A Crimson Tale

by K. L. O Johnson

  ‘You can’t or won’t.’

  ‘I don’t know. That’s why I’ve come. I don’t know what to do.’ I admit feeling both guilty and empty. It’s not a nice feeling but then again when you walk around with this feeling in the pit of your stomach for years it seems to become a part of you—I seem to have become used to it. That is really sad though but still war isn’t something people are happy about unless they want to kill.

  ‘Take him to Midra.’ It declares and I stare at it in bewilderment.

  ‘What?’

  ‘Take him to Midra.’ It repeats. ‘There should be a man in black with a golden tattoo of a dragon. The same man you saw today.’ The dragon speaks and I gape at it in shock before I pull myself short and my mouth closed. I couldn’t believe what I just heard but then again, this dragon appears to be able to know things that my companions didn’t even know—it is wise. ’You have chosen to follow Golgotha not because you want to but because you have to…you know she won’t keep her word and you know she’s very manipulative. I know there is more to you than what you may think. Isn’t that so?’ It questions and I nod without even thinking. Beyond doubt it’s wise indeed.

  ‘I guess.’

  ‘Guess not. Know now. This is a dangerous game you are playing and you know it. You defeated Golgotha in your last battle and as a result have silenced your abilities as a Nephalem.’ I stare at him. How did he know that?

  ‘I’ve lost my abilities.’ I correct.

  ‘No you haven’t.’

  ‘What?’

  ‘No you haven’t. Nothing is ever truly lost in this universe just placed elsewhere. Energy isn’t something that can be destroyed nor can it be created but only transferred from one being to another. That is what your parents have done for you. You have not lost your abilities but you may lose your life in this war. Just don’t forget what side you stand on. Better yet, don’t underestimate what you don’t understand, child. You may have lived two centuries but you’re still but a child in comparison to me. You have to see your movements before you consider it. Golgotha is not someone anyone should trust that includes you—isolation isn’t always the answer.’

  ‘Than what should I do?’

  ‘Strategize…your brain is your best asset given with or without your true strength.’ I return back to the Inn and find Varden alone in the compartment. He turns to me—reading the expression on my face.

  “What’s wrong?” He stands on his feet and makes his way to me.

  “Nothing,” I lie when he’s a few feet from me. I couldn’t look at him right now and I think he’s noticed that.

  “Look at me. I know something’s wrong.”

  “How?” I ask. How does he know when I’m keeping something from him or when I’m not well or even when I’m down? Nothing seems to slip past this man and I wonder why that is. Is he purposely trying to keep tabs on me like everyone else or does him genuinely care? I brush away my thoughts and move past him, making my way towards the couch. I lean my head back and close my eyes. I feel the couch sink beside me and his fist not too far from my face.

  “You don’t appear to have that energy you normally have.” I lift my head and stare at him. “You’re quiet. I’ve noticed when you don’t like something you go quiet.” he says and I just realize than that it’s true. I was never the one to lash out at something or someone because it didn’t go my way instead I would allow whatever it is I don’t like to carry on and wait for my immediate strike.

  It’s one of my many strategies I’ve learnt from Dante. His name seems to bring an ounce of pain to my chest; I don’t know if he’s alive, I don’t know if he’s dead. Still, either way, I miss him and I fear that I may not be able to see him again for a very long time. I just hope he survives long enough to reunite with me. I remain quiet. “See, you’re doing it right now.” he points out and I glare at him from under my faceplate. Not that he can see my eyes. It’s really the whole idea of the faceplates.

  “So do you.” I add remembering how he acted when I swiped the compartment-keys from Altair by being “seductive”. It is surprising at how easily a woman can throw off a man but I only rarely ever use that female power of mince as I consider it to be playing dirty. His face contorts itself into an unreadable mask and I sigh. “You’re doing it now.” I press and he doesn’t look at me. Why is he acting so strange around me? It wasn’t like this before. He really is an odd man.

