Shadow's Kiss: Blood, Lust and Magic

by Adria Eustis

  Nina jumped out of her skin, she'd only been on the road awhile, when out of the blue her info-pad automatically switched to another screen. Heart thudding, she knelt to the side of the path. It's alright, it's just the video moving, no one's here. Pressing the 3 button repeatedly had no effect, it seemed she was forced to give up her traffic-light warning until the scene had played out. Maybe it was a good idea to look? For the first time ever, Nina decided to suck it up and watch. She gasped, it was Astra, it'd been less than two hours and she was already in trouble.

  “Lydia #39, Dawn #12,” the text at the bottom of the screen read.

  Dawn hid behind one of many giant upright stones, that stood out in the hills in a curious looped arrangement. The image zoomed in on her unwashed face, full of fear, head back to the sky, no doubt mentally saying a prayer. The info-pad had no sound, but Astra mouthed something, followed by a wicked grin as she circled around the rock’s formation, seeking out her prey. Dawn readied a splintered club, teary eyed, nostrils flaring, teeth showing as she cried. Astra's white hair, loose, blew backwards as she spread her fingers, opening and closing them, one finger at a time, in rapid motions. Even in the bright daylight the violet sparks from her fingertips were obvious.

  Nina dropped her boulder to the ground, pulled the pad closer for a better view. What kind of magic is that?Astra twirled her body with every step she took, like a ballerina - a black swan, pirouetting before devouring the tadpole. Round and round the stones she went, as the tadpole moved at great speed to hide behind the next one. A circular chase that was not going to end well. Bored of the hunt, Astra stood in the middle of the ring of stones. Raising her hands in the air, she seemed to float a few inches from the grass, tip toed with one foot against a shin. A purple gleaming projectile, shot from each finger tip high above the stone structures. Astra outstretched her arms either side of her. The image drew back to Dawn, her wooden club still readied, then her face disappeared, obscured by thousands of plunging star-like entities. Flickers of lustrous purple and and dazzling whites filled the entire screen. Then as quickly as they appeared, they were gone, like a bucket of water being dropped, and finally emptying. Dawn lay in a heap on the grass. Her leather outfit seemed to shimmer from the falling stars. Face flat in the dirt, she reached out a hand, searching for her weapon that lay just out of reach. Astra appeared, her boot kicking away the club, she squashed Dawn's fingers with her heel and reached down for the wooden fragment. Dawn lifted her face and seemed to beg for mercy, her bloodied nose dripped down to her lips. Astra pulled back the blunt weapon with both hands, and brought it down with great speed. Nina looked away, hand clasping her jaw, pulling at her mouth, after a few moments she looked back. “Lydia Hayes, 1/50 – Dawn Bergen Martyred.” The clip began to replay itself from the beginning. Nina slammed her finger into the 3 key until her yellow circle was back.

  ~

  After what seemed like an eternity, but can't have been more than twenty minutes, Nina reached the end of the dirt road. She peered out into an opening at multiple ruined buildings. Small, tent shaped houses, built with multicoloured bricks of all shapes and sizes. Some were more ruined than others, some still looked complete, but over-run with moss and weeds. Around the clearing tall, thick trees swayed in the breeze, piles of fallen branches lay helpless under the shadows of the pines. Crouching behind the edge of a wall, she listened out for signs of life. Silence - the only sound, her own shallow breathing. The circle was still yellow. After shoving her info-pad in her backpack, she gripped her nature-made bludgeon in position to use if she had to, and slowly crept through the ancient dwellings. Every shadow terrified her, every doorway she looked into sent images of her lying dead on the step, through her head. Was she going to die here? Or over there on that pile of leaves? All appeared clear, she sipped on her water. Then out of the corner of her eye she saw the colours of the king's flag towards the start of the woods. The flag lay tangled, she pushed it away, underneath was a crate, that she smashed open with her rock. Nina pulled out a small cloth pouch and carefully opened it up. Such a long box for a tiny item. Inside was a glass vial of orange liquid, and an empty syringe. She rolled her eyes at the skull and crossbones label on the vial, was she supposed to just trust that it was poison? Well the option was there now - to risk her life injecting some one with a harmless tincture thinking it was lethal. After all, these morons put books and bubblegum in these crates. Non the less, she filled the syringe with half of the would-be-poison and discarded her pointy boulder, as she'd already eyed up a piece of wood from the crate that had snapped off into an even pointier weapon. Nina headed off, south, into the woods.

