© Michael Scott
The clicking of high heels against the tile floor could be heard from the hallways. Joan couldn't pinpoint the sound; it seemed to emanate from each hall. Josh caught her eye and shook his head, also unable to discern where the footsteps were coming from.
The darkness caused the corners of the hall to become obscure, until they were completely lost in shadow. Where Josh and Joan stood remained lit as if by twilight, but the cat síth seemed to melt into the shadows as darkness fell. The clicking heels stopped abruptly, and the two immortals saw each of the cat síth's eyes blink once and then disappear.
The three men entered the hall quickly and stood around Josh and Joan, two beside them and one behind. As they did so, whispers of wind seemed to fill the room. Josh could almost pick up words in them; gentle laughter, secrets never to be told, quiet mourning. Joan, however, felt the breath of the wind as if someone were standing beside her, breathing quietly and carefully. It caressed her skin and raised goose bumps on her arms. She glanced at Josh, who gave her a weak smile in return.
Suddenly, true laughter filled the room. There was no single source, but it seemed to come from every shadowy corner of the hall. The laughter died and silence fell, but one by one the cat síth opened their eyes again. Their eyes, however, were no longer yellow and glowing, but like the night sky, with something akin to bright stars and swirling colours in their depths.
They were in the presence of the goddess of night.
When she spoke, it came from every corner of the room. Every shadow seemed to produce the sound, amplifying it only slightly so that the whisper was brought to normal speaking volume. She spoke in Ancient Greek, slowly and quietly.
"Welcome, Marethyu, Joan of Arc."
Josh, also in Ancient Greek, spoke up. "Thank you for seeing us, oh great and powerful goddess of the night."
She chuckled softly. "A charmer, I see. Now, what is it that you came for?" she asked.
Joan spoke next. "My husband, le Comte de Saint-Germain was taken some days ago by a Greek minotaur. I was aware of your disagreement with le Comte, and I believed that there was a possibility that you had taken him, and I wished to ask for his safe return."
A churning smoke appeared at the edge of one of the shadows, accompanied by a shimmer of a gown and the flash of bright but cold eyes. "You believe that Germain is here?" she asked with another quiet laugh.
"Yes," Joan stated, and they waited for Nyx's reply.
She was a moment before answering. "Germain is a foolish man, Joan of Arc. You are a brave woman to have taken on the challenge of marrying him, I will give you that." She was silent for a few more moments. "I do not personally deal with those who anger me. I have servants for that. No…" She trailed off once more, and finally spoke. "Germain is not here."
A/N: Sorry for this short little thing, but I needed to get my brain on this story again and focus! More will be coming soon as I want to finish this story. I hope you all enjoy, sorry for my absence recently. I will be back and writing more! Happy November!
~nerdy