A Dangerous Destiny: The Pure One Book I

Chapter Thirty- Four

Ok Folks, here it is...the first chapter of the New Year! And as it is the first chapter of 2016 perhaps it is fitting that I am posting a brand new chapter for the book! As it is freshly written it may be a bit less polished than previous chapters ( I know I have given this warning before;-)). Wanted to test a Karina chapter here since she has been absent for awhile and will be absent again for quite a few more chapters to come . She will be back in a big way btw (so if you are a Karina fan don't fret!) you just have to wait a bit;-). This chapter will also introduce a bit more of an idea of what sort of supernatural things might be lurking in this world...I would love to hear what you think of it!

Karina

Manna had been away since early afternoon. It seemed the tailor's wife in the neighboring village of Caraway had gone into labor and was having some trouble of it. When the midwife had sent a messenger to request the Elder Nita's assistance, Manna had packed her bag and once and set off, taking her horse, Merryweather, with her. Caraway was at least an hour's ride from their home, and Karina knew her teacher would likely be away through the next day to care for her patient.

She had spent the earlier part of the night preparing herself a meal, peaking at the jars and bottles of remedies she'd helped Manna prepare recently, proud that she could now identify all of the concoctions and knew how to make them herself. 

Coming into late fall, the days were growing shorter, and it was not longer before the sun slipped into the west. Growing bored with her usual amusements and feeling drowsiness overtake her with the growing darkness, Karina had decided to take to her bed early. But in spite of her weariness she couldn't sleep.

There was a storm coming, Karina could hear it. The ground shook with the rumblings of thunder in the distance. As she lay beneath the covers, trying to force her mind to release itself to slumber, Karina tried to count the seconds between the booming sound and the flashes of light from outside. But it was too far away still. After laying in unsleeping stillness for longer than she could stand, Karina finally quit her bed. Walking groggily back into the main room of the house by the light of a taper, Karina lit a few of the lanterns Manna kept for late night work, and rekindled the fire in the hearth, waking their home again with the dim light of their golden flames.

Wondering if reading might tire her enough to sleep she went next to the shelf where Manna kept her collection of books. Karina was familiar with their titles and even knew a few of them by heart entirely. Most of the volumes were either scriptural texts, or lists of remedies, but there were some that contained stories she always enjoyed, no matter how many times she'd read them. She ran her fingers lightly along the leather spines, looking for one that might strike her fancy and had just decided on a book of prophesy when she felt an odd tingle at the base of her neck. The hairs on her body standing on edge as if a chill had suddenly swept through the room, though the fire was now roaring comfortably.

Turn around

Karina was not sure if she had really heard the voice behind her, a strange otherworldly sound. She released her grasp on the book, her heart thudding one or two steps out off beat.

You're being silly, she told herself as she listened for the phantom voice to speak again. She knew there was nothing there. Then why did she fear looking behind her...

Turn

The same voice, its whispered hiss now more forceful and commanding this time. A tremendous clamp of thunder reverberated in the air making the very ground tremble. Karina took a deep breath, tentatively allowing her neck to turn enough to glance over her shoulder. There was nothing there. The room was empty. But eerily so. Was she simply imagining things?