Her sharpened heart was a razor blade
Outside the entrance to the cave, a powerful storm was raging. Barian looked back at the girl shivering by the fire and with one motion, rolled a huge boulder over the opening. The silence was surprising and very welcome. Barian knew the young woman was terrified of the lightning . Now the only light and sounds came from the crackling fire and the soft snuffles of their horses. On the far side of the fire lay an old man holding an infant. They are all one with her, thought the warrior as he took is food pack off one of the horses.
Yvonne smiled at the young man to show her appreciation for his kindness. Now she truly felt safe and knew her selves to be safe also. She held out a soft sweet roll towards the man and was relieved to have him accept it."My name is Yvonne," she said ,"These are Von and Evey." The baby sniffled and Yvonne reached out for her . Von, the old one,handed her the child and stood up to stretch his aching body.
The baby was sleeping and Yvonne handed her to Barian. The warrior didn't like it but he took the child to give the others a rest. Evey opened her eyes at that moment and a chill went through the man as he saw how similar the child's eyes were to Yvonne's . "Do you know who you are?" Yvonne asked.
Barian stroked the horses mane and spoke quietly to soothe her. In his pack he carried the scrolls of the wise ones of his people. He was moved to withdraw one and read it. The letters began to move and change until they formed the face of a child.
Yvonne staggered back holding her stinging fingers. "Who are you?" she asked him,"What kind of magic is this?"
Holding her hands out to the fire, the girl said,"Why are you not three? Were they killed by the Strangers?"
Yvonne jumped up and walked quickly away from the campfire. Barian hesitated for a brief moment and then followed her .He watched her wringing her hands in the shadows and said, "I'm sorry, did I say something wrong?" A deep voice from behind him answered,"Who are you?"
Outside of the cavern a whirlwind tore through the forest carrying Yvonne and Barian aloft. They held each other in terror in the creature's palm. Insane laughter echoed around them as the air became thin and they lost consciousness at the same time.
Yvonne awoke in a cold white cloud. Vision was limited to her hands in front of her face but she heard Barian calling her name.She reached out and touched a warm face.Jerking her hand away she yelped "Barian, is that you?"
"Isn't it sad that you can't remember who you should be?" a velvety voice whispered in her ear."You two are supposed to be together in every lifetime but alas here we go again.Every time it seems to get more difficult to accomplish. We should just give up be we are hopeless romantics."
Dark energy filled the room. The cold white cloud began to swirl to shades of crimson and indigo and Yvonne heard Barian cry out a name so very familiar to her."Trystan! I need you!" he pleaded as though in great pain. Yvonne did not hesitate , but rushed toward his voice as her captor released her.
Yvonne and Barian clung to each other as they found themselves in front of a fireplace glowing brightly. "Is it really you Rissa?" whispered the girl.
Yvonne took the child and smiled as the old one slowly vanished. The young one who was left ,handed Barian a drawstring bag made of red leather. "All the answers lie within." he said and walked into the fire.
Seven steel and seven shells wrapped around a soft center.
