Once El Diablito disappeared, I recovered Diego and sheathed him. He was not particularly happy with me for leaving him stuck in the back of the troll for the Little Devil to pick up, but he didn’t resist being put away.
Next, I knelt down next to Ravyn, who was rather a mess. Her hair was as frazzled as one might expect after being hit with a major lightning bolt. She was breathing, but they were the short, ragged breaths of someone in pain. She was also moving a little bit, her scorched face a twisted mask of pain. Nothing major looked broken, but she was obviously feeling a great deal of pain.
Through gritted teeth, she gasped out, “Rusty...?”
I leaned down closer to her mouth. “Yes?”
She reached up with one hand and grabbed my jacket by the collar, yanking me even closer and grunted, “Take me to Betsy.”
“Betsy?”
“The Phoenix.”
“Oh..OK.”
I scooped her up easily, pretending not to notice her whimper as I did. As I was walking over to the prideful bird, I noticed how intently it was staring at me, eyes ablaze. I put Ravyn down next to the one wing that looked undamaged.
Immediately, the bird shifted in its own place on the ground until it covered Ravyn with its wing and was fussing at her with its beak.
I shook my head as I walked away, what an improbable name for a fantastical bird.“I’m gonna go check on...Naomi.”
I jogged over to where she lay on the sidewalk. I knelt down next to her as well, looking for any sign of life, not quite sure if I saw her breathing or not. I moved around to the other side, since she was lying on her side, facing the other direction. One glance at her face told me that if she was alive, it wouldn’t be for long.
I touched her shoulder gently, called out her name. “Naomi?”
There was no response from the shell of her body, but my touch did bring a rush of faint memories, fraught with emotion. They weren’t fully formed and complete memories like those that I had taken from Dr. Geek, but they were more...ghostly...perhaps left over from the passing of her Spirit, since I could tell that had already departed once I touched her.
Realizing my time was growing short, I touched her forehead with my other hand and actually strove to gather as many of her memories, as ghostly and incomplete as they were, making sure to keep them together as I stored them away to perhaps someday use them to help Alexa understand who her mother was and how she lived her life.
After gathering as much as I could, I closed her eyes with one hand and stood up. One thing from those memories stood out...there was something I needed to go get from the house.
I moved into the broken home, moving quickly and easily from room to room, helped by Naomi’s faded memories of the way the house used to be. The trolls had not been gentle in their forced entry. I made my way to the back room that she had been staying with Alexa and over to the night stand that was still in one piece.
I pulled open the second drawer down and saw it-- the small, mother of pearl and silver jewelry box that Naomi had used to keep her few pieces of good jewelry and her most precious belongings, things she had meant to pass on to her daughter when she was old enough.
I grabbed a nearby diaper bag, stuffed the box and a couple of small toys from the crib where Alexa had slept as well as the small, elaborate blanket that had been a hand made gift from Naomi’s mother. Lastly, I grabbed the framed photo of Naomi holding the newborn Alexa in her arms, smiling tiredly for the camera, a photo that had been taken shortly after she had delivered the child--I winced at that memory (of childbirth)--boy, was I glad I never had to experience that!!!
Shaking myself out of the reverie I had found myself in, I moved back out into the storm and started over towards where I had left Ravyn and the Phoenix.
I was brought up short when I saw Ravyn standing over Naomi’s body. She was still looking more than a little worse for the wear, still frazzled and scorched, but she was standing nonetheless.
“Ravyn, are you OK?”
Her withering look told me that she was actually closer to normal than I would have thought possible. “Where’s the baby?” She was looking at the diaper bag draped over my shoulder, a perfect fit with my ‘Terminator’ outfit and sheathed blades...
“I took her to safety before I came back for you.”
“Look, I’ve got no patience for games, you already owe me a new outfit, a makeover, and about a week at the spa of my choice, doofus. Who did you take the baby to?”
“Uh...the Professor’s place.”
“Oh, for Goddess’ sake. Leave it to a zombie to take a newborn child to the one person we both know who would have about a zero percent chance of actually taking care of the child!”
“Hey now! I was in a bit of a hurry, you know. His was the first place that came to mind. I told him to get her to the Frau or to Cerrydwen.”
“Yeah, well we’ll see if he’s got the sense enough to actually do that and not get lost in one of those dusty books of his! Sheesh, men!”
“Where’s the Phoenix?” I was looking around for the hard to miss bird, “And how are you up and around so quickly anyway?”
“I sent Betsy back to get healed up after she used her tears to help heal me of my wounds. She’ll be just fine in a few days. Unfortunately for you, Rusty, her tears can’t restore my outfit, fix this frizz in my hair or your bank account either, for that matter. I am NOT a cheap date, I’ll have you know.”
“Well, if you were, you would have been my first...” I muttered under my breath.
“What was that?”
“Nothing.” I replied, a bit more audibly. “We should go find the Professor before he panics too badly. I highly doubt he’ll have anything other than Diet Pepsi for Alexa to suckle on, and that can’t be good.”
“Yes. This time you’re driving, but you better not even think of taking me to that Dark Place of yours on the way. Do you hear me, mister?”
“Yes, dear.”
Tuesday, December 27, 2005
Saturday, December 24, 2005
Stormbound...Finale
(Merry Christmas and happy Hannukah to those who celebrate those holidays!)
The creature toppled backwards, its arms outstretched and rigid, the gently wriggling child in its left claw slipping out and beginning her own fall down the steep slope of the levee embankment...
The distance between us seemed too vast, the trajectory of the fall far too uncertain, but nevertheless, I launched into motion, trying to intercept the child before she hit the ground...
A moment of hope seemed to flower as a bright, fiery form swooped in from high above, it’s own talons extended as it descended like a meteor towards the falling child, only to be thwarted by a burst of crackling lightning from the robed figure that blasted the Phoenix from it’s course and sent it fluttering and trailing smoke to the ground...
Ravyn’s inarticulate scream of pain and rage was accompanied by a blast of fire so powerful that it blinded me as I tried to follow the trajectory of the falling child...That flash was exceeded only by the responding blast of lightning that cut off Ravyn’s voice in mid-cry...
Once my eyes locked onto the form of the small, swaddled child again, I realized that there was no way I would be able to reach her before she hit the pavement below...unless I found another way...
In one smooth motion, I sheathed Herlinda and began gathering every shadow I could from the surrounding area. Still running at a breakneck speed, I wove the tendrils of darkness into a small portal just large enough for me to dive through and transport myself to the open air where I would be able to intercept the falling baby before she hit...
