CIRCLE OF SHADOWS Part 1: Shadow Chaser
† 25 - restorations †

Galen opens his eyes slowly, unsure of what has woken him but feeling something amiss in the small room he has been sharing with Siril. A sense of foreboding suffusing his senses and he turns his head slowly towards where Siril’s bed stands.

He narrows his eyes, blinks, then lifts his head from the pillow and with one hand rubs the crusty residue of sleep out of the corners of his eyes.

Clink! Clink!

Breathing in quietly, he feigns sleep, closes his eyes and listens to the sounds in the room. The oppressive silence hangs thickly over his mind and every small sound reaches his attuned ears. A soft tinkling sound floats to his ears through the air, his mind grabbing hold and focussing on that sound alone. Sensing the direction the noise is coming from, Galen relaxes and prepares his mind and body for action.

Clink! Clink!

His muscles tense up slowly. A steady build up of power and strength, coiled tightly, ready to be unleashed at a moments notice.

The sound stops.

Clink-ce-clink!

Stops.

Silence.

With a mighty shove Galen heaves his body up, scrambles from beneath the covers and pulls his short sword from its scabbard in a single fluid movement.

Muscles rippling, he crouches in front of the bed, silvery blade steady and unwavering in the space in front of him, the metal gleaming in the faint moonlight shining in through the cracks in the shutter.

‘Come out slowly.’ His voice tense and sounding slightly strained in the silent room.

Galen waits a few seconds, unsure of what to do and then he creeps forwards very slowly, his footsteps short and measured as he crosses the room to where the sound has resumed again.

Clink!

With a rush of air he bursts forwards, the short blade swishing dangerously through the air in a brilliant arc of gleaming steel as he jumps over the vacant bed and lands with a thud on the other side.

Frowning, Galen stares into the dark corner, then moves slightly closer. Reaching for the shutters closing up the window to his left he flings it open quickly, the wooden panels careening into the wall with a loud bang. Faint light shines in through the window, a few lit lanterns hanging outside the inn the only sources of light around.

Galen shakes his head, suddenly feeling confused by the lack of anything in the room. With a shrug he drops the arm holding the blade and rest the tip of the sword on the wooden floor boards.

‘Nothing here. I could have sworn... Ah well.’

Galen lifts the blade and as he begins to turn back towards his bed, a glitter of gold catches his eye. Cocking his head sideways he approaches the spot slowly, one hand reaching towards the glimmering object against the wall.

Bending to one knee, Galen inspects the gold disc, hanging on a piece of gossamer thin fabric, which had been caught on a jagged splinter protruding from the wooden wall.

A faint breeze billows in through the open window and the gold disc spins wildly around, clanking against the wooden wall intermittently.

Clink! Clink-e-link!

Grinning to himself over his foolishness, Galen yanks the disc and fabric from the splinter. Suddenly, warmth diffuses his hand and spreads across his palm and up into his arm, followed by a sense of drowsiness that creeps slowly up into the back of his skull, flowing over his mind and dulling his senses. With a vigorously shake of his head, Galen glances disturbed at the disc and then jambs it hastily into his pocket.

Pushing himself up from the floor he crosses the room to his bed, pulls the scabbard from underneath the covers and slams the sword into it.

‘Whoo!’ he exclaims loudly to the empty room, ‘That was weird. Well, it is time to find that silly old man and find out what this could be.’

Galen picks his discarded cloak up from the floor, where he had so unceremoniously dumped it earlier, and walks to the door as he wipes his hand through his unruly hair. The door opens easily and the boisterous noises from below bash against his silence attuned ears and stunned mind.

Wincing at the noise, he walks quickly across the hall to where Virian and Talli’s door stands closed, and after knocking hard against the wood panel, pushes it open and walks straight in, not awaiting a response from within.

Virian starts as the door swings open, a small gasp of breath escaping from her lips as she swings her head to face the intrusive entry.

‘Uh, Galen... We were just deciding that we should come and wake you. We need your insights and thoughts as to how we will continue this journey.’ a slight blush of embarrassment creeping up into her neck.

