“What happened in the picture, Lanella....?” I think about it to myself.

The next few days gave me time to ponder. It wasn't just Nathari who traveled with me. We had picked up more people the closer we got to Lam Lathi. There were a few from every tribe just like at my messenger training. The different dialects they spoke with their bodies didn't surprise me as much as it did Nathari. I stop my horse to fix an itch in my boots. I pick at my nylons. I put my boot back on. People pass by me. The dust we were kicking up was growing and I didn't like it. I open up my water sack and take a sip. My throat felt numb again.

“Just a little longer. A few days and then we get there.”

Nathari looks over at me. We both looked out for each other, along with a couple others. He was more loyal to Lam Lathi than I was. A true zealot and man of his tribe. His feelings must have been amplified at the stages. I could tell. He looked at me in the odd way. Her influence was still strong inside him. He walked like he was ready for war.

Nightfall excited me. Another day of travel had ended. I felt relieved enough to write in my diary. It was harder to write on horseback that I wanted. I ripped out a few pages from the scribbles and mistakes. I roll over on my back to stretch and yawn, then roll back over, on my stomach. I carefully pour more oil in my lamp. My eyes dart around me. The ground was cold and hard, but softer near my fur blanket. I used my knife to break up the soil. Slivers of wood peel from my writing stick, as I trim it with my knife. I dip it in more ink. Nathari had made some for me with ground up, trace-dust. It wasn't as black as I wanted, but it smeared just fine and I mixed it with what I had. My eyes dart to my diary. I think to myself. My experience in the picture was bothersome.

“A land of no suffering?”

I wanted the pain to go away. I still remembered my mother. Lam Lathi was my new home and that meant I couldn't return to her ever. Mother was threatened and I would be too if I did. My instructions and journey were always fresh on my mind. Straying from my path meant I would be hunted. My tempests were watching.

I missed feeling protected by Tejani. Nathari was more stand offish like most of those from Lam Lathi. He didn't have the same warmth as Caleni tribe.

“Mmm....”

It was strange what the pilot said to me. No suffering meant no one would harm me. That meant no one would ever need to protect me. Protection was something I would never know. I think about Tejani one last time.

“That's why I felt scared around Dominion man....” I write.

Whoever he was, he wanted to steal that from me. I would have never grown close to Tejani if I wasn't threatened at the stages. I re-adjust my elbows. They were tender from lying on my belly and writing all night. I tuck my fragment of The Far Away Dream in my diary. It was time to fall asleep.

“I need to get more water.”

I grip my arm with a sigh. I didn't want to. I would need some more water for the next few days. This was the last stream, until we moved inward toward the mountains. I had to fill up and it was hard waking up in the morning. I wanted to be at the front of the line. The dust wasn't as bad there. I stumble out of my tent. Nathari is outside and he stares at me. He was still up too. He nods at me and yawns, giving the hand-sign for “Lam Lathi” with both his hands. I dart to the stream one last time. It was a new one we had been following on our way, since we left the main river.

I move clumsily in the dark. I feel the poke of loose branches, as I bump into a tree. I follow my ears to the trickle. I kneel down by the stream and hear splashes, as I try to determine where the surface was with my finger. I look for a deeper section. My eyes adjust. I splash some water on my face. The fire up on the hill behind me fills my view, as I take a couple glances. I could see Nathari and I wave. He wasn't paying attention. I refocus. My water sack fills with a familiar sound and bubbles, as a few others come to fill up on water.

“Nice water, here” says a stranger's voice.

I stare at him and then back to the stream. I could barely make out his outline. I sense a few others behind me, waiting to get water.

“I'm Falis,” he blurts out..

“I'm Lani.” I reply.

Falis nods at me. He talks to the men waiting behind him. We had the same mind and were getting our water early.

“Ohh, not again....” I dropped the cap to my water sack.

“I dropped my cap.” I laugh at myself.

I readjust myself and try to pick up my cap. It fell on the ground. I reach around blindly. Falis helps me. Our hands meet. He accidentally scratches me with a fingernail. I recoil, but Falis reassures me.

“I found your cap,” laughs Falis

“Thank you.” I say.

Our hands meet somewhere in the dark. Falis places my cap in my palm. Then, he grabs my wrist and forearm, blocking my cuffs from exposing the small razor. I try to pull away, but he doesn't let me. I laugh embarrassingly.

