Chapter 15

Disappearance

When the gust became more violent and began to carry the sparks farther away, Adam ended the spell to the ball of fire, causing it to flash in a shower of sparks. With the fire extinguished, he had difficulty seeing; the countryside had become a ghost of itself, full of writhing shadows, indistinct shapes, and silvery leaves.

Adam made as if to sit, then stopped in a half crouch, arms outstretched for balance, his expression alert. Trey felt it as well: the air prickled and hummed, as if a bolt of lightning were about to strike. The hair on the back of his neck stood and waved freely in the wind.

"What is it?" Trey asked.

"We are being watched, but by what I don't know. Whatever happens, don't use magic or you may get us killed." Said Adam.

Jacob seemed shocked by that statement, he asked, "He knows how to use magic too?"

"Somewhat." Replied Trey.

"Shh." Quieted Adam, looking around the perimeter.

In the distance, a cluster of multicolored lights appeared. They darted toward the camp, flying low to the ground. As they drew near Adam saw that the lights were constantly changing in size- ranging from an orb no larger than a pearl to one several feet in diameter-and that their colors also varied, cycling through the many colors of the rainbow. A crackling nimbus surrounded each orb, a halo of liquid tendrils that whipped and lashed. The lights moved so fast, he could not determine exactly how many there were, but he guessed it was about two dozen.

The lights hurtled onto the sandstone slab and formed a swirling wall of color around them. The speed in which they spun, combined with the barrage of pulsing colors, made Adam dizzy. He put his hand on the sandstone shelf to steady himself. The humming was so loud that his teeth began to vibrate against one another. He tasted metal, and his hair stood on end.

A single orb dethatched itself from the wall and hung in front of Adam at eye level. It expanded and shrank like a throbbing heart, alternating between gold to red with flashes of blinding white. Adam extended his hand to the orb, cautious if it should attack. To his surprise he encountered resistance, the orb was incorporeal, but it pushed against his hand like a swift stream of water might. With effort, he reached across the last few inches and came into contact with the center of the creatures being.

Bluish rays shot out from between Adam's palm and the surface of the orb, a dazzling, fanlike display that overwhelmed the light from the other orbs and bleached everything a pale blue white. Adam shouted in pain as the light stabbed into his eyes, and he ducked his head, squinting. Then something inside the orb and a presence entered his mind, brushing aside his mental defenses as if they were a pile of autumn leaves. Suddenly with a flash of pure energy the creature withdrew from his mind. The contact between them broke like a twisted cable under pressure. The panoply of rays outlining Adam's hand faded into oblivion, leaving behind lurid pink after images streaked across his field of vision.

The orb shrank to the size of an apple and then rejoined its companions in the swirling vortex of light that circled them. The humming grew to an unbearable pitch, and then the vortex exploded outward as the blazing orbs scattered in all directions. The wind subsided to a gentle breeze as the lights faded and the shelf of sandstone returned to normal. But what wasn't normal was that one less person wasn't there… Adam.

…

Austin walked out of his apartment for the first time within a week. The healers had said that his legs and arms were healed enough to be of use now. The dried, scabby, and red swollen skin had decreased in strength and gradually shifted into a smooth peachy surface, but his arms and legs were still covered in bandages to protect the sensitive carapace. The sun's glare hurt his eyes as he stepped onto the porch of his apartment. The sky was new and crispy blue with specks of white clouds here and there. The wind seemed to have a tinge of happiness, in which Austin felt like the wind too for Nolan, Adam, Trey, and Connor, who Austin had not met with yet, would be returning soon.

With the morning breeze, Austin appeared to glide down the wooden planks that were stairs, and across the street hidden between the bulky buildings. Each street had strands of rope that hung limply from one building to the other on the opposite side, with wet clothes hanging from them. People went about their business, selling, trading, or buying in the markets that dotted the city. To Austin's surprise, Aphelion was out ranting about her prophecies drawing crowds of enormous sizes. But what was odd was that she was out again, usually she would only come out of her, somewhat, strange house on the southern side of the city, once a month. And its only been a week since she was last out.

