by K R Leikvoll
After a long lecture on fire safety, Kirin and I approached the smoggy green barrier. The oozing fog was seemingly scentless, but I still didn't want to walk through it. Kirin didn't trust it either. Famine formed in his hands and he used it to strike the barrier of vapor. It passed straight through, signaling that it wasn't solid. Very carefully, Kirin stepped into it.
"It's not pleasant, but we don't really have the option of walking around," he said grimacing. Apprehensively, I followed him into the barrier.
The first thing I noticed was that it stung my skin. It was uncomfortable, but not life threatening. The second thing was the smell. It was exactly what you'd expect with how sickly the air looked: like a mixture of sulfur and rotting flesh. It made me want to puke, but Kirin was pulling me along making sure I was close behind him.
The city of Whitecrest may have been pretty at one point. The stones of the buildings were all light gray with dark roofs, lined neatly in organized streets. They seemed intact unlike the Capitol. In fact, the city seemed more like a ghost town than ruins. Without the green smog, it could've even been salvageable.
Kirin was smart enough not to lead us through the open streets. We snuck behind one of the first buildings that we saw. He put a finger to his lips and pointed at the open stone window above us. Silently, Kirin jumped up the wall into the opening. A shiver went down my spine as I looked around. I could definitely tell that there was a demon nearby. It was just something in the air...
Kirin poked his head back out after a few moments. He stuck his hand out for me to grab. I had to jump as high as I could to catch his grasp. Hastily, I stepped up the wall and into the open window. Kirin heaved me through the threshold and nearly sent me into a wall. He had to catch me and set me down silently before I alerted whatever demons were around.
The room we had climbed into was the size of a closet. It had a tiny straw bed made in the corner with various empty bottles littering the floor. A door creaking startled me. Kirin was waiting in the hall impatiently.
"Let's find your clothes.”
I followed him down a narrow stone staircase and into a giant open room. There was a bar on one side and tables on the other. This place was probably some sort of local watering hole. Kirin led me down a short hallway that separated into three rooms.
"I'm going to check the bar. Try to look in those rooms for something. Be fast," he said, already moving back to the main room. Alcohol shakes, huh?
I opened the center door as quietly as I could. It still squeaked regardless of my caution. Inside was another small room like upstairs. Everything was coated in inches of dust and dirt. I wondered how many years it had been since anyone had been in there. There was a small piece of fabric hanging out of a wooden trunk stuffed in the corner. Score. I guided the lid backward so it didn't bang around.
It was filled with parchment, books and luckily a few pieces of clothing. Unfortunately, they were men's clothes. It was obvious from how big they were. I pulled out a giant black tunic, leather pants and a black cloak. It was all very worn like the owner had lived in them. At least they weren't stinky. My eyes caught linen bandages before I closed the trunk. No bras; I might as well.
I peered at Kirin down the hall. He was funneling different bottles of wine into new flasks. I closed the squeaky door and started to pull off my boots and the blue dress. When it was off, my heart dropped. I could see what Kirin was talking about. Before I arrived on Praetis, I was healthy, not skinny nor overweight. My fingers traced my heavily-scarred skin. They ran over my chest to my ribs. I looked like a skeleton, not a person. My ribs were pronounced; my arms and legs were losing muscle mass. I had definitely been starving that entire time.
I grabbed the bandages and did my best to make a chest wrap, pulling it as tightly as I could. It wasn't anywhere as nice as a bra, but it was a million times better than zero support. I put on the leather pants next. They were tighter than I thought they'd be, but they were still way too long for my legs. I was glad I could stuff them into my boots. I was pulling on the tunic when the door opened with a creak.
"You almost done?" Kirin asked barging in. Thankfully I had bound my chest already or it would have been uber awkward. I tried to play it off like I wasn't embarrassed.
"Yeah. Probably would've been a good idea to knock though," I mumbled, annoyed. He looked unabashed.
"Oh, Val…" he started as though he was concerned. His hand reached out and felt my rib cage through my clothes. His touch was unusually gentle. It lingered on my side holding me steady. My face grew red hot with nervousness. I backed up a step, out of his touch.
