"It's good that you're so optimistic." Gelid said.
Draco opened his mouth as if to say something else but Alicia quickly cut him off. "So which way should we go?"
Adrian looked down at the map and studied it for a second. "Well if this Nova thing wants to take over anything she'll probably head for the bigger town. I take it she has one of those too?"
Draco nodded. "Yeah. That's probably how she found that village."
Adrian shrugged. "So if we want to avoid her it would make more sense to go to the smaller town."
The screen flickered and blanked out. Alicia sighed. "Satellite's gone again." She put the device away for later use. "Well at least we know we're going to the smaller town."
"Maybe you are." Adrian said.
Adrian sat back down in front of the smokeless fire she'd created. They group didn't want to take any chances that Nova would spot the smoke, but then they needed something to cook their dinner.
"Wait. What do you mean? You're not thinking of going after Nova are you?" Draco asked.
"What if I am?" Adrian asked calmly.
"Did you even listen to what we said before? She'd tare you apart." Alicia said.
"You really don't know that now do you?" Adrian stood up and drew Lightbringer from the sheath on her back. The metal of the sword seemed to have a life of it's own. It moved like liquid and let off a feint glow. Without warning Adrian drew the sword around and with a twist it sliced into the robot, who hadn't had time to move.
"Drop the sword now!" Alicia held her hands forward; a ball of fire had appeared in some sort of gloves Adrian hadn't even noticed her wearing. The scientist's faced was furious.
"See? You know nothing about me or my powers." Adrian said snuffing the fireball out easily with her own wild magic.
It was then that Alicia noticed that Draco wasn't cleaved in half. He stood exactly where he had been, a look of shock on his face. He moved his hands down aver his stomach to find everything intact. "How did you…?" he began.
Adrian held out Lightbringer and reached out her hand to the blade. With a feint shim noise her hand passed right through the metal. Neither the sword nor the hand disturbed each other in the least. "This blade can't touch anything but vulth'n, or ghosts to you, to use that word very loosely."
Alicia relaxed a bit. "So it can't touch anything living?"
"The same way a normal sword would go right though a vulth'n, this sword goes through everything else." Adrian resheathed it. "So until you understand what I'm capable of don't tell me what I can and can't do." With that said she turned from the group and moved into the forest.
She sat back against a tree and shut her eyes. She could hear the others talking quietly, though she ignored the words. Adrian opened her eyes again and looked up at the sky between the trees, which was darkening every second. She watched the stars appear one by one and found herself wishing she were home, back with her people, not out on what seemed to be becoming a wild goose chase. Who in their right mind chases a storm? Adrian shook her head. "No one." She said softly to the night.
Adrian found her thoughts drifting back to the destroyed village. Something in the back of her memory tried to force it's way forward. The young auran shoved it down along with the emotion that threatened to come with it. I've got enough
to worry about. She thought as all emotion drained from her.
"Are you okay?" Gelid asked, his head appearing from around the tree.
"Fine." Adrian responded.
Gelid sat down, laying his head on his paws. "I want to come with you." He finally said after a long pause. "I mean I know I didn't even know there was such a place as Zolott just a day ago, but it's my home and I want to protect it."
"What about the humans?" Adrian asked.
"I'm not sure what they want to do." Gelid answered. "Draco keeps saying everything's fine, even though it's clear it's not. It's not even really their fight."
Adrian nodded in the darkness. "Nova is heading away from the villages we're heading to." The auran had felt the robot move off but she still wanted to go to the larger village. There was a strange sort of pull from the village, or at least something in that direction, like she was supposed to go there.
"So we follow her?" Gelid asked.
"No." She replied.
"But I though you wanted to go after Nova."
"I never said that." Adrian said. "Humans assume to much. Assumptions lead to mistakes."
"So what's the plan?"
"We're going to that town with the yellow building. I have a strange feeling that's where I'm supposed to go." Adrian said.
* * *
The next morning, just as the sun came up Adrian and Gelid headed into the forest towards the city. Not a word was spoken as they moved through the trees. It was about mid-day when Adrian sensed someone in front of them. She paused behind a tree and motioned for Gelid to stay back. She glanced around and saw two figures moving through the forest. One seemed to be a human girl, the other was a robot.
Adrian stopped in shock. It's...that robot from my vision.