I hung, ever so briefly in mid air, the momentum from my initial leap carrying me forward, arms outstretched...
The baby plopped ever-so-gently into my hands, a reception so spectacular and perfect that it would have surely made the hi-lite reel of any sports show in the nation, had there been a camera around to record the event...
After bringing her in close, I gathered more darkness to myself and created another portal just large enough for the two of us to slip through...
I tucked and rolled as we landed on the floor of the Professor’s den, crashing into a tall, overloaded bookshelf that rained its contents onto my back. Luckily, I was positioned to shield her fragile form from the falling books...
As I sat there momentarily, I had the briefest of chances to look at the face and into the eyes of my daughter. Despite all that had just happened, the terrible winds, the scary trolls, the lashing rain, the strange journeys, her face lit into a smile as I looked down at her, marvelling at her dark caramel complexion, her strands of wet, curly black hair, and her enormous, absorbing brown eyes...eyes that seemed simultaneously full of love, strength and curiosity...
The Professor stormed into his den, cursing, baseball bat in his meaty grip, “I don’t know who the fuck you are, but you’re going to regret this...”
I turned to look at him, baby Alexa still in my arms, books scattered about us. His face turned ashen as he realized who I was and that I was carrying a baby...
Before he could fully recover and articulate words, I was up and moving towards him. “Jim, I need to take Alexa here and get her to Cerrydwen or the Frau immediately. Ravyn’s in terrible danger and I need to get back to her.”
The bat fell from his limp fingers, clattering to the floor as I stepped up to him with the wet, squirming child. “But..but...but I don’t know what to do with one of these...”
He took her into his arms even as he protested, her wetness immediately staining onto his T-shirt...
“I know...but if I don’t get back down there, Ravyn is going to die. Can you get Alexa to safety? I need to know...”
He nodded, seeing my resolve, sensing the urgency with which I was speaking...
I drew Herlinda as I stepped past him, gathered what shadows were around and stepped through the portal into the fray again...
Arriving back at the scene of the fight, I was met by a blast of wind and water that forced me to shift my posture to regain my balance, Herlinda was in my right hand this time. I was standing next to the crushed car that had served as my soft landing, next to the smouldering, dissolving body of the troll I had slain...
The robed figure was no longer up on the levee, which was where I was looking at first. Instead, it was standing close to where Ravyn had been fighting the dragon-like creatures, of which only charred husks remained. It was standing, staff in one hand, Diego in the other over the battered, apparently unconscious form of Ravyn, Diego’s blade poised by her throat. The fallen Phoenix lay just beyond them, charred and battered itself, but still struggling to rise and protect her mistress. The robed figure, however, was paying the giant fallen bird no attention, it was turned to face in my direction, like it knew I would be coming back...
The storm seemed to go silent as we faced each other, not twenty paces apart...
“Who are you?” I asked.
“Rusty, Rusty,” a familiar voice tsked, “Have you forgotten an old friend so quickly?” The wind somehow chose this moment to catch the hood of the robe, revealing the crazed eyes and face of the man I knew only as El Diablito. He let loose that familiar, hated cackle as his face became visible.
“Why are you doing this? What is that child to you?”
“That child of yours is everything, Rusty. Whoever controls her, controls so much more than you can possibly imagine!”
“Drake must have put you up to this! Why do you still work with that bastard? Don’t you know it’s over yet? He’s finished, the Omega Project is done, damn you!”
He threw his head back in peals of hysterical laughter before replying. “No Rusty, the Project has only now truly begun. It has been even more wildly successful than we had hoped it would be. You continue to show us new possibilities every day...and that child of yours will change this and many other worlds forever, Rusty. But such change needs to be carefully managed. Are you and your friends,” he motioned towards Ravyn with the butt of his staff, Diego was already poised above her chest, “ready to manage the situation? No, I didn’t think so.”
Motioning towards Ravyn’s form with my free hand, “Let her go, you’re not going to get the child, now or ever.”
“Why shouldn’t I just kill her now? I’ve defeated her, her powers are rightfully mine to take.”
“No. Touch her again, and you will be destroyed. That much I promise. No power under your command, or that you can ever acquire by harming her, will stop me from killing you right here, right now and consuming your soul and all of your memories.” The tenor of my voice had changed with this last. I don’t remember even thinking of adding that last phrase, but something deep and dark inside me had risen to take control. It, whatever it was, continued to speak through my mouth. “Your very existence will be erased, Little Devil, and I will be the stronger for it.”
His face went ashen, he stepped back, suddenly unsure of what he was facing.
Dark energies seeped from my body, causing me to grow in size. The raging hurricane itself seemed to retreat before the...thing...that I had become. “Put the blade down and flee while you still can.”
His jaw worked up and down, like he was trying to say something, but nothing came out.
They were suddenly coming closer to me, but I couldn’t sense any movement of my legs. Ir was as if I was being Willed forward, or they were being drawn to me.
He dropped the blade as he tried to move backwards. As he did so, the Phoenix lifted it’s massive head and snapped at him, catching the staff and the hand holding it in its beak. With a horrible snapping sound, the staff and his forearm were shattered simultaneously. He screamed in pain as he held up the spurting stump of his forearm. The crazed look overcame his pain and his fear of me, and with a word of command he vanished, except for the remnants of his staff and the pieces of his arm that hung from the beak of the battered, but now satisfied Phoenix...
The creature toppled backwards, its arms outstretched and rigid, the gently wriggling child in its left claw slipping out and beginning her own fall down the steep slope of the levee embankment...
The distance between us seemed too vast, the trajectory of the fall far too uncertain, but nevertheless, I launched into motion, trying to intercept the child before she hit the ground...
A moment of hope seemed to flower as a bright, fiery form swooped in from high above, it’s own talons extended as it descended like a meteor towards the falling child, only to be thwarted by a burst of crackling lightning from the robed figure that blasted the Phoenix from it’s course and sent it fluttering and trailing smoke to the ground...
Ravyn’s inarticulate scream of pain and rage was accompanied by a blast of fire so powerful that it blinded me as I tried to follow the trajectory of the falling child...That flash was exceeded only by the responding blast of lightning that cut off Ravyn’s voice in mid-cry...
Once my eyes locked onto the form of the small, swaddled child again, I realized that there was no way I would be able to reach her before she hit the pavement below...unless I found another way...
