Seven

Eira

Once I saw the Companion get hit with the Fury spell, I knew I was in trouble.

The mage in the woods didn't scare me half as much as he did. I would have chosen to fight the mage, the demon, and all ten of his men before I would ever have chosen to fight the Companion. Now I faced all of them as my healing spell finally blitzed out. And I was out of magicka…

Lovely.

I picked up my bow from where it had fallen and scrambled for cover behind the carriage. I notched an arrow and peeped around the wagon before popping out and taking down one of the figures loping towards me from the woods. There was another behind him that dropped only a moment later.

I crawled to the other side of the wagon in a panic, where had the Companion gone? I couldn't see him anymore, I wasn't sure who he would attack.

I got off three more shots, puting six of the ten undead down. That was when I felt a heavy vibration land on the wagon. I looked up as his shadow drew over me; he snatched me up by the back of my neck. I struggled against his grip, my scream cut off by his fingers tightening. Blackness was seeping into my vision as I struggled for a breath. Air, I needed air. I stopped pulling at his hand for a moment and frantically searched at my own pockets until I came up with what I needed. My dagger jutted from my hand as I stabbed blindly at his arm.

It was enough to loosen his grip. I fell to the ground, coughing and sputtering, already forcing myself up, scurrying away, turning with my bow as soon as I could take a breath. Yet it wasn't the companion I aimed for.

I counted. One, two, three more undead down. My arrows left me with a whistle, one by one. Each hit its mark with perfect accuracy, inside the left eye socket. I cringed, but reminded myself they were already dead. With one last fwoom and a dull thwack, the final corpse fell.

It was just me, the mage, and the Companion. The mage was watching us from the shadows of the trees ahead. His grin was all teeth, a beacon of white against the black background of the forest. The kindness in his smile made me uneasy. I grabbed for another arrow, and came up empty. My expression turned darker.

When I looked up again the mage was gone.

The Companion, on the other hand, was bearing down on me. I pulled out my sword, barely fast enough to parry the blow of his Skyforge steel Greatsword. I grunted in pain at the force of it. My bones and joints screamed at me in misery. Knowing I would be overpowered, I rolled away; getting too close to him would be my death.

His eyes were still full of red, his posture only fury.

"Snap out of it Companion." I hissed. His steps faltered for a moment before he surged towards me again. "Don't you want to help me find your shield brother?" I demanded in bitter frustration.

They hadn't just taken Vex, they had taken one of his. I cursed internally, if they meant to pin our guilds against one another, there was no way mine would stand a chance against an army of werewolves. I shuddered at the thought. I realized that if I didn't succeed, I wouldn't just sentence Vex to death.

My anger was threatening to boil over. If I killed him then they would probably kill his guildmate too. I knew that it would still end in a guild war, but that wasn't the reason I hadn't considered it in the first place. I wracked my brain as the Companion loped towards me again. I stooped and gripped a handful of dirt in my gloved fist. When he was close enough I sprang forward; I prayed to Oblivion he wouldn't remember this trick. I threw the dust into his face and slid between his legs.

When I had regained my balance on the other side of him, he was blind and coughing; my cloak had been activated and I was invisible. I crouched low, he squinted, eyes searching for me. If I could just wait for the spell to wear off, perhaps we could come to an underst一

He moved faster than any human I had ever seen. My scream was cut off as he leaped at me; my weapons were knocked from my hands. My hood was knocked from my head and I felt myself flicker back into sight. Before I could take a breath I felt his huge hands wrap around the bare skin of my throat. Before they could tighten I squeezed out a scream, it was cut off and I knew I was going to die.

Yet something wasn't right, I should have been choking to death. Instead he was burning me. His palms were burning me. I clawed at him, afraid. Before either of us could react, something flashed so bright I could see it through my closed eyelids. As soon as his grip had appeared, it was gone; I opened my eyes in time to watch as the Companion's body flew and slammed into a tree trunk with a splintering crack before my vision faded completely.

XXX

I felt myself falling down into chaos. The shadows were sticking tendrils that refused to let gravity capture me completely. I found myself lying in a pool when I opened my eyes. I sat up slowly, examining myself. I was wearing white, a dress made of fine silk; it was softer than anything I owned, I would never be caught dead owning this dress, let alone wearing it. I wrinkled my nose at it.

The pool was cool but not cold, and a huge dripping cave loomed above us. I recognized the ancient nordic artwork intricately woven within the stone. There were two sets of chairs shrouded in darkness to my left, yet the room was open to a waterfall on the right. The ceiling was high, vaulted and open to the cave ceiling that ended in ice high above. Long strands of vines hung down, having grown through whatever lay above.

