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  ‘Unfortunately not, your… Lexi. Flying takes a lot of magical energy, and I’m afraid you’re not strong enough to make a flight that far yet. That’s why I was sent to protect you on your…’. Lexi was so focused on listening to Rowan, she tripped on a tree root and was suddenly tumbling down the steep bank they’d been walking alongside. Branches and tree roots hit her from all angles as she fell. Suddenly, without warning, she was free falling through the air. She let out a scream, terrified, as she fell through the darkness. From nowhere, she felt Rowans’ arms wrap around her. She gripped onto him tightly and took a deep breath, trying to steady her nerves. She lifted her head from his chest and looked around, trying to focus on her surroundings. It was very dark, but she could just about make out, they were hovering within the rim of what seemed to be a very deep ravine. She could hear the roaring of a waterfall somewhere in the darkness, and felt the chilling draught of air being forced upwards from the cold water below. She shivered, Rowan pulled her back tightly to his chest and flew up into the night sky, above the forest canopy.

  ‘Are you okay?’ he whispered. She looked up into his eyes, they were so full of concern, lit by the moonlight. She simply nodded, trembling from her close call. He kept her held tight as he flew to a clearing he had spotted through the trees. Gently laying her down onto the damp grass, he cupped her head in the palm of his hand. ‘Are you sure you’re okay? That was a pretty impressive fall you had back there!’ he questioned, his brow furrowed. She took a moment to consider how she felt, assessing any sore areas or damaged limbs.

  ‘I think I’m okay, a little shaken and cold, but I don’t think anything’s broken, just bruised’, wincing as she tried to sit up, ‘I can’t really see anything in this light though’. Rowan looked at her puzzled,

  ‘You can’t see in the dark?’ That made her laugh out loud,

  ‘What? No! Can you?’ she quizzed, as she managed to get herself sat upright.

  ‘Yes, very clearly. You honestly can’t see in the dark?’ Lexi stared at him in amazement.

  ‘I’m pretty much as blind as a bat!’ She stated. He looked profoundly serious for a moment and then a wicked smile began to grow across his face.

  ‘You’re winding me up, aren’t you?!’

  ‘Sorry Lexi, I couldn’t help myself. It took your mind off the fall though, didn’t it!’ She smiled as she suddenly realised, he was no longer hesitating at calling her by her name.

  Rowan had set them down on a small, slightly raised area within the clearing. There were a few rocks standing to one side, a small tree on the other, with a flattened area of soil towards the centre, where Rowan had just finished building a pile of small logs. He filled the gaps between the logs with some dried leaves, clicked his fingers close to them and the clearing suddenly burst into a glow of warm fire light. Lexi looked at him in awe,

  ‘Wow! That’s pretty impressive!’. Rowan laughed a little,

  ‘I dabble in a little magic’ he replied, winking. Once the fire was burning steadily, he sat himself against a rock close to her, a stick in hand. They sat for a while, Rowan prodding the fire while Lexi sat, a puzzling thought forming in her mind.

  ‘Rowan?’ he looked up from the fire, his eyes flickering with the reflection of the flames. ‘Why didn’t my wings save me when I was falling into that ravine?’ her voice sounding a little hurt and confused. He sat up from the rock and turned to face her directly, a serious expression on his face.

  ‘The magic that summons your wings is immensely powerful, that’s why it’s so draining.’ He paused for a moment in thought. ‘I think, and this is only a guess, but I think maybe you haven’t fully connected to that magic yet, and the panic stopped you from gaining access to it.’ Concern clear on his face, ‘In the clearing with Amber your emotions were quite different, the magic responded to that, it wanted to open up and show you it was there. Magic can be a little frustrating and not always a reliable force.’ He turned away from her and gazed into the fire for a moment. When he turned back to look at her his eyes were full of tears. ‘I know the price of trusting in magic too much. When I was young, I lost my brother because my magic wasn’t strong enough to save him.’ He dipped his head and reached up to wipe away the tears as he slumped back against the rock. Lexi reached out and took his hand, ‘Rowan, I’m so sorry!’ She understood the grief he must be feeling, the pain of losing her own Father still so raw. They sat in the flickering warmth of the fire for some time, hand in hand, dwelling on those they had lost. Eventually they both settled to the ground as they drifted off to sleep.

