The Keepers of Eternity

III

AS Blaise dropped into the cavern, he felt his youth slipping away.

He crashed against the floor and curled up on the uneven, damp rock, closing his eyes. He could hear the flapping of bats' wings all around, they had been following him since he fled Rains Shadow. His right hand made a fist and he cursed himself for being so foolish.

Did I truly think this day would never come? He thought to himself. Idiot! I am such an idiot!

Blaise screamed in frustration, his voice echoing loudly, and he forced himself onto all fours. It was then that Blaise realized that he was going to die. He wanted to cry--it wasn't his time to die. Life felt so short to him in that moment, yet he knew that he had lived so, so long already.

Opening his eyes just a little bit, he could see his hands. One minute they were a boy's, then an old man's, then a boy's again. Different versions of himself flashed before his eyes, along with bits of his life.  A clear night sky with millions of stars. A winter huntress riding atop a white stag. An old man wearing a hood. Darkness. Lots of dusty books. Crossbows firing and velvet capes. Feathers. A city devoured in flames and exploding light. Bats flying around him in a vortex. Forests of pine trees. Broken glass covered in blood. Darkness again. Something inside told him that he needed to be calm through all this. Relax. Just relax.

Trying to relax, Blaise felt his form steadying again, and breathing deeply, he rose to his feet. Maybe he could control it. Maybe...

Two figures stood right in front of him.

Blaise jumped back instantly. His heart was racing and he put a hand to his chest. Their bodies were dark, hidden within the shadow of the cave, and they made no move towards him, so they weren't from Rains Shadow. Good. That still left him wondering how the two had found him in the first place.

Who were they? Were they Rvyni? Bounty Hunters? 

The taller one opened its eyes. There was no mistaking those things--esk eyes. They glowed red in the darkness with irises a brighter, solid orange with no pupil. At least one of them was esk then. That wouldn't be a problem, hopefully. Blaise had always thought esks were slow-witted.

"We did not intend to frighten you, Great Master." The esk and his friend stepped into the light.

Ahhh. Blaise thought as saw them clearly. So the other one's is a girl. She was a Rvyni girl too, with glossy, light pink hair which fell around her shoulders. And the man--the one with the esk eyes--did not even looked like an esk. In fact, he looked more human than esk, besides the eyes and dull skin of course. Even his hair was red-blond--which was incredibly rare among the esks, and he had a lean build. A man in his twenties or thirties. 

Blaise readied his speed disc in the back of his head, but found nothing. It didn't matter. If the both of them wanted to attack, he would be ready to run; he was quick enough on his own. "I am not frightened of...what are your names?"

"I am Purlip, and this is my husband Thadan." said the woman. 

"You may call me Thad." The esk-man held out his hand.

Blaise frowned, refusing Thadan's gesture. There was something...off...about this couple. They seemed almost too friendly. Even the bats who hung upside-down on the damp cave walls shifted restlessly, as if they somehow were aware of Blaise's emotions. "What do you want?"

Thadan took a couple steps forward, "To make a deal, Great Master."

A cold breeze blew from the depths of the cave, smelling stale and unusually damp. Blaise stood up straighter, feeling a rush of confidence. Purlip hugged her knit coat tighter and Thadan did not move or blink. Both of them were outsiders here in the cave, for caves belong to the bats.