For hours, Daine searched the skies in hopes of seeing the bird one last
time. But by sundown, that feeling of nausea had intensified. The last few
rays of sunlight flashed fiercely at her on the horizon, making her head
throb and her stomach roll. She squinted away, on the verge of tears. At
last, she gave up.
"Definitely time to head in," Daine sighed. "Numair's probably worried himself into a fit. Knowing him he's already sent a search party." She stretched, her spine creaking. "I'm going to get a tongue lashing when I get back." She blinked her strained eyes and rubbed the nape of her aching neck; up until now she had not once broken her skyward gaze. It was as if the strange bird had cast a spell over her, a trance of sorts. Its mere rolling and banking had been enough to ensnare Daine for hours. The motion, or the thing itself had rendered her limp and thoughtless, just as the slow, rhythmic sway of a pendulum might effect a watcher. Even when it had flown off, Daine still found she could not look away. There she had stood, dumbfounded, from noon until sunset, staring up at nothing.
~
Numair paced the room anxiously, palms sweating and mind whirring. Daine had stayed out late before. Infact, many times she did not return to the palace until far into the night. But this time, something was wrong; he could feel it. Every inch of the man tingled with fear. His heart pounded within his chest, so quickly and so loudly he feared it might burst. The blood ran cold in his veins, numbing every inch of his trembling body.
"Daine," he whispered through quivering lips. "Come back to me...come back to me now." His hands clenched into fists, tightening with every breath he drew. The chain which dangled from his wrist-his focus-rattled at the motion. The oval locket opened with a gentle click, revealing a tiny painting of Daine's face within and a lock of her own hair tucked behind a clip. Numair glanced down at the portrait and his muscles tensed.
"Well, why not," he murmured. "It worked once before in a more grave situation. It can work again." He quickly undid the clasp of the bracelet. With a shaking hand he brought it to eye level, gazing deep into his lover's face frozen in time. He closed his eyes, breathing slowly and evenly. Deeper and deeper into the focus he plunged, concentrating on his one intention; to find Daine. Numair raised his hands before him, palms facing the wall. Tongues of black fire licked his fingertips, shivering and curling in the cool air. Small sparks of white light danced within the flames, flitting about like entrapped fireflies.
From the darkness of Numair's mind, light suddenly bloomed. Laced with black fire, it spread all around to illuminate a spread of forest beyond. The mage delved deeper still, forcing back every outside sound, every distraction. He felt the steady blaze at his finger tips suddenly flare, but he ignored it. The dense stretch of woodlands he saw through his mind's eyes began to grow more defined. The trees were now clearly pines of some sort, all healthy and full. Numair examined each, trying to determine whether or not these trees were indigenous to Tortall. He studied them carefully; the texture and grain of the bark, the size of the trunk, the size and color of the needles on each branch. It was then he noticed the patches of white on the tips of the branches. The man squinted closer.
"Snow?" He mouthed, brows twitching together. "No, that's not right." It was the middle of summer in Tortall and even the northern most region of the land had not seen its first snow fall of the year. His eyes popped open and the scene abruptly faded. He could no longer keep a hold on his spell, startled by a terrifying conclusion; Daine was no longer in Tortall.
~
Daine woke to the sound of creaking branches, swaying in the breeze overhead. She opened her eyes only to find she had been sleeping face down in the snow. The woman yelped, jerking upright. She wiped the slush from her face, red and blistering from the cold, and then brushed off her soaked clothing. Knees shaking, She climbed to her feet. "Hello?" Daine called out into the frigid air, her own breath visible as she spoke. "Hello!" She yelled louder. Her only response was the flutter of wings a and series of cries as birds took to the air. Daine watched them scatter in every direction from the surrounding snow tipped pine trees. A twinge of panic lanced through her; these trees, these birds....they were not familiar. A chilling gust of wind blew her to the ground, knocking the breath from her tired lungs. She rolled to her knees, coughing raggedly. She attempted to rise, but found that her legs had stiffened and refused to bend. Daine sat, unable to do much else. Now shivering violently, she pulled her light cotton cloak tighter around her body. "Numair," She breathed. Despite her grave situation, he was all she could think about.