In one smooth motion, I sheathed Herlinda and began gathering every shadow I could from the surrounding area. Still running at a breakneck speed, I wove the tendrils of darkness into a small portal just large enough for me to dive through and transport myself to the open air where I would be able to intercept the falling baby before she hit...
I hung, ever so briefly in mid air, the momentum from my initial leap carrying me forward, arms outstretched...
The baby plopped ever-so-gently into my hands, a reception so spectacular and perfect that it would have surely made the hi-lite reel of any sports show in the nation, had there been a camera around to record the event...
After bringing her in close, I gathered more darkness to myself and created another portal just large enough for the two of us to slip through...
I tucked and rolled as we landed on the floor of the Professor’s den, crashing into a tall, overloaded bookshelf that rained its contents onto my back. Luckily, I was positioned to shield her fragile form from the falling books...
As I sat there momentarily, I had the briefest of chances to look at the face and into the eyes of my daughter. Despite all that had just happened, the terrible winds, the scary trolls, the lashing rain, the strange journeys, her face lit into a smile as I looked down at her, marvelling at her dark caramel complexion, her strands of wet, curly black hair, and her enormous, absorbing brown eyes...eyes that seemed simultaneously full of love, strength and curiosity...
The Professor stormed into his den, cursing, baseball bat in his meaty grip, “I don’t know who the fuck you are, but you’re going to regret this...”
I turned to look at him, baby Alexa still in my arms, books scattered about us. His face turned ashen as he realized who I was and that I was carrying a baby...
Before he could fully recover and articulate words, I was up and moving towards him. “Jim, I need to take Alexa here and get her to Cerrydwen or the Frau immediately. Ravyn’s in terrible danger and I need to get back to her.”
The bat fell from his limp fingers, clattering to the floor as I stepped up to him with the wet, squirming child. “But..but...but I don’t know what to do with one of these...”
He took her into his arms even as he protested, her wetness immediately staining onto his T-shirt...
“I know...but if I don’t get back down there, Ravyn is going to die. Can you get Alexa to safety? I need to know...”
He nodded, seeing my resolve, sensing the urgency with which I was speaking...
I drew Herlinda as I stepped past him, gathered what shadows were around and stepped through the portal into the fray again...
Arriving back at the scene of the fight, I was met by a blast of wind and water that forced me to shift my posture to regain my balance, Herlinda was in my right hand this time. I was standing next to the crushed car that had served as my soft landing, next to the smouldering, dissolving body of the troll I had slain...
The robed figure was no longer up on the levee, which was where I was looking at first. Instead, it was standing close to where Ravyn had been fighting the dragon-like creatures, of which only charred husks remained. It was standing, staff in one hand, Diego in the other over the battered, apparently unconscious form of Ravyn, Diego’s blade poised by her throat. The fallen Phoenix lay just beyond them, charred and battered itself, but still struggling to rise and protect her mistress. The robed figure, however, was paying the giant fallen bird no attention, it was turned to face in my direction, like it knew I would be coming back...
The storm seemed to go silent as we faced each other, not twenty paces apart...
“Who are you?” I asked.
“Rusty, Rusty,” a familiar voice tsked, “Have you forgotten an old friend so quickly?” The wind somehow chose this moment to catch the hood of the robe, revealing the crazed eyes and face of the man I knew only as El Diablito. He let loose that familiar, hated cackle as his face became visible.
“Why are you doing this? What is that child to you?”
“That child of yours is everything, Rusty. Whoever controls her, controls so much more than you can possibly imagine!”
“Drake must have put you up to this! Why do you still work with that bastard? Don’t you know it’s over yet? He’s finished, the Omega Project is done, damn you!”
He threw his head back in peals of hysterical laughter before replying. “No Rusty, the Project has only now truly begun. It has been even more wildly successful than we had hoped it would be. You continue to show us new possibilities every day...and that child of yours will change this and many other worlds forever, Rusty. But such change needs to be carefully managed. Are you and your friends,” he motioned towards Ravyn with the butt of his staff, Diego was already poised above her chest, “ready to manage the situation? No, I didn’t think so.”
Motioning towards Ravyn’s form with my free hand, “Let her go, you’re not going to get the child, now or ever.”
“Why shouldn’t I just kill her now? I’ve defeated her, her powers are rightfully mine to take.”
“No. Touch her again, and you will be destroyed. That much I promise. No power under your command, or that you can ever acquire by harming her, will stop me from killing you right here, right now and consuming your soul and all of your memories.” The tenor of my voice had changed with this last. I don’t remember even thinking of adding that last phrase, but something deep and dark inside me had risen to take control. It, whatever it was, continued to speak through my mouth. “Your very existence will be erased, Little Devil, and I will be the stronger for it.”
His face went ashen, he stepped back, suddenly unsure of what he was facing.
Dark energies seeped from my body, causing me to grow in size. The raging hurricane itself seemed to retreat before the...thing...that I had become. “Put the blade down and flee while you still can.”
His jaw worked up and down, like he was trying to say something, but nothing came out.
They were suddenly coming closer to me, but I couldn’t sense any movement of my legs. Ir was as if I was being Willed forward, or they were being drawn to me.
He dropped the blade as he tried to move backwards. As he did so, the Phoenix lifted it’s massive head and snapped at him, catching the staff and the hand holding it in its beak. With a horrible snapping sound, the staff and his forearm were shattered simultaneously. He screamed in pain as he held up the spurting stump of his forearm. The crazed look overcame his pain and his fear of me, and with a word of command he vanished, except for the remnants of his staff and the pieces of his arm that hung from the beak of the battered, but now satisfied Phoenix...
Friday, December 23, 2005
Stormbound...Part 3
It wasn’t easy, but I gathered my wits, lowered my shoulders into the stiffening wind and caught up with Ravyn.
When I caught up to her, I noticed that she was staring in the distance as she walked, fixated on a figure standing high up on what I later learned was one of New Orlean’s many levees. The street we were travelling on was coming to a quick end at what at first appeared to be huge, grassy wall that was topped with a fence of some sort. The hill/wall stood taller than all of the houses and shops nearby, and seemed to stretch across the horizon. Standing squarely at the top of the damn thing was a robed figure that appeared to be human. We were too far away to get a good look at face, or even tell if the figure was male or female, in part because the loose robe and cloak of the figure were flapping in the winds. The figure stood firmly rooted to the earth though, with it’s feet planted slightly wider than it’s shoulders. It’s arms were reaching up into the sky, each hand grasping one end of what appeared to be a staff of some sort.