  ~

  Not long later, she was regretting her choice of direction, every step she took resulted in the loud snapping of a twig or stirring of crinkling, golden leaves. Wide-eyed she halted to a stop, the yellow circle was no longer yellow. Nor was it green. It had flicked from yellow, straight to red. Trying not to make any sound, she swapped the pad for the plank in her bag. Adrenaline pumping, head spinning, Nina crept around, looking in every direction. Palms sweating over the syringe in her left hand, and the weapon in her right. Nina caught the flash of a royal-blue arm band amongst the greens and browns of the woods. Mouth dry, she crazily moved towards it. Crouching as she walked, tip toeing around twigs. A glimpse of cropped blonde hair, the back of a head. He wasn't that close, and he was moving away from her. Had he seen her? Was he running? She kept her pace, letting him get far ahead. The trees got sparser the farther she went, until they stopped completely ahead of her. She swung back behind a thick trunk, squatted low and scouted out - there were two of them. The blonde boy was creeping slowly towards another boy in a blue armband. In front of them appeared to be the edge of the land, a rough cliff reached up high in the far distance, but it seemed there was nothing else before that. The second boy turned only his head, plain faced, he looked at his approacher for only a second before returning his gaze over the expanse. She dropped her syringe in a heap of decaying leaves, energy coursed through her veins. It was now or never. But before she could finish rising to her feet, the blonde had surged forwards and propelled the other over the edge. He'd not even attempted to stop it happening, just stood there. Surely he'd known what was coming? Nina felt like she had left her own body, watching herself run from above. Her heels dug into the ground as she heaved herself forwards, sprinted out of the opening, and like a jouster, rammed her long piece of spiked crate wood into the middle of blondie's back. The boy was already right on the edge, peeping down at his defeat. In slow motion, she reeled back, falling to the ground. He fought against his wobbling balance for a second or two, then his piercing scream ripped through her ears. Her hands flew to block the sounds out. It took a minute or two for it all to sink in. Her whole body trembled with the aftermath of an adrenaline rush as she promised herself only a second long view to see if she really had gone and done it. Two boys lay still at the bottom of the ravine. Vertigo sent her crawling away from the edge. Scooping up her stick she headed back for her backpack and syringe. It was best not to think about it. Not to think about it at all. Who am I? What have I done?

  She closed her eyes as the images were being forced across the computerised screen. Afterwards she checked the scoreboard. She was now 1/50 and her victims name was Armand, it sort of made her better to know that he'd had a score of 5.5/50. How far would she get? Or was it better to throw herself over the edge now and spare the others? No. Whoever these people were, they weren't Erisha and they weren't Rohn and they wouldn't hesitate to stab her in the back.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  JANINA

  October, Year of the Pearl Acacia

  Nina had gotten out of the woods as quick as she could, just in case Astra recognised the area and came straight for her. Who knows how long she'd spent memorising the areas, that girl was twisted. Huddled in an age-old tunnel, she was feeling uneasy about taking the route. At the time, when she had come across it, she'd imagined it would only take
a minute to pass through. But she'd been inside for over ten minutes now and every step that she took seemed like a bad decision. So when she'd found a small collapsed section, it had seemed wise to hide herself behind the fallen debris for a while. Along the length of the dug-out tunnel had been dozens of passageways that she'd ignored. The brightly lit image of a yellow circle, was the only crack of light as she had waded through the pitch darkness. Every sound was a scorpion crawling towards her. After a while she began to embrace the darkness. It was less disturbing then the videos that kept appearing on her pad. The names of the recently departed swirled in her head like angels flying away to a better place. There had been three more, but no one that she knew.

