Yin and Yang: A Fool's Beginning (47 page)

“You . . .
how do you know that?”

“I,” he closes his
eyes, and it's clear he's deciding whether to tell me, “have felt
it before,” he answers.

I stare at him in disbelief.

“Just, trust me,” he
suddenly says.

Trust him.

Trust Captain Yang.

Yes.

I trust him. Completely now.

In a short time, we have come so far together. But as
the memory of those husks still burns bright in my mind, I realize
there is yet further to go.

If I'm lucky, he will stay by my side.

He'll save me when no one else can.

He'll guard me from the Night.

I may have lost Castor, but I have gained Yang.

Though he can’t possibly know it, he just saved the
Savior.

He is my guardian.

Captain Yang

“I trust you,” she
says, and there is so much emotion behind her words, that it is
clear to the world she's telling the truth.

I swallow suddenly.

There are so many things I want to ask her.

Before the Night attacked, it was as if she could
feel it. She begged me to get her out of there before it came.

Before the husks crawled out of the dust towards
her.

Why would they do that?

Why would they attack?

Is it simply because as the age ends, we quicken
towards the final day? Is chaos spilling into the land? The foot
soldiers of the Night attacking whomever they please?

As I tear strips off my uniform to attend to Yin's
wounds, I can't help feel that it's more than that.

The memory of how she forced those two illusionists
back is still strong in my mind.

The power. The unadulterated power.

I have never seen anything like it.

It was as if she could connect to the spirit of fire
itself. To the true essence of all force—Gaea herself. As if she
could become completely balanced with fire's full force.

As I swab at the blood along her cheek, neck, and
arm, she doesn't say anything. She stares over my shoulder. Instead
of crying, however, considering her injuries, there is a bitter
kind of smile on her face. It looks a little like hope.

I suddenly want to tell her that I won't leave her
side. The thought blossoms in my mind, growing from some energy I
can't recognize.

It's foolish and out
of place, but I can't stop myself
. “Yin,
I won't leave you. I won't abandon you. We are in this together,” I
say, still unsure of what exactly I'm saying.

She faces me, her lips parting, those usually blazing
eyes opening with surprise, then half closing with some other
emotion.

Thanks.

Without a word, she reaches a hand out and locks it
on my sleeve.

Without a word, I turn my hand down, until I grab
hers and hold it tightly.

There's so much I want to ask her.

But I can't ask now.

The time for questions and answers will come.

Right now, there is only one thing I need to do.

Stay here. The two of us, silent but present.

They say in legend that fire and water never mix.

They are natural opposites, and one will always
extinguish the other. The force of fire is not compatible with the
fluidity of water.

Yet right now there could be no other person who to
comfort. As she smiles at me, I wonder if it's the same for
her.

I have no idea what will happen next.

Not only is Garl after us, but I must face the
prospect that the Night is quickening.

Soon the age will end.

Though I have abandoned my duty as a guardian of the
Savior, I can’t turn my back on what is happening.

So I will find some way to fight.

To protect.

To forge a new destiny.

I do not know what tomorrow will bring, not even what
will happen in a moment from now.

But with my own decisions, I will forge my own path
through that uncertainty. As I lean there and hold onto Yin's hand,
I decide to stay here.

For as long as it takes.

When we are ready, we will move on.

To whatever awaits us.

The end of
Book One.

Book Two,
A Fool’s Errand
, is currently available.

For a full list of Odette C. Bell books
and upcoming releases, please visit
www.odettecbell.com

If you liked this book, you may also
like
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In a snapped second his life
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A woman falls from the sky, right before his eyes. 
She is his enemy. Yet the men that hunt her are worse. 
As his life crashes down around him, Jackson is faced with a
horrible choice: blind loyalty to the country he loves of informed
betrayal for a woman he hardly knows.
He chooses her.

The first book of
Ki
is
available in full at
www.odettecbell.com
, as
well as plenty of other full series-starter novels in genres
ranging from fantasy to sci-fi.