Always I was in the cave, my eyes blinded by the thick black nothingness, the damp smell of earth sharp in my nostrils. And always, always came the white face in the dark, the deathly claw like fingers reaching out to scratch the flesh from my body while I stood frozen and helpless, unable to even scream. It was only when somebody shook me awake that I realized I was screaming aloud. I’d always thought it was the Abwarzians in my nightmares, until Raze had tried to kill me. Now I didn’t know who it was who came for me most nights in my sleep. Maybe it was part Raze, part Abwarzian…a mixture of my deepest fears. And always in the awakening of dawn, when I awoke twisted and damp in my sheets, came the understanding that I’d buried any further knowledge of my parents when I’d buried Raze. The horrible truth sank over me as heavy as if I was being buried alive. Crushed by the rubble of realization, I felt the tears leak from my eyes and trickle silently down my cheeks, wetting my pillow.
