Chapter 47 - Sand Storm

Rhuthain glanced at the entrance to the tent, noting the almost imperceptible ruffle of the flap as both Rhyker and Kitaraiya emerged. His eyes widened in surprise, the shine of starlight gleaming off the girl as she stood, her cloak concealing all except her forearms. Narrowing his vision slightly he met eyes with Jesse after she looked over his shoulder. Watching her quick glance at Ja’Sessh he waited as she bent, bringing her face to his ear.

“Can you see it? They are, different.”

“Aye, I saw it down there.” he said, nodding at the rubble in the distance, “Don’t even need to look that closely to tell, can feel it, felt it the moment they stepped out of the tent.”

Jesse smiled, resting a hand on his shoulder and watching the siblings that moved and acted as one.

“I saw the veil that Antrandis had cast, but there are other plans,” she closed her eyes momentarily, a faint smile coming to her lips, “Winter… Thain, she will…” Jesse stopped mid-sentence with an expectant look.

“She’ll be here momentarily, Aye, got it.” finished the dwarf with a raised brow.

“Yes, Thain.” he heard Winter’s quiet voice in his ear.

“I suppose we’re about to start? Saw the pet lizard walk off over that way a little while ago.”

“You do realise she can hear you?” Winter said.

“Aye, love her too; scaly bits an all.” he joked, glancing at Ja’Sessh as he spoke with Brensladina and the other two valkyrie, “You going below to be with Antrandis an the cat?”

“Yes.” there was a slight pause, “Keep an eye on him and the children for me, Thain.”

“Aye.” he replied, already feeling her presence slipping back into the shadow realm.

Jesse looked down at him, “Should we move Ja’Sessh back to the tents?”

Rhuthain’s eyes narrowed, gesturing for her to come closer, “No, the stubborn fool needs to see for himself. But, can the girls take care of our mounts, put them to sleep, charm them or something?”

Jesse laughed, her clear voice even drawing Ja’Sessh’s gaze as she smiled at Rhuthain, eyes twinkling. She gestured to the others and started for the line of horses. Rhuthain shook his head as she quickly had a word with the twins while an expectant hush fell over the dunes.

“Not what you expected?” Rhuthain asked of Ja’Sessh.

The rakshasa stood, his eyes trailing the valkyries as they made their way, feathered wings tucked and purposeful in every way, “They are no longer bound, restricted, they are truly alive. Is this what it means? What they were always meant to be?”

Rhuthain nodded, a faint hint of anger in his eye, “Aye, Sessh. I have visited the halls that bastard left them broken in. Winter spent time telling me of the truths, what the girls were put through. Now my own halls have a small number of their spears stationed at me request.” he chuckled darkly, “The shield and spears took them in without a word, made them at home.”

Ja’Sessh frowned, “Shield and?”

“Aye, Spears. Bunch of rowdy dwarven ladies that are too fiery for the average menfolk, fight with lances and heavy shields. Scary, every single one, but loyal to a fault. With some feathery ones in the mix, things, well, things have become truly frightening.” Rhuthain chuckled heartily, “I’ll have to visit them when I get back. See what they been up to.”

Ja’Sessh frowned at Rhuthain’s mirth, before looking back to the remains of the temple.

Rhuthain smiled to himself, a faint tremor could be felt under his feet. An almost imperceptible vibration that rolled through the dunes.

“Aye, she’s getting started.” he commented, picking out Rhyker and Kitaraiya as they walked away from the camp, skirting the depression in the sand.

A deep rumble sounded in the distance before a heavier vibration rolled through the sand, causing it to shake. A sudden, soft gust of wind hit them; pressing against Ja’Sessh’s fur and making him tuck his ear flat.

“She? Started?” the rakshasa asked as another heavy vibration shook the ground, followed by a dull rumble and the unmistakable creak of air in large sails.

He heard a chuckle from Rhuthain in the moment before he was almost blown off his feet by a powerful gust that tore past them. He slicked his ears back and faced the wind with narrowed eyes as the sound of air being dragged forcefully met him. Jamming his eyes shut he lowered his stance, the rumble no longer in the ground but the air itself. Raising an arm to shield his face the blast hit him, pushing back and his feet deeper into the sand. In the immediate wake of the blast he heard that terrible cycle of the air being drawn. Barely had the rumble of the last gust subsided and the next began, relentless and increasing in strength, kicking up sand.

