4-095, Misty Promises Made

Ishtar released her hold of the woman.  “Here, take back your money.  How can a man enjoy a warm bed and a full belly when his family starves in the cold?  I am not that wicked.”  She pushed the purse into the woman’s hand.  “Now!  Return me to the ‘nether world’ and the ‘demons’ who await me.”  A shudder ran through her as a sickness grew in her stomach. “I will wait there for my time to come.”

There was no stopping the woman’s tears.  She kissed the child, promising,  “The spirit of my God will stay with you, and I… yes, I swear, as I am alive and do live… I will remain by your side to comfort my cherished sister in her distress.”  She embraced the girl and gave her another kiss.  “Until the day when we will share the wine and the good times...”

The woman began to fade into a rising mist.  Ishtar cried, “Who are you?!  What is your name?!  I need to know!  What is it?!”

The woman was little more than a fleeting shadow now. She sadly called from the mist, “To many I am only ‘the Troubling One’... to others I am known as the ‘Child of Pain’.”

The fog swept in upon Ishtar.  She reached out for the woman, but could not find her.  The air swirled around the child like a cyclone, its sound being like thousands of birds taking flight.  Up into the whirlwind the girl rose, spinning around faster and faster until her head became dizzy and faint.  Eventually the windstorm subsided, gently dropping the girl down in a pile of soft straw.

The surrounding sounds and smells told Ishtar that she was again in the prison.  She began to wonder if she had ever left.  Maybe it was but a dream caused by the blows Perk had delivered to her head.  Still… it was a beautiful dream.  Could it have been a magic dream?  A vision?  Her uncle had told her of visions.  But visions were something special… reserved for men of great renown…not her.  The girl shrugged.  ‘Not the matter’.  Whatever it was, she felt refreshed by it.

There was no light for the child to see with, no window to let in the moon and no lamps, even in the distant rooms, to permit any sight.  The sound of heavy sleeping was all that disturbed the silence.  Even the rats had apparently decided to take a holiday.

Ishtar leaned back on the straw.  Strange.  It smelled fresh… and her pains from the night’s beatings were gone.  The girl began recalling the details of her wonderful dream, not wanting to forget a thing about it.  She pulled her knees up to her chest, wrapping her arms around them as she did.  Her heart jumped excitement.  Even in the blackness, she could tell the feel of satin… the smooth silky satin of her beautiful dream gown.

*   *   *

Enjoy other posts: 

Prologue,

Destiny's Road 1-001, 1-002, 1-003, 1-004, 1-005, 1-006, 1-007, 1-008, 1-009,

1-010, 1-011, 1-012, 1-013, 1-014, 1-015, 1-016, 1-017, 1-018, 1-019, 1-020,

1-021, 1-022, 1-023, 1-024 & 1-025

Of Councils Great and Small 2-026, 2-027, 2-028, 2-029, 2-030, 2-031,

2-032, 2-033, 2-034, 2-035, 2-036, 2-037, 2-038, 2-039, 2-040, 2-041, 2-042,
2-043, 2-044, 2-045, 2-046, 2-047, 2-048, 2-049 & 2-050

Legend's Heroes 3-051, 3-052, 3-053, 3-054, 3-055, 3-056, 3-057, 3-058,
3-059, 3-060, 3-061, 3-062, 3-063, 3-064, 3-065, 3-066, 3-067, 3-068, 3-069,
3-070, 3-071, 3-072, 3-073, 3-074 & 3-075

Forges of Hell 4-076, 4-077, 4-078, 4-079, 4-080, 4-081, 4-082, 4-083, 4-084,
4-085, 4-086, 4-087, 4-088, 4-089, 4-090, 4-091, 4-092, 4-093, 4-094, 4-095,
4-096, 4-097, 4-098, 4-099 & 4-100

Or find your own book at:

Amazon.com; Smashwords.com;

Diesel-Ebooks.com, BN.com; ebookstore.sony.com