Austin crept closer to the witch to hear what she was speaking on. Her raspy voice bellowed over the shouting crowd, surprisingly loud compared to the group of people surrounding her. "This city, Xeon, will soon fall within the next decade! Many heroes will be lost, even our greatest warriors! But low and behold, a Champion will rise out of the ashes of the many, leading an exalted army from the lands beyond! And with it they shall conquer the evil laboring of the empire's king, Aodin, and his pet sorcerer, Morbid, and the accursed lizard he welds!" She shouted, waving her fist in the air as if she were punching imaginary foes.

The company of men and women shouted in approval as she finished her prophecy, but what Austin didn't understand was how the city of Xeon would fall. But if a war was underway, then they had to prepare quickly if they had hope of saving their city.

Just when it seemed that Aphelion was about to leave, the crowd grew larger and she continued speaking; "But when all is said and done, the help of the mysterious force will turn against us and take those in the war effort to a world unknown, the same but different!" Then in a quieter tone she said, "And all will be lost in an endless dark void, awaiting a death that quickly approaches."

The semi-circle of townsmen grew deathly quiet, sensing that this news was one not to celebrate, but to fear, a toll on those who helped fight for the freedom of their land. Austin stopped his slow trot and remained there, staring into the emptiness within the crown that besieged the witch. Then with a voice no louder than the slightest whisper, Aphelion said, "A scar across the sky." Then with a snap of her head, she looked up and strode away from the spectators and disappeared amidst the depths of the market area.

The crowd expeditiously dispersed mixing among one another. Austin took one last glance at the spot Aphelion had stood minutes before, and then turned and left, heading towards the northern gate, where Nolan was said to return to.

Within the span of thirty minutes, Austin had traveled half the length of Xeon and neared the north gate where Christopher and a small group of soldiers stood, the portcullis razed up into the wall, awaiting the return of the heroes, who fought for the safety of the citizens of Garner. Austin took this as a moment to survey his surroundings. A single, narrow dirt road spiraled over the distant hills that rolled on the horizon. Many plants grew there, those which ranged from massive magnolias to the smaller ornamental trees. Azaleas and camellias are the synonyms of the South, but are by no means the only shrubs that grew there. Burning Bushes, Hydrangeas, Mountain Laurels, and Beauty Bushes were several of many shrubs that grew in the vast expanse of rolling hills. As for the trees; Chaste Trees, Dogwoods, Fringe Trees, and Saw Tooth Oaks, the towering trees resided farther down the road.

Even as Austin examined the land he could see a group of horsemen, trailed by a cloud of orange dust filling the air behind them, running down the road. The men seemed to hurry in the sight of the city, forcing the horses to their limits, the dirt billowing at the heels of the steeds. As the miles closed up between them Austin could make out the Xeon insignia that was stitched in the side of each saddle. As the travelers got closer Austin could clearly see nine men and ten horses.

Nine men and ten horses, He thought, where is the tenth person? His thoughts stopped abruptly as the horsemen pulled in on their reigns, causing neighs of restraint from the horses.

"Austin, glad to see that your arms have healed." Said Nolan, throwing his reigns to a soldier and then hopping off of Barok and walked up to Austin and placing his hands on his shoulders.

Connor and Trey joined Nolan at Austin's side. The remaining six men left and followed the soldiers who had accompanied Christopher to the gate. Nolan had several cuts along his arms and a large gash on his exposed chest, now covered by bloody rags. His eyes seemed dark and hallow, due to weariness.

Trey's axe was coated in gore and dirt, along with his arms. Blood splattered his face and his hair was slick with blood and grim. His armor was dented in several places, and a bloody, gaping hole resided in his breastplate.

Connor was most the same, his chiseled features were more hardened than the day Austin chased him into the burning building. Blood, dirt, and ash coated his arms, face and hair in heavy layers. But the most discriminating feature was the laceration on his left calf, which forced him to limp when he walked; blood seeped from it even though a rag was firmly tied around it. Austin was sure that the wound would leave a scar, and he was more sure that it would get infected if not quickly treated.

