The Raven And The Wraith (Completed!)

Chapter 9

The Wraith
Chapter 9

Keira saw my expression of horror and laughed softly, shaking her head at me.

"How is it that you seem so carefree and confident with everything except a few people?"

"A few? This is more than a few, this is a whole pack of mutants staring at me!"

"Does that mean I'm a mutant, too, since I'm part of that pack?"

"Ah, no. Most definitely not. You...you're kind and real and don't have ulterior motives hiding behind your smile."

Keira grinned at that, her eyes sparkling. "You think I don't have ulterior motives? You don't know girls very well, do you?"

For some inexplicable reason I felt myself blushing, and mentally cursed my tongue for once again suddenly reverting back to its useless sack of ashes and glue state.

"Uh, well..." I began, then trailed off, deciding silence was likely a far better option than my unintelligible grunting at the moment.

"Cmon! It will be fine!" She said, reaching out to grab my hand, pulling me back towards the firelight.

I let her lead me back into the crowd, very aware of her small hand in mine. In fact, I almost felt a bit dizzy, and wondered if this was the natural power of a pretty girl or if it was due to the cats power changing me.

"So Keira convinced you to come back!" Tad boomed happily, making me wince at both how loud he was and the resulting laughter from the crowd.

I contemplated stuffing a dirty sock in his mouth. Maybe then he could keep his roaring to a decent level.

"I'm hungry." I stated. I wondered if a more inaccurate statement had ever been uttered in the world.

I wasn't just hungry. I was shaking to the core with a ferocious drive to eat...anything that once lived. My darker instincts even imagined eating something while it was still alive, but I quickly pushed those thoughts down. I was not a creature forged in the darker magics.

Now that I was close to the center of the bonfire, my nose was driving me mindless, wrapping images of all manner of foods around and through my every thought.

"Hungry? There's SpringTail roast with cinnamon apples and it's just heavenly!" Keira said, pulling me towards the food.

She turned to look at me, and the firelight danced across her features. I froze, staring at the vibrant life burning so bright within her. It was a beacon, a drawing power that had ensnared me completely, so beautiful and so delicious that my entire existence narrowed down to just me and her, to that life force in her.

"Rahvin..?" Keira had let go of my hand, and I saw she had her dagger halfway pulled as she stared at me with wide, uncertain eyes.

I shook my head, hoping rapid, violent motion would put my thoughts back to normal. I had never seen life force in someone before, and I knew this was yet another aspect of the touch of the cat. The life inside of Keira was something so stunningly beautiful and real that my mind kept wandering back to it, even as I struggled fiercely for control.

"Sorry. I get a little too excited about roast SpringTail with cinnamon apples." I muttered, closing my eyes and pulling in a long, deep breath. Careful to breathe through my mouth only, as Keira's scent, so close and so inviting, was simply too much.

"Yeah...that's putting it mildly! You were looking at me like you wanted to eat me, not the roast!"

I looked away, not wanting her to see how close to the truth she was with that. Then, I saw Tad hurrying over with a huge wooden platter of food. Even though he was a giant, hairy beast, I could have hugged him with relief when he handed it to me.