I finally found the time to write another chapter. Sorry about the long
break. I hope everyone had great holidays. I think my sister already
regrets getting me the soundtrack to Lord of the Rings ( her room is right
next to mine.) As always, the location and some of the characters belong to
Tamora Pierce, may her next book be published early.
The trouble, Stella realized, in a quiet moment before drifting off to sleep, was that she had been restless and she had wanted to go somewhere- she still wouldn't want to go back to her life exactly as it had been, but she did miss her family and wanted to visit home for a while-but that wish had become a compulsion as though someone had taken over her mind and was directing her onwards. Whose decision had it been which direction she traveled? Why had she met Old Heather? Would Old Heather have done this to her? She didn't think so, but she did think Old Heather had known something about it.
Lord Lucas complained about the pace sometimes, and other times he looked at her with an awed expression, as though he didn't think she were quite real, and did exactly as she told him. It was all very strange. She felt as if she were fading away into something else.
Pinecone whistled shrilly and she looked up from her thoughts. She thought she glimpsed a dark cloaked figure passing through the trees. Hurriedly as put another branch on the fear. Fear washed over her and her breathing grew shallow and rapid. "Who-who's there?" she stammered. She wasn't really expecting the shadow to answer her.
"I am." There voice that answered her was pure insinuating and echoing malice. The speaker wished fear and pain upon her, he hated her with a hate beyond any natural emotion. He was evil, pure, unhesitating evil; the kind that would laugh at a helpless child.
Stella gripped her knife, although she didn't think it would do any good against this kind of attacker. She crawled to her left, putting herself between the shadow and Lord Lucas( before she could rationally wonder why she was protecting him, although she didn't think anyone deserved to be attacked by the shadow). "What are you?" she called, trying to keep her voice from quavering.
" 'What are we?' is the question you should ask, for all your world will soon know the answer. You will remember us and then you will fear us, and we shall triumph." He laughed a mirthless laugh; it was dry and racking, almost like a cough.
I don't like the word 'we', she thought, one is far too many. She stared in horror at the creature, trying to see just what he was, but she could only make out a blurred outline of his cloak. He seemed to draw darkness towards him; or maybe darkness came from him?
"We shall rise. We are strong, and you are all that has been placed against us. Fate and destiny crumble and are rebuilt."
The shadow extended and arm towards Stella, she caught a glimpse of bone in the firelight. I don't like the sound of this, she thought, I really, really don't like the sound of this. I don't believe in destiny, she though desperately, not for me anyway, I want to chose my life. But what about what Old Heather said, came a nagging voice in her mind, she saw this was before you.
"Don't worry," came the cruel voice again, "you won't meet your doom tonight. Even I, the most powerful of my brothers, must follow a few of the rules."
What is it with rules, she thought, he can't be on the same side as old Heather, Old Heather may not be entirely good, but she isn't evil either, she's kind. How many rules are there? How can I be playing if I don't know the rules? Or am I just a playing piece, a pawn? Fear ran like a mouse down Stella's spine.
"Our servant nearly stopped you earlier," the voice came again, dripping with loathing, making Stella shudder with aversion.
"What servant?" she gasped, and then she knew. The creature in the inn was his servant. She swallowed hard and looked up; the shadow creature was gone, he had melted into the night. She bit her lip to keep from screaming, breathing raggedly.
He's gone, she told herself, he's not here anymore. This was not the least bit comforting, as he hadn't been there before he appeared, and thus could reappear at anytime. There were more of them, she felt sick at the thought. What were they? He hadn't answered that. Were they some kind of unheard of Immortal?
She hadn't realized she had been sleepy. She was, in fact, wide awake after the encounter but somehow she woke up the next morning and couldn't account for the rest of the night. Maybe the shadow creature was just a nightmare she told herself. But then she saw a small patch of black cloth on the ground near where the shadow creature had been. She broke a branch of a bush and poked it. The branch, which had been alive enough considering the time of year, instantly began to whither. She screamed and dropped it. Okay, she told herself, he wasn't a nightmare.
She took a deep breathe, as though searching the air for answers. All right, she thought, I'm going back to tell somebody big and important about these things, and they can deal with them while I get punished for taking Pinecone. I've probably already fulfilled by destiny by seeing the thing, she told herself, somebody else can get rid of it.
She woke her annoying companion and cleaned up camp quickly, eager to be far away from the shadow creature. However, as soon as she mounted Pinecone and tried to turn him around to head home she couldn't, she couldn't move. She found herself moving him forwards before she could stop it. Wait, she tried to tell him with her mind, stop, turn around. But he couldn't, he too was moving inexorably forwards.
Stella ground her teeth in frustration. It seemed she had no choice in the matter after all. And she didn't think there was any chance of her surviving an encounter with several shadow creatures.