“Who the fuck is that?”
Ravyn was succinct in her reply, “Trouble. Look above it!”
I looked where she was pointing in the sky far above the figure. “Oh shit! Are those things obeying that person?”
“Maybe. But whatever is going on here is not natural, and we’ve got to stop it.”
“Damn right we do.”
Just as I said that, we reached the corner. We had been watching the figure above us, who also hadn’t seemed to notice us yet. But as we hit the corner, I glanced to the right, towards where we needed to go to get to Alexa, what I saw stopped me in my tracks. “Ravyn...Look, they’ve taken her!”
Just down the street, three very large figures that I can only describe as ogres or trolls of some sort were emerging from the wreckage of a house. One of the bastards held a tightly swaddled baby in one oversized, clawed hand and a large wooden club in the other. The second of the beasts was holding back a screaming, distraught young woman whose cries were lost in the storm. The third towering beast brought down it’s own massive club down on the woman as I yelled, “NO!” and bolted into action, drawing both Witchbane Blades and hurtling myself in their direction.
Ravyn’s loud curses were followed by a blazing bolt of fire that launched from her hand and blasted into the troll that had struck down the young woman. The thing was lifted off it’s massive feet by the blast and landed in the street, screaming as it burned.
The trolls were now aware of the threat we posed, and reacted accordingly. The troll holding the child tossed its club to the second troll and began loping in great strides towards the levee wall and the figure above. The second troll turned to block my way, waving its new weapon in a menacing manner.
I was half expecting Ravyn to blast this lummox out of my way as well, so I wasn’t as prepared for its first swing as I should have been. If only the Tigers could get a hitter like this thug. He took a perfect masher’s swing, two-handed, good footwork, great concentration, and tremendous bat speed. The uppercut swing caught me solidly under my right arm, lifting me clear off the ground and sending me flying. I heard a number of loud cracks, wasn’t sure if they were from me or the club, or both. Luckily, I landed on a nice soft car to cushion my landing, accompanied of course by lots more cracking and crunching sounds. This time I was relatively sure that most of the damage was to the car, and not me.
From my new face-up vantage point, I noticed why Ravyn wasn’t as quick on the draw as I had hoped, she was surrounded by the blazing red glow of her shields fending off the lightning bolt blasts from a pair of small, dragon-like creatures.
From my particular vantage point, I could also see that the first troll was about halfway up the embankment, heading straight towards the wild robed figure we had seen before. Just as I was starting to wonder if the second troll was going to follow the first, a looming shadow told me everything I needed to know.
I rolled to the left, falling off the hood and windshield of the poor car, just as the thing’s now battered club smashed it further. Luckily, I landed on my feet and had just enough sense to slash out with the blade in my right hand, Diego’s blade. I felt Diego guide my hand slightly, dipping the blade just enough to nick the rough, green hide of the beasts hand as it was trying to pull the club from the deep impression he had created in the car’s hood.
Even with a small wound like that, the beast leaped back, roaring. It also abandoned the club.
Seeing my opening, I jumped onto the hood of the car and launched myself into the creature’s chest, leading with both blades.
The blades sank into the thick flesh at the base of his neck like they were cutting through butter. The impact of my leaping thrust and the power of the blades coursing through the beast forced it backwards as it collapsed in a heap on the pavement.
I yanked the blades from the smouldering beast’s body and spun to see the first troll not ten feet from the cackling robed figure. In one smooth motion (especially considering I had never even thought of trying this before), I cocked my right arm back, whispered, “Don’t fail me now Diego!” and heaved the blade with all of the power I could muster.
Diego sailed through the air, turned end over tip a couple of times and planted himself squarely in the small of the back of first troll right before it got to even ground. The beast screamed, stiffened, loosened its grip on the child in it’s one claw and started a slow motion fall backwards...
“NOOOO!!!!....”
When I caught up to her, I noticed that she was staring in the distance as she walked, fixated on a figure standing high up on what I later learned was one of New Orlean’s many levees. The street we were travelling on was coming to a quick end at what at first appeared to be huge, grassy wall that was topped with a fence of some sort. The hill/wall stood taller than all of the houses and shops nearby, and seemed to stretch across the horizon. Standing squarely at the top of the damn thing was a robed figure that appeared to be human. We were too far away to get a good look at face, or even tell if the figure was male or female, in part because the loose robe and cloak of the figure were flapping in the winds. The figure stood firmly rooted to the earth though, with it’s feet planted slightly wider than it’s shoulders. It’s arms were reaching up into the sky, each hand grasping one end of what appeared to be a staff of some sort.
“Who the fuck is that?”
Ravyn was succinct in her reply, “Trouble. Look above it!”
I looked where she was pointing in the sky far above the figure. “Oh shit! Are those things obeying that person?”
“Maybe. But whatever is going on here is not natural, and we’ve got to stop it.”
“Damn right we do.”
Just as I said that, we reached the corner. We had been watching the figure above us, who also hadn’t seemed to notice us yet. But as we hit the corner, I glanced to the right, towards where we needed to go to get to Alexa, what I saw stopped me in my tracks. “Ravyn...Look, they’ve taken her!”
Just down the street, three very large figures that I can only describe as ogres or trolls of some sort were emerging from the wreckage of a house. One of the bastards held a tightly swaddled baby in one oversized, clawed hand and a large wooden club in the other. The second of the beasts was holding back a screaming, distraught young woman whose cries were lost in the storm. The third towering beast brought down it’s own massive club down on the woman as I yelled, “NO!” and bolted into action, drawing both Witchbane Blades and hurtling myself in their direction.
Ravyn’s loud curses were followed by a blazing bolt of fire that launched from her hand and blasted into the troll that had struck down the young woman. The thing was lifted off it’s massive feet by the blast and landed in the street, screaming as it burned.
The trolls were now aware of the threat we posed, and reacted accordingly. The troll holding the child tossed its club to the second troll and began loping in great strides towards the levee wall and the figure above. The second troll turned to block my way, waving its new weapon in a menacing manner.
I was half expecting Ravyn to blast this lummox out of my way as well, so I wasn’t as prepared for its first swing as I should have been. If only the Tigers could get a hitter like this thug. He took a perfect masher’s swing, two-handed, good footwork, great concentration, and tremendous bat speed. The uppercut swing caught me solidly under my right arm, lifting me clear off the ground and sending me flying. I heard a number of loud cracks, wasn’t sure if they were from me or the club, or both. Luckily, I landed on a nice soft car to cushion my landing, accompanied of course by lots more cracking and crunching sounds. This time I was relatively sure that most of the damage was to the car, and not me.
