UnSeelie Dreams Chapter Two Page 5

Time sort of disappeared in this place. His world was upside down and seemed to stretch on for eternity.

“Tarraine.”

It startled Thomas to discover he was not alone.

“For the love of God, help me.”

Laughter surrounded him causing a chill to rush down his spine. Something long and thin reached out and encircled his throat like a noose. It tightened its grip as Thomas attempted to jerk away from the tunnel wall only to fall into more grasping tentacles. He reached for his blade ready for battle. He hacked at the vines while the laughter continued to mock him. The harder he fought the more entangled he became until they held him firmly in place.

I must have died in the Holy Lands and this is hell, Thomas mused as his sanity began to shift and give away to the nightmare.

“Not hell.” Another voice hissed at him from the dark. The sound crawled into his head; the dread made him retch up bile.

“Is Eco.” It formally introduced itself. In his head he could see it bowing to him as though welcoming a guest into its home.

The buzzing taunted him and Thomas shook his head to clear it of the voices.

“Eco?” Maybe it could give him vital clues to getting out.

“Yes.”

“How did I come to be here?” He demanded. “And how do I get out?”

“You hunt her and she hunts you.” It trilled with mocking laughter.

“I demand you release me or be damned.” Thomas grated out. “Release me now.” A bright light flashed through him and his voice spoke a language Thomas knew, yet did not know, coming out in a roar.

Suddenly he was free; the vines disappeared as though they had never been holding him down. Thomas could feel the tension as it all stopped and waited in anticipation for the next move. A buzzing sound flew past his left ear, just the barest hint of gossamer brushed against his cheek. The noise was like a hive of bees tickling his ear drum with a language he could decipher. Thomas barely felt her weight as she flitted just within sight. She surprised him with her delicate tiny beauty which hardly filled the palm of his hand. Her amber butterfly wings fluttered about her.

Like a sigh, the sylph touched his eyes and tears ran down his face. She drank from his enthrallment and suffering.

Thomas closed his eyes awe struck. When he finally opened his eyes, he was standing on a high cliff overlooking an undulating midnight sea, its waves caressing the jagged rocks. The Hunter’s moon overwhelmed the night with its illumination, casting a spell on the realm below. It reminded him of Cyprus and he wondered if he was dreaming or waking. The lapping of the waves soothed his tattered spirit and Thomas dropped to his knees.

Anticipation filled him as he waited for a day break which would never come. No morning light had ever shone on this horizon. Finally, he rose from where he knelt and began the trek down the moors. He did not know where he was going or even if he was still alive.

“Blessed Holy Virgin.”

He wondered if he was dreaming or saved.

From nowhere a mist rolled up the hill and a woman as radiant as the moon appeared. She glided along the path toward him. Fair locks blazed an inner lunar glow and danced with life although there was no breeze. Her face serene and for the first time in a long while Thomas felt at peace.

He knelt and bowed his head in supplication to her divinity. She had to be the Blessed Virgin come to his aid.