The Darkest Eternities

XL. Chasing the wind

Ivan

The wind hit my face with impeccable force but I did not falter. My form wound between the trees at a high velocity as I relied on only my powerful God-given vision to see.

My target's white shawl blew through the air as she ran faster and faster attempting to get away. The tired moans of my warriors decreased in volume behind me until they were silent. That was how I knew they were death. More victims claimed by the merciless sorceress. But they were only a decimal of the throngs of people that had fallen at her hands.

"Ivy..." came her taunting voice again. And the white shawl disappeared. " Catch me...if you can."

She continued to mock and taunt me, ridiculing my every move. She was there, until you tried to grasp her, then she evaporated in your hold. It was like chasing the wind. You knew it was there but you'd never catch it.

Her shriek-y laugh boomed through the woods and I felt the snow begin to melt under my feet. The white substance resumed to fall from the sky, coating the earth.

"I'll catch you!" I warned. I did not believe my own words. Tonight, in our attempt to ambush her, the tables had turned on us. She'd seen us coming. By the time I had realized, it was too late. Now I was alone. I had to do this, for the men I'd lost, for my kingdom and most of all for my woman.

"Will you? You better hope your beloved runs faster than I do."

A growl tore through my lips. Her threat made my form quake with fury. In a flash, I was changed, in my true form. Now I stood taller, stronger but it would be harder to maneuver through the trees.

"Can't control you temper. Just like your kind. Pfft! Primitive. I cannot believe an animal like you rules. Its only a matter of time before you tear apart the little human girl."

She'd hit where it hurt most. Her words cut deep, because they held the truth. It was known, 'the blunt truth wounds worse than a sharpened lie.'

"Just admit it, you'd prefer it if I killed that girl, rather than her becoming one of your thousands of victims."

Unable to hold myself anymore, I twisted around. She was right there. I pounced. Her sickening smile was the last thing I saw.

My eyes closed as I tumbled to the ground, her clothes caught in my claws. But in my palms I held only her shawl, the rest of her nowhere to be seen.

Her words flew by, " adieu, Ivy. Till next we meet. " And they were gone with the wind.

***

I needed to see her. Now. I needed to know that the only good thing in my life was safe.

Disheveled as I was, I rushed to be with her. Her scent called to me, washing away the fresh memories of the Russian mountains. The witch had drawn me back to my roots, forcing me to remember a painful past that I had worked to forget.

The clock in the citadel struck two o'clock. I heard the heavy iron second hand tick on and on, the seconds pushing further.

It had been a short walk from my chambers, where I had stopped for a clean change of clothes, to hers. My fingers curled into a tight fist, my eyes presently fixed on the mahogany that made up the chamber doors.

My heart settled at the sound of the soft purrs Cara made in her sleep.

I became conflicted on whether or not I should continue. I was here, her heartbeats had ascertained her safety...There was no reason to go on. I had no excuse.

Three times I pressed my knuckles against the wood. I was not at all in control of my actions.

The tingle that rushed up my spine did nit go unnoticed by myself. I was eager to see her. It seemed that if I didn't in the next few moments, the air in my lungs would combust spontaneously.