Into Taleria

Chapter Twenty Seven

Note: 

Hey, just a heads up, this is an extra long chapter, so if it's 2am and you've got stuff to do tomorrow, you might want to save it for later. Or not. I ain't your mama.

*****************

"Come back to me, min mellor, please! You must wake!"

Aduil?

Where was he?

Why was it so dark? And cold, damn, it was—

"You need to come back, Katie, I can't—" A tear-choked sigh. "Just wake up, sweetie, okay? Can you do that for me? Just wake up."

Mom?

Where—

A low, rumbling growl, an angry snarl and—

"Help, somebody help!"

An endless, high-pitched wail.

"We're losing her!"

What—

"Clear!"

THUMP. Deep in her chest, a crackling lightning spreading all over.

"Again!"

"Clear!"

THUMP.

The wailing rippled into beeps before fading, replaced by a rich, deep voice, calm and quiet.

The darkness turned to haze, and a face began to take shape.

Long russet hair hanging around a pale face. Sharp features softened by warm brown eyes.

He was saying something, words she didn't know.

I know that face, that's...

Who was that?

The face smiled, and faded away.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

Aduil glanced yet again at the door as he passed before turning on his heel and pacing back the other way.

It would open any moment now, he assured himself. The door would open, and all would be well. He had done all within his power to come this far, and no, his power had not been enough, but Altharion's would be, and all would be well, because he had done all he could, and he had waited when he was bid, and waited and waited and—and why was it taking so long?

Aduil surged toward the door, only a few steps before he caught himself and stopped. He drew in a slow, steadying breath, and another, then turned and paced forward again, shaking his head.

Perhaps it was not so long as it seemed. Time, he was coming to learn, was a strange beast. It was not the constant he had always thought it to be when his days had stretched before him further than he could see, with little change to mark the difference. No, it was far more than that. It ebbed and flowed as a thing alive; Kate had shown him the truth of that. Her light, her joy, her very life had filled his days to bursting and set them rushing by as never before, even as his nights had passed in drips and drabs without her.

Yet, for all that, never, never had time trickled so slowly, nor bled out with such fervor as it had in his mad rush to Cirbaninn.

Aduil had switched between Merenfaer and Celeirgil often to give the mounts what little respite he could, but two continuous days racing at the swiftest pace they dared would wear on any horse, even ones so valiant as they.