Seabound

The Storm Amulet

The darkness surrounding me was thick and heavy. Reaching my hand out, I felt something hard, cold, and slightly damp. I groped at the rock wall, feeling my way forward. Scuttling feet rushed past me and I froze, my heart in my mouth. I dared not move. I sensed more than saw the presence of another being with me in the cave.

"You can't hide from me."

My skin crawled as the voice echoed around me. Whatever or whoever was close to me moved quickly past me, close enough to brush past me. Something cold and sharp pressed against my throat. I couldn't move. The blade pressed harder against my skin until I felt something warm and wet trickling down my neck.

"What do you want?" I croaked.

"Reparation for what you took from me," a feminine voice responded. The cave was suddenly washed in a strange, green glow and I instantly recognized who was in front of me. The gold hair. The ghostly white skin. A scream died in my throat as more pressure was applied to my neck and the world turned black again.

I gasped for breath as I regained consciousness. I sat upright in bed for a moment, recovering my composure. Anxiously, I ran my hands up and down my neck, checking for any injury. But none could be found. Relaxing slightly, I flopped back down in bed, staring at the ceiling. My tank top was drenched in sweat, whether from my nightmare or the sweltering heat of the monastery, I wasn't sure. Nights had been quite hot lately, and the lack of air conditioning in the monastery was a bit of an annoyance. I slid out of bed, and after rummaging through my dresser, peeled off my sweaty tank top and changed into a sports bra.

I closed my eyes again, yearning for sleep. But the second my lids dropped, all I could see was her. That evil, malicious look in her eye. The devious grin on her face. She wanted to kill me: plain and clear. My throat tightened and my hand flew to it again, as if feeling the ghost of a blade trailing along my neckline. I tossed and turned for another twenty minutes before I realized any further attempts at sleep, at least for the moment, were futile. Sighing, I slowly climbed out of bed and padded down the hallway. I just needed some fresh air.

The cool night breeze welcomed me as I stepped out into the monastery courtyard. I took a deep breath, feeling myself relax already. I gazed up at the night sky, thousands of tiny stars winked down at me. I smiled to myself as I was struck with an idea.

I clambered nimbly up on of the support poles on the portico. Once on the roof, I carefully made my way to the center, only to find it was already occupied.

I began to slowly back away, not wanting to intrude, but the roof creaked under me, and he jerked towards me. Clearly he wasn't expecting anyone to be up here, either.

Cole just kinda stared at me for a minute. I assumed he was only caught off guard, but I quickly remembered what I was wearing. How inconvenient.

Instinctively my arms wrapped around my waist in an attempt to hide my body and I nervously cleared my throat, "You couldn't sleep either?"

He shook off his trance before answering, "Uh, yeah. It can get a little stuffy in there."

I nodded silently in response, "I-I'll go. I don't want to disturb you..."

"No, no. You're fine," Cole patted a spot on the roof next to him, "Join me?"

Shrugging, I made my way over next to the Earth Ninja and sat down.

"Betcha never got a view like this in the city," Cole remarked, a hint of smugness in his tone.

I smiled in spite of myself, "Nah. Not by a long shot."

Silence enveloped us. It was almost comfortable, strangely.