As she walked along the halls Raelyn shuddered. With a frown she glanced around but found nothing indicating that something was amiss. But regardless she instantly felt on edge…something wasn't quite right on the ship...
...
Raelyn lay in bed, her face scrunching up as the uneasy feeling continued to churn in her gut. She slowly opened her eyes and stared up at the ceiling. Sleep was not coming easily tonight. The small fireplace in the corner of her room crackled, breaking up the silence of the room. As she lied there silently a new noise caught her attention. Almost a whisper, but not one that brought her comfort. Raelyn slowly sat up in bed, her eyes flitting around for any indication of the disturbance. In the corner, her fire suddenly cut out and the room became significantly colder. Slipping out of the bed she grabbed a jacket and a small knife that were on her side table. Her eyes rapidly looked around the room…seeing nothing. The small lamp behind her went out with a hiss, causing her to jump in surprise with her weapon aimed. The room went nearly dark except for some light from the porthole windows. Raelyn swallowed nervously and focused. Slowly, she produced a small light in the palm of her hand allowing her to see whatever was within range. The girl stood in the center of the room, a knife in one hand and a ball of light in the other. Everything remained silent. So caught up in the moment she didn't even notice that the storm outside had been muffled….leaving the room in almost total silence. Raelyn could almost hear her heart pounding as she tried to shed more light around the room. A hiss caused her to jerk around, still seeing nothing.
"Weak.." a whisper on the back of her neck sent shivers down her spine. She spun around, having the same outcome as before. Nothing there.
"Useless…" this voice came from the side.
"Who's there." Raelyn called, ignoring the subtle shake in her voice. Another hiss came from the shadows. She waited for what seemed to be an eternity. The silence wore on, lulling her back into thinking the event was over. As her arms lowered, she was knocked off balance by an invisible force, nearly dimming the light in her hand. Raelyn gasped as she stumbled and tried to regain her balance. She cursed herself mentally for letting her guard down. Edmund and Caspian had taught her better.
"Coward…" her hair whipped around as she turned. Raelyn began backing herself towards a wall in effort to become more aware of everything around her. Another gust knocked her ball of light, causing it to flicker. Realizing what the attacker's goal was, she made the decision to sheath her knife in order to use both hands to shield her only light source. An angry screech set her on edge as wind began picking up around her.
"Weak…..Coward….Naive…..Childish…..Liability.." the whispers began increasing with the wind. Raelyn gasped, falling into a crouch on the floor as her light became harder to protect. Seeing no other option, the girl curled into herself and focused on her light. Groaning in effort she tried to ignore the words that were taunting her. Looking down she noticed that the light began to grow in her hands. The more the light grew the less darkness there was to taunt her. With a strained groan she focused even harder onto her hand.
"It's the mist. It's not right. Not right." She whimpered desperately. The wind continued to whip her hair and clothes harshly around her skin. Raelyn curled up tighter, gritting her teeth in effort against the heavy feeling coming from the surrounding darkness. With a loud shout she sent a surge of energy into the ball and with a blinding flash it bathed the whole room in a bright light. An enraged shriek died in the air as the light expanded. With her eyes shut tightly she felt the energy shift in the room. It had become warmer. Peeking open one eye she glanced around, finding the room just as it was before. Raelyn lifted her head and frowned at the still burning fireplace and candles. It was as if nothing had happened. Straightening up she warily looked over every inch of the room. Was it all in her head or did it actually happen? She shakily walked over to her bed and sat down, running a hand through her red locks. Maybe all her paranoia was getting to her.
As her heart calmed back down she felt another stirring in the air. The nausea was back….and that meant the mist. This time she could easily tell where it was.
"Lucy?!" she whispered in fear as she ran to the door, running as fast as she could to the room next to hers where Lucy and Gail were staying.