House Of Fire

Chapter 9

The dense fog around Raven appeared as threatening as the origin of the nasty grumbles.

It was currently providing both, protection and danger.

It protected her as nothing could see her.

Yet, it put her in danger as she couldn't see anything herself.

The humidity was rising by the minute. Grains of boiling sand whipped up from the top of the dune creating living sandpaper.

Each individual grain stung her tough skin. Her clothes were drenched in sweat, sticking heavily to her lean body. The tendrils of hair whipped around by the wind began to plaster to her face. And her throat was parched due to a lack of water.

Another growl erupted directly behind her. She twisted around to be met with wisps of fog and a mouthful of sand.

She refused to cough. Coughing would alert any danger to her location. This, although highly unlikely over the now howling winds, was still a possibility. Whatever his behind the foggy covers was adapted to these hunting conditions.

Motionless she observed the movements of the clouds.

The wind caused them to rush down the slopes op the hills. They covered her whole body from head to toe.

Her boots were deep in the soft sand. Her movement slower than usual.

Again a fierce growl came from behind her. From her left. Or was it right?

Raven gritted her teeth along with a few grains of sand. They were toying with her!

Now furious, she refused to acknowledge them. They intruded her personal space. They took away her vision. They mocked her!

Stomping away in a random direction she made her way down the slope. Figuring this was faster than ascending the unstable dune she navigated in the twisted valleys.

The growls had retracted. She couldn't hear them anymore. This made her both weary and relieved.

Raven's biggest concern at the moment though was water. There was a lot of it in the air, but none in it's liquid form.

The fog intensified. She lifted her hand. She knew it was there, but she couldn't see it. Looking down, her torso had almost completely disappeared. Her chest was still visible, but being swallowed as she watched.

Looking back up Raven closed her eyes. There was no point in keeping them open if she couldn't see a thing anyway.
The claustrophobia slowly receded and her sense of freedom and invincibility returned. She was free again. Free from her fears.

Burrowing her nose behind her T-shirt she stepped forward. One step at a time. The ground shifted and gave way under her feet. Effortlessly she remained balanced and upright.

Her boots squeaked at each contact with the ground.

Other than that the only sound was the howls of the wind in her ears.

The sweat was running down her back in rivulets. It didn't touch her wings in their sheaths which was a relief to her. She didn't want to have to dry them later on.

At least she needn't carry her saddlebags. They were rather heavy. She only hoped they hadn't gone sailing off Fury's back just yet. After all, she did need her belongings and artifacts.

Trudging on, the valleys between the dunes grew even shallower. She didn't need her eyes to feel the ground leveling out under her feet.

The humid air was still charged with water. It was as if the water droplets were hovering in the air rather than being pulled down via gravity.

Charged particles prickled her skin and the wind picked up speed the more the dunes leveled out into a firmer, flatter plain.

Out of nowhere a massive crack boomed above her and clumps of hardened sand hit her body. Her ears rang, a constant static which allowed no other sound to penetrate her eardrums.

Growling came from behind her again.

This time the origin was obvious.

Thunder.

She was in the middle of a lightning field.

Another one hit home meters from where she was standing.

The high pitch ringing didn't stop. It intensified.

From somewhere a faint voice was calling. She couldn't believe that her mind now conjured voices too.

The sense of humour left her as the voice called again. It actually had no right to be classified as a voice. Scream of terror was more like it.

So Raven ran. The ring of deafness subsided enough to allow her to close in on the scream.

Lightning electrified the air around her. Her skin prickled and her eyes were wide open again despite the grinding sand.

The world flashed black and white. Thunder rumbled, imitating a hungry god's stomach.

One bolt of purple electricity hit a bit too close. The ends of her hair frizzled from the charged particles and more steam erupted around her.

A quick "thanks" left her lips as the wind pushed the clouds apart a bit to reveal a large, dark rock formation against the now pitch black night.

Another bolt hit the rocks. Showers of sparks and smoke fell down the sides. At the base, from a black hole in the rock another piercing scream shattered the night.

Raven's tired legs picked up their pace another notch faster. Sprinting she reached the shallow cave just as another shower of sparks rained down from above. Jumping down on the ground, she skidded head first into the dimly illuminated darkness.

Another scream dislodged from the creature.

Raven rose to her feet and bumped her head not even half way up. On her knees she shuffled deeper in. The space decreased in volume faster than she expected.

The screams became hoarser the longer they drew into the storm.
With the next shower of sparks Raven saw the hunched bundle in the corner. There wasn't much to identify as the dark clothing blended in perfectly with the rock before the sparks died.

Another bolt of lightning, another scream and more sparks. And a human huddled in a foetal position in the furthest corner of the cave.

Raven moved before properly thinking about her actions. She just moved towards the figure, which was so obviously female. After all, no male could even dream about reaching the pitch that she had.

In mere seconds the person was drawn into Raven's arms. She hugged the girl close to her chest and provided her comfort.
With a start at the sudden contact the girl awakened from her terror attack. She began screaming again soon after, this time for a different reason though altogether.

She clawed at Raven's arms and tried to kick her in the stomach.

Raven rocked back and forth. She pressed the girl more tightly to her chest. Her lips whispered a soothing "shhhh" and "hush" in her ear.

After some time the girl calmed enough to stop struggling. Instead of pushing Raven away she pulled her closer, desperately clinging on.

Her screams had stopped a few minutes ago. The lightning still battered the rocks. They were the highest point in the desert, thereby attracting the attention of the electric missiles.

Another minute passed and the exhaustion and adrenalin took toll on both of them.

With a complete stranger still in her arms Raven closed her eyes. A lot had happened over the past few days. She had never dreamed of even coming here or this far.

Her stamina and stubbornness had brought her this far already. And she was excited what tomorrow would bring.

What was this lone girl doing here in the desert?

Questions were forgotten as her eyes closed on their own account and darkness claimed her for a few hours of peaceful oblivion.