More screaming. So much screaming.
“Ahhh!” Daniella screamed as she felt darkness enveloping her, cradling her and crushing her until she was breathless.
She felt suffocated as though the very light and air had been taken from her. She felt as though she were drowning, deep in the dark void, falling and falling into the endless pit.
Oh God! Her head was pounding like mad. What was this? Why was her head in so much pain? Why was her body in so much pain? Her chest felt as though it was being crushed by a ton of bricks.
Daniella screamed, long and loud, in pain and agony as she dropped her sword and fell to her knees. Tears burned her eyes as she tried to catch her breath, as she tried to make sense of things, tried to regain her sanity. Suddenly, like a flash of lightning paralyzing her body and immobilizing her against space, the sight came again, sucking her into its obscurity, stealing away her consciousness and soul.
Fire. Blood. Corpses. Death. They were everywhere and devouring everything in their sight.
Her body felt as though it were being torn apart and burned alive. The pain! Oh God! The pain, it was excruciating—unbearable.
She cried.
Kill! She had to kill because it was the only thing she could do. She had to kill because she was told to do so. She had to kill—anything and everything that was in her path.
Kill! Kill! Kill!
Ba-thump! Ba-thump!
Warm hands came reaching out to her.
What is this?
Warm hands cupping her face.
“My Little Fox… Please, you must break free… This is not you… Little Fox…”
Ba-thump! Ba-thump!
A woman suddenly materialized in front of her, out of the depths of the obscurity. Instantly, Daniella calmed, and the pain began to dissipate, leaving her. Her chest, too, felt light, as though that ton of bricks had been lifted. She sucked in her breath, inhaling much-needed air for her starved lungs.
Daniella looked as though she were staring into space, though in her mind’s eye, she saw a beautiful woman before her. A woman whose being glowed with golden light, whose tails—full of soft fur and counted nine total—wrapped around her and embraced her small, cold body.
“Little Fox, please…” the woman whispered softly into her ear. “Please…”
Who was this woman? Why was she here? Why was she smiling at Daniella? Why was she hugging Daniella? Why did she have so many tails?
Oh, the tails. They were so warm that it made Daniella’s frozen heart melt.
Her silver hair, too; it was beautiful. Her kind eyes and a sincere smile made Daniella’s insides feel so warm and happy. This woman, she smelled of wood and earth, of love and affection. She made Daniella feel as though she belonged, as though she actually had a past.
“Please, Little Fox, break free. This is not you. Come back to Mama. Please, come back.”
“Mother…” Daniella found herself whispering softly between her lips. “Mother…”
Then, as if a light had finally reached her, Daniella opened her eyes. She gasped for breath as if she had broken the surface of the sea after being drowned. She felt flustered and desperately scanned about her surroundings in sheer panic.
Darkness. Buildings. Streets. Alleyway. Corpses. Blood. Death. Dark qi. And the creature.
Suddenly, she came to her senses and realized someone was on top of her.
A pale face leered at her as a bloody mouth opened wide, and sharp teeth stained with human blood and flesh protruded.
Daniella’s eyes widened when she realized that the demonic creature had trapped her and intended to feed on her as he had with all those others before her.
She panicked; her heart was racing as she searched her brain for an escape. She thought about fighting back, bashing it and kicking it, but its bloodstained claw was on her throat, strangling her, while he was pinning her down against the cold ground.
She was trapped. She was his prey now.
She tried to scream out into the night for help, but it was difficult, as the creature was crushing its claws about her windpipe, preventing her from uttering even a sound.
Tears burned in her eyes as she frantically thought of a way to break free. What should she do? What should she do? If this kept going, she was going to die for sure.
Then out of the corner of her eye, she saw her red saber lying on the ground to her right a few inches away, just out of her reach. Relief swept through her because she knew she still had a chance at survival.
She stretched her hand out, inch by inch, trying to grab the saber, as the creature tightened its claw around her throat, crushing her windpipe and suffocating her, strangling her.
