Page 16 of Einar

Rubypauses beside my bed andIcan feel her eyes on me, butImake sure my breaths are slow and steady.Shedoesn’t linger long before she scampers walks over to her side of the room and climbs into bed.Ican hear the rustling of her bedding as she gets settled in for the night.Bitby bit, the stress, strain, and worry of the day ease, if only a little, but it’s enough for me to fall into a somewhat peaceful sleep.

I’msafe for right now, and it’s enough.

ChapterTwelve

ROWAN

SOMETHING’SINTHEROOMWITHUS!

Yearsof conditioning snap me awake in an instant.Immediately,IthinkRobert’salready found me, even thoughIhave no idea how such a thing would be possible.Theroom is bathed in darkness, the lightRubyleft on has been turned off.Ifmy sister had gotten out of bed in the night, it would have woken me up.

So.

IKNOWSOMEONEISINHEREWITHUS.

Astrange sound, almost like sandpaper rasping over a piece of wood, catches my attention before a horrid stench makes me gag.JustasIgo to sit up, something grabs me by the back of the neck and yanks me up in the air, my legs dangling.Aflash of blood red a foot above my head catches my attention.

ARETHOSEEYES?!

Terrorrobs me of speech, as the thing that holds me shakes me violently for no reason.I’mjust hanging here;I’mnot fighting back or making any noise.Stiflingsobs,Idesperately try to see whereRubyis.

Whereis my sister?!

Whateverhas ahold of me is … hissing.

Andis answered by a distinct set of hisses from across the small room.

Iknow they haveRubywhenIhear her short yell before it’s abruptly cut off and becomes muffled.JustasIopen my mouth to call out to her, a vile piece of material is shoved against my face, suffocating me and making my lungs rebel with the beginnings of an asthmatic wheeze.

Ohno!OH!NO!

Whateveris on the cloth is making me woozy and causing me to have an asthma attack.Weakly,Ireach for my bag and the lifesaving medicine hidden within it when suddenly a bright light flashes, andIsee what has captured us.Mymind scrambles for some sort of reference for whatI’mseeing when it finally hits me.Robertforced me to attend a diplomatic event once that showcased traditional mythology from all round the globe.Thethings holding of us are…

Nagas!

Giantsnakelike creatures with the head and torso of a humanoid but the length of a massive serpent instead of legs.Thesecreatures aren’t pretty like the paintings and sculpturesIsaw, though.They’remassive and their entire bodies are scaled, not just the snake part.Blood-red eyes with vertical pupils are staring at us like we are pieces of meat.

Makingeye contact,Ireach out towardRuby, trying to grab her hand asIsee her head fall forward into unconsciousness.That’sthe last thingIremember before the vile, liquid covered cloth on my face also robs me of consciousness.

WhyisRubyshaking me?Itcan’t be time to get up yet, we just went to bed.

“What?”

WhyamIwhispering and also wheezing?

Peeringup atRuby,Isee her motion me to be quiet and my mind tries to banish the fog clouding my mind.Shepulls me close to her, “Doyou remember anything?”

Whatan odd thing to ask.Idon’t understand whyI’mso confused right now.I’mnever this bleary whenIget up.Forcingmyself to focus on whatIremember,Ianswer her question the bestIcan. “What? …No, the last thingIrecall was you walking into the bathroom to take a shower.Waita minute, … there was something holding you and then a really bright flash.”

Themind-fog vanishes and memories bombard me all at once.

Nagas.

Rottenmeat stench.

Avile cloth shoved against my nose and mouth.

Ican feel panic creeping up on me, making my already labored breathing worse; a rattling sound deep in my chest tells meI’mon the verge of being in deep shit.Rubygrabs me by the face and forces me to focus on her.

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