The Summoning - Chapter Four

 

The Summoning (working title)

 

Chapter Four

      Well … It seemed like a good idea at the time, Erick thought ruefully, looking down at his bound hands. Only a matter of seconds had passed from his jumping on Ryan until the strange people converged on them with sharp pointed swords. He and Ryan weren’t asked any questions; in fact, their captors said nothing at all as they were quickly bound and hoisted onto the back of the animals the strangers rode in on.

      The unusual creatures mirrored the people they belonged to, thin and fragile. Narrow heads held large dark eyes and no manes softened their long necks. They reminded Erick of llamas with their short, thick light-colored hair, their silent nature, and their smooth gliding gait. They were a comfortable means of travel.

      He thought he’d done the right thing, but now they were captured, and Ryan was beyond furious with him. Ryan hadn’t looked his way even once since being pulled off him in the clearing. Only now did Erick understand his actions nearly got them both killed.

      Erick peered over his shoulder. Riding quite a few yards back, he spied the female he stopped Ryan from clubbing. He turned back before she noticed his staring. After his brief glance, he decided he’d done the right thing no matter what their present situation. He wasn’t sure if Ryan would ever agree. Thinking of Ryan caused a knot to form in the pit of his stomach.

      He slumped over to rest his head against the soft neck of his mount, lulled by the smooth gliding motion of the animal. He closed his eyes, the changing scenery no longer held his interest. But finally, oppressive gloom gave way to a new lightness. The trees were younger, not as massive, and sunlight broke through the thinning canopy in wispy golden shafts. Every now and then a faint breath of a breeze touched his face, but the forest still seemed never ending.

      “You look like you need to eat."

      Erick’s eyes snapped open at the sound of the gentle voice. He raised his head and looked cautiously to the left. Riding next to him was the small black-haired female.

      Startled by the abruptness of her approach and the surprise of hearing her speak English played havoc on Erick’s brain. He was already slow to process the things which were happening, but seeing her close up only made it worse. He couldn’t remember what she just said.

      “What?”

      Her brows furrowed as she studied him, then her attention turned to opening a large flap on what appeared to be a saddle pack. She reached in the large brown cloth sack and withdrew a cream-colored item that resembled a biscuit.

      Erick blinked, trying to focus his thoughts. Something about her eyes caught his attention, but his brain was in a fog, and he didn’t know what it was.

      She looked back to him and held out the food. “You need to eat.”

      Erick blinked again. Lavender. Her eyes were lavender. He never was a fan of purple nor any shade close to it, but this color was an intriguing mix of grey and blue with hints of violet he’d never seen before. He continued to stare at her eyes, still studying the unusual hue until it won him over completely.

      She smiled, a small one that brought a tender curl to her lips, apparently mistaking his blank expression for apprehension.

      “It’s safe. See?” She brought the biscuit up to her mouth and took a small bite. She swallowed and offered the item back to him, encouragingly.

      Still staring, he reached out with his bound hands. She scowled at the cords wrapped around his wrists, and her free hand went to her belt, drawing forth a small dagger. Before the sharp object could register in his thoughts, she passed the blade between his hands. The thin ropes fell from his wrists to land silently on the forest floor. While she sheathed her dagger, his eyes glanced to her nearest companion and saw the unmistakable look of disapproval.

      He looked back to see her smiling once again, and he took the biscuit from her. Erick took a bite and found it to be rather soft, but not airy like bread. It melted in his mouth as he chewed, and he enjoyed the flavors which reminded him of honey, nuts, and butter. He finished it in three more bites, feeling the fog lift from his brain.

      His eyes drifted, and he found her watching him with those lavender eyes. He knew his face held an expectant look because she laughed and asked, “Would you like another?”

      He nodded back, so she reached into her bag, withdrew another biscuit, and held it out to him. As he reached forward, she pulled the offering back out of his reach. Stunned, he glanced at her face and saw a playful grin.

      “Do you want me to take a bite of this one, too?” she teased.

      Erick smiled shyly back at her. “No, I trust you.”

      She considered his response while handing him the biscuit. “You should be careful in trusting so easily.” She grinned, but Erick could sense the truth in what she said.

