Chapter 13: The Storm
As the sun began to set, Anwyn was the first to wake. Fluttering her eyes open, the first thing she noticed was David's arms still wrapped tightly around her. Placing her hand on his arm, Anwyn gently started rubbing it, trying to stir him awake. To no avail, David didn't flinch. Kissing his arm, Anwyn gently removed it and slipped out from underneath. Retrieving her clothes, Anwyn got dressed and tip toed towards the door.
"Where are you going"? David's voice broke the quietness of the room.
"Thought I'd head home real quick for a shower and some different clothes. I'll be back…..give me 30 minutes".
"Don't be long". Anwyn just smiled. Opening a portal, Anwyn quickly disappeared. As Anwyn left, David got up. Getting dressed he walked out to see if his brother's had woken up yet. Making his way down the hall, he could hear their voices in the mouth of the cave.
"Where's Anwyn?" Marko asked when he noticed that she wasn't following David.
"She went home. She'll be back later".
"So what are we going to do tonight? You guys skipping out on us again?" Paul jokingly mocked David.
"I need to feed so we're heading down to the pier for food. After that, I don't know…..relax on the beach I guess".
"You should probably feed before she gets back then. Don't need to cause a natural disaster tonight". David couldn't agree more with his brother.
"Let's go then. We need to be quick. She won't be long". Flying out of the cave, the boys headed towards their stashed bikes. Taking off down to the pier has fast as possible, the boys dropped Laddie off at the usual spot and then immediately began to search out their dinner.
The slit of light appeared and Anwyn stepped into the cave. Glancing around she couldn't find anyone; it was dead silent. "I told David I would be back soon. Where in the hell did they all go"? After shouting their names several times, her calls went unanswered. "Guess they went down to the pier. Oh….that's right; probably to feed. Good thing they went without me". Anwyn waited around for another 30 minutes, just to make sure that they had enough time to get their fill. Deciding she'd given them enough time, Anwyn reopened the portal and came out onto the pier. Walking around for a short time, Anwyn finally spotted David and the boys coming over a sand dune. Standing there tapping on her wrist like she was wearing a watch, Anwyn just shook her head as she stared at David. Spotting her, David walked straight over.
"Hey baby…we were just heading back to come get you".
"Out feeding again?" Anwyn asked with a sad look in her eye.
"Yeah. Thought it was best if we left you out of all the "fun".
"Good call. Did you at least bury…."
"The bodies? We did. I know that's what you would have wanted". Anwyn just smiled at David. Perhaps their feedings was something that she would never truly accept but it made Anwyn feel good to know that David was doing all he could to appease her. Grabbing David's hand, they headed back up towards the pier. As they began to walk, a cold wind blew and a sudden wave of uneasiness came over Anwyn. Glancing around, the pier seemed to be in order. People were shuffling around attending to their own business. Music was playing in the back ground and as always, the carnival rides were going off without a hitch. Although all seemed in order, Anwyn couldn't shake the feeling that something was not right; the aura was definitely off. She felt like she was being watched. Trying to shake off the notion, Anwyn rested her head on David's shoulders and peered out onto the beach. The crowd took the sand and surf by storm this evening. People were walking everywhere. Glancing at some kids kicking sand at each other, Anwyn noticed a man not far from them. Dressed all in black the man just stood there, staring Anwyn down with his blackened eyes. Shaking her head, Anwyn glanced back but the man had disappeared. Shaking it off and blaming it on being tired, Anwyn dismissed her "delusion".
"Hey, why don't we head back down to the beach? Anybody up for round two"? The boys just glared at her with an "are you kidding me look" on their faces. "Oh come on, I won't wipe you guys out again….well maybe I will. I don't know….we'll see". The boys just continued to glare at her. "Oh ok fine! I promise I won't drown you guys again. There, happy"?
"Seriously, you promise?" Paul said with a doubtful look on his face.
"Yeah….I promise….bunch of babies", Anwyn replied while rolling her eyes. David motioned for Paul to go get Laddie. As soon as he disappeared, the rest headed down to the beach, where they managed to find a spot that wasn't so crowded. The boys headed towards the water while David and Anwyn sat alone watching all the people passing by. Anwyn glanced over towards the pier. The hairs on her arm stood on edge as she got that uneasy feeling again. Glancing to her left, Anwyn saw the man in black again. As she stared him down, an evil smile crept across his face. Before her eyes, the man turned and disappeared into the crowd. David glanced over at Anwyn and noticed that she was rather distracted.
"Hey, what's wrong"? Anwyn didn't respond. Her eyes fixated on the crowd, scanning to see if she could spot the man in black again. "Anwyn"!
"What?"Anwyn said, rather startled after she came out of her staring trance.
"What's wrong? What are you looking at"?
"Ummm...nothing. Thought I saw something but I guess not".
"What did you...?"
David's sentence got cut short when a strong wind started to pick-up. Looking up at the sky, a nasty storm was brewing. The clouds started to turn rather dark and lightning began to streak in the skyline.
"Where the hell did this come from?" David yelled, trying to be heard over the howling wind.
