Hound stood before me, staring into my eyes with his one dark, shining eye. I felt them piercing into my mind as though he was trying to find something in my eyes that could give me away, or hoping that I would turn away out of nervousness, but I didn't. I held his gaze with my own, glaring right back at him. After what seemed like forever he nodded and punched my shoulder, but in a way that wasn't violent. I nodded as well.
He turned away, crossing his arms. "You're the first girl here, 'ow does that knowledge make you feel?" he asked.
I shrugged. "Its no big deal, so I'm the first girl, should that make me feel anything?" I replied.
"You're the only girl in a village full of sex deprived armed bandits. Yeah, I think you should feel something."
"That knowledge makes me wonder just how many faces I'm gonna' get to smash within the next twenty four hours," I said with a grin. He grinned back.
"You're got guts, you'll do just fine 'ere."
I was then escorted around the village by Hound himself. I was shown the pointless Mess Hall, which was in an old school gymnasium that they just used for dice and card games; the trading post, some run down buildings where some men lived, the weapon shop and finally, my house. I can't say as I was too impressed by it. We walked into the kitchen immediately after walking through the doorway, to the right was the living room and a bedroom up a flight of stairs in that room as well. The walls were cracked and made of dried mud, the windows were smashed, the table was missing two legs, the chairs were broken against the walls, the steps were rotting and cracked, the furniture was infested with rodents. Overall, it was disgusting.
"Sorry for the poor living arrangements," he said with an unapologetic chuckle. "We're a tad short on buildings."
Like hell you are, I thought to myself angrily.
"No, its fine, I'll fix it up a bit," I replied.
"Good. I'll be back in the morning." And with that, Hound walked out of the building.
Looking around the house, I wondered where to begin. "This is where Rini's powers would come in handy . . ." I whispered, trailing off. I started off by dragging each of the chairs, tables and other rotted wooden furnishings outside and setting them on fire, then pushed the rat infested couch outside with my telekinesis to burn that as well. The sound of rat screams filled the night. I laughed darkly and walked back inside to chuck rats out the window into the fire with telekinesis as well. That task was soon over and I was turning my attention to the kitchen that lacked a front door. Using telekinesis again I unclogged the sink - which happened to be stuffed with rat bodies. The scent of their rotting corpses filled my nose and I sighed.
From behind me, the floor creaked and I whipped the rat corpses in that direction with my mind, hoping to scare whoever it was. There was a squelching noise, and when I turned I saw Hound there with the lower half of a rat stuck to his face. I quickly removed it and the rotting guts from his face with telekinesis.
"I-I'm sorry," I stuttered quickly. Hound held up his hand to silence me.
"It was my fault, I should 'ave warned you that I was there. I saw smoke and heard screaming, I wanted to know what all the noise was about. Should 'ave figured it was you," he replied. I nodded and turned my attention back to my work without turning away from Hound. I knew better than that. Like he said, I was the only girl in a village of sex-deprived bandits, I wasn't about to help them change that.
The fridge attracted my attention, with strong wafts of rotting food and other rats filling my nose at last. Without bothering to open the door I chucked that through the broken window as well, taking the remaining shards of glass with it.
Hound hadn't moved from where he stood.
I was done with the kitchen, and he knew that, but he didn't move. "I've got to clean the upstairs, unpack my stuff. I'd appreciate it if you left," I said. His eyes narrowed. "I'm a girl, you're not supposed to see what I wear that isn't visible when I wear it."
"I'm coming back when dawn breaks, don't be surprised if your stuff 'as been searched while you're out later, we 'ave to check it," he replied in a gruff way.
"If I find holes in any of my cloths that aren't supposed to be there, or any of my things are missing, somebody is going to get hurt," I warned with anger clearly audible, then took a step forward, waiting for him to move his large body out of my path. He stalked out of my new "home", peering over his shoulder as he went. I glared back and then stood myself at the foot of the broken stairs.
After making sure he was out of sight, I let my wings flare out, but smaller than normal so I could get myself up the stairs without burning the walls or the railing.
