The TwiceBorn

Standing At The Crossroads

"I am stuck at forgotten crossroads, everything I remember turns to ashes when touched by sunlight"--Nalini Priyadarshni

Islinn looked back only once as she trudged the silent hallway. The brothers moved along behind her, like some large misshapen spider, huddled so tightly together all she could see were legs and arms and robes. They followed but...not too closely. Any other time, she would have laughed. And she might still, what else was there truly left to do when she could literally feel her life running out of her body with each step?

No,she hadn't looked back at them, she'd looked back at her footprints. Every single one a deep and rich red. Those prints were composed of countless miles, miles walked at her family's farm, miles walked in the market, miles walked in her belief...and a very small portion of them...miles walked with Alora by her side. They were powerful and lovely to her, and she felt that it was only right that her final footsteps be etched in blood.

I'm dying

She was dully surprised she cared so little about that fact. The pain though...that she cared about because she had no other choice. It thrummed through her, every pore, every inch of flesh, her entire body screamed with each step and deep in the dark, calm recesses of her mind, she knew if she stopped and lay down in the hall, that would be the end of it. The end of everything she was, everything she had ever loved. It was a seductive thought but beneath it was a solid, patient drum of determination, one her heart beat matched as she made her way down the hall.

It's not time yet

That was all she knew. So, she clung to that velvety push beneath the surface of her skin, hating it for not allowing her to go. Her resolve was as hard as the stone mortared into the temple's roads and she didn't know why. And that...was the true tragedy in all of this.

Lucan, who had been walking slowly in front of her and glancing back with each step, finally stopped, and gestured at a large wooden door.

"He's in there."

Islinn detected a tremor in his voice. She focused on the blood she'd swiped his forehead with, and watched as he shuddered, and looked away. Again, she wanted to laugh but now she was afraid if she did, she wouldn't stop until someone slapped her across the face and from the looks of her present company...no one was willing to come that close.

She straightened up as much as she could, and her body screamed in protest. She felt as thought she'd been sluiced down in warm water, her clothes were so sodden with blood she could hear the heavier drip of it as it hit the floor. Lucan was motionless as he stared at her, cow-eyed, and she felt a wave of irritation.

"So? Open the door." She said and tasted blood in the back of her throat. Lucan quickly nodded and fumbled at the door latch. When the door swung open, the first thing Islinn saw was "Lord" Kenric and JoHan seated near a large fireplace, engaged in conversation as they drank from delicately carved mugs.

"Lord Kenric..." Lucan's voice, hushed and uncertain.

Kenric glanced up and the color drained from his face, leaving behind a cheesy pallor that would have brought a smile to Islinn's lips if she hadn't of been in so much pain. JoHan also looked up and paled, exhaling air so sharply it sounded like a small shriek.