Callina Sienna

Seraphina was gone.

As we had descended the mountain, she convinced me it would be a good idea to fly ahead as a scout. I had reluctantly agreed, though I shouldn't have. As she flew, a rockslide started, tons of ice and snow catching her and crushing her.

Elora, usually only snappy when Seraphina as around, had changed since the other Power was killed by the surprise avalanche. She spent the days as we left the village unreachable and short-tempered.

I was taking the loss of Seraphina hard, too - it was mostly my fault. I never should have let her go, and I knew, somewhere, that it was because of my healing the mountain. The Oracle had predicted an avalanche, and one had to happen. Now, Seraphina was gone because of my foolishness. Although we had argued often, I missed her snappy retorts and help with the quest. Now, more than ever, Elora and I were on our own.

Elora had taken the lead in our march, and she stopped near a small clearing mostly hidden by weeping willows - apt in our current situation. "We can rest here," she informed me, her voice clogged with tears. "Will you get the tent?"

I started putting poles together while Elora pulled branches in front of the largest willow, creating a camouflaged wall to protect us. I let her drag the heavy branches herself - she needed some sort of outlet for her grief.

I finished with the tent and almost collapsed - I was still weak from the healing days ago. Elora handed me a blanket, along with an order. "You're still tired. You should sleep."

"I'll-" I yawned. "Maybe."

"Please, Callie." A sort of terrified expression flashed across her face. "I can't have you getting sick- I- I can't lose-"

"I'll sleep," I interrupted her. "Don't worry, Elora."

I could still hear her moving about as I settled in, and the failing light was still too bright for me to sleep at all. Instead, I stayed silent and let my mind wander - inevitably, my brain fixed on Seraphina.

I knew almost nothing about her - whether she'd had family back in Mir, or friends that missed her. Would Michael even tell them she was gone?

I sat up suddenly, as I was struck by a thought - what would they tell my friends if I was gone?

I lay back down as Elora peeked in on me - sastified, she tied the door shut and left me with this newfound thought.

My friends. . . what must they think? I disappear with no notice, and only the archangel knows where I've gone. I couldn't see many of the people I knew caring so much, although there was one person who I knew would worry.

I could see Adelaide now, her dark hair braided as usual, her pretty olive skin taut with worry. My best friend didn't often worry about people, but she would about me.

We had been in the same class in our first year of training, and a two of the youngest angels in the group, we gravitated towards each other like magnets. We did have quite a lot in common, though the differences were there - she was outgoing and friendly, while I was more shy. She was far more interested in humans than I, and she was always irritating Master Tobias with her constant questions - scribbled on scraps of paper and shoved to him after he showed us a skill, or conveyed through her infamous hand gestures, which were wide and expressive. Even in the silence of Mir, she was loud.

I shut my eyes, trying to conjure a picture of Addie and think good thoughts to her - we had always joked that we were telepathic the way we knew what the other was feeling without words. I let a smile slide over my face slightly, remembering one day when she had stormed into my rooms and started gesticulating wildly about not being able to master one of the healing meditation techniques we had been taught that day. I had simply pulled her into a hug.

I let out a quiet, almost involuntary sob as I realized - she reminded me of Seraphina.They both had spirit and the sort of individual personality that wasn't common among angels - and they both made me miss them so much it hurt.

It was strange, though, that I had almost forgotten about my best friend. The search for the tree was taking over my every fiber of being, even the fibers that were once dedicated to learning and healing and being friends.

I took a long, shuddering breath, knowing that if I did anything more I would start crying. Instead, I forced my mind away from Adelaide - not that it worked. My brain spouted a question that I couldn't ignore - what would happen if I went back as I am now?

I had changed on the journey. I knew that. I was no longer the mild, quiet Callina I was when I started. In only a few weeks, I had become a leader of a quest, stronger, smarter. If I went back, would Adelaide even know me at all?

Would I know her at all, if I had changed so much and become so much more than what I was before?

I let out a sigh, just as shaky as before, and shifted in my pile of blankets to bury my face in a pillow. I didn't want to get tears all over the ground, after all. My shoulders shaking, I sobbed, trying to be quiet so Elora didn't hear me and worry.

