The Books of Azric: War, Volume 3 Chapter 6

Ok, here we go again. I will only be sharing one more chapter after this one. After that, no more until the book release. I don't know when that is but it's coming. This is the first draft, the rough draft, do not, I repeat do not mention any errors, I know there are probably several. Zip it, ok? Nobody likes the guy that's all There* if I accidentally put "over their" when you're in the zone you're in the zone and don't care about errors. Just get it down and fix it later. Again, warning ahead. If you do not like bad language, sex scenes, or graphic violence, do NOT go any farther but if you do...you're welcome. ENJOY!!!

CHAPTER 6

The purple gas floats just above the tips of the flames of the candles. It twirls and snaps with small pops of lightning.

She stares into the cloud. Her eyes never blinking as she concentrates at the flashing images. She sits up and blinks once. Her large blood shot eyes look around the dim room. The cloud swirls in a circle and disappears with a puff. Kristina raises her hands slightly and the flames grow on the candles around the room. The candles fill the room with a warm glow.

She walks to a velvet puffy chair by the window and sits down in it with a flop. She swings one leg over the arm of the chair. She leans forward and pulls back the black drapes keeping the sun out. The light spills in, but the sun sits just above the tree line. “Oh,” her voice raspy. She clears her throat. “What’s this? How long was I watching for?”

A small figure catches her eye in the distance. Her head follows her eyes. She watches it fly towards her but she loses it as it flies beyond the reach of the failing light. She stands up and walks over to a small, square hole in the floor. She pulls her purple robe up and steps down, her barefoot steps on the rung of a metal ladder. She lowers herself down to the next floor. The small stone room only holds a few wooden crates and a set of stone stairs that hug the wall.

She takes the stairs and the spiral of the stairs tightens as she lowers into her tower. “Down, down, down I go.” She cackles. The stairs unravel as she reaches the half way mark of her walk from the top of her tower.

The stairs end in the center of a small room. On the outer edge of the room holds another set of stairs. She takes them but these one’s lead to a small library.

Books line the walls. Bookshelves stand in a circular design in the center of the room. She takes a few steps on the small landing before she gets to the steps. She passes a few more rooms before she steps into the kitchen. A round table stands in the middle of the kitchen. A few cupboards surround it and a window next to the stove.

A raven lands on the window sill. “What do you want?” She drops her robe and shuffles to the window. The raven hops inside and stairs at her with black beady eyes.

“Hoping to talk to you about my problem,” the raven speaks.

“Yes? And what problem would that be?” She giggles as she opens up a cupboard.

“I was hoping for some freedom.” The upper part of the beak turns into a large nose.

“Freedom? He wants freedom, I could give Marns  freedom, oh but Marns has to earn the freedom.” She grabs a cup down from the open cupboard.

“How would you like for me to earn it?” The nasally voice comes from the nose. She giggles and twirls a finger around. A small elven head replaces the ravens.

“Oh? I think Marns knows how to earn his freedom.” She laughs and looks back at the creature in front of her.

The elven raven flaps its wings as it jumps onto the floor. It grows into a tall, slender, naked elf. He walks over and grabs Kristina by her waist. He pushes her onto the table and pulls on the knot holding her robe. It slides off her body and lies on the table. He Crawls on top of her and slides inside. She moans and looks into his eyes. “Is this what you want?” He smiles down at her.

She feels his warm chest pressing against her breasts. He thrusts a few times and she stares up at him without breaking eye contact. She feels his weight lift and his chest softens. Long hair tickles her sides. “Or is it this?” His voice and body now a beautiful elf. Marns slides her fingers into the Kristina and kisses her lips.

“You know what I want?” Kristina moans.

“Tell me and it’s yours,” Marns whispers in her ear.

“I want,” Kristina moans some more as Marns moves her fingers in and out. “I want you to replace my fucking tea you drank,” Kristina flicks her hand and Marns turns back into a raven. “Time for tea, yes it is, time for tea,” Kristina laughs as she waves her hand at Marns who hops away from the flailing hand.

“It’s not fair, you shouldn’t be able to control my shape shifting,” Marns squawks.

“Time for tea,” she reaches for her broom. Marns takes a few hops before it flies out the open window. “Now,” she gets up from the table and closes her robe. “What did I see? What? What? What? That’s the question.” She paces around the table. “I saw her, yes, yes, yes,” She shakes her finger. “I saw her indeed.” She squeals with laughter. “She’s important,” she paces some more. “So is he. Oh, he’s so handsome, but he is nothing.” She cackles going around the table. “Nothing,” her cackles grow louder. “Nothing,” Her cackles end. “Without her,” her head tilts to the left a little.

“The hairy man, oh, oh, oh. It may be.” She licks her lips, looking straight in front of her. She halts in her tracks. “Only one way to find out,” she shrugs her shoulders and wanders around the table.

“What else? What else? There was war, hmmm, a father losing a son, that’s not a good thing.” She shakes her head. “Not a good thing at all. I think,” she taps her chin. “Revenge, will he get it? I don’t know,” she laughs and claps her hands repeatedly.

