Chapter VII

They went back to the inn and Dooley left. Anaiya went up to their room but Gabrielle stayed downstairs. She needed to find out more about Manazen. Walking over to the bar, Gabrielle asked where Zane, the bartender was. A woman a few inches taller than Gabrielle answered, “He left for a couple days. He does it every year. I’m Tess, his wife. Can I help you with anything?”

“No, I don’t think so,” Gabrielle said. She started to walk away then turned back to Tess. “Well, maybe you can. I’m looking for any information about Manazen.” Tess gasped and turned pale, almost white.

She tried to say something but the words wouldn’t come out. Taking a deep breath, she tried again. “Why? Why do you want to know about Manazen?”

“I met him today. He told me that the next time we meet, we shall fight.”

“It’s a miracle he let you live this time. Manazen doesn’t usually walk away from an elf, especially one as powerful as you.” Tess looked at Gabrielle. “Yes, I can tell that you’re powerful, even if you deny it. You should be careful from now on. Don’t go anywhere alone and keep your guard up. Manazen can attack at anytime, especially if there is a threat to him, which you are.”

“Don’t worry, Tess. I can protect myself. Do you know anything that could help me should he feel that I’m a threat? Any of his powers or weaknesses?”

Tess looked around then leaned towards Gabrielle and whispered. “He’s a mind-bender. He can twist your thoughts and make you do anything he wants you to do. There are very few who can fight him and just as few that can actually feel his presence as he enters their mind.” She paused and looked around again. “As for weaknesses, I don’t know if he really has any. He’s greedy, power hungry, and he has a lot of rivalry with his siblings; he has three brothers and they are all constantly fighting for control of the land.”

“Everyone has a weakness. I just have to find his. We’ll be leaving early in the morning.”

“You just got here. You should stay longer.”

“I can’t Tess. It’s not a good idea to stay in one place for too long. Thanks for all of your help.”

“If you need anything, I’ll be here.” Gabrielle nodded and went up to her and Anaiya’s room. Anaiya was sleeping so Gabrielle walked in slowly and quietly. She sat down on the floor, crossed her legs, closed her eyes, and began to breathe deeply. Within seconds, she was deep in meditation. Many scents and sounds reached her as she relaxes deeper within herself. She often found that when things were becoming stressful meditation was good to relax and focus. Then a vision came. Gabrielle saw Canton as it was before the attack and she saw herself walking in the middle of the main street.

Everything was unusually quiet even though the streets were crowded with the usual morning traders. Gabrielle saw herself looking around the city as she walked down the street. Then the blasts came. The city was bombarded with several explosive blasts. Everything went dark and when Gabrielle became aware of her surroundings again, she was outside of the city looking at the smoldering remains. She looked around, struggling to remain calm. She saw two figures: one man and one woman digging through the rubble. Without waiting to see what they were looking for, she turned and ran away from the remains of Canton.

Gabrielle broke out of her meditation with a gasp. She looked over at Anaiya to make sure she didn’t wake her. Standing up, Gabrielle left the room and walked back downstairs. She had never remembered that much about Canton before. Everything of her past was always a blur. Which made her wonder why the vision or memory had appeared then. Was the truth starting to come out? Maybe the vision was a sign that it was time to fulfill the revenge she had been carrying for the past five years.

Then again, she wondered why she had survived the attack. No one else had survived, so why had she?

Gabrielle walked outside and looked around Saltire. Even though the people were always waiting for some kind of attack, they still managed to live regular lives. Gabrielle envied them. Their days followed an easy routine of waking up, going to the market for food, cleaning around the house and talking with friends.

Her day was nothing like theirs. Instead it was full of running from the stupid hunters, even though she had no idea why they were after her. Everything had been fine until several days before. Why the hunters had started to chase her then was a complete mystery. She hadn’t broken any laws or crossed anyone.

Then Gabrielle began to smell an all too familiar scent; it was the hunters. She knew that they wouldn’t be gone for too long. She turned and went back into the inn. Despite her plans of leaving in the morning, escaping from the hunters was her first priority. She went up to Anaiya’s room and woke her up. “They’re back,” she stated. “You can either stay here or go with me, but if you’re coming we need to go now.”

Anaiya sat up and looked around for a moment. Then she grabbed her bag and stood up, putting on her shoes. “Well, let’s go then.”

Gabrielle nodded and they began to walk downstairs. Anaiya could sense the hunters but they weren’t yet near the inn. It would be safe for them to leave out the front door. As they walked past the bar Gabrielle said, “Thanks for all of your help Tess.” Then they went outside. Gabrielle looked around and said, “We need to find a way to confuse them, get them off our trail for a while.”

“We could go to Gules, but I don’t know if we have enough supplies to make it.”

“We’ll pick some up in the forest.”

“The forest?” Anaiya asked.

“Yeah, it’s where all of the fugitives hide and survive. They have a lot of supplies and they don’t question anyone who is there. They’ll have everything we’ll need.”

“But I don’t have a lot of money…how are we supposed to get what we need?”

Gabrielle just looked at her and smiled. “Leave that all to me.”

As they began to walk briskly towards the forest, they heard someone following them. When they looked back, they saw Dooley, along with Milo the reindeer and Benjamin the polar bear. Gabrielle gave him a look that clearly questioned what he was doing. “I’m coming with you,” Dooley stated. Gabrielle rolled her eyes then continued walking. Why was it that she was always picking up strange people? It would be easier to travel alone. It didn’t matter though; when the time came, she could ditch them.