1. The Law Of Fire And Ice


    Date: 8/28/2015, Categories: Fantasy & Sci-Fi, Author: ChrissieLecker, Rating: , Source: LushStories

    A tiny chapel, made of wood and painted in a warm, dark red, was perched on one of Iceland’s little rolling hills close to the sea. Small white crosses stood in neat, short rows and made long shadows in midsummer’s endless dawn. An old woman knelt before one, smiling softly, and lifted up the chunk of ice that she had brought. She glanced around her, making sure she was alone, then ran a finger over it and hummed a tune. The ice, it swirled and morphed under her touch and formed a rose in perfect, sparkling detail. She gently laid it down before the cross. A single, glistening tear wound its way down her wrinkled cheek, but she still smiled and whispered softly to the wind, “Goodbye, my love, my heart. May your soul soar among the spirits of the sky.” Then she stood up. Had anybody watched, he would have seen her thin, grey hair turn full and bright. He would have noticed with astonishment that all her wrinkles disappeared and that her skin grew blemishless and pale. He would have found no explanation how her lips grew cherry red and full again, and how the eager spark of youth once more was back in her bright eyes. But she, the woman who had shaken off her age, was far too caught up in her memories to realize, and while her steps grew stronger with each blink, she thought back to that fateful, wondrous day. * * * * Mist rolled along the ragged edges of the crevice, churning, twisting, and a cold wind howled in from the open sea. Icy rain relentlessly pelted Holly’s face, ...
    but she did not care. She did not even notice the overwhelming smell of sulfur anymore when her mouth opened to set free a desperate, gut-wrenching scream. She watched the tendrils, barely visible fingers of cruel light, reach out from Bárðarbunga's depth and wrap around her friend, and in that moment, all hope died. Lucy teetered on the edge for a long moment, both arms raised towards her friend, seeking help, but hopelessly far away. Then the rumbling under their feet began once more and, without mercy, the loose, black gravel under Lucy’s feet started to roll again, and she slid closer and closer toward the bubbling mound of reddish glowing lava. Holly could not breathe. She could not scream anymore, and she had to watch her friend get pulled towards her certain doom. ‘I never told her.’ The thought hit her like a hammer in her guts. Her world shattered. Silence settled like a blanket, and everything froze. A single ray of sun broke through the endless, rolling mass of clouds covering the sky, and where it touched the ground, the air wobbled and flickered. Then she saw her , tall and with hair in pure white that reached down to her bare knees, hair that fluttered in the wind without regard for rain and ice. Bluish strands danced in between the white, blue like glaciers on a sunny day. Her lips, full and seductive, mirrored the bubbling lava right behind her, and her eyes -- fear shot through Holly, devastating terror -- were of a charcoal black. The woman walked towards her, ...
«12345»