The RisingThe Rising Book One The Darkness Series
Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Dewin wasn't lying about the timing. The night of the full moon Pyremius struck the camp. They had moved to higher ground and left scouts nearby to watch, in case the old man was wrong.

He hadn't been wrong.

The scouts barely made it to the new camp with their lives and they were on the move within seconds, before hearing the Reavers on their trail. It was a race against time with the witches using a new spell, thanks to Dewin's library of tricks he had bestowed upon Liem. They were able to hide themselves long enough to escape.

But the Reavers weren't the only ones who were looking for them. The dark fog rolled over the valley every night. Once again, the boundary spells they used to conceal their location kept the fog from creeping into the camp but didn't stop it from crawling up and over the dome of the boundary that hid them. Darkening the sky, the fog turned everything to an ink black, concealing everything around them for hours.

During those spooky witching hours of the night, the guards stood watch and waited for the moment the fog seeped through the barrier and into the camp. The moment didn't come, but night after night, they watched and waited. Liem and Raine were scared for those they were leading deeper into danger as this darkness tracked them across the country.

As they moved from one location to the next, they trained as best they could. Liem worked with the witches to teach them the basics. Spells and potions of protection and to repel the darkness. The boundary spell, being the most important and powerful weapon they had at the moment.

Slowly, they added to that arsenal other spells to fight back when the enemy breaks their defenses. Taking the offensive with weapons training they created their own strengths with an athame, charms, and crystals that they could wear around their necks to give them strength and protection against the dark.

Healers were brought into the mix with the witches. Potions and pouches, creams and teas were brewed. All necessary items for healing ailments and injuries and infections as modern medicine were coming harder to find and eventually wouldn't be available at all.

Combining with the witches the group was able to provide a more robust healing and medical care for those in need as accidents happened and training got underway. More than bumps and bruises were going to happen and they needed to be prepared. A real doctor would be necessary and they didn't have one yet.

Knowing the more people they find, the more likely they will have those with serious health conditions, the more likely they'll need to rely on other means of treatment, Liem found that his library of information in his head was more and more extensive and necessary.

Cass helped using his knowledge of weapons and the military for hand to hand combat, swords, and archery. He was well trained in martial arts and was able to use his skills and knowledge as a starting point to improve, or for many, begin training. The skills may not do much against magicks, but they will help against Reavers and any who join Pyremius and have no powers.

Rowan, an elf and fast as they come, worked with the younger ones, teaching them the basics skills of merging with nature. He made it a game of hiding into trees and rocks at first. It seemed like a waste of time to Liem until he understood the importance of the game. The children needed to learn how to do the skill as a game, to understand the importance of the skill as a warrior.

Hiding from the enemy and spying on them, meant sliding into a tree or a rock and being silent and still, sometimes for hours. A necessary skill that will be needed as this war continues. The younger ones will need to be kept safe and protected from the darkness and what better way than to be hidden in plain sight. And a useful skill for those old enough who can fight and spy for their team.

Raine struggled with her sight. As a seer she should be aware of what's to come, but she is too afraid of the future to see it. Liem has seen her fear as much as Dewin had when he looked into each of them. Although he said nothing about it to Raine, the comment he made to Liem said it all. Raine's fear would kill her.

Others stepped up as well, and leaders began to form. And they began to take shape as a community. Mobile yet, but even as they moved along, they grew. Adding two or three here, adding twenty or thirty there. By the end of one week, they added a hundred. By the end of another, fifty more.

From Utah, they moved through the mountain ranges of Colorado. It was cold and icy in the mountains. And they kept going, turning north to Nebraska. Looking for some shelter and some place to hide for a while.

They headed east hoping to get to the midlands before winter. A place where it wouldn't be as cold and finding land to plant crops would be easier. Possibly a farm where they could keep some animals and plant the seeds they had gathered as they traveled.

They needed to find a place to set roots. Not just for food but for the children. They were struggling with the constant traveling, as was everyone else. The unknown was becoming more of a burden on all of them. At some point they would need to stand their ground.

They have grown as group. They have bonded together over the trauma they have experienced together over the loss they have endured. And they have celebrated the small victories and moments they have had learning their crafts, improving their skills and beating back the darkness.

The last months were rough with no sign of Mira or The Ancient One to help them out. They continued moving, through the night and the next day. Until they were high in the mountains and found themselves several large caves, close enough together that they could do the boundary spell to include all of them.

They hid in the caves and slept huddled together with no fire for warmth, safety was priority and the light of a fire would give them away. Despite the spell they would take no chances. Food was heated by magicks. Water was hauled up in buckets and shared. Children were kept in caves and were guarded at all times.

They were taking no chances.

As dark came each night, they watched the fog roll through the valley below. As if it was searching for its prey. It was on a nightly mission searching, always searching for the Chosen One that had fortunately escaped from the darkness. And was no longer under their care.

Liem could admit now that they couldn't help Mira and she was better off with Dewin. Once she became, she was beyond anything he could handle. Although after Dewins magical library, Liem had more knowledge than ever. He is able to understand how they can hide from their predators now, and in some ways, escape them.

