Playing with Fire [COMPLETED]

18 ~ nightmares dressed like daydreams

"Exie? Exie, where are you?" Farrin calls into the darkness that surrounds our home.

I follow her voice as I make my way through the dense fog and blinding darkness. I look around, but I see nothing in the darkness. Nothing that could have helped me prepare for what I hear next.

The sound of flesh tearing open, of screams that sound a lot like Farrin's voice, and the sound of familiar, sadistic laughter. Humming fills the foggy air, and cold snakes its way down my spine, and I start to run. I run towards the sound of my sister being tortured. Of her being killed. But no matter how fast or how far I go, I do not reach her. She's always out of my reach, just beyond my senses.

But then, I am there, staring down at my sister, whose body is mutilated. Her back is torn apart, and I.... I can see her spine. She is screaming, and I think I am, too. My sister vanishes then, and then I hear her sobbing, her cries echoing through this dark hellscape. I run toward her once more, only this time, I reach her.

Farrin has had wings sewn into her back. She looks up at me, her face contorted with lots of pain and misery. She sobs, and wraps her hands around my throat. She slams me against some hard force, her face red with rage. She squeezes my throat and I gasp, but there's no air for my lungs to take in.

She leans in close, "You did this to me. You brought me here. And I will NEVER forgive you!"

"No, no, no no no no no! NO!" I scream, and rose gold flames explode out of my body, as heat rushes through my veins and into my muscles and bones. Into my heart and soul and mind.

Farrin's cries morph into dark laughter, and she shouts above the roaring flames, "Your pain is delicious!"

"Let me go, no, no, Farrin, I'm so sorry, you know I'd never hurt you, please, don't.....!"

"Elorha!"

I snap awake, to a burning room. Ruin lifts me into his arms, and suddenly, we are out in the frigid snow. Ruin looks around, making sure we are alone, before setting me down in the snow. I gasp, and my roaring flames immediately extinguish.

He bends down, picking me up as I start to shiver, and then in the blink of an eye, we are in his room. He inspects my arms and face for any sign of burns, but finds none. The fire had consumed my room, but he extinguished it for me. He sets me down on his bed and backs away, his eyes glowing.

Ruin sits down and stares at his hands. I slowly shift in place, my damp night clothes chafing against my shivering skin. He raises his head after a moment. Looks at me, his jaw set, his shoulders rigid. He sighs.

"I'm.... ugh. Do you want to talk about that?"

I nod.  "I have to, or it'll burn me up inside. Huh .... literally, I guess."

Nodding, he gestures for me to speak. So I do. I tell him every single detail I can recall from my dream, or rather, my nightmare. All the while, he listens in silence, nodding every now and then. When he finally speaks, his voice is hard and angry.

"Elorha .... I think I know what is happening."

"What?" I ask.

"It's Pain," he says simply.  "She's influencing your mind with visions of what hurts you the most. But there can only be one way she's doing that."

"Which is?"

He sighs and stands up.  "She has your sister, she has Farrin. And she's hurting her."