The creature leaned its grotesque, corpse-like face toward her. Then it sniffed at her, inhaling her scent and sampling her qi. Its breath smelled foul—of blood and guts—and Daniella wanted to gag in sickness.
It stared at her for moment, as if confused, which puzzled Daniella. Why? Why was it simply staring at her?
Daniella took the opportunity and struggled beneath it. In response, it retaliated and tightened its claw on her throat even more, and she was choked as tears blinded her eyes.
Then it opened its mouth wide again, ready to bite into the flesh about her throat. Daniella frantically extended her hand, and finally, her fingers touched the blade. She desperately grabbed for the saber and, with all her might, swung it toward the creature above her.
Swish!
Blood surged out from its back as her divine blade sliced through its skin, and the creature jumped back, howling and screaming in pain.
Daniella took the opportunity and hastily got to her feet. The moment she did so, her head swam in dizziness. She staggered back, and because she felt so weak, she collapsed against the brick wall of the alleyway.
Suddenly, it came again, the sight, clouding her vision and overtaking her mind. This phantasm, it enveloped her in its darkness, suffocating her and drowning her until she was lost in the depths of its abyss.
Within this hallucination, she saw little bare feet, burning red and in pain, running on the cold snow. She heard the heavy, laborious breathing of a child. Snow—damned and cold—stretched into the endless horizon.
She was running, this little girl, toward thousands of men in front of her. Military men in uniforms of royal blue, white, and red, fully armed with pistols and swords, and they were charging toward her, ready to take her down.
Her blood-red saber came into view; the sharp blade shone beneath the moonlight like a ruby gem. Then she swung the mighty sword, slicing the cursed weapon into men’s bodies, killing them effortlessly and relentlessly, one by one and then more and more. These men, they fell like flies before her as she kept on swinging her sword and charging forward, her wings guiding her over and above them. She jumped high, light as a feather, and dove low like a fish under the sea as she slid between feet. Then up in the air she went again, her small body effortless and elegantly flipping and twirling as she fought, her sword dancing in a rhythm no one could understand and at a speed no eyes could see.
“It’s a child demon!” one screamed. “A child demon with bloody wings!”
She heard herself screaming in agony and torture as she swung her blade, killing anyone who was in her path.
Bodies. There were so many dead bodies, all killed by her.
Daniella screamed in fear at the horror of what she had done. She dropped her blade as tears flowed down her cheeks.
Oh God! She had killed these people, hadn’t she? These innocent people she didn’t know.
She heaved as her head swam in pain, as her body shook in trepidation at the horror.
In the haziness of her sight, Daniella was vaguely aware that the creature was coming toward her again, its mouth wide open, ready to devour her.
She should move. She should grab her blade and swing it at him as she had in her sight. She should kill him as she had those innocent people.
But she felt paralyzed. She coul
dn’t move as her heart raced in dread.
She was going to be killed, eaten alive by this demonic creature here, tonight, and Daniella felt sick to her stomach.
The creature was only inches from her now, and still, she couldn’t move. She felt frozen in her spot, and then the creature was on her, jumping high in midair, ready to pounce on her.
She silently screamed, and then, through her tears, she saw it suddenly halt in its tracks right there in midair, its mouth opened wide and bloodstained teeth protruding.
Against the moonlight, she saw a thin thread of blood chain intertwining about its body, imprisoning it, torturing it in midair. With a pull and a tug, the blood chain tightened around the creature’s body and instantly crushed it until the body burst. Blood and body parts dispersed everywhere, some splattering on Daniella’s face and clothes.
Daniella stared at the scene as she fell to her knees, her mind numbed and body paralyzed.
On the rooftop, she vaguely saw a shadowy figure using levitation ability; effortlessly and elegantly, it jumped high and then landed on the ground lightly. The man came rushing over to her and caught her in his arms before she fell to the ground.
