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.”