by R. G. Porter
Gabriel's jaw dropped at the same time the demon vanished into the air, his laughter echoing through the forest. It couldn't be true. Elroy was alive? With each intake of air Gabriel could sense fragmented pieces of a puzzle begin to fall into place. They'd gone to the spring festival; the night was to be a time of fun and laughter. Elroy had destroyed that the moment he'd entered their village, his proclamation of searching for a bride nothing more than a farce to take a woman to his bed to abuse. They'd believed Danielle to be safe, that was ‘til Elroy's attention had been directed solely on her. Gabriel tried to recall the rest but a piercing pain jabbed through his mind. There was more, much more but all he could sense was a void of darkness. All he did know for sure was that Danielle was dead and he was cursed. Gabriel's hand lightly touched the decaying tombstone, his fingers a soft caress to what remained of her memory.
"I'll never forget you my love. Not even if I live for hundreds of years.” Anger unlike anything he'd felt before rushed through his blood like an inferno. He raised his face toward the sky, his eyes searching out answers. “Why is this happening to me? Why did she have to die? She didn't deserve this.” Revenge replaced the aching pain in his heart. “I'll find a way. Somehow I'll find a way."
Find me Gabriel you promised. A soft voice whispered in his mind, calling out to the inner most part of his soul. Gabriel's gaze darted around but found no one. A roar of frustration erupted from his lungs as he hollered out his pain to the heavens in the rise of the morning sun. The warm rays trickled across his skin in bands, the red orange hues setting his skin on fire. Pain shot through him in waves.
"Oh no... God, no. Please, not now.” A burning sensation rushed through his blood as bones and muscles began to move and contort. Prickles of pain ran across his skin as the change engulfed him. The strength of the shift pushed the air from his lungs, knocking him to his knees. Red and blue colors crossed his vision as he watched his hands and feet morph into talons. He wanted to scream but no sound came out. Everything was going dark as a red haze began to wrap around him. He could feel all conscious thought slip away only to be replaced by a killing fury that enveloped his mind.
Gods, he prayed, save me please or kill me now. Just as he was swept into the unknown darkness, he heard the insane laughter of Innok echo through his mind.
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CHAPTER: 2
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"Robert, where are you?” Alayia called out into the open field. The man was a menace if ever she'd met one. Good thing for him he was her brother or she would never have put up with him.
"I'm over here silly. I need to make sure the fence wasn't knocked down after the last storm."
"Fine but hurry up. Lunch is done.” She knew it could wait, but for as long as she could remember she'd always loved to tease her older brother.
Alayia watched as Robert turned to face in her direction a smile warm as the sun crossed his face. “Aren't you the one who complained that the fence was broken in the first place?” Of course she was but, she wasn't going to admit to it. That would give him too much of a reason to give her a hard time and she wasn't about to allow it.
"Hey I thought I saw Andrea in town last night. Aren't you two still close?” Robert's brow furrowed at her inquiry. Try as she might she couldn't help but bring up her brother's past indiscretions. The man was a flirt if ever she saw one. She'd never understood why men felt the need to have so many women. She could barely stand the thought of one man in her life. Thankfully she wasn't even at that point yet.
"You're changing the subject, but yes that was her. And no, we aren't, if you must know Miss Nosy. I thought you were too busy talking to that old crone to notice?” A hearty laugh carried on the wind back to Alayia. Oh how she loved to listen to him. They'd been closer than most and she'd never regretted it. For as long as she could remember they'd always watched out for each other, she prayed that never changed. Granted, he was five summers older than she, but that had never stopped them from doing almost everything together.
"I was but I couldn't miss the look on Andrea's face when she saw you. Besides, the woman began to act very peculiar. She looked at the palm of my head and began to shake. She kept muttering something about a wheel that was spinning out of control. She kept going on and on so much so that I nearly asked her if she broke her carriage or something.” Her skin prickled at the memory of the old lady. Her voice had held concern and fear but she'd been too distracted to ask why.
Robert's half grunt broke her thoughts. “You know someday we are going to have to get a man for you. Though for the life of me I can't imagine a man who will be able to keep up with you little sister. You are much too wild.” His show of affection had always warmed her heart but his observation of her carefree attitude always amazed her.
"There isn't a man alive that could keep up with me and you know this. Besides I plan to grow old and bug you till my dying day. I'm not the marrying kind and there isn't a man out there that would want me anyway."
"And you know this how?” She couldn't help but smile as she watched the hammer he held come down hard on his finger, a yelp of pain crossing the distance between them. “You really must be more careful. One of these days you're going to break a finger off."
"I swear Alayia, I pray the gods send you a man that will truly show you how to live life. There is more to this world than just giving me hell.” Alayia couldn't tell if he was upset with her or not. She began to head toward him when a breeze from the east moved across her body. Her head turned toward the coming breeze, a shift apparent in the wind. Something was amiss and she wasn't sure what it was.
"Are you almost done it can't be..."A wave of darkness crossed Alayia's soul bringing her heart hammering into her throat. Before she could move, her vision blurred. Something was coming she could feel it. Oh gods no. “Robert, drop the hammer and come home now!"