“What are you doing, Falis,” I manage to say

Falis doesn't reply. There was silence.

“Lam Lathi always chooses the attractive ones to be their lovers,....” whispers a stranger behind me. His voice becomes harsh as the group seizes me with lust.

Before I can react, two men grab my hand and arm. The third gags my mouth with a cloth. Another pulls a knife, until I'm pushed backward. I could feel the cold knife at my neck beneath my chin. I was afraid of moving.

Falis taps my boots with his knife and smiles. He runs his finger up and down the edge of my hip excitedly. My worried eyes dart up to the camp where Nathari was. It looked so far away. I try to get Nathari's attention by making noise and moving. Hopefully he would see my gestures.

“Silence,” hisses Falis “Don't even try to scream. Your tempests aren't around to help you either. We're too far away and you're a little too inexperienced to know any better!”

My skirt is pulled down and my assailants adjust my legs and arms. They start to cut through my corset straps with their knife and I struggle, as my arms are held back. They were aching. Suddenly, the four men stop. A cold chill had entered the shrubbery around us. My breath becomes visible and frosty. “Tempest” one of them gestures in silence.

“Tempests....” Falis whispers.

Fear permeates their eyes and they stop. I could sense my tempests near me too. My soul could feel them. The nighttime crickets fill the air, next to the sound of trickling water. My assailants slowly try to put me down in the cold mud. The knife under my neck begins to shake. I could hear my own breathing. Everything unfolds eerily. Without warning, the knife at my neck slashes.

“Aghh!”

Falis falls down. He was sliced across his eyes by the one behind me!

Falis was trembling on the ground and moaning. He moves back and forth. I could hear him rolling. Blood was on the fingers covering his face. He was shaking. From out of the darkness, his three friends stumble near him. They struggle with my invisible guardians. They were trying to resist. I catch glimpses of them gripping their heads. Twigs snap around me. I hear their bodies writhing in the battle of wills. Silence. The struggle stops. It was possible to fight off possession, but my tempests seemed well-trained.

“Touch my eyes, Lani.” says a calm voice.

I try to look up at my assailants. They kneel by me, letting me feel the silver liquid of a tempest in their eyes. They get to their feet. I knew I was safe now. My tempests were letting me know, these bodies were under their control.

Falis tries to cover his face and calls for help, but his friends don't listen. They were now his enemies. He screams, as Nathari comes running to the stream.

“Please! You weren't supposed to be this far out,” he trembles. He motions to those standing over him. The word for “mercy” stumbles across his chest.

Falis cries out to me

“Tell them to stop. Lani? Dancer? I'm scared. I'm so scared,” he shakes in the dark.

Falis was saying whatever came to his mind out of panic and fear. Finally, he hears the harsh voice of his friend turned enemy.

“We protect our own! Lani is one of ours!” seethes my tempest.

The other tempests stand and observe. They were learning from their most experienced who possessed the man behind me. I close my eyes and cover my ears, as Falis is stabbed over and over. When he's dead, the others kill themselves, slitting their own throats. My tempests leave in a chilling fury.

I pull the gag form my mouth and spit. It tasted bitter and sour.

I watch Nathari pick himself up. He had stumbled down the hill trying reach me. He reaches for my hand. He tried to takes a look at the mess around him. Our hands meet. He was out of breath.

“Don't sneak away alone! You can't always rely on your tempests like Lam Lathi says.” Nathari pauses. “Just because we're close to the city, doesn't mean it's safer here, Lani.”

“I-I won't. No more,” I say.

I nod to Nathari and pull up my clothing. I stay disciplined and try not to cry. Nathari helps me to my feet and looks down again at the dead bodies. I could barely see them. The mud leaves my hands, as I wipe it on my under sheet. I smear more on my leather corset. I was still a bit shaken.

I speak silently on Nathari's arm with my fingers. I let him know I needed to rinse off. I poke him so he knows I'm there next to him. I'm glad he was my journey friend, like Tejani and his wife. I would put a new section on my tribal belt just for them. My heartbeat thumps wildly, then softens.

As I splash my face again, I let out a sigh. My messenger training had become so vivid to me just now. Lam Lathi was my tribe. I was learning to respect it more and more.