When I reached the landing a new scent filled my nostrils. It was not only the scent of rotting rats, but that of rotting human flesh. When I turned the corner to officially enter the bedroom, I was overpowered by the smell. There, on the bed just feet from me was a half-rotted body, its flesh eaten by rats in many places. One of his eyes was dangling off the side of the bed, still attached to his skull, while the other was completely gone. His stomach was slashed open and there were rats and maggots inside the wound, eating his guts. Many of his vital organs were draped out of the wound and onto the bed beside him. His nose was half gone, seemingly slashed away by a blade, and the thing that would have set me over the edge, had I still been human, was the hook that pierced the skin under his jaw and protruded out of his mouth. The upper half of his body was somewhat elevated by the rope that was attached from the hook to the ceiling.
I stared in horror at the man, wondering just what had happened to him and how long ago it was. I would have been standing there for hours in horror had a shuffling sound not met my ears. It was clearly different from a rat, much bigger, and when my head whipped around to face the closet doors, a soft whimper met my ears. Lighting my hand aflame I approached the doors, nudging them open with my toe. There on the floor in front of me was a girl who looked no older than nine, huddled in the spider-infested corner of the moldy closet, staring up at me with wide, shining crimson eyes. She had on a filthy long sleeved dress that was too big for her, the sleeves hanging past her hands and the bottom of the dress hiding her feet. She whimpered again.
I let out a sigh of relief and put out the fire on my hand, crouching down slowly to meet her eyes better. Her shining black curls were tied back out of her face, though a few had fallen loose, but she was too afraid to push them away. She smelled of rot as well, but not as though she was the dead person. She had no heart beat, no blood in her body, and what’s more, not a scratch or scar anywhere.
"I won't hurt you," I said very softly, keeping my tone as even as possible. I gave her a small smile and extended my right hand, palm up. She jumped slightly when I moved, but seemed to calm down when she saw that my hand had nothing more then a glove on it. "I'm not going to hurt you," I said again, "just calm down, keep quiet and everything will be fine."
She moved very slowly, shuffling herself closer to me without looking away from my eyes. She obviously hadn't been around people in a long time. When she was close enough for me to touch her, I carefully brushed one of the curls out of her face, feeling the skin on her cheek with the back of my hand. It was cold to the touch. She was a vampire too. She flinched slightly at my touch, but then turned my hand to press the palm to her cheek. A vision filled my mind.
Fire. Fire was everywhere. It spread over the trees, buildings, and people too. This was the worst raid so far.
I was looking through someone else's eyes, clearly not my own.
I seemed to be running, trying to get back home. My parents would make it all ok.
All around me people were falling, dying, screaming. Fear was all I could feel. Finally I was at my house, running upstairs to the bedroom we shared. Only something was wrong.
Mother was gone. I couldn't find her anywhere. Then, I heard voices, followed by a scream.
"Where are your sons!?" the male voice yelled. I turned the corner in time to see a hook go through daddy's jaw. I screamed, but was too late to hide it. The two men turned, then one walked forward to lift me off the ground and hug me firmly against his chest. Daddy tried to speak, but groaned in pain instead.
"She has potential," the man torturing daddy said.
"Indeed," replied the man holding me. Daddy tried to protest again, but ended up with the first man gouging his eye with his index finger. Daddy howled in pain, and I gasped in pain and fear. The pain was due to the man holding me sinking his fangs into my neck. I kicked and struggled, and after thirty seconds he dropped me to the ground. I shuffled across the floor, a burning feeling spreading across my chest, and by the time I reached the closet it had spread throughout my body. Daddy was still being tortured when I blacked out.
I was pulled out of the vision then, and the little girl was still staring at me. With her free hand she held up a finger, and I was pulled back into a vision again.
I awoke with a burning in my throat, different from that which I had felt just days before. It was a need, a need that was driving me wild. A most wonderful scent filled my nostrils after having been awake for mere seconds, and looking out of the closet I saw what I wanted. Human blood.
Before I could think I was sucking the blood out of the visible wounds on the corpse without paying attention to who it was until his body was drained.
The man below me was my own dad, and I stared in horror at my bloodied hands. As quickly as I could I got back into the closet and huddled in the corner.
The vision ended again, and I was shocked.
"You've been here all these years?" I asked softly. She nodded. I paused. "Can you speak?"
