Ashes of Revenge

Chapter 8: The Horrors of Night

Raven twitched in her sleep a few times and suddenly jerked awake. Gasping for air, her hands roamed her body for anything that resembled fire. When she found only Colt, she sighed and relaxed.

She leaned back against the wall and rubbed her face with her numb hands. Her breathing slowed, and a headache washed over her. She remembered bits and pieces of yesterday, mainly Ash.

Raven stumbled out of bed and changed out of her sweaty clothes and into the other ones again. She made her way down to Malik and groggily took a seat at the counter, resting her elbows against the surface. Her head fell into her hands. She couldn't stomach a drink, so she allowed Malik to sleep in his chair.

***

Colt mumbled as he twitched, groaning more. The knives in his hands slowly extended. His eyes shot open, and he sat up, bringing his hand in front of him as if stabbing or slicing something. He looked around the room as he breathed out in short pants before his knives went back into his hands. Cold sweat stuck to his skin, and the room spun around him. He had no idea if what was happening was because of a hangover or the nightmare.

He stumbled to the window and pressed his forehead to the cold glass. Closing his eyes, he imagined he was outside, and after a few seconds, the tremors shaking his body subsided. He used all his strength to resist breaking the window just so he could feel the wind.

It was strange how the exact same dream every night could spark different emotions. Sometimes, he wanted to scream and cry and make the pain and memories go away. Others, he wanted to demand that Raven and Richard take him to the Shifter Kingdom so he could enact his long-awaited twisted revenge. He wanted to have everyone who hurt him at his feet, begging and crying for him to make their pain go away . . . and he would oblige.

Rather reluctantly, he pushed himself away from the window and looked around, finding that Raven was gone, and Richard was asleep against a wall. Though last night was fragmented in his mind, he knew Richard was exhausted. Deciding to allow Richard to sleep more, he walked downstairs and sat at the counter where Raven was.

Raven still had the faint glow of sweat upon her skin, and her eyes were sunken in by dark circles.

A knife extended from Colt's finger and he, ever so gently as not to scratch it, traced over the wood, trying to remain calm.

The tip of the blade dug into the table when a terrifying shriek filled the night air.

Colt heard a calming, beautifully honeyed voice, "Come here. . . ," a sing-songy tone echoed into his ears." Come here, Colt. . . ," the voice sang out again.

His head slightly tilted, his hair shifting against his forehead as an intoxicating smell entered his nose. He inhaled deeply and exhaled. The headache floated away from him, and his body followed after. He slowly got down from the stool and began to walk to the door.

Raven stared at Colt for a few seconds, trying to figure out what he was doing. Colt grabbed onto the handle, and Raven quickly left her stool, sending it tumbling to the ground. Her back collided into the door, slamming it shut.

A metallic noise rang through the room. By pure instinct alone, she lunged towards the ground, his knife only missing her by a centimeter or so; instead, getting lodged in the doorframe. Before she could begin to gain her bearings, Colt walked out into the night.

For a second, Raven couldn't move; the unfamiliar feeling of fear began to overtake her, feasting upon her and awakening something buried amongst embers and ash, making her body tremble. Finally, she snapped out of the shock and sprinted upstairs, the floor and walls blurring so much only a small central circle was clear.