House Of Fire

Chapter 13

What do you do when a Nightmare comes flying straight for you?

Do you run?

Do you roll onto the ground and make yourself as small as possible?

This turmoil of questions was showing on Fern's face as clearly as the moon illuminates a cloudless sky at night.

The problem with her though?

She didn't make a decision fast enough, so Raven had to do it for her.

The clouds had miraculously cleared around her and the azure blue sky was expanding in all nautical directions.

Without really thinking, again, Raven was sprinting for Fern.

The Nightmare still hadn't unfolded her wings and was bounding in graceful leaps over the deep desert sands.

Raven's feet hit the firmer waves in the sand with deadly precision. Instead of the weaker holes in the uneven desert her boots landed on the caps of the miniature dunes. The extra stability enabled her to push harder.

Each stride that she leaped caused a shock to run through her body and jarring her injured arm.

Pushing past the pain Raven gained on Fury and Fern. The Nightmare was almost upon Fern, Raven racing next to the Nightmare's shoulder.

A last exertion of effort made Raven push in front of Fury and shove Fern to the side.

In some extent it surprised Raven to be able to keep pace with a four legged creature. Sure on the few hunts she had been to it was the same scenario. But the Nightmare was twice the size of the werewolves.

In a second the world had turned black anyway and Raven's thoughts were discarded with the wind that whipped and lashed at the tough sands.

***

It felt like someone had used Velcro to glue her eyes shut for all eternity. Her body moved and yet it was laying horizontally.

Relief washed through her as she still had her sense of equilibrium. The sway of the gait of whatever was carrying her was slow and measured, careful.

Raising her right hand from her stomach where it had been resting was painful. A low groan escaped her parched lips and a growl sounded from her stomach. Neglect of proper supplements was beginning to present itself as the tug of emptiness prompted a throbbing headache to emerge.

Each heartbeat sent a shock through her bruised brain.

The motion beneath her had stopped and a cool and wet cloth touched her brow.

"Don't move too much Raven. It will only hurt more." Fern's low voice was soothing in the harsh whistling of the wind.

Something shifted above her and a ray of sunlight moved over her closed eyes. Were they in a forest? She didn't know.

Gritting her teeth her hand reached up to rub her eyes. Sand that had crusted into a hard paste with the help of her eye's moisture crumbled away.

Blinking slowly she took in the blurry black cloak hovering over her body.

Light shone through a few cracks and moved over her cocooned form. It took a moment to organise her head enough to know cloaks did not have cracks.

Focusing her eyes on a crack she observed how it shifted to outline a feather. In fact, there were lots of feathers floating over her head. A whole set of wings to be more specific.

The cloth touched her head again and her headache subsided a bit. Groaning she shifted her weight and slid unceremoniously to the hot, burning sand below.