Chapter 27: A Feast

"No, why would I say fate bonds us together? Fate can't really bond me and this idiot bird together, right?"

Kael stood, the motion deliberate and slow, his cloak stirring in the dry wind. Fine grains of sand clung to the dark fabric, whispering as they fell away with his movement. His hollow gaze shifted to the raven, perched on a sun-scorched rock. The bird lay sprawled awkwardly, its wings half-spread as if it were trying to absorb the last dregs of shade the stone could offer.

"We'll be going that way," Kael said, his skeletal arm extending toward the left. His hand, more bone than anything else, caught the harsh sunlight, casting angular shadows across the sand.

"No," the raven replied, snapping its head up. It shifted on the rock, claws scratching faintly against the surface.

"Why?" Kael asked, the faint clatter of bone echoing as he folded his arms beneath his cloak.

"It's not safe," the raven croaked, its feathers ruffling uneasily.

Kael tilted his head, the movement smooth and almost serpentine, as if the gesture alone demanded explanation. "Have you been there before?"

"Yes," the raven said, shaking its head as if to dislodge the memory. Its voice was sharper now, edged with unease. "But not for long. I had to escape or I would've died."

Kael shifted his stance, the worn soles of his boots scraping against the cracked, sunbaked ground. His jawbone tightened with a faint creak. "Why did you escape? What danger is there?"

"Monsters," the raven replied, its voice barely above a whisper. Its beady eyes darted toward the distant horizon, where heat shimmered in distorted waves.

Kael paused, the skeletal joints in his fingers clicking as he flexed them absently. "Monsters?" he repeated, his voice hollow, yet thoughtful. "You said 'monsters,' meaning more than one."

"Like how many?" His voice rose slightly, the dry wind tugging at his words as they carried into the open expanse.

"They are many!" the raven squawked, hopping closer to the edge of the rock. Its wings flared slightly, as though bracing against an unseen threat. "So many!"

Kael stepped forward, his boots sinking slightly into the fine sand. His cloak flared with the motion, exposing the gleaming framework of his ribs beneath the fabric. "Why so many? Aren't they supposed to be roaming around, hunting for food?"

"They already are," the raven hissed, shaking itself and hopping back a step.

"And how?" Kael's voice cut through the air, sharp and demanding.

"They're having a feast," the raven murmured, its feathers flattening against its body. Its gaze remained fixed on the horizon, where jagged rock formations broke the monotony of sand dunes like teeth waiting to bite. A faint, unnatural sound drifted on the wind low growls and wet tearing noises, just enough to set the atmosphere on edge.

Kael stood still, his frame unmoving except for the faint ripple of his cloak in the desert wind. The sun burned overhead, unrelenting, casting long, fractured shadows of both the skeletal figure and the restless raven. Behind them, the vast dunes rolled endlessly; ahead, the horizon seemed to churn with a foreboding life of its own.

"A feast?!"