Her Darkling

NARIEL. Blood. Claws dug through the flesh of an already mangled body. Screams faded into dusk as her body dropped to the ground, lifeless. Blood, again. This time, it trickled through split wood and the sound of weak struggles pierced my ears, causing me pain. My thirteen-year-old body dropped to the floor, knees weakening as it grazed the floor. The roof around me had been uprooted from its hinges, leaving the crescent moon to pour its dim light on her lifeless body. It had taken her. Darkness unfurled as a seven-foot-tall demon hovered toward me, its hooved feet barely touching the ground. Its blood-stained claws were as long as a saber-toothed tiger. More. The demon had an evil glint in its iridescent golden eyes and it drew me in, like I was being sucked into a black hole, condemned to roll forever into eternity and when it stopped before me, I cowered into the corner, shielding my body with my frail arms in a futile means to protect me against this entity. Long, midnight black hair moved with the wind, an ever-ending black, and his eyes narrowed but that didn't eradicate the pure evil in them. My nostrils were assaulted with the stench of burning sulfur. I didn't miss the canines that jutted out its mouth when it began to speak in a guttural growl that rumbled through the wooden shack. It had been imprinted in my memory like a branding iron, pressed into flesh. “Ah, yes... I know that feeling burning inside you. That pain. Hate. Every of it. That unendurable need for vengeance. You are far too young. With so much fear. But I promise to return when you are grown and strong enough to challenge me, lass.” “Nariel?" My body jolted and I blinked my eyes, tearing out of the haunting memory I had plunged myself into once again. Eldrion was standing at the porch with a globe in his hand and his perfectly carved brows raised in askance. I leaned away from the wooden banister that had been painted in a shade of gray that matched the skies of the incoming dusk. "Eldrion." "I asked you a question," He continued as he bounded down the steps. "It's almost dusk. Remember we were going into town today?" Tightening my sage green shawl around my neck, I turned to look at the skies. It looked like it was about to rain. I hated the atmosphere because all it reminded me of was gloom. The universe was definitely against me today. "Yes, I do remember." "What's wrong? You don't like the paint I used?" Of course, I didn't. Gray was my worst color. "No, I like it. It's uhm...nice. Really nice. Thank you, Eldiron." Silence settled between us both and I found it oddly comforting. My eyes scanned the area, stopping at the cliff where Eldrion had set up dummies made from haystack and wood which we used in training. On some days, I felt at peace to be here— away from the townsfolk and their judgemental gazes and whispers. But other days, it was depressing to sit here and stare into the skies, or down at the amber-glowing cottages and their glazed tile roofing, envying the toxic togetherness they shared as a town. At least they had people to wake up to, to talk to. Up here, it was just me, Eldrion, and his mother and me alone sometimes, fighting my memories as they tried to drown me in. I shook my head and turned to Eldrion. "Do we leave now?" "Of course," Eldiron replied and tossed a leather satchel at me. I caught it with ease and hung it around my back. "Do you always have to go with weapons everywhere?" Eldrion asked as he piled his carroty hair into a low ponytail. "I'll answer that question when you decide to chop that hair off." Turquoise irises narrowed into slits and Eldrion grabbed his sling. Laughter bubbled up within me. "You shan't speak of my hair, Nariel." Our descent down the cliff was filled with chatters and teases. Eldrion made life interesting for me. He was sort of a distraction and dare I say, his face was quite good to look at. Over the years, all Eldrion did was grow tall and handsome. As soon as we got into town, we both stilled, becoming self-conscious as we walked through the bush path. Eldrion plucked a few marigolds and stashed them into his satchel as he talked about serenading a certain girl who had caught his fancy. We passed by huts, cottages with little children running around. I willed myself to laugh when a little girl slid into a mud bath and began to wail at the top of her voice, stopping and placing my hand on the sheath of my blade when we heard the sound of gallops. Eldrion immediately grabbed my arm and pushed us to the side. Three riders or red stallions rode past, talking and laughing at the top of their voices. I hissed. "Fuckers. All they do is drink and chase women." We continued to walk till we got to the market. The first thing we heard was a whistle. I turned in the direction of a stall with red apples on display. Two women were talking and their eyes were fixed on us. I didn't miss the slight disdain in their eyes as they discussed us and how we weren't allowed to walk through here. "Outcasts!" An old man spat as he walked past us. It took Eldrion holding onto my arm for me not to slice my knife through his gut. "You should be used to this by now, Nari," He whispered. "We shouldn't be bothered by what they say. It doesn't matter. Besides, we live out of town." I jerked my arm from his hold and slipped my knife back into its sheath, glaring at the people as they avoided us like we were lepers. "I am not bothered. It's just annoying that they keep talking and staring like morons. I hate them." We kept walking and Eldrion paused in front of the Tavern Of No Sobriety. His eyes widened and he turned to me and just before I could back away from him, he grabbed my wrist and began to pull me towards the entrance wooden shack. "Not now, Eldrion! We have to meet the—" "Say no more, Nariel. A drink or two would do no harm!" He cried as we plunged into the brightly lit, alcohol-filled building. "We don't even have money!" I shouted as we weaved past tables filled with drunken men. Eldrion stopped and turned to look at me. There was a mischievous glint in his eyes that had been darkened by the lights. He pulled us into the corner. "There's a game tonight," He whispered. "All we need to do is win. Then we make some money. Maybe gemstones." I shook my head. "I will not get into trouble because of you again. Remember what happened last night?" Of course, he did. How could he forget? We had been chased from the tavern by seven men who would have had our heads on a gold platter or sold us to the Byzantines. His eyes softened and he brought his hands together. "I promise to be wise this time. I'll make sure we do this smartly. Hey, we're talking about