Skyan looked at her glowing digital watch on her bedside stand again. The time read 1:56 AM. Yes, she decided, that meant that Ara and Scorpio had to be plain to see in the night sky. She couldn't figure out why those two contellations had sprung to her mind; Scorpio she knew very well, because it was her astrological sign, but Ara she had never even heard of before she said it. She had gone and looked it up on the internet when she got home from school, and found little information on the formation.
The only piece of information that she'd been able to get out of several sites was that the translation for it was "the altar," and it rose at approximately the same time that Scorpio did. Not exactly, but close.
She slid out of bed and into a light blue bathrobe which covered her pajama pants and shirt. Slippers made out of the same material were slipped on, and she silently padded outside, her breath making a patch of mist in the cool north Texas air.
The dew on the grass had frozen slightly to where it crunched under Skyan's feet, and she fought to keep her steps silent. Looking up into the cloudless sky, she quickly located Scorpio, and cast a glance out for Ara, trying to remember what it had been like in the map on the map that she'd found online.
And yes, there it was. Ara. The Altar. The thing that she'd told Erin about, although she had no idea what it was. The Scorpion and the Altar.
She found herself gazing at Ara even more intently, and smiled. It was so perfect, and the stars that made it up were beautiful. One was a bit hard to see, but you could still make it out in the country sky. That was one of the good things about not living in a large city.
"Well, that's what I came for," she said softly, and turned to re-enter her house. On an urge, she turned back to look at dim star, and did a double-take. Unless she was imagining things, which she never did, the star was getting brighter. And bigger. And closer.
Normally Skyan would of been interested in something like this, a shooting star that would probably swerve away from earth before it entered the atmosphere, because anything in astrology fascinated her to no end.
But now she stood transfixed, not daring to move or to breathe, for fear that the star might retreat and turn back to its dim self. But it did not.
Instead, the orb grew in size, and in a dazzling moment Skyan realized that it was not a star, but a person, a winged girl who resembled her. But there was something about the girl that made Erin think of someone else, someone at school whom she'd seen before but never spoken to, noted but never noticed. But who was it?
Wings.
Such wings. Wide and full, several feet in span, and feathered with a color that reminded her of the sky on a foggy day. Not gray, not blue, and not gray-blue. But somehow all in one.
And she carried herself with an air of certainty, her wavy dark brown hair cascading over those smokey-gray wings, and a beautiful face. Her eyes matched the color of the wings. This was something strange, something unexplainable that Skyan knew she was going to have to explain to Erin whenever they spoke again. She had just as much right to know about this as Skyan did, except that Skyan had been the one told. So maybe Erin shouldn't know...
"Fires
May burn the archer in
A whirlwind where
The poisned one
Will be laid down
On the altar
And salamandar fires
May burn."
* * *
Skyan awoke the next morning, and hit the snooze button on her alarm clock. Seven minutes later, she struggled from the twisted covers as the alarm came back on. What had happened last night?
Her robe was hung up in the closet where it had been for the past two weeks, and bore no sign of dampness or anything that might of signified that she had been outside in it. Her slippers were laid at the foot of her bed, where they should of been, and she felt a sudden chill go through her.
Last night had been real, that was for sure. Now the only thing that wasn't for sure was whether or not she was going to tell Erin about it that day.
The only piece of information that she'd been able to get out of several sites was that the translation for it was "the altar," and it rose at approximately the same time that Scorpio did. Not exactly, but close.
She slid out of bed and into a light blue bathrobe which covered her pajama pants and shirt. Slippers made out of the same material were slipped on, and she silently padded outside, her breath making a patch of mist in the cool north Texas air.
The dew on the grass had frozen slightly to where it crunched under Skyan's feet, and she fought to keep her steps silent. Looking up into the cloudless sky, she quickly located Scorpio, and cast a glance out for Ara, trying to remember what it had been like in the map on the map that she'd found online.
And yes, there it was. Ara. The Altar. The thing that she'd told Erin about, although she had no idea what it was. The Scorpion and the Altar.
She found herself gazing at Ara even more intently, and smiled. It was so perfect, and the stars that made it up were beautiful. One was a bit hard to see, but you could still make it out in the country sky. That was one of the good things about not living in a large city.
"Well, that's what I came for," she said softly, and turned to re-enter her house. On an urge, she turned back to look at dim star, and did a double-take. Unless she was imagining things, which she never did, the star was getting brighter. And bigger. And closer.
Normally Skyan would of been interested in something like this, a shooting star that would probably swerve away from earth before it entered the atmosphere, because anything in astrology fascinated her to no end.
But now she stood transfixed, not daring to move or to breathe, for fear that the star might retreat and turn back to its dim self. But it did not.
Instead, the orb grew in size, and in a dazzling moment Skyan realized that it was not a star, but a person, a winged girl who resembled her. But there was something about the girl that made Erin think of someone else, someone at school whom she'd seen before but never spoken to, noted but never noticed. But who was it?
Wings.
Such wings. Wide and full, several feet in span, and feathered with a color that reminded her of the sky on a foggy day. Not gray, not blue, and not gray-blue. But somehow all in one.
And she carried herself with an air of certainty, her wavy dark brown hair cascading over those smokey-gray wings, and a beautiful face. Her eyes matched the color of the wings. This was something strange, something unexplainable that Skyan knew she was going to have to explain to Erin whenever they spoke again. She had just as much right to know about this as Skyan did, except that Skyan had been the one told. So maybe Erin shouldn't know...
"Fires
May burn the archer in
A whirlwind where
The poisned one
Will be laid down
On the altar
And salamandar fires
May burn."
* * *
Skyan awoke the next morning, and hit the snooze button on her alarm clock. Seven minutes later, she struggled from the twisted covers as the alarm came back on. What had happened last night?
Her robe was hung up in the closet where it had been for the past two weeks, and bore no sign of dampness or anything that might of signified that she had been outside in it. Her slippers were laid at the foot of her bed, where they should of been, and she felt a sudden chill go through her.
Last night had been real, that was for sure. Now the only thing that wasn't for sure was whether or not she was going to tell Erin about it that day.
