The Journey of Two Sisters: Book 4 of the Kinstone series

I'm tossed around the walls of portal as I fly through the fairy road. I feel concentration for Seattle slipping only to then lose it completely. If it weren’t for the fact that I was flying pretty much uncontrollably through the road I might actually enjoy the beauty of it.

But…nope.

I continue to fly along the road until I see an opening to the portal forming before me. I am soon flung out of it, flying headfirst into a tree branch. The impact flips me around and I land hard onto the ground, feeling something softly explode around me.

Something cold and wet kisses my face. It also feels soft yet it stings against my cheek. I try to move, but my body refuses to do so. A new sensation comes into play as something hot rolls down my forehead.

On top of everything else, I’m now bleeding…wonderful.

A cold, blistery wind howls around me. I listen to the sounds of tree branches creak and moan amidst it.

I open my eyes, seeing that I’m lying in a pile of snow. I try and look around me, seeing that the area around is faintly lit up by the moon as it fights through the thick, dark clouds above. Snow falls heavily to the ground, covering my body. My body shivers as snowflakes land on my legs past my shorts.

Normally I don’t mind the cold, but snow in September? What kind of wacky weather is Seattle having in the fall? Granted, I really don’t know what the weather is like in the Pacific Northwest other than it tends to rain a lot.

I feel tired from the cold. My mind slowly begins to slip, making it harder to think. The wind then picks up again, which really isn’t helping things either. My eyes slowly close, unable to keep them open.

“Aria.”

I hear my name being shouted, but the winds muffle it.

“Aria! Where are you?”

The voice slowly grows louder, finally cutting through the howls of the chilling wind. I soon recognize that the voice belongs to Marron. Her voice slowly draws closer to me.

“Aria!!”

The sounds of snow crunching echo in my ear, which grow more and more rapid as a light soon shines in my face. I feel my body being picked up and cradled tightly against someone.

“I have you sweetie,” I hear my sister call out. “I’ve got you.”

My eyes weakly open to see her face hovering over me, as another blast of cold wind howls over us. Marron holds me even tighter to her body, trying to keep me warm. Her hands tremble as she cradles my tiny frame.

“Marron,” I call out weakly.

“Shhh, don’t talk,” she tells me. She then looks around, stroking my body, “Why is it snowing?”

The sound of more snow crunching as someone else approaches us. Marron is then startled as Fenris emerges from the darkness. He comes closer to us, tails wagging softly.

“Fenris,” exclaims Marron. “You nearly gave me a heart attack.”

He whines softly leaning down to us, giving each of us a lick across the face. “Forgive me, Marron. I somehow became lost when I exited the portal. I then grew worried when no one was around.”

Marron strokes his face, “It's fine.” She then looks around, “Where are we? This doesn’t even remotely resemble Seattle.” I hear her teeth chattering as she speaks.

The massive wolf raises his head and sniffs the air, pondering for a moment. “I may know where we are, but I do not understand why.”

Marron’s grip around me grows even tighter. Her body begins to shiver even more. “Can…can you go and find Orga and Kateryna? When you do, tell them that I have Aria.”

The wolf nods to her, then looks at me. “I will return, little Aria,” he says gently. Fenris then turns and disappears back into the deepening darkness.

Marron summons a small fireball to hover over us, trying to keep us warm. I weakly stare up at her, again trying to move, but once again is unable to. She cradles me gently in her arms, rocking us back and forth. “Easy Aria, once Fenris comes back we’ll figure out where we are.”

I feel her body jerk at the sound of more snow crunching. My heart quickens, I know Fenris is fast, but there’s no way he found my knights that fast. I pan over to see a man emerging from the blackness and slowly coming into view.

Marron summons another ball of magic. “Do not come any closer to us. I will not hesitate to use this to protect us.”

My vision is blurry, so I can’t really see who is standing before us. I mostly am able to vaguely see shapes in the dark. I soon have to reclose my eyes from the cold. The man quickly holds up his arms, making him not appear as a threat.

“Matte, mattekudasai.” (Wait, please wait) His voice sounds familiar to me.

Marron’s eyes grow wide, lowering the ball.

The man then gazes down at me, “Aria-chan?”

I reopen my eyes, seeing him standing a bit closer. His face shows telltale signs of having been struck by something hot yet small. His dark eyes shimmer against the fireball.

“Ch-Chinjaro-san?” I weakly ask.

He quickly kneels before us as he brings his hand to my face. I feel the deep and rough calluses from the constant work in his forge, yet his hand gently caresses my face. Chinjaro-san then turns and begins waving a flashlight into the darkness.

“Kotchi! Kotchi! (Over here! Over here!)”

He then looks to Marron, “Dō yatte koko ni kita nodesu ka, soshite Aria-chan wa kega o shite iru no wa nazedesu ka?” (How did you get here and why is Aria-chan hurt?)

Marron takes a moment to process what he said, switching to Japanese, “I don’t even know where ‘here’ is.”

He continues to stroke my face. Although he’s being gentle, the roughness of his palm still scratches my face. “You are roughly over three kilometers south of the village of Ashogihaga. We saw a series of strange pink flashes in the distance which was followed by the sound of what we can only describe of thunderclaps.” He then smiles to me, “Several people in the village then stated that they sensed a familiar presence so we came to investigate.”

Marron looks at him shocked, wondering how we could be on the other side of the world.

The sounds of more voices soon fill echo from the darkness as more and more people soon arrive. I wearily look over to see more familiar faces coming into view.

“Aria-chan!” exclaims Saya as she kneels beside me, along with Mayori. The teenage nekomata picks up my hand and holds it tightly, feeling it warming up within her gloved hands.

