28.11.2008., petak

(Tannalein) Games and Darkness; dio 1/3

(Nadam se da nikome ne smeta sto je pisano na engleskom, ali nemam bas nesto vremena za prevodit ^_^ Hvala na razumjevanju ;) )


I tore my eyes away from the frayed pages and glanced at Miriana. She looked so peaceful with her eyes closed, silky hair spread across the pillow. I closed the book and pushed it to the corner of the table. There were several other objects on the table before me: an hour glass, three candles and a deck of playing cards. The first candle was an ordinary white candle, tall and slim. It was the only candle that was lit, and its pale, shimmering light was the single thing warding off the darkness from the room, making the shadows dance upon the table.

The second one was short and thick, dyed in a vivid shade of blue. I picked it up and played with it for a while. Its base was as wide as my palm. I finally put it back on the table - no more stalling. It was time. I recalled the instructions once more.

"This blue candle will make her visible to your eyes. Remember, for it to work you must let the scent affect you for some time. It has to burn at least until the hourglass runs out."

I lit the blue candle on the flame of the white one. It crackled a few times, like it does when the fuse is wet. Its scent reminded me of cherries. I turned the hourglass over and its tiny grains of sand begun to trickle down through the elegant neck. As I watched them fall, I felt as though I was watching my own life drain away. As minutes went by, thoughts were racing madly through my mind. Fear begun to creep up on me and I even considered calling it all off, but only for a blink of an eye. Giving up was not an option, I told myself.

Before the last grains sipped down, I recalled the next part of the instructions.

"The red one will call her to you. Maybe not the first time you try, but she's curious. She will come."

When the last grain of sand slipped away I lit the third and final candle. That one was not much different from the blue one, except it was dyed brightly red and it smelled of roses. I held my breath.

But nothing happened. I watched the tiny flame eat away at the candle. This time the wait was much harder: I had no way of knowing how much time I still had to wait. It was a cold night, but still I felt a drop of sweat trickle down my forehead.

Almost a quarter of the candle was gone before I decided to try again tomorrow night, but just as I was preparing to put the candle out, the temperature in the room suddenly dropped. I forgot how to breathe.

She appeared like a ghost, an apparition, fading in until she became as solid as I was. She was breathtakingly beautiful, with skin as white as marble and hair black as ebony. No jewelry on her, just a delicate green silken dress, cut low in the front and reaching down to her ankles. It was too cold for that sort of a dress, but I doubt she had to worry about such trifles.

Her eyes glided carelessly across the small room. There was so much grace even in that smallest motion, yet the sneer that arose on her flawless face told me that the dazzling beauty she possessed was only skin deep.

"You are the one who summoned me?"

Her voice was... Still to this day I have no words to describe it. It was singing, it was thunder, it was raindrops on the lake, it was all those things at once and it was none of them. She spoke with an accent that I was unable to recognize, it was archaic and strangely melodious. In the presence of such a voice my own seemed to fail me. I was unable to mutter a word.

"I see your wife is ill. Is that why you called upon me?"

A small brisk nod was all I was able to give.

"You know that if you want me to help her you must give me something in return."

"All I have to offer you is my own life in exchange for hers." I finally regained my voice, but it seemed so insignificant after hers.

She laughed. It was frightening and beautiful at the same time. "You're offering me something of equal value. Why should I even bother for something of the same value? If you want me to help you, you must offer me something of greater value. And I really doubt you have anything of interest to offer me.” She was about to turn around and leave. “Such a waste of time..."

"No, wait!"

She paused to look at me, one brow raised.

"You like to gamble, am I right?"

She smiled delightfully.

"Quite. You propose a game of cards? I see you even got an hourglass ready. And what will the stakes be?"

"If I win, you'll make my wife well."

"And if you lose?" she almost purred.

"To save her, you'll have to risk everything." I repeated the words in my mind. "Then you may take both of us," I answered.

With a graceful move she sat on the chair on the opposite side of the table.

"Agreed then." She flipped the little hourglass and the grains did what was expected of them. "When the time runs out, who ever has the most points, wins. You may deal the cards."

As I took the cards my hands were shaking. "It will be more than just your lives at stake," the warning echoed through my head. I dealt it, and to my relief the cards I got were good.

I started with the Eight of Harts and she killed it with the Queen of Snakes. I continued with the Harts and she took the first two with the King of Spiders and the Ten of Falcons, but the next three cards were mine. I took a slight lead in the points.

Then she started with the Snakes and she took the rest of the hand, points along with it. She was in the lead now, but I didn't lose hope yet.

The next hand I dealt seemed even better. I had a streak of Spiders and I managed to take most of the hand, placing myself in the lead again. The sound of draining sand was all I could hear, mixed with the words of warning still pounding in my mind.

I dealt the next hand and most of the cards were useless. The Three of Wolves, the Six of Harts, the Seven of Falcons - she took them with ease. I only managed to save a point or two.

The hourglass was almost three quarters gone, there was only time for one more hand. My hands were trembling more than ever. "It will be more than just your lives at stake," I remembered the words again. "It will be your souls as well."

The hand I dealt was good and I allowed myself a pale smile. I opened with Spiders and Falcons, and as I counted each point I took I was getting closer to her. When we were finally even, we each had a single card in our hands and there were only a few more grains to fall. It was the deciding move. I placed the last card on the table.

It was a King of Wolves. There was only one card that was stronger than the King of Wolves and the chances that she had it were...

Then she placed it upon mine. The Queen of Wolves. This one, single card that was stronger than mine. She had it. I lost.

"Did you really think you could beat me?" She was gloating, mocking me. "You couldn't leave your wife to her fate, you had the nerve to think you could save her..." She laughed as she started to rise from the chair. "Now both of your fates are sealed!"

She got to her feet but then she swayed, her legs too weak to hold her, and collapsed back into the chair.

"What have you done, you miserable little..." she growled through her clenched teeth.






Nastavak slijedi uskoro :)



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