"No clue. We probably should go though". Nodding in agreement, David and Anwyn stood up. Trying to shout at the boys, the wind downed their voices. "I'll go get them. Hang on". The beach was rapidly clearing as the beach goers ran for cover. Anwyn started walking towards the boys. As soon as she reached Dwayne, Anwyn heard a loud crack of thunder just above. Looking up, Anwyn saw a lightning bolt streaking across the sky. In a split second, the lighting bold jetted down, aiming directly for her and Dwayne. "Dwayne, watch out"! Pushing Dwayne down and out of the way, Anwyn took a deep breath. Concentrating on opening her channels so the lightning could pass through her body safely, the bolt struck Anwyn violently. Streaking through, the electricity entered Anwyn's left hand, streaked through her arms and body; coming back out through her right hand. Anwyn did her best to redirect it back out in the sky behind them. As the last of the jolt penetrated Anwyn's body, she just stood there for a minute, quite literally shocked. David ran towards Anwyn as she stood there, coughing up black smoke. Dwayne jumped up as soon as he realized what happened. Reaching his arms out, Dwayne grabbed Anwyn's arm, frantically looking for any injury. He was soon joined by the rest of the boys.
"Anwyn! How the hell...are you ok"?!
"Yeah...*cough*...never been better". David, finally making his way to Anwyn grabbed on to her as well.
"Baby...are you Ok? What the hell happened? How the hell did you do that"?
"I told you *cough*...I can lightning bend. Didn't say I enjoyed it though".
"Where the hell did this storm come from?" Paul screamed over the wind.
"I don't know but where heading home now!" David shouted in response. Carrying Anwyn off the beach, the rest of the boys followed. They kicked their engines to life and drove as best as they could through the storm. After stashing the bikes and flying across the water, they were finally home.
"Holy shit that was insane", Dwayne said as he reached out and hugged Anwyn. "Shit Anwyn, I knew you were tough but I can't believe you just took a couple thousand volts of lightning and you're still fucking standing. I'm so glad you're ok though. Thanks".
"Oh don't worry", Anwyn said, still slightly shell shocked from the electricity that passed through her body. "We'll just say you owe me a favor…a HUGE fucking favor".
"Dude that was scary as shit but that was by far the coolest thing you've ever done", Marko added.
"Really? Even cooler than lava bending"?
"Way cooler than lava bending"!
"Oh….ok…..thought lava bending was one of my signature moves but whatever", Anwyn joked. David just stood there and shook his head.
"Yeah well….I think that's enough bending for tonight". Satisfied that Anwyn was ok, the boys wandered off to their own corners, leaving David and Anwyn alone. Anwyn walked over to the entrance, staring out at the storm that was raging outside.
"David, this storm is not natural. Something is off…..really, really off. I need to go back to the spirit world".
"What? You're not going anywhere right now. You just took a couple thousand volts of electricity. I don't want you doing anything".
"David I have too. I can feel the spirits calling to me; they're trying to tell me something. Besides being back there will help me regenerate. I'll be back soon…..I promise". Anwyn leaned in and pressed her lips against David's. Deeping the kiss, David didn't want to let her go. Eventually loosening his grip, Anwyn opened a portal. With a flash of light, she was gone. They boys glanced over when the slit of light appeared and Anwyn disappeared.
"Where is she going?" Paul asked.
"Back to the spirit world".
"You really just gonna let her go"?
"Yeah…..I had to", David replied with a look of sadness in his eyes.
Anwyn made her way through the trees to a clearing. Looking around Anwyn was shocked at the scene that lay before her. The grass that was once green started losing its lush green color. The lakes began to lose water and the flowers stopped growing. "What is going on here"? Anwyn sat down. Sitting Indian style and placing her two fists together in front, she began to meditate. "Spirits, I am here. What do you need"? One-by-one the element spirits appeared in front of Anwyn. Opening her eyes, she looked up.
"I'm here. I keep seeing visions of a man dressed in black. His eyes, they were…..they were blackened out; almost like he wasn't human. And this place…..everything is dying. What's going on"?
"Anwyn, we have had the same visions of the man in black. Cerridwen and Arawn appear. They escape their prison and enter the human world; spreading destruction where ever they go".
"How is that possible? They're locked away for eternity. They can't escape….can they"?
"It is possible that they can escape. We've always known this. That's why we've kept a close eye on them through-out the centuries but like all things here Anwyn, the tree is near the end of its life cycle. The rebirth of a new Marwolaeth tree won't come in time. Cerridwen and Arawn will sense the trees weakness and use it to their advantage".
"What will happen if they escape"?
"All hell will break loose. The humans wouldn't stand a chance against their powers. Cerridwen and Arawn are shape shifters. They can move from body to body, poisoning the minds and hearts of those feeble minded creatures. It's up to you Anwyn to ensure that Cerridwen and Arawn don't escape the spirit world. Should they breach our world and enter theirs…."
"Wait! How am I supposed to stop them? I can't bend against another spirit. My powers are useless against them. I need more".
"Your powers are not useless Anwyn. It is those same powers that were used to imprison them to begin with but you are right, your normal bending abilities alone won't be enough. Anwyn you're going to have to master energy bending. Combined with your blood bending, you will be able to control Cerridwen and Arwan until you can entrap them with the crystal".
"Crystal"? Melusine raised her arm. In front of Anwyn, a crystal appeared.
"This is the crystal of Macha, keeper of the peace. Her powers still exist within. When you energy bend, Cerridwen and Arwan will be at their weakest point. Only then when you touch them with this crystal will they be entrapped once again". Anwyn reached out her hand and grabbed the crystal. Its iridescent blue glow hypnotized Anwyn. Placing it in her pocket, Anwyn turned to spirits.
"We must go…..for now. We'll meet again...soon".
"Wait! You said energy bending. I don't know how to do that. I can only blood bend. Who's going to teach me? Don't go"!
"All you need is the key...", and with that the spirits faded away, leaving Anwyn alone once again.