Vision Of Escaflowne Fan Fiction ❯ Shadow War ❯ Shadow War 10 ( Chapter 10 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

The bed was large and downy, the comforter thick and plush, a beautiful blue velvet. The night was slightly chilled, but not cold. A light breeze touched with the scent of the sea wisped through her window, fresh and moist. It was a perfect night for sleep; not cold, not hot, just nice and quiet. But try as she might, the minute her eyes closed they because restless, opening to the darkness around her once more. ::Maybe I’m not tired:: she thought, shifting beneath the thick blankets. Her legs were beginning to get the familiar ache from horse back riding, tight and tingling along her legs. She curled her toes lazily and stretched, breathing a half yawn through her nose. Her eyes drooped easily. ::I am tired:: she decided, rolling onto her belly in an effort to get comfortable.
Minutes passed unnoticed until the night watch called from a turret above her window, “Nine o’clock and all is well.”
A few other voices joined after the first, successively further away, reporting the peace of the night. It was enough to open her eyes again, breaking the spell she was slowly tricking herself into. Once again, sleep seemed miles away. ::Nine o’clock and Aristae is AWAKE!!:: she thought viciously, burrowing deeper beneath the comforter. The sweet scents of wool and lavender surrounded her, luring her back to drowsiness. Sleep was just outside her reach, but came closer with each breath.
Someone was outside her door, scuttling around on the tightly woven hall rug running down its center. He coughed loudly in passing, clearing his throat before continuing on his way. Sleep retreated again, unwilling to go in for the kill.
Aristae wished for the first time that day she was back at home, in her own room, on her waterbed, beneath her fuzzy blankets, looking at the car lights reflecting off her wall as they drove by. She much preferred tracing the patterns the lights followed to counting imaginary sheep. When she tried counting sheep one evening they ended up baaing incessantly, keeping her awake and giving her a head ache for the day to come. Sheep were not made for counting.
When the night guard called midnight, Aristae could barely hear him. Sleep had gotten tired of waiting and had finally moved in. She let it take over, relaxing all her muscles, greying her thoughts. She dared not think about falling asleep, focusing instead on what Allen had told her about Selena. ::Poor girl. . .I wish there was. . .something. . .I could. . . . . .do. . . . .:: sleep won the battle by forfeit.
Zongi was pleased with himself and his accomplishments. He had done almost everything to Dilandau that he had dreamed of since the night Dilandau took his life. It felt good to hear him beg for death, and whimper in the most pathetic way. Dilandau didn’t cry, but he figured the pent up emotion added to his pain. “All the better,” he had said as Dilandau fought against him.
But Dilandau wasn’t fighting now. He lay on his side, breath slow and shaky, staring blankly outward, begging for Selena to hear his pleas. He had no one else to turn to, she was the only one who could hear him. His mind brushed gently against hers, instead of stabbing into it like in the past. Thoughts touched her softly, wanting nothing more than for her embrace him, not caring if he lost his identity within her.
His gentle touch was denied, coming to face a wall of slick glass. It was the color of smoked mirrors and his words slid down like rain, puddling at the base. “Please,” he whispered aloud. His lips were caked with dried blood and cracked as he spoke. “Please,” he said again, softer, even though it was meant to be loud.
Zongi pulled Dilandau closer, pressing the boy’s back against his chest, the sticky feel of blood between them. Dilandau shivered convulsively, unable to worm away from the touch. Zongi knew he was talking to Selena, had read his thoughts before Dilandau could even try to voice them. It was another opportunity to reap revenge. He smiled stiffly against the back of Dilandau’s neck and felt the other’s breath catch. “Please? Please what, Dilandau?”
Zongi was beginning to like saying his name. The sound made Dilandau incredibly uncomfortable, he could feel it.
Zongi’s stroked the flat belly beneath his hand, reveling in the little bits of skin that snagged as he passed over them. Long scratches, scrapes, and gouges in the skin, no longer slick with blood but still fresh with pain. The ghost buried his face in Dilandau’s stained hair, sniffing the scent he imagined would be there, feeling the gore stiffened strands graze his cheek. “You want me to do it again,” he accused, snaking his hand between Dilandau’s lean thighs.
Dilandau’s eyes cleared, wide with fear. “No,” he said timidly.
“Oh,” Zongi purred, “Too bad, because I want to.”
Aristae awoke to the sound of screaming. Not one, but two voices assaulted her sleeping ears. One carried from beyond the door, down the hall, shrill and heartbreaking. Torn from a throat tired of crying, wretchedly full of sorrow. It was a plea and answer in one, no help came to her but her brother, who could do nothing for her.
The other was a howl of pain, loosed within the confines of Aristae’s mind. It was what initially woke her, the long, loud call from her dreams. Deeper than the scream that followed on its heels, it was a different voice with separate agonies. Aristae did not have any visual recollection of her dream. It had been drowned out by the mirrored screams around her. She remembered it was dark, the atmosphere thick and tangible. Beyond that, very little was clear.
She wished there was something she could do. Run to Allen’s side, help his sister? She had no idea what help she could offer. Support? Guidance? The ideas that came to her were extinguished in the same breath. ::Confusing. . .:: No, she corrected herself. It was not as confusing as it was disheartening. ::I get called to another planet to help someone, and I don’t know what I can do.:: Her eyes slid shut resolutely. She would think on it in the morning.