She stands straight up, her hands fall to the sides. “Not him, oh no, not him. Evil, that’s all he is. Goodbye,” she hangs her head.

“Marns,” her head pops back up. She turns and sees an elven woman sitting on the window sill.

“I didn’t want to disturb you,” she holds a bag of tea leaves. “Tea time, remember.” She climbs off the window sill and crosses the kitchen to the wood stove. She grabs the tea kettle and takes the lid off and looks inside. She sets the kettle on the stove above the fire. She opens the damper. The flames lick the bottom of the hot plate.

“Yes, tea time,” Kristina looks to the ground. “Of course,” she pulls out a chair and sits.

“Did you see anything else?” Marns turns around and locks eyes with Kristina.

“Did I,” Kristina looks out the window at the stars floating in the sky. “Anything? Something? Everything? Nothing?” Her fingers tap out a rhythm. “Death? Life? What did I see,” she closes her eyes and then they snap open again. “Darkness, in a land of color,” Kristina stares at nothing as the life drains from her face. Marns blinks her eyes at Kristina.

“Kristina…” Marns takes a step over and reaches out a hand.

“Is the tea ready,” she looks over at Marns. Her life and color back in her gaze.

“The water still needs to boil,” Marns looks over at the kettle. She turns back around but an empty chair stands before her. “Why I…” Marns shakes her head as she watches the tail of robe disappear up stairs.

Kristina takes the stairs to the second floor of her library. She glides a finger behind her across the dusty spines. “Color,” she laughs. “Not enough color where you’ll be going my dear.” Her finger freezes on a small, black book. She takes a few steps back, not taking her finger away from the hard spine. “What’s this?” She pulls out the book and opens a few pages in. “Hmmm,” her eyes skim the pages. “I haven’t tried this before.” She snaps the book close. A cloud of dust fills the air in front of her face. “Might taste good,” she slides the book back in its place on the shelf.

“Now, where can it be?” She resumes her search. Her finger presses a trail through the dust once again. “I know you’re here.” She laughs and looks up at the ceiling. “Come out, come out wherever you are,” her laugh echoes off the stone walls. “I’m getting closer,” her hand drifts up to the highest shelf her height takes her without the steps. “I can feel it,” she halts. Her fingers wrap around the book and she pulls it out.

She walks over to the small desk up against the wall. She slides the chair out and sits down. She grabs the little candle in the corner of the desk and pulls it towards her. She puts the book on the desk and opens it. She scans the page and turns to the next.

She hums as she goes, not paying attention to anything around her. “You’ll need what I have in here.” She sings softly to herself. She hums the words as she rocks her head back and forth. “But how do I get it to her?” She sings some more. “I don’t know, but I have to.” She cackles a little.

“Kristina?” Marns soft voice comes from the back. Kristina sits up and stares in front of her. “I’ve got your tea.” Her hips sway as she carefully makes her way to Kristina with a hot pot of tea and a cup on a tray. She gently sits it down on the desk. “Is everything ok?” She puts a hand on Kristina’s shoulder.

“Ok?” Kristina looks around. “Ok? Is anything truly ok?”

“Well I don’t know.” Marns lifts her hand off her shoulder, but Kristina places a hand on hers keeping it there.

“Oh,” Kristina smiles up at her. “Is this my tea?”

“It is,” Marns smiles down at her. She gives her shoulder a slight squeeze. “Are you hungry?”

“For knowledge.”

“What kind of knowledge?”

“The kind in this book,” she closes it and shakes it at Marns face. “Knowledge that I must share but don’t know how.”

“Who do you need to share it with?”

“Her,” Kristina stares at the wall. “Him,” her gaze still fixed. “And outside,” tears well up in her eyes. “Oh, the outside, I miss the outside.” She sets the book back on the table and reopens it to the page she needs. Marns pulls her hand out from under hers and pours some tea.

“I’ll be in my room if you need me.” Marns brushes her hair as she walks away. Kristina reads the book, her hand still resting on her shoulder. She reaches out and grabs the tea. She takes a sip. “Hot,” she laughs and blows on the tea. She sips again. “Ah, that’s better.” She goes back to reading, tea cup in hand.

She jumps to her feet. The tea cup crashes to the floor. Her eyes glaze over foggy with a purple cloud. “I must know.” She turns to the stairs and grabs her robe to hike it up. She rushes up the stairs to the little room above her library.

She runs up the tiny spiral staircase all the way to the ladder in the center of the room. She climbs the ladder into the top of the tower. A storm crashes through the open windows. The wind roars through the windows, swirling in the round tower. Papers fly in the air, flames dance, but nothing comes out of place. She shuts the windows and the papers fall where they left from. The flames on the candles still burn.

“Could it be?” She grabs a purple powder out of the bag. She tosses it onto her candles. He puffs in a cloud of smoke. It settles into a storming cloud once again. She stares into it, her eyes never blinking. Her eyes search as lightning pops in the gas cloud. A few bolts strike objects outside of the cloud but leaves the world around her untouched.