"Definitely time to head in," Daine sighed. "Numair's probably worried himself into a fit. Knowing him he's already sent a search party." She stretched, her spine creaking. "I'm going to get a tongue lashing when I get back." She blinked her strained eyes and rubbed the nape of her aching neck; up until now she had not once broken her skyward gaze. It was as if the strange bird had cast a spell over her, a trance of sorts. Its mere rolling and banking had been enough to ensnare Daine for hours. The motion, or the thing itself had rendered her limp and thoughtless, just as the slow, rhythmic sway of a pendulum might effect a watcher. Even when it had flown off, Daine still found she could not look away. There she had stood, dumbfounded, from noon until sunset, staring up at nothing.
~
Numair paced the room anxiously, palms sweating and mind whirring. Daine had stayed out late before. Infact, many times she did not return to the palace until far into the night. But this time, something was wrong; he could feel it. Every inch of the man tingled with fear. His heart pounded within his chest, so quickly and so loudly he feared it might burst. The blood ran cold in his veins, numbing every inch of his trembling body.
"Daine," he whispered through quivering lips. "Come back to me...come back to me now." His hands clenched into fists, tightening with every breath he drew. The chain which dangled from his wrist-his focus-rattled at the motion. The oval locket opened with a gentle click, revealing a tiny painting of Daine's face within and a lock of her own hair tucked behind a clip. Numair glanced down at the portrait and his muscles tensed.
"Well, why not," he murmured. "It worked once before in a more grave situation. It can work again." He quickly undid the clasp of the bracelet. With a shaking hand he brought it to eye level, gazing deep into his lover's face frozen in time. He closed his eyes, breathing slowly and evenly. Deeper and deeper into the focus he plunged, concentrating on his one intention; to find Daine. Numair raised his hands before him, palms facing the wall. Tongues of black fire licked his fingertips, shivering and curling in the cool air. Small sparks of white light danced within the flames, flitting about like entrapped fireflies.
From the darkness of Numair's mind, light suddenly bloomed. Laced with black fire, it spread all around to illuminate a spread of forest beyond. The mage delved deeper still, forcing back every outside sound, every distraction. He felt the steady blaze at his finger tips suddenly flare, but he ignored it. The dense stretch of woodlands he saw through his mind's eyes began to grow more defined. The trees were now clearly pines of some sort, all healthy and full. Numair examined each, trying to determine whether or not these trees were indigenous to Tortall. He studied them carefully; the texture and grain of the bark, the size of the trunk, the size and color of the needles on each branch. It was then he noticed the patches of white on the tips of the branches. The man squinted closer.
"Snow?" He mouthed, brows twitching together. "No, that's not right." It was the middle of summer in Tortall and even the northern most region of the land had not seen its first snow fall of the year. His eyes popped open and the scene abruptly faded. He could no longer keep a hold on his spell, startled by a terrifying conclusion; Daine was no longer in Tortall.
~
Daine woke to the sound of creaking branches, swaying in the breeze overhead. She opened her eyes only to find she had been sleeping face down in the snow. The woman yelped, jerking upright. She wiped the slush from her face, red and blistering from the cold, and then brushed off her soaked clothing. Knees shaking, She climbed to her feet. "Hello?" Daine called out into the frigid air, her own breath visible as she spoke. "Hello!" She yelled louder. Her only response was the flutter of wings a and series of cries as birds took to the air. Daine watched them scatter in every direction from the surrounding snow tipped pine trees. A twinge of panic lanced through her; these trees, these birds....they were not familiar. A chilling gust of wind blew her to the ground, knocking the breath from her tired lungs. She rolled to her knees, coughing raggedly. She attempted to rise, but found that her legs had stiffened and refused to bend. Daine sat, unable to do much else. Now shivering violently, she pulled her light cotton cloak tighter around her body. "Numair," She breathed. Despite her grave situation, he was all she could think about.