The Heart of the Forest (3)

Nothing but the sound of the crystals cutting through the air sounded for a while. They circled Aether as he raised his hand, the broken chain in his hand emitting a silver glow.

"Reveal!" He shouted. Light exploded from the chain, immediately followed by darkness. Lord Ladran covered his eyes.

Lady Luna's eyes snapped to the woods below. She narrowed her eyes, her lips formed a thin line. A single glimmer of light was what she spotted.

"Lady Luna?" One of the students' voice sounded. "Is everything alright?"

She ignored the sheepish voice. She could feel an ominous presence deep in the woods. A devil perhaps? No, but a creature of the night. A being from the otherworld. Perhaps a spirit that should not be.

She wasn't sure.

"Is something wrong? Did something happen to them?" Iris' clear, loud voice demanding answers pulled her out of her thoughts. She looked at the young girl. Her bright blue eyes didn't look away as their gazes met. "Are they in danger?"

"No, I doubt that. I was just lost in thought." She forced a smile. "We should continue – we are not quite done here yet." She raised her voice a little to alert the students.

"You're not a good liar." Iris' voice stopped her. "You are worried. Aren't you?"

Lady Luna's lips formed a thin line.

"What's going on down there?" Iris insisted with a firm and determined voice.

"I don't know." Lady Luna sighed. "It's nothing Master Soren can't handle though." A genuine smile formed on her lips. "There is nothing to worry about. They will all be fine."

Iris sighed, then nodded. While she wasn't convinced one bit, she knew insisting wasn't going to give her what she wanted.

"You still seem worried." Seth lightly squeezed her shoulder, trying to act all reassuring.

"Of course I am." Iris shook her head. "Are you not? Your friends are there too!"

Seth chuckled. "Yes, but Sir Ladran seemed more than capable enough to protect everyone. I mean, Lady Luna called him her mentor – you can't think of him as weak."

Iris laughed. "Oh believe me, I don't doubt his power." That was exactly what worried her. What if he got the upper hand against Aether? What if they clashed? What if he tried to harm the young man?

"Then trust him and stop worrying so much!" Seth sighed. "Besides, we're not all that safe either! Did you forget the sudden thunders?"

"No, I didn't." Iris shook his hand off of her shoulder and hastened her steps to catch up with Lady Luna. She wasn't letting the woman out of her sight.

"What on earth did you do?" Lord Ladran's voice was but a whisper as colours seemed to drain away from the world around them. The wind suddenly disappeared, leaving the crystal wings hanging in the air.

Aether remained still, not responding. The chain in his hand cracked, then shattered. The young man slowly lowered his arm, then raised his head.

"Show thyself!" His voice echoed in the absolute silence.

The greyscale world didn't respond.

"What did you do?" Lord Ladran asked with a higher voice.

Aether flinched. He had forgotten about the scholar. "Silence!" He hissed, surprising the noble. His eyes scoured their surroundings.

A chuckle sounded. A sly, mocking voice spoke in his ears.

"So, the puny humans arrive!" His eyes darted around as he tried to pinpoint the source of the voice. "And they wield such power as well." The voice came from behind him. Aether quickly turned to face it, only to come eye to eye with Lord Ladran.

The scholar raised his finger to his lips, signalling him to stay silent.

"Slivers of silver, slivers of silver!" The voice chuckled. Its location changed again, this time it echoed from his left. Aether turned once again, only to be met with the pitch black shadows of the forest.

"And a chain…" The voice whispered. "Broken!" He felt something pull his hair.

He jumped to the side and looked up, only to see the black sky.

"And what do we have here…" A giggle, and the sound of a sniff. "Oh, a scholar! You smell of parchments and books," The voice laughed. "Dusty, dusty books!"

"Show yourself!" Lord Ladran shouted, his face pale.

"So much knowledge stuffed into that little human mind of yours!" The voice whispered. "So many years, lost amidst the pages written by long dead fingers!"

Aether closed his eyes. The voice was constantly changing places, and the unnatural echo made it impossible to tell where it was at any given time.

"You poor little human." The giggle sounded from behind Lord Ladran. The middle aged man flinched and quickly turned to face it, only to see nothing once more. "You always read about the past – would you like a hint of the future?"

Aether's eyes shot open. A hint of the future?

"What?" Lord Ladran asked. "Blasphemy! Show yourself before I burn this whole forest to ash!"

"A little secret for the little man who thinks himself strong!" The voice sounded. It giggled, constantly changing locations.

"I'll pass." Lord Ladran replied. "None can see the future, show yourself, devil!"

"Oh, but I can!" The voice giggled once more. "But if you don't want to hear it, then I won't tell you!" It almost sounded offended. "Hmpf!" It exhaled, then silence covered the forest once more.

Aether breathed a sigh of relief.

"But then you are not welcome in my home!" The voice sounded once more. It wasn't the same voice, joking and giggling, but a voice filled with power and wrath.

A wind rose from the ground, blowing both men's hair and clothes back.

"Look out!" Aether shouted as the crystal wings flew towards Lord Ladran.

"Leave this place, ungrateful human, and never return lest I kill you!" The bellowing voice was almost deafening. Aether's eyes widened as he quickly turned to look at the origin of the voice. The unnatural echo was gone, he could see it clearly now – the river!

"Ladran!" He shouted. "The river!" It was all he could say before the crystals hit Lord Ladran's shield. They shattered into a million pieces, and at the same time, the scholar disappeared in a flash of light.