“He’s coming,” she moves around the table. “He won’t be alone but…” she trails off. “He doesn’t know who’s with him,” her eyes never leave the purple swirl of gas and lightning. “He’ll find out one way or another, he’ll find out. Yes, yes, yes. He’ll find out and then…” her foot stops in mid air. “He can take me.” She laughs and claps her hands as she dances. “He can take me, he can take me,” she sings at the top of her lungs. “He can take me where I need to go. This is good news. Yes it is, yes, yes, yes.” She claps with each beat.

She tilts her head and leans in. Lightning lights up her eyes as it strikes her nose. “They’re not alone.” Her eyes dance in a swirl of purple. “I could help them?” The gas fills her lungs as she breathes in. “I don’t know, can I?” She breathes in some more. She stands erect, the cloud blows away.

She exhales and more of the purple smoke comes out of her nostrils. “I can do that. He’ll come take me. Yes, yes, yes. He will come and take me.” The purple haze leaves her eyes.

“Marns?” She calls as she turns around. She lifts her robe and runs to the ladder. “Marns, he’s coming. He’s coming.” She hooks her feet around the outer edge of the ladder and slides down to the next floor. “Marns, he’s coming to take me. To take me, can you believe it?” She runs down the stairs. Her left hand holds her robe, her right keeps her balance on the wall. “Marns, he’s coming. I get to go deliver my message. I get to, me, me, me.” She laughs as she hits the bottom of the narrow stone stairs.

“We have to wait and I need to help.” She heads down the next set of stairs. “Marns, Marns,” she runs pass several floors of her library when Marns meets her on the stairs.

“What is it?” Marns embraces her arms.

“He’s coming to take me.”

“Who’s coming to take you?” Marns tries to pull her off the stairs onto the flat floor but Kristina stays in place.

“He is,” Kristina cackles. She breaks Marns’ hold and runs down the stairs. “I need to get ready,” she stops between floors and turns back to Marns. “I can help. Don’t you see? I can help. I just need some things from…”

“From?” Marns takes a few steps down the steps when Kristina collapses. “Kristina,” Marns rushes to her side. Marns shifts and scoops her up in his arms.

“I’m okay,” she wraps her arms around his neck. She nestles into his shoulder. He pulls her in closer. Her head snaps up and she pushes herself out of his grasp. Her feet land on the stone floor of the kitchen. “Oh…” her hands fall to her side. “You pour soul. Pour, pour soul.”

“What is it?” Marns asks.

“Nobody deserves this fate. He cannot endure much more before he breaks. And break he will. You pour, pour sole. She will live on with you in her heart be she no longer is yours.” Tears well up in her eyes and she crumbles to the floor.

She wraps her arms around her knees and rocks back and forth. “He will get what’s coming to him. Don’t you fret. He will get what’s coming. Yes, yes, yes.” She laughs as she rocks.

“Kristina?” Marns kneels beside her.

“Oh Marns, you changed again.”

“Is this better?” Her voice soft again.

“No, no, no. I liked when you shifted to what you know I need.” Kristina watches the soft curves of Marns face chisel into a strong jaw line. “That’s better. Now, can I get my tea please?”

“Yes,” Marns stands up. “Will you be here when I get back?” Marns looks down at her. Kristina looks up at him.

“I will be here, right here.” She stands up. “Or, maybe…” she looks around. “Maybe I’ll be over here.” She wanders to the other side of the table. “Or…” she looks around some more. Her finger rests on her chin.

“Are you going to stay in this room?” Marns rephrases his question. Kristina looks over at him but her eyes still wander the room.

“What? I’m sorry, did you say something?” Marns snaps his fingers. Her eyes dart to meet his.

“Are you going to stay in this room until I get back?”

“Yes, in this room.” Kristina looks around some more. Marns heads up the stairs. He goes to the desk on the second floor of the library. He looks around for the tea cup, but he doesn’t see it on the desk. He looks around and still doesn’t see it. He lets out a heavy breath before he gets on his knees to look under the desk. He searches all around while still on his hands and knees looking for her favorite tea cup.

He turns the corner to find a pair of bare feet standing in front of him. He follows the legs up to find Kristina standing naked in front of him. Her robe left somewhere on a floor below. Her finger wraps around the handle of the cup as it dangles loosely from her grasp. “Is this what you’re looking for?” She swings it back and forth.

“Yes it is, but why-” Kristina wraps her arms around his neck and locks her lips on his. “Finish what you started.” She whispers in his ear. He grabs her hips in his hands and lifts her up. She wraps her legs around his waist and her spins towards the desk. He takes his steps as she reaches her hands down his trousers.

“No need for that,” he smiles. His trousers disappear and she properly feels him. He presses her onto the desk. She wipes her arm and the tea tray crashes to the ground. Hot tea splashes on his legs but it doesn’t faze him. Her legs unlock and her arm stretches out as he enters her. One hand digs into his back while the other keeps a firm grip on her tea cup.