Leaning heavily against the quickening gusts, he hurriedly looked downwind, his face shielded with his hands and watching the sand being lifted into the air and swirling, being thrown deep and into the distance. He turned as he felt a strong hand at his arm, looking at the dwarf he saw him motioning and Ja’Sessh nodded, following Rhuthain out of the wind’s path.

“What is this?” Ja’Sessh yelled over the now screaming wind.

“Aye, not ‘what’, ‘who’.” said Rhuthain loudly, the wind no longer threatening to tear his clothes off.

“Who?”

Rhuthain shook his head and pointed to his ear as the scream of the wind suddenly grew louder, thundering and causing Ja’Sessh to clamp his large hands over his ears. Eyes closed, he fought the bluster that no longer hammered past in quick bursts but had instead turned into a continuous wail that scoured everything caught directly in its path. Without warning he tumbled to the ground, the heavy bluster gone but the wail remained, tearing at his hearing. Looking up he saw a dark figure and feathers barely ruffled, forming a wall around he and the dwarf, breaking the worst of the gale. Steely orbs glowed and watched him, the shake of a head as he stood.

Jesse, her form hard and unyielding stood braced, her back to the force of nature and her wings shielding them, her feathers tightly locked and blade-like as they deflected and redirected the wind around them. Ja’Sessh moved to yell over the howl, but saw Jesse’s finger raised to her lips before she pointed. He turned and looked behind him, the sandstorm blowing out over the desert in the night, the sandy haze hiding the distant horizon. He watched in shock as Rhuthain ducked out and disappeared, his form immediately obscured by the rush of sand. Feeling hands on his, he met Jesse’s eyes as she guided his to her shoulders. Immediately he understood and pressed against her, his legs locked back and digging in as she closed her wings over them both, creating a protective shell with her face near his.

“You seem shocked rakshasa.” he heard clearly, not with his overwhelmed ears, but inside his mind itself, “Think the words, I will hear you.”

“How is this possible? I can choose to speak telepathically if we touch, skin to skin. Your hands, my shoulders.”

Ja’Sessh looked into her unsettling eyes as she stood fast, his thoughts racing as the howling scream outside turned to a non-stop rolling thunder.

“How is this happening? Why did Rhuthain say ‘who’? Slow your thoughts...”

He grimaced, feeling the pressure of her shoulders against his hands grow even stronger and pulsing rhythmically.

“The Stormarrow is clearing the top of the Sanctum and surrounds.”

Despite the deafening thunder, the pressure on his arms suddenly reduced and he looked into Jesse’s eyes, noticing that she seemed distant momentarily before they refocused tightly on him.

“Run, do not stop, follow me.” she watched him intently, nodding, “Now!”

She pulled backward, her wings withdrawing. Sand and wind swirling violently, immediately assaulting him. Bringing his arm up to shield his face, he felt a vice-like grip on his free arm dragging him along. Squinting, he saw Jesse’s silhouette flickering as plumes of fiery light lit the thick haze in sudden bursts. Chasing her movements, he found it hard to keep up as the shifting sands seemed to be sliding away from under him, attempting to tear him from his feet. For a moment he thought he had lost her, before he felt her hand grab his arm and guide him along as he ran down hill. Glancing to the side, he saw monstrous shadows flickering as the haze was lit from within.

Without warning, he felt solid ground under his feet, unyielding, smooth and warm. Solid stone. He tracked behind Jesse as she picked up her pace further, streaking ahead. He glanced around in mild shock, the edges of ruined stone buildings showing. Jesse slowed, waving him down and guiding him between two walls as the thunder continued. Feeling her hand on him, her voice entered his mind.

“Ahead, the others are here with the horses, as is Rhuthain.”

Ja’Sessh frowned with the words, his eyes picking out the short stature of the dwarf leaning against a crumbling low wall and peering into the murk. A flash and flicker lit the night, drawing his attention momentarily as he stood beside Rhuthain. Sudden heavy gusts flushed back and among the buildings, fine sand blowing past as the violent wind was pushed from above. A deep shudder reverberated through his chest as the thunder peaked violently, shaking the ground beneath their feet before a deafening silence fell. Ja’Sessh looked around, temporarily deaf, the haze no longer being whipped around and instead slowly drifting and settling. A faint light cast thin shadows and he turned to see Jesse standing with her spear in hand, light shining from it like a beacon in the dark.

