Chapter 41
Captain Yang
“I trust you,” she says, and there is so much emotion behind her words, that it is clear to the world she’s telling the truth.
I swallow suddenly.
There are so many things I want to ask her.
Before the Night attacked, it was as if she could feel it. She begged me to get her out of there before it came.
Before the husks crawled out of the dust toward her.
Why would they do that?
Why would they attack?
Is it simply because as the age ends, we quicken toward the final day? Is chaos spilling into the land? The foot soldiers of the Night attacking whomever they please?
As I tear strips off my uniform to attend to Yin’s wounds, I can’t help feel that it’s more than that.
The memory of how she forced those two illusionists back is still strong in my mind.
The power. The unadulterated power.
I have never seen anything like it.
It was as if she could connect to the spirit of fire itself. To the true essence of all force – Gaea herself. As if she could become completely balanced with fire’s full force.
As I swab at the blood on her cheek, neck, and arm, she doesn’t say anything. She stares over my shoulder. Instead of crying, however, considering her injuries, there is a bitter kind of smile on her face. It looks a little like hope.
I suddenly want to tell her that I won’t leave her side. The thought blossoms in my mind, growing from some energy I can’t recognize.
It’s foolish and out of place, but I can’t stop myself. “Yin, I won’t leave you. I won’t abandon you. We are in this together,” I say, still unsure of what exactly I’m saying.
She faces me, her lips parting, those usually blazing eyes opening with surprise, then half closing with some other emotion.
Thanks.
Without a word, she reaches a hand out and locks it on my sleeve.
Without a word, I turn my hand down, until I grab hers and hold it tightly.
There’s so much I want to ask her.
But I can’t ask now.
The time for questions and answers will come.
Right now, there is only one thing I need to do.
Stay here. The two of us, silent but present.
They say in legend that fire and water never mix.
They are natural opposites, and one will always extinguish the other. The force of fire is not compatible with the fluidity of water.
Yet right now there could be no other person who to comfort. As she smiles at me, I wonder if it’s the same for her.
I have no idea what will happen next.
Not only is Garl after us, but I must face the prospect that the Night is quickening.
Soon the age will end.
Though I have abandoned my duty as a guardian of the Savior, I can’t turn my back on what is happening.
So I will find some way to fight.
To protect.
To forge a new destiny.
I do not know what tomorrow will bring, not even what will happen in a moment from now.
But with my own decisions, I will forge my own path through that uncertainty. As I lean there and hold onto Yin’s hand, I decide to stay here.
For as long as it takes.
When we are ready, we will move on.
To whatever awaits us.
The end of Book One.
Book Two, A Fool’s Errand, is currently available.
For a full list of Odette C. Bell books and upcoming releases, please visit www.odettecbell.com.
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The first book of Ki is available in full at www.odettecbell.com.
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