  Her temporary peace was plucked from her, replaced with a dart of despair, when her screen turned green and a light appeared from the way in which she had came. It flicked around the tunnel, illuminating the sandy coloured archway. Particles in the air glittered as the torch-light got closer. She braced her syringe, flung the pad in her bag and hunched down behind the rubble, waiting for the right time to jump out. Footsteps grew closer, emotions heightening. Her toes curled as the light, and steps came to a stop. Whoever it was, they were smart enough to assume someone might be hiding behind the mess.

  “Who's there?” A male voice whispered, it echoed around the tunnel.

  She couldn't help it, her thoughts mangled. She got up. She ran. Using every last bit of endurance she could muster, she tread the gritty ground as swift as her burning legs could take her. Without looking back once, she kept going, struggling to breathe, ignoring the pain in her side. Her chaser was following, the jerky light of his torch, lighting up the path for her. Even when the light began to lag behind, she kept on going, eventually coming to the exit. The sound of flowing water mingled with the singing of birds. Nina's boots splashed into a stream – cold, wet, soothing. She followed the rushing water. Turning her head for just a second, she glanced back at her follower just as he appeared from the tunnel. His viridian green armband stretched tightly around his bulging muscles. The long blade of a sword gleamed in the sunlight at his side. Nina kept going, that was not a battle she wanted to fight. But he wouldn't stop, he was a warrior, fierce and strong. The stream was uneven under the shallow water, either side of it were large-leafed blood-red plants. Beyond the plants, were flat open fields with steep cliffs a-far. There wasn't a tree in sight to hide behind, and she didn't fancy a chance trying to struggle through the thick clumps of plants. Down the stream she went, using rocks as stepping stones. But her pace had slowed greatly, her body mocking her. Side splitting, legs wobbling. Dizzy. Again she looked back at the savage bull - he cracked a grin. A red bandana kept his dark hair from his rounded face. Wearing only combat trousers and boots, his built-up, bronzed body charged towards her. Her toes slammed into a piece of stone, but she steadied herself and kept on going. Splash! There was a watery thud – was her throwing things at her? Her eyes darted back to him nervously, assuming witness of her impending downfall. She stopped to catch her breath. The brute lay face down as water rippled around him. And he wasn't as far away as she'd thought – he was close enough that she could see the last signs of life in his blood-shot eyes. Mouth hung open against a wet rock as his life-force poured out, thick and red around his teeth, spilling into the crystal clear stream. She watched him convulse before his eyes rolled back and closed for the last time. But how? Clutching her aching side, Nina hastily inspected the bodybuilders corpse. She stumbled over to him, and grimaced as she tore a blade from the back of his skull. With a sickening crunch it came free, she gripped the handle, took a last look around, and continued to flee down the stream before she was next.

  ~

  By the time she reached the end of the water, her pace had slowed to a crawl. Soaking wet, she came to a small waterfall with a pool below. She followed stone steps down beside the water and sighed in relief as she entered another woods. It had been almost an hour since her encounter, she hadn't stopped moving once, not even to check her info-pad for a red, green or yellow dot. There'd been no cover until now, she was a wide open clean shot for the dagger thrower. Through the thick clusters of tall thin trees she searched for a good place to hide. Her arms stung from the nettles and thorns as she forced herself onwards, unable to control her legs any longer. Finally she thudded down behind a dying bramble. Her syringe had smashed long ago at the bottom of the stream, but she wiped down the dagger on her backpack. Nina pulled out her computer, phew, yellow. Then she flicked over to screen 2 and focused her eyes on the scene, hoping for answers.