Quote: "They say that time is the greatest teacher, but unfortunately........it kills all it's students." ~Anonymous
The trouble, Stella realized, in a quiet moment before drifting off to sleep, was that she had been restless and she had wanted to go somewhere- she still wouldn't want to go back to her life exactly as it had been, but she did miss her family and wanted to visit home for a while-but that wish had become a compulsion as though someone had taken over her mind and was directing her onwards. Whose decision had it been which direction she traveled? Why had she met Old Heather? Would Old Heather have done this to her? She didn't think so, but she did think Old Heather had known something about it.
Lord Lucas complained about the pace sometimes, and other times he looked at her with an awed expression, as though he didn't think she were quite real, and did exactly as she told him. It was all very strange. She felt as if she were fading away into something else.
Pinecone whistled shrilly and she looked up from her thoughts. She thought she glimpsed a dark cloaked figure passing through the trees. Hurriedly as put another branch on the fear. Fear washed over her and her breathing grew shallow and rapid. "Who-who's there?" she stammered. She wasn't really expecting the shadow to answer her.
"I am." There voice that answered her was pure insinuating and echoing malice. The speaker wished fear and pain upon her, he hated her with a hate beyond any natural emotion. He was evil, pure, unhesitating evil; the kind that would laugh at a helpless child.
Stella gripped her knife, although she didn't think it would do any good against this kind of attacker. She crawled to her left, putting herself between the shadow and Lord Lucas( before she could rationally wonder why she was protecting him, although she didn't think anyone deserved to be attacked by the shadow). "What are you?" she called, trying to keep her voice from quavering.
" 'What are we?' is the question you should ask, for all your world will soon know the answer. You will remember us and then you will fear us, and we shall triumph." He laughed a mirthless laugh; it was dry and racking, almost like a cough.
I don't like the word 'we', she thought, one is far too many. She stared in horror at the creature, trying to see just what he was, but she could only make out a blurred outline of his cloak. He seemed to draw darkness towards him; or maybe darkness came from him?
"We shall rise. We are strong, and you are all that has been placed against us. Fate and destiny crumble and are rebuilt."
The shadow extended and arm towards Stella, she caught a glimpse of bone in the firelight. I don't like the sound of this, she thought, I really, really don't like the sound of this. I don't believe in destiny, she though desperately, not for me anyway, I want to chose my life. But what about what Old Heather said, came a nagging voice in her mind, she saw this was before you.
"Don't worry," came the cruel voice again, "you won't meet your doom tonight. Even I, the most powerful of my brothers, must follow a few of the rules."
What is it with rules, she thought, he can't be on the same side as old Heather, Old Heather may not be entirely good, but she isn't evil either, she's kind. How many rules are there? How can I be playing if I don't know the rules? Or am I just a playing piece, a pawn? Fear ran like a mouse down Stella's spine.
"Our servant nearly stopped you earlier," the voice came again, dripping with loathing, making Stella shudder with aversion.
"What servant?" she gasped, and then she knew. The creature in the inn was his servant. She swallowed hard and looked up; the shadow creature was gone, he had melted into the night. She bit her lip to keep from screaming, breathing raggedly.
He's gone, she told herself, he's not here anymore. This was not the least bit comforting, as he hadn't been there before he appeared, and thus could reappear at anytime. There were more of them, she felt sick at the thought. What were they? He hadn't answered that. Were they some kind of unheard of Immortal?
She hadn't realized she had been sleepy. She was, in fact, wide awake after the encounter but somehow she woke up the next morning and couldn't account for the rest of the night. Maybe the shadow creature was just a nightmare she told herself. But then she saw a small patch of black cloth on the ground near where the shadow creature had been. She broke a branch of a bush and poked it. The branch, which had been alive enough considering the time of year, instantly began to whither. She screamed and dropped it. Okay, she told herself, he wasn't a nightmare.
She took a deep breathe, as though searching the air for answers. All right, she thought, I'm going back to tell somebody big and important about these things, and they can deal with them while I get punished for taking Pinecone. I've probably already fulfilled by destiny by seeing the thing, she told herself, somebody else can get rid of it.
She woke her annoying companion and cleaned up camp quickly, eager to be far away from the shadow creature. However, as soon as she mounted Pinecone and tried to turn him around to head home she couldn't, she couldn't move. She found herself moving him forwards before she could stop it. Wait, she tried to tell him with her mind, stop, turn around. But he couldn't, he too was moving inexorably forwards.
Stella ground her teeth in frustration. It seemed she had no choice in the matter after all. And she didn't think there was any chance of her surviving an encounter with several shadow creatures.
Quote: "They say that time is the greatest teacher, but unfortunately........it kills all it's students." ~Anonymous