Sky Woman: Book One of The Empress Saga

CHAPTER FIVE

Enfri groaned as she came awake. Winds and storms, her back ached. She felt like someone had her spine in their hands and was trying to force it into the proper shape.

It took several attempts, but she managed to rock herself out of the chair. Her feet were unsteady beneath her, and she smacked her lips. Her tongue was dry, her throat was sore, and she could taste some manner of foulness on her breath.

The water jug was calling to her. Enfri drew out the ladle and gulped down enough water to drown a fish. Breathless, she dropped the ladle back into the jug and looked to the shuttered window. Through the wooden slats, she saw the shadow of the house reaching towards the village.

I'm west of the village, she told herself. Enfri drew her brow together in confusion. Why would she be telling herself that? It was a rather inane fact to go reviewing for no reason, wasn't it?

"The sun's in the west," she said aloud.

There was a part of her that was aware she was slowly drawing towards a realization— something obvious she was missing because she was still stupid with sleep.

Enfri slapped her palm against her forehead when it finally came to her. Sunset. I slept through the whole blustering day.

The geese were going to be furious that she missed feeding time. Her ankles were fair game to their vicious, little beaks for the next month.

Angry at herself, Enfri stormed out of the house with a basket of feed. Judging by the light, she wouldn't have much time to tend to the animals before dark. She muttered curses at her laziness and looked up towards the garden.

Enfri dropped the basket.

A figure stood among her rows of herbs. It was pale and white, almost seeming to fade into the air as it moved. Enfri felt blood rush to her head when she saw it was the form of a person. A woman, to be exact, with long, golden hair. Her skin appeared pallid. No, more than pallid; it was white as snow. The woman had her back to Enfri, which was fortunate because she was wearing nothing but her own skin.

Enfri stumbled and fell onto her backside, her eyes wide with stark terror. A ghost! Grandmother always spoke of the spirits wandering the desert, but Enfri never thought to believe in them. A blustering ghost was in her garden!

A strangled noise left Enfri's throat. She couldn't even scream. Just a warbling that sounded like a kitten imitating a toad.

The specter turned towards the racket Enfri was making. Her eyes were a bright amber color, and they sparkled with stifled amusement. Her skin no longer seemed a milky white, but silver.

Oh, now I'm angry.

"Winds and storms, Deebee! Winds and blustering storms!"

Deebee walked towards her and bent at the waist to get a closer look at the sky woman scrambling about on the hard-packed dirt. "Surprised?" she asked.

"I'll skin you for this! I know how!"

The naked atrocity of a dragon covered her mouth in feigned shock. "Oh my. How brutish. Is this how mortals thank someone who's helped them?"

"Helped?" Enfri squawked.

"With your chores." Deebee gestured towards the animal pens.

The old milk cow was burying her head into fresh straw, and the pigs were rolling contentedly in their mud wallow. Even the geese were uncharacteristically pleasant as they waddled about.

"You were exhausted," Deebee explained, "so I thought to let you rest. Your tools are ill suited to my claws, so I took a more appropriate form."

"Appropriate?" Enfri demanded. "Deebee, you are not at all appropriate. What if someone came by and saw you traipsing about with your... your bits hanging out for all to see?"