"You've lost a lot of weight," he said, ignoring my obvious uneasiness. "Regardless of your parents, you are a mortal. You need to make sure you are eating."
"Food hasn't exactly been falling in my lap."
"My fault mostly. I forget about hunger... not an excuse just an explanation," he said softly. He reached out again and folded my hair behind my ear. What was he doing? I wanted to cringe from his touch, not because of my previous hang ups about him, but because it made me feel weird. He was some tall, dark-haired demon and I was a malnourished potato girl.
"I'm sorry... truly," Kirin added.
"It's fine," I stammered in response. He gave me a pointed look I didn't understand and shuffled out of the room. I followed a few steps behind.
We both stood at the front entrance silently. There was a nervousness in the air about opening the door. There could be a demon waiting on the other side for us. We made eye contact, and Kirin gave me a reassuring nod. His scythe Famine formed in his empty hands. Slowly, we opened the main door.
The smog stung the exposed parts of my hands, chest, neck and face. Kirin led the way into the empty street. It was eerie, like something was watching us. The dark night sky was hardly visible through the smoke that was getting thicker the further we went. It was getting harder to breathe. The smell transformed from less sulfur to actual rotting death. I understood why when we reached the end of the road.
Giant, brown cargo boxes were scattered throughout the town's center. When we reached them, I was nearly overcome with the urge to puke. Mass amounts of tiny insects were swarming the boxes around us as we got closer. Inside the cargo were piles of organs. Yes, organs. I could see weirdly shaped hearts, lungs… even intestines. They were strung out inside as if someone had poured out the contents of corpses. The scent was unlike anything I had ever encountered; it was something I could never forget. I couldn't hold back the vomit anymore. I leaned over and dry heaved. At least the jerky had digested throughout the day.
Somehow Kirin was immune. He pulled me along by my sleeve around the back of one of the closest stone structures with urgency. His form nearly pushed me up against the wall.
"Did you see it?" he asked in a whisper.
"See what?"
"A plaguebearer. Not good. No doubt it will have a few hellhounds at its side."
Kirin put a finger over his lips to tell me to be quiet. The sound of bubbling echoed through the barren streets from around the corner. It sounded like water boiling. Maybe it was the source of the disgusting smog in the air. My lungs were starting to ache from inhaling it.
"Don't get cocky. Try to stay out of it as much as possible," Kirin whispered, scanning our surroundings.
"That wasn't the agreement. I'm going to help you," I said a bit too loudly.
The sound of metal clinking against the cracked cobblestone ground sent chills up my spine. Kirin shot me an agitated look and pointed silently around the corner. I nodded, feeling my hands start to shake. My nerves, plus the smog and demons were making it hard to not feel panicked. I tried to focus my energy on getting pumped up instead. No running. I wouldn't let Kirin get maimed like an idiot again. I could do it.
Kirin strode around the corner cautiously with me trailing close behind him. I wouldn't say I was hiding behind him, but I certainly wasn't going to walk out in the open. From around his side, I could see the demons ahead of us. My h
eart dropped into the pit of my gut like I was free falling.
The plaguebearer was easily distinguishable by the plague-doctor-like face, only it wasn't a mask. Its flesh was gray-colored and curved downward with a very real beak. Its only center eye was the deepest shade of black I had ever seen; a complete lack of any light. The body of the demon was covered in ruffled raven colored feathers and makeshift leather armor. There was even a giant silver hook attached to a chain strapped to its back. It was hard to tell if it was sentient or more animalistic as it stirred the giant cauldron of bubbling green liquid. I had no doubt in my mind that it was the source of the fumes now.
At its side were three zombie dogs. I wasn’t sure how else to describe them beyond undead hounds. They were all almost entirely skeletal with a few random pieces of flesh still clinging from life. An aura of green toxins seemed to spew from their bodies contributing to the foulness in the air.
"Avoid the plaguebearer," Kirin said with Famine in his tensed hands.
