Kaelar: Glad you like it! True, it's no fairy tale (I am purposely ignoring the Grimm fairy tales) but it's good to know that you enjoy it. Thanks again.
Chapter Ten
Captain Bryans frowned as he read through his reports. Bryans had been the captain of the entire force of guards in the city of Moralliansor for over two decades, but he had never seen anything as what the reports listed. The reports spoke of another gruesome killing, the fourth that week. The victims were varied. Men, women, children, senior citizens—all kinds of people made up the deceased. The only thing they had in common was a pre-mortem or post-mortem carving of a skull somewhere on their form.
Twenty years I haven't had a single serious problem. But now this blasted creature comes and wrecks everything, the frustrated captain thought. Bryans had been planning on retiring that year and moving out of the mixed city of Moralliansor and the realm of the Underdark, to spend the rest of his life in a peaceful place on the surface with his wife. But the possibility of a rising serial killer had put his plans on hold.
A knock was heard at the door. "Come in," Bryans said without looking up from his report.
A fair-skinned and dark-haired young half-elf entered the room. Bryans recognized him as Clark Sparrow. A relatively new recruit, Sparrow had graduated from his academy only a few months before. Bryans believed that Sparrow had great potential, but it was hindered by his ability to be brash and impulsive. Bryans held onto the hope that the young man would grow out of it with age.
"Permission to speak, Sir." Sparrow requested.
"Permission granted."
"There's been another killing, Sir."
Bryans sighed. "How many this time?"
"One woman and a man."
The captain frowned. That makes fifty-six dead in total.
"The woman's husband was present as well. For some reason, the murderess let him live." Sparrow added.
Bryans' eyes widened. "Take me to see him."
"He's right outside, Sir."
Bryans started to get up but stopped and looked at Sparrow. "The killer is a woman?"
"The man identified his assailant as a female, Sir."
Bryans nodded. "Be sure to notify Parker of such information."
"Yes."
Bryans gave Sparrow a perturbed look.
"Yes, Sir." Sparrow added, a bit sheepishly.
The captain entered the room where the witness waited. The survivor had been blinded, a large bandage covering the area where his eyes had once been. He had many recently healed scars, but one stood out; a carving of a skull.
The victim did not turn to face Bryans as he said, "I guess you wish to know what happened?"
Bryans nodded. "Tell me everything you can."
A lump formed in the man's throat, but he could not cry.
---
Several hours before his interrogation by the guards, Derek smiled at Melissa. Melissa smiled back at her husband, and grinned as her young daughter ran towards her.
"Mommy! Daddy! Let's go! I wanna go!" Samantha cried excitedly. The six-year-old tugged on her father's sleeve.
Derek chuckled. "Alright. Alright. We're leaving."
After going to a nice restaurant to eat dinner, the family decided to take a trip through the park. Little did Derek know that it would be the last time he saw his daughter and wife alive.
---
Near the same time that the family prepared to go out, a woman lay on the couch of her small house. Soon, the woman was no longer sleeping, but dozing. She scowled and sat up, stretching stiff limbs and rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. The killer let out a wearisome sigh. Time for work.
---
Derek held the hand of his little girl as they walked through the park. Melissa held Samantha's other hand, and all three of them wore smiles.
A cloaked figure sat on a low tree branch ahead. It was difficult for the druids of Moralliansor to maintain the greenery that came with a park, but they succeeded, and the figure seemed to be making the most of it. So dark was the person's cloak that it did not reflect the firelight coming from the torch opposite him or her. The cloak absorbed it rather.Derek could not determine the gender of the figure, until she began to sing with a melodious and obviously feminine voice. The eerie melody sent a shiver up Derek's spine. She reminded him of a siren calling sailors to their doom. The lyrics slowly became audible to him.
Do not come near me
If it is glory that you seek
I am the bane of heroes
The destroyer of the weak
You call me a murderer
The one who ends life
The one who sheds innocent blood
The one who brings strife
If a killer is what I am to be
Then I'll turn this world into my cemetery
I am the ruler of the deceased
The kingdom of the victim
The lair of the beast
The time is at hand
I will add you to my empire
Your corpse will not burn
Upon a funeral pyre
Pray to your gods for mercy
For it will not come from me
"Melissa, take Samantha and get out of here." Derek said quickly.
"Derek--"
"Go! She--" but it was too late. A variation of an entanglement spell sprouted up from the greenery, creating an enormous dome made entirely of vines. The family and the killer were trapped inside.
The killer shed her cloak, revealing obsidian black leather armor that covered her from neck to toe. Her long white hair hung loosely about her shoulders and her face was covered by a bone chilling mask. Many intricate designs covered the mask, accompanied by slanted, red and violet eyes, long jagged teeth, and a snake-like nose. It was like looking at the face of evil itself.
The killer smiled beneath the mask and began moving towards the people, a knife in each of her hands. Derek attempted to position himself in front of his wife and child, but the small woman demonstrated surprising strength when she knocked him aside.
Samantha was openly crying now. The killer looked at her and tightened her hold on the dagger.
"NO! Don't you dare harm her!" Melissa cried and threw herself at the killer. The murderess slapped her across the face and knocked her to the ground. Melissa cried out as her ribs broke due to the killer's vicious kick and let out a bloodcurdling scream as a dagger pierced her back. The killer began carving a large skull symbol in Melissa's back. By the time she finished, Melissa was dead.
Samantha whimpered as the murderess approached. Her whimper became a shriek as the woman roughly grabbed her head and forced her to look at her as she carved a skull symbol into her forehead. The killer grabbed the child's jaw and twisted, nearly tearing it off before allowing the corpse to fall to the ground.
Derek watched, petrified as the woman approached him. Her armor was now stained red with the blood of his daughter and wife, and her knives were every bit as crimson. She bent down until their faces were only inches apart.
"Life isn't fair, is it?" Her mask hid her expression, and her voice held no emotion, so Derek could not tell if she was serious or if she was mocking him.
She continued, "You and your family have done nothing wrong, but you have still lost your child and spouse. Excruciating, isn't it?"
Derek stared at her, speechless.
The killer grinned maliciously beneath her mask. "You are not going to die tonight. Your conflict with me will not end with death, but with pain instead." With rapid speed, she gauged out his eyes. As he howled in pain, she cut another symbol into his cheek.
Derek could not see or hear her as she left the area.
---
Derek tried to swallow the lump once more. "Someone found me awhile later…I don't know how long. They…they got me healing. But Melissa and Samantha…" He buried his face in his hands, trying to shed tears when he could not.
Bryans sighed. "Sparrow, get this man some coffee, would you? Or tea. That will do as well."
"Yes, Sir." Sparrow left to obey.
Bryans frowned as he looking at the sobbing man. He knew that the man's assailant was a terrible and cruel murderess, and would have to be caught or killed. At any cost.
---
Ili entered the room of her home. A battle waged within her. One part of her screamed that her actions were wrong, while the other screeched with delight at the suffering and discord she was instilling. The assassin didn't particularly like either one of the parts and forced herself to ignore them both. It was easier said than done.
Ilivarra stripped off her stained armor and prepared a bath. She slid into the warm water, watching as the blood left her body and turned the water from clear to deep scarlet.
The one who sheds innocent blood, Ili thought. She stubbornly clenched her fist and gritted her teeth. Everything for the mission. Everything for Corr and Amal. Everything for my vengeance.
