A Broken Hourglass
Prologue:
Atheas stood erect, his sword poised to deliver the final blow. The child cowered on the floor. She was passed the tears and initial shock that caused most of his victims to cry and sob like a babe. She simply curled up like a snake and gripped her Cornish rex cat. The strands of her dark, ebon' hair fell over her face, concealing her closed eyes.
The cat managed to squeeze through her arms and out of harms way. Atheas only watched with a half interested glance as the cat raced out of the room, knocking over a small painting. The painting clattered to the floor and landed beside the girl.
His sword slipped through his fingers as he eyes laid upon the picture of the elf. The death knight completely forgot about the young toddler as he carefully, curiously picked up the painting. With his left hand, he carefully traced the sharp edges of the young man's face. A streamline of auburn hair outlined his face. Sharp, summer warm, green eyes stared straight through his icy soul and managed to steal his breath.
In the doorway he saw the blur of a hunter raising his gun to his unprotected head. "Get away from her you—" the hunter's deep voice was cut off by shock. He lowered the gun and stepped forward. From his eyes came tears, and from his mouth a word so foreign to him, he barely even knew the meaning. "Father…"