Empress of Clouds - Chapter 20

                  

Chapter 20

                    

            The cold air rushed beneath Kiliordes’ wings, making him feel more alive than he had in some time.  Flying.  He had forgotten how much fun flying was.  This was true freedom, gliding on the wind, the snow swirling like heavenly dervishes around him, rushing against his feathers.  The sky was empty but for the snow and him; other avian creatures were clearly too wise for this sort of frolicking.  He was alone in a sea of dazzling whiteness, his streamlined black wings cutting through the blizzard.  Like the first crow that danced at the advent of the Universe.  The crow was one of the archetypal tricksters in druidic lore, he remembered.  He felt the joy that the first crow must have felt.  To be so alive.

            In the midst of his joy, he remembered his urgent mission.  He returned his attention to the landscape far below him.  How small things looked from his vantage point.  White-capped trees dominated the miniature scene.  The solid band that cut through the forest was obviously the road; the other band that twisted and turned all over the countryside was clearly a frozen stream.

            Once he pinpointed the road through the raging snow, he followed it from high above.  His eyes focused, constantly scanning the white strip for signs of travelers.  Movement out of the corner of his eye distracted him temporarily.  He caught a glimpse of something quite rare— human eyes almost never could see such a thing.  A pair of snow spites played joyously in the air, dancing from flake to flake.  They were barely discernable, more like air currents of crystal aspect, vaguely human in shape, but adorned with wisps of wings.  In a moment, they had vanished into the storm.  Kiliordes brought his attention back to the road below.

            He lost track of how far he had flown when at last he saw the first signs of habitation.  A large building, with three other structures close, sat right up next to the road.  He descended to take a closer look.  With a little concentration, he alighted upon a sign hung by the door of the largest of the edifices, which was clearly an inn. 

            His ears caught the hoof falls of a horse approaching.  He took to the air once more.  Against the blizzard, it was quite hard to gain altitude once again.  He peered through the snow.  He could see two figures approached the building on horseback.  His heart leapt.  He flew lower to be certain.  Yes, it was them.  Dowbreth and Tolian on the great faerie warhorse.  Without a sound he skimmed the air above them, turned, and headed back to the others as fast as his wings would take him.

 

Copyright 2004, 2015 Diana Hignutt