Chapter 48

Kalena was drowning.

Najana attacked her again. She pushed Kalena into the river and then it turned out that she was able to enchant water. She quickly created a deadly trap out of it. Every time the girl floated to the surface, a huge wave covered her, preventing from taking air in.

With the last strength, Kalena reached out, trying to get some fire energy from the only source she had seen, the setting sun. It wasn't much, but it gave her the power to jump out and burn her opponent's face.

She knelt for a moment, coughing and gasping for air. The woman next to her was moaning in pain, holding her right cheek. It annoyed Kalena that she couldn't hurt Najana, though she put all her strength into the fight. She managed to escape with her life, but also her enemy. Because of this, search for Galaspiael turned into an escape from Najana.

At least, however, she knew she was going in the right direction.

She ran away, sure that this time she had lost the woman following her. She hid inside a dead tree and promised herself that she would fall asleep only for a moment, and then feed the horse and hit the road again.

At night Kalena jumped to her feet, hearing someone slowly approaching her. She had not regained her strength yet and was afraid that this time she would lose the fight. She got up and squatted out of her hiding place. There was no one outside. The girl could have sworn she had almost felt someone's presence a moment ago.

She clipped the am-shen cases to her belt and went out. She didn't need too much time to realize that she was missing a horse.

Someone stole it. Probably Najana, but it could as well be anyone who just passed by. Although Kalena made sure that it was virtually impossible to find a hideout, the thief succeeded. She stifled the curse and went back to the tree. If she was to walk, which seemed like the only option then, she wanted to be rested.

Kalena managed to fall asleep, but later she regretted not leaving immediately. She left taking only that part of the things she could carry. She began to wade through the dense forest on her way to Madegald, feeling only self-rage. She had to get a second horse.

In the evening, after hours of wandering the girl got lost. She had no idea if Velikania was waiting for her outside the forest, or would it be Kagolania or if maybe she would find herself back in Sekania. She quietly apologized to Galaspiael for stupidly heading on an almost suicidal mission that had no chance to be successful. From the beginning, she acted too impulsively, without thinking about her decisions, and she played a heroine that she did not even feel.

"I should hide my horse better," she muttered to herself. "I knew she was following me! What was I hoping that she would be waiting for me to wake up? How stupid I am! Terribly stupid!"

"Oh, why be so strict with yourself? Why learning from your mistakes trigger self-hatred in you?" Someone asked in Kagolanian. Kalena heard her native language for the first time since embarking on a journey. She jumped to her feet and put out am-shen, ready to attack.

"What do you want?!" She shouted furiously.

The man looked at her closely. He seemed young, but there was something in his eyes that made Kalena think he was a lot older than his appearance would suggest.

"You are lost," he said finally. "I can see that you are completely lost, just look at you."

With a slight hesitation, she left the am-shen and put them back.

"Tell me something I don't know."

"It'll do you good if you rest a few days."

"I don't have time to rest! Besides, I ran out of money yesterday," she lied. She had some money with her, but she barely could afford food with it. She hid the second purse by the saddle, ironically thinking that it would protect it from theft.

"Oh, I don't need money. Don't be afraid. You have your swords, you can attack me If I would try to hurt you.

"Or you can murder me when I fall asleep. Who are you anyway?"

"My name is Wan-Shi and I live nearby. Even if you don't want to stay, consider coming with me. You can see the area better from above."

The girl sighed and looked around resignedly.

"I'm Kalena. How far is your home?"

"An hour away from here."

Although Kalena still did not trust the stranger, she agreed to go with him, but all the time closely watched all his movements.

"Tell me," he said, after a long silence. "What made you travel so far? The times we live in are not safe for lonely adventurers, especially for women."

"I'm looking for someone," she said. "Friend. I can't go back home without him. This is important and I've already wasted a lot of time."

"You wasted? You didn't waste it at all, because you came here. Wasted time is when you do nothing."

"I should be somewhere else."

"You're right, this place is not your destination but one of the stages of your journey. Travelling is not just constantly getting closer to your destination. This is how it looks for someone who has never taken a step. When you wander, you turn, turn back, try different ways."

"But I really should be somewhere else! I have to find him!" She interrupted impatiently, irritated by the way this man was speaking.

"How can you find anyone if you don't even know where you are?" Wan-Shi's voice was muffled by thunder. "See, it was a wise decision to go with me."

They arrived faster than she had expected. Just then a small rain began to change into a real downpour. The house looked ordinary from the outside, but Kalena felt a little uncomfortable there. She shuddered at the sculptures of little monsters outside the front door. They were made surprisingly realistic, she had the impression that one was trying to jump on her.

Wan-Shi led her to the attic, where she was to spend the night.

"This is not the peak of dreams, but it's probably better to sleep here than outside, especially in such weather?"

"It's very good." Kalena turned to him and nodded. "Thank you."

When he left, Kalena threw all things into the corner and looked around. The room was modest. Although not used, it looked cared for. There was no dust anywhere, someone had to clean regularly. She was lucky to have a roof over her head.

A sleeping mat lay on one wall, and a small table stood just below the window, reminiscent of the one at which she practiced calligraphy at Yagn-Sho. She sat down and looked at it.

She hadn't written anything for a long time, but she had her Lik with her. However, there was no ink or paper anywhere. So Kalena settled on her mat, thinking of Galaspiael all the time.

*

In the morning she heard a knock on the door. The host came in and gave her a plate with a fragrant, well-baked pancake.

"It's still early. You have time to prepare for travel."

"I thought I slept for a very long time."

"Oh, not as long as you think." Wan Shi reached out and pulled something invisible with his fingers. Kalena felt the energy flow out of her own hands. She shuddered and looked shocked at her host. He clicked, lighting the candle he had brought with him.

"Now that I've got your thoughts on the right track, tell me one thing." He sat down in front of her.

How are you going to beat Washar?"

A bite stuck in her throat and she almost choked.

"How are you... I didn't say anything about Washar! Like... can you enchant a fire?"

"You can, and I've only made use of it. I am very sorry, maybe I should warn you. I can enchant other people's energy and when I do it I often learn interesting facts about them. I know you want to save the Kagolanian king. However, you have no idea that you will face a very dangerous opponent."

"I'm not afraid of this man," she said coldly. "I don't know how much you learned about me, but the person who stole my horse was a woman who could enchant water. She tried to kill me, but I managed to escape her."

"And you think it will be the same with him? Haven't you heard about the prince Washar and his skills?"

"Should I?"

"You should since you know you will fight him." I know him and I will tell you that if you met him now, you would not leave this duel alive."

Under the influence of his words, the remnant of hope that smoldered deep inside her suddenly disappeared.

"Wonderful," she snorted, "I don't need to know about him anymore. What's the use if I have no chance?"

"You're not listening at all. I said you had no chance if you'd face him now. But I want to offer you a deal that will give you a pretty big advantage. Remember that he does not know who he will fight and until you stand before him, he will treat you like an ordinary opponent."

"What deal?" She picked up. "Why are you helping me? Are you a friend of Galaspiael?"

"I know who he is, but I didn't meet him personally. He also has an interesting gift that would be useful to me," Wan Shi stopped, seeing that she understood. "Yes. I didn't bring you here by accident. You have a lot of extraordinary energy that I would like for myself. I will tell you everything you should know, teach you how to use the power you have and in return, you will give it to me if you manage to save Galaspiael. What do you think?"