Free The Ranger (Book 1) by E.A. Whitehead Page B

dressing. He tied his swords around his waist, so they both sat on his left hip. Lastly, he threw on his new black travel cloak, and surveyed himself in the mirror.
    “Vincent,” Master Auna’s voice again, sounding even more irritated, “are you ready yet? Master Silva is not a patient man.”
    “I’m coming,” Vincent responded as he opened the door, tossing his pack onto his shoulder as he went. As he stepped into the hallway, he stopped and turned to look at Thomas, who was still in the room.
    “This is it,” Vincent said quietly, “We’re not a team anymore.”
    “For now,” Thomas replied. “I’ll be joining you soon, and we’ll be a team again; you’ll see.”
    “If I get the chance, I’ll come visit you in Spacco,” Vincent said with a smile. “You can tell me about all the adventures you’re sure to have there.” Vincent dropped his bag, returned to the room and hugged his friend. “Thank you for everything. I don’t think I would have made it through without you. May the Goddess watch over you.”
    “You’ll need the Goddess’ protection more than I will,” Thomas answered, obviously trying hard to fight his bitterness. He clapped Vincent on the shoulder. “You’ll be a great Ranger.”
    “Vincent!” Auna’s voice echoed down the hall.
    “I’ve got to go now,” Vincent said, rushing out of the room and picking up his pack. “I’ll see you around.” Vincent turned and rushed down the hall to catch up with Auna.
    When Vincent finally caught up with Auna, he was standing at the bottom of the stairs leading up to the abbey, arms crossed and a look of severe disapproval painted on his face. “If you’re quite ready, Master Silva would like to leave,” he said sarcastically.
    “I’m ready.”
    “Well it certainly doesn’t look it,” Auna remarked. “Did you sleep at all last night?”
    “Not as much as I should have,” Vincent admitted. “I had… a troubling dream.”
    The disapproval vanished from Auna face and was replaced by a look of concern. “What kind of dream?”
    Vincent recounted the dream as Auna listened intently. When Vincent finished, Auna was silent for some time. At length he spoke, obviously choosing his words carefully. “Vincent, you must be mindful of your dreams. It is not uncommon for those with the token of fire to have visions. They see things that were, that are and sometimes, things that may yet be. Dreams can be warnings, and often there is something to be learned from them. Then again, sometimes they are just dreams. It takes a great deal of practice to tell the difference, so if you ever have a dream like this again I want you to tell Master Silva.”
    “I will,” Vincent replied. “But this dream… it was just a dream wasn’t it?”
    “That will take some time to discern,” a voice said from behind. Vincent turned to see Master Silva standing behind him. Vincent was startled as he hadn’t heard him coming. “But either way, we need to get moving. We’ve got a long way to travel today. The earlier we start the better.” He walked past Vincent and continued up the stairs.
    Vincent started to follow, but Master Auna stopped him, putting a hand on his shoulder.
    “You take care of yourself out there,” he said, concern evident in his voice. “So much depends on you.”
    “I will,” Vincent whispered in reply. “Thanks for everything.”
    Vincent continued up the stairs, trying to hide the sudden loneliness he felt. Silva was at the far end of the cloister when Vincent exited the stairs. He hurried to follow, but Silva disappeared into the abbey before he could catch him.
    Vincent followed him into the abbey, but he lost sight of him once again in the crowd of people in the reception hall; all bustling around in their preparations to return to their abbeys. He eventually made his way to the entry hall, where he found Master Silva waiting for him.
    “Have you said your goodbyes?” Silva asked, his voice cold as