Time Stop

This is only a section of something that I am writing, so it will be confusing. I apologize. xD. Debating on how much I go along with it, I might start posting more and more of the story on here. It is not as random as it sounds, this is just the part that I have had the most difficulty writing, so honest critiques are welcome, especially on the dialogue.



Time stopped.

The sound of her voice pounded in her ears. Dust floated around her face, suspended in time. Nearby, stone and wood and fire hung frozen in mid-explosion.

Even through the dust and debris and pain that clouded her vision, she saw the final killing blow. She saw the blood spray and watched as her leader sank down. Even through everything, his face was hateful and unforgiving. In Rowan’s eyes, he was a God in that moment. There was no fear shining in his eyes, only strength and promise of retribution. She saw the assassin’s blade poised a final time and as she squeezed her eyes shut, a new sound reached her ears. She didn’t realize it was her own agonized screaming as she tried to drown out the sound of his body’s thud.

And then suddenly, everything was moving around her again. Her shouting was choked off as she was flung to the side, but she was struggling to move even before she hit the ground. In the chaos that was ensuing around her, important details didn’t register in her head – details like the fact that she couldn’t walk and small other tidbits of warning, like the blood that she coughed up with every breath she heaved in, went ignored. She couldn’t feel or process her own mortal injuries.

Maybe it wasn’t too late. Maybe he wasn’t really dead. Maybe she hadn’t seen Katherine fall either. This was a dream.

She stayed on the ground and ignored everything else around her as she half-dragged, half-crawled, to Edward’s body. Once, she sank to the ground with a shudder. Her vision grayed and her mouth watered under the pressure of the pain she refused to mentally register.

Briefly, as everything began to catch up, her head sank down. She wanted to go back to sleep. She wanted to close her eyes, because she knew that this wasn’t real. She wanted to close her eyes and wake back up in her suite with her home still intact around her. She wanted to wake up and pester her leader. She wanted to find more ways to make Katherine smile.

That sounded like a good idea.

Her eyes reopened and it took her a few moments to focus, but she found Edward’s body a few feet away from herself. Gritting her teeth, she tried to pull herself forward, but her muscles wouldn’t respond. Shit… shit, she didn’t want to sleep alone right now. One last bought of strength was all she needed and with a choked sob of pain, she gathered her arms weakly beneath her and slid her body forward the last few feet, grabbing Edward’s leg to use as leverage the last bit of distance. Only when was beside him did she allow her body to collapse completely.

Now that she was by his side, she could focus on the things that mattered, like contouring herself against him and pillowing her head on his still chest. His blood was still hot against her cheek. She felt it trickle past her ear and down her neck, or maybe that was her own blood. There was so much of it that she didn’t know who it really belonged to. It was getting harder to breathe and more painful, so she willed herself to take short and shallow gulps of air between her shuddering coughing fits.

One more time. She wanted to open her eyes one more time. She wanted to remember this image so she could tell him and Katherine about it later. Her sight was poor at best. She couldn’t see anything farther than a few feet away… at least not until something else asked for her attention a short distance away. Blue eyes… a pitiful, slightly disgusted expression. She knew those eyes. She smiled.

“An eye for an eye,” she mouthed before closing her eyes a final time. “I guess we can be even now.”

Carefully, she reached up. Her fingers skittered up Edward’s face and then flattened on his forehead. She slid them down, closing his eyes too as she whispered, “Let’s go to sleep.”

--

“Wake up.”

The voice danced in her head, silky and smooth and soft. She tried to ignore the command, but something pulled her gently from slumber against her will. The voice came to her again, drifting through her thoughts like a warm breeze.

“Wake up, Rowan.”

“That’s not my name,” she murmured, eyes still closed. She shifted once, nuzzling her nose against Edward’s chest. Who was trying to wake her up right now? Couldn’t they see that she had more important things to do? Her leader needed her right now…

“Yes, it is.”

Whoever the speaker was was, he smiled. She didn’t have to look at him to know, because she could feel him smiling as he spoke in her mind. It warmed her tired limbs and eased the pain from her body. She found herself smiling, too. The niggling feeling in the back of her head grew stronger and she let herself sigh, whispering, “You’re very persistent.”

“I get told that a lot.”

This time the voice wasn’t in her head. She heard the speaker, felt his breath tickle her hair. The body beneath her shifted, sitting up, and only then did she open her eyes.

