“I see a light,” Prayer said. She was barely breathing hard, but the tribe of children was the worse for wear. Despite their apparent ruthlessness, she suspected their life had been very easy, sheltered even.

“I see it too,” Haldis panted. “Is it a lantern? It’s flickering…bobbing…” He stopped talking and paused to catch his breath. “Prayer, we’ve been walking nearly all night. Can’t we stop? I don’t think the mages are chasing us.”

“That’s not what I’m worried about,” she said, standing next to him. “They aren’t chasing us, otherwise we would’ve been dead a long time ago.”

“Then what are you worried about?”

“I’m worried that the tribe will start collapsing. You guys can’t walk much farther. I don’t want to use magic, but I might have to.” She gritted her teeth. “It wouldn’t be good—not here.”

“Let’s just walk towards the light and see what we find.” Haldis was getting his breath back. “Maybe they can get us food.”

“That sounds like a plan. Let’s go.” Prayer began walking.

Within twenty minutes, it was apparent that whatever the light was, it was traveling away from the children. Prayer was getting impatient. “Hey, you there!” she called out. “We need help! Stop!”

The light stopped moving away and began bobbling towards her. It was moving relatively fast. It wasn’t a lantern—it seemed to be just a flame floating in the air.

When it got close to Prayer, she could see that it was simply a ball of fire seeming sitting in the air. She took a step back, suddenly suspecting what it was, but Haldis was intrigued.

“Hello,” he said. “Oh, look, Prayer, it’s got a face!”

“I am not an ‘it,’” the fire explained. “My name is Hayl. And I am female.”

“Hello, Hayl!” Haldis said cheerfully. “What are you?”

“Dead.” Hayl’s voice was low and raspy, not feminine at all. “I’m dead.”

“Are you—a spirit?” Prayer asked tentatively. “If so, I’m so sorry.”

“What does it matter?” Hayl spat.

“Who are you talking to?”

“Do you have food?”

“Yeah, we’re hungry!”

“And tired. Can we rest yet?”

The shouts kept coming. Haldis winced. “Look, I’m sorry everyone! Can you just be quiet for a few minutes? It’s important.”

“I’m important?” Hayl said.

“Yes,” Prayer said. “I’m sorry for your loss—I understand completely.”

“How can you? You’ve got a body!”

“What are you talking about? And Hayl—what are you?” Haldis was losing his patience. “Answer me, please!”

“Hayl is a spirit, like I said,” Prayer answered. “She got killed by magic, so she’s a spirit now.”

“I can talk, thank you,” Hayl said bitterly. “Like she said, I died, and I want to avenge myself, but I can’t, because I have no body.”

“We need food,” Haldis said. “Do you know where it is?”

“Yes, and I’ll tell you if you swear you’ll help me get revenge. The food is quite close, in fact.”

Haldis hesitated only a moment. “Deal.”

“Swear?”

“I swear. I’d shake on it, but…” He shrugged.

Hayl laughed. “Okay, okay, follow me.”

“Come, children of Casadr! We’re going towards food.” Haldis’s voice was beginning to lose its strength, Prayer noticed. He was tiring, as were all of the children.

They followed, murmuring among themselves. “They’re beginning to lose hope,” Prayer remarked. “If this is a dead end, then they will probably go their own ways.”

“If it is, and they do,” Haldis said slowly, “then they’ll die.”

“You’re right.”

They said no more until Hayl stopped moving. Prayer stopped abruptly, and Haldis nearly ran into her. “Why did we stop?” he asked. “There’s nothing here.”

“See the fog?” the spirit said. “We’re nearly there. At the bottom of this hill, things will begin to change. But don’t lose sight of the person in front of you, and, especially, don’t lose sight of me.”

The grass grew thinner and thinner, and Prayer could feel mud squelching beneath her shoes. Soon she could see nothing except Haldis’s slender form beside her and the flickering flame of Hayl in front of her.

They began to go downhill. Prayer’s feet were slipping, little by little, and she lost her footing completely as it got steeper and muddier. She tripped forward and fell onto her knees, all the while sliding more and more down the hill.

“Prayer,” Haldis said, pulling her up roughly by her arm, “be careful; it’s muddy.”

“I know,” she said, her voice dripping with acid. “I slipped.”

Haldis ignored her tone. “Are we almost there, Hayl?”

“Nearly.” Her voice seemed faint, as did her flame. “Hang in there.”

It grew muddier still, though the land flattened out. Prayer was up past her ankles in the cool mud. She wrinkled her nose and tried to convince herself that it was better than staying with the other mages, but she could not. Haldis didn’t seem to mind the conditions.

“We’re there,” Hayl said.

“A well?” Haldis said skeptically. “That’s it?”

“Not just any well,” Prayer said, forgetting the muck and running over to the side of it, “it’s a very special well. Hayl, how did you know where this was? Amazing. Simply amazing.”

“What’s so special about the well?”

“Pull up the bucket,” said Prayer, “and you’ll see. Wow. Wow.” She looked around, surveying the faces of the gaunt children gathering around her. “If it’s what I think it is, you won’t believe your eyes.” Hayl was grinning.

Haldis did as she said. “It’s heavy,” he complained. “What’s in it? It can’t be water…” As he pulled it up, his eyes got huge. “A potato.” His voice was quiet, disbelieving. “Who…?”

“Not just any potato.” Prayer seized the vegetable with one hand and tossed it to a child on the other side of her, who grabbed it eagerly and bit into it. “A magic potato.”

Haldis dropped the bucket into the well and pulled it up again, hand over hand. “What kind of magic?”

“Everything in there is something that people used magic to get rid of, elsewhere in the world. There are fifteen or twenty wells scattered throughout the country of Aschan, but this is the food one.” She turned to Hayl. “Thank you. This is more than any of us could’ve ever hoped for.”

“You’re welcome,” Hayl said, smiling, satified. “You just have to remember your part of the bargain.”

“Oh—yes…” How could she forget? Haldis had agreed too quickly to an agreement that would make them into murderers. They would not starve—but what was the catch to this all?

A shorter chapter this time—another one of those I wrote in a single day.

Tikvah Ariel: So do I. Prayer doesn’t have much personality yet, despite being one of the main characters, but I’m hoping that will change. And I’ve read neither.

Well, thank you for your review. Hopefully I’ll keep writing and have many more chapters ahead of me.