      She continued to study him while he ate, and he became very self-conscious. He’d never been comfortable around girls, the necessary thing called conversation always tripping him up. He felt like a babbling idiot if he tried to talk to anyone he liked. Talking as little as possible seemed to be the best alternative, but it always would come across as disinterest to any girl he tried it on.

      To distract himself from her staring, he shifted his focus and caught the many glaring looks being given to her by her companions. “Your friends don’t seem happy you’re talking to me.”

      She surprised him by giving a short laugh. “They’re displeased I’ve chosen to trust you. They feel it unwise given the circumstances. Although, it might be safer if I knew your name.”

      “Erick,” he responded with a little more confidence.

      “Mine’s Shayla.” She paused as her eyes glanced over to Ryan. “Your friend doesn’t seem too pleased with you.”

      “He’s not my friend.”

      Her expression became puzzled. She asked a question different from the one Erick expected. “Why did you stop him from hurting me?”

      Erick felt his ears and cheeks warm, and he didn’t look at her when answering. “It was the right thing to do.”

      “But you didn’t know us nor our purpose. We could’ve killed you.”

      Erick shrugged. He couldn’t tell her the real reason, although what he told her was true. At the time all he could think of was she was female and pretty.

      “Your companion isn’t like you. I get the feeling he doesn’t trust anyone.”

      The source of the knot revealed itself upon hearing her words. Erick realized he violated whatever minute amount of trust Ryan had in him. His guilt spurred him into coming to Ryan’s defense. “He’s been cautious since we saw the others.”

      Her eyes narrowed. “What others?”

      The image of the dark riders entered his mind. He paled as the fear of them renewed itself. “They were … black.”

      “Drahuillin!” she whispered. Her voice stayed low, and she seemed to be talking more to herself than to Erick. “We came as soon as we could. Could they know?”

      Erick stared at her questioningly.

      She smiled at him with the same light curl of her lips, but it didn’t distract him from noticing traces of fear in her face and eyes. “I’m glad we found you, and we hope you’ll agree.”

      “I’m glad you found me,” the words tumbled out, and Erick turned pink, convinced he put too much emphasis on the word “you” and wasn’t sure what she would make of it.

      Her expression became unreadable, but her eyes went to his, and Erick knew she picked up on his inflection, causing his flush to deepen. He tried to drop his eyes from hers, but he couldn’t break away from the unusual color.

      “I need to speak with the others about what you told me,” Shayla said.

      Erick felt a pang of disappointment in hearing she’d be leaving. She was the nicest thing he experienced since coming here.

      Shayla must have noticed the expression and responded quickly, “I’ll see you again soon. Promise.”

      He nodded, and she left to join the riders near the front. He watched her go, then remembered parts of their conversation. Something she said puzzled him. We came as soon as we could. Were they looking for him and Ryan? Still staring after her, he began to get the feeling they hadn’t come here by accident.

***

      After a long day of riding, darkness began to settle on the quiet group. They stopped at a large clearing in the thinning forest. Erick clumsily dismounted, his legs wobbly from the many hours of riding. He looked to see someone cut through the cords binding Ryan’s hands before he slid off the back of his mount.

      One of the strangers came up to Erick and handed him a couple of blankets. The tan fabric was heavy, but soft to the touch. The male motioned for Erick to go over to Ryan. Erick cringed. He knew Ryan was still pissed and felt it too soon to approach him, but he also knew he’d have to be the one to try and set things right between them at some point. The male motioned again for him to move, leaving him no choice.

      He walked toward Ryan, who already took a seat on the ground, and when he got within arm’s length of him, Erick held out one of the blankets. Ryan stared at Erick, his eyes still smoldering with the heat of his anger.

      Erick took a deep breath while still holding the blanket out to him. This is going to be hard. “I’m sorry for earlier today. You know, getting us caught and —”

      Ryan’s hand came down on the blanket, pulling it roughly out of Erick’s grasp and causing him to stumble forward. “Just forget it, Porter.”

      Erick retreated and found a spot on the ground quite a few feet from him. He knew “forget it” was directed toward his attempted apology, not about the incident. Ryan wasn’t likely to forget anytime soon. Maybe if Ryan had punched him things would be better now.

