I realise I haven't said this before, and I really ought to: thanks so much to everyone who's reviewed (especially the consistent reviewers;) ). Your investment and interest in this story really means a lot to me :)
A terrible scream pierced through the air. Everyone watched in horror as the young noble fell to the ground on all fours, shaking and crying out in agony as his body transformed.
By the time the screams had subsided, the fresh-faced aristocrat was gone. Instead, standing in his place was a grotesque humanoid creature. It was the size of a large man – tall and strongly built. Its proportions were all wrong however, with arms seemingly twice their normal length. Each of the creature's limbs was tipped with a row of sharp black talons, and it had a feral quality to it. At first glance, the creature could have been mistaken for a predatory cat; but it had no fur, and its skin was pale and taut.
Yelena was the first to get over her shock; she ran over to the boy the aristocrat had held captive and pulled him away. Conrad caught on immediately after.
"Run!" He yelled as he jumped down the tree branch he was perched on, landing with a forward roll, springing up onto his feet and taking off in a sprint in one fluid motion, his left hand still clutching tightly onto his bow. He dashed across the clearing, pushing his comrades along. Snapping out of their momentary daze, the vagrants scattered, escaping on their assigned paths, leaving their loot behind.
Yelena could hear the creature right on their heels however – the sickening squelch of its claws digging into flesh as it stepped callously on the unconscious guards, the steady thuds of its footsteps as it raced towards them, and the rasping sounds of its panting. The sounds were rapidly getting louder, and Yelena knew it was closing in so quickly, no one was going to be able to outrun it.
Making her choice, she turned back towards the direction of the creature, commanding the others to keep on their escape, while she moved in the opposite direction.
No
She inhaled sharply as the creature caught up to the person rounding up the back. The man who had shot him. Conrad.
Without hesitation, she took her dagger out of its sheath, and hurled it straight at the creature. Then, with bated breath, she watched as the creature snatched the dagger out of the air, and threw it aside, his hungry gaze now fixated on her.
She resisted the natural urge to run, suppressed the voices in her head yelling at her to make a break for it. Running was of no use; the creature would simply catch her. Her best chance was to stand her ground, and use whatever little time she had to ready herself for the creature's arrival; and maybe, just maybe, she could get the upper hand.
It was twenty yards away now. Yelena removed her gloves and widened her stance. She took in her surroundings, noting every branch and thorn – anything she could use to her advantage.
Ten yards more.
She sucked in a breath to calm herself.
Five yards.
She zoned in on the creature.
And then it pounced.
Yelena bounded to the side, just out of the creature's reach, stepping onto a large rock and using it to propel herself higher as she leapt up, reaching for a tree branch, preparing for her turn to strike.
To her astonishment however, before she could even wrap her fingers around the branch, the creature had already lunged from where he had just missed her, and was now hurtling straight in her direction.
She immediately let herself drop to the ground, as the creature flew past her, its own strength backfiring on him, causing him to overshoot.
Without control of its movements while in the air, Yelena saw her opening. She tore through the forest to where she expected him to land, running at speeds that amazed even her – the threat on her survival pushing her to run faster than she had ever done so before.
But the creature had noticed her about to get ahead of it. It threw one of its arms behind, and hooked its claws onto a tree bark, causing it to plunge immediately down, landing on the soles of its feet, right in front of Yelena.
Moving too quickly to halt in time, Yelena threw herself to the ground to stop from running her body straight through the creature's knife-like talons. A momentary panic began to set in as she lay helplessly on the ground, debilitated and unable to breathe. She tried to force air back into her lungs; she willed herself to get back up. But she was too winded, and there was no time.
The creature now stood over her, its claws and limbs stained with blood, its cruel beady eyes watching her hatefully, a white froth foaming at the corners of its mouth as it snarled, moving to make its kill.
Still barely able to breathe, Yelena raised her bare arms. This was her last chance to make contact before the creature killed her. As the creature lowered itself to deliver its final blow however, it stopped midway as a piercing screech escaped its lipless mouth. It turned around looking for its attacker, and Yelena saw a new arrow sticking out of its back. She also saw a new opportunity. Gritting her teeth together, she forced herself up and grabbed hold of the creature, activating her abilities. And almost as soon as she touched it, the creature fell to the ground unconscious, slowly morphing back into the handsome young noble.
Yelena then looked up to see her brother running towards her. Breathing heavily, she stepped away from the unconscious man. It was when Conrad reached her did her legs finally give way; and she clutched tightly onto him, shaking as her body finally registered her fear.
"It's over. You're safe now; we all are." Her brother whispered into her ear, pulling her into a hug, trying to sooth her, "You saved us."