  ***

  Lexi’s sleep was less than soothing. She dreamt she was back in the house, walking down the dark corridor towards the room where her Father had died. However, the corridor never ended, and the door was always the same distance away, no matter how hard she tried to reach it. She could hear her Father calling out to her, in that strained voice he’d had as he was dying. She tried so hard to reach him, tears flowing down her face. The corridor began to change and shift, and quickly grew into a dense wood, as she continued to force her way towards the door. Branches reached out like claws scratching her skin, ripping her clothes, but the door remained visible, yet unreachable. There was a sudden, blinding flash of light and she woke with a jolt.

  As reality came into focus, she realised the fire was out and it was extremely dark. She could see very little, other than the stars flickering above in the night sky. She reached towards Rowan to wake him, only to realise he wasn’t there. She heard a shuffle close by,

  ‘Row…’ a hand swiftly cupped her mouth, cutting her off. She felt warm breath against her ear as someone leaned in close beside her.

  ‘Shh. There’s someone in the clearing, and I don’t think they’re friendly. We’re being stalked!’ Rowan gently released her mouth and took hold of her hand. Whispering into her ear once more ‘I need you to follow me. I’ll keep hold of your hand, but try and keep as quiet as you can, and stay with me’. He helped her up from the ground and they slowly, quietly moved away from where they’d laid beside the fire. As her eyes began to adjust to the darkness a little, she could make out the dark line of the trees, where she guessed they were heading, with the hope of safe cover. They were almost to the treeline when from nowhere, and with no sound, something snatched Rowans hand away from hers. Lexi gave out a little shriek and then dropped to the ground, panic setting in. She could hear a scuffle nearby accompanied by grunts and the occasional yelp. She felt a growing need to help Rowan, to protect him. She couldn’t let him get hurt, or worse, killed. She knelt in the grass, trying to focus as hard as she could on where exactly the fighting was taking place, and to get her bearings. She turned on her knees until she felt she was facing the right direction, she could feel something building up, deep within her. She wasn’t sure what was happening, but she instinctively knew to let it come. She felt an intense sensation, like nothing she had felt before, build and grow. She heard Rowan cry out with pain, her ears began to ring, and her whole body felt like it was alive and crackling with energy. Suddenly there was a forceful burst of an intense, bright white light. She heard a shriek from some sort of creature and then everything went black. For what seemed like an eternity the world spun around her, the stars in the night sky danced, and she was surrounded by a blissful silence. She felt a hand loosely grasp at her leg, ‘it’s okay, they’re gone’ Rowan murmured in a pained voice, as his hand slipped from her leg and he slumped to the ground beside her.

  Rising Light

  Lexi woke to the Sun breaking over the treetops. Rowan lay beside her, asleep or possibly unconscious, she wasn’t sure which. She vaguely remembered laying down beside him in the dark and wrapping her arm around him protectively, unsure if he was even still alive. She could now see he was at least breathing, and she could feel the heat radiating from his body, she let out a sigh of relief.

  As she sat up and looked around, she could clearly see the damage caused all around them by the previous night’s confront
ation. There were broken shrubs and clumps of earth torn up all over the place, and close by, she could make out what looked like animal prints in the earth. Large, almost like a lion’s footprints, with deep claw marks. One of the prints contained a pool of glistening red blood, shimmering in the morning light. Immediately she began to panic. She took Rowans arm and shook him, he groaned and turned slowly towards her. As he turned, she could see his face was very pale and he held his hand to his side as he moved, a shimmering red blood seeping between his fingers from the wound beneath.

  ‘Rowan! let me see, how bad is it!?’ She exclaimed as she reached to move his hand. He gasped as she lifted it, beneath was a jagged tear, deep into his torso. Panic started to sink in, unsure how she could help him. Memories of what had happened to her Father came flooding back.

  ‘I can fly back to the house and get help, it’s only…’ he put a finger to her lips to quieten her.

