Page 22 of Runes To Rain
“What happened?” he asks, and his voice is now surprisingly gentle, at odds with his behavior.
I attempt to shake him off and, despite my small size and lack of weapons, he releases me and stands back. “You can see them?” I ask, slightly breathless.
He stares at me for a moment and then nods, his face still a mask of some strong emotion.
Is it rage?
“The boys don’t seem to be able to see them,” I finally say.
“Humans aren’t observant enough to see angels or demons unless we specifically allow them to, as I have,” he growls. “I will ask again, what happened to you?”
“The healer the boys brought me was an angel, and that angel brought me to talk to one of their kind named Rex.”
“And?” he asks, his voice more of a snarl at this point.
“Rex gave me the wings as a gift to ensure I wasn’t burdened by the darkness,” I respond.
“And are youburdenedby the darkness?” he asks, his voice far too quiet.
“I’m not sure yet.” I stare back at him.
I watch as his shoulders tense at the words and then, closing his eyes, he reaches up and pinches his nose between his thumb and forefinger. I hear him muttering something, the words of which are mostly lost to me. The only thing I hear is, “...measuring contest will get us nowhere,” and then he drops his hand to his side and looks at me again.
“Did you get the name of thehealer?”
“They were called Bonum.”
He flinches slightly and then nods. “I see,” he says and then grows quiet for a moment.
“Why are you here?”
“I was summoned,” he says.
“By me?”
He shakes his head and says, “The band. For them, it’s a ritual that takes at least six hours; they can’t bring me instantly like you can.” Then, as he takes a breath, I see a shudder run through him, and he says, “I am compelled again to join their company.” With that, he turns and walks towards the back of the mansion.
I follow, but as he arrives at a door I don’t recognize, he turns to me suddenly, so I stop too close. Rather than step back, I hold my ground, looking up at his face and meeting his light green eyes.
He peers down at me, unreadable emotions burning across his face. “It is up to you to determine what must be done, as that is the contract I created when I gave you life. I know one of my people spoke with you about what we stand for when you were at our stronghold. Just know that I feel my kind are more in need of help, and quickly. I only ask that you review all before you act.”
With that, he turns and, opening the door, steps through and closes it before I can follow.
As some strong emotion runs through me, I look down and see my fists clenched, the bag hanging from my left, the books momentarily forgotten.
A map, although not the useful one I looked for earlier, reveals itself in my head with two paths extending. One path leads me into my room for an afternoon of research and reading, the images from the book playing in my memory.
The other…
Even as I think of it, I decide.
I quickly go to my room, set the bag of books beneath my bed where the house employees won’t quickly find it, and go to the wardrobe. I choose a skirt and leggings in black and dark grey, and pull on black socks. I slip a dark, hooded, long-sleevedshirt over my head, pull the hood up to cover my hair, and then examine myself in the mirror.
Only a glimmer from my eyes looks back at me from beneath the hood. Everything else is cloaked in shades of darkness. Thus attired, I return to the door to the lower level and follow Malam’s footsteps into the dark.
DARK FIGURES AND RITUALS
As I delicately push the door open, I see the familiar set of stairs leading down. The same stairs where I fell asleep listening to the band rehearse. With only a brief hesitation, I proceed down the steps into the pitch black. As I continue, I begin to hear the low hum of voices and pause for a moment. Focusing on where the sound is coming from, I see a line of light near the floor, rising up in a thin L shape. I step closer, careful to move slowly and purposefully so as not to give myself away.