Galen looks scornfully across the room at the three sitting closely huddled on one bed, his hard eyes meeting each of them, each one in turn dropping their eyes in shame.

Galen waves nonchalantly, walks further into the room before he turns around and closes the door behind him. Smiling

wistfully he turns around, the three Skylarks’ eyes focussed keenly on him.

‘Well then. Let’s get on with it. What have you three discussed so far?’ Galen walks closer, flops down on top of the unoccupied bed, crooks his arms behind his head and looks at them, interest flashing in his blue eyes.

‘Uh... we thought,’ Virian begins slowly, indicating with her hand at Talli and Siril, ‘that we should head up towards Ashar Lake, and from there continue into Feesh Forest.’

Cocking his eyebrow slightly Galen says, ’Feesh Forest? Why there?’

Virian hesitates, looks imploringly at Siril for help then begins to explain in a soft voice.

‘According to my father, Feesh has always been the place where outcasts from Reish would go when they were banished. This fact is unknown to the general population of Reish, but has been a secret amongst the Elders for centuries. We have been thinking that this would be the best place to go for now and we might be able to figure out better how to help you regain the item that was stolen from you.’

Virian stops talking and looks expectantly at Galen, trying to gauge his reaction to the plan they had formulated without him. Galen remains quiet for a long time, the room hushed in anticipation, the three onlookers tense. Sighing loudly, mischievously dragging the moment out, Galen nods his head.

‘Sounds fine to me. Seeing as I have no idea where to start looking, I might as well hang around with you lot till I have a better idea of what to do, or more of my fugitive memories come back.’

Virian laughs nervously, relief flooding over her face as the tension dissipates.

‘Good. Now, on to the other matter. I have reason to believe we have been followed. We have to determine if the intent of our followers are good in nature or if they mean to do us harm.’

Galen sits up, looks at all three of them in turn and then, speaking softly.

‘Good. But first, I found something in my room. This could have been there all the time, or placed there after Siril left. Or you, Siril, could have placed it there.’

Galen turns his cold blue eyes towards Siril, their eyes locked together in a cold stare as he continues.

‘It has some kind of spell placed on it. When I touched it, warmth spread up my arm and a kind of drowsiness suffused my senses. Right now it is in my pocket, but I can still feel the power of it tugging at my mind.’

Virian moves uncomfortably around her eyes flicking between Siril and Galen as they stare silently at each other. Talli, mouth slightly ajar, looks at Galen, her eyes flicking to his pocket and then back to his face.

‘I... I can feel it.’

Astonished all three look at her, and she falls quiet, mouth clamped tightly closed. Eyeing her suspiciously, Galen says.

‘You can? Why haven’t you asked what it was?’

‘I don’t know. I...’

Talli’s voice turning defensive and clipped as she continues.

‘The pull is so subtle I didn’t realise it till you mentioned it.’

Virian nods her head in silent agreement and Siril reaches his hand forwards slowly.

‘If I may see this item you are speaking of.’

Galen grunts, unimpressed by this display of concerned interest, but nonetheless, reaches into his pocket gingerly and pulls the disc out, the thin fabric pinched between his fingers. Stretching his arm forwards, he holds the disc in the air, the golden gleam dazzling across its smooth surface as it spins tantalizingly around and around, and he places it on the bed between them.

A dull feeling begins to spread through the room and Siril quickly reaches towards the disc lying on the bed, his wrinkled hands hovering, almost brushing the smooth surface with his skin. Lips framing words, the incantation silent but for a soft hum emanating from his throat, Siril closes his eyes to narrow slits.

The air shimmers briefly and the oppressive feeling

disappears as suddenly as it had come.

A soft pop in Galen’s ears startles him and he looks concerned across the room at Virian. Seeing that she had not experienced the same effect, he frowns, shakes his head and then sticks his finger into his ear wriggling it about vigorously.

