The Elementals : The Dawn of Darkness

Chapter 7 - Shadow A.K.A The Royal Pain in My Ass

All I could feel was pain. Whether a constant dull throb that seemed to come from everywhere, or a short, sharp stab located in my ribs, the pain was horrific. The memories came back like a fog. Ashwood Dale. The bodies. The destruction. That guy. That asshole. The feeling of weightlessness. Sheira begging for my life. Sheira...

I moaned, groggily and forced my eyes open. Well I was alive. That's a plus. I was lying flat on my back on someone's kitchen table, the ball of light swinging slightly overhead. I could smell blood, mixed with the heavy scent of spices and herbs. Definitely a kitchen. I probed my head again. The last thing I remember was the sound of footsteps and someone holding my hand. Someone had carried me off to patch me up. Excellent. But where was Sheira?

I pushed myself up on my elbows to get a better look around the room. And instantly regretted it. The feeling of being punched was something I was quite familiar with. Now, imagine this fist had a thousand knives attached to it and that connected with the same speed of your standard F1 car ploughing straight into your ribs. I swore loudly, a short, sharp four-letter word that summed the situation up perfectly but would have had my mouth washed out with bleach.

"Ffffff..." I clutched a hand to my ribs, only to find that I was wrapped up in what seemed to be a few hundred metres of bandages. There was a mirror in the corner. With several short breaths that resembled a locomotive, I angled myself enough to- Jesus Christ. Ancient Egypt called, and they wanted their mummy back. What the hell had that little bastard done to me?! Wincing and swearing slightly I pushed myself up into a sitting position just as the door swung open.

I could only presume that the woman standing in the doorway was the owner of the kitchen I was sat in. She was thin and scrawny, with a dark wrinkled skin that resembled leather when it had been left out in the sun for too long. Her hands were covered in grime and dirt, what was left of her greasy, grey hair was scrapped back into a bun, and her eyes were like tiny pinpricks in her wrinkled face. Her lips were practically invisible, like someone who was sucking on a lemon, but then narrowed into a snarl when she saw me.

"Get down!" she yelled. "Your bones haven't set yet!"

Before I could process that, a familiar blonde darted round the door and flung herself at me.

"RIBS!" I yelled as I pushed Sheira off of me, so I could collapse on the table and wallow in the pain.

"Sorry, I'm just glad you're alright," she said.

A thousand and one questions were spinning through my head, all of which needed answers. I settled on the first one that came to mind. "Where am I?"

She placed a hand on mine. I had to pretend that the goosebumps surfaced because I was cold. "We're still in Ashwood Dale, but you're in Beatrice's house. She agreed to heal you."

I turned to the old woman, who was still scowling at me. "Thank you," I said gratefully.

Her scowl seemed to lessen slightly, although it might have been a trick of the light. "Well, next time you won't go picking fights with elementals above your pay grade. Why the hell did you think that messing around with Shadow was a good idea?"

Shadow? That had to be the beast's name. And for the record he attacked me first.

"It's hardly my fault that stupid rhino came running at me. He should have been expecting that I would defend myself."

Both Sheira and Beatrice look confused. Beatrice's face suddenly twisted into a scowl. "You stupid boy," she spat. "You idiot. You-"

"Steady on."

"Shadow is the human, Nick." Sheira said quickly. "Crash is the rhino. You attacked his beast. You may as well have taken a running swing at Shadow himself."