Raven

Chapter Four

"Wait, I.. What!" the poor girl went sheet white. "Calm down Raven" I try to reassure her. "Calm down!, Calm down!, you say!, How can I calm down, when you just told me that I died out there!" She gestured toward the door while ranting and raving. Gods she was so cute when she was angry. "How do you know so much about this stuff anyway?" she asks. I clear my throat, and reach into my t-shirt for the pendant that was entrusted to me by my grandfather. "For centuries my family have been entrusted with the safekeeping of the Goddess warriors, Laochra, every protector family are entrusted with an emblem, that matches the given warriors emblem, together, when both are combined, the warriors protector is activated, and both become a very dangerous yet effective combination against the demons" I show her the pendant, she takes it carefully and turns it in her hand, for a moment she looks like she is frozen in time, as realisation dawns upon her face. She shoves the pendant back at me, turns and heads for a cupboard, she opens it and rummages near the back, coming back with something in her hand. "When I was a young child, of about two, the people in the compound responsible for gathering wood in the forest, found me wandering around, in dirty, tattered clothes, I had nothing with me, except this." she hands me an identical pendant , only this one is the opposite partner of the one I have. "Non one ever came to claim me, and no one in the villages surrounding the compound knew of a child my age that went missing, some people have claimed seeing and small child running and playing with the local wolves that live in the woods here".

I was still holding both pendants in my hands, flabbergasted by the possibility. In three generations my family hasn't found a single Laochra, now suddenly one stood before me. I looked up at her, expectantly, waiting for a signal that it was okay to place the two parts together. She eyed me curiously, "Well what are we supposed to do?" she asks. My voice fails me, I clear my throat, "I have to put the two together!" I say. "Okay?, so do it then already, we don't have all bloody day!" She's a cheeky one, I have to admit. I bring the two pieces together, and just before they finally touch, I look up at her and say "Well here goes nothing!". As the two pieces merge, the same blue light that surrounded Raven, came from the completed pendant. The light grows, and swirls around me, I feel dizzy, and stumble to my knees. I hear Raven gasp and look up at her, "Your eyes!" is all she says. Then there is heat around my wrists and on my back. excruciating pain, then I hear material ripping apart and muscles being torn apart as the pain intensifies and its pure agony. Then just like that it is all over, and the weight pulling at my back almost pulls me over completely.

As I look back up at Raven, the first thing I see is her beautiful black wings behind her back, she is oblivious to them, staring at something behind me. I stand up, but almost stumble, then only do I realise, I also have a set of wings on my back, but mine are as snow white as the hair upon my head. Raven comes closer, holding her hand out, passing then past my head and touch the wings there. The weirdest sensation overcomes me, something close to pleasure, I reach out and touch her wings. Only when the sensation overcomes her, does she realise they are out, and she gasps both in pleasure and surprise.

Realising this is something far to intimate for two people who just met, I step back first. My wings retract back into my back, but my shirt can't hide the fact that they were there. Ravens wings also retract. I take the pendant and hang it around my neck, slipping it back into my shirt. Looking back at Raven I try to press the importance of what I am about to say next, "No one can know about this yet!", "Why?" she asks. I take a moment, then move closer to her again. "If the demons knew about this, they would send out a hoard to search and kill us both, we are the key to their demise" her face goes stark white, and she swallows hard. "Okay, it's our secret then" she says. I notice her hands are trembling seriously. Stepping closer, I pull her into an embrace, "Don't worry I won't let them hurt you, your safe with me, always".