Confusion crossed his brow. “What is it?” One thing her brother knew about her. If she felt something, it was real.
"I don't know but something is coming. Hurry please.” Fear pooled in the pit of her stomach sending it into convulsions. “Move quickly!” A haze of red and orange crossed her vision so bright she was blinded by the light. From above, heat so intense blanketed the area and she fell to the ground, her head hitting a rock and knocking the wind from her lungs. Dizziness and darkness filled her vision, her body unable to move.
"Alayia” She could hear her brother's cries for help, but she couldn't get to him. The blow to her head had knocked her balance completely off and brought with it impending darkness.
"Robert...no.” Her voice whispered beneath the intense pain. Despair wrapped around her like a cocoon. A veil of black enveloped her just before she saw a large beast move across her vision, its wing span like nothing she'd seen before. “It can't be real. Please tell me it isn't so. Not a dragon. Not here...not now. Robert... run!” Alayia's last vision as unconsciousness completely engulfed her was black obsidian eyes staring back with emotions she couldn't fathom.
Help me, please help me. A deep voice moved through her mind, sadness unlike anything she'd felt before. His voice sounded familiar to her, as if she'd known him before. She wondered if it was real or if the blow to her head had created the voice.
Who are you? She wasn't awake and she knew it. Too many times she'd had episodes that she wasn't surprised by the visitors.
Help him, you must. We must find him and save him. We promised him long ago. Alayia recognized the female voice but from where she couldn't be sure. The woman's plea echoed in her mind. We? Who promised what? Gods be damned her head hurt.
I want to die. The man's voice was back. Alayia could feel his guilt. It was like a living breathing beast that tore at her soul. Her fear was replaced with concern. She wanted to find this man and hold him tight.
Where are you? She wanted to help him. She felt drawn to him with such strength that it amazed her. There was a pull to aid him even though she had no idea where to look.
Stay away from me. I only cause death. There was despair in his voice, his words full of regret that Alayia felt her heart would surely break. She needed to find this man and soon. He needed comfort in the worst way.
Who are you? How will I know who you are to avoid you? There, if she acted like she wanted to avoid him then maybe he would give himself away. She prayed he would fall for it. His silence worried her.
I am the man who has no soul and the one who knows not how to smile. I bring fear just by my presence and despair by my actions. She needed his name, why wouldn't he give it?
Where are you? What town are you in? I'm in Ravinen. Was he close? She'd not talked like this in years, but he felt near. The silence went on for so long Alayia feared the connection had been lost. She was about to give up when she felt a rustle in her mind.
Yes... I'm near. Do not come looking for me. Oh God the pain. Not again... Coldness entered her mind, a swift rush of intense pain that she wanted to scream. As soon as it began it was gone and she knew he was no longer there. Why she suddenly felt bereft she wasn't sure but she did.
Before she could try and trace the path to his mind her body began to convulse with energy, her mind filled with images she didn't understand. Distant music filled her ears, the sounds of laughter coming in all directions. Before she could focus on anything her vision cleared and she found herself in the middle of a clearing. People she didn't recognize danced in carefree jubilation, their voices all held in harmony. Try as she might she couldn't place the name of where she was the method of dress unlike anything she'd seen before. Could her mind be playing tricks on her? She began to doubt her own sanity when the gasp of a child drew her attention. Her gaze moved up to the distant road. Strangers headed their way. Her stomach knotted with each progression the horses made toward them, her body stiff with fear.
"Do not worry, all will be fine. They cannot possibly hope to gain anything from us. We will be as we've always been my love.” The voice from her dream brushed against her skin in a ripple of warmth. She tried to turn to put a face with the voice but found she couldn't remove her stare from the procession of horses that approached. Just as the horses stopped and the door began to open Alayia found her body spinning into darkness.
"Stop! Leave me be.” She screamed into the darkness unsure if anyone would hear her but unable to keep quiet. “Who are you and why are you doing this?” Nothing but silence answered her. Before she could open her mouth she found her body secured to a tree, figures she couldn't make out standing in the distance.
In front of her a stone slab littered with candles filled her vision. A man opposite her was bound as well. She couldn't make out his face but he felt familiar to her, as if from a dream she couldn't place. She wanted to go to him but the ropes around her body gave no room to move. How had she gotten here? No matter how hard she tried she couldn't recall coming to this place.
"You are awake. Good. You need to be aware. You will see the true power I wield and then you will understand your fate.” The man's voice grated against her skin like stone.
"Leave her be. You have no right to her or us. What do you hope to accomplish?” The man's voice from her dream was back. More than ever she wanted to see his face but all she could find was jet black hair that whipped around him.
"You will not live to see what I have planned but rest assured I will take great care of her. She's mine forever.” The mere idea of this man laying any claim to her made her nauseous. This man felt evil to the core and she didn't want to spend one single moment with him.
"You won't have her. She and I belong together and always will. You kill me and I will find a way to return and make you pay.” Alayia could feel the hatred in this man's voice and her heart broke. Why were they fighting over her when she didn't know either of them?
