Heir of Dust and Wind

Chapter 52 - Haunted

Raban lay awake in the darkness and listened intently to Ava's restless movements next to him.

Although her eyes were closed, it was perfectly clear to him that she was wide awake, just like him. Raban could hardly blame her for that. If her earlier reaction had been any indication of the horrors she had seen inside of Ferris's mind earlier today, he wouldn't have been able to sleep either. 

In fact, her reaction alone was enough to keep him awake. Listening, worrying.

The hair on his forearms rose as he remembered the sound of her screams when she had returned from her trip into Ferris's mind, hunting for the memory they had so desperately needed in order to prepare for another attack of the Shadow Wielder.

She had fallen to the ground clawing at her eyes and shrieking hysterically. It had seemed as if she was possessed by something or someone that she desperately tried to leave behind in the depth of the Dracaeni's mind.

Ferris had acted similarly, however, he hat hit his ears over and over again, hyperventilating and shaking worse than ever before. Only Roarke's firm grip had stopped him from severely injuring himself. 

Raban had lunged to gather Ava up in his arms, trying his best to keep her hands from her eyes, mumbling all kinds of soothing words into her ears, desperate to calm her down and ease her suffering. Gainor had been his shadow, talking to Ava too, trying his best to keep his own panic at bay.

But even together it had taken them several minutes until she had finally quieted, still breathing raggedly and cold sweat on her brow and upper lip. It had practically caused Raban physical pain to see her like this and not being able to do anything to do about it.

Leaving Ferris with Roarke, he had carried Ava inside the house and into their room on Orla's orders, who had then procured a strong-smelling tea, which the Goblin had more or less forced down the sorceress's throat, making her pull faces at the bitter taste.

Much to everyone's relief, however, it had helped to further calm Ava and soon her breathing had been back to normal, even though she was still as white as a sheet and her fingers were trembling slightly.

It was then that Trygve had burst into the room, eyes dark and wild - a violent storm ready to destroy anything in its path. Apparently, Ava's feelings of distress had been so forceful, that even he had felt it, being miles away from it all. When they had managed to convince him that there was no imminent threat, the first thing he had done - suprising all of them and - as it seemed - himself too, was hug Gainor tightly. 

When Raban had finally dared to ask Ava what she had seen, not entirely sure if he could stomach the answer, she had curtly retold her findings. With every detail, Raban's skin had run a little colder and he had watched as the expressions of the other turned more serious and concerned with every word she had said.

In the end, Gainor had tried to lighten the mood in that uncanny way of his, by saying that he was glad that it all just had been a memory. Ava had smiled at that, or she rather had tried to, Raban thought, because her expression had been far too tense for it to look genuine. He had had a distinct feeling that she had left something out. Even now as they were laying in bed, he couldn't quite shake it off.

Sadly, Ferris remained in his shell-shock condition, so he hadn't been able to confirm his suspicions by asking the Dracaeni who remained in Roarke's care.

During dinner, Ava had been unusually quiet too, giving him even more reason to worry. Yet, she had always assured them that she was fine, even though it was plain as day, that she was not. She had excused herself early, claiming that she needed to still send a message to Dathal about what Ferris's mind had told her and disappeared into her lab without another word. Even Orla, who was usually the biggest advocate when it came to giving Ava her space, had looked beyond worried.