She took my hand in hers, and a timid voice filled my mind. "I have a voice, yes, but never have I used it. Daddy taught me sign language as a child when I decided that I no longer wished to use my voice. I decided that after a young boy made fun of me because of it," she said, then paused, " . . . he made his way into this house just days after the village was destroyed. He had hidden himself under my house and decided it safe, then walked up here. It angered me that he could be such a coward at fourteen years old, so I killed him too. His corpse is hidden under the floorboards beneath us."
I glanced out the window. Dawn would be soon. "Listen, I have to unpack before Hound gets here. Help me clean up and I'll keep you safe from him," I said, still holding her hand. She nodded and left the closet for the first time since her last hunt. I got her to sit in front of the window downstairs and listen for Hound while I buried her father behind the house. I used my senses to dig the grave while using clairvoyance to see what she was seeing. When I was done, I fetched her and we started to clean the bedroom.
Her name was Madelline, as she told me while I unpacked. I told her I'd tell her all about me when Hound had left, since it was a long story. I didn't unpack my cloths, I didn't know how long I'd be here for, and if I killed them, I'd want to be fully ready to leave. Instead, I unpacked my weapons and attached them, hid some trinkets in the closet in the wall, then found the letter that Kyle had given me before I left.
Kyle and I stood on the balcony of my bedroom, rather close to each other. The cherry tree was blossoming, some of its branches dangling over the railing. Kyle had snapped off a branch and tucked it behind my ear.
"I wish you didn't have to go," he whispered, touching my face lightly. I wrapped one of my arms around his back so it was barely touching him.
"I know, but I've been assigned this mission, and I can't turn it down," I replied. "I'll be as safe as I can."
"That's not good enough. Promise me you'll stay out of trouble and get this done as fast as you can," he said, brushing his lips against mine lightly.
"I promise," I whispered.
A cloud passed over the sky, putting us in shadow for a few moments.
He slipped a small envelope into my free hand. "Read this once they accept you," he said softly, kissing me again. I hugged him tightly.
"He seems familiar," Madelline's voice said in my mind. I flushed, realizing that I was still holding her hand. "Kyle . . ."
"Oh, um, sorry, I forgot that you could see that," I said, tearing the top off the letter with telekinesis. Madelline squeezed my hand.
"Hound will be here in a few moments," she said in a slight panic.
My eyes widened. I forgot about him. I chucked the bed out the window, also with telekinesis and set it aflame.
"Jump out the window and hide yourself. You've lived this long here, they shouldn't notice you," I said quickly. She hugged me tightly, then hesitantly jumped.
Moments later Hound was at the foot of the stairs.
"'ow in the world did you get up there?" he asked, looking up at me curiously as I approached the steps.
"My secret," I replied. He glared and I shrugged. "So what now?"
"Now you will go on patrol. Run the perimeter of the village, stay about a mile away. Remain there until noon, then report to me. If anyone shows up, I ask that you run back 'ere and find me in the church. Do not make any sort of interaction with them," he explained. I nodded and started to walk away.
"'ang on,” he said. “Someone walked by your 'ouse an 'our ago and said they 'eard you talking to someone. Who.”
Dammit, I thought. I hadn't planned for this.
"So I'm slightly mental, sue me," I said with a shrug. Hound cocked his head to the side. "I talk to the other people inside me. I'm not alone. I can't help it, they just don't shut up."
Hound paused. "Don't let it interfere with your mission," he said hesitantly, then dashed out of the building. I sighed in relief moments later, then ran back into the bedroom. Madelline met me halfway, hugging me tightly.
"He's scary," she told me quietly. "Please don't leave me."
"I won't," I whispered. "I have an idea, gimme' a sec."
Madelline let go of me reluctantly and let me rummage through my pack. I pulled out a very long strip of black fabric, as well as a new outfit that I put on. Long sleeved black belly top, black skin tight pants, flat-bottom shoes and my face mask. Then, I took the fabric and crossed it over my chest, then managed to make a pouch large enough for Madelline to sit in on my back while remaining hidden from sight. Once she was inside, we were able to share our thoughts and I was still able to move freely.
As I exited my house I raised my face mask to hide from the eyes of the other bandits. They stared at the pouch on my back, but when one opened his mouth to ask, I sent him a glare so fierce I swear I saw him flinch.
