by N L Nold
“My you are a pretty little thing aren’t you, I bet you taste even better than you look.”
Her hands went up to grab the door of the stall hoping he would have to remove his hand from her mouth to pry her away. He was too strong though, try as she might her grip was not enough.
Struggling as much as his firm grip would allow, she raked her nails across his hands, but it failed to be an effective deterrent. Panic and fear surged through her body as she tried to think of anything at all that would get this man away from her.
His hand on her mouth moved slightly as he jostled her to the stall next to the wolves. She did the only thing she could think lifted her upper lip and bit down as hard as she could. The coppery taste of his blood flooded her mouth as the man jerked her around the back of his hand colliding with the side of her face. Reign hit the ground and immediately saw black.
Fear coursed through her as she opened her eyes wondering how long she had been out. The only feeling stronger than the fear was the pain that now lanced through the side of her face. Blinking up at the same time she placed a hand to the side of her face.
She noticed the man standing over her with a look of awe on his face. He was not moving to attack in fact he looked frozen in place. It took a minute for her brain to process what was going on but when it finally re-engaged, she had the sense to scramble back or attempt to. An odd sense of Deja vu flitting through her mind.
Moving back proved more difficult than she anticipated. Every time she tried a sharp tug down pushed at her shoulders. Finally realizing she wasn’t getting anywhere and the man hadn’t moved. She attempted to stand only to fall backwards at a new weight that pressed on her back.
After the second attempt she was finally able to stand only to see the man pointing a finger at her, at first a whisper escaped his lips as if he couldn’t quite believe what he was saying. His whispers slowly grew louder, and she finally understood.
“Demon, Demon, Demon, you’re a damn Demon” he then turned and fled the stable.
Unsure if she was still shaken from the encounter or had hit her head harder than she thought it took her a minute to reorient herself. Standing on shaky legs she dared to look behind her and immediately fell to her knees.
Protruding from her shoulders and gracefully laying down her back where a set of black wings. She couldn’t quite believe what she was seeing, bat like wings erupted from her shoulders.
Had she not been in such shock she would have taken time to appreciate their beauty. Thick black bone encased by velvet soft black skin, the most intricate pattern of silver glyphs decorating the membrane, all topped off by a sharp silver claw at the top of each wing.
Staring at the ground taking in large gulps of air, Reign tried to center herself and shake of what had to be a dream. She was sure it was a dream. Never had she seen a person with wings, not shifters or fae, and definitely not any humans.
The sound of pounding footsteps and shouted curses broke her from her reverie. Boots slowly made their way into her vision as she kneeled there head down waiting. Unsure of what exactly to do she stayed there waiting. Drogan’s voice broke her from the trance like state she found herself in.
“Reign, what are you doing in the stable?”
Such a simple statement and not at all what she expected to come out of this mouth. She was in trouble. Not for biting the man that would have assaulted her or suddenly having two huge wings protruding from her shoulder blades, but for being in the stable.
“Reign look at me and tell me what you are doing in the stable”
Slowly Reign lifter her head to Drogan’s. He was calm in outward appearance, but she could see the burning fury lit behind his eyes.
“I…. I wanted to see the horses for my birthday”.
A loud smacking sound followed by a sharp pain on the right side of her face had Reign seeing black dots and once again falling to the ground.
Chapter 3
Present Day
Shaking off the memories with a light flutter of her eyes she continued her walk towards the ring and the evening entertainment…. her. The Trollip always looked different on these nights.
Granted Drogan had added an addition to the bar area making the space much larger but still fight night always gave the tavern not only a different look but a different feel as well. She had been the side show of the tricky Trollip for seven long years.
The wings changed her life that day and definitely not for the better. Looking around at the crowd it was a typical Friday, the tavern packed to the rafters with men hoping to get there thrills for the night. Of course, there was the occasional whore amongst the masses looking to earn her next meal, but they never paid much mind to Reign.
As her gaze perused the crowd, she noticed many familiar faces some looking upon her with disgust, others with lust, and the newcomers who always had the gaze of curiosity. As her perusal began to find its way back to the center of the ring a strange pull in her gut caused her to look to the right.
There amongst the sea of strangers was the bluest eyes she had ever seen. As her breath caught and her mouth opened in gasp Drogan’s voice cut across the tavern.
“Ladies and Gentlemen; it’s time for this evening’s entertainment, all bets are final as of now.”
Chagrined by her momentary distraction, she looked back to the crowd as Drogan drawled on with his show. The eyes were gone, no matter how hard she searched. Had it been a trick of the light?
