Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Pop goes time...

Cameron glanced over his shoulder, quickly turning back around. Kailah was still furious. He glared at Turrel who chuckled softly. The three of them had quickly vacated the area of their recent fight. A fall was not enough to kill a Beast, only magic could keep them dead.
Night had fallen, again, casting dark shadows around them. The purple haze of the Zone gave the surrounding terrain an otherworldly feel. Cameron kept a constant vigil for anomalies like the previous gravity well.
The three of them skirted around a small patch of floating boulders. Shaking his head, Cameron wondered what other strange things they'd see. Turrel started to hum softly to himself seeming oblivious to their current predicament. After a few minutes Cameron's glare silenced him.
"So, what is this object we're looking for?" Kailah's inquiry startled the both of them.
Turrel shrugged, "It's some kind of ancient tablet. I think."
"You think?"
"As far as Xerkieda was able to tell, yes." Turrel replied ignoring Cameron's tone.
He stopped to face Kailah fully. Cameron stood on the side of the two looking back and forth between them.
Kailah shook her head confused, "Why couldn't you tell us this earlier?"
Again the shrug, "Didn't feel like it."
"Ok, so why now?" Kailah folded her arms across her chest.
Turrel pursed his lips, "Thought you might punch me again if I didn't."
"Oh for goodness sake." Kailah rolled her eyes while Cameron laughed.
"It was a legitimate concern." Turrel mumbled scratching his chin.
"Do you at least know where it is in here?" Kailah's tone bordered between annoyance and doubt.
Turrel nodded slowly, which was good for him, because Cameron was sure Kailah'd knock him flat if he had shrugged one more time. Turrel pointed the direction they'd been going all along, minus the rabbit run with the Beasts.
"According to the info," Turrel drawled, "its in a ruin about a day's walk."
"Day by Zone standard or reality standard?" Cameron shaded his eyes from the rising sun, "If you're going by reality, then it will probably be more like two or three, depending on what's between us and there."
Turrel just nodded in response. Cameron wondered if he was all there in the mental capacity department. Without further comment Turrel began walking again. Sharing a glance Kailah and Cameron set off after him.

