ELSKER: THE ELSKER SAGA *complete*

CHAPTER TWO

 Chapter Two 

“KRISTIA,” A KEENING VOICE beckoned. I sat up from my sleep, then whipped my head from side to side to place the voice. I’d appreciated the fact that my hotel room came with blackout shades when I fell asleep. But I felt differently now.

A long finger crooked at me from the darkness. I couldn’t make out the face in the shadows, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to.

“Who are you?” My voice shook, though I was going for a threatening vibe. My acting abilities couldn’t have hit the broad side of a barn in full daylight.

“Kristia,” the voice repeated, now from behind me.

“What do you want?” I jumped out of bed and inched towards the door. Any bravado was totally manufactured.

“Kristia.” Now the voice was in front of the door, and the long finger motioned again. Every instinct I had screamed for me to run, but I was frozen in place. I was trapped in a dark room with a lunatic, and my legs wouldn’t move. Fabulous.

“Leave me alone,” I challenged, since running like a shrieking banshee wasn’t going to be an option.

The owner of the finger stepped from the shadows into the only sliver of light in the room. He was unnaturally tall, wiry and pale, with dark hair combed back from a handsome face, and bright eyes that glowed in the dim light. Slightly pointed ears and an angular jaw offset high cheekbones. He had a charmingly roguish look that made me want to jump into his arms at the same time that voice in my head was screaming GET OUT!

“Who are you?” I asked again. The man tilted his head.

“The real question, Kristia, is who are you?” To my dismay, he halved the distance between us. I fought to step back, but my legs were still locked in place.

“How do you know my name?” And more importantly, how could I get out of this room? My gaze darted between the window and the door. One path led to a three-story fall, the other was blocked by a freakishly-good-looking weirdo.

“I know all about you.” The oddball tilted his head the other way and squinted his glowing eyes until they were slits. “Starting with your little gift.” He tapped his head with the same bony finger, and I froze. “Who are you, really? What are you trying to do to my plan?” His voice was a hiss. His eyes glowed brighter, and actual flames shot from their depths.

Thankfully, I seized control over my petrified legs. As the fire landed at my feet, I hopped back in an inept dance, made all the more awkward by my clumsiness. Flames fanned out and quickly rose to block the man from my view. I heard a maniacal cackle that chilled me to the bone and I closed my eyes in panic. It would be death by fire this time. I wasn’t sure I didn’t prefer freezing.

When I opened my eyes again, I was grasping at my bed sheets, my gaze shifting in the darkness until I found my bearings. I was in my hotel room in London, and it was not on fire. There wasn’t anyone else in the room. With great effort, I slowed my breathing. I was pretty sure what just happened had been a dream, not one of my visions. My future didn’t hold a giant elf-man… did it?

I walked purposefully to the window and ripped open the blackout shades, letting moonlight stream into the room. I didn’t get much sleep that night.

The next day, I got off the train at Cardiff Central Railway Station and made the short journey to what would be my home for the next year. I stood on the steps of the Student Houses, holding tight to the handle of my powder blue suitcase as I tried to capture this moment in my memory. A year of adventure stood in front of me – exciting subjects to study, sophisticated students and professors to learn with, and brand new sights to see. Nobody here knew me from Eve. For the first time in my life, my future was a blank page. It was perfect. And beyond scary.