      Staring out into the clearing, Erick watched the rest of the group working to set up a makeshift camp. A small cooking fire was built, and soon the smell of food came drifting over, causing his stomach to grumble in response.

      Soon food arrived in small wooden bowls with wooden spoons. It was a type of stew, although he couldn’t distinguish any recognizable vegetables. The steaming light brown mush tasted good. Very good. They wolfed it down, plus the seconds that followed, along with some of the light colored biscuits.

      After they finished eating, Ryan broke the silence. “What was she telling you?”

      Erick turned toward him. He noticed Ryan’s face had lost its anger, leaving him looking tired. Erick figured he could safely shift his position to face him. “Her name is Shayla. The black riders — I think she called them Drahuillin — don’t seem to be liked by these people either.” He paused to see Ryan’s reaction. He still seemed to be listening, so Erick continued. “She said something interesting. She said they were looking for us. I think they had something to do with us coming here.”

      Ryan’s brows furrowed. “Why are we here?”

      “I don’t know. I didn’t get to ask.”

      Ryan was silent while he unfolded his blanket, preparing to spread it on the ground closer to Erick.

      Erick followed suit, spreading his blanket out so it was only a couple of feet away from Ryan’s. He glanced over to read his expression, but Ryan didn’t seem to be bothered by the close proximity.

      The blankets were wide enough so they could be folded in half and used like a sleeping bag. Both boys lay on their backs and peered up through the thinning canopy at the evening sky. Stars sparkled and appeared brilliant set against the deep black of the night. Ryan seemed to be studying the stars, but Erick couldn’t find any familiar patterns.

      “Is this our sky?” Erick asked Ryan timidly.

      “No.”

      Erick was rather surprised. No snickering. No sarcasm. No annoyance. Just a straight answer. He felt brave enough to ask another question. “Do you think we’ll go home?”

      Ryan let out a low humorless chuckle. “I don’t have a home, so I guess I don’t really give a shit if we get back or not.”

      Erick couldn’t help but turn his head to look at Ryan. “Won’t your parents worry if you don’t come home?”

      Ryan still stared at the sky. “I don’t have parents.”

      Erick continued to study him, curiosity starting to burn. He wanted to ask Ryan what happened to his parents, but didn’t. Instead, he asked a different question. “Isn’t someone going to be worried about you? Miss you?”

      Ryan finally turned to look at Erick, his face hard and voice mocking. “Do you really think anyone would be worried about what happens to me?”

      Erick knew Ryan made liking him nearly impossible. With his limited experience with Ryan, it was almost believable no one cared about him. Almost believable.

      “Although,” Ryan continued while looking back up at the sky, “they’ll probably miss the checks.”

      Erick’s eyes widened as understanding slowly sank in. Foster care! He didn’t say anything more and returned to gaze at the stars.

      “Your parents are going to be worried.”

      Erick shifted uncomfortably in response to the statement. “Yeah. Really worried. They always know where I’m at.”

      “Do you have any brothers or sisters?”

      “No, I’m an only child, which probably makes it worse for them.” Then Erick looked back to Ryan. “What about you?”

      “I’m the only one.” His tone gave Erick the impression this subject was coming to a close. Erick said no more.

      “Maybe tomorrow, if they decide to talk to us, we can find out why the hell we’re here.” Ryan rolled over with his back to Erick and promptly settled in to sleep.

      Erick’s eyes stayed focused on Ryan’s back for awhile. His last words relieved Erick’s unspoken fear that he’d take off during the night. Escaping these people wasn’t in his immediate plans and he’d still be here in the morning.

     He thought about their brief conversation. He knew he didn’t like Ryan, but after recent events, he honestly couldn’t say he hated him. It was more like a building curiosity with the numerous unasked questions circulating in his head.

      Yawning, he peered back up at the twinkling lights. The mention of his parents brought on a wave of homesickness. Unlike Ryan, he wanted to get back home. If they were brought here by these people, then they could send Ryan and him back home, maybe as soon as tomorrow, but Erick doubted it. There had to be a reason these people needed them, and they probably couldn’t go home until the need was fulfilled. Erick started to drift off to sleep. As his last thoughts faded, he hoped what they had to do wouldn’t be difficult.

TO BE CONTINUED...