Gilded Cage (On Hold)

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The screams that came from the male a short distance away would haunt Cleo for...well, forever. Never did she think she'd hear such a noise coming from the Seer she'd watched grow up, not even when they were at war in Escarral, but the gut-wrenching sound pierced her straight to her heart.

Cleo's magic faltered, blood rushing in her ears to cover Elys's screams, before everything went silent as she fell back into the sand. All she could do was lie there, staring up at the quickly darkening sky as the oncoming storm began it's raging.

A cough, a rattled breath, and she was pushing herself up to sit again. Her magic finally seemed to right itself within her, flooding through her veins, mending her broken ribs, easing her scattered mind. She was finally able to focus on what was around her.

Elys, kneeling in the sands of the vast Ethran desert, gasping and crying as he peered up desperately to the sky where they had fallen through the portal.

Eamon, crawling toward him, trying to soothe his best friend who he'd grown up with at his side, asking him what the hell happened.

And then there was Cleo, sitting there in silence and shock, trying to make sense of what Elys and Eamon were talking about.

"Elys, I need to you to breathe, godsdammit," Eamon demanded, hands going to Elys's face. He pulled him up until only a foot separated them. "Tell me what happened."

Tears were streaming down Elys's face, eyes rimmed with red and wild with desperation. "Dessa...she...I..."

"Is she alive?"

"I don't...I can't..."

Eamon placed a hand on Elys's chest, right over his head. "Is she alive? Do you feel her here? Because I can still feel Milena."

Elys shook his head, staring at the male in front of him. "I can't feel her...I can't feel her, Eamon."

Cleo wanted to sob, wanted to scream just as he had moments before, but her attention went back to the oncoming storm closing in on them. The dark, rolling clouds completely covered the city in the distance, which was barely visible in the downpour. The world around them darkened even more as the first of the raindrops began to fall.

"We need to get to the city," Cleo choked out, turning toward them. "We need to get to shelter before."

"Your magic..." Eamon began, staring at her. When their gazes locked, they both saw the hidden grief in their faces. "Can you get us somewhere safe to wait out the storm?"

"I...I think I can," Cleo nodded, feeling her shadows finally come back to life around her. With every breath she was able to take, her magic grew, shadows growing with it.

Lightning flashed before a deep rumble of thunder shook the ground beneath them and the wind began to pick up. The storm was upon them faster than they'd realized, but Cleo was faster. Her shadows wrapped around the three of them as she rushed forward, clutching the boys' arms. Just as another bolt of lightning flashed above them, they were pulled into the darkness.

Only not to the city as she wanted.

Instead, it brought them to a small village on the outskirts of the eastern gate where the storm was currently raging. There was only one sandstone road that ran through it, buildings lined up on either side, shops, a small tavern with what looked to be several rooms on the second floor. Everything was closed up with the storm, but the lights were on.

Pelted by wind and rain, Cleo, Elys, and Eamon ran what Cleo thought was the tavern. Faces were pressed against the glass windows, watching the storm from the safety of being inside, and didn't notice as the three of them barged in through the door. Inside, globed lights hung from the ceiling and the bar ran along the back wall. A dozen tables were scattered around, though all almost empty as everyone was watching outside.

Soaked and shivering, Eamon was the one to cast magic around the three of them to dry and warm them up. No one paid any mind to them other than the bartender, who nodded as they approached.

"Never seen a storm like this here in my life," he told them in leu of greeting. He stared at the three of them while wiping down the counter, his eyes scanning them before landing on Cleo. He curiously looked at her golden eyepatch, which she was readjusting. "Ya got caught, I see. Need something to warm you up on the inside?"

Elys leaned his forearms against the bar top, then rested his head on them. He seemed completely out of it, not even acknowledging anyone or anything around him. "The strongest stuff you've got. Blackloch Night?"

Cleo sat down beside him, rubbing his back in comfort. "Arloerin Starlight for me."

"And I'll round us off with Ayverian Torrent. Someone needs to be the voice of reason and yet still need a drink."

The bartender looked at the three of them with furrowed brows and narrowed eyes, only setting a tankard of Torrent in front of Eamon. "You're not from around here, are ya? Whatever it is you two ordered...well, we don't have anything of the like. Whatever Blacklock Night and Arloerin Starlight are, that is. Want something else? Torrent?"

Cleo regarded him with the same bewildered expression and opened her mouth to speak to ask what the hell did he mean, he didn't have Night or Starlight.

Then several patrons who were still watching the storm outside the windows gasped.

"Never did I think I'd see the day when it started snowing in Ethran," one of them muttered. "Look at it."

Elys breathed in quickly through his nose, shooting up from where he leaned against the bar. "Fuck."

"What the hell, Elys?" Cleo hissed at him, still staring the bartender down as he moved to another set of patrons after muttering to let him know what they wanted once they decided.

Eamon reiterated his curse, eyes wide. "Oh, fuck. You can't be serious, Elys..."

The look of relief on Elys's face had Cleo's heart racing for two reasons.

"Dessa's here," he breathed out, staring at the falling snow outside. "Gods, she's here."

"But..."

"But we're not in our own world, our own time," Elys whispered. "We're in the past."