I've never been afraid of dogs, but these were a different story. They started to growl like some sort of undead Cujo descendants. The plaguebearer turned its creepy face sharply toward us and let out a few wheezy inhales that could be heard all the way down the street. It slashed at the open air, signaling the hounds to attack.
The dogs let out loud barks and began to bound toward us. Kirin reached a hand toward them, summoning a quick burst of crimson flames. The fire flickered for only a moment but caused the hounds to split. Two kept running straight ahead for Kirin. The other one, hit by flames, rerouted to me.
Kirin ran forward to meet the monsters while I walked backward nervously. The dog bypassed Kirin's swinging scythe and its companions to lunge for my throat. It leapt into the air to attack me. I lifted my hand to deflect it. The rotting beast rebounded off my shield like it hit a solid wall of concrete. I took a deep breath, instantly feeling the drain from my strength. Naturally, the air burned my throat and lungs like tear gas.
Meanwhile, one of the hounds went for Kirin's arm and the other attacked his legs. Despite the hound digging its teeth into his forearm, he still swung his scythe at the one below him. It clung to his flesh as he clipped one of the other dog's paws. Letting out a pained grunt, he viciously threw the hound clinging to his arm into the empty stone fountain in front of us.
The undead dog coming after me shook off its dizziness and charged. I braced my legs for impact in case the barrier didn't work. As it came at me once again, I let my mental walls go. I let my fear and overthinking go. I focused on only the inner anger I felt, both for these demons and my hatred for Lazarus and Lydris.
Black flames weaved around my arm and through my fingertips. Envisioning I was burning my enemies alive, I ignited the hound in an instant. Like the bat from days before, it morphed from a living thing into an ashy puddle. A sharp sound of metal cutting flesh rang through the street.
Kirin managed to cut one of the hounds down and was moving toward the second. It zig-zagged around him while he slashed at it through air, trying to nab it with the shadows. The black shadows trailing the blade arced upward at the right moment, severing the hound in half. I shuddered as their essence glided toward me and absorbed into my skin. I let myself embrace the chill. Hopefully it was making me stronger even though it didn’t feel like it.
The strange wheezing turned into a sharp screech. Three small, purple flames appeared, hovering behind Kirin’s back. I shook the grogginess away and called out to him. As he turned, the flames connected forming a triangle that cut space and time in half. It looked like a strange glitch in the air, swirling with deep purple in its center. The plaguebearer spun its giant, serrated hook in a circle and threw it forward by the chain. It disappeared instantly and appeared behind Kirin through the portal. He had to duck out of the way, barely avoiding it.
Rather than sailing forward, the chain entered another dark portal and appeared near me. It navigated over my shoulder, so close it would’ve taken off my face if it was an inch closer. Kirin, trying to protect me, jumped to pull me out of the way. What a dumbass!
The hook disappeared again in a shower of raven feathers. They burst outward from the point the hook evaporated and cut me all over my body and through my clothes like knives. Kirin blocked most of them by shielding me, but he wasn’t ready for the hook to reappear… or maybe he knew it would happen faster than I’d be able to dodge.
Unfortunately, since I was not being directly threatened and couldn’t think fast enough to summon a barrier, the large serrated hook caught Kirin straight in the chest through his back. I watched his eyes twist in pain. He gripped the hooked blade, but there was nothing he could do. With force way stronger than what the demon looked capable of, Kirin was ripped back in the direction of its evil grasp.
Damn it! What should I do? I had to fight. I had to do something. I had to protect him.
The plaguebearer’s beak pecked savagely into Kirin’s flesh. First it stabbed at his shoulder as he thrashed and tried to wave Famine around with the little strength he had. Trying to disable him further, I watched in horror as it dug its beak into his eye sockets and began to rip out his eyes.
“Kirin!” I screamed in terror. The plaguebearer raised him into the air by the hook. It was going to drop him in the vat of mysterious green liquid if I didn’t do something.
Goddamn it! I didn’t have any other choice. I didn’t know what I was going to do, but I couldn’t just sit there and let him get killed. Light or darkness, I didn’t care—take anyone but the person keeping me from getting killed.