He felt, not heard the thuds and rumbles, the displacement of air in the area from movement and the steady rhythm and gentle gusts that seemed to flow nearby, ruffling his fur. The charged silence was unnerving, the haze of sand blanketing the night and the beacon of Jesse’s spear created a circle of light that acted more as a round shell that marked a close perimeter. There was movement out there, he could feel it. Slowly he could make it out, a voice speaking, and Rhuthain talking back, his lips moving.

“Aye, I would be thinking that’ll be a good idea, keep the dunes from encroaching.” Rhuthain said, looking through the haze with an unbothered expression.

A sound came back in return, a voice that was speaking in restraint, the mixture of bells and the sound of the earth itself rending, the grinding of stone in the depths of the mountains. The words of a language that ran on the edge of his memory. Ja’Sessh looked at him in alarm, following his gaze and seeing nothing more than the shell of light cast by Jesse. He quickly ran to her and gestured for her to quell its shine. He looked up into the sudden darkness, his eyes quickly adjusting to the gloom to see two crescents of silver, mirrored moons glowing sharply, intently watching him. The bluster of stale air washed over him, blowing him off his feet and onto his haunches. He looked back up in fear, glancing hurriedly from one to the other as they grew larger, until only one crescent filled his sight, looking down at an angle. He could now see the dark slit shifting in size, the vertical iris expanding, its darkness threatening to swallow him.

Ja’Sessh cowered as his whole vision was filled with the glow of the eye, now the shimmer and reflections off scales surrounding it becoming more apparent and a great blade of horn that hovered over it, the light catching in its mirrored surface. He postured himself, bowing and pressing his head to the stone, whimpers escaping him as he realised that the eye was still growing closer, the haze between them still with depth.

“Stand, you fool.” came the sharp whisper, razor teeth the size of tree trunks glimmering.

The sudden rush of air almost pulled him off his feet as the great eye withdrew, both visible again before shifting away in the night. Thunderous steps shaking the stone beneath them as the brightest of stars started to glimmer through the shifting haze.

Winter glanced up at the distant ceiling, the iris of stone that would open to the night. The whole fortress shook and tremored with every movement of Silvast above, falls of sand trickling like water to the floor, creating small mountains, a caricature of terrain.

“It will hold up to this punishment?” she asked, glancing to Sian and seeing her nod.

Winter glanced about again, her eyes alighting on Antrandis while he sat calmly on the dais that the core was suspended over with his hands pressed flat to the floor. Concentration lined his brow and she could hear the Sanctum humming softly as it fed off him. He was protecting it, granting the stone strength beyond its means. Magically enhancing the Sanctum’s walls and upper structure with his will and magic.

“It was quiet a few moments ago… Do you think that maybe?” said Sian, her emerald eyes locking with Winter’s.

Winter nodded, her eyes closed momentarily, listening to Jesse, “He can barely stand, I suppose him getting eyed by Silvast was more than he could handle. Compared to the dragons of old…”

Sian gave a broad smile while glancing up, “She is a whole different prospect. Are you really going to leave tonight?”

“Yes.” Winter glanced at Antrandis, her eyes softening, “It must be done. You saw the children.” she said, her eyes wandering back to Sian, “I felt you.”

“I know what you are thinking. But, do you really believe that is the case? It is not mentioned in mother and father’s notes.” Sian pondered.

Winter nodded slowly, “There is only one other who can answer that question.” she smiled, “I will meet with Ja’Ekavira and we will discuss what can be done.”

Winter frowned slightly, glancing quickly at Antrandis again, her eyes watching his face, “My love?”

“Hmmm?”

“About Ekavira?” Winter said with a low voice as concern grew on her face.

Sian quickly walked to her, “What is it, Winter?”

Winter bit at her lip, the copper in her steel eyes flaring lightly while she watched his expression, “My love, did you know?” she asked again, a hint of desperation in her voice as she momentarily glanced at Sian.

She carefully approached, stopping before Antrandis and kneeling, reaching out a hand and gently caressing his cheek, “My love, did you know?”

Winter glanced up, biting at her upper lip, her breath stolen from her by his silence, “Antrandis?” she whispered as a tear ran down her cheek, leaving a glistening trail.

“Why?” she whispered.

“So you could be whole. I did not know at the time, but I have noticed.” he said softly.

“But why couldn’t I…? Is it because she is in the…?” Winter stammered, “That means she is…She has been since…we first met.”

She bowed her head, “I understand, my love.” she said with a small voice.

Sian stared at her, “Winter? What are you talking about?”

Winter looked to Sian, tentatively meeting her concerned eyes, “She was locked in there with me.”