The Silent Quest, IziCain [red seas under red skies txt] 📗

Sand Lands... Satan lived deep inside their souls.
They had encountered nothing for the rest of the evening, so when the sun went down and Anahita was pretty satisfied that nothing was going to pop up-
“What was that?” she gasped, looking back the small village was no longer in sigh.
He stopped too, sniffing at the air and shrugging although trying to form a reasonable answer that wouldn’t scare her corpse less.
“It is nothing,” was all he came up with.
But he sensed her hurrying over and sticking close to his right elbow, he almost stifled a laugh when she clutched tight, just when that sound came again. He gaped.
“Hear that?” she asked, so quietly he had to lean over slightly. “Sounds like a wolf... Ren...”
He moved forward, dragging her along, and then stopped to smile. “There are no wolves in the Sand Lands, Anna. Just ghouls and fiends and Black Spectres who had broken out the woods and forests when the flood came in, hey you look white as a sheet.”
She shivered, “out of that big list, what the hell is it?”
This made Ren nervous, he had encountered these howling creatures and he knew exactly how to handle them.
“Do not worry, I know what it is. Just follow me, stick close, but not that close that you’ve practically come inside me. OK?”
She nodded, gulped and followed, eyes scanning the half dark area. It wasn’t much of a sight, but she told herself it would all be alright. The howling was far and she could feel Ren tense as soon as they heard it coming from another direction, she was screaming to ask him if there was a safer way of moving around the Sand Lands but knew that he wouldn’t answer her stupidity. They were walking in the middle; from all four directions even the world’s biggest idiot would think them as an enemy. She hated feeling an arrow or a sword go through her back, a counter attack as Ulrika had warned would be no surprise. Anahita was worried, she glanced back again.
Nothing, just sand and the past they had left behind. Her feet were light on the sand, she could feel them dipping in and coming out just as easily, Ren was kicking it about like it was nothing more than a dead pup.
As they headed forward, the howling got louder, closer and scarier. The travellers were now almost speed walking but did not come to a full run, the sounds were from everywhere. Neither of them spoke while trying to ignore the sounds, causing any form of attraction towards themselves could be dangerous. Could be.
A howl from the right caused them to stop walking, it had been so close and-
Anahita gave a gasp of surprise when she saw blood over her hand; Ren glared at it and then looked over her shoulder to witness a hunched charcoal wolf. It was on its fours but the tail was puffed up in warning call, the spine was arched and fury full, the snarl proved it wanted an attack. The eyes were a golden brown edged with a reddish gleam, the saliva dripped and made a lump in the sand. Anahita stared, her hands shaking, the blood warming her flesh, where had it come from?
“Stay ever so still,” Ren whispered. “Until I say so, understood?”
She nodded, not willing to say a word in case the wolf leaped. But it didn’t, it was there ready to launch, but not diving. It was a long time until Ren gave his own gasp, Anahita watched him shake his hand, blood...
In their line of distraction, the wolf on Anahita’s side jumped and took her down; she whirled and caught it in the arm. He jammed her into the sand and tried snapping at her shoulder and face, she kicked in fury and pain but the creature was just too big. Its paws were flat on her ribcage, pushing and almost cracking the bone; she gave a yelp and slapped the wolf across the jaw. It didn’t react so; instead it bit the base of her palm and peeled a lump of skin off, another scratch from his claws sent blood flying into the air. Anahita hissed from the new cut on her torn lips.
During her little fight with the dark wolf, she caught sight of Ren slaughtering other wolves of odd green colours and blues. Some just appeared from thin air, although they had been invisible all along.
Fear gripped her, she had no weapon.
Her training lessons with her parents were all to do with human attacks and during war and self defence if she needed it, but they had never told her how to fight a wolf.
Trying her hardest to beat the creature, Anahita remembered the one thing her father had told her:
“Always look for the weak chakra,” he had said one night. “It’s normally in the-”
Anahita grinned and lifted her fist, pushing all her energy into her punch and knocked the wolf down by thudding it in the throat. It fell on its back and didn’t get up; the neck was the weakest chakra, many lessons taught her that. Other wolves were no longer in sight, their crumbling forms turning to sand just as quickly. The lone charcoal attacker shivered, gagged and turned into the ground just as quickly. It wasn’t a surprising sight, rather glum and sickening. Turning away from them Anahita glanced at Ren, who stood examining his hand, she peered at her own. Most of the blood had cleared and she saw the deep gnash from her wrist to the top of her forefinger, she could see bone and flesh and tried not to cringe. With the minor cuts she knew they’d live. Travelling in the dark was her last request.