The edge of the village came into view quickly and I ran the rest of the way to my starting post to spare time. I had Kyle’s note tucked away in my pocket and I planned to read it later. A tall, thin man met me at my starting point.
"You're taking over?" he asked, eyeing Madelline's pouch curiously.
"If you dare ask about that, I'll rip you in half and hide you in my floorboards," I threatened, glaring at him. The fact that the rest of my face was covered made my purple eyes even more alarming to look at.
"Fine, fine. Just run the perimeter and report any abnormalities. If an attack is about to be launched, return at once with a warning and-"
"Yeah, yeah, I know, I was told," I said, cutting him off. He nodded angrily and dashed off.
"He was frustrated with you, and quite curious about me," Madelline said in her mind.
"Yeah, I could tell. How'd you know that? You can't even see him," I replied, also in my mind.
"I can hear thoughts if they veer strongly towards one emotion. I should be some help with this mission," she said. I nodded and took off at a run through the forest.
*
Eight hours later I was back in my run-down house with Madelline off my back, my face mask pulled down and the letter in my hand. I hesitated to open the paper.
Dear Amaya.
If you are reading this, then I am quite happy. You have made it and that means that the first step of your mission is over and done with. Please hurry and take out Hound, I don't know how long I can stand to worry for. Trust me, I've met Hound, I have many reasons to worry about your well being.
Now, for the real reason why I wrote you this letter. There is something you need to know:
About twenty years ago a man met me in the forest just outside the village you are in now, only I was horribly injured. I know, being a vampire that shouldn't matter, but the wounds were bad and healing slowly. The man's name was Lloyd, and he brought me back to his house without caring that I was a vampire. They had a little girl as well, she was only seven at the time.
Lloyd asked me where I was from, and I told him that I had run away from the place that I call home. Yes, I ran away from the castle. At that time, Hound was still around and working for Lucifer, and I hated him.
After hearing my story, Lloyd adopted me as his son, saying he'd fake my age for as long as he could. One year later, Cain showed up in the forest, but unwounded. He said he was looking for me, so Lloyd brought him over. Cain was also adopted into the family after running away from Hound as well.
Well, about another year later, Hound was "murdered", but boy was Lucifer wrong. Once Cain and I found out that Hound was dead, Lloyd told us we should go back. The villagers were getting suspicious, and Lloyd said that we should be back there helping our kind. We thanked him and left.
One week later, Hound and his group of bandits attacked that village in search of us. They killed anyone that came into their path, tortured them for information then killed them. Lloyd was among those tortured. In his own house, with a hook strung through his jaw, eyes gouged, stomach slashed and nose destroyed. His wife was never found, and I am uncertain of what became of their daughter.
I thought you should know this.
I love you so much, please be careful.
-Kyle
I stared in shock at the letter. The man on the bed couldn’t be . . .
"Madelline," I said softly. She turned away from the window to look at me and took my hand. In my mind, I spoke. "What was your fathers name?"
She paused, deep in thought. "Daddy's name was Lloyd, I believe. It's hard to remember," she replied, looking curious. I stared at her, eyes wide. I continued to speak in my mind.
"I think you should see the real reason why I'm here. You'll see that boy from my other memory that I showed you, please, try to remember him," I said, shutting my eyes.
The memory started to show, but I forced us to view it from outside my body at the time.
Lucifer and I sat at the large wooden table in the library in the castle, when he was giving me the information about my mission. I stood us just close enough for Madelline to hear what he was saying. When I stood up in the memory, I switched it much farther back, making sure to whisper that to her.
I was walking along the icy courtyard path, dressed in my furry robe again. There was Cain, sitting on the bench. I positioned us close enough for her to see Cain up close, and Madelline looked so close to remembering.
Then, it faded to when I had just awoken from the painful process of being turned. Kyle stood there before us, and Madelline's face scrunched up like she was trying to force herself past a mental block.
Finally, I switched it to when I was lying in bed, just after Rini had visited the castle, but not to see me. Kyle was with me on my bed, and Cain was sitting beside me. The moment she saw Kyle and Cain together like that, her eyes popped open and she gasped. I withdrew us from the memories.
She was still holding my hand and looking at me with wide eyes.
