• There it was again; a small but quick gleam in the bushes. What could it be? It looked like light reflecting off of an animal’s eye, but with the overcast it couldn’t be that. She continued up the mountain path to the area in the open woods that she knew so well, the one no one else knew about. She had grown up in these woods. This was her home. This was Banil.
    It was a simple country town, one that not many knew of. She had always thought of it as well protected. To the north were the Inekoi Mountains, the most beautiful in all of Kenai. To the south were the Impassible Lakes, known for their acidic waters. Only a few choice creatures could survive the water from those lakes, and even fewer could call them home. A boat couldn’t last ten minutes before it sank to the bottom. The area to the left of the village was a swamp-land left by the run-off from the lakes. The gooey substance could be walked on, though no one could stand the stench for very long. To the east of the town was an open plain filled with beautiful long grasses that she had loved to play in as a child. Though the grasses offered little protection, the town took great pride in their small army. Men and women both could earn the right to serve and protect their people. She dreamed once of joining the army herself, but she knew they wouldn’t want one such as herself in the front lines drawing attention to the peaceful people of Banil.
    She again saw the metallic flash, this time directly to her left from behind a tree. What was it? She walked faster, hoping it wasn’t as she feared. Why couldn’t she live her life in peace, like the rest of Kenai? Must she always be hunted? Something was stinging the back of her neck. She started to swat at what she thought a mosquito, but her hand instead encountered a needle. Her arms were already going weak; she didn’t have the strength to dislodge the cause of her trouble from her neck with the poison acting so quickly. She dimly noticed the ground moving towards her, the sound of her heartbeat filling her ears. Then, the taste of dirt in her mouth. Cold sweat was running from her face, and she was in dire need of a drink of something, anything. Shadows began to emerge from the woods all around her. A flash of silver caught her attention as another body flew from a treetop, but something wasn’t right. It couldn’t be… a tail…? Then everything went black.
    The next thing she remembered was a strange room.



    A woman in her late thirties was standing at a sink in a log cabin. She had long brown, almost black hair and blue eyes that would make the sky jealous. She was fairly attractive, and her swelled stomach was a sign of a coming baby. The interior of the cabin wasn’t anything fancy, but it didn’t look trashy either. Cabinets lined the wall of the mediocre room and a broom sat in the corner. The countertops all sparkled from being recently cleaned. The faded wallpaper was peeling off the walls at the corners, along with a few planks along the hard wood floor. A table sat in the middle of the small room with four chairs placed around it, and at it sat a man who looked to be in his fifties or sixties. His grey hair was neatly combed and he had a short beard that looked like a grey extension of his chin. The wrinkles around his eyes and mouth proved that he was a man who, in his youth, was happy and laughed much of the time.
    “What’s keeping that girl?” asked the woman, no longer able to contain her anxiousness. “She’s been gone for hours. She should be home already. Do you have any idea what’s going on, Sai? You said that you knew her abilities less than a week ago, and that they were extraordinary. That means she’ll want to test them out. Where do you think she’s gotten off to this time?”
    All he could do was sit there with a menacing gleam in his amber eyes. Yes, knew exactly where she’s “gotten off to”, but there wasn’t a single thing in the world he could do about it. He hated it, the entire situation. He knew this day would come, prophecy demanded it, but he never expected it to be this soon. The girl was only sixteen; she couldn’t be expected to carry out what was foretold for her this soon… Or could she?


    He had been watching her since he found her. She was very cute, in his opinion anyway. She had long brown hair with fair skin. He had yet to see her eyes, she’d been unconscious for so long and hadn’t opened them yet. She wore a short sleeved white shirt with blue accents at the hems of the arms, neck, and waist. Her skirt was also white and ran to just below her knees. There was an intricate blue design that ran from the bottom left of her skirt to the middle, then started up again at the middle of her top to the right shoulder. Her boots were a light brown and made for travel. Around her neck she wore a simple gold chain with a blue stone hanging from it. By the way it attracted his attention, he knew it had to be important, and he could feel the power emanating from it. He knew to leave it alone, if she wanted to tell him what it was about, then she would. If not, there were other ways of finding out.
    He walked over to the bed to give her the medicine the doctor had sent up. He sat on the edge of the bed, glad to be able to help her. He untied her bindings, raised her up and held the cup to her lips, making her take every drop. When he was sure nothing remained, he laid her back down and let her continue her rest, making sure the ropes were again in place. He couldn’t let her wander around on her own once she awoke. But how long before the poison wore off? The doctor wasn’t even sure she would survive after having to travel so far after the dart hit her to get some medical attention. Why didn’t he put something on it? Or possibly try some natural antidotes he knew of? He’d been in such a rush to get her away he hadn’t thought about anything. Now all there was to do was wait and see if she would make it. She hadn’t moved an inch on her own other than facial expressions of pain. At least those were becoming more scarce. She looked so helpless when she was in pain. When he went to set the cup that held her medicine on the little table beside the bed, he noticed that the water pitcher was empty. That was the only reason he ever had for leaving the room, so he decided to use the opportunity to stretch his stiff legs.



