Free Arbiter (The Arbiter Chronicles Book 1) by Elisa A. Bonnin Page A

went out, the only light in their surroundings coming from the fire and the multitude of stars that spanned the heavens overhead. She leaned back against the dome and looked up, staring at them. They were beautiful out here. She had lived in cities all her life, and had never really had the opportunity to just stare at a starry sky.
    She understood now why poets wrote about those things, and how people could get lost in this.
    A flicker of movement out of the corner of her eye made her look up, glancing to the side. A small orb of light hung in the air beside their shelter. It hovered, as if considering her, wisps of light coiling like smoke around it. Then, it seemed to fold into itself, blinking out of existence.
    She quickly got to her feet, her eyes wide as she reached for the wooden sword Cathel had carved for her. As a weapon, it wasn’t much, but at the very least, it could be a decent bludgeon. There was a flash, and then another orb appeared, this time closer to camp. She heard it this time as it appeared, a rush of wind that carried with it the whispers of a forgotten language.
    Rae took a deep breath and backed up towards the dome. She reached inside, poking Cathel with the end of the wooden sword as she kept her eyes on the wisp of light. It hovered there calmly, regarding her, before vanishing again.
    “Cathel,” she said under her breath, her tone urgent. “Cathel, wake up!”
    She heard Cathel’s breathing shift immediately, the mage rising from his sleep. He threw their blankets off of himself and crawled out of the dome, carrying his sword in his hand. His hair was sleep tousled and his appearance was disheveled, but his green eyes were alert.
    “What?” he asked. “What is it?”
    She saw the light flash out of the corner of her eye and grabbed his arm, turning him so that he was facing it. “There,” he said. “Over there.”
    Cathel stared at the orb of the light. “…A wisp,” he said.
    “A what?” asked Rae.
    “It’s a wisp,” said Cathel, his expression darkening. His hand tightened on the hilt of his sword. His expression grew grave, and he glanced at the ruins around him, taking a step towards her.
    “Well, what does that mean?” asked Rae.
    “Nothing on its own,” said Cathel. “But I don’t like what it implies. Shush. Quiet.”
    She immediately fell silent, repressing a shudder. Cathel stopped talking as well, and she focused on listening to the world around her. The wisp disappeared again, reappearing a few feet away, at the entrance of the ruins. She took slow breaths, trying to calm her heartbeat. It was thudding so fast in her chest that she was sure the whole world could hear it. The wisp regarded them quietly, then faded away again.
    As it reappeared over the grass, Rae heard the sound of faint music.
    It was voices, she realized, as the sound came closer. Voices singing. There were many of them, and they were not singing in any language she understood, but their tone was haunting, and the words evoked feelings of both joy and sadness in her. She clenched her fist, turning her eyes towards the sound at the same time as Cathel did.
    A warm glow had begun to spread over the area in which the wisp hovered. Cathel tensed, taking a step closer so that he was between Rae and it. As Rae watched, a figure stepped out of the trees, flanked by several glowing wisps of light. A soft white light preceded her, touching the stone of the ruins and making them glow faintly as she took a step towards them. Rae heard Cathel take in a sharp breath.
    She was beautiful, but in an otherworldly, ethereal kind of way. Her hair was long and blond, and it was done up in an elaborate bun on top of her head, droplets of silver woven into it. The woman’s eyes were the palest gray that Rae had ever seen, so pale that they looked almost silver. She was tall and slender, and wore a string of silver beads around her neck that looked almost pearls, except they shimmered as she moved, light and shadow