  ‘It’s too far, you won’t make it’ he murmured, his voice ragged ‘I need you to do something. it will be difficult, but I know you can do it’. Tears beginning to roll down her face,

  ‘Anything Rowan, just tell me what I need to do’. He smiled faintly,

  ‘That light you used last night, it can be focused into a healing power…’ he grimaced as a shockwave of pain shot through him, ‘you need to hold the light in your hand and seal the wound with it.’ He drew in a ragged breath. She began to shake her head,

  ‘I have no idea how I did that, it just happened. I don’t know how!’ she cried. He took her hand and squeezed tightly,

  ‘Yes you do, I believe in you. You are the Daughter of Bastian, the greatest and most powerful leader we have ever known. You carry that strength within you, and I believe you would, even if he wasn’t your Father. You are powerful Lexi, all by yourself’. He looked into her eyes, through the pain she could see something there, he genuinely believed she could do this. She took in a deep breath, ‘What do I do?’ she whispered.

  Despite the agonising pain, Rowan managed to turn himself, so he was laid on his back. Lexi ran and grabbed her backpack, that she had left at the fireside close by. She placed it carefully under his head, making him a little more comfortable. He reached up and touched her cheek, ‘close your eyes’ he whispered. She did as she was told.

  ‘Now reach deep down inside with your mind, until you find something that feels like a strong tingling energy.’ She sat for what felt like forever, nothing.

  ‘It’s no good, I can’t do it!’ she sobbed.

  ‘Lexi I know you can do this. Close your eyes and let every thought float away, just focus on that energy. You’ll find it…’ He took another laboured, ragged breath. She looked down at him, he looked very pale and tired; she didn’t know how long he could hold on. She closed her eyes again, this time trying to empty her mind, as he’d said. She pictured herself floating amongst the clouds, her glistening wings gliding her through the air with no effort. She felt a weight lift as she soared… There! There it is. A tingling energy, deep down within. She focused on the energy, letting it grow and become a part of her, as she had the night before. Once she could feel that energy surging throughout her whole body, she began to focus on her hand, and trying to move that energy there. As she did so, she imagined she was compressing it down into a narrow beam. It felt like it was working. She opened one eye, and to her disbelief, the hand that she held above Rowan’s wound was glowing a bright, dazzling light. She opened both eyes, continuing to focus all the energy through to her palm. She watched in awe, as the horrific wound began to stitch itself back together and heal in front of her very own eyes. When she felt it had completely healed, she lifted her hand and let the light fade. Rowan exhaled, the colour already returning to his face. He placed his hand gently on her arm,

  ‘Thank you. You have saved my life twice already. I thought I was the one meant to be protecting you!’ He laughed softly. ‘If it’s okay, I need to rest for a few hours before we move on?’ he questioned. She reached over and ruffled his black and white hair lightly,

  ‘Rowan, you can take all the time you need. I’m just glad you’re still alive.’ She smiled, glancing down at his chest and the faint shimmering scar that remained. She suddenly realised her gaze had lingered a little too long on his bare torso. A little embarrassed, she quickly got to her feet,

  ‘I’m just going to collect some firewood, if we’re staying a while’ she murmured and headed off in search of some wood. Oh boy, she thought, I think I’m falling hard for this guy!

  Illumination

  The sun shone high in the midday sky as Lexi and Rowan weaved their way amongst the thick woodland and undergrowth. Under the blazing sun Lexi was sure it must be extremely hot, but within the forest there was a bitter chill to the air. The ground was muddy under foot, and it was proving hard work to stay upright. Both had already taken a few tumbles, looking muddied and a little the worse for wear.

  They had decided to set off from the clearing a few hours previous. Rowan had judged by the movement of the sun, the direction they needed to go, and they hit the ‘road’ so to speak. Although there was unfortunately no road in sight. Branches tugged and tore at their clothes and scratched their skin more constantly, as the woods grew thicker around them. Lexi couldn’t help but think of the dream she’d had the previous night and shuddered, remembering all too clearly the pained voice of her Father.

