Sorry for my erratic chapter lengths- It is somewhat necessary due to the changing POVs throughout the story.
P.S- does this chapter make any sense? o.O
Nil
I clambered to my feet, clutching my head with one hand and the other thrown in front of me for balance.
My vision cleared and my eyes fell straight on the dead mage. After a second, I processed the sight and a terrifying rage took hold of me, dying my hair a deep maroon colour.
All I wanted was to run and kick the body of the mage and blame her for the unfairness she had cast upon my family.
The rage subsided as my hair flicked up around me and I caught sight of the colour and realised how out of control I had just become. The colour drained back to its usual jet black before bleaching itself to a pale, sad brown.
My hair sometimes kept me in check with it's unique elvish power. It served as a sort of mood ring by changing colour based on my emotions. Those who knew me well enough could pinpoint my exact disposition based on these colours, which made me a bit of an open book. However it also allowed me to see and control my own erratic moods.
I detangled my feet from Ala's and noticed that she too had woken. Just like last time, I recovered the quickest. Her palms were pressed to her eyes and she was shaking violently.
Water. We needed water.
Glancing around desperately for our packs I saw that the mages burst of power had destroyed our camp.
The ash from the fireplace covered everything, the logs we'd dragged over to form seats were flung to the far side of the clearing and our bags were scattered, their contents everywhere. Worst of all; the only thing that remained of our water skins were a couple of torn hide bags.
The rest of my family were still on the ground, covered in ash and dirt. Marjue was awake, lying on her back and shivering. Tagan was on his elbows and knees clutching his head, but Axenn was sitting up and running his hands through his hair in frustration.
With a small choked cry I stumbled over to him, the need for water forgotten. I nearly tripped as my legs gave way to motherly worry and he knelt to grab my elbows and steady me. His eyes were clear, but his brow was pulled into a knot, similar to his father's, in worry.
I pulled him into a tight hug, pleased just to be able to touch him after what had happened last time I'd seen this kind of dark magic.
I did not know yet what this mage's curse entailed, but to be able to stay with my family was already a blessing. Last time, when Ala, Tagan and I had been cursed by the mage of our own clan, the curse had actually separated us physically. The mere sight of one and other would literally blast us apart. I was warily glad not to have to go through that again.
I pulled out of the hug and clasped Axenn's hands. As I gave them a squeeze, he wrenched his hand from mine with a gasp and studied his palm.
On the fleshy pad between the wrist and the thumb was a new tattoo- a curse mark. I used to bear them all over my body. Tagan had as well, but Ala, being human, has escaped that small reminder of our curse though she had still been affected.
The tattoo on Axenn's palm resembled his elemental tattoo which had been applied by Tagan when he was only a few days old. But this had a dark feel to it, the lines of this tattoo not exactly matching his beloved Mist tattoo.
One of the extra lines; a thick line with black thorns jutting out from every angle, was wrapped around the original mark. It seemed to have life and magic of it's own, constantly twisting and winding through the lines of the mist tattoo. The surface of this line also differed from the others because whilst the mist tattoo was just a pigment, there were lively shadows and highlights played across the new line's surface.
I shuddered involuntarily, and my own palm tingled. I did not have to look down to know that I bore a similar mark to my son. But of course I did look.
And there it was- my familiar element tattoo- my personalised symbol of air- tainted with the same demonic thorny line.
My skin crawled and I felt unclean. I wanted nothing more than to scrub the mark from my skin but I already knew it would do no good. I looked back at Axenn, who was still scrutinising his palm with a look of calm hatred.
As elves, our element was among our most prized possessions and to see it defaced like this and know what it meant was agonising. I glanced up again. Tagan was studying his own palm, tracing the lines with his finger and flinching slightly as it stung him as Axenn's had. Marjue was sitting, clutching her head with her hand and staring down at her own new tattoo. Her 'mood ring' eyes were an extremely pale sickly brown colour, flecked with the grey that indicated sadness in my daughter.
I squeezed Axenn's shoulder before hauling myself to my feet to walk over and hug Marjue. She collapsed into my arms and began to sob. I looked up at Tagan, who was watching Mari with pity.
As I continued to watch, Tagan rose to his feet, his expression unreadable. Then, he did something I hadn't seen him do since he began studying at the jedi temple; he lost it.
He began to yell and kick up the dust around him, swinging his fists at the air, his ears flat on his head lip curled up over his teeth. His irises were dark and dangerous.
The attack only lasted for a second before he stopped still and let his snarl release. His eyes lightened to their normal colour and, without a word, he walked away from our group to the edge of the forest where he sat to meditate over the loss of control he'd just experienced.
Meanwhile, I began to tidy up the camp.
I replaced the logs and rebuilt the fire. It was too late in the day now to move on; wherever we would head now. We had no guarentee that we would be able to find another suitable place to camp before dark fell.
Plus, there was a new, more relieving sensation coming from the trees. Our clan guardian- the animal species tied to each individual clan- was nearby.
When Tagan returned he was calm and in control, but his disappointment in himself was still clear in his eyes. Everyone had stopped shaking, and all our fevers had broken, but were were still weak, scared and morose.
Axenn and Mari sat together, comforting each other beside Ala, who was furioulsy prodding the fire. Her anger was causing what small connection she had to her element- fire- to flare, and the sparks from the fire were dancing around her like angry bees.
"What are we going to do?" I broke the silence that had hung since morning. No-one answered for a while, as Tagan's eyes flickered in thought.
"We have to go to trout clan. Take the mage's clan skin back to her people." He answered finally. None of us wanted to, but it was the proper thing to do. But there was still an element of danger present for us too...
"We're going to have to..." I couldn't finish. I had seen and done a lot of gruesome things in my life- a job as a 'ghost' hunter was not a clean one- but this was not something I ever expected I'd have to do.
"...Take the exile tattoo with us." Tagan finished for me. He looked as queasy about it as I did.
"What?" Mari said, understanding and nausea hitting her.
"We have to take the skin with the tattoo on it with us- or else we'll be killed. We can't just murder their mage without reason." Tagan explained to my bewildered daughter.
"Surely our turning up at the clan will be evidence enough that we are innocent?" Ala interjected.
"Because you've never lied, have you Ala Blackstone?" Tagan smiled at his sister by way of answer.
"Either way, it is a small price to pay. Better safe than sorry." I finally said deciding that I'd rather cut the forhead off a dead woman than take my chances with the reputably capricious moods of the trout people.
"You're right." Said Ala. "Let's just do it." And gritting her teeth, she did- returning with a square of skin and the shred of the mage's tunic that bore her clan skin- a strip of pink and gold spotty scales. She quickly wrapped both in a torn scrap of her broken waterskin. She shoved the package deep onto her pack and went to rinse her hands in the river.
Dinner was a forced affair that night- nobody had any appetite to boast of. We sat around the fire nibbling on strips of roasted venison in silence. There was nothing left to say.
We left the dead mage where she was, having taken back Axenn's knife and washed it clean of her blood. We hoped our clan guardian would take care of her body while we slept.
The soulful, lyrical howls in the nearby trees told us that we wouldn't haved to wait all that long.
The wolves would guard us tonight.