Cold Breath

Caia had always enjoyed rides in stratosurfers. She had been five when her father first took her on one. She had been fascinated, watching everything go by beneath her through the glass floor. On this trip though, she remained silent while the other three chatted at length. Small talk and making nice had never been Caia's strong suit. She just watched the world fly by below her, wishing; not for the first time; that she could keep on flying forever and leave everything she knew behind. Night descended and the others fell asleep. Even Hex was curled up on Caia's lap, his face tucked into his paws. Caia leaned her head back against her seat and closed her eyes, but sleep eluded her. When she was little, she had often refused to go to bed when her parents told her to. She would sit up in bed, arms crossed defiantly. Her mother would smile patiently, sit beside her, and start singing a lullaby. Emilee was not Syrienne, but she had a gentle, sweet voice and no matter how much Caia insisted that the song would not put her to sleep, it always made her eyelids heavy.

She could easily have blocked out the song with her powers. But Caia tried to avoid using them on her family, and anyway she liked listening to the song. She sang it softly to herself now, smiling slightly at the memories. She kept her eyes closed and soon felt herself beginning to relax. Sleep settled around her like a blanket. She awoke the next morning to Hex licking her nose. Caia yawned. "Oh no, the frightening beast is trying to eat me," she said, shooting Tate a pointed look. He frowned. "You can't blame Briar for being freaked out about that thing."

"I can, I do, and his name is Hex."

"Does he always attack people?"

"He didn't attack your mouse," Caia said. "He was playing. Unclench, Guilder."

"It did appear the cat was merely trying to play with Briar's braid," Alan said, looking sheepish when Tate shot him a glare. Caia tugged one of her father's old history books out of her bag and began reading, trying to tune them all out.

"I didn't peg you as an academic," Tate remarked. Caia raised her eyes and pinned him with a cool stare. "There are a lot of things you don't know about me." Caia remained engrossed in her book until she heard a low rumble and glanced through the floor to see the earth rising to meet them. The surfer was landing. It was mid-afternoon. They had landed along the bank of a swift-moving river that tumbled over the canyon wall that was a mere twenty feet or so away. Whoever named this place was incredibly literal.

Jervan was leading Briar, Knox, Thaddeus and Dash off the other surfer. He waved to Caia, gesturing for her and the others to join him.

"I'm sorry that we can't take the surfers all the way into the capital," Jervan said. "We thought it best not to arrive in a Conclave-issued vehicle when we arrive."

"So what are we using?" Tate asked. There was a rumbling noise and something rose over the side of the canyon wall. It was a cargo transporter. It lowered a ramp, and several Conclave members walked down, carrying something with them.

"Enchanted carpets!" Caia's face broke into a radiant smile. "Finally, the Conclave does something right." She fairly shoved Jervan out of the way to step onto a black and red carpet. As soon as her feet touched it, the fibers came to life. The carpet lifted off the ground and Caia dropped to her knees so she didn't lose her balance. She laughed while Hex fluttered around her head. The others, particularly Dash and Briar, looked unsure.

"Will this hold me?" Dash asked.

Jervan chuckled. "These things are stronger than they look. Plus they can travel higher and faster than the surfers, so we should be able to shave nearly a whole day off our journey. Pick one and hop on." They all shuffled their feet, still eyeing the carpets with discomfort. Slowly they each selected a carpet and stepped on. Except for Briar, who stood next to a brown and green one, watching it like it was a poisonous snake.

"Oh for fuck's sake." Exasperated, Caia steered her carpet over to Briar, and shoved the girl forward. Briar let out a squeak as her feet touched the carpet and it lifted into the air. She dropped onto her stomach, eyes wide.

"To make it go," Caia said, a devilish smile on her face, "you say 'Centrum Mundi. Go.'" She said the last three words loudly, so that both her and Briar's carpets shot higher into the air and over the trees at high speed. Briar screamed and buried her face in the carpet. Caia rolled her eyes. "Stop being so dramatic. You're flying, Mouse." Briar slowly lifted her head and looked around. Something that vaguely hinted at a smile appeared on her face. Caia urged her own carpet to go faster, while Hex burrowed into the pocket of her coat. Caia zigzagged wildly through the air, laughing into the wind. She kept her pace fast, pushing the carpet almost as fast as it could go. But soon someone pulled up next to her. She glanced over to see a stormy-faced Tate.

"Great, Baron Buzzkill," she muttered. He opened his mouth, but before he could speak Caia guided her carpet into a nose dive. She plummeted straight down, pulling up just short of the treetops. She could hear Tate swearing as he tried to follow her at a slower pace and safer angle. She laughed. "See this is why you and your sister need to get out of the guild more often, Metal Man," she called up to him. She rolled onto her stomach and stuck her arms out over the sides of the carpet, skimming leaves with her fingertips. He apparently decided that lecturing her could wait, and he stopped to wait for the others. Caia watched rivers, meadows, and towns pass beneath her. The lights and spires of Centrim Mundi came into view on the horizon after the sun had set and the stars had come out.

None of the others had been as much a daredevil as Caia, so they were a ways behind her. Knowing Jervan, he had no intention of flying them all straight into the capital, so Caia landed in a small clearing in the shimmering jeweled woods that flanked the capital city. The colorful leaves and bark of the trees glittered like gems in the moonlight. Several minutes later the others came into view. Jervan and Alan landed first; Jervan instructing Alan to recite the spell that would set up the tents for their camp. They would travel through the gates of Centrum Mundi the following night, or even the morning after that. It depended on how long it took Oralyn to come for them. As Alan set to work, Tate marched angrily up to Caia. "You had no right to do that," he snapped. Caia matched his glare. "First of all, she's obviously fine. Second, you realize you're not doing her any favors always stepping to be the hero all the time, right? You need to let her learn to stick up for herself, and learn how actually live instead of always hiding behind you."

"We're all we have left." Tate's amber eyes were flashing with anger. "It's my job to protect her."

"Let her protect herself!" Caia fired back. "It's cute that you're the protective big brother and all, but everyone needs to learn how to defend themselves, and how to be alone."

"What do you know about being alone?" Tate growled. "You're alone because you choose to be. You push everyone away. We lost our parents to the Morbus Homines virus. Briar was only ten. You can't possibly imagine what it's like to be a little girl and watch your parents wither away."

Out of her peripheral vision, Caia saw Jervan wince. She would never show it, but Tate's words hit her like a slap. She stepped forward, so there were mere inches between her and Tate. She smiled coldly. "You're right, Tate. I can't possibly imagine what it's like to say goodbye to your parents and be left in the care of your big brother. Because when my parents died, I never got a chance for goodbyes. And the only person I had left was myself." She spoke in a low voice, but with the dead silence in the clearing she knew everyone could hear. Guilt and shame immediately flashed through Tate's eyes, replacing his rage. Caia turned away before he could say anything else. She had had enough of pitying looks in her life. She strode to her tent, not looking at anyone even though Jervan tried to catch her eye.

"Caia," he said gently, but she ignored him. She slipped into her tent and shut the flap, doing her best to shut the world out.