Back to the Source - Part V

This is the fifth part of a longer story. If you would like to see what has already happened, here is part one:

https://shopping-feedback.today/fiction/back-to-the-source%3C/em%3E%3C/a%3E%3Cem class="css-ak7tmt-Italic">

part two:

https://shopping-feedback.today/fiction/back-to-the-source-part-ii%3C/em%3E%3C/a%3E%3Cem class="css-ak7tmt-Italic">

part three:

https://shopping-feedback.today/fiction/back-to-the-source-part-iii%3C/em%3E%3C/a%3E%3Cem class="css-ak7tmt-Italic">

and part four:

https://shopping-feedback.today/stories/back-to-the-source-part-iv%3C/em%3E%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E%3Cstyle data-emotion-css="14azzlx-P">.css-14azzlx-P{font-family:Droid Serif,Georgia,Times New Roman,Times,serif;font-size:1.1875rem;-webkit-letter-spacing:0.01em;-moz-letter-spacing:0.01em;-ms-letter-spacing:0.01em;letter-spacing:0.01em;line-height:1.6;color:#1A1A1A;margin-top:32px;}

~ ~

Zaric woke up first. He stared blankly at the uneven rock above him for a moment before the memory of last night's events flooded back into his drowsy brain. He sat up abruptly and hissed when his head responded to the movement with a stab of pain. His stomach growled.

He looked to the side, where Darien lay on his back with both arms spread wide like a dead man. Even his face with sunken cheeks and his mouth slightly open seemed corpse-like. The barely visible movement of the chest was the only sign that he was still alive.

One of the gryplions yawned noisily. Zaric approached the mounts, inspected their wide paws and the soft plumage around their heads, patted the sandy manes, all the time keeping an eye on the razor sharp feathers at the end of their tails. Both animals looked well-fed and hydrated. They wouldn’t need to eat for at least a few more days. What a shame it was that people’s stomachs could not work that way.

He rummaged through the saddlebags, producing a few strange metal objects, some maps, an empty oil lamp, a stack of papers, and, finally, several haqva bars. A rope was attached to one of the saddles. Of two water pouches one was half empty, the other one full. Enough for them to cross the open sands. After that, they would have to find a source of water. It would have been easier to make plans if Zaric knew where they were headed. He sincerely hoped he would learn soon.

The boy didn’t feel like going back to sleep. He wanted to do something. It might have been interesting to explore the narrow passage branching out of the cave but Zaric needed light for that. Darien’s magic could solve that problem but the prince was still asleep and didn’t even stir when Zaric called his name.

Looking for a place to relieve himself, Zaric went outside and hot air hit his skin like a heavy, suffocating curtain. There was no wind. The sun had already passed its peak and started to descend towards the western outcrops, which shimmered in the heat. Only the crunching of sand under his feet broke the silence.

Zaric was about to dash back inside when a movement nearby caught his eye. A desert rat scurried about in the shade before it disappeared between two boulders. Its passage stirred something in the dark crevice, something that looked like a rope the colour of the surrounding rock.

Wondering if he was seeing what he thought it was, Zaric walked closer. He was right. A tiny vine of vaha, the desert berry, managed to grow in the shaded place, and looked so inconspicuous that a casual observer had no chance to spot it. The boy smiled to himself and crouched to have a better look. These sweet, nutritious berries were a rare find and would make a delicious dessert. He started picking them into a fold of his robe.

Muffled through layers of rock, a scream pierced the silence of the desert. There was no mistaking Darien’s voice. Startled, Zaric let go of his robe. Red fruit tumbled to the ground.

He turned and ran.

***

Darien moved down the dark corridors swiftly and in silence, his mind steady and focused. The slow rhythm of his breath kept propelling him forward. Right. Left. Down the steps. Pause. Wait for the sound of someone's footsteps to fade away in the distance.

Each step felt like wading knee-deep in water, increasingly closer to the centre of the current. Stronger and stronger, it was carrying him through doors and stairs, rooms and corridors, the right direction almost glistening silver in the darkness. Heightened awareness cut the reality in front of him like a steel blade, turned inquisitive eyes away from his path, put weapons in his hands and the clothes on his back. He thought he was going to the kitchens but the current swayed in the direction of the stables, guiding him with irresistible force. Resistance felt futile. Everything he ever learned, every piece of information lay exposed in his mind, ready to be used. He would succeed. He knew it, even if he had no idea how to achieve his goal.

The stables. He had no idea why he came to this place. There was no way to take the mounts outside the castle undetected. Yet, he knew he was right in coming here.

A man was turning away from his tired mount, gesturing to the saddlebags already taken off the gryplions’ backs.

‘Bring these to master Gabic’s quarters.’

Darien’s desert robe and simple clothes made him look like a servant, he knew it. It felt right. In an empty stable, he put the saddles on the mounts the current directed him to. Even without looking, he knew they were well-rested and the strongest ones available. He took the reins. The river carried him forward along with the animals.

A deeply hidden part of his mind screamed that it was wrong. There was no way he could leave the castle unnoticed, and especially not with two gryplions in tow. The guards would stop him. Servants would see them striding along the corridors of the palace. It simply couldn’t work.

The river was flowing south. The current kept whispering in his ears.

There were no people in the courtyard full of shadows. Ayra vines hung low, the rhythm of his fingers tapping the stones matched the tempo of the current guiding his feet. The gate opened with the tiniest creak. In the deepest part of his mind, his fear was screaming.

‘Who’s there?’

The guard appeared out of the black depths of the tunnel like an armoured spectre. He stepped closer.

‘Stop right there!’

With an elegant swooping motion of its mighty jaws, the gryplion removed his head.

Darien screamed. And screamed, and screamed.

He woke up choking on tears streaming down his cheeks. The dream was fading slowly, as if unwilling to give way to the reality of the cave. It took him a moment to see the rocky walls around him, the gryplions startled by the noise, Zaric’s concerned face.

‘Darien! What happened?’

He brought his knees to his chin, wiped his eyes. His hands were shaking.

‘I… I killed someone.’

Part 6 is here:

https://shopping-feedback.today/fiction/back-to-the-source-part-vi%3C/em%3E%3C/a%3E%3Cem class="css-ak7tmt-Italic">