As the moons rose once again over the barren landscape, the trio decided to stop for the night. They made camp in a small cave after checking it for occupants. As the sun slowly disappeared beyond the horizon, giving way to the pale sisters of the night, howls could be heard echoing across the waste. By Cameron’s estimate it was getting close to night in real time. His adventure with the Beast finally took its toll on his body. His muscles began to ache as he settled onto the cold ground.
His eyes closed he felt Kailah settle next to him for warmth. The three of them didn’t dare to light a fire. Turrel stood guard at the entrance to the cave humming softly to himself. Kailah scooted closer to Cameron and leaned her head against his shoulder.
“I’m sorry I punched you.” Her soft voice was barely audible.
Cameron smiled, his eyes still closed, “I kind of deserved it. I’m sorry I kissed you suddenly like that.”
At her silence he opened his eyes to see her blush a deep red, “I’m sure it was just to surprise me.”
“Uh,” Cam scratched the back of his head, “yeah, it was.”
An awkward silence settled between the two of them. Turrel’s humming drifted back to them softly from the entrance. Cameron wondered why he was blushing, the kiss seemed like a good idea at the time but now, he wasn’t so sure.
Kailah cleared her throat, “Did you and Shalia fight many Beasts?”
It took Cameron a second to register what she was asking, “Oh, no, I think we only ever fought two the whole time we were together.”
“Were they hard for Shalia to kill?” Kailah asked her curiosity piqued, “I’ve heard that Phantom Casters have the hardest time with Beasts.”
Cameron shook his head slowly, his eyes distant, “The only times we fought a Beast there was another Pair there as backup.”
Kailah pursed her lips, “Well that’s good, I guess.”
Cameron laughed, “Shalia, was a great Caster. Unfortunately she was an airhead.”
“That’s kind of mean to say.” Kailah blinked startled by his statement, “Why would you say that?”
“It’s true though,” Cameron shrugged, “I remember one time we went on a contract after a rogue Caster that had joined up with this group of bandits.”
“She somehow wound up kidnapped by the bandits. It took Skiff, Don, Chelry, Esma, and me four days to finally track them down and get her back. After it was all over we asked her what had happened.”
Kailah waited for Cameron to continue. He started giggling, his eyes still distant, remembering the past.
“She told me they had said they were the local law and they were hunting the bandits. After we had set her straight I don’t think a single bandit walked straight since then.”
Kailah giggled, “Poor Shalia, from what you told me before she was a sweet kid.”
“Yeah, she was a lot of fun. Got me into all kinds of trouble but was always there with me to get out.” Cam stopped smiling, “Except for that last time.”
“Does it still hurt?” Kailah asked gently.
Cam looked at her and saw only genuine concern for him on her face. As she looked up at him, he could tell from the look in her red eyes that if he wanted it she would drop the conversation till he was ready.
“Not as much now.” Cam replied, the memories making his voice slightly gruff, “In the beginning, after the funeral, I felt nothing. I was empty inside, hollow. Then the rage came. I wanted to kill any Chaos I could get my hands on. I was unstable; I’d pick fights with anyone and everyone.”
Kailah listened in silence, patiently waiting for Cam to get his thoughts in order, “I cashed in every favor I had to get on any expedition into the Chaos Zones. After a year of constant battle with Chaos and fights with allies, Maltoris finally grounded me.”
“There weren’t any Zones left except up north. And if he hadn’t grounded me, I would have stormed it alone. Then the Emperor banned any expeditions.”
“That’s when I turned to drinking, to drown out the memories and the pain they brought. Sitting still lowered my guard; during battles I could focus everything on the fight. I figured if I could forget, even for a little while, it was worth it.”
Cam paused swallowing hard; Kailah said nothing waiting for him to continue, “Don and Skiff stayed with me drinking most nights. They made sure, for the most part, that I didn’t die. Chelry and Esma tried to be supportive but I shoved them away, along with most of my friends.”
He took a deep breath letting it out slowly, “Chelry and Esma forced me to go to any Joining Ceremony held at the Compound. I stormed out of a couple of them in the beginning if I wasn’t too drunk to move. I didn’t want to ever go through that pain of losing someone important again. In the later years I fussed but went anyways, I thought I would never attach again.” Cam chuckled, “When I saw your boots stop in front of me, you turned my whole world sideways.”
Kailah grinned up at him, “Hey it hasn’t been a picnic for me either, mister.”
“Yeah,” Cameron smiled down at her, “but I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”
“Me either.” Kailah sighed and settled back against his shoulder, “Wake me when it’s my turn for watch.”
Cameron nodded his head as he closed his eyes again, “You got it.”
After a few minutes Turrel could hear soft snoring from their direction, smiling to himself he picked up his humming again.

Screams of the dying echoed around the guard as he shot arrow after arrow. He felt a presence behind him. Spinning around he barely blocked the swing of his attacker's sword. He shoved the man back grunting with effort.
His attacker landed lightly on his feet his black eyes, the only visible part of his face, narrowed dangerously. A split second later the man was attacking again. The guard defended as best he could but the man's fighting style was sporadic.
The guard blocked an over handed attack then suddenly felt pain erupt from his chest. The attacker had spun into him stabbing him with a dagger through the heart. As blood trickled from the guard's mouth and life left his eyes, the attacker pulled his blade.
"Commander Shekrim."
Emotionless, black eyes turned to the speaker, "What is it?"
The enemy soldier saluted, fist over heart, "Report: The enemy is in full retreat. The keep is ours."
Shekrim looked out from his position on the keep's wall. Beasts swarmed after any fleeing survivors in all directions. He and his men were merely cleanup.
"Any sign of the target?" Shekeim turned his attention back to the soldier.
The soldier nodded, "Yes, sir. He was last seen fleeing towards the northeast."
Looking in that direction, Shekrim nodded, "Fetch my horse and Lady Niehra."
"Sir."
After the soldier ran off to carry out his orders, Shekrim again turned his black gaze after his target. An explosion rocked the earth as parts of the keep's wall crashed to the ground.
Slowly he made his way down the wall to where his horse stood waiting for him. A woman with long white hair sat regally on an identical horse. Her black eyes watched him with boredom as he mounted his midnight horse.
"Lady." He nodded his head in mock respect.
Lady Niehra rolled her eyes, "Commander."
Shekrim smirked and kicked his horse into motion. A group of soldiers followed after them as they tore off in the direction of their target. As they disappeared in the distance the keep crumbled to the earth.

