Because of her, the rain was screaming. He could hear it in the wind that blew hard drops against his face. He could hear it in the clatter of rain against glass. He could hear it in the drip, drip, drip from the leaking ceiling. He knew she was somewhere, out there, and her howling could be heard in the rain.
He clutched his hands to his ears, trying to block out the noise, but he just couldn’t get it out of his head. The air tried to coalesce around him, shield him from the horrible cries, but he wasn’t powerful enough to block her out. He didn’t know how to find her. He had searched and searched, and yet she was still lost to him.
She had been captured, held prisoner. The only way he even knew that she had been caught was through the cries she sent to him. Elementals like them were rare, and he had been elated to find her, had fallen in love with her at first sight. They had been able to survive for a while, hiding from those who would do them harm, who would use them for their own gain.
That was what the cries told him. They were forcing her to cry, to make it rain, to clear up the drought that had plagued the land. He was forced to move through the people, hearing their cheers mix with her sobs as they danced in the rain. The good of the many seemed to outweigh the good of the one, in this case, or so the people decreed. They weren’t the one, he thought bitterly. If they had to suffer as she did, or as he did, they wouldn’t be so happy to use a person.
He curled up tighter, keeping his head low. A drop of water trickled down his neck, caressing his skin. He shuddered again, feeling closer and further away from her than ever. He thought she must be nearby, but he had thought that before. He needed to find her soon, or he would be driven mad listening to her screams in the rain.
Inspired by a writing prompt from The Character Comma’s prompt generator.
© The Lightning Tower, 2020