Earth and Bone

The late afternoon light filtered softly through the reaching branches of the surrounding oaks. A warm glow suffused the pale rocks below as she strode across the clearing and reached out to the rock face. Rough stone pressed against her smooth palm as she planted her hand firmly against the unyielding surface. She stood for a moment, still and silent. The clearing itself lay still as though drawing breath in anticipation. She reached out now, though not as before. She couldn't say how she reached out, there was no sense of increased force, no stressing against the cool stone. She felt something, like the breath inside her body, like the warmth inside her bones stretching, bending. Slowly, slowly the stone began to sink inward. The rock face rolled in upon itself ahead of her seeking hand as though greedily pulling the stones from the surface; deep, deep down into the belly of the stony pile. Her feet moved automatically, as if entranced she glided smoothly into the low arch formed by the receding stone face. Lost to the light she disappeared within the lonely mound and as the darkness seemingly emanating from the core of this pile of cold granite. Smooth as silk the stones flowed back into place, fluid and without a sound as though the surface had been stretched, nothing more, and was now flexing back into its original form. Larks and Jays chirped far overhead combining with the faint chattering of squirrels.

Moments passed, the breeze occasionally tugging at the wisps of stubborn grasses poking up through the stony soil of the clearing. Faint sounds picked up into the clattering of hooves, hard against the smooth rocks of the dry riverbed. They trotted into the clearing, twenty men with hard faces and hard eyes. The man in the lead wore white cords tied to encircle each arm twice. His eyes scanned across the clearing deftly picking out the imprints of soft leather boots on the hard soil. "She has been here." He growled as he tossed his head in frustration. At his signal they dismounted. "Tol! Bren!. . . take your men and work your way up the riverbank. If there is a crack big enough for a Greenfly to wriggle through I want to know of it!" The men fanned out and began scanning the banks of the riverbed, probing thoroughly yet quickly in the failing light. Captain Fiore strode over to the rock face as though to batter through it, halting short to scan the rocks with hard sharp eyes and rough sun weathered hands. Cursing under his breath he turned back uphill to where the waters of the Erath River should be flowing strong and deep only to see the quick shake of the head from each of his file-leaders. Grinding his jaw he glared at the stones of the riverbank, his eyes catching the light of the sun as it sank below the tree line. "Mount up!" he snapped, whirling to his horse he followed suit to his own command swinging smoothly into his high pommeled saddle. He rubbed his hands irritably against the leather pommel as he glared seemingly unaware once more at that flat expanse of stone. He shook himself as if realizing the eyes of his men upon him; ignoring the unasked questions in their eyes he booted his mare forward and rode. As the stars began to pick themselves out in the darkening sky he rode, staring ahead as though seeing nothing. "Keep a sharp eye lads, she can't have gone far" he stated flatly. As the clopping footfalls of the mounts faded away upwind silence settled in once again over the clearing.

Long moments passed, a pale wan moon slid up over the tops of the distant hills bathing the clearing in a pool of light framed by the steep slope of the riverbank and the arching branches above the bank. Faintly a low clattering accompanied by a deep rumble picked up against the sounds of the crickets and toads singing in the night. Slowly, almost imperceptibly at first the stones began to dip back in upon themselves, as the rough stones slid into that dark opening they accelerated until the stones flowed smoothly and rapidly into the gaping maw of the bank. In almost the reverse of her entrance, the young woman stepped back out into the darkness. She stood, still as stone for a moment, her eyes glittering darkly in the pale light. She twisted to face upstream, eyes unfocused she stared off into the dark as though sensing, her head raised slightly as though scenting the wind. Finally, with the moonlight pouring out over the long brown tresses of her hair she turned and loped softly into the night. Within the distance of four strides she was lost to the shadows. She rushed smoothly through the scattered stands of trees, the light sifting through the twisted and tangled branches occasionally picking out her pale smooth skin.

Work in Progress...

-By: Coalesce Lacuna