    Awakened by a bright light, prying her eyelids open, she blinked at her surroundings. Her hands were bound, her feet too, and she was tied to a bed in the center of the most amazing rooms she’d ever laid eyes on. She was lying beside a cherry wood desk that sat on one wall of the room. The elegant, enormous bed sat in the middle of the room and had white sheets with a burgundy canopy, which accented the cream colored walls and burgundy carpet. A cherry wood end table sat beside the bed with an empty glass on top. On the other side of the bed she could see a vanity with a small chair pushed under it. Across the room from the bed there was a window seat. She could see just enough out the window to tell that she was several stories above ground. A door at the opposite end provided the only escape from the room. A crystal chandelier topped the room off for complete elegance. The room was beautiful, but she couldn’t imagine anyone wanting to capture a mere girl like herself, especially when they lived in such an extravagant place. Well, she wasn’t a mere girl, but they wouldn’t know the difference, would they?
    The doorknob turned and someone stepped in. They stood just out of reach of the sunlight, but she could make out that it was a man. When she tried to talk, she realized that she was gagged as well.
    “Sorry, let me help you with that.” The man walked over to her and into the light of the window. He had wide, deep purple eyes, white hair, and a look on his face that showed he was sorry for doing this to her. He set a pitcher of water on the table beside the empty glass then, reaching over, he pulled the gag from her mouth.
    “I’m sorry we had to tie you up and gag you, but I didn’t know how you would react and had to make sure you wouldn’t bolt for the door before we could talk to you, or scream and attract any unwanted attention. I hope you understand.”
    “That’s absurd. Where am I, and why am I here? The last thing I remember is being on a hike.”
    “A hike. Right. You would have me believe that a Priestess such as yourself would just be meandering down a mountain path, without an escort, for no good reason? What kind of idiot do you take me for?” He stared at her for a long time, seeming to be looking for something.
    “Her eyes are extraordinary! What a brilliant shade of blue! I’ve never seen anything like it,” he thought.
    “So, you do know of me. But how could I know that? I’ve never seen you before in my life, not that I can remember anyway. Who are you? Why am I here?”
    “Patience, Priestess Sembri, you’re as feisty as they say you are. I’ll tell you, but first, I’d like to release you from your bindings, if you don’t mind. But you have to promise you won’t make a break for it. None of us are welcome here. The only reason they put up with us is because a friend of mine has a high position in this kingdom. Promise?”
    “Alright, anything to get rid of these ropes.” He untied her as quickly as possible and pulled a chair from the make-up stand to sit beside her bed. There was something very strange about this boy, for that’s what he was. He looked to be no older that she was, a young man, and handsome at that. She intended to stay at least long enough to find out a little about him since he seemed to know quite extensively about her.
    “You were brought here because I need your help. You must know you are the only Priestess left, none survived the last…”
    “Yes, yes, I know. In the last war, people fought against us who feared our power and wanted to wipe us out completely. The power of a Priestess to call forth help from angels frightens many. Even now.” Her voice had dropped to a whisper, “That’s why I’m worried about being here.”
    “Oh, that! Don’t worry about that, I saved you. A group of assassins were following you. I was under orders to save you from them. They shot you with tranquilizers laced with a deadly poison and you passed out in the middle of the trail. Bad move, standing still like that. It allows the poison to move more quickly. You would have been better off to run. The poison would have eventually been sweat off. Oh well, too late now. They planned on knocking you out and stabbing you with numerous daggers so that it would be untraceable. I’m very good with a dagger, and nimble too, so it was no problem to take care of the three of them. And as for who I am, my name is Toren Gind. Pleased to meet you.” He stuck out his hand, waiting for the return gesture. Toren didn’t seem like such a bad guy, so Sembri grasped his hand. For some reason, she felt she could trust this boy.
    “What do you need my help for? Is a family member ill? Or perhaps for your own gain?”
    “Now you’ve got it all wrong! No, nothing for my family or me. Well, not directly anyway. I’m out to save Kenai.”
    “Save Kenai? But how?”
    “That I can’t tell you. The dangers involved might make you not want to go with me.”
    “And am I allowed to contact my family on my whereabouts? May I write them a letter and let them know I’m alright?”
    “Sure, who’s stopping you?”
    That was unexpected. Yes, Sembri could trust this strange boy, at least to a certain extent. He gestured to the desk behind her. “In the drawer you’ll find paper, pen, and wax for a sealer. My room is right next to yours, but we’ll be leaving in about an hour. Can you be ready by then? If not, I’ll change the plans.”
