Angel on the Edge

by RJ Seymour

  Flickering, Dale watched as the tiny flame of his lantern waxed and waned. A lot of the fuel had burned, but plenty remained though the fire struggled to burn.

  "I cannot hold them, why are you here?"

  Her voice was screaming in his head. She was all around him, but so was the evil that seeped in from the woods. Deep growls circled around him. Guttural and rabid, he could sense the demons as they moved closer. His father's dagger shook as he held it out in front of him, its point reflecting the light as it moved back and forth.

  Shadows were only a few steps away. Darkness had filled in all but the light that reached out no farther than his arms. Dale could feel his knees giving in. The fear inside so cold his heart pounded a slow cadence behind his ears.

  "They are here, run now!" She screamed.

  Bright white light flashed before his eyes as the darkness erupted around him. Yelps and howls echoed through the forest as a path opened before him. His feet would not move as the black shadows rolled around the forest floor like a ball of dark yarn. Rays of golden light spit out as the dark mass tumbled through the brush, crushing the brittle corpses of long withered bushes and forest grass.

  "Run!"

  Her voice rang clear within his mind as Dale pushed away from the maple tree. Rumbling trembled the forest floor at his feet as a shadow as tall as the gnarled canopy above his head approached slowly. With feet made of lead, Dale backed his way toward the path that moved away from the struggle. He could feel the evil that permeated the air around the demon. Pillars of darkness spewed as the mass continued toward him, the light that had saved him now plunging its way further away into the shadows.

  "Now!"

  Dale waited no longer as he spun on his heels and ran with every ounce of adrenaline he could muster. Light splashed around him as the lantern shook violently with his retreat, the warmth of his father's blade radiating along his arm as he pushed himself harder. Branches and dry tendrils of brittle vine cut into him as he pushed forward. The rumbling of the ground grew fainter in the distance.

  Sweat dripped down his face and stung his cheek as it ran over the scratches that now tore his skin. He could no longer hear her, the pounding of his heart a thunder that chased him like the shadows that were quickly closing in. Ahead he could see the path that was set for him begin to close. Holding in death, the trunks of the forest twisted in an embrace as they created a wall, their limbs joined in a final dance of defiance.

  Not wanting to slow, Dale pushed forward as his eyes searched for a clearing. The distance between him and the end was closing as he could feel the arms of shadows reaching out for him, grabbing at his ankles as his strength began to reach its limit. Searching, the light from his lantern showed no opening within the barrier that prevented him from leaving the shadows.

  Trapped. There was nowhere to turn as he slowed and threw himself against the wall. Nothing moved as he fell to his knees beside the barrier of hollow wood. Back on his feet, Dale pressed his back against the end of the path. He willed his breathing to slow as he watched the darkness close in.

  Slow at first, the demons took their time. Humans no longer ventured into the darkness that filled their world. Their lives and understanding long ago lost to the wars that had taken so many. Dale could feel the slow stink of death begin to climb his body. Tiny and without strength, the flame in his lantern struggled to remain lit. Burned down to nothing but a crescent orange flame, his light, and his only hope was almost gone.

  "Please save me, God. Where is your angel?" Dale whispered as he closed his eyes.

  Sharp bark bit into the skin of his back as he pressed himself against the wood as hard as he could. He knew if he opened his eyes his world would be as devoid of light as he felt with his eyes closed. He could hear them breathing, and his skin crawled as he felt the tiny hands walk up his skin, poking and prying to find a way inside.

  "Please!" Dale shouted as the sickness washed down his spine in a tidal wave of emotion.

  Shock and pain lanced through his ankles as he felt the thorny vines wrap around his legs. He could feel the fire begin to race itself up his veins as the tendrils squeezed harder, wrapping his pants in a knot at his boots.

  "Ah!" Dale screamed as a bolt of electricity shot up his extremities, his thigh muscles cramping in response.

  With his back against the wall, he reached down to try and grab the vines that now held him prisoner. Heat radiated from the vegetation as his hands wrapped around the moist limbs, and the spines caught on his skin. Blood tickled his fingertips as he realized his eyes were still closed, opening them he could see through the feint light, that his palms were dripping as the thorns had ripped a gash through his hands.

  "You are mine," a deep throaty voice rumbled in Dale's ears as the shock stood him back up.

  Darkness had overtaken everything as his lantern was no more than a hot wick that awaited a new flame.

  "Please…"

  Dale's voice failed him as his bindings squeezed tighter around his ankles, the pain buckling his knees. With a yank, the young man found himself face first on the ground, his mouth full of dust and dry pine needles as he lifted his face to the darkness above. Red eyes stared back at him, their power burning with magic and hatred as the vines choked the blood from his feet and pulled him through the wall.

  * * *

  "A human, out here once again," her voice was soft but laced with anger. "As if my job wasn't hard enough. What could this boy have been thinking?"

  Dale felt the crust on his eyes as they struggled to open. He was laying in the dirt, the hard earth a flat board as his lower back ached. A nagging itch irritated his ankles, where his skin swelled, and his muscles were sore from the cramping.