“Now that we have covered all that let’s get this fight underway”
That was her Que. Slowly walking towards the middle of the ring she was putting on a show just like they wanted. Sashaying her hips side to side until she reached the middle. With a nod from Drogan she held open her arms and let her black wings spring free. Gasps erupted from the crowd, people had always heard the rumors, but few believed them.
That is half of what packed the bar each weekend, men hoping to get a glance at the winged demon said to reside here. As she slowly turned for the crowd allowing them their fill of the freak show she kept her eyes sharp for the blue she was certain she saw.
Tonight, was not your typical fight night at the Trollip, it was open fight night which meant three men or women could challenge Reign, not that any women ever did. After doing this for so long she was accustomed to the overgrown farm boys trying to prove themselves in the ring.
Her favorite was the traveling swordsman who thought he could best her with his fancy foot work. Reign had left him lying in the dirt surrounded by a pool of his own blood just like all the others. Drogan’s training left no room for errors and the enhanced abilities that came with her new wings meant none of them even stood a chance. Once again Drogan’s rambling broke through her reverie.
“We have a special treat for you tonight gentleman…”
This caught her attention Drogan had told her nothing of a change up in the plan, usually he didn’t leave any details out as betting on her to win was the quickest way to earn coin for him.
“For the first time in the history of the Tricky Trollip we will have what appears to be a fair matchup between our little demon and her challenger’s”
He drawled with a wicked grin.
“I had a very interesting trio approach me this evening with a challenge, they have heard he tales of winged demon and believed they could best her”
Drawing on the silence for dramatic effect he looked around.
“Needless to say, the offer they put forward was just too good to refuse.”
His words where accompanied by a devious little chuckle.
Looking straight at me for the next part “Reign will have free use of all of her tricks this evening full combat with no limitations”
As the crowd erupted in cheers Reign couldn’t believe what she was hearing or seeing. Drogan gave her the look of you better not lose or there will be hell to pay.
He had never given her free will in the ring, always making her hold back. He always told her it added to t
he show and he wasn’t willing to clean up any more bodies after the first time. He had enough of that for a life time.
What could possibly have him changing the rules of the fight for the first time in seven years? Her answer came with the stillness of the room and the gasps that erupted from varying people in the crowd.
“Here are your challengers for the evening Abban mage of the Eastern plains, Maikoh shifter of the great traveling pack, and Eerikki Fae of the mystical northern forest”
Reign was shocked to the point she was unsure she would be able to move. With her back to where the challengers entered, she looked to Drogan to ensure she had heard him correctly. He gave an almost imperceptible nod and she turned around.
Chapter 4
The Beginning
Huddled in the corner of her small room she tried to make herself as small as possible hoping it was all a dream and she would open her eyes to find no wings. No matter how many times she closed her eyes and opened back up they were still there.
She knew better than to cry after the reaction from Drogan as to her being in the stables, tears would garner her no sympathy only extended anger. After what seemed liked hours Drogan finally reappeared in her room.
“Stand up you foolish girl”
Rising as quickly as she could without falling, she stood stock still and waited. Drogan slowly made his way around her examining the new extremities, extending them and running his fingers down the marking. Occasionally making an “hmmm” or “interesting” noise as he continued his perusal. Reign knew better than to interrupt his musings but the questions that lingered on her tongue had a mind of their own.
“What are they? What’s wrong with me? Drogan what am I?”
He didn’t answer her questions instead dropped his hand from her wing and walked toward the door, with his back still facing her.
“Tomorrow we began your training”.
Every day for three years they trained, the next day always more grueling than the previous. Drogan taught her everything he knew which surprisingly was a great deal. She became an expert in hand to hand combat besting him after a year of training.
After ensuring she was able to handle anything and everything, he could throw at her with his hands, they moved on to weapons training and learning to fight while flying.
By the time Reign reached the age of fifteen, gone was the twelve-year-old girl who could be so easily subdued and snuck up on. She was pure lean muscle from head to toe, her wings had become like a second set of hands and there wasn’t a weapon in existence she couldn’t utilize to its full extent.
She still didn’t have answers to what she was but damned if she couldn’t use her new skills to take the world apart. She had even learned to retract her wings at will, which made her daily chores far easier and the amount of back hands she received from Drogan for breaking something far fewer.
On the morning of Reign’s fifteenth birthday, she woke before the sun and began her chores. She was no longer banned from the stables as Drogan had no doubts about her ability to defend herself, so that is where her days started. Tending to the travelers horses before they left to continue their journeys. She made short work of the stables as they only had two guests, a small traveling party headed for the capital.
She made her way back towards the Tavern on light feet gained from her years of training. As she rounded the back of the building to enter into the kitchens a sharp pain in her back had her dropping to her knees and gasping for breath.
