The Fallen

by R. L. Drummond

  She cast her eyes around the stable carefully; it had suddenly felt as though she was being watched by someone, but among the sea of people that thronged around her, there was no one that paid any particular attention to her. She shrugged as the horse whinnied gently for the return of her attention and she smiled at the almost human expression of contentment that shone in the young horse’s black eyes.

  Baldur’s great hands enveloped Reya’s shoulders then and he rumbled, “It’s settled. Do you have a name for him?”

  “For who?” She asked in bewilderment.

  Baldur laughed, “The horse you’re petting! He’s yours now, my love.”

  Reya gasped in delight and looked up at her father adoringly as she cried, “He is? Oh thank you, Papa! He’s beautiful!” She then pressed her face against the gelding’s beautiful, long silken nose and whispered, “Asgard. I’ll call him Asgard.”

  Baldur blinked in stunned silence and even though he swallowed with sudden unease, he squeezed his daughter’s shoulders gently. “What made you choose that name?” He asked softly.

  Reya brought her face back and gently ran the horse’s hair through her fingers. “It’s a strong name. A good name.” She said happily and with a smile at the horse’s soft whinny, she murmured, “And his eyes are full of light.”

  Baldur cleared his throat to shake his trepidation and his voice was a little louder than necessary when he said, “We’ll collect him when we’re ready, is that alright?”

  “Okay.” Reya replied and she patted the horse’s nose once again, “See you soon, Asgard.”

  Baldur led his daughter away and even as she left the pen, he couldn’t help but notice that the horse had followed their path until it could go no further. Her Light is getting stronger. He thought uneasily, but even though a sharp tremor of worry thrilled through him, it convinced him more than ever that the decision of leaving Fieldhaven was the right course of action.

  They continued their shopping trip throughout the market and even though Baldur’s mood had become muddied by the unease that bubbled within him, Reya’s exuberance still shone brightly. She watched on with daughterly awe at the strength of her father’s confidence; how steadfast and adamant he was in his negotiations with every stallholder. She wished that someday she would become as strong as her father; that her naturally timid nature would develop into the stalwart and steady grace that he bore with calm confidence. Every settled negotiation was like a small victory to her, a proof of action that her father was the best man there ever was and she smiled with joyful pride.

  When Reya began struggling under the weight of the items within her sack, Baldur called a halt to their mission and examined the contents with a critical eye. He was reluctant to stay for longer than was necessary, but he also knew with practised confidence that leaving without being completely prepared was folly. His mouth skewed in reticent acceptance and as he brought his gaze to his daughter’s, the troubled expression that had dulled the natural shine within his eyes broke briefly like the sun through thick cloud.

  Baldur looked upon Reya then, her heart shaped face and wide violet eyes surrounded by the golden halo of her silken hair, and his heart ached at how wonderful she was. He blinked at her awed gaze that looked upon him with daughterly worship and with a jolt of apprehension that stabbed his heart like rusted knives, he felt a terrible portent.

  He flickered his eyes up suddenly, alerted to a vibration against his instinct that he hadn’t felt for some time, but still recognised with sharp clarity. He stiffened as he cast his gaze across the market with the heat of a soldier’s glare, until he saw the shadow of a person stooped ominously in the darkness of an old rickety stairway. He stared at the shadow so still and patient, cloaked in an air of dangerous silence, and Baldur growled under his breath.

  Who is that…He thought in heart–stopping apprehension, for he could sense the unmistakable taint of Dark that emanated from the person who stood so still in the shadows. A flare of knowledge within Baldur sounded a klaxon of alarm and the thought was upon him even before his mind had formed the horrifying words: He’s looking for Reya.

  His lip curled and, without removing his eyes from the person who stood with such silent menace among the townsfolk that heedlessly walked past him, Baldur bent and spoke into Reya’s ear.

  “My love, why don’t you go and collect the horse and cart? I’ll wait here for you.” He asked and his eyes burned into the watchful form that hungrily scanned the crowds from murky darkness.

  “Yes, Papa.” Reya said into his smiling mask, but it wasn’t until she walked back towards the stables that Baldur’s eyes darkened dangerously.

  He immediately seized the intruder with a smouldering stare and circled his prey in a wide radius, cautious of the Dark that resounded so eerily from this human that had encroached his territory. But such a recognition chilled Baldur from within: a human shouldn’t have such a Dark influence upon their soul…what was this person doing with such malevolence within them? There was a form of darkness that certain humans developed of course…but this Dark held an unquestionable Abyssal taint that resonated deeply within Baldur’s soul and the insinuation it brought left him anxious.

  Baldur’s feet moved across the grass with ethereal silence in his journey towards the back of the building that hid his target and when he ducked into the shadow of the stairway, he slid silently behind the intruder. The intruder never had time to register his appearance, for Baldur simply snapped the man’s neck in calculated precision and heaved him effortlessly over his shoulder. As he carried the body towards a nearby bush, carefully out of sight, Baldur couldn’t ignore the tugging upon his instincts that told him this was no ordinary human. The Dark that had banked within him thrummed against the Light within Baldur’s heart like the ferocious beating of tribal drums and within those concussive pulses, came the warning of danger.