‘Does that always happen?’ he exclaims loudly into the room. sᴇaʀᴄh thᴇ Find_Nøvel.ɴet website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

Three pairs of eyes flick to his face and the scrutiny unsettles him momentarily.

‘Does what always happen?’ Siril asks gently, his eyes refocusing slowly as the glaze covering his eyes begin to vanish.

Galen looks at him, shaking his head in amazement as he speaks.

‘The popping sound, whenever one of you three do that glazing of the eyes thing you do!’

‘You hear a popping sound?’

‘Yes. Every time! And it gets louder each time.’

‘It could be that the barriers placed on your magical skills by the stone, gets thinner or even removed in stages whenever you are in the presence of someone accessing the flow of power that surrounds us. Similar to a type of key that is unlocking a door in your mind, which will in the end, bring you closer to your source of magic.’

Galen smirks at Siril’s absurd explanation but, seeing the

seriousness written across his weathered face, the cynical smile drops quickly down.

‘Let’s just say that I believe you. For now.’

‘Now, what is that thing?’

Siril glances down at the disc lying on the bed, the magical drowsiness contained within his Blocking spell, and says.

‘I am not sure yet. I will have to examine it and then we will have a better idea of the power harnessed to imbue the spell in the disc.’

‘Hmmm.’ Virian says quietly to herself as she eyes the disc speculatively.

A sudden knock against the door startles all four of them into wide eyed silence, hearts hammering thickly in their throats.

Galen reaches for his sword as he gets up from the bed, indicates to Virian that she should open the door and goes to stand next to the wall, where the door would hide him from view.

Breathing in deeply, Virian steels herself mentally, hands shaking nervously as she reaches for the brass door knob. A quick turn of her hand and she yanks the door open, jumping a step backwards into the room.

Confusion floods her face and her mouth pops open.

‘Gawayn?’

Retreating slowly into the room she indicates to Galen to

relax and then turns around and sits down next to Talli on the bed.

Galen watches silently from behind the door as the tall protector, green clothes dusty from the road, walks in after her, the hesitant footfalls of someone following behind him.

Galen shoves the door close behind the smaller Dallin, startling both men into swinging around, the wicked blade, held perfectly still, pointing towards Gawayn’s chest.

‘So you are the ones following us?’ Virian’s voice, amusement trilling sweetly in her voice, draws the attention of the three men staring at each other back to the three at the bed.

Nodding his head Gawayn answers stiffly, ‘Yes. We are. We need to talk.’

Virian indicates to the vacant bed and Gawayn and Dallin move slowly towards it, both sitting down testily on the edge.

Galen moves from the door, slams his sword in the scabbard and walks over to the wall next to the other bed, leaning against it in silence, his arms crossed as he looks the new comers over.

Gawayn flicks a cold glance towards Galen, noting his stern face and then rests his elbows on his knees.

Dallin sits in silence, watching from the side, his eyes flicking nervously from one to the other with his hands clamped tightly in his lap.

‘There is trouble brewing in Reishod.’

Gawayn’s blunt statement casts the room into a hushed silence, the anticipation of the listeners screaming loudly into the quiet room.

Galen tenses where he leans against the wall, the feeling of being an interloper burning through him as they exclude him and inch closer together to listen to Gawayn’s tale. A flash of indignation and jealousy courses through his being and he pushes himself away from the wall, tensely stating to no one in particular.

‘I am going downstairs. I will be back later.’

Virian glances over her shoulder as Galen moves towards the door, a look of compassion in her face, but she shrugs it away and turns her attention back to Gawayn’s story.

Pulling the door open Galen steps into the hall, the voices coming from within the room, suddenly cut off as he closes the door with a soft thud.

With a heavy heart he walks to the stairs leading down, the laughter and loud voices flowing up to him, a harsh reminder of him being an outsider in this unknown land, and for a brief moment Galen feels utterly alone and desolate.

Shaking his head Galen sighs and walks down the stairs into a smoke filled room, sweltering hot from the closely packed and stinking bodies inside the common room.

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