Chapter 13

• The dark lonely night carried with it a sense of mysteriousness. The loud silence was just another one of the unique traits of the forest that embraced the earlier feeling wholeheartedly, walking hand in hand with it. Despite the lack of wind, the leaves still moved in a rhythm familiar to them. The air was chilly, but Calhoun and his guards had gotten used to it. Firoza was huddled between two thick blankets lent over to her by the guards. She lay down asleep as the men all stayed awake, keeping alert.
• Calhoun thought about his father. He wondered what the man would do if he were to find himself in his situation. An unknown person had the power to lay with ease destruction on an entire city, and they didn't know his agenda; if he was going to be a friend or a foe. Calhoun sighed. One thing about him was that he despised thinking too much about things. Once he saw an opening in any situation he found himself in, he struck it immediately. At least then, he knew what he was fighting against. He began contemplating if his journey was that important that he couldn't leave it or if he should just go on with it and investigate while on his search.
• Suddenly, he heard the loud cry of a bird. The silence he was getting accustomed to in the forest was broken and replaced with the feeling of danger. Calhoun stood up immediately and scanned his environment. His guards did the same while Firoza was still fast asleep. It was so strange hearing a noise made by an animal in the forest, despite not seeing any throughout their short stay there. The sound had stopped, but they were still on edge, the eerie silence even more unusual.