Awakening

by Hayden Pearton

  *

  “KAIN!” The sudden cry was loud and close enough for even Alza to be startled. She spun round, searching for the speaker. Less than ten feet away, at the end of the glass road, two figures were fighting. The first -a bloodied boy with eyes of crimson and a fierce snarl on his face- was Kain. The second, his opponent -a slightly older boy with greenish-blue eyes and wielding a roaring sword- was Barsch.

  Kain held a sword of solid flame in his hands, a long bar of white-hot metal in the shape of a blade. With every enraged swing, sparks were born, falling swiftly to the floor in a shower of red and white. Kain's eyes were filled to the brim with rage, and his every movement screamed frustration. Barsch, by comparison, was far calmer, with swift, precise slashes that never faltered to reach their mark.

  After a minute of back and forth fighting, both boys bore over a dozen wounds. Most were quite shallow, but a few were deep enough to cause serious injury. Only by reminding herself that she was merely watching a memory could she calm her heart. Steeling her nerves, she began to quickly walk past the frenzied battle. Just as she reached its outermost perimeter, she heard a new sound, different entirely from the clashing of hardened air on metal.

  “You... you traitor! Why are you here! What are you planning!”

  The sudden scream made Alza stop and turn. She barely had time to register that it had been Kain's voice -the voice of her so called brother- before she was forced to leap back. The memory of Barsch had disappeared, leaving only Kain and his fire-forged blade, piercing the air on its way to her chest. Had she not possessed superhuman reflexes, the sword would have embedded itself in her heart.

  Without even a second to catch her breath, she was forced to move again, to avoid another deadly swing. It was impossible for this Kain and the one outside to be the same person, but that did not quell her fear. If the real Kain had somehow managed to get past her barrier and invade the mindmeld, then what little hope they had left would be squashed.

  “No! If Kain were really here, then he would not waste his time trying to hurt me. This is just a projection of Barsch's broken subconscious, and nothing more.”

  Still, even with that realization, Kain's fury or the danger of his blade did not lessen. She had to put an end to this, now.

  “Allow me.”

  Alza watched in a daze as a black blur appeared from the shadows and tackled Kain to the floor. Kain, with an expression of shock and rage, slid backwards. The blur did not even give him the chance to regain his footing, as it leapt forward, landing squarely on his bloodied chest. The blur began to take form, needle-sharp teeth first and claws made for ripping last. The black wolf, blue eyes glowing in the half-gloom, gave one last look at the hapless boy, before reaching down and ending him. Kain, or rather the memory of Kain, dissolved in a cloud of crimson smoke. The great beast, having accomplished it's task, turned to Alza and said, “Do not think that I did this for you.”

  The beast's voice was a strange mix: like a merger between a chainsaw and a howl. The half-mechanical, half-organic sound grated on her nerves, increasing her feeling of uneasiness. “Nevertheless, thank you.”

  “I don't require your gratitude, little girl, only your assistance. Because of you, my host is in a rather dire situation, and you are the only one who can change that.”

  The great wolf began walking towards her, the blood of Kain's memory still dripping from its teeth. “Follow me, his core is just ahead.”

  “His core?” Alza asked

  “The centre of his being; the crucial element of his character; the nexus of thought, call it what you will, it all means the same thing. It's his core, and his alone. If there is any way to fix him, it will be found there.”

  The wolf, the embodiment of Barsch's violence, snarled as it passed her. “Now, are you going to stand there and waste time, or are you going to do something about this?”

  “A mysterious darkness, three ghosts and a wolf? What else do you have locked away in here, Barsch?”