Bloody Lover | Piper McLean

CHAPTER 2 : Storm and new memories ?

The canyon was bigger and wider than you could appreciate from a picture. They were up so high that birds circled below their feet. Five hundred feet down, a river snaked along the canyon floor. Banks of storm clouds had moved overhead while they were inside, casting shadows like angry faces across the cliff. As far as Earlana could see, on one side as on the other, red and gray ravines cut into the desert. Like some crazy God had taken a knife to it. The young latina got a piercing pain behind her eyes. Crazy Gods... Where had she come with that idea ? She felt as if she had gotten close to something important -- something she must have known. She also got the unmistakable feeling that her and her blond friend, Jason, were in danger.

"You all right, Jason ?" Leo asked, "You're not going to throw up over the side, aren't you ? 'Cause I forgot my camera."

Jason grabbed the railing, making Earlana come to him with a potential look of worry in her eyes. Was he thinking and feeling the same things as her ?

"I'm fine," he managed, "Just a headache."

Earlana acknowledged the lie and patted his shoulder with a little smile.

Thunder rumbled overhead. A cold wind almost knocked her sideways, but it was without counting her quick reflexes. Even then, she had a bad feeling about what the rest of the day would go.

"There's danger in the air," Leo said, blinking at the clouds. "The storm is right on top of us, and it's clear all around. Don't you think that's weird?"

Jason and Earlana looked up and saw that Leo, for once, was not joking. Indeed, a dark circle of cloud had parked itself over the skywalk, but the rest of the sky in every direction was perfectly cleared.

"All right, cupcakes !" Coach Hedge yelled. He frowned at the storm like it was bothering him too. "We may have to cut it short, so get to work ! Remember, complete sentences !"

The storm rumbled, and Earlana's head started to hurt, again. Without knowing why, the young latina began playing with her necklace and rings, her mind whispering that she would need them soon enough. Frowning, as she was lost in thought, another bolt of lightning struck in the distance and her mind snapped her out of the current reality, the lightning striving to unlock a memory buried deep in her memory, currently non-existent.

The storm was majestic, there, in the Garden of Bacchus, where you had the best view over the entire valley. Walking, alongside the young girl from the picture, looking at the sky, streaked with lightning, Earlana felt free, and nothing could take that feeling of freedom away. They stopped in front of the fountain sporting the statue of Bacchus, only to look at each other with a little smile.

"You know, Hermanita, I'm proud of you. Of everything you've accomplished. Centurion ! That's great ! One of us is a queen, another is a praetor, and the last is a centurion." exclaimed Reyna, smiling.

Earlana chuckled, rolling her eyes. She had been named Centurion that morning, and her sister had to talk about it. Well, it was her duty, since she was the praetor... Fortunately, that night it was just the two of them, because Reyna never showed any emotion other than anger or disappointment when she was not with her friends ( she had a few, but was not one to give her trust to anyone) or her family. It was only when she was with Earlana, or with Hylla, their older sister, (but since she was with the Amazons, they had not seen her a lot) that she allowed herself to be this carefree and express her feelings. And right now, Reyna was ecstatic. And when she was ecstatic, she would ramble, and joke for a bit.

"Well, enough with the praises. You're the reckless one in the family so, please, be careful. I don't want Octavian on my back, talking about your shit, okay ?" Reyna continued, with a small sigh. She knew perfectly that she was talking to her sister, the one that was a little too ambitious sometimes. Ambitious wasn't really the word. Reckless defined Earlana with perfection. Reyna knew that her sister would do what she wanted without being caught, she was the best at it.