Her Darkling

Chapter 3.

We would have been inside the cottage, the house dimly lit with tiny candles and smoke dancing out of the chimney while cooking the last of our potatoes and a bit of cottage cheese to mash with marmalade and a sprinkle of sesame seeds. I could already visualize the setting in my head as I occasionally brought myself back to this overly annoying scene before me.

The torture continued. The man was beaten with spiked whips while the General watched the spear turn red hot. I looked up at the skies to see that it was getting dark; too late to be outside.

People began to talk in distinct whispers and I saw the pity that creeped into their faces. Puny humans! I groaned.

To show an inkling of remorse for a demon who had nearly razed this place to the ground. Showed how much it was to manipulate human feelings and incite some feelings of toxic empathy.

"Do you realize how stupid this is?" I whispered to Eldrion. "Look at their faces. Filled with remorse for a man capable of wiping out the whole town in one night."

"I don't think they have an idea of who he really is," Eldrion replied. "Let's just watch, Nariel. You've never failed to remind me how much you hate them so much. I think it's quite clear now."

I rolled my eyes and turned back to face the crowd before us.

At least, the General was still bent on torturing this man-demon no matter how much they talked about this evil entity being naught but an innocent man. How despicable.

Finally, Eamon took the branding iron out of the fire and the guards stepped aside, spiked whips brushing their chain mails before it finally came to a halt.

Eamon slowly elevated his hand towards the Demon who began to struggle against the chains, crying and begging for him to be heard out and when the branding iron came in contact with his skin, he threw back his head and let out a blood-curling scream from the deepest parts of him. His voice broke through the dark night, breaking through the thin air, traveling at a great speed into the forest and coming back as a reverberation. Everyone around covered their ears as the high-pitched sound altered, including the General who angled his head away from the man as he kept the branding head on his chest.

"Oh, gods!" A woman cried from amongst the crowd of people. "Look at him!"

We all raised our heads to see a man, with cracks running down the mark the branding iron had made. It split his body into three, like serpentines with an iridescent red glow for water. It trickled down the cracks of his body and flakes of skin began to fall off his body, revealing his true identity— a gruesome-looking chitinous skin that slowly began to show itself with every passing moment.

Gasps and cries floated into the air and people began to back away from the man on the stake. I and Eldrion were pushed into the oncoming stampede and we immediately stood to the side and watched as mothers picked up their little children and began to run. I could see the fear in their eyes as they expressed their shock. They spoke of the gods pouring out his wrath on them by sending Demon down to begin an apocalypse and I didn't know which to believe. The sheer ignorance that this wasn't any f*****g God raining down his anger or the fact that this was the beginning of a new season, one filled with bad occurrences.

"Duck, Nariel!" Eldrion cried and pulled me down with him as a beam of red light burst out through his chest, briefly turning the night air bright red, his screams turning into demonic growls and he finally transformed back to his full form.

This time, the crowd scattered with people running helter-skelter and yelling their woes. The guards made a fort around the demon with their shields and bucklers, waiting for the worst to happen.

Eldrion and I straightened and watched the demon as a new wave of recognition washed over us. We hurried towards the warriors and stood behind them, weapons out of their sheaths as we waited for the worst to happen.

The Demon kept struggling against the chains, snarling and trying to tear its way out of the chains and this made the warriors progress but I could feel the fear in their movements. Their booted feet sank into the sandy earth, raising thick clouds of dust but there was a lack of precision in their steps, a hint of hesitation in their advancements.

"Do not break the walls no matter what!" Eamon let out a battle cry. "Do not break the walls, no matter what!"

"Do you think he can break out?" Eldrion asked as his eyes darted from side to side. I knew he was making calculations of coordinates and how to execute his attack in case it ever escaped.

"I doubt," I replied, wiping a sheen of sweat that broke out of my forehead with the back of my hand. I sniffed, hating the smell of burning sulfur that wafted into my nose, against my own will. "We used the Eldredge technique, remember? He can not break through it." I assured him, remembering how hard it had been for us to master the hardest knot ever. It had been greatly frustrating and we gave up a lot of times before we perfected it.

"We need to do something before it breaks out of the chains!" A man from amongst the warriors cried out. He was afraid. I could see it in the way he trembled slightly.

Eamon, who had been surprisingly still with the demon snarling right in his face, turned to face him. "And you think we haven't done anything yet?"

Eldrion and I looked at each other with raised brows.

"Look," Eldrion pointed and eased his stance. "The branding iron is doing more than revealing its true form."