The man embraced her tightly in his strong arms as he said, his voice hoarse with worry, “Daniella! Please be all right.”
Daniella gazed up at the ruggedly handsome man. She gave him a weak smile as she whispered, “Papa Marco,” before closing her eyes and collapsing into the darkness of the abyss.
* * *
When next Daniella gained consciousness, it was to a pounding headache and bright light blazing into the room. She furrowed her brows in agitation and groaned as she stirred, raising her hand to touch her forehead.
Li, who was sitting in an armchair beside the bed, came fully alert at her movement. He leaned toward her with concern and asked, “Daniella, you’re awake. How are you feeling?”
Daniella fluttered her eyes as she tried to accustom herself to her uncomfortably bright surroundings. When the intense light was too much for her to bear, she groaned in discomfort again.
“The light, why is it so bright?” she asked, as if it were a sort of mystery beyond her comprehension. “And my head hurts.”
Li touched her forehead with the back of his hand to gauge her body temperature and noted it was rather hot. He wondered contritely if she was getting a fever after the horrid incident. Last night had been somewhat okay, with the girl giving out only the occasional whimper and groan, which was common during her nightmare.
He said, “How about I make you some Chinese medicine? That will help with the headache and fever.”
Daniella finally managed to open her eyes and turned her attention to her foster father. She gave him a sweet smile and said, “Yes, please. I’m so sorry for causing you trouble again.”
The man chuckled as he stroked her forehead fondly. “No worries. Just as long as you’re all right.” He paused and then asked, “Do you remember your nightmare?”
Daniella stared at him for a moment, her mind searching. Nightmare? Did I even have one?
Slowly, she shook her head. “If I did, I don’t remember it.”
Li seemed somewhat relieved with her answer. He got up from his seat and was about to head out when Daniella called to him again. “Father Li?”
The man turned with a questioning look in his eyes. “Hm? What is it, Daniella?”
Daniella frowned for a moment, as if confused. She licked her lips and asked, “Last night… How? How did I get home? “I don’t remember.” She furrowed her brows as her face stitched with pain.
God, why was her head throbbing so much when she tried to figure out what had happened last night?
Li froze for a moment as a frown flitted across his face. He had no clue how he should answer her question and felt at a loss.
Last night, when she had returned, it was in the arms of Marco, and she had been unconscious. The moment Li had laid eyes on the pair and noted the dirt and bloodstains on their faces and clothes, he knew they had encountered the night creatures. When Marco explained to him what had transpired, Li had felt more than a little sick. For Daniella to encounter an unidentified form of night creature they knew nothing of—the monstrous, grotesque type that thirsted for human blood and flesh—was the worst possible incident indeed. They knew for certain that not only the dark qi, but also the sight and smell exuded from the creature would surely trigger memories of her dark past, which they didn’t want.
“Err…” Li started, trying to come up with a white lie.
“I met up with you by the waterfront, and we came home together,” Marco said as he opened the door.
Daniella watched Marco as he came into the room. She noted that he looked tired today and wondered if he had been working too hard on the recent case of the serial murder.
“I see,” she said. “Sorry, I can’t seem to remember what happened yesterday after I left the tavern.”
The word tavern caught Marco’s attention, and he gave her his undivided attention. “Tavern?”
Daniella immediately corrected herself. “Tavern? Did I say tavern? Of course not.” She chuckled prettily.
Marco wasn’t buying her explanation. He came over to sit on the side of the bed and demanded, “Out with it.”
Daniella cunningly pulled herself into a fetal position and pretended to groan in despair as she rubbed her forehead with her fingers. “My head hurts so bad. Papa Marco, please do something about it.” Then she continued to groan in pain.
Marco sighed, knowing he wouldn’t be able to get any information about her misadventure from her. There was also the fact that if he relentlessly prodded her for details, it might trigger her memories of the unfortunate incident last night, which he didn’t want. Hence, he decided he’d interrogate Shin later in the day instead, when he had the time.