This… this made no sense. The last image burned into her eyes was that of a battle, but this was no battlefield. It was a field, yes, but without violence. Grass void of color swayed before her, fading into gray nothingness. Confused, she glanced the other way and then narrowed her eyes. She was lying near a riverbank. The water swirled and eddied around colorless stones. For some odd reason, staring at it made her want to crawl to bank and sink into it.

Myf’s attention was pried away from the water as strong arms slid around her. She didn’t have to look to know that they did not belong to Edward. She was somewhere else right now, and so were Edward and Katherine. Despite the odd situation, she felt no fear. The only thing the girl felt was complete and utter peace as she was pulled gently up and cradled against the speaker’s body. Underneath the thin tunic he wore, she could feel his muscles. They were hard and lean and cool. Fingers combed through her dirty hair, smoothing it from her face, and only then did she tilt her head up to look at the mystery person who held her like a child.

Her dark eyes met a kind, gold, stare as blue locked to amber. The person who stared down at her couldn’t have been older than herself. He looked so young… He was an enigma, though, because the age in his golden eyes defeated the youth of his soft face; his adolescence was a masquerade.

Myf’s brow furrowed and she reached up. The blood that had just been moist on her fingers flaked away as she stretched up her arm. Her fingers brushed the boy’s ears and she blinked up at them peacefully. They weren’t normal… They looked more like large dog or fox ears. They drooped back, relaxed against his dark red hair. Carefully, she slid her hands over them. When they twitched, she grinned. She wanted to play with them, but he shifted to take her wrist in both of his hands. He lowered it back down to her lap.

“Sorry,” he said, “But that tickles.”

He didn’t say anything else, so she didn’t either. Instead, she let herself relax back against him. Her eyes wandered over him and she found herself wondering why she wasn’t frightened. He clearly wasn’t human. The more she stared at him, the more odd details about him seemed to jump out. He had a soft and long tail – it was curled up around the both of them, just as relaxed as his ears. He also had wings. They were large and as beautiful as his deceptively young face. They were folded against his back. When she reached forward to stroke the smooth, faded, feathers, he didn’t stop her.

“Where am I?”

He glanced down at her and offered her a warm smile, “With me. Home.”

“This isn’t my home,” she replied, letting her gaze drift back ahead.

“It could be.”

For the first time since she’d woken up, she felt a tickle of irritation. She disentangled herself from his arms and tail and leaned back slightly to stare at him more carefully. He only gazed back at her with a warm, lazy, half-grin. He tilted his head to the side and one of his ears drooped down in a way that was all too canine.

“Who are you?” she asked.

“A friend.”

“Are you always this cryptic?”

As if sensing that his cute act wasn’t going to work much longer, the boy sighed and let his smile fade. He didn’t look any less friendly, though. Instead, he only looked a little hurt. “My name is Ademek,” he said. He extended a hand out to her and watched as she carefully regarded each clawed finger. When she didn’t take his hand, he stretched his wings slowly forward until the tips of each one touched behind her back. “Come back to me,” he pleaded quietly. “I promise I’m not an enemy, Rowan.”

She wasn’t sure what it was about him, but she believed him. She wanted to play tough, but it was so hard. He felt so good. She didn’t want him to think she was a pushover, though, so she batted his hand out of the way before taking it upon herself to inch back against him. With a sigh, she dropped her head on his shoulder.

“Where am I, Ademek?” she repeated. “And please don’t say ‘home’.”

He didn’t answer her right away, but she got the feeling he was collecting his thoughts so she didn’t pester him. His wings moved around them, stretching and then folding to wrap around their sitting bodies as if to shield and protect her. His arms moved back around her and she felt him nuzzle her hair.

“You are in limbo,” he said softly, whispering against her head. “It is a place between worlds… a peaceful place for lost and neglected souls.”

“Limbo?” she echoed. She should have been scared… she should have been a lot of things, though, and she wasn’t.

“Yes, limbo,” he repeated. He was stroking her shoulder now. “Your soul is in a state of uncertainty, neglected, in the air, in abeyance, betwixt and between, my dear.”

“I don’t want to be here.”

“I know,” he murmured. His mouth was near her ear now. “I brought you here, Rowan, because I wanted to talk to you. I want to give you another chance.”