  “Are you sure nothing’s wrong?” he questions after some time of silence. I conclude not telling him.

  “Yes,” I lie. Why I seem to be lying to him in this way is something I’ve never done before but I don’t like the painful expression in his eyes it’s almost too much to bare. I turn away and move from the couch. At that moment Altair enters. You know how there’s people with unintentional but exceptional timing. Altair is one of them.

  “I’ve brought someone who would like to meet you.” Altair steps aside to reveal a man well-dressed; brown breeches and leather boots. Green vest and white tunic; his spiky brown hair sprawls across his tanned, middle-aged features.

  “Hello Commander Rodregas, I presume. I thought this man beside me was Commander Rodregas. But I was mistaken.” he says as he pulls over his brown leather jacket.

  “I am. You are?” I demand not caring about how rude I sound.

  “Jacob Avongale, the Mayor of this town.” Later we find ourselves in the Mayor’s Office. He speaks us about the reason why we are here. He declares, “I sent word to your Order for assistance. There have been kidnaps of women. Several times a week demons in uniform come to take young unmarried women.” His eyes regard me with an impassive expression. “We believe the Covenant is involved. There is a camp on the far side of the valley on the base of the eastern mountains?”

  “We’ve taken them out.” cuts in Altair.

  “The abductions are new but not uncommon.” I say. The Mayor is a bit taken back by the news but nods at my words. “It’s their way of trying to repopulate. Your women if not raped are eaten from the inside out.”

  The Mayor gasps and so does Varden.

  “My god!” gapes Varden.

  “It’s the main reason really; there was a time when the demons would come after our women. But we fought them off.” comments Altair as he glazes at me, blankly.

  11:A Frozen Memory

  © 2014—All rights reserved by author

  It was the night of the winter solstice. I stood under the full moon in a very spacious clearing. The sound of whispering demons flooded the darkness around me; I didn’t stop to find out what it was. My senses told me to flee and I did, without hesitation, I ran through the forest. The twigs snapped under my boots while I glanced over my shoulder, every now and again, their paws pounded on the earth after me at a fast pace. I didn’t slow down. I couldn’t. Once I made it back to camp, I found the other female students were gathered closer to the burning fire—that tingled with the desire to live on—like us. The air was silent and I run to stand beside Trinity.

  “Kal! There you are!” she said, scared at my long departure.

  “I thought you were dead!” cried Mya. Her blue eyes shimmered with concern and fear.

  “Something’s here.” whimpered Leanna. I turned to her and wrapped my arms around her. She seemed so small, so frail, I was determined to protect her at all costs. I glanced back at the shadows of the trees. I had no idea what to do. I couldn’t run back to the main camp where the other Instructors were. I couldn’t even make it to the male camp without going through the forest. Then again I knew that there was nothing that I could do but I feared the worst, I turned to the tent where Lady Milique was to sleep but when I arrived she wasn’t there.

  “Where’s Lady Milique?” I questioned with fear and annoyance. She was always around when I didn’t need her and when I did she was nowhere to be seen.

  I ran into her tent and nothing, I searched the other tents and around the campsite. The girls had told me that they had searched everywhere but I didn’
t believe it until I finally ended up giving up. The screeching in the surrounding trees didn’t help. I stood my ground and watched the darkness; their forms began to slither out of the shadows their transparent forms are now solid and they approach us.

  “Run!” I screamed and I turned my heel and ran through the thick forest. Trinity and Leanna not too far behind from me as we sprinted as fast as our bodies could take us. Why we had to where the stupid bands didn’t help the fact that we couldn’t change—didn’t help the fact that we couldn’t transform. We were in danger and what was the point of being a weapon when you couldn’t defend yourself. The thought utterly annoyed me.

  “Kal!” cried Leanna as she tripped over and fell hard on the earth before her. She didn’t notice what wound around her legs and her arms. Trinity stopped and turned to her, pulling and threading at the black transparent vines that seem to pull Leanna down into the earth bit by bit until her head was just above the ground. “Kal!” Even now as I stand in the Mayor’s Office I can still hear her call out to me, only if we knew what had reached our boarders only if we knew what had infiltrated our defenses.

