A Halloween chapter in November. School is so much harder than I thought it would be.
I felt tears slip out of my eyes but the taste of them on my tongue was the coppery tang of blood. A strange dark world this place was. An strange smile had been tilted around the mouth of that Maia. He said to consider this a test. A test of myself and my strength. They did not find much strength from our world, but enough must have been present to arouse their interest in the dangerous attempt to slip and slither their way through, not just time and space, but reality in every sense of the world.
I was, am, a Warden. The best Warden. A let a slight smile cross my mouth. No easy test for me. I could see an infinite universe in his eyes and could admit to myself that he would know my intelligence and cunning was high. There was no unpassable test for me. He did aim to have me slain but I knew that proving less than estimated would put me on the chopping block.
So if I cannot outsmart these maia of the singing universe then I must play the game. A very bloody game indeed. Not what I expected when I was sent to the US. I reexamined the body beneath my knee. He has such bright eyes. Backlit by the stars and moon possibly. Yet, I had never seen either gleam with such focused intensity of light. Such a regrettably intense interaction. I allowed my fingers to gently probe the long wound across my abdomen. It would require stitches.
I pushed myself up off my knee and pulled my long knife free. I glanced at the gleaming unknown metal covered in the deep, dark red blood of life. I underestimated them at first. My new scar would prove to me that I was still fallible. Fallible to such commonly fatal mistakes, in my line of work, that could never be repeated. Several years "required", but maybe hundreds to truly work that creature of the universe told me with a gleaming smile. Changes are not fast here, and my mind must already prepare for the next one. How my physical proximity to those two, unfortunate, humans would extend my life in this reality, I was not certain was truth. What I do know as truth is that I cannot leave until I have done this task. This test of me. I was still a Warden and would be, but I would also be changed. Tears of blood guaranteed the truth of his words that I would become different.
How I was ever convinced to waltz across a barrier between worlds with two monsters and two humans was beyond me, but I am ever the risk taker. There is no boring life for Lilith, only pursuit of danger and darkness. I hummed along a light cheerful tune spinning my knife and flipping it. They thought they were remaining hidden to my eyes, but I could feel the stares. Wariness and hatred. Weapons being readied. Not a fight that I can win against so many, but they do not know this. I was told that they believe me to be some fiend of this Melkor known as Morgoth to them. Wrought from darkness itself, but alive in an alien strangeness. No orc or elf in the past, but a unique creation.
It is in my best interest to encourage this belief. It will make them more cautious in dealing with me. I exuded some of my Warden powers and the darkness seemed to recede to my eyesight. It was, naturally, still there, but my vision was improved ten-fold. I was going to fling this knife into one of these Noldoran. They would never even feel their own death if I did this correctly. It was best for them and terrifying for the others should I succeed. Failure could be unfortunate. Once the knife flies, then so shall I. Into the darkness with all speed possible.
I hummed even louder and skipped along forcing the image of cheerful and violent insanity. I would not be doing this if there was a better way to achieve my goals. I thought about doing this Halloween style, but I do not think I could pull off such a thing against a race so skilled in the senses. I must, of course, be obvious. These maia of the singing universe have turned me into a killer for no reason. Well, there is a reason, but not a good reason other than my survival. However, my own world needs me so this world must sacrifice for it.
I allowed myself to smile thinking the singing maia. The trickiest opponents that I have ever encountered. Never as a Warden have, I come across such raw power and beguile wrapped in itself. I halted for a moment and cocked my head. The next second I was sprinting and pulling darkness towards me, as the maia had taught me, with my knife whistling through the air. I had concerns that these singing beings even knew the depths to my Warden abilities, but it was not relevant for me to research at the present. I just needed to create a violent tradition of Halloween that the Noldoran will never forget.