"Where is Adam? He was with you when you left, right?" Austin asked, after looking around their group for any sign of Adam. Suddenly the witch's prophesy for Adam became clear:

A battle soon approaches, where you will be no more,

One that will guide you on an unfortunate path.

Nolan looked to the ground as if he didn't fully understand the concept. He speedily left the area, escorted by Christopher. Trey stepped up, replacing Nolan, and said, "He… uh, disappeared w-while we were preparing an attack on the Aroughians. A flash of light and he was gone."

Austin looked to Connor, who nodded his encouragement to Treys words. "Tell me what happened." Austin instructed.

Trey nodded, "Thought you might say that. We'll dine at Shirley's Tavern and… I'll tell you what happened."

So together they trudged off towards the city, Trey and Connor handing their reigns to a groom as they passed the gates, which were lowered as they progressed. The city seemed asleep for some strange reason; usually people are flooding the streets at this period of day. But they continued until a low box-shaped building came into view. A triangular roof topped the wooden walls inlaid with foggy, smeared windows with criss-crossing wires that embedded the glass. A single chimney stuck out of the tiled roof, misshaped and irregular, but still standing and billowing black smoke that smudged the pristine sky with a cloud of imperfection.

They walked up a set of stairs and passed under a door frame with a sign hanging helplessly over the porch displaying an epitome of a keg with white foam overflowing the barrel. Trey opened the door, and kindly let Austin and Connor enter before him.

The inside of the tavern, unlike the city streets, bustled with activity, from waitresses zigzagging their way in between grown men who drank enormous quantities of mead, to the musicians playing reeds and bagpipes off to the corner of the room. This private-get-away smelled strongly of sweat and old mold, for some reason, thought Austin, all these smells smell like the color brown. The unusual thought made him let out a muffled laugh, which was lost in the thundering bawl of sound that protruded from the men.

Connor's face instantly went from delight to disgust as he saw the poorly kept area. "Are you sure you want to eat here?" He snorted as a wave of smoke flushed into his nostrils.

Trey shook his head, "No." Was his only reply. Trey shrugged, the tavern wasn't normally like this, conventionally only three people ever occupied the bar a day, not this crowd of men. But it was understandable for after a battle soldiers would gather in bars and drink away the ghosts of their now dead enemies for weeks on end.

"Perhaps one would like to eat in a more quiet and… more," Austin wrinkled his nose, "Safe place, don't you think?"

Trey nodded, "I do think, and think goodness I do or else we will be eating here, sooo… on that account, let's go."

They quickly turned and left, leaving behind no evidence that they ever existed…

It was another hour before they found a reasonable place to eat, by then the sun had set and any drunk men left to find somewhere else to drink or to sleep in the barns, as was accustomed for they feared returning to their wives, light headed and unable to stand. But the food was good and not bitter. And once they had their fill Trey sat back and, picking the food stuck between his teeth with the point of a knife, he retold the events that transpired the last week. He told of their travel down the long, endless road, and Nolan's story, to their journey through the relentless forest. Soon he reached the part where they finally arrived at Garner and the attack that occurred that night, whereupon Austin asked, "Is that how you all got badly injured?"

Trey seemed to have forgot about his injuries, he looked down at his blood splattered armor and the hole in his breastplate. "Oh, no. we got these later on, just Shh." And then he continued to where Adam suggested leaving Garner and strike on the enemy, and then how Adam vanished in a flash of light and the orbs that surrounded them. Then to their final battle with the Aroughians and how they easily defeated them without trouble. When his story was over Austin remained, silently nodding.

"Well, we may never know what happened to Adam. If he died, then all we can do is move on for grieving will not make him come back." Said Austin, soon he broke into tears for their lost Comrade, who was like a brother to them, and a leader to all who gazed upon him. Suddenly memories flashed into his mind, the first time they met, the first battle they fought together, to, not too long ago, just before Adam was captured, when he saved Austin from an enemy magician who nearly killed him. The music played by youths in the tavern, lights lit by candles, and the faces of his friends faded as darkness enveloped him in its weary grip.