coins and gems here! We're almost out of supplies." He was right. We were out of supplies. I leaned down and pulled my leather pants, making sure I had enough knives to sustain us in case a fight broke out. Check. "Okay. But make sure I stay out of this. I do not want to be involved in your tomfoolery." "Tomfoolery, she calls it!" We walked back into the open and Eldrion smiled at the men who only returned his politeness with glares and grim looks. Imagine having a bad reputation amongst people who already disregarded you. Shameful. Unfortunately, Eldrion possessed no shame in him because the next moment, he was sliding into the empty space beside a bunch of men and serenading them with his stupid words. "A tub of rum!" I called out and one of the ladies walked over to me. As soon as she saw me, her eyes widened slightly and she hurried off. Sighing, I decided to focus on Eldrion's game. Arm wrestling of all the stupid games to exist? I stood to my feet, brows raised as I walked towards their table. But I was stopped by one of the men standing around the table and immediately, I swatted his hand. "Don't touch me." Eldiron won the first round. No one cheered, including me and that was because I knew this was him brewing a recipe for disaster. He won the second round, grabbed some cash, and decided to do a third. By the time he was at the seventh, the men around the table were empty. "I quit!" Eldrion cried and pushed to his feet. "It was fun having to play this game with you. I hope we meet some other time so I can beat y'all's asses!" "What did you just say?" One of the men, a beefy hunk with a nasty expression on his face, stood to his feet. It was time for me to swoop in and save the day. I pushed past people and grabbed Eldrion by the collar. "It was all a joke!" But the man already pushed the table before him and thumped his way over to us, roughly grabbing Eldrion by the collar. People began to raise their drinks in the air, cheering at the beginning of a fight. That was when it happened. The shelves holding alcohols and spirits began to rattle and so did the roof above us. We were all taken back by surprise as the quake continued to shake the tavern and tilt tables to the side. There was no dormant earthquake anywhere around Twinecrest so where the hell was this coming from? In one swift movement, I turned towards Eldrion who had already been released by the man and was staring out through the door, grabbing his arm as I pulled him away from the men. "You stupid ass! Now is our time to escape." We pushed past people, tables, and chairs as we made for the door. Eldiron gloated behind me, talking of the gold he had won from this game but I was the least concerned. We were finally out of the tavern. I pulled my shawl over my nose as a tiny sandstorm danced past us. People were starting to take their wares in and soon, people began to run in the northern direction as they yelled out to another at the top of their voices. "What is going on this time?" Eldrion said as he came to stand beside me. "They're running from the town towards the woods. It's unusual." "Then let's go check what's going on!" Eldrion said and began to run in the opposite direction, even before we could come to an agreement. Huffing, I broke into a sprint, running after him as I dodged people. They seemed scared, like there was danger ahead. A pregnant woman with a little boy in her arms tripped over a crate and fell to her knees, picking herself up immediately as she continued to run. I didn't stop until a hand pulled me into the corner. It was Eldrion and he was breathing heavily. His forehead was coated with a sheen of sweat and strands of hair fell around his face. "What's it?" "Demons!" He whispered back, his eyes wide with horror. "We are under an attack. Take a look." I leaned towards the edge of the shack we hid behind, slightly poking my head out till I saw a very tall malevolent being, pulling an innocent man off the ground as it dug its claws through his gut. I watched the man go limp in his arms before he fell to the ground with a thud. Dead. What the hell? Demons? My body rippled with surprise and I felt my knees weaken underneath me before I turned to look at Eldrion. "We have to help them." I shook my head. "No. We need to escape out of here alive." "And watch these people die?!" He hissed. "I know you hate them! So do I! But we can't just leave them when we can help. They might stop the hate if they see we have good intentions towards them." I scoffed. "None of that is going to happen, Eldrion. I am not a fan of toxic positivity," I said and poked my head out to take a look again. This demon was almost seven feet tall. Chain mails were wrapped around its calf and sharp talons grew out of its calves, piercing through the chain mails. My eyes traveled up its naked body, taking in its scaly skin and claws that dug through different parts of its body. Gray locks of hair fell around its back and when it bent, I caught its ripped muscles, moving over its spine as it picked a young boy up. Eldrion couldn't take the sight. He shook his head and unsheathed his arrow. "I can't watch this. Stay here if you want." He ran out of the shack and shot the arrow at the demon. I watched the metal tip hit its scaly skin and it bounced off its body and fell to the ground before the demon dropped the boy. I moved my eyes before anything happened, battling with my thoughts as I tethered on the edge of just leaving these people to die or joining Eldrion in his stupid patriotism. I couldn't just leave Eldrion to fight off these monsters. Groaning, I pulled out two daggers from my sheath and my arm before breaking out into the road. Eldrion was gone. And so was the demon. Dead bodies lay sprawled on the floor and blood settled on the dusty ground, filling my nose with the dead stench of iron. With heightened senses, I jumped past dead bodies, forcing myself not to look down at them as all I could see was her. They all reminded me of her. Of the raid. A growl stopped me in my tracks and I followed the sound, going into one of the stalls and finding another night creature. Its fingers were wrapped around the throat of a little girl who was screaming and crying out as she struggled against it. I was filled with so much blinding rage and my scream broke the air as I lunged at it, digging my dagger into its hip. Scratchhh! That was the scraping sound I heard before my knife clattered to the ground, leaving sparks in its wake. The demon stopped, dropped the little girl before it turned to look at me. My skin crawled as an evil ruby gaze rested on me and the last thing I heard before I attacked was a demonic growl.