Snaaaaaake! [Aeyt!]

[Rhindeer]

The room became a writhing mass of scales, and Sahar curled in on herself even more, whimpering as even her pillows uncoiled into shimmering, hissing creatures. So many snakes. She had never seen so many snakes. It was difficult to focus on anything else but the shifting of their bodies and the thundering of her heart, her palms slick as she curled them into tight fists. Sweat beaded on her brow, and she lost her battle against trembling outright as she remembered what this demon could do with those snakes.

And then the demon spoke her newest threat.

She shivered, hugging herself tightly.

What was she supposed to do?

No matter what she did, there would be a victim.

"I wasn't lying!" she said, voice weaker than she would have liked. "Please...just please don't hurt anyone. I'll tell you everything I saw. All the details. I promise. Just don't hurt anyone." A deep breath. She closed her eyes, trying to block out all those writhing shadows. How could she do this? Either the demon started killing children, or...Hakeshna help her, was she going to get the people in her vision killed?

She swallowed to wet her dry tongue. "The...the man...he was old, and poor. A storyteller. A mage. In the vision he was in the desert, telling tales to children. I...I don't know who he is, or when he is, but...but it felt like that's where you need to go. I-I don't know what his magic is. He used it to tell his stories, to make colors in the air..." She paused. "Does...does that mean anything to you?"

[Aeytrious]

        "It's a start," the charred woman said. "Don't leave out any details. If you can remember the number of hairs on his head, tell me. What did he do to create the colors? Did he have tools? Components? Did he wave his hands, wiggle his fingers and how? Where was the sun in the sky? What did the shadows look like? I need to know it all."

[Rhindeer]

"He...he was old. Wrinkled." She chewed her lip, hating the next words that she forced out. "Maybe...maybe Essyrni?  He used his hands for his magic." She rubbed her arms, chilled despite the warmth of her room.

"That's...that's all I remember of him, I swear by Hakeshna that's all. The, ah, the girl was harder. I could tell less about her. I don't know where she is from. Not from here; it looked far away, greener but not. A plains? She was white-skinned and had golden hair, blue eyes. Curls. Just a child. The woman she was with had skin just a bit lighter than mine. Black hair, long and braided with feathers in it."

[Aeytrious]

        The old man sounded hard to find, who knew when or where that was, but she had enough info to give to her minions. They would search for this person, someone who could make illusions in the air. It would be challenging, but she was patient. The girl could be any noble girl, but that braid, those feathers, she knew them. Serha. The horse tribes and their warrior women. A fair skinned noble girl with one of them would be a lot easier to find. She'd search, and hopefully find them quickly. She needed them for her goals. She didn't know why yet, but those answers would come later.
        The monster smiled down at Sahar. "You've done well seer. In a week, the moon will blot out the sun and you will use your sight for me again. With the power of the sun and moon combined you will receive a potent vision, and you will tell me who I seek. Or I'll burn your sister alive while she sleeps."
        With that, the woman turned into a mound of snakes, and the reptiles slithered away.

[Rhindeer]

"Wait! Don't--!"

But the woman was already gone, leaving Sahar alone once more. It was only then, when she was no longer in immediate danger, that the stress welled up within her and, along with it, tears.

It was her own sobbing that woke her up, and she hugged her pillow tightly to her chest and buried her face into it, her tears soaking into the silk. The threat of hurting her, or killing children, had been bad enough. But to threaten Nasrin now, too?

All her life, she had always run to Nasrin when she was in trouble, or scared, or needed help, and Nasrin had a way of making all those troubles just...vanish. For better or for worse. But there was no way she could tell her about this, not without making her more of a target, not without getting her killed.

For the first time in her life, she was alone with her problems.

And she had no idea what to do about it.