Page 5 of Sea of Stars

At one point the forest broke and Chinook slowed his pace, almost as if he was looking below as well. There was a dirt road that snaked through the forest. Several fires were roaring, swirling smoke into the air, and there were at least a dozen people lying on the side of the road by the large fires. The people seemed so peaceful and still as if they were sleeping, but it didn't make any sense, with the sun still high in the sky. I squinted my eyes to try and see the people more clearly.

The smoke wasn't from regular fires; their carriages were ablaze! I gasped. Mortwar had been there. He had attacked these innocent people, most likely looking for me. Tears streamed down my face as the fires and dead bodies grew farther away. The last thing I saw before the dense forest reappeared beneath me were large brutarian footprints in the dirt.

As Chinook picked up his pace I tried to let my guilt fly off of me into the wind. Isn't it possible that Mortwar had just gone on one of his normal raids? Maybe this wasn't my fault. He might not even be looking for me. I knew I was lying to myself, though. I needed to hurry and figure out a way to save Jeremody and the rest of the divinares at Mortwar's camp. Just the thought of Jeremody dying made my stomach churn.

Soon the air began to chill and the ground grew harder to see from Chinook’s back. Time had raced on as I tried to enjoy soaring through the sky once again. The moon was beginning to show in the early evening when Chinook began his descent. If I had thought propelling upwards was bad, I hadn’t known yet what flying downwards would entail. It felt like my body was going to tumble off Chinook's back. I gripped his neck tighter yet and closed my eyes, hoping I’d make it to the ground in one piece.

The air around me began to calm and I could once again hear sounds other than the gusting wind. I opened my eyes and saw that we were in a tall tree. I leaned up and kissed the back of Chinook’s neck before sliding down off of him. Luckily he had chosen a thick branch because my knees were wobbly. I felt like I was still in the air, almost like I was top-heavy, and my legs moved too fast. I sat down with a thud. My arms and back ached from the ride.

I leaned against the tree trunk and opened my knapsack, searching through it until I found a bottle filled with something I recognized. Tilting it to my lips, I took a huge swig of the water and instantly spit it back out.

“Ugh, what is that?” I coughed. My tongue felt numb and I spit again, trying to clear the awful taste from my mouth.

Chinook almost looked like he was grinning at me.

I placed the cap back on the bottle and threw it into the sack. “Tomorrow we need to find food,” I said.

Chinook hopped over to me and placed one of his wings over my legs. I smiled and braided my hair to keep out the night's sounds, something I hadn’t done since I was a small child. But with Chinook by my side, I felt safe again.

***

I fell with a thud onto the bottom of a basket. The lid slammed down and complete darkness engulfed me.

“Let me out of here!” I screamed, hoping Mortwar’s naked head would somehow hear me. I pounded my fists against the wicker sides. My body lurched sideways as the cart beneath the basket began moving. Loud, crunching noises filled the air, as the wheels went over the autumn leaves. We were on the move. I pushed against the sides of the basket with all my strength, hoping the wicker strands would collapse.

“I’ll kill you!” I swore into the emptiness. I jumped up and down trying to grab hold of the top of the basket. If only I could grip the wicker I might be able to climb out through the flap.

My long hair twitched uncomfortably. I stopped jumping and listened to the quick crunching of leaves outside the basket. Mortwar was definitely in a hurry, but that’s not what had alarmed me. Again, I heard the light scratching sound that had startled me. I peered into the corner of the basket where it was coming from, but saw nothing.

“Hello?” I said, trying to sound braver than I felt.

“Are you done screaming?” whispered a voice from the other side of the container. “Because I have a plan to get us out of here, and you’re going to get me caught.” As he said it, there was one last scratch and a beam of light flooded into the basket. He stood up, holding a small, sharp rock in his hand. His brown hair was short, and his eyes were an identical color. He looked a little older than me, maybe ten or eleven.

He tossed his stone to me and I caught it clumsily. “It’s good to carry things like this, just in case.” He smirked. “What’s your name?”

“Mahlia,” I said, stepping toward him.

He stared at me for a long moment. It looked like he was going to say something else, but then he knelt back down. He pulled another rock from his pocket and resumed ripping at the basket's floor.

He glanced up and asked, “Well, aren’t you going to help?”

I sat down and joined him, scratching away at the thick wicker with the rock he had given me. He gave me a quick glance and I noticed a twinkle in his eye. But I also saw the deep gash across his cheek and the bruise sprouting on top of his nose. He paused and wiped a bead of sweat off his forehead with the back of his hand.

“I heard you screaming back there. Did the brutarians..." He stopped talking when he saw my face. "I’m sorry about your parents, Mahlia,” he said quietly. “I could have stopped the brutarians if I had gotten out sooner.” His voice was heavy with guilt.

“What’s your name?” I interrupted.

“I, I’m Breghton,” he stammered. Then he puffed up his chest. “I can protect you on our journey south,” he said confidently.

I couldn't help but laugh. “That’s a fool’s journey. It’s too dangerous there. That’s why my parents left the south before I was born.” My voice shook at the word “parents”.

“How old are you?” He asked abruptly, giving me a curious look.

“Nine,” I said.

Breghton looked at the ground, deep in thought. “Well, it’s not the same place your parents knew nine years ago. We built a new village after the Great Ravage. And besides, it can’t be more dangerous than this.” He gestured upwards. I assumed he was pointing at our captor.

I nodded my head knowing he must be right. “What was the Great Ravage?”

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