The karasu tengu comes in closer, shielding me with her dark wings. “Aria-chan,” she says, stroking my hair. “What happened to you?”

I give both of my friends a weak smile, “Hey guys,” now speaking in Japanese. They both come in closer, staring straight into my eyes. Both girls look even more worried than before. “Just had a very bad day,” I jest.

Their expressions grow even more worried.

“(Your Highness!)” shouts Orga from the distance as he and Kateryna come charging in.

“(Back away from her),” orders Kateryna. Both knights still have their weapons drawn.

Fenris shoots in front of them, placing himself in between us. “Master Fenris?” asks Orga confused.

“They are friends, not our enemies,” says the wolf. He then turns and looks to the group gathered around me, “I knew I recognized the scent of the village. The wind confused me for but a moment.”

Chinjaro bows his head, “It’s good to see you, Fenris-dono.”

Fenris returns the gesture.

“Please forgive them,” says Marron. “We just came from a rather serious battle. And we’re a bit on edge.”

The man shakes his head, “Think nothing of it. We have been worried over this girl since the summer.” He then looks to Saya and Mayori, “Both of you, go and inform Asharyume-sama that Aria-chan has returned.” Both girls look up at him confused, almost despondent as they cling to me.

“Girls, GET GOING!!” he snaps.

They both yelp in surprise. Saya looks to me, “I’ll see you soon Aria-chan.” She places my hand into my lap.

“Stay with us, Aria-chan,” says Mayori as she and Saya head off into the dark, with Saya clinging to Mayori.

Chinjaro turns back to Marron, “We need to get her out of the cold. Thankfully we’re not too far from her house.”

Marron looks at him confused, but shakes it off, “I don’t know where her house is.”

“I know the way from here, Marron,” says Fenris. “I will carry both of you to it.”

Marron smiles to him, “Thank you, Fenris.”

The wolf bobs his head as head and walks beside Marron and I, lying down. Marron gently picks us up off of the ground and slowly climbs onto his back. He then wraps a tail around the both of us as he carefully stands up. She clings tightly to his fur while still holding onto me.

Marron then looks over to my knights, watching as their armor retracts. “What about you two?”

“I have a truck not too far from here,” says Chinjaro. “I can give them both a ride to her house.”

“Thank you,” says Marron bowing her head to him. She turns back to the couple, “I’ll go ahead and get her inside.”

They each nod. “We hope not to be too long, my Lady,” says Orga.

Kateryna comes closer and reaches up, stroking my hair, “Please be safe, Your Highness.” I give her a weak smile.

Marron smiles to both of them. She gives Fenris a light tap, “Come on, we should go.”

The wolf nods and takes off, easily melding into the darkness.

We race through the forest and reaching the main road, feeling every step and bound Fenris make along the pavement. I peer out from under Marron’s arms and gaze upon a very familiar valley in the distance.

The moon peeks through the clouds, now showing every tree and open field covered in snow. I look up at the sky, still seeing a heavy blue overcast which the moon’s faint light appears to cast a soft glow.

The wind hounds against us again, causing both Marron and Fenris to grip me even tighter. The trees creak and moan as the wind buffets them. My hands feebly grip onto both my sister’s jacket and my bonded’s tail. I feel my mind however slipping even more. I don’t even feel the pain, only the sensation that I’m flowing down a river without a paddle.

“Hold on tightly, Marron!” shouts Fenris as his voice cuts through the wind. She grips his fur as the massive wolf makes an abrupt turn upwards and into the forest overlooking the road. The wolf easily slices through the trees, following an old familiar scent.

We then exit out of the trees and onto the main path leading to the house. Despite the darkness the tunnel of trees creates, I am still somewhat able to recognize where we are. My strength is slowly being further sapped by the cold.

The house finally comes into sight, prompting Fenris to slow down. The wolf kneels down in front of the door, allowing Marron to slide off of his back. She carefully hoists me up in her arms as she takes a quick look at the house. She then gently digs through my pockets and pulls out my car keys.

“Which key goes to the house?” asks Marron.

Fenris shrinks down to the size of a large dog and shakes his body, “The silver key, with lettering.”

She nods and inserts it into the lock and opens the door. We slip inside with Fenris closing the door behind us. She peers into the darkness of the entryway, hearing nothing but the howling wind as it beats against the house.

“Can you go ahead and turn on the heater, since you know where the breakers are?” she asks once more. The wolf nods and pads into the house. The lights soon flip on as the sounds of the heater starting up fills the house.

I feel Marron shifting a bit as she takes off her shoes. She then carries me further into the house and eyes the stairs as Fenris returns.

“Which is her room?”

“The first room on the left upstairs,”

She nods and carefully takes me up the stairs. I am barely able to hold on to consciousness but even that is slowly fading away.

Marron holds me tightly to her as she reaches the second floor. She steps over to my room and opens the door. The room is pitch-black apart from the faint light coming from the window. She turns and finds the switch by the door and turns on the light, hearing it flicker on. I pan over to see a full-sized bed now resting in the corner, fully made.

Marron slips a hand out from under me and levitates the bedcovers off. She then walks me over to the bed and carefully lays me onto it. I feel my Han kote, backpack, jacket, and shoes being taken off of me as my head now rests on the pillow. She gently drapes the covers onto me, tucking me into bed.

I glance at her, seeing that she’s still shivering a bit as the room slowly grows warmer. She kneels beside the bed and strokes my hair, giving a reassuring smile to me.

“Rest, sweetie,” she whispers.

My eyes slowly start to grow heavier as my mind begins to completely slip away. Finally my strength fades completely. I let go of my fight to stay awake and pass out. The world around me goes dark as my fingers timidly curl against the sheets.