Silent Fall
Silence Speaks
At the first hint of danger Cye tried to wake himself up, but from inside his dream it was of no use. Torrent's presence was pressed up against him as the shadow enveloped and trapped them both. A chill raced down Cye's back and he involuntarily shuddered. The cold here was intense, unlike anything he had experienced thus far; it was like being frozen alive.
"I'll warn you once." The umbra whispered into his ear.
"Warn me about what? What do you want?" Cye demanded.
"I'll warn you once," It repeated. "You are uncovering things you don't understand. If you turn back now you will be left in peace."
"And if I don't?"
"Allow me a demonstration of my power."
The words licked at Cye's ears and he could feel the air around him becoming colder, so cold that he began to ache. The shadow lifted a dark hand and with two ebon claws, raked Cye across the cheek.
Cye cried out in surprise and bolted up in his bed, instinctively bringing his hand to his cheek. Sweat hung on his forehead and dripped down his nose despite the fact that he was still shivering from the cold of his dream.
What stunned him the most, though, was that his cheek felt wetly slick and cold.
Cye groped with his free hand for the switch to the bedside lamp. He flipped it on and pulled his right hand away from his cheek, all the while gazing at it in astonishment. Blood glistened on his fingertips in the dim, artificial light. Had the demon in his dream really done this?
"Cye?" It was Mia's voice, out in the hall, laced with concern. A moment later the door to his room opened and Mia and the other Ronins stepped in.
"Are you okay, buddy?" Kento asked noticing the blood on his fingers. "You didn't-not again…."
"It was a dream," Cye whispered in a detached tone of voice, still staring numbly at his fingers.
"What do you mean?" Mia questioned, seating herself on the edge of his bed and taking his wrists in her hands. Not seeing anything, she spied the crimson stain on his cheek and turned his face into the light to examine it.
"What happened?" She asked, fumbling with the nightstand drawer a moment before drawing out a handkerchief.
"I had a dream and there was this thing. I can't really explain it…."
Mia only gave him an odd look as she used the square of linen to clean up the blood from his cuts.
"So your saying this thing in your dream hurt you?" Ryo inquired, his arms crossed.
Cye nodded tentatively.
"I think you just need a bit more sleep." Mia suggested, rising.
"But-"
"We'll discuss it in the morning." She ushered the Ronins out of the room, advising them to go to their own.
"Go to sleep, Cye." Sage said as he closed the door behind him.
Sleep? Now? There's no way I'm going to get to sleep now. Cye thought, unconsciously bringing his hand to his hurt cheek.
Cye waited there until he was sure that everyone else was asleep once again before creeping out of his room to find something to do.
After wandering along the cold, stone halls of the Dynasty he spotted Kayura fumbling with a large load of scrolls. He stepped up and took some from her.
"Why, thank you." She said, guiding him down to the meeting room they had been in the previous evening.
"Are these the texts you were telling us about?" Cye questioned as he dropped his scrolls onto the table where she had discarded hers.
"Yes, but they are all written in an ancient language known to neither me nor the Warlords. I have been able to decipher a few words, though."
Kayura rifled through the heap and soon produced an old scroll that she unrolled and laid upon the table. Compared to the others this one looked to be the most readable despite its age.
"I've found the armor names," She said, pointing out a line of small symbols.
"What's this down here?" Cye asked as he motioned to a word that looked as though it were written in capital letters.
"That's 'Sendai'."
"You mean the city of Sendai?"
"I'm sure."
Well, that did help a little; he knew where they needed to go next. It was all a matter of convincing the other guys and Mia he wasn't going totally insane. Now that would be a challenge.
* * * * *
I have to apologize; this chapter is a lot shorter than I originally intended it to be.
One little thing, there's more than one Pendragon out there, and just so you know I'm the one with the lower case 'd'.
Disclaimer: I've said it before and I'll say it again, I don't own the Ronin Warriors.