  In the distance they could hear the roaring of a waterfall, growing gradually louder as they fought their way through the thicket. Eventually they stumbled upon a faint path leading through the undergrowth, possibly an animal trail, but it made the going just that little bit easier. The path continued to grow a little wider until finally, after what felt like a very exhausting few hours, they stepped out onto a small outcrop at the top of an immense waterfall. Looking out into the cavernous ravine below, Lexi realised this must have been where Rowan had saved her the night before. Wow! She thought to herself, I’m certainly glad he was there to catch my fall! A shiver ran through her as she imagined how long it would have taken to hit the bottom, barely visible through the dark shadows cast by its steep sides.

  Rowan had ventured a little closer to the edge than Lexi, his hair flitting around with the powerful updraft of the water as he peered down into the waterfall. Suddenly he dropped to his knees and swung a leg out over the side. Lexi gasped and made a move to grab him, but he held a hand up to stop her.

  ‘It’s okay, there’s steps here. They look like they are leading down behind the waterfall’, as he swung his other leg out and down onto the first step. ‘I’ll go check it out, just to make sure it’s safe. I’ll be right back, I promise’.

  He pointed over to a gathering of large shrubs off to one side of the outcrop, ‘You can go and hide over there, so you won’t get spotted. I just need to make sure there’s nothing dangerous hiding down there!’ he winked at her as his head disappeared below the edge.

  Lexi approached the collection of shrubs, how on earth am I meant to get in there?! she asked herself as she gently pushed her hands in and carefully parted the dense foliage. To her surprise she found that there was a hollow area within, covered on all sides with a lush green wall of leaves. The largest shrub was forming most of the shelter, resembling more of a small tree than a shrub. Its trunk was positioned between three large, smooth rocks, it then branched out at roughly chest height to form an overhanging canopy of tightly woven greenery. Lexi got onto her knees and crawled into the remarkably roomy space within, letting the curtain of foliage fall closed behind her. The three rocks acted almost like a seat. There was a low, flat stone, slightly curved downwards in the centre, sitting closest to her. The other two formed a support for the trunk, sitting either side of it and curving in slightly on each side. Lexi positioned herself comfortably, sat back, relaxed and before she knew it, she’d fallen into a deep sleep.

  ***

  Lexi woke gently to a beautiful green glow all around her and the pleasant smell of a warm summers’ day.
The sun had travelled around far enough, that it was now shining down on the little outcrop and illuminating the small shelter with its warming rays of light. As she opened her eyes sleepily, she could see small twinkling lights all around her, they looked like small fireflies, like those she’d seen the night her Father died. They circled her slowly, making no sound. As she pulled herself awake, they slowly dispersed, until they were completely gone. She sleepily rubbed her eyes and stretched her limbs out a little, drowsily pondering what the small lights could have been. She drew in a deep breath and slowly exhaled, the fatigue from the earlier hike and the previous night’s unpleasant incident, melting away just a little. She sat for a moment, just absorbing the beautiful light and calming aromas around her. Suddenly she jumped, her heart racing. There had been an unexpected sound outside her little sanctuary, it sounded like someone clearing their throat. Leaning forward she carefully and quietly parted a little gap in the foliage and peered out. Perched on the edge of the outcrop, staring out into the ravine, sat Rowan, his torso glistening with moisture from the waterfall as the sun beat down on him. Lexi felt a warm fuzzy feeling inside as she gazed out at him, for the first time, being able to really look at him without him noticing.

  ‘I hope you slept well’, he suddenly spoke, a slight playfulness in his voice. Damn it! She pulled herself forward and shuffled awkwardly out from her shelter.

  ‘How long have you been out here?!’ she questioned, as she stood and brushed herself down. Rowan stood to join her, a wide smile now evident on his face.

  ‘Maybe about two hours. I didn’t want to wake you’. Lexi flushed a little,

  ‘What makes you think I was asleep?’ Rowan laughed

  ‘I don’t think bushes snore!’ With a sudden act of impulse, Lexi shoved him, playfully but hard, completely forgetting how close he was stood to the edge. He teetered for a moment, then fell, disappearing out of sight. She gasped and reached out to grab him, but she was already too late. For only a few seconds, there was nothing, Panic began to set in. Then, with astounding speed, he soared up over the edge and over her head. She spun around as he landed gracefully on the ground close to the treeline behind her. She ran to him, slapping him on the chest,