Black Blood - 16. Chapter 16

16

They came across what Kalan indicated was the equivalent of the Hudson River. In the middle of the night, the water was as dark as ink.

“What do we do now?” asked Micah. He already looked tired. A strap of cotton around his neck held his casted arm against his chest. His eyes were wary, and he jumped every time they heard wolves howling in the distance, or night birds hooting high up in the trees. The fog had yet to clear up. Also they were being harassed ceaselessly by annoying little flying insects.

Kalan walked past all five of them, stepping toward the river until the water licked his boots. ‘I’m better with water,’ he had said, speaking of his magic. Skylar wondered if he was going to spread out two walls of water to create a pathway for them to go through, like Moses in the Old Testament. She watched, standing in between Micah and Mayrin. She had taken a break from wielding that magical flame in her hand. Her pupils had dilated and readjusted to the night. It turned out it was tiring to be constantly putting out that controlled energy. So now it was rather dim. Micah’s neon skinny jeans almost glowed in the dark, though.

Kneeling, Kalan put a hand in the water. A sudden chill in the surrounding air made Skylar shiver, and she clutched the light green fabric of her sweater tighter around herself. It was as if it had suddenly gotten colder. Skylar watched, impressed, as Kalan turned an entire slice of the river into ice, like a bridge. He even brought up ice railings, so they wouldn’t slip and fall in the water. When Kalan turned around, he was looking at Skylar like a child who wants to be praised. She gave him a smile, nodding appreciatively. But Mayrin was the one who went to him.

“You’ve improved since the last time! This is great!” They kept on talking a bit as they proceeded onto the bridge of ice, expecting the others to follow.

Impatient, Viko stalked up the bridge after them. Skylar wondered what he would have done if they hadn’t been there. Would he have just decided to swim across it?

Wanting to go after his girlfriend, Airi ended up walking with Viko. But they didn’t seem to be having such a lovely chat.

“I don’t even think we’ve been introduced. My name is Airi.”

“I don’t care,” said Viko flatly.

Skylar and Micah closed the walk. But Micah was scared.

“What if it cracks?”

“It won’t,” reasoned Skylar, “Kalan would’ve told us if it wasn’t safe.”

“But, like, I don’t think I could swim, I mean, with my arm.”

“I’m sure Viko would dive in to rescue you.” Mock-sarcasm showed through Skylar’s voice.

“Why do you hate him?” Micah gave her a sidelong glance with his big blue eyes. Sometimes those eyes reminded her of the cat in Shrek. No wonder Mayrin had flinched and let him come through the portal.

“Um, because he’s kind of a jerk.” She didn’t bother lowering her voice. Viko was far ahead anyway. Micah walked a lot slower; his expensive little sneakers weren’t much good on ice.

“You still haven’t forgiven him for the sushi incident, have you?”

“Of course I haven’t forgiven him. So why did you want to come with us so badly anyway, Micah?”

Again with the big blue eyes. “You think I’m useless too, don’t you?”

“No! I’m just curious.”

He sulked for a bit, as they walked through the foggy night air, the dark waves breaking against the ice softly. When he answered, his voice sounded defensive.

“With you gone, and Viko gone, what was I supposed to do? I would’ve been lonely, okay?”

“You’d still have your cats,” Skylar pointed out with a raised finger.

“Oh shut up.”

“Seriously though. Who’s feeding them while you’re gone?”

“I never feed them. The maid does.”

“You’re such a rich spoiled brat,” taunted Skylar.

After crossing the river they kept on heading south, the sounds of little animals in the woods accompanying their steps. Skylar heard a strange cawing cry in the sky. It was so loud and screechy that it scared her a bit. It was unlike anything she’d heard before. Looking up, she saw a shadow flying across the moonlight, with wide wings.

“What was that?” asked Micah in a shaky voice.

Viko stopped, looking over his shoulder with gleaming cat-like eyes.

“Probably a dwarf dragon.” He took Micah by his good arm and urged him forward. “Stop being scared all the time. Come on let’s go.”

And now the boys were walking together again, sticking Skylar alone at the back. Great. Her clothes were starting to feel damp from walking so much and at such a continuous fast pace, and she felt cold and hot at the same time, like she had a fever. She supposed there was a mix of tiredness in all that.

She wasn’t the only one; soon Viko had to carry Micah on his back so they could keep going. They had been walking for four hours. Heading south-west now, they crossed some more streams, so Kalan got the opportunity to show off his skills again. He looked exhausted afterwards, though.

The fog eventually cleared up for the most part, and the moon cast a silvery glow upon the forests and meadows they crossed. Skylar saw some squirrels climbing up trees, and also a small red fox hiding in the shrubs. She saw late blooming flowers here and there, using the flame in her hand to admire them briefly as she walked. She smiled when her nostrils caught the faint smell of wild roses in the wind. In the trees, some of the leaves were tinted with gold and red. She killed the flame again.

