The Raven and the Wraith Book 2 (Completed!)

The Raven and the Wraith 2 Chapter 3

The Raven and the Wraith 2 Chapter 3

"So...how do you guys cook your food? Or wash your clothes? Or light up your homes at night?" I asked.

Chan just blinked at me, which immediately made Kiera look grumpy.

"They obviously just declare war on dirty clothes and raw food only every few thousand years and say "Ah the heck with it! Let's go ahead and light a fire and take care of this!"

That got my funny bone, and Chan's increasingly confused expression only added to it.

"My magic allows me to speak and understand your language, but it can't seem to keep up with you two. I have never heard of any such things as you speak."

Kiera opened her mouth but I flapped a hand at her. She closed her mouth with a "click" and glared at me. It was an unspoken promise to discuss my eloquent hand flapping at a later time.

"Let's go over all these strange differences between your world and ours while we're walking. How far is it to your city?"

"Yes, my companions are all very curious about you and your world. It's two days to our city."

We set off, with Chan walking alongside Kiera and I. Almost immediately I noticed that we were taking different paths than I would have chosen.

"How do you know where it's safe to travel? I thought those little glowing red river things were dangerous?"

There was a pause as Chan seemed to be trying to decipher my words, so I pointed at one of the many, thin, twisting lines of glowing red energy running all along the ground, trailing off into the distance as far as the eye could see.

Chan had so far not stepped on any of them, but neither had he made much of a conscious effort to avoid them, whereas I avoided them like little rivers of rotting pus.

When we had first stepped into this realm I had made the mistake of stepping on one of those ribbons of flowing power. It had instantly locked me in place, completely immobile. Then, after a full second had passed, it began to creep up my leg.

I shuddered as I remembered the fiery agony of its touch. As I remembered the unspeakably sickening sensation of it reaching inside of me and pulling up, and amplifying, my darkest desires. Like a snake of hatred and hunger was invading my very soul, seeking solace there by finding pieces of itself inside of me.

Kiera had saved me. She said she heard me growl, she saw my eyes turning red, and she saw how that rippling, primal power was wrapping around me. So she had simply stepped forward and kicked me hard enough to send me flying, breaking the hold of the slithering Power. Freeing me.

She explained away the force of her kick as her fear to touch me, lest that power latch onto her, too. I still wasn't sure that I had needed to get kicked THAT hard, though.

"We will walk those paths when we need to. No one is hungry now, so we travel alongside them." Chan said.

When Kiera and I stared at him, he smiled slowly.

"You're afraid of them?"

Kiera muttered some foul, highly sarcastic agreement to that, with which I heartily approved, and I nodded with fervor.

"I already learned a little lesson about touching that stuff. Not going to forget anytime soon."

Chan looked confused. "It is simply...hmm, what's the word in your strange language...life. How could it evoke such a response?"

"That's life? That river of focused fury, that line of purified hatred, is life? I think you're getting the words wrong. That stuff is The Destroyer. It is the Chaos. The opposite of life."

Chan shook his head slowly, his deep, almond eyes clouded with worry and uncertainty.

"So you touched it? What happened?"

I told him what had happened. When I got to the part where Kiera kicked me, I heard soft chuckles from the group. Chan himself seemed to be fighting back a grin.

"Your mate is very...full of energy." He said.

I felt my cheeks heat up at the mate reference again.

"Ya know, for what seems to be an intelligent creature you sure keep getting something pretty basic wrong. I already told you she's not my mate."

Chan smiled, his eyes bright with hugely annoying adult assurance.

"Is it normal in your world to deny the obvious to others?"

"Is it normal in this world to leap to random conclusions, then double down on the stupidity when corrected?"

I heard Kiera snicker at that and Chan looked like he was trying to decide whether to be angry or amused with me. Before he could decide either way, though, a faint whistling sound reached our ears.

Chan stopped walking instantly, as did everyone else. Kiera and I were just a half second behind them, both of us recognizing the danger readiness in the perfect silence of the group, along with their wary eyes.

Chan lifted a hand, his fingers and wrist flicking through an intricate dance. It was clearly warrior hand-language, used to communicate in total silence. I wished I understood it, knowing Chan was giving battle orders.

Then, the subtle whistling sound began to move. I perked up my ears, tilting my head as I tried to track the sound. Was it coming from in front of us? Or was it moving to both sides? It was impossible to tell.

I pulled both of my throwing knives, happy to feel their cold, solid weight in my hands. I didn't like how this strange sound was so hard to track. It was clearly a diversion tactic, meaning an attack was just about to happen.