I realized after a moment that I could not ignore the face staring back at me any longer. I stood, and so did he.

It was the companion.

He looked better than the last time I had seen him. He wore pants, it looked to be of the same material as my dress. The rest of him was bare, I could see every line between his neck and lower region… completely exposed. I stepped forward, but there was a wall, an invisible wall.

My fingers pressed against the nothingness, willing them to push through the barrier.

After another moment I realized I didn't know what I was stepping forwards for. I shook myself internally, where were we? He seemed to have noticed me, I could see his hand extended but his voice was muted. His lips were moving, yet I couldn't hear a word of what he said. His hand pressed against the barrier as well and he looked frustrated he couldn't take my hand in his. Something deep in my gut knew that was what I wanted. Something deep within me knew that this man was the answer to something I had never known I was searching for. His eyes, the longer I stared, were familiar pools I wanted to explore.

All this time, I was a woman wandering a desert, I had never seen until now, and this man, this companion, was the water I had so craved. The water my entire body had needed. My soul quivered, my body quaked. I hadn't seen him in so long… I knew he was no stranger to me…

"Eira the Unseen." A low voice pulled me from my stupor, and away from the beautiful face I wanted to stare at forever. I turned around, only to come face to face with a giant dark figure. I felt the scowl on my face but could not muster the strength to care.

Hircine, Daedra of the Hunt, loomed over me; I watched as he shrunk down to a normal size, probably for my benefit. I felt a vibration against the invisible wall, but didn't turn to look. Hircine had the figure of a strapping young man, wrapped at the hips with the leather skins of various animals. His head was not human at all, but the massive skull of a stag. The hollow eyes were aglow with glowing hot embers and the antlers of the animal were colossal. There was a spear taller than he was gripped tightly in one fist. The top of the makeshift staff adorned multiple severed heads, pierced through from ear to ear. Some were more decomposed than others, a chill ran down my spine that I did my best to quell.

"Do not fear," His long row of teeth snapped together at my gaze. "Only Silver Hand members have the honor of meeting my staff." I couldn't tell if it was a grin, but I somehow knew it was.

I caught movement from the corner of my eye. I turned in horror, realizing the companion behind me had begun to change. He grew taller until his skin fell off and there was only dark brown hair to replace it. His nose grew into a long muzzle, his ears grew pointed and sharp. I cringed in horror but couldn't look away as his teeth became razors, his hands became elongated claws, killing machines. Foam seeped from his mouth as he threw himself against the wall over and over. I thought I could hear his growls even through the muffled barrier. I realized it wasn't a growl, but a feral snarl that chilled my bones. Despite the fury, the anger, the ferocity, I couldn't tear my eyes away from him.

"This is the power my children possess." Hircine's voice continued. "Beautiful isn't it?"

"Power?" I whipped around on him, "Where is the control?" I snapped. "Power is nothing without balance."

"As if that has ever bothered man before." Hircine sneered down at me, still two heads taller than I. "Power is power when death is the alternative."

I stepped away from him, my back hitting the invisible wall; the barrier shook behind me as the companion threw himself against it again relentlessly.

"What do you want from me, Hircine?" I demanded, refusing to let my anger, or my fear, boil over.

"You're a smart girl Eira, you must have figured some of it out by now." His words were followed by a long silence. His empty eyes seemed to come ablaze with red embers. "Tell me."

"A guild war." I breathed. "But why?"

He tsked, "Very close. There will only be a war if you fail to kill the false Queen, Thief."

He seemed to glide closer to me, I gasped as black tendrils wrapped around my arms, my legs. I was lifted to eye level with the Daedra, the wolf behind me had gone berserk. His howling and snarls surely would've enveloped my ears if not for the barrier separating us. The cavern shook, I worried about the cracks I could see forming in the ceiling.

"Yet… her claims may not be so false if she is successful." Hircine rumbled on.

I glared at him, confusion sweeping through me. "False queen?" I asked, pondering.

None of it made sense. Why would Hircine want to show himself to me like this? Especially now. My mind raced, thinking, pondering, speculating. Whoever wanted my guild dead was also gunning for the Companions.

"So I will ask again Daedra, what do you want from me?" I demanded, unease piercing me like an arrow. This was not a prince I would ever trust, not a prince I wanted to get tangled with, but it seemed I may not have a choice.

"It isn't about what I want… really." He relented, after staring me down with his blazing red eyes. His empty sockets seemed to get a little brighter with the words. "It's what you need my dear."

My eyes narrowed at him. "Excuse me."