"Those two. They were around before Daddy died. Kyle and . . ." she trailed off, trying to remember his name.
"Cain," I replied to her in my mind. She nodded.
"They were nice. They'd play with me when Daddy was cutting wood and Mommy was doing the laundry or the dishes. I can't believe I forgot about them," she said softly in her usual way.
"Madelline, I promise you that once I am done with my mission I will take you back to the castle with me and you can see them again. You'll be completely safe there and you'll love it," I told her. She looked at me again, this time a smile breaking out on her face for the first time since I had met her. I smiled back.
I folded up the letter and stood up. "I'm going to make you some cloths," I told her, rummaging through my pack for some stuff I could use to trade. I managed to grab a few pricey earrings, but they were studs so I never wore them, as well as a bracelet, a quill and a pocket knife I had stolen from the traveling man who I drained after I was turned.
Using telekinesis, I pulled out some good nails to trade as well, tied the items in a pouch and strapped it to my belt, then got Madelline back in the pouch.
"So, what's your favourite colour?" I asked her.
She thought it over for a moment. "I like white and light blue," she replied. I nodded and made my way over to the trading post, glaring at the men who stopped talking as I approached.
The man behind the counter chuckled. "And what can I get for you, little lady?" he asked, examining me. I had forgotten to pull up my face mask, so all of my piercing’s were visible.
"I need fabric, needles and thread. You make any wise-ass comments and I'll break your face," I said, unstrapping the black pouch.
"What colour fabric?" he asked, walking over to many colourful piles. Like they ever used the colours other than black.
"White and blue. And once again, if any of you make any comments I'll shove a hornet nest down your pants," I glared at each of them again. The man smiled again, but in an irritating sort of way.
"What do you have to offer?" he asked. I dropped the pouch on the counter and untied the string so the fabric fell to reveal the contents.
He carefully examined the earrings and the bracelet, looking at the stones. "Are these real?" he asked.
"I stole them from a prince ages back. If they're fake, then he's a cheap pretty-boy-son-of-a-bitch," I replied. The man chuckled again.
"I'll give you the fabric for the three earrings and the bracelet, the thread for the knife, and if you can straighten out a few of these nails I'll give you the needles," he said, looking doubtfully at the bent, rust covered nails. I rolled my eyes, glanced at each and watched the men stare in shock as they floated in front of my eyes and straightened themselves. Good ol' telekinesis.
"Hand 'em over," I said, holding out my hand expectantly. The man looked bemused, walked back to the items and found what I needed.
As he handed them to me, he opened his mouth to speak. "How did you-"
"You'll never be able to, so don't bother asking," I replied, bundling up the things and walking away from the crowd of bemused men. I pulled up my facemask in the process so others had little to stare at.
Madelline was laughing silently to herself the whole time. I took the window to get inside the bedroom this time, then helped Madelline out of the pouch. When she was out, she touched the fabric, running it over her hands repeatedly.
"Its so soft," she said when she took my hand.
"Glad you approve. So, how do you want the outfit to look?" I asked her in my head.
"I don't know."
I thought for a second, looking her over. "How about something like what you're wearing now, but a little more your-sized and fancier?" I asked, examining her gray dress. She nodded and let me measure her with the measuring tape I had in my pack as well.
I spent the next few hours working on her dress while she explored the house a bit. She even tidied up the bathroom while I was working.*
Tying off and cutting the thread, I held the dress up to be examined. It was a simple white dress, the collar was cut wide to begin just before her shoulders. Halfway down the sleeves and the body of the dress the fabric changed to blue, and using a bit of bleach that I had dug out of a cupboard downstairs I managed to make the blue fade into the white. The sleeves were still a bit long, but I had done that on purpose. Using clairvoyance, I tried to figure out where Madelline was by seeing what she was. I saw black.
I jumped up from off the floor in fear, wondering where she was. I jumped down the stairs and landed almost silently on the floor below, looking around for Madelline. The kitchen was its usual ugly self, so was the living room.
"Oh dear god, please be alright," I whispered to myself. I froze. "The bathroom."
I reached the bathroom in under a second by running and found Madelline soaking in a wooden washtub with her eyes shut. With a sigh of relief I dropped to my knees on the floor. She opened her eyes and looked at me, extending her small hand.
