I listened as the guy on the right, with the torch, was responding to an unheard question asked by the other man. “No, they still haven’t found him. By the look of this mess, we’re beginning to suspect whatever attacked the poor kid may have eaten him. The mayor is going to be devastated to lose his youngest son.”
I gasped silently in shock, horrified by the idea that Ryker’s remains might have been in Jasmyn’s stomach all this time. It couldn’t be true, could it? Was that the real reason Jasmyn was so upset? Because she was lying about eating him?
The guy with the torch then continued after a pause. “How’s the girl?” he asked tentatively.
The man with the lantern finally responded with a sigh. “Alive still, though we aren’t sure if she’ll make it. She lost a lot of blood from the cut in her side, but hopefully she can tell us what attacked her if they can get her to wake up.”
My eyes widened as I listened, surprised to discover that someone had survived. There had been two girls in the group, so the survivor was either Kaylee or the older girl in Ryker’s class, whose name I couldn’t remember. Either way, if they told the adults what happened…
The guy with the torch readjusted his gun and nodded with a grimace. “I’ve never seen anything like it. What in the world would tear out someone’s organs like that? Heart, lungs, liver – all of it torn straight out of the body. And none of it eaten, like I would expect from a monster.”
Mr. lantern shrugged, his expression somber. “Maybe that’s what happened here too, but the creature didn’t get around to eating the others. I’m starting to wonder if that explosion we saw was unrelated.”
The one on the right scoffed. “I have a difficult time believing that.”
Mr. lantern paused. “Well, maybe it is related. Maybe there’s a mage out here who attacked whatever was killing these kids. If he or she is a stranger, then I could imagine they wouldn’t want to stick around to face scrutiny for their deaths.” He took a deep breath. “But if that’s true, the mage might have already eliminated the monster for us, thereby protecting the town from more tragedy. We should keep a close eye on any new strangers in town, just in case. It might be a hero in disguise, who feels guilty for arriving too late to save them.”
The other guy stared for a moment before nodding hesitantly. He then sighed. “Well, if you see Elaine, give her my condolences and tell her I hope her daughter recovers. Even if she lives, no doubt she’ll be traumatized after what happened, especially considering she’s the only survivor.”
I gasped again, louder this time, forcing me to clamp my hand over my mouth. Neither of the men heard though, continuing to talk.
My mind began to think frantically as I considered the situation. Because now I knew who the survivor was. Elaine was Kaylee’s mother.
Which meant I also knew where to find her.
But should I find her? And what should I do once I did? If she did eventually wake up, then she might tell them about Jasmyn. She didn’t know anything about my secret, but she would certainly be suspicious if I reappeared without any signs of having been harmed.
Not to mention, she knew there was a connection between me and her attacker.
Which meant I really didn’t have a choice. I had already promised Jasmyn I would do anything to protect her, and Kaylee explaining the connection would result in my friend being discovered.
But could I really do it?
I took a deep breath as I stood up from my crouched position. I had to pay Kaylee a visit tonight, and possibly take care of her before she snitched.
I hesitated as I considered that, before silently ghosting away into the darkness.
Kaylee had been hateful to me for years, but that didn’t mean she deserved to die. But if I didn’t kill her, it might lead to Jasmyn getting hurt. And I might be implicated too, since she knew I had been the one taking care of my Naga friend.
Our family might have to leave town after all, and that was assuming we even could, before half the townspeople surrounded our house. There were already rumors that my mom was a devil, so it wouldn’t take much for them to attack, happy to have someone to blame.
As I silently sped through the trees, already almost about to reach the edge of town, I mentally attempted to prepare myself for what I was about to do.
Once I got to the buildings, I stalked through the alleyways quietly, sticking to the shadows. There were oil lamps hanging on poles in certain areas, brightly lighting up the streets, but Kaylee lived in a part of town with less lighting. Less wealthy. Though not in the poorest part of town where I had seen her earlier that day. I still had no idea why she had been there, unless she had been following me the whole time.
I knew she and her family lived in a building with two floors that didn’t directly connect. They each had separate entrances from the outside, allowing for a separate family to live below them. It was a common form of housing for those who didn’t own any land, unlike my father who owned a few acres outside of town. Many wondered why he didn’t farm the land more, beyond the several large gardens we had, but I knew the reason was because of mom.
He didn’t want anyone to chance seeing her.
My dad made a lot more money as a carpenter than he would as a farmer, so for him to farm the land he would have to hire laborers to do the work for him. It would technically bring in more money, even after paying the help, but it wasn’t worth the risk. We lived outside of town intentionally, so my mom could visit whenever she wanted.
Once I arrived at Kaylee’s house, I found the window for what used to be her room when I was younger and leapt straight up to grab the stony ledge to peer inside. My clawed toes helped me stabilize myself, digging into crevasses between the stones in the wall, even though I could have held myself up with my arms alone.
I was a little shocked I hadn’t even doubted that I could jump so high, nor did I feel too surprised that I could hold myself up easily. If anything, I was shocked that I wasn’t surprised by my own abilities. Everything just felt natural, and when I had seen the window above me, I just knew I could reach it.
