Chapter seven

Murky shapes of red and orange glided through my vision as I slept. I am not a person to have dreams or vidid ones at the least, but these shapes where smooth and round, moving to a silent symphony. They bobbed through space like clouds through the sky. I reached my hand up to touch the magnificent orbs that hung in the air before me when a piercing feminine scream pulled me from my sleep. It felt as through ice water was thrown on me, I sat up gasping. New red shapes danced on the wall across the room. These shapes, however, were not a creation of my mind, but a creation of fire. The scream was cut off abruptly and a silence rang out as loudly as the scream did through the night air.

Panic flooding in my system, I threw on a random red dress from my closet and ran from my room. Speronox kept up despite his size disadvantage and his anxiety dizzied me. I saw people were scattering on the ground level covered in black soot and blood. With a tone of annoyance, I had to lift the hem of the skirt to my dress as I ran down the spiraling stairs to greet the commotion. People knocked into me without a second glance as others seemed to be fighting, and winning a creature I could not distinguish, their blackish blood shining on the swords of the Men. they were tall and thin looking, each one of the clad in black. their rotting faces seemed to hold the knowledge of the losing battle they were fighting.

I spotted a little boy, no older than four or five, alone near me he cried, rooted to the spot waiting. I grabbed his hand and led him In the direction of the crowd. I knew I couldn't just run, I knew that whatever was happening I was involved in whether I liked it or not. I passed the boy on to a young blonde woman whose face held the most calm I could find in the situation.

"Please take him" I said quickly, not staying to hear her response.

Thick black smoke filled my lungs and scorched my throat causing me to cough and briefly cover my stinging eyes as an ablaze building came crashing down to the earth in front of me.

"Avina!" I head some one shout. Pulling me out of the path of the building. Their face was unrecognizable through the veil of soot in the air, but I placed the voice to Landon.

"Landon, what's going on" I asked before he could speak.

"You need to get out of the city, follow the people." He told me with urgency and order, over the now multiple screams and desperate cries of those fighting and those who were running.

"No I can't, I-" my words halted suddenly as my eyes unfortunately flicked over Landon's broad shoulders. A brief window in the smoke had cleared enough and allowed me to view Morgana, the kind Morgana who had been so patient with me in the small time we had met, who had been the first to bluntly explain my predicament, collapse to the ground on her knees as one of the attackers stood over her sneering his horrible blackened teeth at her fallen form.

The smoke rolled back in front of my view as I pushed Landon out of my way and ran to her, taking up a silver glinting weapon that lay on the ground. With an agile spin of my body I plunged the lithe sword through the creatures throat. His eyes widened and grasped the blade as if to foolishly stave the gushing black blood, he stumbled back a few feet choking on his own blood. I turned my attention to the women who lay on the ground. she lay with a hand on her stomach, the other used to prop herself up. I desperately pretended not to see the blood that trickled through her fingers and tried to trick myself into thinking she might have merely tripped. I looked up at the outline of Landon whose figure harshly contrasted with the flames behind him. Tears where in my eyes and the world fell into a lapse of slow motion and utter silence and I too fell to my knees slowly and caught Morgana as her arm gave out. Laying her gently down she grasped my hand with the one that had been pressed to her stomach. Her unecharacturisticly frightened eyes searched my face as if looking for something specific. She looked like a child afraid and unsure.

"Help us" she whispered.

A single tear fell down my cheek as Morgana's eyes became vacant. And the grip on my had slipped away.

Landon stood where he had been when he found me with a look of fear, shock and disbelief on his face. I suddenly felt arms around me, lifting me up and prying my grip from Morgana's. I was like a puppet being moved from where I was. Someone had taken Morgana's body and the sounds and reality of the world came crashing onto me. I looked at the other bodies that littered the ground. Many men, women and even a few children lie motionless but the bodies of the creatures that hailed this fire onto us where the most abundant of the dead.

As the panic had begun to subdue and ebb into an eerie calm the people that still retained a strong will began collecting the bodies that where strewn about. How much had I slept through? I thought to myself.

Landon brushed past me an did not even pause when I said his name and disappeared. I felt Speronox brush against my legs and I bent down, scooping him up and holding him close with all my might. He did nothing to protest because I knew he understood my emotion sat the time. And I heard him hum in my ear "safe"

A/N: well... That happened. I had planned this actually, but now that it happened I REALLY need to know opinions! If anyone is curious as to what music I listened to while writing this it was anything song written by Lisa Gerrard.

And a big hug goes out to those who have reviewed! Love ya!