Crimson Twilight: Dusk

Chapter 39: Nightmares

The knight smiled as they surrounded her.

There were five of them. They were different from the swordsmen and knights she had fought before. They were strong and experienced as well as highly-skilled and knowledgeable about her capabilities. Not that she cared; the only thing it meant was that she was going to enjoy this battle more than ever. The first of her enemies attacked. An arrow whizzed towards her head. Grinning fiercely, she ducked the arrow and charged towards the huntress. The other four attackers spread out; hoping to surround her from different directions.

"Seihanine, get out of her way!" One of them cried.

The knight paused for a brief moment. Seihanine? The name sounded vaguely familiar. Who were these people? She dismissed the thought quickly and thrust her lance towards the huntress; who dove sideways to avoid her initial charge. The knight's grin widened. Quickly, she dismounted from her mount while her foe was rolling on the ground. The huntress's pale blue eyes widened in surprise and panic as the knight thrust her lance down on her prone form. She did not even get to scream before the lance punched through her chest and burst from behind her. Blood spattered on the hard earth under her. The knight raised her lance triumphantly and faced the rest of them.

"Seihanine!" One of them, a wizard, shouted the name like an anguished battle cry.

The knight looked above her in time to see a massive storm of crackling electricity descending upon her. The wizard behind her gestured once again; causing the entire area around her to explode in a terrific blast lightning. The knight grinned as she soared above the blast. Now all she needed to do was-

The knight froze briefly.

Since when did she possess the ability to fly? She looked behind her and found a pair of massive, drainliar-like wings on her back. Bluish veins were visible in the red membrane of the wings as they flapped steadily to keep her aloft. The wizard under her gaped at her winged form in surprise before preparing his next spell.

The knight descended on the wizard at a speed even she did not anticipate. The wizard's spell was barely even starting when her lance ripped through his throat as she swooped past him.

"Trenzein!"

The knight nearly paused again. Trenzein…another familiar name. A blacksmith, with cropped hair and blue eyes that resembled the huntress's, raised his two-handed axe as she winged towards him. The knight dipped her left wing low and rolled past his attack. Swiftly, she lowered her head and rammed him with her…horns?

The knight paused briefly in midair as the blacksmith crashed to the ground several feet from where she was hovering. The blacksmith writhed on the ground and choked. Blood flowed from his mouth as he coughed. Several of his ribs were broken and had punctured his lungs. When did she have horns? The knight felt at her head. Sure enough she touched a pair of smooth, curved horns that resembled a massive goat's.

Resembled Baphomet's…

The knight began to panic. She did not expect this...she didn't-

The knight roared in pain as a flash of light struck her chest; forcing her to hover backward for several feet. Furious, she looked about to see who had cast the spell. Sure enough, the priestess was there. Her hand still glowed with powerful, holy energies. The knight hurled her lance towards the priestess, who responded by raising a cloud of glowing energy in front of her. The lance rebounded against the cloud and struck the ground point-first. The priestess did not expect the knight to charge at the same time as her throw though. The knight raised a hand and raked the priestess's throat with her…claws?

The priestess gasped and collapsed on the ground; helplessly clutching her bleeding throat. The knight stared at her hands. Her gauntlets were ruined. In place of her hands was a pair of wicked, demonic claws that dripped with the priestess's blood. An angry shout caused the knight to look behind her.

A crusader stood in front of the knight. His flashing shield and armor and the fierce expression on his face made it clear that he meant to slay the winged, horned and clawed…being in front of him. The sight of the crusader alone caused the knight to hesitate. This man was familiar, far more familiar than the dark-haired priestess she just killed. She was about to charge but a sudden, painful throb in her chest caused her to stay back. Was she afraid of this crusader? No, she was-

The knight caught sight of her reflection on the shield's smooth surface. To her shock and horror, she didn't look human anymore. Her eyes were red and black, her fangs protruded from her mouth like a demon's. Her wings were large and black and her claws still dripped blood. She was a-

"Perish, demon!"

The crusader moved the shield to his side; revealing a gleaming saber that was hidden behind it. The saber crackled with intense, white energy that caused the knight's eyes to ache. The saber thrust forward; burying itself in her chest. The knight screamed as the saber exploded in a burst of brilliant white light. The ground beneath her shone with the crusader's power; forming a gigantic cross on the ground. The light seared her flesh and consumed her body. She screamed as the light engulfed her completely. She lashed out at the crusader with her claws and wings to no avail. She couldn't see…she couldn't-

"Eliarainne!"

Eliarainne bolted upright and gasped. Instantly, she felt someone grasp her shoulders firmly to steady her. She recoiled from the touch and looked around her in a panic. She was inside her quarters in the knight barracks. All of a sudden, the memories came back. She had gone to bed early this day to get a good night's sleep. It didn't do her much good though. The nightmares still came.

"Eliarainne! It's me!" Someone spoke in front of her. She breathed hard before calming down. Makaelthos watched her with concern. She looked at her hands and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw fingers instead of claws.

"Makaelthos…what was I-?" She asked.

Makaelthos leaned forward to hear her better. His partner's voice was barely above a whisper now. Not that it surprised him or anything. She had been screaming when he "entered" her room. He looked at the remains of her door. The wooden structure was divided into four equal parts. As if someone had sliced an enormous cross on it. The edges of the cut were charred. "You were having a nightmare." He replied. "You were screaming so loudly that I thought you were being attacked."

