Ember of Hope

But the way to freedom was never so easy… it always showed you the roses but beneath them, was always lined with thorns. They would snag your clothes and shred apart your wings, making the only way to freedom impossible.

Through the whoosh of wind in her ears, Raegan heard the unmistakable sound of mighty wings flapping behind her. And they were multiple. “Sarah! Hold on tight, whatever happens; don’t let go”. She felt Sarah’s grip tighten and chanced a look behind her. Her breath caught when she found titan hot on her heels… followed by a fast approaching figure that caused her breath to leave her altogether… No… No, no, no, no, no… it was Tristan… her blood went cold… he could never fight off Titan and live… she couldn’t lose a brother again… she dropped towards the ground… “As soon as I touch the ground you run like hell and go into the woods… keep running Sarah no matter what you hear. I’d rather you make it back than none of us. Keep running straight there’s a clearing ahead, cross it only if you can’t hear any wings behind you. DON’T argue, for my sake.” She snapped when she felt her friend ready to argue.

Sarah did as was told, tears running down her cheeks silently but she ran with every ounce of energy she could muster. She didn’t want to leave her friend behind but she couldn’t burden her with her presence either. She knew she’d only make Raegan’s mind divided between her and warding off Titan. So she ran.

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As soon as Sarah was behind the tree line, Raegan flapped her wings to shoot upwards. High above, in the air Tristan had ploughed into titan from behind, making him stumble through the air. Before he could right himself, Raegan shot up and rammed into him from below. He bellowed in fury and pain. But he was much stronger than both of them together. Because of a failed maneuver; titan caught Raegan’s tail in his teeth… she screeched and thrashed to get him to loosen his grip. Panicked; Tristan sank his teeth in his side, making him let go of her.

Raegan rounded on him; breathing through the pain and what she saw made a little flower of hope bloom inside her. Tristan had his jaws closed around titan’s neck while titan made screeching noises high enough to deafen her. She realized it as soon as she saw it. In attacking titan’s neck, Tristan had left his underside vulnerable. She was too late to warn him though… Titan sank his claws in the soft undersides of Tristan’s wings. His grip loosened and in trying to get away he stumbled… his sides bleeding from deep gouges. But he didn’t back away. He was so young, yet so passionate and good and her heart just wouldn’t slow down as images of Tristan’s and Max’s dead bodies kept invading her mind.

“Let’s go Tristan. Come with me”. She yelled.

“You go ahead Raegan. Fly hard. I’ll be right behind you once I take care of this motherfucker”. Tristan yelled back… both of the males flying in circles around each other waiting for an opportunity.

“I’m not leaving you Tristan. We’ll do this together”. She said, flying a safe distance away, trying to find a way in.

Titan was quiet, very unlike him. His neck was still bleeding from Tristan’s venomous bite. His eyes never leaving Tristan’s form… like a hawk he monitored his every move. It seemed like he didn’t think of Raegan as a threat at all… this could be her chance. She knew she was no match for him but if only she could distract him enough to give Tristan an opening, maybe all of them would be able to get away. If only she knew how to cloak herself, she thought miserably. Before she could get any nearer to them, Tristan attacked.

Feigning to go for the neck again which would have been his biggest mistake, he dropped down at the last second and rammed his tail in Titan’s exposed underbelly. As if he had read her previous thoughts, Titan vanished.

“Raegan Go”. Tristan yelled. She panicked then, flapping her wings fast, she went back in the direction of the woods where she had asked Sarah to hide. Behind her, a mighty roar sounded and she had a sinking feeling that it was Tristan’s. Tears flowing down her face she flew hard towards Sarah and instead of waiting for her to climb on her back; leaving them both defenseless, she grabbed Sarah in a paw and raced towards freedom.

It was luck that nobody had yet started following them or she wouldn’t know what to do. A strange current passed her body and she heard Sarah’s shaky gasp… she had felt this before, when she had crossed the portal of Evreux. The kaleidoscope of colors barely registered as her speed zoomed her out on the other side. Was she in Evreux now? Had she outran the enemy? She could only hope. She didn’t get any more time to speculate because suddenly it felt like she was being ripped apart from within. The pain was excruciating… just like before. She let loose a roar of pain and above her Sarah flinched; startled.

“What’s wrong?” Sarah asked; concerned.

“Pain” She was gasping in big gulps “Down. Hang on” she managed to push the words out before taking a nosedive. This flight wasn’t smooth. It might look like a drunken tumble through the wind to anyone witnessing. Below them was water… a river maybe, by the size of it. And she shifted back to her human form… again not by choice. They were still high enough that the impact would definitely hurt.

“Sarah” she yelled… because they were no longer together. Sarah was falling a bit farther than her and she couldn’t do anything to save her friend this time. With a heart filled with pain and remorse; she fell.

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