But winning this fight, that he can't see. It's not for him to see. He isn't the one who has to finish it. Unfortunately, Liem is afraid that the person to finish this fight, or one of them, is Jonah. His worst fear is his son will have to give his life, his power, for the rest of humanity to live.

Life is never fair.

Days passed and it was time again to move. The hike down was daunting and slow, but they managed and headed in the direction that they planned all along. A place where they could stay through the year, before winter hit and the first snow fell.

It has been nine months since the darkness came and covered the earth. Nine months since they had lost more than two thirds of the world's population. That's what they had first calculated when the darkness came, Liem was certain that number was higher now.

They moved as fast and as far as they could. It took months to get where they were going and even then the first snow was coming down as they made the last of the trip. Into the flat lands of the Midwest. Farmland where they could grow crops and find animals for food. It was the ideal area to put down roots.

In this new world, if they could be sure they would be safe, this is where they could live a decent life. Liem understood that better than anyone. He pushed hard on his team to find a place where they could stop at least for the moment.

A season of growing vegetables and fruits, finding some cows, chickens and goats, if they could get a farm together, they could survive better than they were.

"I know what you're thinking but Pyremius was only a day behind us," Raine came over to the stream to wash her face and hands.

"We need food, real food. We can grow it here. There's a farm right over that hill. We can fix it up, settle here for the time being. Mira isn't with us. He has to know that by now," Liem is sure of that.

Pyremius is after Mira. She is the Emberwing. She is the Chosen One. The one who will finish him. He has to realize that the Ancient One got to her first. They aren't worth his time now. Not as long as Jonah's powers are bound.

Cass rode up on his horse he found several miles back and dismounted. The man rode like he was born on a horse. The stallion was tied to a tree and made work of a meal of a tree and drank from the stream.

"No sign of Reavers. I rode five miles back and Rowan went five forward, nothing. It's like they disappeared," Cass explained as he knelt down to get a drink.

"I don't like it," Raine mumbled, looking around. "Doesn't it bother you that they can suddenly disappear that way?"

"You don't like anything," Cass teased, winking at Liem's sister. "Relax, they gave up for the moment. They'll come back. And we'll be ready when they do. But for now, we take the win, rest, and get some food. We need it."

"And we're sitting ducks waiting to be slaughtered," Raine shot back. "We have a thirty percent chance of getting out of here alive!"

"Never tell me the odds, sweetheart," Cass grinned like the Cheshire cat.

If he didn't know better, Liem thought, the guy had a thing for his sister. Of course the thought goes right out the window when Raine punches Cass in the gut and walks away from them. Leaving Cass rubbing his stomach, he watches her walking away and laughs.

"I'm not wrong," he says as Liem joins him.

"No, but she's not wrong either. If they decide to come back and we aren't prepared, we're dead. Raine's worried about Jonah." He understands the situation better than his sister does. Pyremius will kill Jonah in a heartbeat if he realizes who he is. "So am I. If Pyremius finds out about him..."

The humor of the moment is gone. "I know. So let's make sure we're prepared for him and he doesn't get that chance."

Liem thinks to himself, 'I hope you're right.'

As the others settle in for the night, Liem walks the perimeter alone. He wants to find a way to reach out to Mira and Dewin. Just to make sure she is okay and ask what he can do to protect Jonah.

He hasn't heard anything from her, or from the old man since they disappeared months ago. Since Pyremius and the dark fog continue to creep behind them he has to assume that they haven't located them either.

Worry was putting it mildly. Liem was wondering if she was still alive. Believing he was alone, he reached out with his mind and tried to find her again, just like he's done before.

"Mira? Where are you? If you can hear me, find a way to reach me? I need your help. Jonah's in danger and I need to know what to do to protect him."

"You need to stop trying to talk to her." Spinning around, Liem found the small fairy leaning against the tree behind him.

"You, you are the fairy who was with Dewin!" Liem pointed his finger at her.

"My name is Willow." She said with a bit of an exasperated tone.

"Willow, is Mira okay? She won't respond to me," Liem begins but Willow holds up her hand to shut him up.

"First, Mira isn't going to answer you. She can't. She's in a place where she can't hear you. Second, if she did answer you, it would put all of you in very real danger. More than you keep putting yourself in.

"Don't you understand? That's why they keep following you. They hear you calling for her. You have to stop. You are endangering everyone you are with by doing this." Willow points out, then places her finger to her lips to quiet him.

A familiar rumble in the distance begins with a Thud Thud Thud that Liem knows as a Reavers engine comes closer to the camp. He remains silent as the fairy silently takes to the air.

Fluttering her wings, Willow flies up into the trees above Liem. As she does, she can see out further than he or his night watch can. Quickly coming back down, she whispers to him what she has seen.

"Reavers, three miles west of here, you must get everyone into the boundary now! I can lead them away but Liem, don't call for Mira again. You're putting yourself in danger. Now go!" With that said, Willow flew off at a speed that surprised him, putting herself in the middle of the Reavers and their camp.

Liem really didn't realize that he was causing any harm but he can see now that he was. This entire time he was putting the group in danger because he wanted to talk to Mira. He was selfish and it almost cost everybody everything. Especially his son.

It won't happen again. Liem would make sure of it.

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