    “I can be ready, but I have one question. Am I allowed to stop in the shops in the city on my way out? I seem to have no clothes with me.”
    “That’s been taken care of. We’ve been here for five days. The tailors came in and I had them make some clothes for you. They aren’t necessarily what a Priestess would wear, but they’re affordable, easy to maintain, and made for travel. Oh yeah, I haven’t told you that part yet. We’re headed for my hometown in the northern part of this country, so I’ll have a messenger take your letter to your family. Let me know when its finished. By the way, to stay out of the way of the soldiers, there’s a sliding panel right beside the nightstand that connects directly to my room. Don’t go into the hallway unless you have to. And take it easy, that poison isn’t completely out of your system yet.”
    “Travel? We’re traveling? Then I’ll still have to stop by a few of the shops. Where are we? What city are we in?”
    “We’re in Suzin, fifty miles north from where I picked you up.”
    “Suzin! How did you get over the mountains? It takes me weeks to cross them!”
    “That I cannot tell you, you’ll just have to trust in my abilities to get us to where we need to go.”
    “Very well, though I am confused. At any rate, may I go shopping before we leave?”
    “Yes, there is a small pouch in the top drawer of the nightstand that has a few gold and silver pieces in it. But if you must go out, let me go with you. As you must know, this town doesn’t welcome strangers well, and a Priestess like you may attract a threat. Last time you were here, you had a guard of at least twenty anywhere you went; today you will only have one. I will guard you, but you must try and act as normal as possible. My idea is to act as newlyweds. It won’t look as suspicious that way. I mean, you normally don’t see a guy out shopping unless it’s with his wife.” He had a laugh to his eyes, but he didn’t voice it.
    “Oh, alright. I suppose.” As he turned to go back to his room, she gasped. She rubbed her eyes, it just wasn’t possible! She had to be seeing things! He smirked over his shoulder.
    “If you’re wondering, no, my family isn’t originally from Kenai. We are an ancient race of people from Nae. We are the only race of people who were born with tails. It’s perfectly normal, not to worry!” He smirked and laughed under his breath before walking out of the room, tail swinging back and forth.
    “‘Not to worry,’ he says! Who on earth has heard of a being with a tail?! Too weird, but for some strange reason, I believe him.”
    As she got ready, Sembri pondered over this more and more until Toren knocked on the panel and came back into her room. A young boy came in with him.
    “This is Curt, a friend of mine. We’ve been friends since the day we were born. He’s my source to all the inside info in the palace. As captain of the guard, he hears about everything that goes on here. He’s here to deliver your letter.”
    “Hi, Curt. It’s a pleasure.”
    “Hiya! I’d better get started, though, if I’m ever going to catch back up with you.”
    Sembri looked to Toren, confusion etched across her face.
    “Curt is going to help us. Though, with the way he fights, I don’t know how much help he’s going to be.”
    Toren’s remark was rewarded with a sharp elbow in his ribs.
    “Ignore him, Sembri. I may not be as good as this show-off, but I’m a decent fighter.”
    Toren nodded his agreement, still not quite able to catch his breath.
    “Well, I’m off! I’ll see you in about a week!”
    Sembri stared after him. She thought she saw a faint outline of wings on his back. “The poison must really have taken a toll on me,” she thought.



    The city was far more beautiful than she remembered. The white castle walls shone out in the morning sun. Walking behind Toren gave her a better chance to have a good look at him. His hair was indeed white. Whatever color light shone on it was the color it was shaded. At the moment, it gleamed a yellowish-orange from the sun. His muscles were very well built, showing that he was no ordinary teenager. Occasionally he glanced back at her, revealing his tantalizing purple eyes. It was definitely something you didn’t see every day. However, for some strange reason, she remembered it from somewhere. When he noticed her staring at him, she directed her attention to her surroundings.
    The street was full of merchants and their wares. Some were offering her fine jewelry, others exquisite fabrics. The one that caught her eye, though, was far in the back of all the peddlers. His stand was rickety and made of what looked like scrap wood. His clothes were tattered and torn, and he held a walking staff in his hand. He was hunched over, as if he were crippled, and his cape hooded his face. All that could be seen under the dark brown material was a set of amber eyes staring at her. She had seen those eyes before; not many people had amber-colored eyes.
    “Sai! What are you dong here?”
    The old man’s head jerked up, momentarily shocked, before he came to his feet laughing. He threw the hood to his cloak back.
    “Ha, no fooling you Sembri. I followed this young lad, and found him here. I knew he was of no danger to you.” With this, Sai directed his attention to Toren. “And you, I saw what you did to those men who were after Sembri. I thank you, there was no way I could have gotten to her in time.”
