Chapter 32

Chapter Thirty-Two

We all froze and stared at the entrance. Raines took up his responsibility and strolled over to the door where he peeked through the peephole. He studied the other side for a moment before he grasped the handle and opened the door.

Two shadowy figures were revealed to us, their silhouettes stark outlines in front of the starry sky.

Enna straightened before she marched toward them. “You fools! What took you?”

“What took us?” Blake countered as the men stepped into the light, revealing themselves to be Enna’s partners. “Were we supposed to be here?”

She reached them and waved her hand in the air. “Didn’t you see the huge column of fire hours ago?”

Saber bobbed his head. “We saw it but we figured the dragons were having some fun with each other.”

Enna rolled her eyes. “That was a signal for you two to return!”

Blake scratched the top of his head. “We thought that bright light a while back was the signal.”

“Besides, we needed to come back and tell you we have the girl,” Saber added.

Enna put her hands on her hips and inspected the pair. “Then where is she?”

“We don’t have her with us but we have her in our sights and know where she’s been staying,” Blake informed us.

“Then why have you not caught her yet?” Ware questioned them.

Saber frowned at him. “Because it isn’t easy sneaking up on her. She’s got good hearing and a good nose, too. We tried following her once and she gave us the slip when she heard our feet.”

Enna slapped his arm. “Then don’t let her hear you, you idiot!”

He rubbed his limb and glared at her. “I told you, it isn’t easy! She has good hearing! Some of the best I’ve seen!”

Enna rolled her eyes. “If you’re not up to the job then I’ll do it.”

“I think we should all join in on this hunt,” Will spoke up as he looked about the foyer at our many companions. “That is if everyone agrees to help.”

Ware nodded. “I want to see this sharp hearing.”

Vargas folded her arms over her chest and lifted her nose. “I want to know how this little brat managed to escape us last time.”

Allard’s attention fell on me. “Are you up to the task of protecting us?”

“She will be our last line of defense against anyone infected by the curse,” Will spoke up as he looped an arm around my waist. He held up his free hand and a fireball burst out of his palm. “We shall take care of any other dangers.”

The dragon lords grimly nodded and all eyes fell on the two men. Enna waved her hand toward the woods. “Well? Lead the way!”

“Or should we fly?” Vargas suggested.

Blake shook his head. “No need. The girl never goes more than a couple of miles from the house. We’ll be there in less than an hour.”

The pair led us out of the safety of the house and into the dark woods. Will and the others lit the way with their fire so the hunters could find their way. I made to loose my sword for more light but Will grasped my arm and pulled it down.

“Save your strength,” he advised me. The grim determination in his voice chilled my blood and I pressed my fisted hand against my chest.

“So what has this young girl been doing on your watch?” Allard spoke up, the question pointed at our two guides.

Blade twisted his head around to look over his shoulder at us. “Mostly she’s been burying things in the ground.”

Will lifted an eyebrow. “What kind of things?”

Saber stepped to one side and slowed so we caught up to him. He dug into his pocket and drew out a small object which he set in Allard’s open hand. “This.”

Allard opened his fingers and revealed a small glowing ball. A soft red light emanated from the round object and a soothing warmth flowed from its hard semi-reflective surface. I leaned in close and beheld my face in the swirling depths that inhabited the interior.

I looked up at Saber. “What is it?”

He shook his head. “I don’t know but she put out dozens of these in the ground.”

“And you didn’t think it was important enough to tell us this earlier before we headed out into the woods?” Enna growled.

He shrugged and tapped the ball with his finger. “They’re harmless. We watched a deer chew on one and spit it out.”

“And did you watch the deer for anything wrong with it?” she countered.

He winced and rubbed the back of his head. “Well, maybe not for long. I mean, you told us to watch the girl so we kept following her.”

Enna threw up her arms and rolled her eyes. “You fools are hopeless.”

Saber snatched the ball from Allard and shook it at her. “These things are completely harmless! Anybody can touch them! See?”

He tossed the ball at me. I juggled the orb a few times before I clasped it against my chest.

And that’s when a wave of heat and light blasted out of it.

I started back as the shockwave swept over our group and disappeared into the depths of the forest in all directions. Everyone froze and stared in bewilderment at me. I slowly opened my clasped hands. The red ball pulsed with magic and heat.

I yelped and flung apart my arms. The orb dropped to the ground and the brilliant illumination vanished, replaced by its earlier soft glow as it rolled to a stop a few steps away.

Enna whipped her head around and swatted Saber. “Anyone, huh? Where in the realms is she even getting these things?”

Blake shook his head. “W-we don’t know. She just cups her hands together and presses them into the hole and when she pulls them back there one of them sits.”

Allard cupped his chin in one hand and furrowed his brow. “Most interesting. That would imply she is making this magic herself.”

“But what is she making?” Vargas chimed in.

Will stooped and studied the ball I had dropped on the ground. “This is powerful fire magic for such a young girl.”

“Then perhaps she is in cahoots with the sorcerer who is using the curse to attack you,” Vargas suggested.

“She’s not.”

The definite words came from my own mouth. All eyes fell on me and a light blush accented my cheeks.

“I-I mean, I don’t think she would be helping someone like that. She’s just a little girl.”

Vargas scoffed. “And that possessed Tenky was just a little man but you witnessed the damage he caused. Size matters little in regards to the danger from magic-do not touch it!”

Her words were directed at Will who stretched out his hand toward the ball. The tips of his two longest fingers grazed the surface of the ball. The light pulsed and dozens of small crackling threads of flame shot out in all directions. Everyone but Will leaped back to avoid being within range of the hot magic.

He furrowed his brow. “It appears to be dragon magic but of a kind I have never seen.”

My eyebrows shot up. “Like you’ve never seen? What does that mean?”

He cocked his head to one side as he studied the orb. “There is fire as we all have but something different contained in the magic. Another type of magic.”

Ware knelt down on another side of the orb and examined the fire stone before he nodded. “I see what you mean. There is another color contained with the red fie magic. It appears to be a soft yellow light.” He paused and lifted his gaze to me. “Not unlike the light you exhibit when you extinguished the curse.”

My face drooped. “So what does that mean?”

Ware shook his head. “I have not the slightest idea.”

“Can you touch it?” Enna questioned the old hunter.

Vargas glared at her. “Do not even suggest that to the old fool!”

Too late. Ware stretched out his hand as Will had done and brushed his fingers over the orb. We all leaped back or threw up our arms to protect our faces.

But nothing happened.