"What's wrong?" she asked.
"I used clairvoyance to try to see what you were seeing so I could find you, but I saw black so I panicked. I'm glad you're alright," I replied.
"Oh, I'm so sorry.." she said softly.
"No, no its fine, don't worry about it. I came to tell you that the dress is done," she looked up and her crimson eyes looked happy. She got out of the tub and grabbed a towel that she had obviously cleaned while I was working before and started to dry herself off. She really was tiny for her age. She was no where near as tall as she should have been, and her body was quite thin.
With the towel wrapped around her, she took my hand and we walked over to the stairs, where she then paused.
"How will we get up without going outside?" she asked. I forgot that she hadn't seen my wings yet. I hugged her around her from behind and released my wings so they were large enough to get us up the stairs safely. Madelline was amazed. When I put her down again, she took my hand and eagerly asked questions.
"What was that? How'd you do it?" she asked.
"Before I was turned, I had a variety of powers. Clairvoyance. Telekinesis. Pyrokinesis. A psi ball and a psi shield. Oh, I also had invisibility. When I was turned, those powers got stronger. My psi ball turned into wings of fire, as you saw. The rest are just stronger now," I explained. "You'll get to see them all soon enough. First, lets show you your dress."
Madelline dropped her towel when we got in the room and pulled the dress over her head. The dress itself fit her perfectly, hugging her body in the right places and getting loose around the legs again. The sleeves were just past her fingertips and the collar ran along her collarbone just like it should. I smiled, pleased with my work, and she smiled, obviously pleased with the dress.
"Flip your hair upside-down so I can dry it for you," I said out loud, and she did. I focused a small amount of warmth in my hands so they could dry the water, then I ran her almost-perfect ringlets between my hands gently, drying them almost instantly. When I was done, she flipped it back so the ringlets bounced against her back, then flipped them over one shoulder.
Before I could move, someone was in the doorway. He was tall and broad-shouldered. "Boss wants-" he cut himself short, his eyes narrowing on Madelline. "Who're you?"
"She's with me, and since you just saw something you weren't supposed to, I have to kill you ahead of schedule," I replied, whipping a flaming dagger out and slicing his head clean from his shoulders, just as Lucifer had instructed, then I stabbed him where his heart was. There was a soft sound like a sigh, and a faint blue essence escaped the dead vampires mouth. His soul.
"Well, Madelline, seems we are out of here tonight," I said, handing her my pack after removing all weapons to attach them to myself. She looked at me in fear, then touched my hand.
"What will I do while you fight?" she asked. I paused, then concentrated on making her invisible. Three seconds later she was invisible except for her eyes and my hold on it required little concentration. So long as she remained in my thoughts, she was fine.
"You are going to follow me, you are invisible except for your eyes," I explained, strapping on daggers. "You'll stay within ten feet of me at all times, I assume this fight is going to take place mostly in the church. When I tell you to run, you run, and go exactly where I tell you to go," I paused. "In my pack there is parchment and a pen. What I need you to do while I fight is write a letter, title it 'Dear Lucifer', and tell him who you are, that I know you, and that if I don't make it back that he is to tell Kyle that I love him and that I'm sorry. Make sure you explain to Kyle who you are when you see him, though he should recognize you," I concluded.
For the first time, she spoke out loud. "But how will I get it to him?" she asked in a shaky voice. I raised my eyebrows.
"You will run east of here, do not change directions, do not stop running. You will arrive at the ocean. Step into the water and throw a handful of wet sand over your head, you'll end up on the Supernatural side of this world. From there, run to the huge pointy castle, it's clearly visible from every point of that side. It should only take you twenty minutes from here to the castle if you don't stop running. Mira and Miranda are the guards, they'll stop you at the gates. Give them this note and they'll let you in," I explained, handing her a pre-written note, knowing fully that it would come to this. After she took the note, I pulled her into a tight embrace. "I've changed my mind, write the note here while I go to the church, you'll be invisible at all times, don't worry. After the note is written, just jump out the window and keep running in that direction through the forest. You'll get to the castle, don't worry."