I was exhausting myself crying, and I fell asleep mid-sob, still thinking about Adelaide and Master Tobias and who I'd left on Mir.

When I woke, I wasn't thinking about who I had left on Mir. I was with them.

"Callie!" Adelaide exclaimed, rushing towards me. I was stunned, not just by the scenery. I had only ever heard her voice a few time in our lifelong friendship, when her emotions couldn't be conveyed through hands moving. She enveloped me in a hug and gasped, "Callie, where have you been?"

"A-Addie?" I stepped back to examine her, just as I had remembered. "How- what-?"

"It's a dream message," Tobias cut in, his voice surprisingly deep for his white-haired body. "Archangel Gabriel set it up. We thought you might want some reassurances at this stage of the proceedings."

Addie gave me a nervous grin. "Sort of like telepathy, eh?"

I let a small smile slip out. "Thank you. But what do you mean, this stage?"

"We know about the other angels, Callie, but nothing about what you're doing. All they said was that it was dangerous," Adelaide informed me. "They- they told us about the two angels, Amoris and Seraphina, that- that-"

"Yeah." I glanced at the ground, not wanting to meet her eyes, which were shimmering with tears. "They didn't make it."

"Promise me that you will, Callie," she begged. "I can't lose you, especially because I don't know where you are or what you're in danger from. I don't want to just be told you're- you're gone."

I met her dark eyes, watching her tuck a strand of hair behind her ear nervously. "Addie, I- I can't promise I'll stay safe. Not completely. But I'll try. Elora doesn't want me gone either, and you know I can't break a promise to her."

Addie nodded. "I trust you, Callie. And I love you. Remember that."

"I love you too, Addie." I tapped her gently on her right hand, exactly where her Mirai'i mark was. She gave me a bittersweet smile and gently touched mine.

"You have to go now, Student Sienna," Master Tobias informed me. "It is dangerous for us to send messages this way - the Evil may intercept them."

I nodded before giving him a hug as well. "Thank you for teaching me. And for this." I tapped the locket he had given me gently. "It saved a lot of lives."

He nodded, looking startled at the display of affection. "You're very welcome, Student Sienna."

I smiled and let out a shaky breath. "Wish me luck."

Addie grinned again. "Good-"

I woke before she could finish the phrase.

"Callie?" Elora said sleepily, raising herself up on one elbow. "You were talking in your sleep."

"Was I?" She nodded, rubbing a hand over her eyes. "J- just a dream I had."

I rubbed a hand over my Mirai'i mark and let a small smile slip out.

"What's got you so happy?" Elora asked, covering her yawn with one hand.

"Nothing," I told her. "Let's get going."

She stared at me as I stood, much more cheerful than I had been recently, and began packing the bags. I smiled at her, wider.

"No time like the present."

Now you have to heal the tree, I told myself. For the world, and for Addie. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Elora Reed

DID NOT HAND IN

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Margaret Cleo

Eira caught me shivering, shivering, shivering.

Some days the guilt came in waves, threatening to make me capsize and drown.

"What's wrong, little one?" It was what my grandmother used to say to me.

I nearly threw up in response. My throat clenched, and my stomach heaved, and Eira left a blanket on me.

We were lower in elevation, so it was warmer, but it was still chilly this early in the morning.

I fell into a restless sleep.

"Where is she?" A strange slithering sort of voice called.

"Asleep, and of no use to you, seer."

"I was told to sing of.."

"We have no more need for your gifts, unless you bring us good tidings." I could imagine Eira circling the handsome man from before.

"There will be a bird of death, come to call. He shall make you understand what you have done." The man spoke loudly.

"Is that all? You came this far to tell us this?" Eira laughed.

"No, the brotherhood, they want to help this girl. It is written that we must for the stones to fall where they must. So they have sent messengers to her family, to tell them of her.."

"What?" I snarl, and come out of the tent, dizzy. "Who have you contacted?"

"Your father's mother, your mother, and your brother."

"Not my father?"

"Your father is busy enough, according to our elders." The man actually smiles wolfishly.

"My grandmother is dead."

"That is what some were led to believe." He cocks his head.

