thinking it's okay to come after you."
Kendra guesses that was a valid reason. It didn't take the ache away of not hearing her brothers voice. Telling him herself she was sorry. Explaining herself to him. But Seth did a lot of things in haste and she didn't want to put him at risk by giving him any ideas.
"Tell everyone I'm sorry and that I hope they can forgive me."
"Do you want to talk to them?"
"Just Mom."
"Alright. I'll go find her. She might freak out. Just be prepared."
She heard shuffling on the other end of the phone as Warren got up from whatever space he had been occupying and began to move around.
"Before I let you go Ken, I just want you to know how much I love you."
Her heart dropped, " I know."
"Do you?"
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath out. She could feel the tears swelling in her eyes, " I'm just not in my right mind right now."
His voice lowered into a gentle whisper, "I know."
They didn't say anything else for a good few minutes as the shuffling continued. The only sound over the phone was their breathing in and out. Hers often time catching on itself. Kendra was again made aware of her surroundings as she felt a hand placed on her shoulder. She was brought in reality as she looked next to her and saw Gavin glancing at her with a worried expression. She shook her head and offered him a small smile, indicating to him that the conversation was not over.
"Kendra, I'm handing you over to your mom now. I love you."
"I love you too," she whispered.
The phone crackled as it shifted users.
And instantly loud sobbing on the other end.
"Kendra! Kendra! Is that you my baby?"
"Yes, Mom. It's me," she croaked.
"Where are you? Why did you do this to me? Oh god, Kendra I'm so worried about you!"
"I'm fine, Mom. Really," she didn't know why she had more faith in herself that she'd be able to keep it together. She was doing anything but at the moment.
"Don't pull that bull crap with me! You are clearly not fine! If you were fine you'd be here with your family where you belong. Instead- Instead," she choked on a loud sob, "instead you ran away."
"I'm sorry."
"Come back! Come back right now, do you hear me! Come back now!"
"I'm sorry Mom. But I just can't!"
"You can but you won't!" her mother practically screamed.
"I'm sorry!"
"You are selfish! You are only thinking of yourself!"
"I'm sorry!"
"Can't you say anything else for yourself?"
"I'm sorry."
She broke down into tears and hung up.
The phone was bouncing off the wall a moment later, shattering.
Gavin, Sarah, and Owen didn't have anywhere to hide. They were going to see her fall apart.
She let out a whimperish sort of scream. She couldn't quite decide if she was sad or angry.
"That was a mistake." The only words she could let out to provide her friends some sort of explanation to what had gone on.
"Are they coming for us," Sarah whispered.
"No," she said darkly, "They aren't."
Out of the corner of her eye she could visibly see Sarah sag with relief, leaning into Owen for support.
Selfish
Selfish for not telling the girl what her plan was sooner. For letting her worry during the minutes she had spent on the phone.
"Do you want to talk about it," Gavin carefully pushed. Kendra assumed he was trying to to poke the bear.
"No, we should all just go to sleep."
"I agree," Owen piped.
They all scattered. Trying their best to deintensify the situation.
Owen made way to the little couch pushed into the corner of the hotel room. Sarah has her eyes on one of the queen beds. Kendra and Gavin seemed at a standstill for the remaining bed in the room.
"You take the bed," Kendra mumbled. "You were dead asleep when we came in. You need the rest."
"Absolutely not. I'll take the floor. This will be comfortable compared to some of the places I've slept."
She sighed," Take the bed."
"No."
She gave him an intense glare and to her frustration, it caused him to chuckle.
"I will not take the bed, Kendra,"
"Oh my lord," Owen groaned, "One if you please just give in. I'm exhausted!"
They stared at each other.
Kendra gave up, "It's a queen. Let's just share. We can make a pillow fort in the middle so we don't have to touch."
He looked shocked at the idea.
"What?" she questioned.
"Nothing- I just-um-"
"It's just a bed," she yawned.
She was kidding herself. It wasn't just a bed. She'd never shared a bed with a boy that wasn't Seth before. Never in a million years would it had crossed her mind she'd offer to share a bed with Gavin.
"Okay. If you're sure."
She shrugged.
They finished getting themselves ready. Kendra grabbed her bag and put it next to her night stand. She got under the covers while Gavin finished up in the bathroom.
She pulled out the horn turned sword and held it to her chest.
Bracken
Again, no response.
Bracken, if you can hear me I'm sorry.
Nothing
I was selfish. I know I was. Am. But I can't turn back now. It's too late. I have to finish what I started. Maybe along the way I'll find the key to fix everything. And if I can't, well, then, maybe we can figure that out together.
She felt the weight on the bed shift as Gavin got into the bed. As he got under the covers his foot brushed hers. They both jerked away. Neither of them made a comment.
She felt her eyes dropping. The pillow wall made it easier to ignore the dragon on the other side. She held the sword as she began to drift off to sleep.
Goodnight.
With that last thought, she let herself drift off into the nothingness that sleep provides.
As her body completely relaxed her grip loosened on the pearly sword and it silently fell out of her grasp and tumbled to the floor. Not even a thunk was heard.
Hope you enjoyed :)
