Sanctity

Chapter 1

The world drifted in and out of focus while pulses of pain flashed behind my eyes. I tried to keep still praying it would help but my head wasn't the only thing that hurt. My whole body ached and it was like nothing I had ever experienced before. I knew something horrible had happened but no matter how hard I tried it was impossible to remember what.

When I tentatively opened my eyes my head lolled backwards. Suddenly I was looking up into the night sky. The stars and moon shone brightly through the branches of the leafless trees. At first they seemed to be moving but then I realized it wasn't them but me. Someone was carrying me. He held me clutched against his chest and he was running so fast, so very fast! I tried to make sense of where I was and why but couldn't.

"Put your arms around my neck!" His voice interrupted my thoughts. It sounded deep and determined and when I heard it his words echoed in my mind. It seemed like he had spoken twice – once out loud and again deep inside my thoughts. I did my best to obey his command but the effort was monumental and so painful I nearly fainted. As I struggled to raise my arms and clasp my hands behind his neck we passed a fallen tree and he adjusted his grip. He shifted me onto his back and in virtually the same moment he snapped a decaying limb from the tree as we raced by then spun to a stop.

Now that we were facing the opposite direction I glimpsed what we were running from crashing through the forest and heading straight for us. I buried my face and braced myself for the impact.

It never came, though, and when I realized it wouldn't I peered over his shoulder. I saw a man lying in the snow a few feet from where we stood. The branch was sticking out of his chest and his fingers scraped against the rough bark as he tried to pull it out. It was horrible to watch his feeble attempts and I wanted to scream but I didn't have the strength. My fingers trembled then my arms gave out. I lost my grip and fell to the ground.

"Elayna!" The man dropped to his knees and bent his face close to mine "Elayna!" he urgently called my name.

I thought I recognized him but while my mind reeled trying to make the connection a darkness, an emptiness crept up behind my eyes. It overwhelmed my senses and seemed to swallow everything up. I lost all awareness of the world around me and drifted into a void of nothingness.

Seconds later something cold and ice-like touched my lips. The chill seemed to flicker into a flame and spread heat across my face. It sent a shiver through my scalp, to my neck and down my spine. The heat kept spreading like ripples on a pond and I sensed it flowing throughout my chest and expanding to my arms and legs. My heart and lungs gave a sluggish stutter as the man scooped me back into his arms and started running again. After a handful of strides I begged him to stop.

"Please," I muttered and clutched at the lapel of his coat.

He seemed to understand and when he put me down, I doubled over. He squatted beside me and gathered my hair away from my face. A moment later I retched into the snow. Even through the darkness I saw that most of what had come up was blood; my blood, blood from all the aches inside me.

"Oh, God!" he cried out when he saw it.

It filled me with fear and I tried looking at him but he tightened his grip on my hair and begged me not to.

"Please don't," he whispered. "I don't want you to see me like this."

I wondered what he meant but the retching had made my pain exponential and before I could speak I slipped from his grip and slumped down into the snow. He cradled my head and the icy flame rippled through me again as he pressed his wrist to my lips.