From my new face-up vantage point, I noticed why Ravyn wasn’t as quick on the draw as I had hoped, she was surrounded by the blazing red glow of her shields fending off the lightning bolt blasts from a pair of small, dragon-like creatures.
From my particular vantage point, I could also see that the first troll was about halfway up the embankment, heading straight towards the wild robed figure we had seen before. Just as I was starting to wonder if the second troll was going to follow the first, a looming shadow told me everything I needed to know.
I rolled to the left, falling off the hood and windshield of the poor car, just as the thing’s now battered club smashed it further. Luckily, I landed on my feet and had just enough sense to slash out with the blade in my right hand, Diego’s blade. I felt Diego guide my hand slightly, dipping the blade just enough to nick the rough, green hide of the beasts hand as it was trying to pull the club from the deep impression he had created in the car’s hood.
Even with a small wound like that, the beast leaped back, roaring. It also abandoned the club.
Seeing my opening, I jumped onto the hood of the car and launched myself into the creature’s chest, leading with both blades.
The blades sank into the thick flesh at the base of his neck like they were cutting through butter. The impact of my leaping thrust and the power of the blades coursing through the beast forced it backwards as it collapsed in a heap on the pavement.
I yanked the blades from the smouldering beast’s body and spun to see the first troll not ten feet from the cackling robed figure. In one smooth motion (especially considering I had never even thought of trying this before), I cocked my right arm back, whispered, “Don’t fail me now Diego!” and heaved the blade with all of the power I could muster.
Diego sailed through the air, turned end over tip a couple of times and planted himself squarely in the small of the back of first troll right before it got to even ground. The beast screamed, stiffened, loosened its grip on the child in it’s one claw and started a slow motion fall backwards...
“NOOOO!!!!....”
Wednesday, December 21, 2005
Stormbound...Solstice Interlude
(Happy Yule to one and all.)
We stood there watching the sprites or elementals playing in the eddies and blasts of the wind, when something above caught my eye again. If I had been capable of gasping, I would have. “Was that really a dragon up there?”
Ravyn looked over at me, smiled. “Amazing isn’t it? If we stand and watch long enough with the right kind of eyes, we would see dragons and giants, all kinds of creatures that most humans dismiss as mere children’s fantasies.” She looked back into the almost joyous chaos of the playful smaller spirits and sighed. “It really is too bad that we as a species have largely turned our backs on supernatural world that used to be so important to our existence.”
“How so?”
“Some very smart people think that the ability to see spirits and ‘fantastical’ creatures has always been limited to a rather select minority of the human population. But in my research, I have found just the opposite, that very few people DON’T have the innate ability to interact with the supernatural world in some way. It is however a skill that must be encouraged and developed as we ourselves develop and grow from children into adulthood. That is why most of the stories of faeries and unicorns, dragons and giants, and even magick are seen as children’s stories. Most children can easily glimpse into the magickal world all around us, but they don’t have the software to interpret what they are seeing. When most adults at first humor them with their stories about invisible friends, or at first encourage them to believe in such beings as the Easter Bunny or Santa Claus, those same adults then discount such fantasies and teach their children through their actions and words to see and interact only with ‘reality’.
“So that innate ability that most of us are born with just withers away from disuse and disbelief, and our world is all the poorer for it.”
“So why is it so easy for me to see them now? And why in such numbers?”
Ravyn’s hand clenched at her sides as she began to speak again. “It’s quite simple really-we as a species have done everything we can to push back both the natural and the supernatural worlds as far as possible. Our machines, our cities, our pollution has driven most of these creatures from their own environment, pushing them back further and further. When a major natural disturbance like this storm comes along, the sheer power and majesty of it brings many of them from hiding. Many are probably also taking this chance to return the favor we have done to them by destroying some of our environment.”
I looked over to see her face, now streaked with tears, harden as she continued. “Someday, there will come a breaking point, where we will have pushed things too far and destroyed too much of their world for many of these beings to survive, or there will be a rebellion of such a magnitude that our world may well change forever.”
“Wow, maybe those are some of the things that Alexa may be able to prevent, if she really is as much of a Catalyst as your friend thinks.”
“Let’s hope so, Rusty, let’s hope so.”
With that said, she stepped out into the intersection, in the direction we had been told her house was in. I took a moment to marvel again at the sheer number of playful spirits that were using this strange place to have a game of tag. I did notice how even these creatures though avoided the fiery shield that shrouded Ravyn. They rushed around and past her in amazingly tight circles and loops, but they avoided that shield....which seemed a little more intense than I had remembered it being before our conversation....
We stood there watching the sprites or elementals playing in the eddies and blasts of the wind, when something above caught my eye again. If I had been capable of gasping, I would have. “Was that really a dragon up there?”
Ravyn looked over at me, smiled. “Amazing isn’t it? If we stand and watch long enough with the right kind of eyes, we would see dragons and giants, all kinds of creatures that most humans dismiss as mere children’s fantasies.” She looked back into the almost joyous chaos of the playful smaller spirits and sighed. “It really is too bad that we as a species have largely turned our backs on supernatural world that used to be so important to our existence.”
“How so?”
“Some very smart people think that the ability to see spirits and ‘fantastical’ creatures has always been limited to a rather select minority of the human population. But in my research, I have found just the opposite, that very few people DON’T have the innate ability to interact with the supernatural world in some way. It is however a skill that must be encouraged and developed as we ourselves develop and grow from children into adulthood. That is why most of the stories of faeries and unicorns, dragons and giants, and even magick are seen as children’s stories. Most children can easily glimpse into the magickal world all around us, but they don’t have the software to interpret what they are seeing. When most adults at first humor them with their stories about invisible friends, or at first encourage them to believe in such beings as the Easter Bunny or Santa Claus, those same adults then discount such fantasies and teach their children through their actions and words to see and interact only with ‘reality’.
“So that innate ability that most of us are born with just withers away from disuse and disbelief, and our world is all the poorer for it.”
“So why is it so easy for me to see them now? And why in such numbers?”
Ravyn’s hand clenched at her sides as she began to speak again. “It’s quite simple really-we as a species have done everything we can to push back both the natural and the supernatural worlds as far as possible. Our machines, our cities, our pollution has driven most of these creatures from their own environment, pushing them back further and further. When a major natural disturbance like this storm comes along, the sheer power and majesty of it brings many of them from hiding. Many are probably also taking this chance to return the favor we have done to them by destroying some of our environment.”
