08-11-2014, 06:11 PM
Moments later, Hans, Dan and Veso were standing above him. Yuri lowered an arm and helped Elias to his feet. Hans' was excited, but Eli did not feel the same vibrancy. His powers were long gone, and he was glad that Yuri cut them off.
He met the gazes of the three men in turn with a sigh parting his lips. "I know, Yuri. Rest assured, I prefer not to die."
He began to swipe the frost of white from his clothing. Together, they returned to the riverbank.
"I'm not sure what I did, but I saw the shadow and had to follow it. Hans, I don't know if I could teach you if I wanted to."
He paused his explanation to look back at the space above the river. At the time, his body had become an enraged conduit of power, like water spraying from a bent hose, it was forceful and erratic, yet also focused and sharp.
They reunited with Tony. Eli said nothing about the man's wounded hand. "I did not get any more of a glimpse of it. I hoped it would turn to face me: confront me as it had you. But it is gone now."
Hans and Dan offered their theories. Sharks could survive in freshwater despite popular opinion. In fact, they had been thriving in the Amazon, Mississippi, Congo and Zambezi Rivers. While some have been reported hundreds of miles inland, they were presently standing on a river that drained into the larger Volga watershed and eventually the Caspian Sea. While the Caspian Sea was more saline than other inland lakes, there were no known shark populations within its waters. The Volga, into which the Moscow River flowed, was technically connected to the Baltic Sea, but it was a very slim suggestion that the shadow beneath the ice was a shark.
Snow crunched nearby and more than one of their group snapped toward the direction of the sound. They were all on edge, and Elias sensed every single one of their number flinch with power. Their combined Rage was enough to send shivers down his spine, yet he did not move. The men instinctively formed a wall, shoulder to shoulder.
A lanky, older man wrapped in heavy winter clothing, carrying a snow-stick walking cane, emerged between the trees. His head was wrapped in a heavy fur hat and an equally warm-appearing scarf dangled free from his neck. His cheeks were blanched red and his jaw was tense. He held a shotgun in the crook of his arm.
"Who are you!"
Dan demanded.
The old man with a voice as clear as his blue gaze. "Rusalka!" he responded with a snarl.
Elias and Veso exchanged a look as Hans spoke next.
"Your name is Rusalka?"
The old man pointed a thick-gloved hand at the river. "No fool! The spirit of the river, the Rusalka. You fools have disturbed it. The river dead. Unclean. The spirit of one who died in the river."
Elias felt Hans and Dan relax their stance on the power, but Veso and Tony remained alert. As did himself.
"A ghost?"
Eli asked.
"Yes a ghost!" his voice snapped like twigs. If he was disturbed by the presence of strangers, he did not show it. He only sneered contempt toward the river. He turned and waved that they follow him.
"COME. We must make amends to the spirit. You've awakened the bloodlust. It will require a sacrifice. I told those fool Americans the same, but they did not listen. In the end, the Rusalka's lust was satiated."
The old man cast a glance in the direction of the corpses. Elias blinked. Americans?
Eli spoke quietly to Tony. "I think we should go with him."
He cast his gaze to the rest of the guys, silently willing them to agree.
Elias was the first to follow.
He met the gazes of the three men in turn with a sigh parting his lips. "I know, Yuri. Rest assured, I prefer not to die."
He began to swipe the frost of white from his clothing. Together, they returned to the riverbank.
"I'm not sure what I did, but I saw the shadow and had to follow it. Hans, I don't know if I could teach you if I wanted to."
He paused his explanation to look back at the space above the river. At the time, his body had become an enraged conduit of power, like water spraying from a bent hose, it was forceful and erratic, yet also focused and sharp.
They reunited with Tony. Eli said nothing about the man's wounded hand. "I did not get any more of a glimpse of it. I hoped it would turn to face me: confront me as it had you. But it is gone now."
Hans and Dan offered their theories. Sharks could survive in freshwater despite popular opinion. In fact, they had been thriving in the Amazon, Mississippi, Congo and Zambezi Rivers. While some have been reported hundreds of miles inland, they were presently standing on a river that drained into the larger Volga watershed and eventually the Caspian Sea. While the Caspian Sea was more saline than other inland lakes, there were no known shark populations within its waters. The Volga, into which the Moscow River flowed, was technically connected to the Baltic Sea, but it was a very slim suggestion that the shadow beneath the ice was a shark.
Snow crunched nearby and more than one of their group snapped toward the direction of the sound. They were all on edge, and Elias sensed every single one of their number flinch with power. Their combined Rage was enough to send shivers down his spine, yet he did not move. The men instinctively formed a wall, shoulder to shoulder.
A lanky, older man wrapped in heavy winter clothing, carrying a snow-stick walking cane, emerged between the trees. His head was wrapped in a heavy fur hat and an equally warm-appearing scarf dangled free from his neck. His cheeks were blanched red and his jaw was tense. He held a shotgun in the crook of his arm.
"Who are you!"
Dan demanded.
The old man with a voice as clear as his blue gaze. "Rusalka!" he responded with a snarl.
Elias and Veso exchanged a look as Hans spoke next.
"Your name is Rusalka?"
The old man pointed a thick-gloved hand at the river. "No fool! The spirit of the river, the Rusalka. You fools have disturbed it. The river dead. Unclean. The spirit of one who died in the river."
Elias felt Hans and Dan relax their stance on the power, but Veso and Tony remained alert. As did himself.
"A ghost?"
Eli asked.
"Yes a ghost!" his voice snapped like twigs. If he was disturbed by the presence of strangers, he did not show it. He only sneered contempt toward the river. He turned and waved that they follow him.
"COME. We must make amends to the spirit. You've awakened the bloodlust. It will require a sacrifice. I told those fool Americans the same, but they did not listen. In the end, the Rusalka's lust was satiated."
The old man cast a glance in the direction of the corpses. Elias blinked. Americans?
Eli spoke quietly to Tony. "I think we should go with him."
He cast his gaze to the rest of the guys, silently willing them to agree.
Elias was the first to follow.