Enaya: Solace of Time Read Free Page B

and leaned his head back against the fractured knee. Leo sat on the ground across from him. He ran his fingers through the grass and pulled up and handful at a time. He then would go through each blade of grass and toss them to the side.
    “Sorry you came out here,” Nile said.
    “Don’t be,” Leo said. “I wanted to be here for you.”
    “I can’t believe she married him!” Tears filled his eyes and streamed down his cheeks.
    “Are you being fair?” Leo asked.
    Nile shook his head and glanced at Leo. “It just hurts.”
    Leo quickly stood to his feet. “Get up.”
    Nile furrowed his brow, bewildered.
    “I’m not joking, get up,” Leo said again.
    “Well,” Nile said, getting to his feet.
    “Now scream.”
    “I’m not screaming.”
    “Scream, Nile. You’ll feel better.”
    “I’m not screaming.”
    “Do it.”
    Nile realized Leo was being serious. So, he took a deep breath and screamed. His voice carried through the forest and birds left their nests, fluttering through the leaves. Nile stopped and laughed.
    “Feel better?” Leo had a confident smirk upon his foolish face.
    Nile looked around the forest, stunned. “Yes, I do.”
    “Now push over that statue,” Leo demanded.
    “I’m not doing that,” Nile stared at the crumbled remains.
    “Do it,” Leo said.
    “No, that’s all that’s left from . . . you know.”
    “Here, I’ll do it,” Leo said, charging toward the statue.
    “No!” Nile jumped in his way.
    “How can you move on if you don’t accept change? Push that statue.”
    Nile bit his lower lip. He looked at the statue as if he were looking deep into his past. The torso was lying nearly six feet away covered in vines and moss, the wings stuck up from the ground, and the head was lying near a pile of rocks. Nile approached the statue and placed his hands on what remained.
    “If I do this,” Nile said, “I can’t go back.”
    “You can never go back,” Leo said reassuringly.
    Nile pushed on the statue and the base slid in the dirt. Leo watched and giggled. Nile glanced back to him and told him to not laugh, but Leo ignored him. After a few moments, Nile pushed again, this time arching his back and thrusting his hips forward. The statue began to give way and was lifted inch by inch. Leo rushed to his aid and helped pushed the statue over. When it landed, the legs shattered and crumbled into hundreds of pieces.
    Leo dusted his hands as Nile’s heart raced.
    “How do you . . .” Leo started to ask.
    Nile looked down and saw something mysterious hidden by the statue.
    A chest was buried in a hole in the ground. Nile fell to his knees and wiped away some of the dirt that kept this chest buried within the earth. As the dirt smeared away, the symbol of a dragon with its tail wrapped around a phoenix revealed itself. This was the current symbol used during the war with the Lucian Empire. Nile recognized the symbol from the stories his father told.
    “What do we do?” Leo asked, his knees shaking in excitement as if they’d struck gold.
    “We open it,” Nile replied.
    “You open it,” Leo commented.
    Nile placed his hands around the seal and tried to lift it up, but it was too heavy for him alone. He signaled for Leo to help. They placed their hands under the rough edges and pried it open, little by little.
    Whoosh!
    The lid popped off, revealing a cloud of smoke. Nile waved his hands through the cloud. Then he reached into the dark abyss, fingering the rough texture inside the chest. It felt like dry clay. His curious hands came across a leather texture. Nile grabbed it and weighed it in his hand. It wasn’t heavy, but something hard was inside it. Nile pulled the item out, revealing a leather pouch.
    “What do you think is inside?” Leo asked.
    Nile didn’t reply. He quickly untied the pouch and allowed the flaps to fall over his hands. His eyes glowed, for the sight of this beautiful object had him mesmerized in a trance, and it was as if time stood still.
    Leo