I ran at the monster full speed, faster than I had ever run in my life, dodging all of the random bursts of knife-like feathers. My mind was blank; all I knew was I needed to save him. The last few feet were so terrifying I thought I might freeze. Kirin’s blood was pouring out in buckets all over everything. I closed my eyes and lunged.
As if the ring finally saw my plight, it buzzed fiercely. I felt something hard solidify in my right hand, which I brought down through my reflexes. A clear crystal, the same substance as the ring itself, formed in my grasp as sharp as any knife. I staked the plaguebearer through the back of its neck, feeling the shard plunge into his fleshy throat.
It stumbled forward, throwing me off its back and falling to its strange hybrid knees. It let out a horrifically loud screech and grasped desperately at its throat as it bled out a black, oily substance. With all the fury in the world, I kicked it in the face, knocking it to its back. A disgusting, bubbly green aura hit me like a gust of wind I was forced to inhale. It passed over me with a chill.
I fell beside Kirin’s broken body in complete shock. With my weakness, how was I supposed to heal his injuries?
Chapter Eighteen
It was James' death all over again. My shaking hands pulled Kirin's limp form into my arms. Blood was pouring from his eye sockets all over his face. The massive, serrated hook was too thick for me to pry out. If I pulled it either way, I'd only end up cutting him more. I rubbed off some of the blood on his face with my sleeve.
"Don't die, Kirin... please," I whispered, trying to think of some way to heal his injuries. His hand reached out and touched my cheek.
"Demonic power," he said, barely audible. "Use…"
He was having a hard time staying conscious. His hand fell limp.
"No! Stay with me!" I yelled, shaking him. How could I use the demonic power to save him? My eyes scanned the hook protruding from his chest. I put a gentle hand on the steel near the exit wound and hoped desperately my idea would work.
Black flames flowed through my fingertips onto the hook. Somehow, some way, the metal began to melt in my hands. The fire may have not hurt to summon, but the melted metal sure did. It seared my flesh twice each time as the ring healed the damage immediately afterwards. I couldn't hold in my tears any longer between the shock and the pain. I let them flow as I finally was able to melt through the curve of the hook. Halfway there. I threw the heavy steel to the side. Carefully, I pu
shed Kirin onto his stomach. He let out a few groans of pained protest but forced himself to lie down. I could hear his breathing getting shallow.
"Hold on, almost done," I said through my tears to reassure him. "I'm sorry in advance."
I stood up and grasped the end of the hook in both hands. Using all the strength I had left, I gradually pulled the rest of metal from his body. I discarded it and turned him back over. His blood was coming out in buckets, staining our clothes. My hands were shaking so furiously I could hardly hold the knife over my wrist. I slashed at my skin deeper than intended, but it didn't matter. The ring was overdoing its job and healed the wound with a hiss.
"Damn it!" I yelled and slashed myself again. Another hiss. Blood was coming out of his mouth now. Think, think. I couldn't come up with a solution fast enough. Without hesitating, I pressed my wrist against his teeth. "Bite me! Do it!" I demanded, cradling his head in my lap.
Kirin used whatever willpower he had left to chomp into my arm. It hurt similarly to when Lazarus had been trying to make it as unpleasant as possible. I cried from the pain, I was so far beyond caring what anyone thought. The more he drank, the harder he gripped down on my wrist. It felt as though he might snap it entirely. I didn't mind. I was watching the sockets of his eyes rebuild themselves. The wound in his chest was starting to seal.
A strong head rush was turning my vision black. I was getting déja vu, like I had been in this sort of situation before. Shit, shit, not right now! Not right there! I was trying to fight it off, but it was overwhelming me entirely. If I passed out, I wouldn't be able to stop Kirin.
The tiny orb of light didn't have the time for my mortal problems. It took me into its dark empty space far away from Kirin and the ruins of Whitecrest. Somewhere in deep, black space. When the light finally appeared for me to grab, I hesitated. I wanted to go back to Kirin's side. I wanted to stop him from possibly killing me, to make sure that he was okay. I looked around the emptiness, but the only thing that existed was me and the orb of light. Completely alone. With reluctance, I reached out and crushed it.