Pursing his lips Cameron surveyed the desolated landscape before them. He glanced at Turrel and Kailah then back at the landscape. Tilting his head to the right he tried a different angle.
“I still don’t see it.” He finally stated as he straightened back up, “There’s no way this was a keep.”
Kailah smirked as Turrel shrugged in defeat. After two days of travel, by Cameron's estimate, Turrel suddenly announced they had arrived. All that met their eyes was empty, flat dirt.
"The keep was here," Turrel drawled, "thousands of years ago. It fell in the Era of Wars."
Cameron snorted, "What didn't fall in that Era?"
"Where is this tablet suppose to be in this keep?" Kailah cut in before Turrel actually answered Cameron's sarcastic question.
Turrel waved his hand in a wide arc before them, "Out there."
Kailah pinched the bridge of her nose, shaking her head. Turrel started walking leaving the two of them watching. He dropped his pack at his feet and began rummaging through it. As the two of them watched in bemused boredom Turrel resurfaced with a short shovel and hand pick.
"Do you think he really knows what he's doing?" Cameron leaned over to Kailah who was trying to keep a straight face.
Kailah shrugged, "Maybe?"
Setting his own pack down, Cameron settled onto the ground propping his elbows on his knees. Kailah sat down next to him and the both of them watched Turrel begin digging.
As the sun crept across the sky, excruciatingly slow, Cameron's mind began to wander. In his mind's eye he tried to picture a keep, complete with battlements, drawbridge, and colorful banners flapping gracefully in the wind.
Where Turrel dug was the middle courtyard, in Cameron's imaginary keep. Twenty feet past him the steps to the main entrance would have been, inviting those worthy into its strong embrace. Through the massive oak doors a roaring fire would have flared and danced in an enormous circle hearth. Laughter and merriment would have flittered down the long halls, echoing from the high ceilings.
"Its so quiet out here."
Kailah's voice startled Cameron out of his day dream. He smiled as he nodded in agreement. Squinting up, the sun returned his gaze. This whole time the sun had sped across the sky and now that there wasn't a shred of shade it labored across the sky.
"I'm going to see if he needs any help." Cameron grunted as he stood to his feet
He slid down the little hill, kicking up dust as he walked toward Turrel. Kailah stayed smiling softly.
As Cameron drew nearer he felt his skin tingle. There was a sudden flash of light and his imaginary keep was all around him. Soldiers dressed for war moved all around him hurrying to their assigned task. Normal folk poured across the drawbridge most yelling in fear.
There was another flash and Cameron was back in the barren dirt patch he had been a minute earlier. Kailah and Turrel both seemed unaffected by what had befallen Cameron. Kailah watched him turn a full 360, when he stopped facing her she raised a quizzical eyebrow.
"Did you see that?"
Kailah glanced around, "What?"
Cameron pointed around confused, "Well, there was-I coulda swore..."
Kailah stood up and walked over to him. Turrel watched in amusement as she put a hand to his forehead.
Cameron stared at her as she checked his temperature against get own. Deciding he didn't have heat stroke Kailah put her hands down.
"I'm not crazy." Cameron stated flatly, "For a minute I was in a keep."
"Ya' sure bout that?" Turrel asked scratching his chin.
Cameron shrugged his shoulders helplessly, "I mean, I thought there was."
Kailah raised an eyebrow at him, "Well, this IS the Chaos Zone, its possible you ran into some kind of time bubble."
"Now that you say that," Cameron mused, "I have heard stories of something like that."
Kailah glanced at Turrel then back to Cam, "Anything interesting happen while you were there?"
Cameron pursed his lips, "It looked like they were prepping for war."
"Great." Kailah grumbled as she walked back to her bag, "Finally reach our goal and we have to work around random time bubbles."
"I think we shou-" Kailah stopped mid-sentence looking around wildly for Cameron, "Cameron?"
Kailah looked to Turrel for answers, he shrugged his shoulders, "He was here a second ago."