Her wings had broken free from her skin and where fully extended behind her. Since learning to retract them at will Reign had never experienced them suddenly appearing or for that matter hurting when they did. Normally it felt as if she was stretching out an arm after being in the same position for too long.
Something was very different about this though. If the wings appearing on their own was not enough to convince her, the sudden way the runes that decorated the membranes of her wings glowed was certainly enough to do so.
A searing pain shot from her shoulders down each arm all the way to her finger tips. Each side of her rib cage burst with the same searing pain trailing down her abdomen and coming to a V just below her navel. The intense pain was the last thing Reign felt before everything went black.
Reign woke to Drogan standing over her with a scowl on his face.
“What have you gone and done now stupid girl?”
Shaking the fog from her head she noted a pain on her left temple, she must have hit her head when she fell. Reaching her hand up to rub the small bump she was sure was going to be there she stopped her hand hovering in front of her face.
Looking down she saw black lines marring her skin from the tip of her middle finger and disappearing under the sleeve of her tunic. Not lines but runes the same runes that decorated her wings. She suddenly remembered the searing pain before she passed out and stood abruptly lifting her tunic over her head.
Drogan stared at her in shock “What the hell do you think you’re….”
He stopped abruptly as he noticed the thing she had been looking for.
The Runes extended up her arms to where her wings protruded from her back. In addition, there where runes across each side of her rib cage trailing down her sides and stopping below her navel, the last rune partially shielded by the waste of her pants.
It seemed Drogan was in an equal state of shock as he appeared just as lost in the sight of the new markings as she was. Neither of them spoke for a long time until they were shaken from there perusal by a voice calling through the back door.
“Put your clothes back on girl and go to the store room you’re done for the day until we can figure out what this is.”
Gesturing up and down her body with his hands. She quietly made her way back to the make shift bedroom in the store room. Once again removed her tunic leaving nothing but the chest wrap in place.
She spent what must have been several hours studying the new markings, judging by the sounds now coming from the Tavern it was dinner time. Replacing her tunic, she stood and made her way to the door only to be halted by Drogan’s large frame blocking the door.
“Where you think you’re going, I told you to stay in your room”
He raised his hand to strike her for the disobedience. The years of training causing her muscles to act of their own accord. Raising her hand she blocked the strike meant for her face. That was all the challenge Drogan needed, his next steps brought him into the room. The space barely large enough to fit his oversized physique.
The rage shown plainly on his face.
“You think you can disobey me you ungrateful little bitch? Let me show you just how wrong you are”.
He slipped the dagger from the sheath on his side weighing it in his right hand. Never once in all there time training had he used real weapons, opting for the wooden replicas that hurt but would not cause any real damage.
She reached to her side out of habit but came up empty. Of course, Drogan never let her keep real weapons. He didn’t fear Reign clearly but he also didn’t trust her.
Bracing herself for the first attack she raised her arms in a crossed position just as the dagger came down and sliced through her left forearm. The scream that followed must have been heard in the bar because a brief pause interrupted the noises coming through the store room door.
She fell to the ground cradling her arm against her chest. Drogan reared back ready to make another attack and the rage within Reign could no longer be contained.
Her wings erupted from her back the runes glowing like earlier. The force of them causing Drogan to stumble back a step. Raising her right hand the rune on the back of it glowed mirroring the rune on her wing. Unsure of exactly what she was doing. Reign began pushing the rage she felt towards the rune. Funneling the fury of Drogan’s actions against her into the black marking.
Black wisps of smoke convulsed around her hand and then materialized into a dagger matching the one held in Drogan’s hand. Hers was black as night
and convulsing with power.
That night started the misery that would become her life. Drogan was sure that the runes all held some sort of power and was determined to activate them all through any means necessary.
He started with regular beatings hoping they would react as the shadow magic had. In between his attempts at activation she was to practice with the shadows.
As it turned out she could materialize much more than a dagger, just about any weapon she could think of could be formed from the shadow as well as the shadow being a weapon in itself.
She could cause her opponent to see nothing but darkness blinding them. It only lasted for a few seconds and she couldn’t use it on more than one person at a time, but it allowed her enough time to gain the upper hand in a fight.
After several weeks of trying Drogan became angry that no other runes had activated. He decided to take his frustrations out in the bottle followed by the worst beating of her life. By the time he was done with Reign, nothing remained but a pile of blood and broken bones.
She was certain she would die, hoping she would die. Then it happened again as Drogan stumbled his way to his room the rune on her left hand began to glow. Unlike the shadow she possessed in her right hand; light erupted from her left.
A warm glow seeping out from her hand slowly began covering her whole body. As the light wrapped around her body, bones snapped back into place, skin melded back together, and blood disappeared. It seemed for the darkness that she held there was also light.
