OMMworld Books

Gabriel felt peace flood his being, filling his mind like a potent drug. The flow of conscious thought and sensation ebbed away, leaving only a sense of soft security, like being wrapped in a warm blanket. He didn’t understand what was happening. How could a creature so otherworldly cause his dread and sorrow to vanish, as though they had never been. Yet the feeling was real, the same he had when he stepped into his parents’ old house and shut the heavy oak door securely behind him. He shook his head, trying to regain control of his senses, and opened his mouth to speak.

“Eslei.” He let the name linger on his tongue for a minute, tasting the odd familiarity of the sound. “Do I…know you?” The corners of the creature’s mouth turned up slightly, a twinkle of amusement in her bright eyes.

“Indeed, my dear. We are old acquaintances.” Her words seemed sweet in his ears, and he struggled to concentrate, feeling the soft, warm feeling intensify. “Let us waste no more time here. Bring the girl to me.”

Automatically, he obeyed, carefully removing Tess from the stretcher. Cradling her gently, he walked forward and placed her lifeless form into Eslei’s outstretched arms. Eslei seemed, slowly, to grow in size, and the light glimmering around her body began to swell and coalesce, enveloping Tess, becoming ever more brilliant, until Gabriel’s vision was permeated by white light.

Then Gabriel blinked, and the light was gone. Where Eslei had stood were two towering dragons, motionless, clad in scales of frost. Their slender necks formed a sort of arch, under which a softly glowing doorway stood. Cold seemed to radiate from the statues, but it was a brisk, refreshing cold that cleared Gabriel’s thoughts, and brought fresh life into his weary body.

He felt, rather than heard, Eslei beckoning him, and stepped boldly toward the doorway. The formidable dragon statues did not frighten him; he knew he had seen them before. As he passed under their glaring, down-turned faces, he thought he saw one of them wink.