The Dark Wind

Chapter 19

Chapter 19

I woke up from fevered sleep, sweat dousing my body as I panted. Each breath I drew was cool and refreshing; so much that I almost felt pain at its cold touch on my throat. The air was cold; almost painfully so.

But, after the pain I’d somehow gone through in my sleep, it was nothing but a small chewing. I didn’t open my eyes, for they were heavy as lead. There was a throbbing on a part of my mind, very much like a migraine. No, I laid still, my eyes closed, and breathed, keeping my mind free from thoughts.

It took a little while for me to get used to the cold air; enough for me to finally relax. Slowly, the constant drum beat in my mind faded away, and my mind came clear.

What had happened? What had been that voice, so soothing and pleasant in my mind? What had been that awful sensation of darkness, falling and flying? What had been that excruciating pain? Who had been the one speaking honey in my mind?

I tried to think of what I could remember. My evened breath stopped for a moment.

Wind. Anneson. Xavier. Vin.

With those names, I instantly remembered everything. I remembered how Xavier’s power had mixed with mine, causing havoc and chaos. I remembered how his arms had caressed me, how his cry was so distraught and in pain. Had he really been that heartbroken and dismayed? Did he really feel the strong bond, the destiny and chemistry that was to fly between us? Were we truly in love with each other?

Wait.

Everything was in the past tense: ‘remembered’, ‘had’, ‘did’.

Was –am –I dead?

I gave myself a quick self-check. I could feel. I could breathe. My thinking stopped again for a short second. I was thinking.

I had a heartbeat. Did ghosts have imaginary heartbeat in Heaven? Was this Hell? Hell didn’t seem so cold; in my imagination. Was this the Otherworld?

There was only one way to find out.

I opened my eyes…

And forced them closed again, since the light plainly fried my vision. I flinched; my muscles complaining with aches. Then, I opened my eyes again, more carefully this time. The first thing I realized was that the light was actually dimmed light. Yet, they were blinding to my eyes as I tried to keep them open, blinking furiously.

I was in a bedroom of some sort; a bedroom for royalty. The four-poster bed was so comfy I felt like I lying on a cloud. There was no distinct design from the bedroom; just a perfect splash of everything that blended together.

I half-expected a medieval fireplace as I turned to the corner of the room, but in its place was a small wardrobe. The color blend was perfect soft, but I could see that whoever owned this room had mind in simple, perfect beauty.

I began to sit up, and then realized that I was stark naked underneath. If I wasn’t dead, then I hadn’t returned to the Hand of God the way I came.

So…

Who the hell undressed me?

Whoever who did it probably saw the scars on my back, given painfully by my power and my parent’s torture. It was a sensitive subject for me; the scars.

Shivering at the thought of anyone touching my scars, I drew up the covers around me, the chill in the cold air touching my bare skin. Damned, it was cold here.

“You’re awake. How do you feel?” The same smooth voice that had been in my mind sounded as I jerked the covers further up my body, more to cover my scars than my modesty.