Rowan felt sick. The air was heavy with the stench of blood, and it was suffocating him. His men lay lifelessly on the ground, trampled on and stabbed. The creature who had done it had almost killed him too. It had come so close to doing so. He remembered trying to raise his sword, only to have it flung away so easily. He remembered being backed into a tree, its face a mere foot from his own; its ears pointed and pricked; teeth bared to show large, sharp incisors; and its eyes – those monstrous cat-like slits – staring at him hungrily. But worst of all, through all the aberrations, he saw the face of his brother.
Just as he thought he had breathed his last however, a sudden recognition came into the creature's eyes. A sort of… sentience. And the creature released him, dashing off into the woods, leaving Rowan to fall onto his knees, breathing hard, completely unscathed.
Rowan got up and walked over to his men, checking for survivors. Large patches of earth were stained with blood, where four of his men had been trampled on by the creature; the other three were still unconscious due to the sedatives the bandits had injected into their systems, and Rowan stepped over those men as he moved towards the ones more in need of help.
However, there were still too many fallen men for him to handle on his own, and they were still a good few leagues away from the citadel. He was at a loss on what to do. He tried to wake some of his men up, only to have them slump back down, knocked out cold. So he did the only thing he could – with a heavy heart, he chose one of the mortally wounded men, came over to him, and tried to stop the blood loss; while he let the others bleed to death.
- The previous night -
Cecily awoke with a start, sitting up straight and trembling as sweat poured down the back of her neck. Visions of a creature had plagued her dreams that night. A terrible creature that bore the face of a man. A horrifically misshapen man.
The creature had immerged from a man too. The younger of two brothers travelling to Essetir. Blood seeped through the earth as the creature dug its claws into the very men who had been protecting it but a moment ago. And then it was gone. Running loose in the forests of Essetir.
Like all her dreams that had come to past, it had felt disconcertingly real and left her feeling nauseatingly unsettled.
She slid down the bed and began pacing the room to calm herself; she then quietly made her way to her desk, lit a few candles, picked up a piece of paper and charcoal, and began sketching. She closed her eyes as she recalled her dream, etching every detail onto the parchment; the frightful images of her visions no longer haunting her as much as they had done so in her childhood.
The sun had risen by the time she was finished; and, still in her night gown, she gathered up her sketches and crept out of her room, moving quickly through the halls as she searched for the Earl.
"Cecily!" a gruff voice called out, and she turned to see Sir Blackwood walking towards her. He looked better than he had when he had first come to the manor; his hair had been cut, and now fell neatly to his shoulders; his beard had been trimmed; and he looked far less haggard. He was still emaciated however, and Cecily could see his collar bone jutting out at the base of his neck. His clothes hung loosely on him as well, and everything was held in place by a thick leather belt.
"Is something wrong?" He asked, obviously wondering why she was skulking about in her night gown.
Before Cecily could even respond with a shake of her head however, Nigel caught sight of the drawings in her hand – most noticeably, the disconcerting sketch of the human-like feline – and Cecily saw his brows furrow in thought.
"What is that?" He asked as he reached for the papers.
Instinctively, Cecily stepped away from his grasp, shoving the sketches behind her, unsure of how much information was to be disclosed to the former knight.
"What's going on here?" Another voice cut in. Cecily inwardly heaved a sigh of relief, as Thyri joined them.
Cecily gestured to her drawings, and Thyri immediately caught on, "Ah yes, come with me," Thyri then turned to Nigel, "Cecily and I have some matters to attend to. You may approach the servants if there is anything you need. Now, if you will excuse us.." Thyri took Cecily's hand and began leading her down the eastern stairwell, leaving Nigel alone in the hallway, watching them uncertainly.
"King Cenred has secured the cup My Lord," Amos reported back to his master, "He and Morgause are planning their conquest of Camelot as we speak."
"That impetuous woman..." James remarked, his tone laced with derision. As powerful as The Cup of Life was, seeking it to immortalise an army did not come without a heavy price. It left the army in was meant to strengthen exceedingly vulnerable to anyone who knew how the magic worked. He would have thought a High Priestess of the Old Religion understood that more so than anyone else.
James pinched at the bridge of his nose, trying to dispel an onsetting headache. He lacked the patience for stupidity. Unfortunately, he needed Morgause. Her knowledge on the Old Religion. Her power. But it seemed gaining her allegiance was no longer his only concern. He now had to keep her from getting herself killed.
"Do you know where the cup is kept?" James asked his associate, as he began formulating a new plan.
Amos grinned fiendishly, "You know me Sir. I'll find it for you sooner or later."
A knock on the door had the men shifting their attentions to the two ladies entering the room.
"Cecily's had another vision," Thyri voiced for her, as Cecily went to James to pass him the papers.
James looked over her sketches and notations, a smile softening his angular features.
"Amos, I believe there's been a slight change in plans…"