  The sky above him was clear and dark with thousands of stars shining down from the distant heavens like beacon's calling a traveler home. The wind whistled a strange fairytale like melody as it tickled the fine hairs on his arms, the air fresh and cool with a hint of moisture.

  "Our boy, the adventurer, finally awakes."

  Dale could hear her voice, young and strong, but full of confidence he knew he didn't have.

  "I heard you pray out there, so don't go trying to tell me you don't speak," she said.

  With a look around, Dale pushed himself up until he was seated, his breath stolen as he took in his surroundings. He was in a small forest alcove, walled in on all four sides by the same gnarled trees that had proven detrimental in his retreat from the demons of the darkness. Ferns and tall grass grew all along the natural barrier, swaying in the soft breeze like dancers celebrating the night. In the center of the small clearing was a pool of dark water, its surface reflecting the moonlight above as tiny waves rippled from the center.

  "Where am I?" Dale asked, his voice a harsh scratch against his throat. "Am I dead?"

  "You would be," She said, this time behind him. "If it wasn't for Learnie over there."

  Dale spun on his seat and pushed back as his new companion came into view. She was as tall as he was with golden blond hair that laid softly over her broad shoulders. Soft high cheekbones framed her face with skin as pale as the moon above, but her eyes stopped him the moment he saw them. Softly set against her face, they were dark and depthless, an endless pool as he could feel his soul becoming lost in her vision.

  "Who…Who is Learnie?" Dale asked, his heart racing as he licked his dry lips.

  "Learnie would be your only friend here other than me," she said as she stood up from her crouch, forcing him to push himself away without knowing why. "Of course if I weren't around, you'd probably be his lunch."

  She walked over toward the water, her movements graceful, and her steps confident as she didn't look to see if he was following.

  Was this the angel he had been called to find? Do all angels look like this?

  With a grimace, Dale pulled himself to his feet, the itching of his ankles grew to a small burn before settling once again to an irritation he forced himself to ignore.

 
"Where is this Learnie and where am I?"

  "So full of questions, and yet you should be answering ours. You'd be dead like the rest if we didn't risk our necks keeping you alive."

  Dale flinched at the sharp look in her eyes before her features softened, and she smiled as she dipped the tips of her fingers into the water. He didn't know what to say or think as the small oasis within the dead forest remained silent. She had to be the angel that protected them from the demons; he was certain of it, but she wasn't at all what he had imagined.

  Leather straps held metal plating that fit tight against her body. Unlike knights he read about in history books and fairy tales, her outfit was tightly fit to her body though it allowed her to move with perfect grace. Reflecting the light of the moon above, he could see the metal plates that were hidden beneath the thick leather as it protected and hugged her curves.

  "Come, my friend, meet who has given us such a headache," she whispered into the night air.

  Rumbling echoed into the small alcove as the center of the pool began to ripple violently. The outside perimeter of the water began to swirl as the entire pond became an eddy as the shadows sank below the surface. Dale backed up a few steps while his eyes watched the head of a creature, scaly and covered in mud, slowly rise from the depths. With two heads, elongated at the nose and with forked tongues like a serpent, Dale watched as it extended itself fifteen feet above the water. Its arms, vine-like limbs that puckered with thorns from its clawed hands to its shoulders. They snaked their way across the top of the dark liquid as the creature settled itself, and the spiraling water calmed as it waded into the center of the pond. The burning in Dale's ankles returned as he eyed the razors that had cut deep into him.

  "He is sorry about that," she replied as if she could read his mind. "He really can't stop the poison once he wraps onto his prey, I made sure he only injected you with enough to pull you through to safety. It will go away in a few days if you are still alive."

  She turned and walked back to where he had awoken. For the first time, he saw the small single bed that remained no more than five feet from where he had been laying. Vines stretched between two bare tree trunks with soft leaves the size of Dale's head laid down to build a simple looking hammock. A single chair made of a stump and curved branches sat beside it.

  "What do you mean if I am still alive?"

  The words stumbled as they left his lips, and his heart began to race again as dread tickled down his spine.

  "You do want to go home don't you?" She smiled as she pushed the netting of the bed back to seat herself before lifting her feet to sway into the air. "I assume you didn't come out here to live by yourself or commit suicide. Well, I assumed that was the case."

  An inquisitive look passed over her face as a silence fell between them.

  "I did want to go home, but not before I found you."

  "Find me?" She sat forward with her feet firmly planted on the ground and her chin resting in her hand. "Now why would you want to find me, and what makes you think I would want to be found."

  "You're an angel, and you protect my village."

  Her laughter echoed throughout the haven. Even the large hydra churned the water behind him.

  "An angel? What religious rhetoric have they got you believing in that small village you call home?" She rose to her feet and began walking away from him and around the water, her look turned to the sky above before she continued. "You're just a dreamer kid, playing games with his life and making mine more difficult."

  "Then you're not the angel that called to me? I swore I've seen you before, in my dreams."

  "Boys see many women in their dreams, sometimes it can make them do ‘silly' things with themselves when they are alone."

  She continued to walk along the perimeter of the wall, and he was surprised to find himself following.

  "This wasn't just a dream, I could feel it, even when I was awake."