I looked over to see her face, now streaked with tears, harden as she continued. “Someday, there will come a breaking point, where we will have pushed things too far and destroyed too much of their world for many of these beings to survive, or there will be a rebellion of such a magnitude that our world may well change forever.”
“Wow, maybe those are some of the things that Alexa may be able to prevent, if she really is as much of a Catalyst as your friend thinks.”
“Let’s hope so, Rusty, let’s hope so.”
With that said, she stepped out into the intersection, in the direction we had been told her house was in. I took a moment to marvel again at the sheer number of playful spirits that were using this strange place to have a game of tag. I did notice how even these creatures though avoided the fiery shield that shrouded Ravyn. They rushed around and past her in amazingly tight circles and loops, but they avoided that shield....which seemed a little more intense than I had remembered it being before our conversation....
Tuesday, December 20, 2005
Stormbound...Part 2
I stepped out into the screaming wind and lashing rain first, hoping to provide some small cover for Ravyn. But even at my size and density, I was immediately pushed backwards until I began to exert my will and pushed back out into the chaos of the storm.
I would have thought that Ravyn would have had an even tougher time, but she took a moment to compose herself in the doorway before she was enveloped in a shimmering, red haze that extended outwards from her body about a foot in each direction. Once this shield of sorts was up, she stepped out into the storm with no apparent difficulty.
At my amazed look, she flashed a bright smile and gave me a mischievous wink before remarking, “You didn’t think I was going to walk out into this mess and get sopping wet like some dumb zombie, did you?”
As we stood there, me as wet as fish-not that I cared, mind you-her shield crackled and flared as the winds whirled around. I reach my hand tentatively towards her shield. “What exactly are you doing with this thing?”
She shook her head and waved my hand away. “Don’t touch it, you doofus! This is what I call my Fire Shield. It absorbs the energy of the winds and the rain and converts it into a very effective defensive shield, if anything other than a small amount of regulated air tries to get through, it will flare up rather impressively. But I need to concentrate in order to regulate this thing, so don’t stumble into me, I might burn you pretty badly.”
“OK, so I guess I don’t need to worry about you then!”
“Of course not. Remember, I’m here to keep you out of trouble, not to be rescued by you! So, let’s get moving, you remember the address don’t you?”
“Yeah, it’s this way.”
I pushed away from the side of the house and lowered my head and shoulders to start bulling my way through the storm to get to the home where I hoped to find Alexa and her mother. It was only a little annoying to look to my right and see Ravyn strolling down the street as if she were walking along a nice serene beach. Every now and again I caught a glimpse of her smirk as she glanced over at me struggling to get through.
We crossed through one intersection, making a detour out into the middle of the street to avoid a downed power line that writhed and sparked like a very angry electrical snake. Once past that though, we returned to the sidewalk, trying not to be too conspicuous, not that too many folks would be looking out their windows in this mess.
I turned to say something to Ravyn, when I noticed too late to warn her about a large piece of debris. It crashed into her from behind, a large chunk of a traffic sign, causing a brilliant flash of energy and a very audible popping sound. Ravyn was knocked forward by the impact, falling to her hands and knees, but was otherwise unharmed as the sign disintegrated in the explosion.
When she got up, the smirk was gone, and there was an almost defiant look in her eyes, daring me to make to joke. I found it better to concentrate on pushing through the storm. After that, she moved a bit more warily, casting glances in various directions.
At the next intersection, I stopped, steadying myself with a hand on the traffic light pole. I couldn’t quite place it at the moment, but I could feel the presence of other...entities...besides Ravyn and myself.
A flash of movement above and to the left caught my eye, but was gone before I could focus on it. Ravyn came up beside me, silent. “I feel something else here.”
She nodded. “Try looking in other light spectrums.”
Catching her meaning, I concentrated for a moment and focused my eyes to look for magickal energies. A whole new element of the storm became visible. I could see dozens, maybe hundreds, of whirling, swirling forms darting about in the air, more like faeries in their form than anything else I could think of. These figures were chasing each other in swarms, swarms that seemed to almost coincide with the winds of the storm!
“What are these things?”
“Elementals, faeries, imps, djinn. There are almost as many names for them as there are languages.”
“Are they the cause of these kinds of storms?”
“Oh heavens, no. But they are attracted to major storms like these, and they can cause a lot of damage with their play. They are the quintessential free spirits.”
I would have thought that Ravyn would have had an even tougher time, but she took a moment to compose herself in the doorway before she was enveloped in a shimmering, red haze that extended outwards from her body about a foot in each direction. Once this shield of sorts was up, she stepped out into the storm with no apparent difficulty.
At my amazed look, she flashed a bright smile and gave me a mischievous wink before remarking, “You didn’t think I was going to walk out into this mess and get sopping wet like some dumb zombie, did you?”
As we stood there, me as wet as fish-not that I cared, mind you-her shield crackled and flared as the winds whirled around. I reach my hand tentatively towards her shield. “What exactly are you doing with this thing?”
She shook her head and waved my hand away. “Don’t touch it, you doofus! This is what I call my Fire Shield. It absorbs the energy of the winds and the rain and converts it into a very effective defensive shield, if anything other than a small amount of regulated air tries to get through, it will flare up rather impressively. But I need to concentrate in order to regulate this thing, so don’t stumble into me, I might burn you pretty badly.”
“OK, so I guess I don’t need to worry about you then!”
“Of course not. Remember, I’m here to keep you out of trouble, not to be rescued by you! So, let’s get moving, you remember the address don’t you?”
“Yeah, it’s this way.”
I pushed away from the side of the house and lowered my head and shoulders to start bulling my way through the storm to get to the home where I hoped to find Alexa and her mother. It was only a little annoying to look to my right and see Ravyn strolling down the street as if she were walking along a nice serene beach. Every now and again I caught a glimpse of her smirk as she glanced over at me struggling to get through.
We crossed through one intersection, making a detour out into the middle of the street to avoid a downed power line that writhed and sparked like a very angry electrical snake. Once past that though, we returned to the sidewalk, trying not to be too conspicuous, not that too many folks would be looking out their windows in this mess.
I turned to say something to Ravyn, when I noticed too late to warn her about a large piece of debris. It crashed into her from behind, a large chunk of a traffic sign, causing a brilliant flash of energy and a very audible popping sound. Ravyn was knocked forward by the impact, falling to her hands and knees, but was otherwise unharmed as the sign disintegrated in the explosion.
