Faetality |✓|

Chapter Nineteen, Part Three - Gone With the Wind

We've all heard the saying - something about how you have nothing to fear but fear itself. And it sounds like such an easy thing for a Human to accept - especially when you know a wise President like FDR has said it. But then you find out that you're not so Human and that fear might have sharp claws and pointy teeth... and then you're scared all over again.

I picked my way through the trees, thinking of the Slaugh and how he'd been so bold and gallant in the face of death. Here and now, making my way through the woods, I did my best to channel his spirit. If something happened I wouldn't have Westley to save me or the Slaugh to make a deal to get me out of trouble. This would be it. I'd be on my own.

I'd been walking for ten minutes when I thought I heard the sounds - the strains of muffled groaning. Feeling the adrenaline kick in, I spied a clearing up ahead and subsequently slowed down my pace, treading as quietly as I could. By the time I had it made to the edge of the clearing I hadn't even realized I'd been holding my breath... until I noticed my friend on the opposite side, tied to a tree. And so was Juliette.

"Sienna!"

Forgetting all logic I burst through the clearing and approached my friend at a run. Sienna was in her pajamas and slippers, standing upright against the trunk of a tall, thick tree, bound by rope at the ankles and hands. A rag was in her mouth, her long, blonde hair was loose and disheveled, and a bruise was quickly spreading over one eye. She stared at me, her eyes wide and terrified as she attempted to speak over the rag. Juliette, however, didn't appear to be conscious. Her head lolled at the neck, motionless.

"Sienna, what happened to you? Who did this?"

I reached up and pulled out the rag, allowing Cici to speak.

"Tammy, you shouldn't have come here," was her hollow whisper. The terror expressed in her face seemed to go beyond simple fear. The girl was traumatized. "You've gotta go - they'll be back any second."

"I'm not leaving you," I said sternly. "Now tell me - who's they?"

I stooped to try my hand at the thick knot of ropes tied against her ankles, crying out in pain and pulling away as soon as my fingers made contact.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you - those ropes are sprinkled with rowan,"

Ignoring the burns on my fingertips, I looked up at Cici's face. She'd been pale before this moment, but now she was white as a sheet, staring at the person behind me who'd spoken.

"Erica," I spat through gritted teeth, standing and turning to finally face my enemy. "Or should I call you Tanise?"

Tanise sauntered further into the clearing, donning a smirk as ominous as her apparel - tight jeans, tight t-shirt, and boots. It couldn't have been more than thirty degrees out and yet she seemed wholly unaffected by the elements. Judging from her power over fire, I had no trouble believing that it somehow kept her warm. Her dark hair was pulled back from her face and for once the cruelty and hate wasn't masked or hidden. She let it hang for all the world to see, as brazen as my own abhorrence.