Madelline looked up at me with fearful eyes, clutching the papers in her tiny hands. "I love you, please be safe," she whispered, then sat down and started to write the note like I told her to. Then, I made her invisible again and rushed out of the building. There was no chance that she would be leaving my thoughts that night.
I ran to the church since I was already late, and when I stepped in I apologized for my lateness. Hound stood in the middle of the room surrounded by men.
"Why the weapons?" he asked suspiciously.
"I was sharpening them and fixing some straps when I was fetched, sorry, but I didn't have time to take them off before showing up," I replied. Damn I was a good liar.
Hound shrugged. "Not that it matters. We've decided that you're not welcome 'ere anymore. You seem far too suspicious for us to trust. Its time to die now," he said, cracking his knuckles. They immediately turned to silver.
Awe, shit . . . I thought to myself when I saw that happen.
"That's your loss, then. And not only your loss, its also your biggest mistake yet," I replied, removing the magma earring from my ear. I felt my skin crawling, getting warmer and warmer, and I spread my arms just for dramatic effect when my wings released with a flare.
"W-what are you!?" Hound practically yelled.
"Just like you, only better," I said, launching myself at his chest. He jumped to the left and punched at my side, missing by an inch. Using telekinesis I took hold of one of the men that were getting ready to attack me and forced him into a ball shape, hearing his bones crunch in a satisfying way, enjoying the yell of pain that filled my ears. I whipped the man at Hound like we were playing dodge ball, only Hound was too slow to move and was knocked against the stone wall because of the force.
"Sensei always told me to never play with my food. Time to end this," I hissed, flying high and then whipping out two flaming daggers to plunge them into his chest when I dive bombed him. Once I pulled my hand out from his chest I tore off his head and Hound was no more. Just a bunch of wimps were left, and most were starting to run.
"Die!" one yelled, charging at me with a torch bracket in his hands.
"In your dreams!" I yelled back, setting him aflame. I lit the wooden front door on fire to prevent the large population of the bandits from leaving, then setting the rest of the place on fire, making the licking, hungry flames turn blue. The chaos in the room was intoxicating, but I had to focus and get out through one of the stained-glass windows above.
Smashing through the skylight, I spiraled into the air, the moon behind me and the mixture of its light and my flaming wings made the glass shimmer beautifully. I quickly used clairvoyance to check where Madelline was. She currently stood in the water and was cucking sand over her head, then the world spiraled. I pulled out of her mind and continued on my murderous spree.
One after another the men dropped, few even managing to land a punch on me. I laughed at them as they died. To end my spree, I returned to the church and, throwing my arms in the air while laughing evilly, I exploded the building, which caused every other building to catch fire as well. I flew as fast as I could from the village now, peering over my shoulder to look at the beautiful chaos I had created..
Something twenty feet ahead of me caught my attention. A girl with long blonde hair and glowing purple eyes. Flying faster than before I tackle-hugged her and we went tumbling to the ground. I felt one of her ribs break from the force of my tackle, but I didn't care.
I was hugging Rini again and I couldn't be happier.
"Ow," she said, her eyes watering from the broken rib.
"Sorry," I replied, letting go, my mind still focused on Madelline. I quickly used clairvoyance and saw that she was running up the path to the gates, so I released the invisibility and saw Mira and Miranda land on either side of her. Madelline handed Mira the note and they rushed her inside. I pulled out of her mind again and sighed in relief.
Rini had said something to me, but I missed it, and now werewolves were surrounding us.
"Amaya," Rini said, "hug me, no questions, don't let go."
I didn't complain and hugged her again, careful of her ribs this time. She smiled and touched her charm bracelet, and the next thing I knew we were in a small, enclosed, black room.
"Rini, what did you do?" I asked. I felt her push me up against one of the walls as she pushed on the other walls, and eventually a set of doors opened. We were in her bedroom, stepping out of the wardrobe.
I made my way over to the door so I could find Madelline when the door was ripped from its hinges, cast aside and the next thing I knew, Rini was knocked out and pinned under someone.
"Seth!?" I yelled angrily. "What the bloody hell do you think you're doing!?"
Seth sniffed Rini's neck carefully, then climbed off her. "I smelled wolf, you can't blame me for attacking the source of the scent," he replied, looking a bit apologetic.
