An Eternal Wintre

Chapter 12

Without stopping or caring, Anai springs to her feet and runs out of the cave. The others sit around, either looking at the ground or at the leader for a command. For once, Cain's speechless. "Lothian," he asks after a while of tense silence. The large man comes up by his side. "Track down the Raven and get her to tell you all that there is to know of Lutenia's lore and Nymphs." A hawk flies from the cave and chases after the black bird.

Cursing loudly, he looks at the falling water, wondering where Anai ran off to. "Sam, look after everyone and start making dinner while I go track down our runaway." Bones crack and rearrange as pain takes over Cain's body before he shifts into a wolf and sprints after Anai.

It doesn't take long to find Anai. She's kneeling down by the Hully River, head down, hands shaking but the rest of her still as stone. He crawls up beside her and sits down, sitting a fair amount of distance away from her, already feeling the cold radiate off of her and seeing the freezing water.

Water cracks and freezes, unfreezes, then freezes again. Leaves on trees rustle until they too freeze over. Light snow starts to fall on top of the two figures who sit by the river side, dusting them with white flecks. Cain shakes them off with a growl.

After some time passes, the snow starts to settle and the leaves and water thaw out and melt back to normal as Anai calms down. "At least now this explains why I never get cold," she jokes halfheartedly. "Cain, what's a Nymph?" With a shiver, he moves closer to her more for his sake of keeping warm than hers, shifting into his human form.

"I have Lothian getting that information now. Damn Raven is a cryptic bastard but she'll spill out information for the right prices." A grimace follows when he says 'prices'. "I've learned a bit about them years ago from my mother."

"Oh yeah?" Anai looks at him from the corner of her eye. "And what'd she say about them?" Controlling himself to keep a straight face, he bares his teeth in a grotesque smile.

"She said to stay away from them or they'll get you in their bed."

"Oh, that is just terrible." The two joke like the old days and lean against each other a bit.

Comfort flows through the two with the closeness of an old friend. Cain is the one who slacks in relaxation, but Anai sits stiffly against him still, regardless of their past. The past is the past for a reason. It's to leave things behind, no matter how painful it may be. Cain left her behind even though she was the one that ran away.

Thinking of her past makes her think of her horrid mother, and of that fateful day that Cain warned them to run. She turns to him and asks, "Why did you tell us to run the other day?" Now Cain grows stiff and leans away from her, guilt apparent in the way he sits, shoulders hunched slightly and head level instead of high up.

"My clan back then was going to attack the village and murder everyone, but it didn't go according to plan." His head falls now in defeat. "I told you to run for your safety but almost everyone else died. Many escaped, but not a lot. The men, however, all ran after your mother and you. I'm not sure why but I followed them, fearing they'd hurt you. That's when..." he trails off. Anai looks at him, her blue eyes icy looking, her lips separated and a deep red. He gulps. "Your mother ran straight for the men and told them where you were hiding. They ran the way she told them to go and I..." He trails off and doesn't say the rest.

"Did my mother make it?" she asks quietly. When he doesn't answer, she nods. Closing her mouth, she blinks slowly. A branch snaps off a tree somewhere and freezes to the ground. Cold hands claw at the ground as Anai scratches at the riverbank. "Cavernous wench!" she shrieks. A tree topples over, its roots frozen over and broken. Her eyes seem to glow with anger as she digs her fingernails into the hard earth. Control.

The ground underneath them goes cold and freezes, making it slippery and burning to the touch. Cain yelps and jumps back and away from the girl. "I'm sorry Anai."

"No, you're sorry for the wrong reasons," she snarls. "I'm glad you killed that traitor, she deserved it. What happened after that?" It was hard to control her rage, her voice shaking and her entire body seeming to turn blue.

"I ran after the men and found them searching the cave. They never found you." He says this last part with pride. "When the sun was at its highest, they emerged from the cave as I waited for them. I ripped them to pieces and shredded their entire bodies." The smile that crosses Anai's face is chilling to the bone.

Everything warms up as Anai releases her grip on the earth and leans back, exhaustion taking over. "I'm glad," she says, "that those bastards all died. At least the others burned later on without their wickedness to taint their lives." Anai collapses on her side, her fingers gently skimming the water's edge. Cain goes to her and hauls her onto his back. With a grunt, he takes her back to the settlement, hoping Lothian comes back soon with information.

Cain won't admit it, but he's afraid of Anai. Her powers were getting out of control.

***

Lothian manages to snag the Raven while she's overseeing the prince of Lutenia pacing his room. She laughs inwardly at his arrival.

The birds perch together and watch the prince as he paces his rooms, coming in and out of view as he passes behind the wall only to reappear again in front of a window. His pants are rumpled, his shirt buttons off by one, and his face and hair a mess and haggard looking. Corax enjoys the sight of the royal in such dishevelment.

Bracing himself, Lothian cocks his head towards the Raven. Tell me all you know, Raven. Cain wants to know. She laughs harshly.

Flisto nork a sal. Dogs do not command me. Lothian snaps at her with his sharp beak. Giggling, she concedes. As Lothian learns all he can of Lutenian lore and Nymphs, his heart seems to stop. Nothing he's ever heard has been so dark.

The Raven continues watching the prince but Lothian takes off at a fast pace, wanting to relay his information to Cain before the girl does something that may be too late to change.