Falling
Alianna wiped her eyes, struggling to see through the tears that clouded her vision as she made her way towards that turret. She was almost there. Ulreah had bought her this chance, and she would not waste it.
She saw a flash of red in her peripheral vision. Alianna peered over her shoulder to see a man standing there, smiling at her.
A smile that made her sick to her stomach. There was nothing friendly about that smile at all.
The man was, by most standards, handsome. His long dark hair was combed neatly and tied back into a ponytail. His face was chiselled, not like Rionan’s, but in a more drawn way. His eyes, a grey so deep that they were almost black, seemed to stare into Alianna.
The man wore a long, dark, flowing robe and an expression of pure entertainment. Red tendrils of smoke seemed to flow off of him, reaching outwards towards her like horrific tentacles.
“Hello there. You must be Rionan’s littlefriend,”the man walked slowly towards her as he spoke, looking her up and down, inhaling ashe did so. “How incredibly undermining of Rionan, that he has become so desperate as to bond himself with a human? Where in Xanthia’s name did he find you?”
Alianna trembled, stepping backwards towards the direction of the turret.
“I suppose you are a pretty little thing, as humans go,” the man mused, taking another step towards Alianna. He caught himself, feigning a look of surprise and mock horror. “I am being incredibly rude, aren’t I? Please, let me introduce myself. I am Rannirr. Lord of Eastern Xanthia, Southern Xanthia, and soon to be Emperor of this Realm.”
An oily smile slid across Rannirr’s face again, and he dipped into a false bow.
“I know who you are,” Alianna hissed out, taking another step backwards. She tried to ignore her racing heartbeat and the feeling of utter terror that flowed through her body.
She had to make it, just a little further. She was so close. If she could just run – she’d be there. Just a few seconds of running.
Then she just needed to throw the stone into the Well, and Rionan could end this.
She had not yet got the stone out of the bag, and cursed the decision to leave this until the last moment.
“Do you? I am glad Rionan has given you some sort of history lesson. And what brings a creature like you to my great Realm, human?”
Alianna froze, her hand tightening on the bag in front of her, and Rannirr’s eyes whipped down to it. His eyes widened slightly as he took another step towards her. His smile grew, and he cocked his head, like a predator that was getting ready to toy with its prey.
“What do you have there, little mouse?” he asked, studying the bag with such intensity that Alianna knew she had a matter of seconds until he killed her – took the stone – or both. Those red tendrils started reaching towards her, a whisper away from touching her, should Rannirr decide to lash out.
Without further thought, she whirled and ran.
Rannirr snarled behind her but did not quicken his pace. She could hear his lazy, unhurried footsteps on the floor as she sprinted towards their salvation.
Alianna fumbled with the bag as she pulled back the opening, struggling to tip the stone out to cradle it within her arm.
Its size was a problem, and they had never considered that she might need to do this while running.
Looking down, the Well was now visible, full with a vortex of swirling, water-like, yellow energy. The sight sent goose bumps running over Alianna’s skin.
She pulled at the stone, but couldn’t free it from the bag with one hand.
How was the final barrierthe bag?
Fighting against sobs of terror at who stalked behind her, fighting against cries of anguish for the sacrifice Ulreah made, she focused everything she had on the simple task of opening a bag and throwing a stone into the Well of power below.
So typically human. In this war of power and chaos, the final act which she was struggling to complete, was so typically human.
She was so close to the edge of the turret now.
Ten feet.
Five feet.
Rannirr laughed from behind her as Alianna reached the edge of the turret, stepping up onto the wall. His red tendrils of smoke shot for her ankles, holding her there. Alianna wobbled, fighting against the restraints Rannirr had on her, as he closed the distance between them oh-so-slowly. His eyes narrowed to slits that betrayed his smile, and she felt his power gripping her ankles tightly, shackling her in place.