Reviews

[Wolven]

Wow... things just got verrry interesting. :) I once had an idea for my fanfic similar to the time bubble but it was different dimensions as opposed to time. The Chaos zone sounds like a real interesting place to chill: get visions of time long gone by, see the sun set and rise three times in the time zone of a day.
I'll be honest, whilst i got used to the last version of events, so far i can see a big improvement.
You're working a lot more detail into your chapters- also great. You got the descriptions of the setting and characters and actions just about perfect i think.

I would suggest that at the very end, you insert a line saying something like: 'after a moment of silence, kailah continued.' Basically show the time frame, because Cameron was there moments before the end, and you've got two points there, both with Kailah speaking. It reads better to have a short sentence like that to fill in the gap, no matter how short.

I think its interesting how Cam can speak about Shalia so freely now. Its good i think to go into what she was like, like that. even a couple of phrases Shalia used that may have stood out for him would be kinda cool, because then we as readers get a bit of an insight into her character, cuz' she was only with us at the beginning really. That way we can also get a better idea of Cameron's character based on his reaction.
It would also draw out the comparison between Shalia and Kailah, in a sort of kid compared to woman kinda way... it'd also show the difference in Cameron's character quite well too. bear some of those things in mind. :)

I would also suggest trying out different perspectives in your writing. I mean... most of it is from Cameron's perspetive but every now and then we get the Paradigm plotline intertwining, which is great. But i'd suggest writing maybe from Kailah's perspective sometime, so we can see how Kailah thinks... (I'm only saying this after reading Game of Thrones by George Martin. He goes to town on the perspectives, but i think a few is pretty good, though it would mean inserting new chapters and stuff near the start, which may become problematic... I'm waffling here.)

Also, having read the inheritance cycle and a few books like LOTR, i suggest you draw out a map or a few to help illustrate exactly where everything is... it really helps in the fantasy genre. It'd also help us tell what the terrain might be like here and there (of course, where they are atm is in a desert-like terrain)

Lastly, Turrel's shrugging would really get on my nerves if i were there. Keep this stuff up Dreamer. You're doing really well. :)

[Dreamer]

thanks a ton Wolven! :D
i get what you mean about the last bit i'll fix it one day soon >.<
i'm glad i'm getting better on adding in enough detail i was kind of worried i might have put too much or not enough :
i get what you're saying about the different perspectives and i do tell the story from Kailah's point of view on occasion but Cameron is the main character and i try to focus more on him and his perspective because he's the main character.
I'm desperately trying to figure out how to get the relationship between Kailah and Cameron to blossom but not so fast it feels fake, >.< romance is hard!!! i think i might have it figured out though, we'll see.....
i did have to break down and draw a map for myself and it might get posted on deviant art one of these days....
as always thank you so much for the pointers and encouragement! I promise i will catch up on my reading as soon as i have a life again >.< big brother is getting married so i'm helping out with that and taking care of my little brother at the same time and working part-time.....so yes, eventually i will catch up!!! :D