  Baldur darted his eyes across the crowd beyond and, satisfied that no one had seen nor heard him, he stealthily insinuated back into the busyness of the market. His gaze scoured rapidly through the throng of bodies for his daughter, for he couldn’t ignore the burning instinct that told him the bell strike of warning that claimed his entire being, was no longer a figment of fatherly concern.

  Reya had stubbornly refused the stable master’s help in harnessing her horse, for his manner had been dreadfully impolite at the memory of how her father had aggressively negotiated payments with him. Even though she struggled with hooking the small cart into the horse’s harness, she still refused to admit defeat and ask for the awful man’s aid. She was well aware of the trait for bullheadedness that she had inherited from her father, and so she struggled to fit the cart’s shafts into Asgard’s tug loops with hissed breath and a reddening face. She was so deeply involved in her task that when a deep voice spoke to her suddenly, she jumped and cried out in fright.

  “Miss?”

  Her heat thudded painfully as she spun and faced the man who had spoken to her, a brief flash of hot anger within her expression as she reflexively admonished, “What do you think you’re doing, sneaking up on a person like that!”

  But Reya’s anger fizzled at the sight of the man before her; tall and smoky skinned with such an exotic appearance that the breath hitched in her throat, he was unlike any other person she had ever seen, and so different from herself that she was stunned into silence at his unusual beauty. She wondered then if it was proper to consider the man beautiful, as obviously masculine as he was with his strong shoulders and square jaw, but his face held an angular attractiveness that she had only ever seen on temple sculptures. His hair was nearly black but for the slight sheen of dark grey within it and as she cautiously brought her gaze back to his hooded, silver eyes, she blushed at the amusement she saw there. Reya became astounded at how rude she was in boldly dissecting this man’s appearance, and she panicked on how uncouth and immature he must have thought her scrutiny to be.

  He laughed at the heat of her comment, but instead of the
chastising retort that Reya would have expected from a stranger, his voice was soft and pleasant. “My apologies, miss. I thought you had heard me approach.”

  Reya became very much aware of how she had stared at the man, for the smile that exuded from his face with an easy grace spoke of a confidence that she didn’t have herself. “I – I– excuse me. I didn’t…” She mumbled awkwardly.

  The man laughed again, but not unkindly, and with the crinkling of his striking almond shaped eyes, Reya became aware that he was in fact far older than he had originally seemed. In actuality he seemed perhaps closer to her Uncle Tellan’s age than her own and with this realisation, Reya was suddenly mortified at her inappropriate reaction to his beauty. She stammered in embarrassment, “What are – can I – yes?”

  The easy smile on the man’s face widened with amusement at her befuddlement, but still his voice remained as smooth as silk as he answered, “I came to ask if I could help you?”

  When Reya didn’t reply, he gestured at the cart and added, “You seemed a bit…stumped.”

  “Oh,” Reya breathed and she chuckled self-consciously as she pushed her hair from her face. The man’s eyes crinkled deeper and she mumbled awkwardly, “Yes…yes, thank you. You are most kind.”

  “Anything to help a pretty lady, my dear.” He purred with such a deep timbre to his voice that Reya became entirely enthralled and watched his confident hands complete the task that she had utterly failed in herself.

  When he turned his head with a roguish grin at Reya, she blushed furiously at the flirtatious glint of his unusual silver eyes and stammered, “I…I thought I knew everyone from here. Have – have you just moved?”

  The man’s smile broadened as he secured the horse’s straps, “I’m only passing through, miss. I’m a traveller, you see.”

  Reya’s chest filled with an excited gasp and her eyes widened as she asked, “A traveller? Have you come from far?”

  “Very far indeed,” he replied, “farther than you could imagine.”

  Reya gulped at how intoxicatingly exotic this man seemed and she whispered, “As far as Suria?”

  “Farther.” He replied, and the hike of an eyebrow suggested to Reya that he didn’t simply mean the next town across.

  “Oh…” Reya breathed; Suria was the farthest place she knew of within the world and the concept of there being even more beyond its shining lights burned like a beacon to her wanderlust.

  The stranger’s voice cut through her reverie with a playful tone, “My, but this is a heavy sack for you to carry! Are you planning a journey?”

  Reya smiled in genuine happiness, for the excitement at her father’s surprise still blossomed within her, “Yes! My father and I. I’m not sure where we’re going; he wants to keep it as a surprise.”

  “Are you leaving soon?”

  Reya nodded, “Yes, today actually. I’m very excited; I haven’t been outside Fieldhaven before now.”

  “Ah, the first great adventure!” The man exclaimed in response and his eyes crinkled in merriment, “Then please, allow me to help you on your way! Shall I put the sack in the cart for you?”

  Reya nodded hastily to cover her youthful awe of this man that seemed so worldly, “Yes, thank you! That would be most helpful. I…I’ve to meet my father, you see.”

  “Well in that case, let’s not keep him waiting. I’m sure you’ll have quite a journey.” The man said with another winsome smile and hefted up Reya’s sack of goods with no apparent struggle whatsoever.

