Drakan (The Chronicles of Eli) [#Wattys2015]

Chapter 15

       Alcina sat cross legged on top of a bolder, while her feet dabbled in the water. Her extensively lavish pearl colored hair, with ends as dark as the midnight sky, was parted at the front evenly giving off a drapery look. The gown she once wore was no longer there, leaving her body exposed to the gentle licks of the cool air. Her claw-like fingers held onto a bone, no doubt the remains of some unfortunate creature, which was placed to her lips while she suckled the last bit of it.

                        “Don’t talk about her like that!”

                        “Awe, does someone miss their mommy?” Alcina laughed, “How can you miss something you never even knew about?”

            Eli said nothing in response. The blood boiled under his skin as his mind raced to come up with the words to say. He knew better than to disrespect Alcina but he refused just as much to be disrespected. Through clenched teeth, he forced the words to come out, “How do you know about my mother?”

            Alcina smiled and lowered her feet further in the water. She strolled through the water as if she walked on thin air, gliding effortlessly closer to the shore. Eli stood baffled, confused, knowing that the middle of the lake was the deepest part. But his mind was too rattled to come to a conclusion. With no mist or fog draining his vision, he saw Alcina for what she was. A sorceress.

                        “Everyone knew about Susan and Adam Wright.”

            The closer she got the more he saw. She was beautiful yet terrifying. Her skin uprooted in a horn like manner in three different places from her head. There was a splash in the water, which made her avert her attention that direction. She hissed at the creatre who popped out and at the sound of her tone it quickly ducked back under. Only then could Eli see that two of the horns sat parallel from each other on the right side of her head and the other one, alone, above her left brow. There were three silver hoop earings that hung along the sides of her pointy elf like ears. At this point he noticed her face, but he wasn’t close enough to truly distinguish the markings.

                        “What do you mean by everyone?” he said, still focusing on her physical attributes.

                        “Oh, come now. You don’t think they would have let someone like you stay here without doing a simple background check, do you?”

            Background Check? Eli shook his head, bemused by her words.

                        “What are you talking about, I don’t understand. It was Valen who brought me here after my mother died. He said we would be safer here”.

            Eli walked to the edge of the shore with his arms at his sides, while Alcina rose her palm to the sky; causing a mud covered boulder to appear slightly about the water. Her breasts were covered by strands of her hair as she leaned over, resting her forearms against the boulder.

                        “Ah, I see. So that’s the story you’ve been told”. Alcina twirled her hair around her finger. A smile of understanding toyed on her lips.

                        “No! That’s the truth. Valen wouldn’t lie…..to me.” His voice was a little shaky.

                        “Your attachment to him is quite admirable I must say” she said, still suckling on the bone. After a few more seconds she discarded it.

            His head began to spin. She was causing him to question everything he was brought up to believe.

                        “Why should I listen to you? A sorceress.” He said with crossed arms.