Kitalia snorted, “I am certain it had a deep meaning in whatever language the Ancients used.”
“Bel,” Kre asked tentatively, “you seem to know a lot of history… What were the Ancients called before they were the Ancients? You mentioned something before about a red tide… what was that?”
It might have been Kre’s active imagination, but a howling wind seem to come to being as he spoke those words. The main double doors seemed to shudder a bit with the force pushing against it and the light inside might have grown a shade or two dimmer. Creaks and groans sifted down from overhead, though no dust fell with the sounds.
Bel shook her head and some whispered words spilled out of her lips, too low for either Kre or Kitalia to make out. The noise died down a bit, but not enough that they were feeling fully comforted and safe.
“I apologize,” Bel said with a sigh. “It is much harder to hide all three of us than I had thought. Your presence is throwing things out of balance, in a way.”
Kre moved a step closer to Kitalia and ran a hand up and down the opposite arm. “What, exactly, is out there? What are we hiding from?”
“So many questions, where to start…” Bel murmured, her eye losing focus for a moment as if lost in deep thought.
“The souls of the Ancients,” Kitalia said in a growl. “That is what is out there. That is what is hunting us.”
Bel did not answer, she simply looked out towards the main doors and frowned. Kre looked back and forth between the two of them, wondering if Kitalia was making one of her wise cracks or if Bel would correct her with the real answer.
Truth be told, Kre had no idea what he thought the truth might be. He knew that something was out there. He could feel it. It wasn’t like being hunted by the wolves just a few hours earlier… this was different. Even as he ran through the streets, with barely a thought to where he was going or what he was doing, he knew that one misstep would carry him into the darkness where something prowled. Where something hunted.
He tried to catch Bel’s eyes, but she was again lost in some deep thoughts, her eyes unfocused and partially glazed over. He glanced over at Kitalia, but she seemed to be busy looking around, a worried expression etched across her face. That concerned Kre more than Bel’s silence. If this was enough to spook Kitalia, then it was something he knew he wasn’t ready for.
In fact, the more he thought about it… the more he imagined the direness of their situation… the faster his heart began to race. His breathing sped up as well, almost to the point of hyperventilation. He hadn’t realized that his vision had nearly gone black until he felt someone that he couldn’t see slowly guiding him to sit on the ground with his head between his knees.
“Breathe slowly Kre,” came Bel’s soft voice. She ran her hand over his back in slow circles and he felt a calming warmth spread through his body from that action. He took several deep breaths and finally managed to get his heart rate back under control. The calm was slowly replaced with confidence and a sense of hope that countered the prior feelings of dread and despair.
“Holy high heaven above… I know what you are.” The whispered swear erupted out of Kitalia before she could stop it.