As I looked through the glass, I saw that it was still her room even after all this time. There were two people inside, with Kaylee lying in her bed with her clothes gone, except for underwear. The blanket only covered up her legs, which I suspected was because she was running a fever.
Or maybe breaking a fever? Beads of sweat were on her face.
Otherwise, she had bandages covering her side, and wrapping up around her chest. There was a large red stain underneath her ribcage.
Kaylee’s mother was sitting in a chair next to the bed, with her head lying on the fresh sheets, holding her daughter’s hand. It appeared she was sound asleep. The only light was from a lantern in the corner of the room glowing dimly.
The smell inside was like death, the scent so powerful that I could detect it through the triangular glass panes. At first, I wondered if it was Kaylee herself, but then I noticed the pile of bloody clothing and sheets stuffed in the corner.
I continued to examine the room while listening for the other sounds in the house, still deliberating on what to do. I really didn’t want to kill her mom, who had sincerely always been nice to me. Granted, I didn’t really want to kill Kaylee either, despite her hatefulness. But I felt like I didn’t have much of a choice on the latter victim.
It was odd that I was even having these thoughts so easily in the first place. It almost felt like my sense of empathy was muted, and I felt…calculating. I knew my mood had changed ever since I left the house, which made me wonder if it was because of my transformation.
Granted, I wasn’t about to shift back to my human-self right now to find out.
A light breeze made my black hair flutter in front of my face, so I let go of the ledge with one hand to pull it over my shoulder, remaining where I was on the wall. Once all my fingers were grasping the ledge again, I continued to deliberate, uncertain of what to do.
I waited for a long time befor
e I finally got a break. Kaylee’s father, Mather, quietly entered the room, prompting me to duck out of sight. I heard him wake up Elaine before walking her out into the hallway, probably getting her to move to their bed. The door closed behind them.
I immediately used the opportunity to open the window, carefully pulling out one half and then the other. I then lifted myself up and stepped into her room. As I slipped over to stand above her, I felt my temporary resolve waiver again.
Kaylee appeared so helpless lying there, and she even looked a little sweet and innocent while she was sleeping. Like an angel, instead of the devil I knew her to be. I sighed heavily as I sat down in the chair and reached out to touch her hand.
I hesitated when I saw my claws, willing my body to return to normal, with any remaining resolve I had dissipating. I then took her limp hand in mine and stared at her for a long time, having no idea what to do now.
Really, I didn’t want to hurt her. But I didn’t know how to get her to keep quiet either. I just wished I could force her to not tell anyone, so I wouldn’t have to do anything bad.
If only I could use the memory spells my mother was capable of, but I knew that wasn’t possible, having always known that her magic was rare – at least, whenever I was allowed to recall that much.
But now that my memories had all come back, I was beginning to remember more and more things that I had picked up over the years from my parents.
Like the fact that all mages had an affinity for certain types of magic, being incapable of learning something that didn’t come naturally. It was just like how Jasmyn suppressed my magic without even meaning to – no one taught her. It wasn’t even really something teachable – only trainable. Either a mage was capable of a certain type or they weren’t, with my natural magic obviously being demonic fire and lightning.
I knew that Jasmyn might be able to resolve the problem with her snake-eye, but I’d never be able to get the two of them near each other for that to be an option. It was far too dangerous to try to sneak Jasmyn here, and trying to take Kaylee to my house and back seemed a little unrealistic with her being injured – never mind the fact that she would freak out if she woke up.
Unfortunately, I had forgotten that my ears weren’t as sensitive in my human form, so I was shocked when the door abruptly opened. My heart was suddenly pounding in my throat as I froze in place.
Elaine jumped backwards, startled from seeing me, before she let out a loud hiss. I was surprised she didn’t scream. “Alyssa dear, what in the world are you doing here?” she asked in shock.
“I came to see Kaylee,” I blurted out. “I heard what happened from my dad. I wanted to make sure she was okay, so I snuck out of the house to come see her.”
She shook her head in disbelief. “How did you even get in here?” she asked seriously, glancing at the window.
I tried to look surprised that she thought there was more than one way. “The front door, of course. It was unlocked, so I snuck inside. I opened the window because it smells really bad in here.”
Elaine nodded in acknowledgment, not finding my story difficult to believe, since it shouldn’t be possible for someone to climb up from the window. And to her, I was a normal girl like her daughter. Honestly, it probably was almost impossible to climb up – I did have to jump after all.
“Well, I’m sorry honey, but you really need to go home. Your father is going to be worried sick if he discovers you’re missing.”
“I know,” I whispered, trying to look grieved. It wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be. “I was just really worried about her.”
Her expression softened some. “I’ll tell her you stopped by, dear. Now run along. I’ll have Mather take you home.”
I hesitated. “Can I leave her a note?” I wondered. “I want her to know I was thinking of her.”
Elaine appeared touched by the sentiment. “Sure, honey. I’ll be right back with a pen and paper.” She then stepped out of the room, rummaging through a closet in the hallway, before returning.