Eliarainne clutched her head wearily. She was still tired and constantly waking up in stark terror wasn't helping her. "Sorry." She said. "Did I wake you up?"

Makaelthos shook his head. "I was already awake." He answered. "I have to attend to the priest crisis meeting along with Silmeia. Eliarainne…you've had these nightmares before haven't you?"

Eliarainne avoided his direct gaze. "Every night." She replied. "I'm starting to dread going to sleep."

Makaelthos nodded in understanding. No wonder his partner looked so tired for the past few battles. "Need to talk about it?" He asked.

Eliarainne shook her head. How could she tell Makaelthos that she dreamt about killing their friends and then trying to kill him? "No. It will pass." She answered. "I'm just…stressed, that's all."

Makaelthos did not press the matter. He didn't like pressing past the boundaries that people set around them. Especially Eliarainne's as she was among the most open people he knew. If she didn't want to tell him then it must be for an important reason. "Alright then." He said. "I have to go. Silmeia's probably waiting for me." He turned to leave after giving her one last concerned look. Suddenly, he felt someone grasp his cape. He turned around to find Eliarainne holding the edge of the cloth.

"Could you…stay?" Eliarainne hesitantly. "Just for a while I-" Eliarainne stopped herself and looked away. What was she thinking? This was foolish and embarrassing. She shouldn't waste Makaelthos's time with such trivial and cowardly things! His cape fell from her hand.

"Go back to sleep, Eliarainne." Makaelthos answered.

Eliarainne felt a twinge in her chest as she prepared to lie back down again. Not that she was expecting anymore sleep for the night. Her eyes widened in surprise as Makaelthos took a seat beside her bed. "I'll stay here for a while if you want." He said.

Eliarainne smiled in relief and lay back down. Her partner's presence was…reassuring to say the least. It made her relax that was for sure.

Makaelthos did his best to suppress a smile as he watched Eliarainne close her eyes. He continued to watch until he saw her chest rise and fall steadily; a sign that she was asleep again. He stared at her sleeping form for a while. When she wasn't fighting or clad in armor. Eliarainne's appearance seemed to change slightly. In a relaxed state like this, he could almost imagine her as innocent and tender…attractive in a different sort of way. 'She's been working too hard.' He thought. 'Not to mention having to put up with her father and that fiancé of hers.' He remembered the merchant's words.

"I'll be staying for a while "Sir" Makaelthos, I'd like to see how my fiancée is doing."

Makaelthos was surprised at how angry he had felt at that moment. He had almost wished that he would return to his partner's quarters later to find the merchant lying in a pool of his own blood. Who was he to make such a casual claim on Eliarainne? She was…she was…he focused his attention back to Eliarainne. What was she to him?

"I don't think those were the Payon Spirits talking."

Makaelthos shook his head to clear it of Trynis's words. Now was not the time to think of her. Suddenly, he moved a hand to brush away a stray lock of Eliarainne's golden-brown hair from her face. Sweat had curved her hair alluringly as some locks fell to her eyes. He managed to stop himself in time. 'There's no reason to do that.' He told himself. 'Why am I looking for excuses to touch her?'

A voice from Eliarainne's doorway interrupted Makaelthos's thoughts.

"Er…Sir Makaelthos?" Sir Althamas called out quietly as he peered inside the room from the broken doorway. He did not expect Sir Makaelthos to be in the Knight Commander's bedroom. Especially since she was fast asleep. Second Head Priestess Cafilence asked me to fetch you." He said. "She says the meeting with the remaining Church leaders is about to start."

Sir Althamas watched Sir Makaelthos curiously as he took another glance at the Knight Commander. Here was another "scene" he had to share with the rest of the division. While they were not complete gossips, the members of the First Knight Division liked to "keep updated" on the whole situation between their commander and her crusader partner that they have come to respect. While some of the knights from the other divisions called Sir Makaelthos "ditch knight" and other derogatory names, they respected him for two reasons. One was because they had witnessed his capabilities in different situations and have come to respect his skills. The other was because the Knight Commander would beat the hells out of them if they so much as snickered behind him.

Makaelthos finally joined sir Althamas as they headed for the nearby building that currently served as the base for the remaining Pronteran priests. "How goes the situation with the Church?" He asked.

Sir Althamas took one last glance at the door's four equal remains before answering the question. "Not too good, Sir Makaelthos." He replied. "Some the Church leaders are favoring the idea of using their monks to supplement the army. The other leaders are against it; saying that the monks are their only means of defense against any more direct attacks against them now. I guess they're including crusaders as well."

Makaelthos clenched his fists. If those leaders had their way, he would be pulled out of the army along with the other serving crusaders. 'I can't allow that.' He thought. Not at this crucial time!'

Makaelthos entered the building. He wasn't that sure why he didn't want to be pulled out of the army. Was it because he believed he would better serve Prontera and the Church by being there? Or was it for something...someone else?

"Makaelthos!"

Makaelthos looked up to see Silmeia rush towards him. "What is it, Silmeia?" He asked.

Silmeia looked worriedly at him. "It's Trenzein!" She said. He's being accused of murder!"

Makaelthos's eyes widened in surprise. "Murder?" He asked. "By whom? Who did they say he killed?"

Silmeia looked at the doors of the meeting hall. "They say he killed Koullufen Aethernas." She said. "Not only that but they're linking him to the Dark Lord!"

Makaelthos rushed towards the meeting hall. Things were getting worse for Prontera from within and without.