  He followed her closely though she did not turn or indicate she cared.

  "OK, tell me. What did I say to you in these dreams? Was I naughty?" She chuckled as she flicked a small pebble into the dark pool.

  In response, the hydra slashed one its arms into the water sending a jet of spray high into the air and splattering against the wooden barrier.

  "No!" Dale answered in a voice meant to defend the angel from his dreams. "Most of the time you didn't say or do anything, you just watched over us. But lately things have changed."

  She stopped in her tracks so suddenly he almost stumbled into her.

  "How have things changed?" She asked; her head tilted so he could see the side of her face though her eyes remained looking ahead.

  "Lately you have been coming to me directly, whispering that I needed to find you." He hesitated as she didn't respond, the images from his last dream vivid in his mind. "The last one, you stood right in front of me until the shadows closed in. You had a weapon, a sword of light like nothing I've ever seen before." Dale could feel his heart continue to race as she turned a little more toward him, the look on her face inquisitive, yet enough to stop him dead.

  "And?" She asked impatiently.

  "Oh yes, you turned back to face the darkness alone, but not without telling me I must come to find you. I needed to find you."

  Silence quickly became the third wheel between them again as neither of them spoke for a few moments.

  "Dreams of a young boy. This time they almost got you killed."

  She waved him off as she turned and began walking once more. The ground at their feet began to dry as Dale noticed the scuff marks from something being dragged from the wall.

  "Look, can you tell me the truth?" Dale pleaded. His soul was crumbling as the angel he knew existed stood right before him, yet she was still no closer. "Who are you if you aren't an angel?"

  She stopped. A small sigh escaped her lips before she turned to face him. In the moonlight, her hair was almost white as it waved and fell gently across her shoulders.

  "You have no need to know who or what I am. It is best we get you back to your village before anyone notices you are gone, and I'm stuck with the whole lot of you running around this forest. Keep your dreams to yourself next time kid, listen to your friends, and stay out of the forest."

  With her final words, they approached the wall where most of the soil had been disturbed. From the outside, he had been unable to see any weakness in the barrier, the gnarled trees an impenetrable force. As she ran her hand across the dry bark, he could see where small fissures worked their way up along the limbs to form the entryway that the hydra must have used to drag him in.

  "OK, if you are going to send me home, can you at least tell me if you saw my father's dagger?

  Dale could feel the emptiness on his belt, as heavy as his heart in his stomach. He hadn't thought about it until the idea of venturing back out into the forest finally settled in his mind. Everything he dreamed of was crushed, his angel, the one woman who meant more to him than the world, didn't care for him at all. He was just another villager who needed to stay behind the wall.

  "If you had it with you when you came in, it is probably still around here. Learnie has no need for the things, and I haven't seen it," she replied before she whispered a few words that Dale could barely hear.

  Cracks opened, and dry bark flaked off the wall as the doorway to the forest began to take shape. Dale fought the urge to back away as he forced himself to examine the grass by his feet. He must have dropped it when he was dragged through, maybe it even caught itself in some of the vines.

  Desperation began to build slowly inside as he could see her standing there watching. She didn't want to wait any longer, her right foot tapping the ground as Dale dropped to his knees.

  "It's the only thing I have left from my father. I was never given the chance to know the man," Dale said while trying to hide the tremble in his voice.

  Her features softened for a moment, her foot no longer tapping as she looked down at him.

  "Someti
mes our fathers are still around, even if you don't see them," she replied though her face looked sad. "That's at least what I tell myself."

  "You lost your father as well?" Dale asked the small sensation of relief struggled to take hold as she crouched to help.

  "People would say that, but I am not so sure."

  "What do you mean? How could you not know?"

  "Be quiet and keep looking," she answered with a voice that would allow no argument. "I'll help you for a few more minutes, and then we are gone."

  "Wait! I see something."

  Dale's heart stopped for a moment as the polished metal surface of the blade caught the moonlight above when he pushed away the knee high grass that lined the wall. The blade had sliced its way into the wood, splintering several inches into the dead tree.

  "That looks," she said but hesitated with the rest.

  He could feel her stand and back away as he cleared the rest of the weeds and revealed the wrapped hilt and blade.

  "Are you sure that is your father's?" She asked, now standing near the dark pool with the Hydra, who was churning the water.

  "Of course," he replied as he reached for the weapon.

  Warmth flooded his veins the moment his skin touched the oiled leather grip, and the shadows within the hideaway retreated before him. A bright light exploded before his vision as he stumbled away from the wall, dagger in hand as the hard ground caught his fall, and the breath retreated from his lungs.

  With a push from his elbows, he turned to his angel and her pet, but she was no longer there. What stood before him was the same angel from his dreams. Long golden hair fell gently over her bare shoulders as a thin dress of fine silk hugged her body as it gracefully swayed in the air until it settled at her feet.

  The Hydra was no longer a two-headed serpent. Light danced and swayed as it circled an older man, naked as the day he was born decades before. Darkness and shadow orbited within the light around him, his features lost as the thunderous clouds of magic pulled at his being but retreated in an unending fight with the darkness that radiated from him like an aura.