Miyoshi Seikai "The Iceman"

"Her Voice"

Part Two

" You don't have to live like this, Seikai."

The soft tones of a woman's voice wandered through the flames.

"This is what I choose, what I am."

He replied flatly to the shimmering image beyond.
It was just a ghost, a spectre of the past his mind chose to torment him with, but from within his icy gaze, the edges cracked with pain.

" It's lonely….hollow…. "

A thousand words crowded his throat in a rush to be expressed, denials, reasonings…but they choked him from replying as his heart stabbed at his senses, adding its own unwelcome and unwanted opinion.

"Go away."

He murmured to the transparent form, as his hand went to his chest. (It was just the injury… Just the herbs in the poultice…)

"You're not…."

"Real?"

A laugh followed, as light and ethereal as butterfly wings on a breeze,

"I'm the most real thing you've interacted with in weeks…."

Alluring eyes, filled with dark passion called to him through the flames.

Familiar eyes…

Eyes that had once been so full of life….

"Go away."

He repeated, a growl shredding the edges of his voice.

"It's you who keep me tethered, Seikai."

The woman admonished softly, her eyes reflecting his sadness,

"Join me …. Put an end to this existence, this….nothing."

Something finally broke through his defences, and he sat up sharply, his long raven wing hair thrown into wild activity at the move, his eyes shifting to a harsh glare at the ghost across the campfire, but the piercing, arctic look didn't last, and his eyes softened, wandering her delicate features,

" Join me…. " A slender hand reached out towards him,  "It would be so easy….just a second….

Join me.…

            ….I miss you, Seikai…"

The voice was seductive, smooth in its convincing tone, and to his surprise, he looked down to see a short blade already in his hand, already raising on its own towards his throat.

Perplexed, he threw it at the fire, his will to live, no matter what this life was to him, surging forward in a rush to save his neck.

"No."

He whispered, but he heard the longing in his voice, and frowned, dropping his head to shake it, as if reshuffling his mind.

"Then wake up…." She smiled,

???

"Wake up, Seikai…..WAKE UP!!"

With a reflex jolt, he was half on his feet before his surroundings refocused.

The mountains, bathed in the cool blue grey of predawn, the last of the coals of the campfire battling against the chill air….

       ….the blade in his hand….

                               But hadn't he….?

With a sigh, he raised one hand to rake back the black tendrils of hair clinging to his features, then he scowled at himself.

He had fallen asleep.

"Pathetic."

He muttered, sitting on his heels and restoring the embers. Must have made that healing mixture stronger than he realised.

Hmmm. Errors.

Errors weren't something he associated himself with, and he growled at himself as he checked the wound for infection, it would perhaps go some way in explaining things.

But, no.

The so called "miracle dust" was doing all it claimed, and even flexing his arm didn't hurt all that much. So, the errors were his to bear, two weaknesses to add to the baggage he already carried, and with another resigned sigh, his gaze lifted to scan the surrounding forest.

Time to train. The past few days of inactivity were obviously affecting his mind, he reasoned, and in less than a heartbeat, he had vanished from the campsite, honing in on the local wildlife with his almost super senses.

Breakfast would certainly clear his head, and with an expression that could be best described as a mixture of terrifying with an ironic smile, he set himself the goal of catching the meal with his bare hands, no weapons.

Just….well…because he could.

Two more nights….the thought wandered through, then its back to business.

And with a nod to no one but the trees, he melted into the shadows, a final sentence left hanging on its own, the words unsure which way to fall, as a dark chuckle followed them,

"Now. What's on the menu this morning?"