Excerpt from Hell in a Storm

It was three nights after the attack when Stray sat under the cover of the trees watching as the rain poured around him. He and Bragen were soaked to the bones as the downpour continued on. Everything was wet now, too wet to take a spark, so they were forced to spend the night without a fire. The night the crazed farmers attacked them had been so clear and then by morning the sky was overcast. After only traveling for a few hours, the first drops of rain began to fall and the further south they traveled the heavier it seemed to come down. There were no storms as far as he could see. No lightning and no thunder. There was just a steady, heavy, drenching rain that never slowed.

Glancing over, Stray took a long look at his friend. The giant warrior sat a few feet away, his elbows rested on his knees with his head hanging low between them. Stray thought he was asleep, but could not be sure. The large drops of rain that found their way through the protection of the trees dripped onto his dark walnut colored skin then ran down the contours of his heavy muscles to fall to the mud below. Pulling his eyes away from the giant, Stray raised his hands to wipe his loose black hair out of his face. Rubbing his palms against his eyes, he wondered if it would ever end. God, he hated being stuck in constant rains.

When he dropped his hands and opened his eyes he froze. The rain had stopped!  Looking out from under the trees he could see Eternal Lake only fifty paces away, the moon standing full just above the horizon. Stray stood up and looked at his friend who still had not stirred. He decided that Bragen must really be asleep if he didn’t notice the rain had stopped.

Not wanting to disturb his friend, Stray stepped out and looked up at the clear sky. As many nights as he had spent out alone, he could not remember ever seeing so many stars. There was a sense of peace about the night he had never felt at any time before.

“Come and join me Joshua. Give an old woman company.”

Stray dropped his eyes back to the shoreline of the lake. Oruna stood there with her back to him, staring out over the calm waters. The light of the moon cast a silvery vale over her gray hair. The lake was a near perfect mirror showing the reflection of the large full moon behind her. He considered waking his friend then thought better of it. He did not believe the witch woman was there to cause any trouble. Why he felt that way he couldn’t say. It was just something in the tone of her voice as she called him over. Almost as if it was an old friend she was talking to rather than someone she hardly knew.

Walking down to the edge of the water, he stood beside the old woman, watching the calm waters. “What do you want with me witch?”

She chuckled slightly at the way he addressed her. No other would dare talk to her so without fear causing their voice to tremble. Yet he showed no care. “It is peaceful is it not?”  She asked.

“It is. More so, than I can ever remember.”  Stray replied.

“This is only a mirage boy. One I have created for you. Look at the giant one and you will see the rain still falls.”

Stray turned around and saw his friend. Water was still hitting him and running down his muscles. “I have found my inner eyes Oruna.”

The old witch shook her head. “No boy, it is the inner eye that has found you. What was it?”

Stray thought it was strange that she would ask that question. Somehow he just expected her to know that already. “It was a owl. I saw through its eyes as I slept.”

“The owl is befitting of you boy, it is a creature more comfortable in the shadows of night. For now, it will come as you sleep. Soon however it will begin to come when you are awake. Someday down the road, if you live long enough, it will come when you wish it to.”  Oruna took a deep breath before continuing with a new subject. “A darkness comes boy!  An evil is upon us that can shackle the world for all eternity if it is left unchecked.”  Stray opened his mouth to reply but Oruna raised a hand to silence him. “The Demon Lord, Shirakhul is among us and looks for the key to his quest. The daughter of King Harren of Shayle!  If he gets her before this night,” Oruna held a hand out as if to say she was talking about the mirage she had created, “All will be lost.”

“Why doesn’t Harren protect her then?  And why her?  Why not one of the others?  I have my own quest to deal with, I don’t need another.”  Oruna turned to look up into Strays eyes. For the first time he turned to look back at her and saw a true fear there. Something inside of him relaxed as he realized she was there because she needed his help. She was not looking to manipulate him as he had expected.

Oruna held his gaze for a minute before finally breaking eye contact. There was something about this young man that she could not understand. Something that made her like him. Maybe it was his unusual courage. Maybe it was his confidence. So many young men mixed up cockiness with confidence. Not this young man however. Taking a deep breath she spoke in a trembling voice. “Shirakhul has taken King Harren’s likeness. He has already drank of the souls of eleven of his children. His now, only living daughter is the last key that has somehow evaded his evil grasp.”  Laying her hand on his arm, she beckoned him. “Joshua, you are the only one I feel can save her. Even I, with all of my powers, cannot stand against the Demon Lord. He would sense my powers before I came close and would send an army, many of whom are his brethren now, to destroy me. But you, you could move among them unnoticed. What you seek will be behind the throne. Do not ask what it is, for I do not know. My vision did not show me more than that it was behind the throne. If he gets her before the moon is full, all is lost.”

Stray looked up at the round moon hanging so eerily over the lake. “How can that be?  The moon is already full!”  He felt her hand withdraw from his arm and when he turned to look at her she was gone. In that sudden movement of turning his head, the rain was once again pouring around him. Glancing up through the falling rain, it was immediately evident that the moon would not be seen. He moved back to the cover of the trees and what little protection they offered and found Bragen awake and watching him.

“Do you always enjoy standing and watching the rain pour around you?”  The large warrior asked.

“It was not raining when Oruna was here.”  Stray answered.

Bragen started, then began to look around, his eyes searching every shadow and Stray had to smile to himself. The warrior was likely the most powerful he had ever met and yet he was afraid of one old woman. “She is gone now my friend. Tell me, do you remember what moon it was when we were attacked the other night?”

Bragen nodded. “It was a black moon. Why do you ask?”

Stray nodded to the answer. He had thought as much, but the vision from Oruna had him second-guessing himself. They were still five or six days away from the city of Mazwar where King Harren’s castle was. If she was still alive when he found her, then he would have to protect her for another week. “Just wondering how long I might have to play the maid servant is all.”

Bragen lifted an eyebrow on his otherwise hairless head in question then decided it would be best to leave it. If Stray wanted to explain it, he would have.