A lone figure stood a ways up the path, shrouded in shadow. As the group drew nearer, they could see it was a girl. The hood of her heavy black cloak rested on her shoulders, revealing jet black hair and extremely pale skin. She was small, and looked to be no older then eight. She stared at the ground, refusing to meet anyone's gaze. Her dark locks fell forward, hiding her face from view. One hand hung limply at her side, while the other clutched an ebony staff. Her staff, a dark thorn spiking up towards the pale grey sky, was capped by a round piece of obsidian, glinting in the moonlight. She didn't move.
Alex stepped forward. "Hello?" he called out tentatively "Are you all right?" She didn't so much as twitch. Faye glanced at the ground, but could not see whatever it was the child was watching so intently. Concerned, Alex stepped towards her. Holt put a hand on Alex's shoulder, as if to restrain him, and Alex glanced back. "Something is not right." said Holt gravely. They exchanged a look, and Alex nodded. He would be careful.
Faye watched Alex slowly approach the child, shivering. Suddenly the air had turned frigid. Alex turned back to face the girl, cautiously moving towards her. As Alex drew closer, Faye started to feel sick. Something was clearly not right.
Alex was ten feet away from the girl when a strong, commanding female voice called out "Stop!" The words rumbled like thunder, and Alex froze where he stood. That was defiantly not the voice of a child. Alex's eyes widened in shock.
Faye took a step back, uncertain. Slowly, the girl raised her head. Her hair fell away, and Faye gasped. Her eyes, in sharp contrast to her pale face, were midnight black. Hollow, haunted eyes, expressing anger and sadness.
At Faye's gasp, the girl turned. Faye locked eyes with the strange black child, and it was as though lightening her struck her body. Faye fell to the ground, clutching her head and crying out as she fell. She writhed on the ground in pain while the little child stood silently, motionlessly watching. Faye was inundated with a rush of emotions: depression, fury, malicious pleasure. Sounds rushed past her ears: screams of agony, plea's for mercy, the cries of loved ones, sobbing, and a deep throated, cruel laughter. Wisps of images flashed past her eyes, dark figures pursuing a woman, their swords descending into her back, the baby the woman had clutched to her breast falling, smashing to the ground, being kicked aside, squalling in pain, blood splattering across a wall, a small boy at knife point, forced to murder his fellow, a burly man screaming savagely and lunging to protect his children, only to be slain, a young girl seized, raped and then slaughtered, screaming the whole time, until her very last breath, a frail boy grabbed by the hair, his throat slit, falling to his knees, blood pooling, pottery smashed down onto a toddlers head, a long line of prisoners roped together, marched out of the village, sobbing.
And the whole time, the laughter, the dark, unmerciful laughter.
Faye screamed and screamed until at last the stream of images ended, and Faye fell still. She lay on the ground, her hair fanned out in the mud, her clothes disheveled, and her head pounding. Everything went black. Holt and Alex, who had stood frozen as if by a spell, suddenly jerked free.
Holt rushed to Faye's side, gathering her trembling body up into his arms. He held her against his chest, rocking slightly, willing her to be all right.
Alex exploded with fury and ran at the small child, swinging his fist up towards her head. As he ran towards her, the air grew thick, and right as his fist should have connected with her jaw the air kind of…flickered…and Alex's momentum sent him flying.
The girl had disappeared, then reappeared two feet to the side, so Alex's fist had gone through air.
Alex lay sprawled out on the ground, staring with wide eyes at the creature who wore the shape of a child. All he knew was, that certainly was not a little girl.
The dark child spoke several words in a foreign tongue and waved her staff. Faye moaned and opened her eyes, staring up into Holt's soft dark ones. Holt breathed a noticeable sigh of relief, and tucked a lock of hair Faye had plastered to her face behind her ear.
Slowly Faye sat up, and turned to stare at the girl who harbored so much pain. "Who are you?" Faye whispered. "I am the Carrier." said the child in her deep, powerful voice. "I was sired by the Order to maintain the stability this world requires."
Faye weakly tried to stand, but shook so violently that she collapsed. Holt swooped down and caught her before she hit the ground, then slowly lowered her down. "I represent the balance of good and evil, ying and yang. This balance must be preserved, at all costs. When evil seems to gain the upper hand, the Order slays whoever has gotten out of control. Upon their death, their evil is released. I absorb it before it can find another host."
Faye took a minute to take in what the child had said said. "How does it not affect you?" Asked Faye, brow furrowing. "If you absorb it before it finds someone else to possess, how does it not posses you?"
The small child turned to address Faye, her face expressionless. "Because…" she stated coldly "I have no heart. I have, instead, he equivalent of a black hole. I simply suck emotion in. I cannot feel, I cannot love, I cannot hate, so nothing takes affect on me." the girl's face never changed, she never even blinked.
"Why are you here?" Faye demanded, rising up out of Holt's grasp. "What do you want?" The child, the carrier, showed no remorse, and perhaps was incapable of doing so anyhow. "I have absorbed my full capacity of evil. I can handle no more. I am beginning to overflow, which is what you just experienced. The world is unbalanced. This must be put right, immediately, or the consequences could be dire."
Faye frowned angrily "Well, why tell us? We can't do anything! Go bother someone else." The Carrier stared hard at Faye. "No. You are the one. If anyone can fix this, it is you. Take action now, Child of Fairies, and you may triumph. It is written in the stars, you, and only you hold the power in your hands."
"What did you call me?" Faye asked demandingly, but the Carrier ignored her, turning to Alex. "Ah." she said knowingly "The same heart beats in this one." She glanced at Faye, and then back to Alex, nodding her head.
What was she talking about? thought Faye This doesn't make any sense. Me? Child of Faeries? Yeah right. And I can't save anyone. All I have is a secret sword, which I'm not even allowed to use. Big help.
Finally, the Carrier turned to Holt. She flinched, actually flinched, and stepped back. Holding up her hands defensively, she whispered "No more, please, no more." For the first time an emotion, pain, crossed her face. "I carry too much, I can accept no more."
Faye looked up at Holt, bewildered, and saw him blush red. "What?" said Faye, thoroughly confused. Was she talking about his past? Was there pain there that the Carrier refused to accept? That must be it, Faye decided, and he just doesn't want to talk about it. It's alright, when he feels comfortable he'll come out in the open….. I'm sure he carries no evil…
To be continued, maybe. I have to get enough reviewers who want me to.