"You don't know it yet," He began, "But you've stolen something from me Thief." His ember eyes flashed crimson red, I felt my breath hitch in my throat.

"I would remember stealing something from the likes of you一"

His chuckle cut me short. "As I said… this is something very precious to me, and I may not allow it to go unpunished twice."

I scowled, "If you brought me here to play games一"

"Patience." He scolded, holding up a hand. My mouth shut. I tried to open it, but I couldn't. Fury flashed through me as hot as a blacksmith's poker.

Hircine's gaze never left me, he paced back and forth for a moment, seeming to ponder.

"I have something for you, call it a gift from myself to the Mother of Crime. Or call it a punishment, for taking something so dear to me. Either way, it's yours." He cocked his head, and held out his hand. My arms moved of their own accord, my right hand found itself nestled in his palm. With one swift movement he slid something cold and made of silver onto my right index finger.

I was screaming from within, trying to pull my hand away. I was the one going berserk now. Within I was clawing, biting, writhing, and fighting with the ferocity of a sabre cat.

Hircine's smile was apparent this time as his teeth clicked shut.

"You will be angry with me for a while… but no matter, perhaps you will be thanking me later." His gaze darkened. "But remember thief, I leave you with the ring and a warning."

Hircine's gaze flickered to the werewolf behind me, still pounding against the glass, before those flashing orbs found me again.

"The dead queen will kill him if you let her." His eyes were smoldering into me. "If you let that happen and my followers die, the pain I bring upon your guild will be felt by their ancestors."

I felt my blood turn to ice. Would he believe me if I told him I wanted that too? That the Companion had been in my mind when I set out on this journey? Disgust filled me at his assumptions, my anger boiled and I writhed against his absolute control once again.

"I know little one." His voice startled me. I blinked at him, "I know you will protect him. You always have."

I could have sworn he… winked at me?

"You may spite me now," He continued, "But in the end we will see."

I felt a jolt pass through me. Something wasn't right. I felt nauseous when the realization hit me. His words were all too familiar, I knew I was going to be sick.

"Be careful now welp." Hircine's voice went on. "Your emotions must be in check for you to maintain the control you so lack."

I glared at him from beneath my lashes. Hircine's laugh echoed around us.

"Back to your journey, welp. There is much to do and time… time is of the essence." He was fading, everything was fading. The last thing I saw was the face of the companion, snarling in rage, fangs bared, and twisted in fury.

XXX

I awoke to sunlight warming my face. It took me a drowsy moment to find myself. I shook my head, trying to clear it. It hardly helped. I felt a coldness against my back and realized I was lying in the snow.

I sat myself up slowly; my head was split in half with pain. The world was fuzzy around me, a haze as I used the nearest tree to haul myself gracelessly to my feet. When the world stopped spinning I used my newfound balance to bend over and throw up in the snow. There was only bile and acid there, my stomach had been empty for a while.

That was when I realized that I was ravenous. Not just hungry, my whole body began to shake from true hunger.

Something glinted off the sunlight and I noticed the silver ring fit snugly on my finger. I gripped it tightly and twisted and pulled until I knew that I had dislocated my own joint. Part of me considered pulling out my dagger and relieving myself of the finger in question… but I knew the damned thing would probably appear on another finger. I tried to keep my rising panic tucked neatly down but I couldn't keep it from rising. I felt like it was overflowing from my stomach, my lungs, my mouth, was overflowing with the emotion until I felt like I was being suffocated. I was drowning.

I was hungry.

A shiver ran down the length of my spine. The ring on my finger was vibrating. It was vibrating so hard that it was making my teeth chatter. Then all at once I felt the splitting pain tear through my body from the top of my head to the tips of my toes. The entire length of my spine was being ripped in two. I let out a gut wrenching scream as I felt my skin being shed from my body. It was replaced with pitch black fur, my fingers clawed at the ground; my nails became larger, thicker, sharper.

I watched my nose grow within my vision and the world become slightly smaller. I felt my arms stretch into claws and my teeth sharpen to fangs. The whole world seemed to fade to a dim gray, almost everything the same color. Yet at the same time it was as if an entire door of sound was being delivered to my senses. Every shadow had its own color within the darkness, no prey could hide from these eyes.

My screams didn't cease until the pain was no more. Then they turned to pained howling, howling, howling…

All I felt was hunger. Hunger.

Find, kill, eat, find, kill, eat…

I sat back on my haunches and let out a monstrous roar that echoed into the night. A thousand different smells plagued me, but the only one I cared about was one. Human flesh.

My claws dug into the dirt and then I was running.

XXX