Realm of Light - Deborah Chester [68]
Elandra cringed back, afraid to hear such words. There had to be a way out of this place. Even if she ran and was forever lost in this wasteland, it would be better than facing Hecati.
“Do not run,” Hecati said sharply before she could move. “You coward, stand fast and listen to me. There is little time left to you. Do you understand that you will die without my help?”
“Better to die than be damned,” Elandra retorted.
“Bah! You are already damned, you fool! Your enemies are powerful, but you could have unlimited resources if you would just agree—”
“No!” Elandra shouted in panic, backing away. “No, I will not agree. I will not!”
“Wait!” Hecati called, but Elandra turned and ran for her life, choosing no direction, just running as fast as her legs would carry her across the barren, stony ground.
With Hecati’s furious cries behind her, Elandra scrambled up a low, rocky ridge with the wind tearing at her hair and clothing, glanced back, then stumbled down the other side. Halfway down she lost her balance on the loose shale and went sliding and tumbling.
She landed at the bottom in a cloud of dust—bruised, scraped, and winded. Wearily she lay there a moment, tense and listening, but she could no longer hear Hecati calling her name.
Instead, she heard a peculiar sound—something between a whistle and a roar.
Climbing to her feet, Elandra turned around and saw an enormous, whirling cloud crossing the desert toward her. Dust and debris swirled around it, constantly being drawn up into its core. It moved parallel to the base of the ridge, and it was coming incredibly fast.
For a second Elandra could only stare. She had never seen such a cloud before. As it roared closer, it seemed to fill the very sky. Only then did she realize how immense it was, how powerful.
It could suck her up inside itself and shred her to pieces. Had Hecati released this against her?
Horrified, she picked up her skirts and ran.
Sucking up dust and stones and spewing them high, the cloud veered after her as though in pursuit. Elandra screamed, and ran faster, to no avail.
It was gaining on her. She darted in a different direction, but the cloud followed her. Feeling its tug, Elandra stumbled and fell to her knees.
Desperately she tried to claw her way upright, but the wind toppled her off balance. Her hair streamed up into the air, and her clothes plastered themselves against her body.
Breathing hard, her throat uttering a mindless noise of terror, Elandra saw objects swirling within the cloud—weapons, horses, pieces of armor, helmets, and men themselves. Their clothing was strangely old-fashioned, and many of the objects were peculiar and old, like the ancestral belongings of previous generations that her father had preserved for the family. It was like watching history winding itself around a giant spindle.
Black, angry clouds massed overhead in the sky. Lightning suddenly flashed, and a second later the crashing boom of thunder made her duck with her hands over her ears. She was blown flat to the ground, and rain pelted her, soaking her to the skin in moments.
The force of the winds ripped at her clothing and slewed her around bodily. She felt herself lifting into the air and screamed again, her fingers clawing at the muddy earth.
“Goddess mother, protect me!” she screamed aloud.
The cloud roared past her, pelting her with rain and dislodged stones, throwing mud over her, deafening her, and pummeling her. But it did not suck her up into itself after all. Moments later, it was gone.
Shaken and battered, Elandra lifted herself slowly and stared after it. The swirling cloud left the ground, rising into the sky like a rope, and now its immense force seemed to be unraveling. Elandra saw men, horses, pieces of buildings, stools, chests, and weapons raining from the sky, scattering across the blighted plain.
As these objects hit the ground, they exploded into dust and were melted into nothing by the rain.
More lightning raked the sky, cracking and booming loud enough to make Elandra clap her hands over