Songwhisper Chapter 5: The powers within by Myst Ryder

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A plaintive melody wound its way through the trees, both unearthly haunting and sad as well as an exciting burst of energy that startled both Nira and Zake. The song had no words, but seemed to hide some deeper, greater meaning within the wordless cry. Time seemed to slow, as Zake turned to face Nira moving at a snail's pace while she slowly opened her mouth to say something, but no sound came out. They remained like that, frozen, until the spell finally ended and there was silence once more. The force of the abrupt ending to the song nearly threw them both to the ground.
"What the hell was that?" Zake swore; his arms and legs shaking with effort to keep him upright.
"It was powerful sorcery for one thing," Nira answered; her face pale.
"I'll bet anything that it was Mikaela," Zake murmured, voicing both of their thoughts. "Who else could it be?"
"What does she think she's doing?" Nira muttered.
"Let's go," Zake said. "Before it happens again."
* * *
Mikaela had frozen with shock; her limbs had refused to cooperate. Someone had heard her, and was heading her way right now. Should she run, or hide? Who was chasing her? And how did they know she was here?
Her eyes darted suspiciously about the undergrowth. Each tree was now a danger, an obstacle, one that could hide an enemy from her sight. The darkness was no longer her ally, for she could make out only vague shapes in the distance. Was that flicker of movement only a deer, or was it something bigger? And the silence was nerve racking.
She braced herself to run, when a dark shape appeared in the corner of her vision. She automatically leapt out of the way when the large figure crashed through the trees, aiming for her back. The man cursed and lunged again, and she barely dodged out of the way. A second man was waiting, and she stumbled into his open arms. She kicked and thrashed, but the man had a grip of steel.
"You're wanted by the Empire," the man holding her captive sneered into her ear.
"Let's go," the first man growled, brushing dirt off of his pants. "I don't like the looks of this forest."
"Get some rope to tie up the girl," his companion ordered.
Mikaela screamed as loud and long as she could, until a rough hand slapped over her mouth and a blow to her head rendered her unconscious.
* * *
The scream tore through the silence like a knife in the dark. Zake's head shot up in the direction of the noise. Nira was already one step ahead of him, running toward the sound. Zake put a hand on the hilt of his sword and followed her through the forest, not bothering with the undergrowth any longer. He could sense that the young girl was somehow in danger.
Nira was intent on her goal, to reach the girl before some harm descended on her first. Mikaela had valuable information, whether she was a spy or not. Nira ran swiftly, for the metal the elves used to craft her armor was very light, yet also offered sturdy protection. The spells surrounding it warded off any enemy blade, to a certain extent. And she was well trained with her sword, her attacks both swift and powerful.