When she got up, the smirk was gone, and there was an almost defiant look in her eyes, daring me to make to joke. I found it better to concentrate on pushing through the storm. After that, she moved a bit more warily, casting glances in various directions.
At the next intersection, I stopped, steadying myself with a hand on the traffic light pole. I couldn’t quite place it at the moment, but I could feel the presence of other...entities...besides Ravyn and myself.
A flash of movement above and to the left caught my eye, but was gone before I could focus on it. Ravyn came up beside me, silent. “I feel something else here.”
She nodded. “Try looking in other light spectrums.”
Catching her meaning, I concentrated for a moment and focused my eyes to look for magickal energies. A whole new element of the storm became visible. I could see dozens, maybe hundreds, of whirling, swirling forms darting about in the air, more like faeries in their form than anything else I could think of. These figures were chasing each other in swarms, swarms that seemed to almost coincide with the winds of the storm!
“What are these things?”
“Elementals, faeries, imps, djinn. There are almost as many names for them as there are languages.”
“Are they the cause of these kinds of storms?”
“Oh heavens, no. But they are attracted to major storms like these, and they can cause a lot of damage with their play. They are the quintessential free spirits.”
Tuesday, December 13, 2005
Stormbound...Part 1
As we absorbed the information that T’tubah had given us, some large object crashed into the front of the house. It was loud enough that we were startled out of the mini reverie that had overtaken us. It also brought us back to the reality that we were gonna have to make our way out of this small house and into the teeth of a massive hurricane.
Ravyn recovered quickly, smirking as she said, “Well, she’s not getting any safer as we stand here waiting for you to collect your wits, you old rust bucket.” She looked to T’tubah a bit more kindly. “Are you going to be OK in here, or should we take you somewhere safer?”
The older woman cackled as she replied, “Child, don’t you worry none about me, you’ll have enough worries finding that baby girl and her mother and getting them to safety before things get really bad in this town. I’ll leave once the winds die down. I have some people in Atlanta that will be getting a visit from Great Auntie.”
Curious, I asked, “How will you get to Atlanta? The roads will be a mess, if your car even survives this mess, and there won’t be any mass transit for a while.”
There was a knowing twinkle in her eye as she answered, “The portal you came through works both ways, boy.” She shuddered a bit as she thought of something before continuing. “My way isn’t as flashy as some, but it gets me where I need to go when I have to use it. Now, you’ll be wanting to leave soon, you two aren’t the only horses in this race.”
Ravyn gave her an earnest hug, reaching up and around with both arms in an attempt to encompass the larger woman, who returned the hug just as earnestly.
Feeling a little uncomfortable, I reached out a tentative hand as they separated. “Thank you, Ma’am, for welcoming us into your home and giving us this infor...”
She had grasped my hand and yanked me into her embrace, surprising me with the strength of her grip and her ability to pull me off balance so easily. Her arms easily engulfed my shoulders as she brought her mouth close to my left ear. “You watch out now, boy, this baby is more important than anything else, don’t let the Little Devil use your own Demons to distract you from that.”
She pushed me back from her embrace, but held me with one firm grip on my left arm, looking square into my eyes. I could see the reflection of my flaming orbs in her eyes as her milky white gaze seemed to pierce through all of my armor. Her voice had that distant, tinny quality about it again as she spoke one last time:
“Stricken by Faith and Terror, the Daughter of Death has come!
To War turns the Old Guard, proclaiming loudly the false Victory.
Whilst Wind tears and Waters roar, the Daughter of Death has come!
Tho’ Fire and Shadow may strive, Hope or Peace has no guarantee.”
Her eyes returned to normal, but before either or Ravyn or I could comment, she shambled toward the front of the house, calling out, “This way, your time grows short.”
Ravyn recovered quickly, smirking as she said, “Well, she’s not getting any safer as we stand here waiting for you to collect your wits, you old rust bucket.” She looked to T’tubah a bit more kindly. “Are you going to be OK in here, or should we take you somewhere safer?”
The older woman cackled as she replied, “Child, don’t you worry none about me, you’ll have enough worries finding that baby girl and her mother and getting them to safety before things get really bad in this town. I’ll leave once the winds die down. I have some people in Atlanta that will be getting a visit from Great Auntie.”
Curious, I asked, “How will you get to Atlanta? The roads will be a mess, if your car even survives this mess, and there won’t be any mass transit for a while.”
There was a knowing twinkle in her eye as she answered, “The portal you came through works both ways, boy.” She shuddered a bit as she thought of something before continuing. “My way isn’t as flashy as some, but it gets me where I need to go when I have to use it. Now, you’ll be wanting to leave soon, you two aren’t the only horses in this race.”
Ravyn gave her an earnest hug, reaching up and around with both arms in an attempt to encompass the larger woman, who returned the hug just as earnestly.
Feeling a little uncomfortable, I reached out a tentative hand as they separated. “Thank you, Ma’am, for welcoming us into your home and giving us this infor...”
She had grasped my hand and yanked me into her embrace, surprising me with the strength of her grip and her ability to pull me off balance so easily. Her arms easily engulfed my shoulders as she brought her mouth close to my left ear. “You watch out now, boy, this baby is more important than anything else, don’t let the Little Devil use your own Demons to distract you from that.”
She pushed me back from her embrace, but held me with one firm grip on my left arm, looking square into my eyes. I could see the reflection of my flaming orbs in her eyes as her milky white gaze seemed to pierce through all of my armor. Her voice had that distant, tinny quality about it again as she spoke one last time:
“Stricken by Faith and Terror, the Daughter of Death has come!
To War turns the Old Guard, proclaiming loudly the false Victory.
Whilst Wind tears and Waters roar, the Daughter of Death has come!
Tho’ Fire and Shadow may strive, Hope or Peace has no guarantee.”
Her eyes returned to normal, but before either or Ravyn or I could comment, she shambled toward the front of the house, calling out, “This way, your time grows short.”
Monday, December 12, 2005
Prophecy...?
“First of all,” Ravyn started, “I want to know why you are riding out this storm in you house!”
The big womans shoulders rocked with amusement as she boomed out her answer, “BECAUSE YOU WERE COMING TO SEE ME, OF COURSE!”
I interjected, “But how did you know we were coming here, I mean...”
The withering looks from both women stopped me in my tracks.
Ravyn just shook her head in amusement before replying to the larger woman. “I should have known you would have been told of our arrival.”