  The big muscular man with the bandana was chasing her, the view was coming from behind him, from the cluster of red plants. Panning back, the Oculus gave vision of the perpetrator, or, her hero? Surely not. It was him -Cain. He rose from a crouching position, amongst the hefty leaves, took aim with the dagger, a blank stare crossed his handsome face, not even a blink. He threw it with the precision of a professional killer, one attempt, one success. But even if he had missed, there were a further three of the same weapon clutched in his other hand. She glanced down at the dagger, small, black, shaped like a tear with a ring on the handle. If he was that good a shot, why was she still alive? Nina checked the scoreboard: Astra, 2/50. She must have scored whilst she was running for her life in the tunnel. Opal and Lasiah both 0/50. Herself and Cain both 1/50. But Bridget's name was there too now, with a 0./50. What were the chances that they'd all end up together? Nina only hoped that Opal was wrong about Astra, for Bridget's sake.

  ~

  Nina plodded on, every minute wasted was a minute Eri was getting sicker back at home. The woods had been steep and muddy, her hands itched with mud and prickled twigs by the time she reached different scenery. Higher up, the cool wind clashed against her heated face. There was a decrepit, stone windmill far ahead with not much left of its wooden sails. A dark, eerie feeling crept up her spine. Though she was in a clearing, the towering trees that surrounded the large area blocked off the sun. All around the windmill were the ruins of basic square houses, and from somewhere amongst them came the faint echo of voices. Whispers in the back of her head said, go the other way. But a flash of the scoreboard said, at least take a look at their size and weapons.

  Back against the vine covered wall of a wrecked home she moved in closer to the voices. Creeping, silently.

  A girl screeched. “No, no!” She cried.

  Male laughter, maybe two. The knock of metal on a hard surface. Liquid slapping against something hard. Her pulse raced, she forced herself to peek around her hide-out. A girl, her cheek bloodied, hair shorn, squirmed on a square of concrete foundations, standing tall above her a boy, his belly hanging from the bottom of his green-leather waistcoat, held tin can above her head, shaking out the last of it's contents. Petrol intoxicated her. Another male, stood there, the scrape of a match against fiction. Nina took one look at the flame and thought about throwing her knife at him right there and then. But that would be stupid. She had no skill at throwing knifes, it'd only flop down on the floor a foot away. Instead, she was forced to watch the flames spread, and endure the sickening screams of a searing girl. The killers laughed as they stepped backwards, the human fireball tried her best to engulf them, but they only taunted her with their quick movements. Then, Nina spotted their cache. Two backpacks sat on the ground far behind them, propped up against one, the wooden end of a rifle caught her eye. There was less distance between her and the loot, then between them and it. The dying wails of their victim would be the end of them as their high pitch covered the sound of Nina's footsteps, as she flew out from hiding and tore the firearm from it's spot. Only when she picked it up did her heart sink as she prayed it had ammo. She took aim, holding it close to her shoulder, the long black barrel had a scope, but there was no need at this range. Her finger nervously searched for the trigger, it couldn't be that hard to fire a gun, it'd look easy in the movies. Nina stepped backwards, gaining space between her and the boys, just in case it wasn't loaded and
she needed to run. Still they awed over the fatality, her screeching dying along with her. When she went still, the boys went to turn. Her finger pulled the trigger. Bang! The chubby one went flying backwards, the shock on his face pleased her. She moved her aim. Bang! The second boy fled away from her, his box of matches scattering in the dirt. Bang! Bang! He wasn't getting away. He hit the floor, rolled over, blood seeping across his white shirt from the shoulder. The first boy was motionless on his back, a line of flames from the heap of flesh that once breathed, trailed down to him. The fire caught his hair, but he didn't react. It spread down his body, roaring as it collided with spilt petrol on his clothes. She didn't even care were she'd got him, as long as he burned in hell. They had a gun. A gun right there! Yet they offered her only an agonising, slow death.

  Nina moved in close to the second boy as he crawled, injured through the mud. He tried to heave himself up on the broken wall of the old ruins. He gave up, sitting with his back against the stone, wincing. Hand against shoulder trying to stem the flow as he bled out. The heat behind her was becoming unbearable against her neck.