They ate in calm silence, content merely to share one another's company. Underneath the table, Allorah could feel Seth's shin pressing gently against her own leg, a wordless comfort.As she wrapped her hands around the warm mug of fragrant, invigorating tea, she went over the mental list of tasks she needed to do that day, the most immediate such as caring for the wounded at the top, and the less pressing ones further down. She still needed to meet with the Weavers about a new collection of cloth for bandages, for they were beginning to run low in the infirmary. Then there was the matter of the Solstice Ceremony that had been almost entirely neglected in the face of the more immediate war efforts, and another meeting with the Elders which as a full Priestess Dannonae had insisted she begin attending, and..."You should eat more." Seth's bass voice remarked gently from her side. She turned to look at him, smoothing the small frown she had unconsciously adopted w

Geldan gave a frustrated sigh. "But we don't have time, Allorah. At the point that you learn enough to be able to understand him, his information will already be so outdated that..." He stopped himself then, lowering his gaze and nodding deferentially. "My apologies. I don't mean to question you."Allorah looked at him tiredly, and sighed too. Though only two years her senior, she could see visible signs in his face of the toll the war and his hasty rise to leadership had taken on him. "No," she said slowly. "You're right; it's too slow. We will need to think of something else."He glanced at her, frowning. "But what?""I... I don't know." Idly, her amethyst eyes drifted down to the tray she carried as she thought. "I shall consult with Priestess Dannonae." Her voice, even to her own ears sounded weary.Geldan opened his mouth as if to say something, then closed it again, exhaling sharply through his nose. He nodded again to her.

Red was looking at him as if he had grown two horns and then she said,” why are you telling the stories of your sexual exploits with a vampire woman?”“Maybe I wanted you to know that all kinds of supernatural creatures are there and we are all not as bad as you think we are,” said Samuel and Red scoffed and said,” Are you going to tell me that you can read my mind now?”“Maybe I want to make sure that you know that what you are up against and make you aware about it,” said Samuel with a cocky grin and Red looked at him in shock.Then said,” I don’t understand. What do you even want to do with me?”Samuel gave her a cup and said,” Drink up. You need this soon enough to make yourself understand what is going to happen with you tomorrow.”Red was surprised but she did not argue and drank the liquid. It was white and smelled funny.  And soon enough her eyes became so he

It was a particularly dark, still night; cloudy; no moonlight; no stars. Quiet. Almost unbelievably quiet - except for her! She was in a hurry to get home so her high heels rhythmically clicked on the footpath, only to be echoed by the sound of firm, purposeful footsteps behind her. She stopped, her eyes darting in every direction. The sound of the footsteps seemed to be louder - getting ever closer! Sweat started to appear as her skin tingled. She hurried on, until she came to a path - a path through the park .. a quick way home. Should she take it? Many thoughts raced through her mind. Okay, but quickly, .. moving at a very fast walking pace she hurriedly started along the path. She was constantly turning to look behind, her eyes searching the darkness. But she saw nothing. Her mind momentarily breathed a sigh of relief. With a mind-numbing jolt out of the stillness came *that* unnerving echo again. Footsteps again - more of a solid sound this time - more demanding - threatening h

The garage where he'd parked the van was large, holding two more vans just like it, along with a few expensive-looking cars and a motorcycle. Every one gleamed as if it'd been freshly detailed. That gave her hope: if there was some kind of staff here, or at least visiting attendants, there was a chance of escape.Out of the garage and into a basement hallway lined with six ominous metal doors; the clanking she'd heard must mean that the brunette girl was behind one of these now. She noticed that each one had a peephole--but that the eyepiece was set to look inward.They came to a more normal-looking staircase with hardwood steps, split by a landing halfway up, and began to climb. As they went, Red noticed the door of what was almost definitely an elevator opposite the stairs. How big was this place? It seemed like just a large house, but what kind of house had an elevator, and why?Then she had a vision of herself tied to that pillar again, bu