Angela stopped, her hand against a tree trunk. The road was out there, but
she didn't know if she should travel it. Anything could be on the road. The
daemon, soldiers to take her back to Altena to face Koren again, the daemon,
the daemon, the daemon . . . . She shuddered. But the road was easier to travel
then the woods, and she wouldn't trip over this damn cloak so much. And why
would the daemon be traveling by road, anyway? That was a stupid thought. Angela
giggled nervously.
She took a deep breath, and walked out onto the well-trod road.
Instantly a knife was at her throat, another pricking her in the back. Angela
swore mentally. I was right after all . . . and stood very still.
"Oh. Angela." The knives disappeared. Hawk stepped in front of her.
"Sorry. I didn't recognize you at first with the trousers and cloak."
He studied her for a second. "And short hair."
"Goddess, Hawk, you scared me." Angela said, and started to laugh,
all her stress finally seeping out in hysterics. Hawk just watched her. She
took a deep breath and forced herself to stop before she started crying.
There was something wrong with Hawk's eyes. They looked dull, beaten, and everything
in his stance spoke of him seeking one bloody goal.
"What happened?" Angela said, quietly.
Hawk tensed, then spat "Let Koren tell you."
"Koren!" Angela spun around, and saw Koren trying to slink into the
shadows beneath the trees. She stalked over and grabbed him by the back of his
cape. "Why are you here?! I came here to get away from you! Why can't you
just die?"
Koren flinched. "I would . . . but I can't." He shivered. "I
have to help . . . Hawk. Tell him I didn't know . . . . the wolf . . ."
Angela threw him against a tree, and left him there, shaking. She sat down in
the middle of the road and cried.
Hawk just stood and watched her until the sun touched the treetops and bathed
them in the dim golden light of sunset.
"If we want to get anywhere today, we have to start now, before it is too
dark to travel." As Angela stood up and brushed the dust from her clothes,
he walked over to Koren and kicked him. "Did you hear me? Get up."
Koren obeyed, standing shakily. He never looked up, only at the road.
They all walked silently for a while, until the dying yellow light of the sun
faded into the grey of twilight. Hawk found a small alcove and lit a small fire,
then vanished into the woods.
Angela sat down in front of the fire, feeding it twigs and dried leaves. She
ignored Koren, who was lying miserably in front of the fire, wrapped up in his
cape.
Neither spoke until Hawk returned, carrying a few dead Rabites. He skinned them
and impaled them on sharpened sticks to roast.
They ate in silence, and then went to sleep, each drowned in their anguish.
Angela woke, startled. The forest was completely silent. Not even the nigh-insects
buzzed. She curled closer to the embers of the fire, eyes closed. She wanted
to go back to sleep.
Hawk screamed. "I'll kill you!" Angela jerked, sitting up in time
to see Hawk bolt upright, eyes wide, reaching for his daggers.
"It's just a dream." Angela said.
"If only it were . . . ." Hawk muttered. His voice caught, and he
stared at Koren, who was shaking and whimpering something at the dark forest.
Hawk stood up and strode over. He touched Koren on his shoulder, and his hand
came away wet with blood, black in the nighttime.
He looked up. Traced around the campsite was a trail of dripped blood, paced
around in a perfect circle, except where it broke and touched Koren.
"Koren!" Hawk snapped. Koren twitched, then sat up quickly. He had
been crying. "Did you see the daemon?"
Koren mumbled something under his breath and Hawk struck him across the face,
leaving a red trail. "Speak, damn you!"
"Yes." Koren stared at the fire. "It came . . . please . . ."
He shuddered, clutching his stained robe around him like a shield. His voice
dropped to a whispery plea. "Leave me alone . . . ."
Hawk was no longer listening. He was staring at the forest, hands tight around
his knives. "You coward!" he shrieked. "Come and fight! Come
and fight me! I'll kill you! I'll shred you, like you did Jessica!"
A low, hideous laughing came from the forest all around them, like crushed bone
grating. Angela buried her head in her cloak.
(We wait . . . . come and slay us, knight of Navarre. If you wish to kill
us, come into the shadows and dance with your silver knives. We will play. Yes
. . . . we will rend you . . . sweet blood to feed the flowers. . .)
Hawk said nothing in reply, just stood tense at the edge of the circle of blood.
(Who is the coward, then, thief? Come out into the darkness and feed our
hunger. Let us scatter your soul to the wind . . . come . . . . dance with our
claws . . . . we will tear you . . . sweet pain . . . sweet crimson life to
stain the earth . . . come, coward . . . do wish revenge? Do you wish our sweet
sweet revenge as blood and death . . . . yes . . . we know . . . as you wait
we grow stronger . . . . come and your revenge will fulfill ours . . .)
Hawk took a step beyond the circle. Koren whimpered again, and moved backwards
towards the fire, trembling. Angela could hear a faint dripping sound. She glanced
up, and in the trees she saw a glimpse of fangs and claws and milk-white eyes.
"Hawk! Don't go! It will just kill you, Hawk. Come back." Angela got
up slowly, terrified of what waited in the shadows but more terrified of Hawk
dying. "Please, Hawk."
Hawk looked back at her, startled, broken out of his trance. He turned around,
then fell to his knees.
The daemon snarled. (Koren . . . you still have debt to pay us . . . . come
kill Hawk, Crimson Mage, and we will spare you the death . . . we will share
the power of it with you . . . you used that power once . . . the sweet black
red blood magic . . .)
Koren buried himself deeper into his robes. He said something, but it was
muffled by the folds of cloth.
(We will return . . . you will choose then, Mage, and we will rip if that is
needed . . . . your soul is afraid of agony . . . choose their death or sweet
blood life . . . .) The daemon's terrible voice faded as it did.
Hawk stood up as soon as it was gone. He kicked Koren, hissing something at
him that Angela couldn't hear, and then went back to where he had been sleeping,
and curled up in his blanket.
Angela couldn't sleep until the night-insects began their chirping again, and
by then it was almost dawn.
Author's Notes:
I was going to call this chapter "On Koren As A Stress Reliever", but that wasn't appropriate. It'd be surprised if the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Koren doesn't come after me for this chapter. ^^*