I accepted the writing materials and scooted the chair closer to her bedside table to write out a letter, hoping to sway her discreetly so I wouldn’t have to kill her. It was a risk for sure, but a risk I hoped I didn’t regret taking. I just needed to try to be convincing without sounding strange to someone who wasn’t aware of the true situation.
‘Kaylee,’ I began to write, ‘I’m very sorry to hear about what happened. But I’m glad you’re okay. I snuck into your room at night to come see you. Your mom caught me, but that’s alright. I’m glad she knew I was here. I hope you feel better soon, and I’ll be here to talk, if you need a friend. Love, Alyssa.’
I then hesitated, wondering if my goodwill would be enough to stop her from saying anything. Wondering if she needed an extra threat as well. After a moment, I drew a large S to the side and added a little more.
‘Also, my friend hopes you feel better soon too. She wanted to come visit, but I asked her to wait to see how you’re feeling. She promised she wouldn’t bother you unless I said it was okay. I know too much company can be unhealthy sometimes. Get better soon.’
There.
Now a normal person reading would think my friend wouldn’t come unless she was feeling better, whereas only Kaylee would know her coming was actually a bad thing. That I would only say it was okay if we needed to handle her for snitching. I felt confident she would get it. I just hoped she would take the threat seriously enough to keep her mouth shut.
I folded the note in half, writing her name on one side along with little hearts, and then set it up like a tent facing her. I hoped she would see it first thing, before she spoke to anyone about what happened. Maybe the fact that she was involved in almost killing me would make her hesitant to talk about it. She might be afraid she would get in trouble for her own part.
With a heavy sigh, I handed the pen back to Elaine and thanked her. She gave me a warm hug and escorted me out of the room.
Needless to say, Kaylee’s father was a little less excited about the idea of walking me home at this hour, but when we got halfway there I let him off the hook. The moons were bright after all, and I knew my way home.
I gave the excuse that I didn’t want my dad knowing I had snuck out. Mather wasn’t the most responsible of fathers, smelling faintly of alcohol at all times, so he was more than happy to let me continue on by myself.
As I made my way home, I walked at a normal pace, my mind finally returning to Jasmyn…
And Ryker…
I wasn’t looking forward to waking her up to ask her about it, but I needed to know. I had to know if she had eaten Ryker after killing him. I had to know if there was a part of her that would do something like that if she got angry enough.
I didn’t know what I would do if it was true. But if we were going to be friends then I felt like it was absolutely necessary I understood this side of her.
The side that reared its ugly head when someone provoked my sweet timid friend into a homicidal rage.
Chapter 6: Origins
Once I got home, I snuck into the house and climbed back into bed with Jasmyn, deciding not to lay down. Instead, I sat in the small space between her and the wall, leaning back with my arms wrapped around my knees while staring at her for a few long minutes. It disturbed me to look at her body and wonder if Ryker’s remains were in there. Granted, I would assume it might be noticeable, but she admitted to tearing her victims up – or at least, she tore Ryker up while just ripping out organs from the others.
I decided my resolve wasn’t going to get any stronger, so I forced out a long breath before reaching to gently shake her shoulder.
Jasmyn opened her eyes groggily as I tried to rouse her. “Alyssa?” she whispered, still half asleep. “Is something wrong?”
I sighed heavily, dreading this conversation. “I’m sorry for waking you Jasmyn, but we need to talk.” I paused. “Please,” I added.
She became more alert when she saw my serious expression. After a
moment, she slowly propped herself on her elbow and looked me over. “What’s wrong?” she asked, her eyes wide.
I decided to be blunt. “Did you eat the boy who stabbed me?”
She gasped, her hand flying to her mouth. “No!” she said a little too loudly. She quickly lowered her voice. “I promise I didn’t,” she pleaded.
I sighed, wanting to believe her, but unsure if she would tell me the truth about something like this. “Then what did you do with his body?” I asked quietly, looking away.
Jasmyn gave me a confused expression. “You left the house?” she wondered in disbelief.
I nodded, refusing to meet her gaze now.
She was silent for a few seconds. “Well, I didn’t do anything to his body. I mean…” she grimaced. “I ripped out his insides, but then I left his body alone after that.”
“That’s not what I saw,” I whispered. “There was blood everywhere, and his body was nowhere to be seen. Only little pieces of it.”
She gasped again, reaching out to grab my hand this time. “Alyssa, I promise I’m not lying to you.” When my expression didn’t change, she continued with a grimace. “Okay, listen…I’ve eaten a deer whole before, okay? But it isn’t like eating a rabbit. It took me almost half an hour to get the whole thing into my stomach. I didn’t–”
I cut her off before she could continue. “Is that why you tore him into pieces first?” I wondered, my voice barely audible.
Jasmyn tightened her grip on my hand and tugged gently. “Alyssa, look at me.” She paused until I complied. Her slitted eyes were desperate. “I didn’t have time to wait around for something like that. I killed him and immediately went after the next kid. I was attacking the last one when I saw your magic explode, and then I rushed right back. Every second I wasted on the boy who attacked you was more time the others had to run. I wanted to kill them all – that was more important to me than torturing one individual.”
Magicbound to a Snake Girl Page 6