Twelve Kingdoms_translated novel

Chapter 5

A torrent of water crashed against the building and blew out the remaining windows. A wave strewn with icy shards swept through the room. Youko threw her arms up in front of her face. A flurry of tiny darts stung at her head and arms and body.

Her ears shut themselves to the violence of it all. She heard nothing.

The sensation of being caught in a whirling sandstorm faded away. She opened her eyes. Glass glittered on every surface. Those who had gathered at the windows now crouched in shock on the floor. The vice-principal was curled up in a ball at her feet.

Are you all right, she felt compelled to ask, until she saw that his body was studded with brilliant shards. He wasn't all right. The others were struggling to their feet, groaning. Youko had been standing right beside the vice-principal yet there wasn't a nick or cut on her.

The vice-principal seized her ankle. "Why?" he groaned.

"I didn't do anything!"

The stranger peeled the vice-principal's bloody hand from her leg. He was as uninjured as she. He said, "We must go."

She shook her head. If she left with him now they would all conclude that they had been in on it together, from the start. But the fear of staying there overcame her. She let him pull her along. The enemy is at the gates.That meant nothing to her. The horror of remaining there amongst the bloodied and wounded frightened her far more.

They fled the office and came face to face with another teacher. He shouted, "What's going on?" His eyes shifted suspiciously to the stranger.

Before Youko could respond the stranger gestured towards the office. "There are injured people in there. They need medical attention." He set off again, Youko in tow. The teacher yelled something at them she didn't understand.

She said, "Where are we going?" She wanted to run home as fast as she could. Instead of fleeing down the stairs the stranger headed up. "This way goes to the roof," she gasped.

"Others will be using the stairs below."

"But . . . "

"Where we go now, hell follows after. Better to not involve anyone else."

Then why did you involve me? Youko wanted to scream at him. What enemy? What are you talking about? But she did not have the courage to raise her voice against him.

He flung open the door at the top of the stairs and half-dragged her out onto the roof. Behind them came the sound of metal ground against rusty metal. A shadow fell across the doorway. Youko forced her eyes up, taking in tawny wings, a gaping mouth beneath a hooked, venom-stained beak.

A catlike howl burst from the wide maw. Each of the bird's enormous wings was tipped with five talons.

I know this creature.

She stood, frozen as if bound hand and foot. With each horrid screech the creature's blood lust poured down upon her.

In my dreams.

An inky dusk stained the overcast skies. Through the heavy pleats of the swirling clouds streamed the roiling red glow of the setting sun.

The great, eagle-like bird had a horn in the center of its forehead. It tossed its head, flapped its wings, buffeting them with a foul-smelling wind. As in her paralyzing nightmares Youko could only stare. The bird lifted its body from its perch, floated upwards, beat its wings once again, tucked in its feathers and plummeted towards her. Its scaly extremities reached out for her, the razor-sharp claws unsheathing from its horny feet.