by Stacy Lee
****
Samantha! Xavier’s scream in my head wakes me with a start. Stay in the tent!
Sounds of metal clashing upon metal reaches my ears. Slowly I crawl to the tent entrance and peer out the small opening. A silent gasp escapes me as I glimpse my first look of a Ranoy. When Axel said they were ugly he wasn’t kidding. The color of their skin made them look like the walking dead, really large seven foot walking dead. The clumps of matted fur where their wings had been looks to have dried blood, dirt and twigs caught up in it. The one closest to the tent abruptly turns towards me and I fall back with fright. His face was overly elongated, razor sharp teeth gleaming in the light of day, and his completely black beady eyes bore into me as he continues to stare me straight in the eyes.
A flash of navy drags my gaze from the creatures to a large Phranoy standing at the top of the boulder a ways away from camp. His smile was gratifying and pure evil, his eyes were deep dark blue pools of misery, he looks around forty something though I know that isn’t his true age, his lean body shows signs of battle but yet he is not helping the boys but reveling in them fighting the Ranoy. As if he could sense me watching him, his head swivels slowly towards me making eye contact. Instantly my breathing stops, the world spins, and I can’t control my body. Forcing my eyes shut I break the connection between us with a scream of rage.
No! They said there was only one Kindred for each Phranoy! How can this be? I have felt that feeling with Xavier, I knew what it was to be held prisoner that way. The bond was trying to form between us. Had they lied to me to insure I bonded with Xavier? Whatever it was I didn’t have time to ponder it now.
“Get the girl, kill the boys!” A deep scratchy voice shouts out. As one the three Ranoy closest to the tent turn on me. One swipes out with his massive claw knocking the tent away, exposing my position. I dig my fingers into the dirt and only stare at them advancing on me. What could I do to stop them? The small things I did earlier knocked me out, anything big would put me on my butt in no time.
As I contemplate what I should do a burning sensation engulfs my buried fingers, moves up my arms, and begins to flux through my body. The power coursing through my veins sets me on fire, it felt so right and yet so wrong at the same time. Anger clouds my vision as I spy Xavier facing off with one Ranoy and Axel with another. Xavier’s eyes glance to me allowing the Ranoy to swing its arm out knocking him off balance for a split second before he recovers to continue hacking at it with his sword.
Power continues to build till I didn’t think my burning system could hold another drop, still it courses up my arms, setting my every nerve on alert, filling me with an unknown rage willing me to use it to do my bidding. Knowing I couldn’t hold much more without it killing me I do as Xavier had told me earlier, whatever feels right. Raising my arms I hold my hands in front of me and imagine the power rushing through my hands to hit the Ranoy in the chest. I wanted them dead, I wanted to tear them apart, I needed to find a release for this anguish that was consuming my body.
With images and thoughts of death and destruction filling me an angry red light shimmers from both my palms, one splitting in half and the other in three. Liquid fire races through my veins, sweat drips from my forehead, a scream is ripped from my throat as the light shoots into the chest of the five Ranoy left invading our campsite. In a loud ‘Whoomph!’ they every one explode into ash leaving nothing but a fine dust to rain down on our heads. I whip my head back to where the navy winged man had stood but he is gone. With a pain filled scream I fall to my side, lost to the darkness that envelopes me.