"You're-" I cut myself off. "Where's Madelline?"
"Madell- oh, you mean the little girl?" he asked.
"Yes! Where is she!?"
"She's with Kyle and Cain in Cain's room. She keeps asking for you," Seth added.
"Thank you. Please bring Rini into my room and put her on my bed. I'll be back in a few minutes, don't do anything else stupid, okay?"
And with that, I ran out the door and found the correct staircase to reach Cain's bedroom. I knocked on the door hurriedly.
Cain opened it. "Yes? Oh, Amaya, thank God," he said, pulling me inside, ignoring the burns he was getting on his hands from my skin.
When Madelline saw me, she stared in shock. I then remembered that I was still covered in magma and my wings were still out. Quickly, I attached my earring to return me to my regular self again. She tackled me with a hug, speaking in her mind again.
"I'm so glad you're okay," she told me.
"I am too," I replied out loud, forgetting that we weren't alone like we were in the village. I put Madelline down and practically jumped into Kyle’s arms. After a few moments, I let go.
"Can we go down to my room, please? Seth tackled Rini when we got out of her wardrobe and now she's knocked out and on my bed," I asked.
"Of course," Cain replied, not questioning what I had just said. I picked up Madelline and ran my way back to my room, getting there in seconds, Cain and Kyle close behind.
I kicked open the door to save me the trouble of putting down Madelline, and when we were inside I saw that Rini had bound Seth with a plant that she had resized and was trying to choke him with it.
Seth laughed and pretended to die. "Damn, this always worked with Souta . . ." Rini muttered, splashing him in the face with some almost-frozen water.
"Rini, you're choking something that doesn't breathe, I don't think that's gonna' work so well," I said with a chuckle. She twisted quickly to face me, then groaned and held her side.
"Ow, Amaya, you hit hard, damn," she said, clutching at the bruised area. Kyle looked at me and raised his eyebrow curiously.
"Fix Rini's rib and I'll try to retell this," I told him. "Oh, wait. Cain, would you be able to project my memories of my time there?" I asked him.
"Easily. I'll set up an adequate area for us to do this over there," he replied, gesturing to the left half of my room. I nodded and walked with Kyle to where Rini stood.
"Ah, R-Rini, you're going to have to remove your shirt . . ." he said softly, looking at the rib that had slightly pierced her skin and was showing against her shirt.
Her eyes widened. "Not on your life!" she said loudly. I put down Madelline and walked closer to Rini.
"How about we take off your shirt in the bathroom and hold it over your chest while he fixes the rib. It shouldn't take long," I whispered.
"Why we?" she asked.
I raised my eyebrow. "Try lifting your arm over your head."
She tried and then groaned in pain when her arm was no higher than her shoulder in height.
"Okay, fine," she muttered reluctantly, walking with me into the bathroom. She stood with her back to me and let me try to figure out how to get it off without hurting her.
"'Kay, Rini, pull your good arm through the shirt," I said, holding open the hole for her arm to go through and she managed to get it out fairly easily. Next I stretched the neck and got it to go over her head with only a slight bit of pain, then slid it off her other arm. She quickly took the shirt from me and covered herself.
"Can you just get Kyle to come in here? I don't want Seth to see me like this," she said. Just then, the bathroom door opened and someone stuck their face inside.
"Don't want Seth to see you like what-" Seth started to ask, but was cut off by Rini's scream, then found his face frozen. He deliberately bashed his head off the door frame and walked back out. I laughed when I saw Rini's flushed face. Kyle walked in, laughing as well.
"Well, anyway, lets get this done. This will hurt, to warn you," he said, spitting on his hands. Rini looked both worried and disgusted. Kyle then placed his hand on her upper arm on her un-injured side for support, then pressed his palm down on the broken rib to slide it back into place, the spit on his hand mending the cracks together. Rini bit her lip to keep from saying anything. Finally, he spit on the bleeding wound to heal it, and then left to give her privacy.
"The next time you hug me, please don't tackle me, you're way too strong for your own good," she said, pulling her shirt back on.
"Yeah, sorry 'bout that," I replied, rubbing the back of my neck for effect. We walked out of the bathroom and Cain proceeded to show everyone what I saw, exactly as I saw it.
