The Chosen; Chapter 6

I sit in our camp space glowering into the fire. We had been traveling for two days without any incidents. It was unsettling. Ahriman had known where we were. He had come after us and now nothing. Amara saw it as a sign that we had gotten away from him successfully, that we were now in the clear for the moment. To me, it felt more like we were in the eye of the storm.

Then there was also the problem of Rohana. I had no doubt High Priestess Leoni had been right. If something had happened to Rohana, Edham would have chosen another. I'm sure if that were to happen, one of our patrons would reach out to us to let us know. But it hadn't happened, so she had to be out there. So now the question was where was she? How were we supposed to find her? How was she supposed to find us? Tallulah was sure Rohana would find us. Needless to say, none of us shared her certainty. There was always that quiet voice asking what happened if Rohana decided she didn't want to fulfill her duties.

I drop my head to my knees. We were supposed to have faith in each other. I couldn't even bring myself to trust she would be there in the end.

My head comes up at the snapping of twigs. Light fills the camp. I guess I had drifted off after all.

Makazta nods silently to me as she stops by the fire. She studies it silently for a moment longer.

"All is still quiet," she says evenly.

We had never actually discussed it, but I had the feeling, she felt the way I did; This silence didn't mean we were in the clear.

I nod silently. There wasn't really anything we could do. She glances at me as I push off the ground. "We just keep moving."

Another nod and a glance around the camp at the other three still sleeping. "Should we wake them? It is first light."

I stand for a moment, eyes flicking over the rest of our group. For the last two days that had been how we had been traveling. Up and down with the sun. I shake my head. They'd wake up soon enough on their own.

Sure enough, a few minutes later, Jaromir is up, Tallulah shortly after him. Amara is the last up. I've just quenched the fire in preparation to leave when Tallulah whips around. Her head turns left and right as she scans the forest.

"Did you hear something?" Jaromir asks.

Tallulah says nothing, shaking her head, but she keeps searching the trees.

"What are you looking for then?" Amara asks.

"That feeling is back," Tallulah whispers. "We're being watched."

From the corner of my eye, I can see Makatza and Jaromir share a look as Amara crosses her arms. None of them had an idea what she was talking about. I did though.

I grab my pack. "We need to go." Everyone turns to me, even Tallulah. I hold her gaze. "Last time you had that feeling a gerank showed up."

Makatza looks back at Tallulah in surprise. "Why didn't you say anything earlier?"

Tallulah's face flushes red. "It just came on."

Makatza waves a dismissive hand. "About being able to sense them being near."

Tallulah blinks. "Oh."

"A lot was happening," I remind everyone. "But now we all know and we should go."

Jaromir grabs his own pack. "I for one would like to find out if we can lose them before they find us."

"Agreed," Makatza says.

I nod, looking back at Tallulah. "If it gets worse or goes away, you let us know." She nods. I take one last look around our group. "Then let's get moving."

We move quickly and quietly. I'm at point and Jaromir is bringing up the rear, erasing any sign of our passage we may leave behind. Usually, Amara or Makatza were behind me, but this time, it was Tallulah.

Every now and then, I check with her. The feeling isn't getting worse, but it isn't going away either. My concern only grows when she finally whispers it's getting worse without my prompt for an update. Shortly after that, she's grabbing my arm, hissing it's close by.

We're all scanning the trees, looking, and listening for any sign of its direction.

Then it comes. A cacophony of noise, screeches of angry animals, breaking branches, the loud thumping of its feet. We all turn toward it as it appears through the trees.

It pulls up short. The gerank whips its head left and right before roaring in rage. It turns around, roaring again.

"It did see us, right?" Jaromir whispers, sword at the ready.

"I'm not shielding us," Amara whispers back.

The gerank roars again. Turning around, it roars at us. Well, it was defiantly angry.

"Fan out," I order.

No one even gets the chance to move. The gerank roars in pain, rearing up onto its legs and stumbling back. Its hands press at the wound stretching up along its abdomen seeping its black blood as it roars again, this time its fury directed at the lone figure now standing before it.

"Rohana," Tallulah breathes.

The gerank lunges forward as the shadows begin to swirl across the cut. Rohana easily dodges out of the way. A glint of metal and the gerank is roaring again, turning and blindly raking its claws at her. I can't tell if the gerank misses or not, but this doesn't stop her.

She turns and runs. The gerank roars, giving chase.

Jaromir doesn't hesitate, chasing after them. He lifts his hand, a wall of earth rising up before the gerank that doesn't have time to react.

Rohana spins at the sound. "No!" She yells, frustration clear in her voice.

The gerank turns toward Jaromir, roaring in anger. Jaromir slides to a stop, readying his sword to strike.

It takes one lumbering step toward Jaromir and stops. Slowly it turns its head back toward Rohana. Its head snaps back toward Jaromir though, the hilt of a dagger protruding from the side of its face.

"I got plenty more!" Rohana yells at it.

It roars back in response, charging her again. She doesn't stand her ground though. She turns and runs again.

Jaromir looks back at me in bewilderment. I shake my head. I was as lost as him. Though as I watch her plan unfold, I realize she never needed help.

She runs for a tree, the straightest, clearest one around. She doesn't slow as she nears it, using her speed to actually start to run up the trunk before pushing off it.

Her aim is perfect though, landing squarely on the gerank's back. Her short sword comes free only to sing through the air. The gerank's head rolls across the ground as Rohana gracefully lands. She doesn't even glance back as its body hits the ground.

Not that she has a chance. Tallulah is suddenly there, catching her in an embrace.

Rohana stiffly pats Tallulah's back as the shadows consume the gerank.

"How good of you to join us," Amara drawls.

Rohana manages to detach Tallulah, stepping toward us. Her eyes are hard as they met Amara's gaze. "You're welcome," she says indifferently as she slides her short sword back into its sheath.

Amara stiffens. "An apology would be more appropriate."

"For saving your life?" Rohana tilts her head. "What an odd request, but fine. Apologies for saving your life. I hope it's not too terribly inconvenient."

"Where have you been?" I demand.

A shrug. "Not important."

"How did you find us?"

"Belig told me." Considering the silence, I've no doubt I'm not the only one giving her a doubtful look. She rolls her eyes. "I was heading for Ragna's temple," she says as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, "And instead found a pack of geranks that were on the hunt and not for me." Her eyes cut back to Amara. "You're welcome."

"You took out a pack of geranks all on your own?" Makatza sounds mildly impressed.

Rohana shrugs. "It was a small pack, only three. I suppose that says more about your abilities than mine."

"You took out three geranks all on your own?" There's no mistaking the doubt in Amara's voice.

I can't deny I'm skeptical myself. Maybe she did successfully take out one without help but three?

Rohana shrugs. "Believe what you want, I really don't care. But we need to go." She turns away, walking off without a word.

Tallulah doesn't need any prompting to follow her. The rest, however, still look to me. Shaking my head, I take point following after her. Something was off, but we did need to go. Who knew if there were more geranks in the area. I'd rather be gone before they got close enough for Tallulah to sense them.