Trojan Slave (Book 1)

Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Dashing through the pounding rain with their feet sliding in the wet sand and hands clasped, Elpis felt light, fleetingly happy in the midst of the darkness around them. Her tunic stuck to her skin, making movement difficult even as the rain continued to sluice down upon them. Almost tripping over her sandals, she reached out with her hand to steady herself. It hit the solid, muscled wall of Theod's back, making him pause and turn to check on her. She couldn't help but smile as he reached up and pushed his hair out of his face, the sodden strands clinging to his skin even as he tried to push it aside.

Blinking up at him as the rain hit her eyelashes, she watched as he looked around the area of the camp they were trying to make their way across. He seemed disappointed by something, but she knew the roaring of the sea, the sound of the rain, and the whipping of the wind around them would rip away any speech.

Theod knew they had stayed too long on the cliff top. From what he could make out from the tents that he could see through the sheets of rain, they were less than half way back. The sand difficult to navigate and their vision blurred by the deluge, it was taking longer than expected to get back to the relative safety of camp. Bringing his attention back to Elpis, he saw the water as it seemed to vibrate on her skin as she shivered once more. In the limited light and vision, he saw how her long free hair had clung to any available part of her, her face, her neck. A few tendrils even snaking around the tops of her arms bared by the tunic. The glossy black was now slick with water, giving it a different kind of sheen, at least he was not the only one having issues in this weather.

As a loud rumbling splintered the air, Theod felt Elpis jump slightly, her grip tightening on the hand she held. He decided they needed to keep moving. Pulling her along behind him, they both slipped and slid when he wanted to go quicker, meaning they had to go slower than either wanted in this downpour.

Elpis was shocked as Theod suddenly pulled her along behind him once again. Trying her best to keep her balance on the shifting clumps of sand, she reached out with her free hand to clasp the back of his tunic.

Something flashed in the corner of her eye.

Rocking to a standstill, she felt the tug on her arm as Theod soldiered forward, her grip at the back of his tunic finally stopping him. Her attention caught on something in the distance. The curtain of rain didn't allow her to fully grasp what she was seeing. She barely felt the tug as Theod tried to get her moving once more, but she was already gingerly making her way over to the object. Trying to be careful of where she placed her feet. It was further than she thought and yet her curiosity would not allow her to leave this, telling her it was something important. She needed to know what it was, or she would forever regret not having that knowledge. Yet, this knowledge was going to change a piece of her, for good or ill, she had no idea.

Theod was perplexed. They were both soaked to the bone by now, Elpis was shivering, and he was beginning to feel the chill of the cutting wind. He could not figure out what she was doing. What had caught her attention? He could see nothing but more darkness in the direction she was heading. The visibility had diminished even further in the last few minutes. Elpis, who was currently still attached to his hand, was now a shadow before him. He was going to be having serious words with her when they reached the relative safety of his tent, as she would not be able to hear him over this cacophony of sound created by the storm and the sea, clashing against each other.

He followed the dark shadow in the blackness before him. He felt more than saw as she faltered, going down into the sludge of sand at their feet, bringing him down beside her. Before Theod could feel what it was before them, he felt the urgent yank on the hand he had outstretched. He could sense the agitation in Elpis' movements. He had never seen her act as such before. Even after the bloodiest of battles when she had to deal with dozens of near fatal injuries, she was a calm pool. The one others went to in order to receive orders and find an inner peace, which allowed them to continue.