"You will die, of that rest assured, and the pain you endure will be told throughout the ages. You will live on but only in lore while I warm my bed with her for many years to come.” Her gaze tore from the bound man to the one held in the shadows. “She will provide me with many children and thus my legacy will be set.” Her stomach lurched at the thought of doing anything with this man.
"Never. I will never give you anything.” Her lips moved but the voice she heard wasn't her own. Could she be dreaming after all? The smell of fire and roots drifted on the wind. No, there was something else happening. Voices from the distance drew her gaze; men cloaked in black approached the stone slab. Fear turned into a living beast as it wrapped around her chest, squeezing the life from her body. “Oh no.” Only death could come from whatever this man had planned. She knew it as well as she knew her name. Her head turned back to the man across from her. She needed to warn him, to tell him to find a way to free himself, otherwise they would both perish. Alayia began to shout out to him but nothing emerged from her lips. Heat and darkness crept into her mind, her vision going black.
You must not fear that which you remember. The truth is not as it seems. There are layers to the past that overlap those things you will learn. You must help to unravel the layers from that which is intertwined in the past of us all. Another woman's voice she didn't recognize drifted through her mind, easing the pain in her soul. You must wake now, wake and be wary of those who portray that which they are not. Wake now!
Her heart pounded in her ears, the sounds of wings as they flapped above her. She couldn't see past the vibrant colors in her mind. There was so much pain in the mind of the man she'd heard, not to mention the words of the woman who'd told her to wake. She needed to find him, to find out what was causing his despair and find answers to questions she didn't understand. Her brother's scream replaced the sound of the dragon's wings, her fear for his life rushed through her, replacing the vision she'd had. How could she have let him stay so far away? She should have felt the disturbance far in advance of its approach. She'd never forgive herself for not getting him away sooner. It would be her fault if anything happened to Robert. If he was hurt her parents would never forgive her. He was the one who had always shielded her from their parent's indifference. If something ever happened to him no one would be around to help shield her from the wrath of her parents. In her mind voices continued to whisper words she couldn't understand. Before she could try and find the source of the voices that continued to swim through her mind, Alayia heard footsteps approach. Which direction they came from she couldn't tell. Had those who approached seen what had happened? A cry of denial filled her ears at the fear she felt for her brother.
"Alayia wake up.” Her father's voice pierced right through the fogginess of her dream. “Come on boys help her up.” She could hear the concern in her father's voice. He must have heard her scream when everything had happened.
"I'm fine father.” Her throat felt numb, her words barely able to be heard. Was she fine? Sometimes she wondered. “Where's Robert?"
"No, please God no.” Her father's voice roused her from the web of darkness that had wrapped around her mind. “Jerod, tend to your brother; I'll take care of Alayia. Speak to me girl. Can you hear me?” She wanted to cry out that she could but her throat felt closed in. Her mind filled with visions of what might have happened to her brother at the hands of the beast. Her heart broke knowing deep down that he was dead. She would find the creature and make it pay. “Alayia look at me."
"I can't. My head is spinning. Did you see it?” She grasped her father's arm for stability.
"See what? I heard the screams and came running. What the hell happened? What killed your brother?” Of course he'd not seen it. Never in his life would he believe her. He'd always been grounded firmly in reality, regardless of how much she showed him otherwise.
"Never mind. It's pointless now.” Grief consumed her ‘til she felt she would drown in her unshed tears. No matter how much she loved her brother she refused to let her father see her cry. It was a sign of weakness in his eyes. “Let me get up. I need to walk around.” Her father's hand gripped tight to her arm, his fingers digging into
her flesh. “I can do it on my own. Stop father, you're hurting me."
"I asked you what happened to your brother. I expect an answer.” His face held tight to a frown. More than ever she wondered if she'd been born to the wrong family. Never had her views mimicked theirs, instead she'd always been on the opposite end of their beliefs.
Her head swung back toward her father, her eyes still misted from the pain. “He was killed father. By a beast far greater than any you've hunted."
His fingers tightened around her arms. Pain shot straight to her head. “Stop speaking in riddles and answer my question. What happened out here?” Alayia was half tempted to tell him what he wanted to hear but felt the truth would be more beneficial.
"Fine, if you must know it was a dragon father. A gigantic black dragon killed my brother.” The moment her words registered his hands dropped to his side. There was an instant relief that swept through her the moment his hand released her. “There was nothing I could do. I have no idea why the beast didn't kill me as well. I tried to call out to him but it was too late. I don't know how it killed him but it was the only thing near enough to do it.” Deep in her heart she wished the beast had killed her as well. No matter how much she turned the events over in her mind she still couldn't understand why she'd been spared. It made no sense. Predatory by nature it should have gone after her. She was a weaker than her brother. It only made sense it should have gone after her instead yet it hadn't.
"Awfully convenient you lived. How can you be sure what it was?” Alayia couldn't miss the condescending tone to her father's question. He didn't believe her and never had. No, her father's only way to deal with anything she told him she had seen happen was to find a logical explanation for what had happened.