  *.*.*

  “Commander?” peers a voice - the voice which pulls me out of my tormented mind—the place where I try my hardest not to dwindle but like everything else around me it’s unavoidable. I look up to see the Mayor giving me a confused glaze. I clear my throat.

  “I’m sorry can you repeat that.” I say, trying to sound interested and I was but my mind couldn’t help but jump back—I really didn’t like that about me right now.

  “What is your plan to keep the women with us?” he asks.

  “We gather them—of those young and unattached but at the marrying age.” I say. “Take them to the town hall; we’ll take over it from there.” He nods.

  “Will you need any of my men?” he asks as his eyes scan between both Altair and I with a grim but quizzical manner that almost catches me off guard but I remain in keeping my composure.

  “I don’t have any objections to a little bit of help.” I confess and turn to Altair before adding, “Do you?”

  “No. I’m fine with it, more men. The better,” he says before adding, “right?” He tries to joke and I turn from him and regard the map of the city.

  “Should they end up taking the women, we’ll have traps set up around the main exits towards the city. Your men will guard the minor ones. If they cannot contain the demons then leave it to us. We don’t need more bloodshed then there already is.” Nightfall approaches us, quickly. I stand beside Altair in the Town Hall with woman of different shades and hair color—all of which are young and unmarried. My eyes scan the building’s ceilings knowing that you can never be too careful when expecting a surprise attack. That’s one of the many strategies some people would use, wait above head because no one ever looks up mainly because they never need to. ’You think they’ll come?’

  ‘They have to.’ Altair states mentally as he wonders around the opposite end of the building. ’That or they’ll probably attack another village or town.’

  ‘Will we risk that?’ I ask and he turns to me where I whip around to glance at him he nods before returning back to his guarding route. The women appear scared as I glance down at them some are a bit wary of us still but even though I have my features covered these women seem to look through my faceplate and gaze at me with such intensity it makes my soul shudder. ’Why are they looking at me?’

  ‘Don’t know. Just ignore them.’

  ‘Easy for you to say,’ Immediately, Altair whisks around and glares at me. I couldn’t help but smirk. Right now he honestly reminds me of the teenager he once was. It’s amusing not that I’ll say anything I don’t think he would like the idea of me thinking of him as the child he once was—the hands on the hips—feet shoulder with apart—his face twisted in adorable expression. I fight back a laugh that threatens to rise. Wait did I just think that brute of a man is adorable? There’s something wrong with this picture.

  ‘Do not even get me started about how hard it is to avoid the attention of the ladies.’ I roll my eyes—not a very lady-like manner. ’That’s what I thought.’ I leave the conversation at that and move from where I took my guard towards the shadows of the Hall; there were benches where the women sat in the center of the room under the candlelit chandelier. I never mentioned using the Gratifier since I wasn’t exactly sure how Altair would take it but still if worst comes to worst I’ll have to resort to plan B. It’s a good thing I have plans set out which I follow though. Surprisingly though they seem to fall into place.

  I make my way down a dark corridor. Why it always seems to be so sinister when dealing with demons is almost cliché but that’s just how it is I guess. I move quietly, my crossbow in hand. I target my arrows at the shadows—I grip it tightly, in my dominant hand—my right hand. I may be ambidextrous but my right hand is more dominant than my left. So I normally, I would use this to shoot. I was and still am a good marksman or should I say: “marks-women”. I round a corner and come to an old empty room, the marble floors look black against the night sky which is present by the ceiling tall glass windows. The moon is still full tonight and I know it will stay like that for another night before it returns to its planetary cycle.