“Take no notice,” Ren approached and took her hand, examining it sourly. “It shall heal by itself sometime soon; wolf cuts are nothing more than paper cuts. Hurt anywhere?”
She shook her head, blinking back the sting of pain. In fact she was covered in fresh bruises, that wolf hadn’t been light as a feather but heavy as a boulder. He grabbed the back bag and swung it through his arms, pinning it to his spine. Grudgingly, Anahita followed him and kept her hands to herself, sticking them in the jacket pockets.
The wind was howling by the time they got to a small cactus plant, Anahita sat down while Ren cut the spiked flesh with a small dagger and began drinking from it.
He moved and wiped his mouth, almost instantly the cut area of the cactus resealed itself and let a spike fall.
“Come,” he beckoned her over. “It’s the cactus that allows you to drink whatever, very rare. Wish what to drink and cut it open, and then fill away!”
Nervous and unsure she stepped forward and wished for something, then nodded to Ren who gave the cactus another cut. It poured a yellow coloured liquid and she jammed her mouth to it, the taste filled her mouth and she gulped it down. Time ticked on and she moved away, last drips of the drink trickled down the body of the cactus and sealed the slit. Another spike fell off.
At her questioning gaze Ren told her, “The spike is to let the cactus know how many things it has fed in the coming week. Looks like we’re the first two, mango juice I see?”
He grinned and she scowled, “what did you ask for?”
His grin faded, “you don’t need to know.”
His sudden angry tone made her take a step back, his eyes narrowed and lips thinned into a vicious line. His jaw tightened and she heard the squeak of his teeth rubbing against each other.
“Get a move,” he said and when she didn’t move he boomed the next word. “Now!”
Anahita hesitated, and then willed her feet to move. On shaky legs she made to his side and followed him like a sidekick, wondering what had caused his sudden outburst of rage... FOUR

IT was too dark; nothing could be seen for a good arms reach outwards. Ren had no problem, only one, keeping his distance from her. Every step he took he shifted to the left, slowly moving from her side, Anahita wondered why. He glanced at her, making sure she wasn’t watching him, but her senses were not that dead gone. His fists were clenched, making sure she knew that he didn’t want anything to do with her. She was on this journey with him; he’s the one who dragged her into this mess; at the same time taken her out of some too.
Rolling her eyes away from him she caught sight of lights up ahead, hope shimmered and she soon realised that they were at some sort of crossing. The crossing was a drop zone where the deep fall ended within the earth’s core, but instead of expecting fire and other items she was told about; Anahita saw water.
The moonlight danced off the liquid and made the nearby stones give off a radiant light, which is what Anahita had gotten so happy about.
“There is a water fall bridge that separates the Sand Lands from Arabia, and the Sand Lands from the Charm Forest.” Her father had once told her.
Straightening her spine she knew they would have to circle the falls and carry on around the pathway that led them into Arabia. What was her purpose? Was she meant to be another maid? Is this why Ren was treating her like a bad child, because he wanted to prove to his people he was probably a worthy leader that could bring any servant he liked? Because he thought they were good enough?
Horror drenched her and Anahita slipped, falling forward into the fall, she yelled out in shock and disgust. Hands grabbed her jacket and were hauling her back to steady ground, she whirled and punched.
Ren didn’t let her go until he had dragged her a few feet back, his face a mask of strain and the same rage. She pushed at him and growled, making him raise a brow in wonder.
“Calm down, kitty,” he laughed. “It will not do any good to have you greeting the King with a broken leg, or two.”
Grinning he set off again, but she was overdosing herself with fearful questions and future settlements. They were going to use her, her chance to find out about her parents true nature of death was going to be snatched from her. Swallowing curses she staggered after him, a little dizzy from the act.
The round pathway was uneven and she kept slipping towards the fall, the big hole which contained water, half empty since the flood took over a year back.
The war was too brutal as she remembered, men and women including children were unfaithfully murdered before her eyes, and when things had settled down she realised that she was in the hands of Queen Concetta just before the water came rushing all around her.
Anahita wished it would come up now and take her in, claim her again like it was mean too; at least she wouldn’t come up with such stupid thoughts.
Ren was much further ahead, whistling and riddling with himself. He didn’t look back once to check if she was safe or even agreeing to follow him, what