Revenge of the Luna Queen

Chapter 18

A drop of water fell. The cool droplet landing on her head before running down to the tip of nose. Her lips parted as the water pooled between them, her tongue darting out to taste it. Blinking slowly, she turned her face to the sky. Grey dense clouds loomed over head. Darkly ominous, the heavy thick billows filling the sky, crowding it until the blue was forgotten. Staring into it, Aislinn felt her heart pause. The world slowing as she gazed up. And then it started. The rain. Droplets plummeting to earth, each one hitting the pavement with a tiny splash. Striking the dry dirt and throwing small puffs of dust into the air. And with them came the sound. Building slowly like an orchestra. Slow and quiet at first and then growing, louder and stronger. The droplets falling faster. One after another until there was no more space or reprieve between them. Until the sound was constant. Filling the silence with the heartbeat of the sky. The crisp clean scent of rain rising around them as it came. The rich aroma of dampening earth. The scent of pine and cedar, bark, compost, rot and decay mixing and melding, filling the cold air until the world was no longer harsh and frightening.

Aislinn looked through the curtain of falling drops at where the man stood a few feet from where he had emerged from the trees so unexpectedly. He was around six feet tall, with light brown hair that was cut short against his scalp. She knew that if she were to get closer, she would find his green eyes alert and assessing. There would probably be a few more lines on his face now. The small ones that had been crinkling the corners of his eyes having deepened and spread. The hard years having marked their passage on his face. He was muscular in a wiry way, but the most noticeable characteristic was the feral feel that clung to him. It was like an aura, a second skin that emitted from him.

The wolves at his back were a mix of males and females; some small and scared, others large and intimidating. They stood in all range of colors and hues. Mixing and melting into the deep forest, shadows, and rocks around them. They stood facing them, eyes bright and watchful, over three dozen of them all sharing that same feral feel the man had. A feel of danger writhing that lay just under the surface, as if they were almost untamed. Wild.

As the shock of the sudden appearance wore off, Richard and the others sprang into action. Richard pushed her body behind his, shielding her. Leland, Hugo and Emmett surrounding them in a protective circle. All unholstering the weapons they carried strapped to their thighs. Bulky black pistols pointing at the ground, ready for the slightest trigger to have them raising. Olivia had grabbed Ciera at their appearance, shoving her back and shielding her. Gripping her own gun she eyed the line of advancing wolves anxiously, scanning the long line.

Kio's barks and growl from inside the SUV could be heard even with the falling rain. His paws hitting the glass, with a little thud as he jumped at it. Nails scratching on the glass. Aislinn turned her head he calmed as she looked at him.

You can breathe in the rain. You can dream, floating away on the perfect uncontrollability of the storm that roils above. It is beauty at its best, fierce and unpredictable and yet you always know that it will pass. That it is fleeting. That just like life, it too shall pass. And when it does it will leave the world a little better, a little brighter in its wake. It will break and it will heal. A balance.

..The sun enables life. The rain grants it safe passage..

Aislinn was six the last time she had felt these drops on her skin. Had tasted them on her tongue. It had been thirteen long years since she had had them fill her lungs. The rain was always her favorite. It was like a secret. Revealing a hidden world that lay just beneath the surface. Everything was fresher and cleaner, the scents richer, colors were deeper, the air heavier and denser as it wrapped around her. The ground softer and more alive beneath her feet, the sky not quite as far away. The world became a little smaller, a little closer.