As the storm howled outside, Ravyn gave her a brief synopsis of who we were looking for and why we needed to find her quickly, without providing any incriminating details, except for the mother’s name.
When the tale concluded, T’tubah looked from Ravyn to me and back again before speaking. “So, you mean to go searching for this woman and her baby in this storm, do you? The Spirits have spoken to me about this storm for a long time now, telling me that there is more to this storm than the hand of Mother Nature at work. I think this task will be harder by far than you realize.
“I do however, know of this woman who you are looking for, she was from this neighborhood and recently returned. She did give birth a few months back. She’s been looking for work. She lives about three blocks down the street and around the corner, she’s staying with her mother, from what I’ve heard. That baby, Alexa, was brought to me for a blessing only last month...”
As she was speaking, the large woman shuddered and went quiet, both Ravyn and I looked at each other, and then back to her, with Ravyn moving quicker than I to steady the woman on her feet. The wind was howling, things were crashing against the house on a regular basis, but it became still and quiet inside the house. She straightened back up and looked over at me, her eyes glazing over with a whitish film. A voice came echoing from her mouth, a voice that was at the same time familiar, but distinctly...different...
“Amidst Despair and Discord, the Daughter of Death has come!
From Darkness she was born, Descendant of Slaves now seeming free.
Conceived from Greed and Deceit, the Daughter of Death has come!
Through her Dance and her Deeds, Empires fall and the Mighty flee.”
T’tubah shuddered again, and would have fallen had Ravyn not already been holding her as she came out of the trance that had taken her. The crushing sounds of the torrents outside of the house resumed almost immediately, the spell now broken.
“What the Hell was that?” I asked.
Ravyn shot me another look, but guided the now exhausted looking woman to one of her sturdy kitchen stools. After she sat for a minute and gathered herself, T’tubah herself answered.
“The Spirits sometimes speak through me, asking me to be their conduit. They come and go as they please.”
“I can see they also don’t take much time to find ways of speaking plainly.”
More withering looks, this time from both women.
T’tubah spoke up again, “When the child was brought to me for that blessing, a similar event happened, one of my more powerful Spirits came forth and conducted the ceremony. That was the first time that had ever happened. It was then that I felt this child was going to be very important. Hers will be a life filled with turmoil and conflict, that great forces would battle over her. She will be a Catalyst, an agent of change, if she survives long enough. If you truly seek this child out, you must know all of this, and more...that humanity only sees such Spirits as hers born once every fifty to a hundred generations. She will be the first female Catalyst in a very, very long time.”
“What do you mean by a ‘Catalyst’? Who were some of these others before her?”
Ravyn spoke up, her voice sounding small againt the raging storm outside, but still very clear. “She means that this child of yours could be like some of the other great figures who have shaped human history, like Siddhartha, Mohammad or even Jesus of Nazareth.”
“Whoah...are you serious?”
T’tubah nodded. “This world is in dire need for such a person, but there will be powerful forces who will not easily suffer her to live to fulfill that promise. That, my children, is why I was waiting for you, for someone, to come to her aid.”
The big womans shoulders rocked with amusement as she boomed out her answer, “BECAUSE YOU WERE COMING TO SEE ME, OF COURSE!”
I interjected, “But how did you know we were coming here, I mean...”
The withering looks from both women stopped me in my tracks.
Ravyn just shook her head in amusement before replying to the larger woman. “I should have known you would have been told of our arrival.”
As the storm howled outside, Ravyn gave her a brief synopsis of who we were looking for and why we needed to find her quickly, without providing any incriminating details, except for the mother’s name.
When the tale concluded, T’tubah looked from Ravyn to me and back again before speaking. “So, you mean to go searching for this woman and her baby in this storm, do you? The Spirits have spoken to me about this storm for a long time now, telling me that there is more to this storm than the hand of Mother Nature at work. I think this task will be harder by far than you realize.
“I do however, know of this woman who you are looking for, she was from this neighborhood and recently returned. She did give birth a few months back. She’s been looking for work. She lives about three blocks down the street and around the corner, she’s staying with her mother, from what I’ve heard. That baby, Alexa, was brought to me for a blessing only last month...”
As she was speaking, the large woman shuddered and went quiet, both Ravyn and I looked at each other, and then back to her, with Ravyn moving quicker than I to steady the woman on her feet. The wind was howling, things were crashing against the house on a regular basis, but it became still and quiet inside the house. She straightened back up and looked over at me, her eyes glazing over with a whitish film. A voice came echoing from her mouth, a voice that was at the same time familiar, but distinctly...different...
“Amidst Despair and Discord, the Daughter of Death has come!
From Darkness she was born, Descendant of Slaves now seeming free.
Conceived from Greed and Deceit, the Daughter of Death has come!
Through her Dance and her Deeds, Empires fall and the Mighty flee.”
T’tubah shuddered again, and would have fallen had Ravyn not already been holding her as she came out of the trance that had taken her. The crushing sounds of the torrents outside of the house resumed almost immediately, the spell now broken.
“What the Hell was that?” I asked.
Ravyn shot me another look, but guided the now exhausted looking woman to one of her sturdy kitchen stools. After she sat for a minute and gathered herself, T’tubah herself answered.
“The Spirits sometimes speak through me, asking me to be their conduit. They come and go as they please.”
“I can see they also don’t take much time to find ways of speaking plainly.”
More withering looks, this time from both women.
T’tubah spoke up again, “When the child was brought to me for that blessing, a similar event happened, one of my more powerful Spirits came forth and conducted the ceremony. That was the first time that had ever happened. It was then that I felt this child was going to be very important. Hers will be a life filled with turmoil and conflict, that great forces would battle over her. She will be a Catalyst, an agent of change, if she survives long enough. If you truly seek this child out, you must know all of this, and more...that humanity only sees such Spirits as hers born once every fifty to a hundred generations. She will be the first female Catalyst in a very, very long time.”
“What do you mean by a ‘Catalyst’? Who were some of these others before her?”
Ravyn spoke up, her voice sounding small againt the raging storm outside, but still very clear. “She means that this child of yours could be like some of the other great figures who have shaped human history, like Siddhartha, Mohammad or even Jesus of Nazareth.”
“Whoah...are you serious?”
T’tubah nodded. “This world is in dire need for such a person, but there will be powerful forces who will not easily suffer her to live to fulfill that promise. That, my children, is why I was waiting for you, for someone, to come to her aid.”
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