"Would not you like to hear from them?"

"More than anything."

"What you will find may not be all happiness, will you continue in your mission, regardless?" I nod.

"Swear it, on my skin." I look at Eira, whose eyes have brightened with interest. She nudges me closer.

'Swearing on the skin of a seer is sacred, much like a blood oath, except the marks will not fade until you have fulfilled your end, and he his." Eira stepped back, as if touching the man would burn her. And she expected me to touch him? I stepped forward.

"She is weak, sick right now. Do you think this wise?" Who would have thought the day would come when Eira would be concerned for my well being?

"It is necessary for her to hear. I am necessary." This close, I saw that his eyes were almost entirely black- pupils dilated much too wide for the brightness of the light outside.

He had freckles, I thought as I grasped his proffered hand.

"Gu Bràth Fiach" The simple words seemed familiar, almost, but I did not know them. I did not understand the way my skin tingled, until the only thing that existed was my arm. The man stiffened. I rasped in a breath, falling to my knees, but still standing. My mind whirled, and I opened my mouth to scream, but only a strange croaking came out.

I shuddered, and the burning intensified. The seer moaned and we sank to the ground together. tongues of flame climbed up my arm, making me shake, and my fingers sweat. The seer let go, just as my skin was turning black as ash. I felt myself fall on top of him, and then didn't feel anything else.

"I am so sorry, young golawere."

"You've hurt her, how is she supposed to continue if she's unconscious?" Eira spoke curtly, angry. I felt someone push my hair back from my forehead, and air rushed into my lungs. I sat up, chest heaving.

There was a package on my lap. A flapping of wings- a black crow pecked at the package, loosening the string before flying off. Was this the bird he spoke of?

"Where did the seer go?" I asked Eira, who was tending a fire next to me, which explained why half of my body was hot.

"He left hours ago, with the sun I believe."

"What?" I shook my head, waking up.

"good long sleep you had there." Eira chuckled, relaxing as I stood.

"Is my arm burnt to a crisp?"

"Burnt?" Eira asked, confused.

"Flames spread between our hands. The pain of it was so great that I fell over! How did you not see?"

"There were no flames. Perhaps you saw them on the inside. Look at your arm, your hand."

There were curls of raw skin, patterns of vines intersecting, twirling from my hand up to my elbow. My whole left arm was sore, but as I watched, the skin turned a lighter color there- scarring before my eyes. It even twisted around my fingers.

It was almost beautiful, except for what it meant.

My life was tied to this even more now.

I untied the package in my hands, and the paper fell open to reveal a stone. There was a golden scribble on the paper that had contained it. I moved closer to the fire to read it.

"Immerse in water, in bright light and watch with your marked hand touching the water."

I spoke the words out loud.

"Well then, we'd better get some sleep so we can do that before getting back on our way tomorrow."

Sleep would be a challenge with the weight of this stone resting in my hands.

~~~~~~~~

We found a pool of water in the creek down a ways from us. I held the stone in my tender hand and lowered it into the water, where it bubbled and steamed. The vapor rising in wisps and solidifying into my grandmother.

"You will face worse than what you have, little one. Your mother and brother hold no grudge against you, and wish for your safe coming home, but you must stay on this path, or there will be no one left to save.

"Pestilence has come, and soon there will be death all around us, but we need you to save the tree or we will all die.

"There is not enough time. Do not trust your father, as you know well. The things you will face, you and the fairy, you must be able to tell who is who, perhaps with a symbol, a freckle not visible by the mirror creatures. When you have healed the tree, you must find a place for us away from your father- he tried to kill me, and that is why I had to pretend, I am sorry I had to leave you, but it was necessary.

You must do this, and we love you so much. We know you can do this, We all love you."

"I love you Greta!" I heard my little brother's voice and saw his hand on my grandmothers waist. He must have been in a chair by her. The vapor started to dissipate.

"No!" Tears streamed down my cheeks.

"How can they forgive me?" Eira stood, shocked.

"Because you can always forgive someone you love for an accident." She said, and I looked at her. Someone needed to tell her that as well.

Now I knew, they were okay, and I could fix this, and go back to be with them afterwards.

And I would.