I followed his gaze back to the demon to see that it was true. The embers on the mark were still aglow, burning brighter as moments passed. It trickled like lava down the cracks on its skin and when it finally got to his heart, we watched as the hot liquid began to eat away at its skin. Not even my knife had been able to break through its scaly chest but this heat was doing that with ease.

The demon kept struggling, pulling at the chains and scaring everyone each time it looked like a chain was going to snap. But it didn't. Wood snapped and the demon fell on its knees. The warriors drew back out of flight instinct but Eamon called them back to order.

"Stand your ground! I repeat, stand your ground! Advance! Advance!"

The heat had created a glaring hole, like a k******e had been shot through its chest. Its heart pounded away, undulating and the heat kept moving through its great cardiac veins as the demons struggled to put out the heat but it was impossible because soon, the heat bloomed into a fire and there was an explosion.

Silence followed before a thunderous thud as its body came in contact with the ground.

The demon had been vanquished.

The warriors eased their weapons and returned them to their sides before they all made way for Eamon to pass through.

He stopped before us. "Thank you so much, Eldrion, Nariel," His eyes darted towards me and I returned his gaze with a hard one. "The demon has been vanquished, we can all sleep in peace."

"What if more returns?" I asked, folding one arm over the other. "Are you going to be prepared?"

"Of course," He nodded. "Which brings me to ask you both if you would love to join us. I know you both live on the hill but you will be a great addition to us, seeing that you expertly vanquished one and bonded one with chains."

"You weren't even there to see us." I huffed.

"Nariel," Eldrion said sternly.

"The offer is still open. Join our ranks and fight with us and get all the benefits of being a part of Twinecrest."

Eldrion looked at me. I could tell that he wanted this. Finally, an opportunity for us to be part of a clan of people for once.

"No," I replied. "I am not interested. But thank you, General. Thank you for your grand show of executing the Demon. I was nearly impressed but I am better off alone, fighting with Eldrion beside me. We are brave enough."

"I never doubted your courage, Nariel. I just thought it would be best if you joined us. We would work well together. You teach our men what you know and in return, we do the same and give you a chance to be one of us."

I burst into laughter. "A chance. Like we were begging for it."

"Nariel," Eldrion urged, looking at me pleadingly but I shook my head.

"No would do."

Eamon smiled. "I think you're really witty but you choose to tone it down with this watered version of you. Insultingly sarcastic. But that's fine. I will be leaving now. The offer still stands. You know where to meet me when you change your mind. Nariel, Eldrion." He tipped an imaginary hat before turning and walking back to his men.

"I owe you a debt of gratitude though, General. You came right in time with your men to save the day!" I called after him and Eldrion pulled me away.

"Why did you do that?!" He hissed as we began to make our way back home.

I kicked a rock, watching as it rolled into a pool of blood in the middle of the road, and stopped.

“Why did I do what?"

"Turn down his offer for us to join their ranks?! Do you know that opened doors to several opportunities for us?"

I scoffed. "That after several years, they want us to become a part of them because we have something they want? Eldrion, what's the definition of exploitation again?"

"You know that's not true!" He hissed and grabbed me by the arm. I pushed him off. "They are not trying to exploit us. It's called partnership. We scratch their backs and they do the same, too!"

"No!" I stopped and turned to him, pressing my index finger into his chest. "You want us to be accepted by a group of people for once. You want to walk through the town square and not hear nasty comments being thrown at us! You care about what they think of you and you want them to see you as more than just an outcast so you are willing to trade your knowledge for the crap they're going to give us!"

"Crap? Can you listen to yourself, Nariel? Crap? Free accommodation, a place in the army for us to serve so we can fall back to it when we are older? A way to protect ourselves? Access to civilization"

"We can protect ourselves, Eldrion. That has never been our problem! And if you think those demons would attack us, they can't! We literally live on the other side!"

Eldrion shook his head. His opaque eyes narrowed into slits. "I know why you're vehemently disagreeing with this. You're afraid. You're afraid of those demons doing the same thing they did—"

"Don't you dare!" I hissed, pushing him against the wall behind him. My hands were twisted around the lapel of his jacket. "Do not say another word."

He pushed me off him and straightened his clothing. "I'm going to leave you be. Let's go home and never make mention of this day ever again."

We trudged back home and I was painfully aware of the fact that he was angry at me. No jokes I warped up had him cracking into a smile or telling me I was bad at making jokes and when we finally got up the hill, he dropped his satchel on the porch steps and went in the direction of the water reservoir behind the house to clean himself up.

It was my turn to make dinner.