The 8th Hour
"Kaelith…"
"You can't! She's safest here."
"Kaelith. If anything happens to her, the Rot wins. The whole world goes dark. We want her safe as much as you do."
"Then what is this? Why is she in here instead of out there training?"
"Master Roric will leave his post and take her up to Starfall Peak. He'll train her there."
Kaelith's eyes went wide. "You want to send her off to die?"
"Kaelith."
"You want to force her powers out before she's ready? That place is for Pure Tides who've already mastered their energy, after hundreds of years of training."
"Kaelith…"
"It's dangerous enough already. With wraiths finding their way in here, the road to Starfall Peak will be crawling with them."
"We'll send our best warriors with you," Thoren said.
"Did the elders agree to this? Did my father agree to this?"
"Yes, Kaelith," he said solemnly.
Kaelith's face fell.
Thoren turned to Alya, who had stayed quiet through all of it.
"Child, prepare your mind. The road ahead is tough. May the Tide be with you."
He turned and started back toward his seat, then turned around once more. "You leave in two days." He sat down.
Alya and Kaelith walked back toward the training ground in silence. Nyla and Kellan were waiting just outside the entrance.
"Where have you two been? And what's this I'm hearing about you being sent off to Starfall Peak?" Nyla asked.
"What's going on?" Kellan asked.
"The elders agreed," Kaelith said.
"Is Celeste aware of this?" Kellan asked.
"The elders agreed. Even if she didn't, the vote would've gone against her," Kaelith said.
"I heard the place is cold, dark, and scary," Nyla said, shivering. "Even a well-trained Lunari wouldn't last long there."
"Guys, we have to go in. Master Roric's here," Kellan said.
They turned toward the gates just as two muffled voices began whispering nearby.
"Aren't we better off without the so-called Pure Tide?" one said.
"She arrives, and all hell breaks loose," the other said.
"Who do you think you're talking about, you headless chicken?" Nyla snapped, already stepping toward them. Kellan pulled her back.
"You're lucky," she said, glaring at them as Kellan pulled her inside.
It didn't stop there. All through training, whispers and remarks kept surfacing, glances thrown Alya's way. More than once, Master Roric told them to keep quiet. But today felt different. Everyone was scared.
Scared of what Alya's presence meant.
"These creatures are drawn to her."
"I've never felt a wraith's presence before, not until now."
"I had a bad dream last night."
"I've had several, ever since she got here."
"I think she's cursed."
And just like that, Alya froze. Everything went muffled. The sounds around her turned distant. Even her vision blurred.
This was it. She was cursed. Cursed to be a burden to everyone, even her kind.
She stood and ran again. Master Roric called after her. She kept running. Kellan and Nyla called after her too. She didn't stop.
She ran past the fields, past more stares, past the training grounds, and into the trees. She ran past the giant trunks, jumped over rocks, and broke out into a wide green field.
She fell to the ground and stared at the green grass. Even in its color, it felt like kin, more than those who were. She reached out and ran her fingers through it, letting her tears fall to meet it.
Just then, she felt a presence. The same uneasy pull she'd felt that morning during training. It was closer this time. Almost behind her.
Her instincts screamed at her to duck. She did, just as a dark, smoky shape flew over her head and landed a few feet away, eyes blazing red.
Alya's eyes widened. She scrambled backwards, her heart hammering against her chest. She darted her eyes around, looking for anything to defend herself with, but was met with grass.
The huge wraith growled, baring fangs of white smoke before lunging at her.
Alya threw up her hand, unleashing a sudden burst of force that pinned the creature mid-air. It thrashed violently, smoky claws hammering against her shield.
Holding up the barrier against the rampaging beast began draining her strength. As spiderweb cracks rippled across the surface, Alya sank to her knees under the overwhelming pressure, every muscle straining to hold the line. Then, with a deafening crack, the barrier shattered, and the wraith hurtled straight toward her.
Just as it was about to reach her, ice spears flew past her, tearing through the wraith and sending it staggering back.
Kaelith appeared, a long ice sword in his grip.
"Run!" he barked.
"I can't leave you alone with it!"
"Run!" He lunged forward to meet the charging wraith.
The wraith screeched, attacking with its claws. Kaelith glided gracefully across a slick trail of ice, slicing through the dark.
The wraith fell to the ground shaking violently. Kaelith raised his sword and brought it down, right through a throbbing red glow in its chest. The wraith screeched and went limp. But just as he thought the monster was gone, it struck. A vicious claw slashed right through him, sending him spiraling to the hard ground.
Shaking off the skirmish, the wraith locked onto Alya as she bolted through the trees and lunged anew. It flew above the treeline, gaining on her with terrifying speed.
Realizing she couldn't outrun it, Alya spun around, dropped to the ground, and threw up her barrier, but the wraith tore through it and dove straight for her.
With what strength she had left, Alya screamed.
Then her power surged.
A blinding light burst out of her. It took form, sword of light already in hand, and sliced straight through the wraith.
The creature's roar choked off instantly before it vanished into nothingness.
Alya blinked against the glare, staring at the luminous, human-shaped figure standing with its sword lowered at its side, his back turned to her.
Her vision blurred, dark shadows creeping at the edges of her eyes, just as the figure slowly turned to look at her.
Her eyes widened.
"Jayden."
Then, everything went dark.