II
An Astral Sojourn
- Page Four -
Thraya immediately turned on the balls of her feet, heedless now of what noise she might make. Something was indeed behind her. Whatever it was was large enough to block out all of the window's light. Whatever presence was there was beginning to leech the warmth from the room, possibly to coalesce with more of a form.
She turned to see the face of her mother as a shade. Her mother's auburn hair was the color of blood. The hair itself seemed like gushes and rivulets of half-coagulated blood flowing from her head and over her shoulders.
Her mother's face was white like alabaster and transparent enough that the bones of her skull were able to be seen beneath blackened veins. Her eyes were black as pitch, seeming to draw any light or warmth into them to be devoured.
The clothing that covered her mother's form was a mess of tattered, gray robes. She looked as if her oracle robes of station had been shredded by wild beasts or by decades of neglect. Her feet never touched the ground and her form seemed to hover as if suspended from the very fabric of darkness itself.
Her mother's arms reached out for her, each of her hands were soaked up to the forearm with blood. The blood was mixtures of old stains and brilliant freshness. Her bony fingers, more like a skeleton's than the hands she remembered pushing her bangs out of her face so often growing up, reached out towards her as if ready to seize around her neck. Long and silvery claws, like the stuff of mercury, danced and curled as her hands reached forth.
At once the jaws of her mother's shade opened wide — wider than any human skull could allow — and a great piercing cry erupted into the room. The cry itself was beyond description; being a mixture of incredible agony and rage all at once.
Thraya noticed that as her mother began to wail, so to did the twins who had now sat up straight in their beds. Each set of the twin's eyes had gone white as if turned fully in their sockets. Their mouths gaped open at a painful angle. The darkness flowing over her mother's form seemed to reach out and embrace each of the twin's upon their bed; ready at any moment to lift them up.
"What in Gehemol!"
The voice from behind Thraya was that of her father. She turned her head sideways from the fearful shade in front of her just enough to see him enter the room from her periphery. He soon went quiet with fear.
She could hear Serranos' quiet sobs from outside of the door. She let her head turn back to the looming shade before her. She could feel the energy inside of her crackling to life. She wasn't trained yet in how to offensively attack with her will, but the energy was there and her intent to protect her family felt like enough.
She faced the shade completely now. Her hands were curled into tight fists. She could feel her nails piercing the skin of her palms. The energy inside of her welled up to a level she had never felt before.
The shades' wailing face, filled with fangs and blackness was a mere inch from her eyes. She looked up to take in the hollow blackness of her mother's gaze. The energy inside of the room felt as if lightning would go off at any moment.
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