Gray Skies

Chapter Ten: Storms and Caves

Chapter Ten: Storms and Caves

                Gray Skies saw the wagon tilt and then tumble over the mountainside as the ground gave way. He saw the flash of Deniah’s fiery hair and he cried out for her; the cawing of his voice followed by a loud clap of thunder.

                Swooping down, ignoring the rain and fighting the wind, Gray Skies dove. He tried to follow the path Deniah’s body took as it banged against the rocks and ground, tumbling down the mountain. Her body broke away from the wagon, the thrashing horses and her brother and father, but soon became swept up in the mud, dirt and rocks tumbling from the road and he lost sight of her.

                Gray Skies could no longer hear her screaming and that frightened him more than anything else could have. Surely the Great Mother would not take her from him this way!

                Gray landed in the mud, his talons struggling to grip as they slipped and slid down the wet mountain. There was nothing he could do as a crow. Quickly he let the change take over him and then he looked all around him for Deniah’s body.

His head whipped this way and that in his search, his long black hair became wet and clung to his bare shoulders, back and chest. Angrily he swiped at the water dripping into his eyes.

                Where was she?! The rain, the wind, the splintered wood, mangled horses, fallen rocks and mud all made finding Deniah among them difficult. Gray Skies’ heart was racing and a lump had formed in his throat.

                “Deniah!” he screamed desperately, though his voice was barely audible above the roaring wind. Every bit of quiet calm that Gray Skies had been raised to possess left him. He became frantic, desperate and animalistic as he ran back and forth across the fresh landslide and cried out Deniah’s name.

                He clawed at the dirt and then he saw the flash of a pale leg when lightning ripped across the sky. Ignoring the chill of the rain as he slipped his slid his way to that leg, Gray Skies prayed desperately that he would find her alive.

                Never had he felt so helpless as he pulled the rocks and mud from atop her and took in the sight of her beaten and battered body.

                Gray Skies lifted her into his arms thankful when he heard her moans of pain. Moans meant that she was alive and that was all he needed to know. Gray Skies would take as long as was needed to nurse her body back to health. First, however, he had to get her out of this rain.

                Her face was pale and bruised. Her lips were turning blue and her entire body was trembling and shaking against him. Gray Skies saw a case lying half covered by broken shards of wood from the wagon. He scooped it up by the handle and made his way into the forest, never bothering to check Matthew or Jonathon. It was his sincerest hope that they were dead.

                Gray Skies’ only thought, his only concern in this moment was getting Deniah somewhere out of this storm and assessing the damage done to her. He ran then, ignoring the rain, the thorns tearing at his bare legs, the slippery ground.