  When he turned back towards her and she looked upon his unusually featured face, Reya became struck with a sudden moment of recognition that she couldn’t quite explain. And even as she asked, she felt burning shame in being so bold, “Excuse me, sir. But have we met before? You seem very familiar to me.”

  “I’m sure we haven’t, miss. I would have remembered your beauty implicitly…your eyes are very unique.” He replied smoothly.

  “You…flatter me.” Reya said awkwardly, so unused to such attention that his words alone flummoxed her greatly. She was also very much aware that his eyes had never left hers and for some inexplicable reason, Reya felt herself awfully exposed under the intensity she saw in those quicksilver pools. He has no pupils…it’s like looking into mirrors. She realised with a thrill of shock and in that moment, her initial excitement of his exoticism heightened into frightened apprehension.

  The man’s eyes never left hers and with a slight step forward that brought a sense of presence that Reya found profoundly daunting, he said deeply, “Perhaps I should escort you to your father. This world is a dangerous place for a girl on her own.”

  “Um…” She began hesitantly as she wracked her brain on how she could possibly part from this man’s company without seeming rude. She then smiled briefly when a silver fish of truth flitted through her mind and she continued at a rush, “Thank you for your kindness, sir, but…but I really must go.”

  The man bowed to her slightly and his voice was an intoxicating rumble when he replied, “Of course, Reya.”

  Reya nearly swooned at how deeply he purred her name, but her sensibilities cut sharply through her youthful excitement and she asked in trepidation, “How did you know my name?”

  The man looked up at her from under his brows with a slight smile on his face, but even as he opened his mouth in answer, Baldur’s voice came on the wind.

  “Reya? Reya!” Baldur called fearfully and as Reya turned at the sound of her father’s voice, she couldn’t help but feel a jolt of unease at the worried tone in which he called her name.

  When Baldur rounded the corner of the stables at a frantic rush, his feet juddered to a halt at the stark realisation that his daughter was not alone, and the unusual twist of his expression spoke of a great confusion that was married with heart–stopping fear. Reya stared at her father in confused silence, bemused as to why such an expression would adorn his face and within that moment, the atmosphere around her dramatically heightened.

  Baldur stared unblinking at the man behind Reya and as his hand reached swiftly for the strap of the sack upon his shoulder, Reya felt the pressure of air behind her change. She gasped in instinctual fright when her father violently ripped the seams of the sack apart without regard of how much it must have burned his skin and as her hands flew upon her mouth in shock, she turned her head.

  The charcoal skinned man’s face creased into a terrible, toothsome smile, far wider and more feral than the charming demeanour he had offered Reya only moments ago. Reya’s horrified breath seized in her throat at the jagged teeth she somehow hadn’t noticed before and when he surged forward with his hands lifted from his back, there was an ominous glint of metal that shone with deadly light. She gasped in fright at the speed in which the man lunged for her and upon the deathly cold sensation of his ice hard grip upon her wrist, she screamed reflexively.

  All she could do was stare wide eyed and fearful as the man effortlessly pulled her towards him, and within the ferocious sheen of his unusual eyes that burned brightly against his ashen skin, Reya finally realised why he had seemed so familiar to her. Her mind rebelled chaotically against the instinctual implication that before her was a demon from the very pits of the Abyss, a ridiculous freezing of her sensibilities that left her knees trembling in fear. The man’s grin widened at the expression within Reya’s face then and as he pulled her closer towards his demonic grin, the shredded remains of Baldur’s cloth sack pooled onto the ground.

  There was a tremendous roar that boomed with the ferocity of a giant and Reya gasped when a flash of steel suddenly burned before her eyes, an arc of light that abruptly separated her from her would-be captor. She jumped back in alarm and when she stared at the hunched back of her father that had surged inexplicably before her with ferocious protection, she balked at the speed in which he had moved.

  Baldur’s great back heaved with unquestionable power, shrouded in an aura of warrior strength that exuded like a blazing inferno, and muscles that Reya had never truly
realised existed rippled dangerously beneath the thin fabric of his shirt. But what frightened her most was the sight of the mighty weapon that he gripped within his strong hands, and how familiar his stance was as he wielded its weight. The enormous, double headed great axe that Reya had only ever seen in her dreams rested within Baldur’s powerful grip like an old friend, and he glared up at the stranger with an aggressive gaze that could have ignited the very earth. Reya’s mouth hung open in dumbfounded silence, for words and even thought had failed her at the sight of her father, crouched with the feral aggression of a protective tiger before his daughter. Anger pulsed from his body with such a palpable field of wrath that Reya clutched her hands against her heart and she could only watch when Baldur lifted the great axe once more.

  The ashen skinned man raised his own weapon, a black bladed long sword that looked as though it had been forged from the darkest evil itself, twisted and barbed in a raw display of murderous potential. The man glowered at Baldur from beneath his brows and his silver eyes were like liquid lightning as they glittered with triumphant malice. Reya’s eyes fluttered at the sight of the weapon; had it been in his possession even as he had spoken to her, she wondered and shivered fearfully at the prospect.