They wandered along the river for roughly three more hours, still heading south—according to Viko anyway—before dawn painted the eastern sky orange and red over the horizon. Skylar stopped to look at the sunrise, wishing she had her fancy camera with her so she could take pictures for her photography class. Now that was something she wouldn’t mind having a memory of. She realized Kalan had stopped, too. He stood next to her. The four others had kept going.

“We can’t stay too long,” said Kalan, “or we’ll lose them.”

“I just want to watch a little longer.”

Everything was so wild and untouched. They stood on a patch of flat land with small plants all over; there was something beautiful about the way everything just grew wherever it wanted, uncalculated.

They were all tired and ready to take a rest when Viko finally found what he was looking for; a deserted Nomad camp. It wasn’t a nice view, though.

After putting down Micah, Viko went to stand in the center of the compound, which it seemed, had also been a battlefield recently. The others stayed on the outskirts, hesitant. The wind was harsh as it blew the charred land. Viko’s hair was ruffled, and the scar across his left eyebrow was visible, making his expression even more severe.

Dragons lay dead, some with spears through their chests, vultures eating away at their corpses. That wasn’t exactly the first vision of a dragon Skylar had been excited about. The wings seemed as big as she had imagined—roughly as wide as Mayrin’s summoned wings had been—but the bodies were smaller. Then again, they didn’t seem to be all the same size. There were seven of them.

Some dead human bodies were also scattered, most of them scorched, and again with the vultures eating what remained of them as breakfast. Viko tried to hide his distress behind a mask of indifference. He bent over to look closely at some of the dragon and human bodies; perhaps he was trying to see if he could recognize them. Skylar didn’t know how he was able to breathe that reeking air. She had nothing in her stomach and she felt sick despite being several feet away.

Mayrin went to join Viko.

“Those are Nomad spears,” he indicated the weapons that had killed the dragons with a wavering hand, then pointed at the human corpses, “and these, my people. They fought—the dragons must have turned on them.”

Mayrin loomed over one body with fastidious distaste. “Because they were vampires, look,” she said, pointing, “you can still see the fangs.”

Viko still maintained that cold, indifferent facade, but his fists were tightly clenched at his sides. Wind blew strong, lifting the dust and ashes from the ground. Skylar brought a hand to her face reflexively, trying not to breathe in that horrendous smell of rotting burned flesh.

Some items had been left at the camp; animal skin tents, clay bowls and utensils, some fur blankets, pots and baskets, weapons and tools, some cloaks, and backpacks made of the same fabric as the tents. Kalan and Airi busied themselves picking up stuff they might need. Mayrin went to help.

Micah rushed over to Viko, but he stopped short before touching him, as he felt the dark unyielding aura surrounding him. Skylar had stepped away, back in the shade of some trees, hoping her nausea would subside. But even though she was out of hearing range, she could use her keen perception—what she liked to call her sixth sense—to know what Micah was saying. It helped that he always gestured a lot as he spoke, and that his emotions really showed on his face.

“Come on let’s go sit over there with Skylar. You should drink some water and eat something; she has food in her bag.”

But Viko brushed him off. “Just leave me alone.”

Micah did, looking miserable. He came to sit next to Skylar on some big mossy rocks protruding from the uneven ground. They drank water and ate cereal bars. Viko just stayed in the center of the deserted compound, trying to gather what exactly had happened here. His jaw was tight with anger, and his knuckles were white from clenching his fists so much.

“Viko not eating anything,” Micah said, “is not normal.”

“Well people he knew died—and dragons, I guess. Actually, he’s more upset about the dragons.”

He glanced at her sideways. “Are you using your sixth sense on him?”

She nodded, biting at her cereal bar. It tasted like dried fruit and honey. She was so famished right now that even though the sight before her filled her with sorrow and tightened her stomach, she knew she had to eat something.

Mayrin, as well as her boyfriend and brother, came to them. They had gathered what they thought would be useful in the animal skin backpacks.

“Let’s walk just a little longer,” she said. “Let’s not linger here.”

“I agree,” said Skylar, standing.

Micah looked pained though, nursing his arm. “I don’t think I can.”

Mayrin sighed, and after exchanging a glance and a nod with her brother, she took out her small knife, resigned. Airi produced a clay bowl from his backpack. Mayrin sliced her arm—without even flinching—and let the scarlet liquid pour in it. They gave it to Micah.

So it seemed Kalan had talked to his sister as promised, then. Skylar was relieved as she looked over at him with a smile. Kalan just gave a slight nod.

“That’s disgusting.” Micah swallowed hard and made a face. “But thanks.”

They waited a few minutes, then used Mayrin’s knife again to remove the cast, and Micah was ready to go. He kept flexing his arm like he was fascinated, walking with renewed energy.

Everyone kept pretty much silent as they carried on south once more. Viko’s brooding wasn’t doing anything for the group’s mood. Airi inspected some footprints in the woods, and selected a path for them to follow through the tall leafy trees. They were following the Nomads—though what exactly they would find next was anyone’s guess.

They stopped to rest, sleeping for a few hours on the fur blankets under the shade of some oaks and maple trees. Viko stayed awake to keep guard—not because they asked him to, but because he didn’t wish to sleep.