It troubled Micah that the same landscape he had looked across only two days earlier now seemed completely different. And the same road he traversed had somehow become barren, devoid of soul.

  It was definitely the same. Rolling green hills outside of Astenbury, grasses flurried by the wind. He recognized it with ease and couldn’t have taken the wrong route, unless he was going insane. In fact, he would soon be passing the fork in the road that branched off to the Skyline station. The very station from which he boarded the ship that flew him to Sky Blue City.

  Why then was the path so desolate now? The weather was the same, the time of day as well. The only difference was the mode of transport. He walked now, when before he had been in a carriage. It should have been a relatively identical experience. But even the wind itself seemed different. When before, the gusts embraced him with warmth, now they cut across his flesh and seeped a chill to his bones, as if warning they would by no means comfort him should he ever return to Rypsy.

  Micah stopped in the middle of the road, realizing he had been trudging quite slowly. His energy was sapped, his body fatigued. Motivation to keep walking had abandoned him. As he looked across the endless plains, he found nothing but emptiness, and his eyes longed to turn back to the city. To turn back to…

  He shook his head, and forced his legs to move again.

  In time, these distractions would leave. And she would be out of his thoughts. Concentration would revert back to his mission, and not to her face. In time, he would no longer think of the way she looked at the Harvest Festival, a beauty beyond compare. In time, he would no longer remember so vividly her kind words to him in the Desert of Life and the road she endured with him so he could find purpose. In time, he would forget her scent, her smile, her eyes… the beauty of her voice when she sang.

  Micah stopped in the road again. He was overwhelmed. Despite every obvious indication his choice to leave was correct, he found even walking to be painful. How could he possibly forget Charlotte’s voice? He knew it would be impossible. Perhaps everything else would fade away, but not that. He just knew he would never forget the sound. It changed him. It broke him. Charlotte’s song had given him freedom he swore never to abandon. Yet, he was deserting the woman who gave it to him.

  A thumping sound startled Micah, and he looked aside to find his bureau landing hard on the side of the road, shooting down from the sky. Cal settled down on top of it, looking ruffled and angry.

  “Enough!” he growled. His back arched, and the scruff of his neck stood on end. “Why are you doing this?”

  “It had to be done,” he replied.

  “I want a reason,” he shot back. Blue fur bristled.

  “Well, you’re not getting one. This was my decision.”

  “What the hell is wrong with you? Every since you went to Sky Blue City, you’ve grown cold and distance. And not like before. It’s like you’re hiding something.”

  The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  “I’m not hiding anything. Now, pick up my bureau. I want to get to the next town by nightfall.”

  “No. Not until you tell me the truth. You’re lying!”

  “I said pick up my bureau,” Micah demanded.

  “No.”’

  “I SAID DO IT NOW!”

  Cal quickly cowered, eyes wide with fear.

  Micah stepped back, feeling as afraid as Cal looked.

  “You’ve never yelled at me before,” the Murr whispered. His whole body shook.

  “I’ve never yelled at anyone before. I… don’t know what came over me. I just…” Micah shook his head, but the feeling didn’t leave. He felt tired. He felt despicable.

  “Micah, something is happening. And if you don’t figure out what it is, how can you possibly fulfill your mission?”

  “I don’t know what’s happening to me. That’s the problem.”

  “But something is happening.”

  Micah approached and leaned against the bureau. “Yes.”

  “And it has something to do with Charlotte?”

  “It has everything to do with Charlotte. At least I think it does.”

  Cal sat on his haunches. “Charlotte is the best thing that has ever happened to you. So, there must be something more. What is it that she’s done to force you to abandon her?”

  Micah rubbed his chest. The discomfort remained, and he abhorred the thought of purposefully aggravating it, but he knew he had to talk about this, for both their sakes.

  “Charlotte has been the focus of my thoughts a lot lately,” he began. “Abnormally so. In fact, I’ve never thought about anybody or anything so much in my life. When I sleep, when I train, when I eat or study… she’s always on my mind. Even the most insignificant aspects… her appearance, her scent, her every changing disposition. A constant distraction I never tried to hinder, because I found that just thinking about her was pleasant. Everything about her has become appealing to me, and being in her presence made me happy. It never made sense to me, but I didn’t try to understand it. I didn’t think it was necessary. But I’ve come to realize these things have been slowly driving me crazy, unnoticeable until the effect was so large, it couldn’t be stopped. I was being consumed.”

  He bowed his head and told Cal about all that transpired in Sky Blue City.

  “Her words caused pain I’ve never known. And the way she was laughing at my expense made me feel small. As if I was unimportant to her, even expendable. In one moment, the memories of my formal life came back, crashing on me like a broken dam. And since then, my heart constantly tugs, as if desiring to free itself from my chest. I’m filled with hatred for Jasper Flight for no reason. And now, just looking at Charlotte fills me with the same pain, depression, and unbridled anger. I had no control of anything! I just couldn’t take it anymore, and I knew I had to leave.

  “Can you understand now, Cal? I’m sick. Something is wrong with my body, and regardless of the cause, I could only come to the conclusion that it would persist if I stayed with Charlotte. Coupled with the inevitable danger that would await her if she stayed with me, I could only leave. I can’t take this pain anymore. And Charlotte deserves better.”

  When he stopped talking, he expected Cal to reply. After several moments, however, the Murr said nothing. Micah looked up at him to find his jaw dropped as if he was stunned.

  “What is it?” Micah asked.

  A hint of a smile crept onto Cal’s face. “Micah… you’re not sick! There’s nothing wrong with you!”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I should have known all along. You’re heart and body are working the way they’re supposed to. You’re not sick at all. You’re in lo—”

  Micah held up his hand, making Cal stop. He suddenly drew his sword and whirled around, bringing the blade before him and looking up the nearest hill.

  Cal quickly followed his new line of sight in alarm. A figure in black stood at the apex of the knoll with folded arms. A single visible eye looked down on them, filled with calm purpose and resolve.

  Marshall sinKalem had found them once again.