All Heaven in the Midnight of the Sun
Chapter Eight
The corpses had once been children, but with the passing of time and the brutality of their murder, it was difficult to tell. They lay on the darkened forest past, looking like fallen wraiths in the morning mist. A wolf howled nearby, and the echo lent a final touch of ghastliness to the scene. Aeris ran forward, and ignoring the blood, cradled one of the broken children in her arms. Kurin and Garret looked at each other, then started forward.
"Aeris-" Kurin began, but she cut him off violently.
"What did this to them?" Her voice was full of barely restrained fury, and Kurin took and took a step backward. "What bastard did this to them?"
Garret spoke, his voice nearly a whisper. "A demon, Aeris. They are everywhere nowadays. But, Aeris…we need to-"
"Where do they live?" Her voice was calm again, and both Kurin and Garret breathed a sigh of relief.
"In the mountains around here. But listen, we need to get out of here."
"Not yet. First, we will find the demon, and then I will tear out his heart."
Garret gasped. "Are you insane?! You wouldn't stand a chance against the demons! Entire armies have fallen to them!"
Aeris looked down for a moment, and for just the barest fraction of a second, her eyes burned green.
"This atrocity must be avenged. If I must do it alone, I will."
Garret stepped forward and placed a hand on Aeris' shoulder. The he pointed further down a split in the path, towards where the mist thickened. As if bidden, the mist parted, revealing a large wooden gate. It lay open, and behind it, houses flickered out of the gloom.
Aeris smiled in relief. "Good, the townspeople can help us! Surely these are their…children…"
Then she saw the blood. It was splattered everywhere, splashes of gore that stained the gates, the homes, the ground. Her hand flew to her mouth.
"No…"
The wolf howled again, and this time, it did not sound so much like a wolf anymore. And it sounded much closer.
Garret pulled Aeris to her feet, and they ran. Behind them, the howl sounded a final time, sounding somewhat like a laugh…and somewhat like a scream.
- - - - - - - - - - -
They had been gone scant moments when the hideous beast stepped through the gates of the blood-soaked town. It may have once been called a wolf, but those days were long past. It was misshapen and twisted, dripping with some dark and hideous fluid. It sniffed the air, and its fanged mouth pulled up into a grin. It stepped forward toward the trees.
"Stand back, fell beast."
It turned in surprise, unable to believe that it had been unable to detect this intruder. At the edge of the path stood a black-cloaked figure, one arm raised in warning.
"She is not your prey to hunt."
It stepped towards the figure, growling, and from within the black hood a laugh sounded.
"You challenge me? It has been awhile since I have met such a…foolish creature."
The cloak fell back, and for the first and last time in his life, the wolf-creature knew fear.
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
A moment later, the black cloak was once more donned, and the figure stood above the mangled corpses of the children.
"The atrocity has been avenged. Would you be happy, knowing that, Aeris? Somehow… I don't think you would. The killing you will unleash...makes this pale in comparison..."
"Are you insane yet, Aeris?"
He paused, and took in a great shuddering gasp of breath into inhuman lungs.
"You...will be."
He slipped into the night.
- - - - - - - - - -
It seemed like hours before they finally stopped running. When they finally drew to a halt, Aeris shoved Garret away angrily, nearly knocking him from his feet.
"What the-"
"You left them! There could have been survivors...something... We should never have left!"
"If we had not, we would have died as well!"
Aeris' voice lowered to a whisper. "You think that matters to me?"
Her hands clenched in fury, and from within the closed fingers came a sudden flash of green fire. Garret and Kurin both stepped back, eyeing her uneasily. Aeris gasped and tried to clench her fists tighter, tried to hold in the massive, overflowing power, but it would not be contained. Green light began to pour form between the cracks in her fingers. One small beam struck a tree and it exploded instantly. Kurin and Garret looked at each other, then ducked.
Aeris could feel something vast and indefinable growing within her. She could not contain it, could not stop it, only fall before it in reverence. Everything was glowing green, bright and hideous, like the light of death. She was being consumed...she was becoming...
With a suddenness that surprised even her, she clenched her right hand into a fist and slammed it into her face. A trickle of blood ran between her knuckles and down her arm. The green fire flashed one more time, then dissipated.
She crumpled to her knees, then forward into the grass. Kurin and Garret ran forward cautiously, and knelt at her side. Garret turned her over, and nearly screamed as he saw her eyes flare into green brilliance. Then they flickered and died, leaving Aeris trembling and gasping for breath. Her eyes caught Garret's. When she spoke, her voice was so quiet that Garret had to lean forward to hear it.
"Why does it hurt so much...if I'm doing the right thing?" Then her eyes closed, and she slumped into his arms.
Preoccupied as they were, Kurin and Garret never noticed the black-cloaked figure until he was already upon them.