  I walk towards the glass and peer out into the black forest below. Where the city hall was on the edge of a cliff but then again so was this whole city. It’s was due to that dominant volcano. I glance at the shadows—nothing. Still not giving into my sight but my sense I move towards it. Oddly but slowly it begins to move, form and shift. Demons! Hearing an ear piercing scream I cradle sensitive ears and fall to my knees. Darkness engulfs me and I’m lost to the darkness.

  By the time I come to, the world is spinning and I hear screams of fear and pain. I force myself from the ground and stagger towards the entrance. The world seemed to shift sporadically under my feet and I can’t seem to keep my body above ground. I slip and tumble on the hard marble flooring. It doesn’t bother me, my body feels heavy and impact, numb - my eyes bout to stay awake and my mind strains to keep still. I see figures pulling out of the shadows, their forms blurry and my ears ringing. I can’t even remember what from. The sound of smashing glass enters my ears and a final scream before silence. I’m gone once more.

  *.*.*

  “Who are you?” I asked the man silver haired man before me, his eyes were gentle as his broad jaw was lined in a pleasant yet calming smile that made me feel safe, that made me feel at ease. For the first time in my life, I didn’t feel as though someone was trying to kill or subdue me. The possibilities of not trusting people and what they would do to me vanished at that moment. I had no idea how to react. Who was this man and why did he have such an affect when no one else did? Why do I feel safe with him?

  “My name is Krylancello.” he said. The name was odd, at my thirteen years I was sure that no one, in Australia was named so bizarrely, yet, that name seemed to suit him. Beside him stood a girl, her silver hair fell behind her back down to the length of her cloak. The two of them seemed to look exactly the same only the difference was, that the man had very opaque skin while the girl had a light soft coffee colored skin. You could see the gold and white base of her color. She had the same shade of skin I did. I couldn’t help but think at how it suited her and complimented her with her blood red lips that pulled themselves into a warm smile.

  She had markings on her face but they didn’t appear as scars instead they appeared as if they were navy-blue tattoos, she didn’t have the seven point star like the man did but instead had the four markings on his face. They were positioned gracefully upon his high cheekbones. His smile continued to stretch across his face. The girl ran to me and waffled me into a tight embrace. “I knew I had a sister!” she beamed in my ear and I couldn’t help but smile and take in my new family—my real family.

  That was something I always wanted.

  The years had passed like a breeze, as I aged so did my younger sister. We trained together, went to
school together on Nephelia and traveled together going on quests given to us by the Order. At that time Dante, a large man with long silver hair placed in a ponytail on his head sat high on his horse proud as his silver armor his cloak gleamed under the Nephelian sun. He was a proud man and a strong warrior he taught us everything we knew and mentored us on our quests. I stood my ground as my sister sprinted towards me a wooden sword in hand—she didn’t hold back and neither did I. What was the whole point of that when your enemy wouldn’t? Why waste trying to question their motive when they don’t think before killing?

  Our father never allowed us to slow down, nor did he ever allow us to think as women he described every warrior as an equal on the battlefield. He outlined men and women having different strengths in different parts of their bodies or the way men and women were designed for a different purpose. Using those qualities he urged us to train our core muscles, he urged us to flex our muscles until we could easily kick or slip from our opponent. “Fear is not of the power of the individual. Fear is in your potential to fail.” he reminded us. Our father would often be gone on missions of his own so we had to stick around Dante. He was like our babysitter/guardian at the time. I didn’t mind it was awesome having him around. We would always play tag through our house forcing several of our servants to stop what they were doing because of our shenanigans. Even though we were at the age of sixteen it still didn’t stop us enjoying our youth.

  Than that day came, that day I never thought would ever come.

  “Father!” I cried as he raced towards where I held my sister. We embraced each other in fear of us being lost to our invaders.

  “Kal, take your sister and leave.” ordered our father. The harsh lines on his face told me the severity of the situation, told me the fear in his eyes even though he didn’t show it through his expressions. His forceful tone is what scared me the most. He never yelled at us nor scolded us, instead, if things didn’t go the way it should have or if we somehow ruined his plans he would tell us and remind us not to do it again.