He turned to Li and said, “Better get Daniella some medicine before she complains about her headache again.”
Daniella stopped her play-acting and sat up. She pursed her lips as she frowned at Marco. She said in annoyance, “I don’t complain. Not that much anyway.”
Li chuckled, feeling relief that, despite her headache, Daniella was still her usual self. It looked as though neither her nightmare nor what had happened last night affected her all that much.
He said softly to Marco, “Looks like she’ll be fine.”
Marco nodded in agreement.
A few moments later, Li left to prepare some Chinese medicine while Marco examined Daniella. He tilted her face up and then checked her eyes.
Daniella asked, “I have a headache, so why are you checking my eyes? You always do that every time I get headaches.”
Marco said, “Your eyes have the habit of changing color when you get headaches.”
Daniella chuckled and said, “My eyes do not change color, least of all when I get a headache. That’s just not normal, Papa Marco.”
Marco had to admit that would be indeed unnatural.
After noting that all was fine, he pulled her into his arms and gave her a tight bear hug.
Daniella wiggled her body in his tight embrace as she said, “You’re being too fatherly all of a sudden. What have you done? What are you hiding from me?”
Marco chuckled and said, “What are you talking about? I’m always fatherly toward you.”
Daniella gave him a doubtful look, which Marco found adorable, and he couldn’t help but pinch her nose.
Suddenly, the door opened and Shin’s voice came through. “Oi! Sleepy head over there. It’s past noon. Why are you still in bed?”
Daniella glared at Shin as he came into her bedroom. “Why are you in a girl’s bedroom? Who told you you’re allowed to step into my sanctuary?”
Shin pretended to laugh in amusement. “As if you’re a real girl.”
Ren, who was behind Shin, leaned his body against the doorframe and asked, “Are you feeling unwell? Master Zhang was with you all night last night, and now he’s making you medicine.”
Daniella, still in Marco’s arms, blushed at the sight of Ren. She was still in her nightshift, after all, and her short boy hair was probably a mess. Not to mention her unwashed face. Well, not that it mattered too much, of course, since Ren was currently giving her a dashing smile. He probably didn’t mind seeing her in such a disorderly state, which pleased her.
She wiggled her body from her adopted father’s embrace as she said, “Just a headache. But I didn’t know Father Li was with me last night.”
That, of course, would explain why she had felt warm and comfortable whilst she slept. Her foster father Li was probably in his wolf form, cuddling her as he always did when she was unwell. She especially loved to have his large, soft fury tail wrapped around her. Although, truth be told, she couldn’t explain why her body still felt so weak, nor the fact that she felt as though something horrible had happened last night. Currently, she felt as though something important was missing from within her mind, as if pieces of her memory had been wiped clean.
Ren asked, “Did you have nightmares again?”
Daniella sighed because the very idea that she had nightmares so often, yet was never able to remember it when she woke, bothered her. Of course, there was always the splitting headache in the morning that followed.
“I don’t remember it, though,” she said.
Shin came to sit on the chair Li had vacated and said, “You disappeared on us last night. We thought you might have run off home by yourself, which is a dangerous thing to do in that part of the town, you know.”
Daniella frowned at him and said, “Be quiet, Shin. Stop talking.” She eyed Marco, praying he wouldn’t prod for details.
Shin wasn’t listening to her and continued saying, “And of course we were right. Master Romano informed us when we arrived that you were already in bed, safe and sound.”
Daniella leaned toward Shin and whispered, “Tell me what happened back at the tavern, later.”
Shin nodded in agreement.
It was then Li returned with a warm teapot of Chinese herbal medicine. As he passed through the door, he said to Ren, “Why are you loitering there in the doorway? Come inside and close the door, or Daniella will surely catch a cold.”
The Blood Alchemist Chronicles: An Intended Murder Page 14