Shadows of a Broken Past: A Shard of Faith (Book one)

Chapter 21:

The haze of the ever-changing surroundings of Spiralmind were dizzying to newcomers, but I've learned to not be bothered by it. I wave my hand in the air, dispersing a few of the colourful swirls hovering around my head, and turned back to my sketch. I frown, looking at the other pages strewn around me, and groan, throwing my pencil on the ground.

'Again?' Chirped Gem, looking up from her book and setting it in her lap.

I put my head in my hands, letting out another muffled sigh. 'Why do I keep drawing the same person?' I wail, my violet wings flapping in distress. 'I've never met him, what is going on?'

Gem rolls her eyes, putting her book on the ground and standing up, smoothing out her skirt and walking over to me. She crouches down, picking up one of the pages and looking at it. 'Well, don't ask me, I've never done this sort of thing.' She notes.

'I'd ask Artemis, but she's not here, which is for the best.' I mutter. 'Maybe I'm just being stupid. He has no importance to me whatsoever.'

Gem sighs. 'Don't restrict your perception to the far future.' She said cryptically as she walks back to her spot, settling on the floor. 'Things might be closer than they seem.'

I roll my eyes, standing up and stretching, flapping my wings. 'You're creepy sometimes.' I comment, hovering above the ground and then spinning around. It's not often that I fly, because Exor prohibits me from doing so. I glance up, half expecting to see the colours gathering and swirling as they do normally, but I instead saw nothing but a flurry of dark clouds.

Immediately I squeak in fear and dive down, grabbing my sole blanket and throwing it over my head, hiding from the clouds. I'm shaking, my wings quivering in fear, as I burrow into my blanket.

A hand comes down on my shoulder and I scream in terror, flinging myself up and flapping my wings harshly, jolting into the air as a loud thunderclap rockets through the Spiralmind. I let out a fearful wail, throwing my hands out in an attempt to stabilize, only succeeding in sending myself skidding to the side before falling out of the sky and landing in a heap on the ground.

Gem, who I now realize was the one touching me and attempting to calm me down, runs over to me. 'Xornoth, are you okay?' She asks me, concerned.

I sit up, rubbing my head. 'I'll be okay.' I say quietly, hugging my arms. 'Give me a few minutes.' I stand, shaking myself off and turning around, going to my stuff and crouching over it, digging around. 'Where is it....' I mutter, throwing a few things to the side.

Gem raises an eyebrow as she goes past, but shrugs and goes to sit down, before standing up suddenly, freezing in place before starting to walk forward, then running. I glance at her, but mostly ignore this until I hear her call out an unfamiliar name.

'Sausage!'

I freeze, dropping the book I had just picked up back on the ground with a harsh clatter. My heart is in my ears, pounding like a drum. My wings flare out, launching me into the air as I spin around and dive for the newcomer.

Gem has her arms around the person, clinging to him with a strong grip. 'I can't believe you're here! Sausage, this is terrible!' She exclaims.

I stay in the air, not trusting the new person, my eyes dark with judgement. 'Welcome to Spiralmind.' I say loudly, my voice echoing around as I land. The shadows from the storm clouds make an eerie effect, and it seems Gem notices.

'Xornoth, this is my brother.' She introduces me. 'His name is Sausage.' She nods at the curious-eyed man.

'Hello Xornoth, I am Sausage, yes. Are you-' He starts, but I interrupt.