When Nego woke up, Tagu was lying down next to him. Hazel was looking at the sky through the mouth of the cave. 'Silver Warrior, my story makes yours look like a paradise,' she said softly.
She traced her hand over the egret. The image of Jun was still fresh in Nego's mind. A tall bird with white plumage, long, black skinny legs, three dexterous toes, grey feathers around the edges of its wings and a grey plume on its head.
Nego unconsciously reached for Tagu. The buffalo sighed as he scratched the part between his horns. Hazel rubbed the dice with her fingers. The drawings on the cave were very pretty. There was an osprey on one wall and a tree on the other with fluffy clouds and many patterns.
'The dice is a gift from my sister,' she said, reading his mind. 'You saw my childhood?' Nego asked. Hazel smiled faintly. 'You were very brave,' she said.
'Jun was a very loyal bird,' Hazel said while closing her eyes. 'He was slightly taller than my waist, a bit clumsy, but he was very clever and determined.' Nego gulped. The thought of being separated from Tagu seemed unthinkable.
'Matrika was a star who owed me a favor. She helped ease my heartbreak for a little while, assure me that Jun would want me to be healthy when I wouldn't dare to sleep or eat,' she let a grey feather spin in her hand.
'Jun is somewhere with Dious, and I worry about him so much.' The pain was evident in her voice during the last part. Stars glittered across the sky, and Nego thought of how young Hazel had been when she had been separated from her spirit animal.
A paragraph from the book came to his mind. The worst bonding sickness is the one of being taken away from your spirit animal. It had been a long time since he read the book. 'The Shadows will have assumed I'm searching the valley late in the night for the plants and herbs that only come out during a specific time.'
Hazel looked at the forest and leaned against the drawing of the egret. Tagu looked at the forest too, and Nego knew something was up. Nego didn't need to tell Hazel, because she ran out of the cave and jumped off the mountain.
She slid down it, using her boomerang she kept in her belt to good use. She used it as leverage to jump from ledge to ledge. The path was too long. Nego had no idea how to jump off mountains. Luckily, Tagu picked him up using his horns and Nego slid onto his back.
Tagu accelerated so fast that Nego thought they would die. Hazel had reached the bottom of the mountain, and she was running so swiftly that she was just a few paces behind. 'Gnikcatta si Suoid!' (Dious is attacking spelled backwards) Hazel yelled before they reached the Heart of the Stones.
The shadows all got up and ran across the forest. Nego gulped and looked at the army, Tagu stood next to him. 'I'll negotiate with Dious,' Hazel said. The Shadows all looked at her. 'Where's Matrika?' one asked. Hazel looked at Nego.
'He will tell you the story,' she said, pointing at him. Amidst the crowd of Shadows gathering around him, Hazel ran off. Nego explained the whole story in the shortest way possible, all while watching Hazel walk towards the enemy.
Hazel walked towards Dious very slowly, which meant by the time he had finished, she had just begun talking. Nego concentrated. Tagu, please, I've never asked for much.
In an instant, his vision sharpened, his hearing cleared, and it felt like he was watching the scene right in front of him. 'Hello, egret girl,' Dious said in a mocking tone. Behind him, his armies laughed.
'Leave my army alone, Dious. Leave the forest alone. I banded them together, I'm the one you want. Don't kill them, even if they destroyed most of your supplies, we left your livestock alone,' Hazel said. 'And, I want Jun back.' Her voice was the one that people use when they can't show fear.
'You're right. I only want you. Still, your Shadows will fire at me if they see me take you. Also, I want the boy with the buffalo.' 'Don't drag Nego into this,' she hissed. 'I'm afraid if I don't have him … well, I prepared the catapults.'
'Don't fire,' Nego said to the Shadows before running towards them. Dious is sludge, he thought. Tagu followed him. 'Take me and spare her,' he yelped. Dious smiled wickedly. 'Love, how sweet. Still, I have what I want.' Tagu gave a loud rumble as a cougar dug into his flesh.
Dious grabbed them both, and he had hands of iron. 'Let the dogs out,' he commanded. 'No!' Hazel cried. Large dogs, each as big as a wolf with fearsome jaws and muscular bodies leaped out behind the ranks. Snarling and teeth bared, the Shadows ran.
Catapults were fired, and Hazel let out a guttural cry. She sank to her knees, but Dious made her watch. 'Egret girl, war is merciless, war is destruction, war is death and I love it,' Nego bit Dious's hand, but he took it without flinching.
'My dear boy, nothing much can hurt me, but punk, count your lucky stars.' Dious squeezed Nego's shoulder so hard, that Nego felt immense pain in his arm. Tagu gave a sharp 'moo-oo!' Nego gritted his teeth as the pain of his dislocated arm reached its peak.
A Meridious shackled Hazel's wrists and dragged her across the ground. 'Turn back, camp at the shore. We set sail in five days.' Nego looked behind him.
The forest was dead.