    “No problem, sir. Toren’s my name, Toren Gind. Pleased to meet’cha.”
    “Toren, you look to be a fine young lad. Why so far away from your homeland, though?”
    “My… homeland, sir?”
    Toren could feel Sai’s eyes penetrating his mind. That’s how he knew he had saved Sembri! But, did she know?
    “No, she doesn’t know the extent of my powers, and you mustn’t reveal that to her. It might scare her away from me. I mean her no harm, I promise you that, but please, let me protect her as much as I can before you take her too far away from me.”
    “I understand, Sai. I will do as you ask. But I ask for nothing more than the same as you. She must not know why I am here.”
    “Fine, we have a deal then.”
    “Um, hello? Something wrong? What’s up with you two?”
    Toren smiled. “Nothing, Sem, nothing. Well, let’s go get that stuff you were talking about.”
    “No need.” Sai pulled a bag out from under the counter top and put all of the contents of his miniscule stand inside. “We have everything she’ll need right here.”
    They headed for the stables to get tack and horses for their journey. Only the best would do. Toren chose a black mare, stocky enough to be of use and sturdy enough to carry their supplies. For Sembri, a younger dapple mare. Sai took a brown stallion. According to the stable hand, these were the highest quality horses. Sai dumped four gold pieces into his hand and the stable boy saddled the horses himself. They made arrangements to pick the horses up in an hour and went back to the castle to prepare.



    By the time they left, the air had grown colder with the setting sun. A brilliant array of colors swept the sky. Orange and light pink clouds dotted the horizon. Yet, Sembri felt only sorrow to be leaving behind her family. No, not all of her family. Sai was still with her, and he was as much a part of her family as she was. She looked back at the city, now just a dot itself on the low horizon. They had been riding for about an hour now. Just that much farther away from her mother. Sai had said that he filled her in with the details of the whole ordeal before he had left. But since she was sure he didn’t know all that had happened, she was glad to have written a letter herself. She told her mother how much she loved her, and that she would be back with her as soon as she was able. Her poor mother was probably weak with the anxiety of her daughter’s disappearance, and probably wanted to hear from her directly. Her horse led her down the gravel path to the next city, the tan stones laying out the path to her destiny. She began humming tunes to herself, thinking about what to talk to Toren about, when she noticed Sai watching her out of the corner of his eye.
    “What’s wrong, Sai? Is there something on my face?”
    “No, my dear, nothing is wrong. I just don’t know if one as young as yourself should be going on such a journey. Has Toren told you yet about why you must go on this trip?”
    At this, Toren visibly tensed.
    “No. Only that we must save the world. He said that the dangers involved in doing so might scare me away, so it would be better for me not to know.”
    “Is that so?” The twinkle in his eye turned to Toren, and a knowing smile lit his face. “Not to worry, my boy, not to worry. You did the right thing. She mustn’t know where it is she is going, it would ruin everything.”
    Toren grinned from ear to ear and exhaled a breath he had been holding since he saw the dark eyes turn in his direction for fear of reprimand. For a wizard the likes of Sai, a normal folly for a human could be a disastrous event. Well, he wasn’t exactly human, but his brain worked with the same efficiency. He wondered how old the wizard really was. He knew it was very rare for a wizard to be less than two-hundred years old, for that was usually the age they became a full-fledged wizard, but he couldn’t begin to imagine the years that put the wrinkles around those all-seeing eyes.
    “Shall we stop here for the night? My old bones need a good rest.” And with that, Sai slid off his horse and started unpacking his gear. Sembri and Toren exchanged amused glances. Old bones indeed. Sembri especially knew that he lied about his age. She found out while reading her great-grandfather’s journal that he, too, had known Sai. And he had said he looked aged even then. She knew there was something strange about him, but she couldn’t put her finger on exactly what it was. He was as spry as a youth, and just as energetic. She would find out. She couldn’t stand it when there was something playing at the corner of her mind; she had to figure it out. Toren wondered just how much she knew that Sai didn’t want her to.
    Night settled in just as Toren got the campfire going. It warmed Sembri to the bones. She nudged her bedding closer to the flames, without realizing that she was also moving closer to Toren. Sai, with his back to them both, saw through his gift as Sembri cuddled her back against Toren’s and smiled. It would be a long journey for them both; they needed their trust in one another.



    As dawn arose, light pink clouds swept the sky as if painted there purposely as a vision for all to see. Sembri stretched her muscles, stiff from sleeping on the ground, only for her to realize that she was still nuzzled against a half-awake Toren. Her face went crimson. If he noticed, he pretended not to.
    “Get cold? That’ll happen out here in the plains. Get used to it, we’re going further north.”
    She smiled as she got up and started putting up her pack. Only then did she realize that it was gone.