Chapter 26: Painkiller
A/N: "This Is Gonna Hurt" By Sixx:A.M.
"Këko gaken!"
Darkness swallowed the hallway once more. Not a normal darkness like night always brought, for even that afforded the faintest light of stars. It was a shadow of purest black, as though the hall was filled with tar. It was like staring into a bottomless well, wondering what manner of foul things dwelled in the absence of the sun's blessing. It was quiet as the grave.
An ear-splitting shriek and a furious yell ripped out of the shadow. Sparks flashed in the dark as steel and claws clashed against each other. Lara and the skinner were illuminated for a moment, like a snapshot of a battle brought to life. The skinner screamed at her with mouth agape, its tongue grazing her cheek. Lara yelled back at it, hair bristling and eyes aglow in the light of the sparks as she slammed the guard of her trench knife into the side of its face. Then the sparks flickered out, surrendering them to the gluttonous black.
"That's not gonna work again!" shouted Lara.
Another clash of blades issued forth, and again Lara and the skinner appeared in a fleeting glimpse. She struck down with her sword, the skinner parrying the weapon away and then swinging at her head. Lara blocked with her knife and forearm, taking a pair of cuts in order to land a slash on the skinner's shoulder before they disappeared again.
Now the sparks came in rapid bursts, dancing up and down the hall at breakneck speed like swarms of frantic fireflies. Claws and steel clashed, slashed, and scraped with the sounds of wounded animals, accompanied by hurried footsteps, bodily hits, and cutting edges biting flesh.
"I'll feast on you before dawn, witch!" shrieked the skinner, sparks flying as its claws deflected her knife.
"Feast on this!" spat back Lara as she forced the skinner to dodge her sword. "Claymore, flash!"
A brilliant white flash pierced the darkness, destroying the skinner's spell as Lara ducked a bite to her face and threw a kick into its stomach. The skinner was sent flying as the moon's light returned to the hall, righting itself in midair to land on its feet.
Lara stood panting, her clothes heavily torn. She was streaked with red and black blood from head to toe yet she bore not a single wound. The last traces of the slashes and stabs she suffered were healing, hair-thin streaks that disappeared fast.
The skinner was not faring so well. What remained of its stolen uniform and skin was little better than black-stained rags. The slash to its shoulder was healing, but not as fast as before. It stood up and staggered a step, breathing heavy as it clutched its stomach.
"I figured as much!" said Lara, wiping a drop of blood from her forehead before it could reach her eye. "That curse isn't your trump card! It's your only card! Looks like a pricey one too! Your healing's slowed down!"
The skinner ground its teeth together, air hissing between them. "Don't get cocky, monkey! You're in no shape to boast! That fire can't last you forever!"
Lara narrowed her eyes slightly. The skinner was partially right. Fighting like this was not without risks. Her skin was closer to its normal toughness now, but healing was a separate issue. Taking the wounds and pain in order to open up the skinner's defense was working, but damage to her eyes or organs would turn the fight from her favor in a hurry. Even her accelerated healing would struggle with such an injury, and only so long as she had the energy for it.
Nor was she free to use her magic. She needed the skinner alive, which limited the spells available to her. Most of them were not intended to let the target get up again. Further restricting her magic arsenal was the palace itself. In her experience magic fights were rarely subtle–not good for her cover as a non-sorceress. Using a massive spell to blow the skinner away would be easy, but it would likely take the entire hallway with it. She would endanger anyone nearby and find herself buried in questions afterwards. And in her experience, the only place questions about magic led to was persecution.
"No, it won't," she admitted as she started running at the skinner. "But it'll last long enough to bring you down!"
The skinner shrieked and rushed at her, meeting her sword with its claws. It kicked her in the abdomen, sending her stumbling back. It closed on her and stabbed repeatedly, alternating arms with each thrust. Lara parried and blocked with her blades, keeping the claws from her. She deflected another stab away from her chest, the claws raking her ribcage as she swung her knife and cut the skinner's cheek. She swept its other hand away with her sword and hammered the pommel into its forehead before slamming her own forehead into the same spot. The skinner staggered backwards and she swung her sword at its middle. It sucked its stomach in to inhuman thinness, but she still cut a long slash across its belly.
"Wretch!" it shrieked, stabbing its claws into her sword arm.
Lara grit her teeth, growling angrily at the skinner. She pulled a leg in and then shot it straight up into the skinner's jaw, putting her into a full standing split. The skinner shot up like a rocket, striking the ceiling so hard the nearby chandelier shook. It bounced back down, but Lara did not give it the chance to hit the floor. Just before it could she spun into a hook kick, driving her heel into its chest and flinging it against the wall. The skinner coughed up blood, two of its ribs now broken as she closed in.
But even after a blow that could crush a human's ribcage, the monster had plenty of fight in it. It swung at her chest and legs. Instead of blocking both she covered her legs with her sword and took the slashes to her chest, stabbing her knife into its shoulder.
"Ardo!" she called out.
The knife turned red hot, hissing as it cauterized the skinner's wound. It screamed loud enough to hurt Lara's ears, gripping her knife and ripping it out of its shoulder. It stabbed for her stomach but she twisted aside, the claws still piercing her side. She cried out as it lunged for a decapitating bite, but Lara fell onto her back, pulling her legs in and kicking the skinner over her.
Lara saw a chance to cripple the skinner for good. She quickly rolled upright, sucking in the deepest breath she could as the skinner landed between a pair of windows, gripping the wall like a spider.
"Tempes-ta!" she yelled, unleashing a blast of air directly at it. The skinner quickly leapt away as the spell blew out both windows and shook the hall, sending a shower of broken glass into the garden below. The force of the air threw the skinner off balance and it hit the floor on its side, rolling away before righting itself.
Not giving it time to recuperate Lara leapt after it, raising her right leg up. The skinner darted away as she brought her heel down in an axe kick, cracking the stone floor. It swatted away her sword strike and knife stab as she gave chase, but Lara followed up by kicking for its gut. It moved to cut her leg, but the wound in its shoulder hampered its movement. She feinted and turned her kick into a roundhouse to the head. Caught off guard the skinner received a dazing blow to its temple, throwing it against the wall again.
Lara went after it, stabbing at its other shoulder. It parried her sword hard, causing Lara's arm to swing across her. It lunged and bit into her forearm. Lara tried to rip her arm free but it bit tighter, one hand parrying her knife as it drew the other back.
"Now I've got you!" it declared around her arm as it stabbed for her head.
Lara reacted in a split second. She jerked her head aside, taking lacerations to her forehead and cheek as the claws passed. She saw the skinner's arm in front of her and bit down on it as hard as she could. She dropped her weapons and grabbed the skinner's free hand by the wrist. It released her arm and shot its tongue at her face, but a sharp knock from her elbow and it bit down on the poisonous appendage before it could reach her.
She spat the skinner's arm out and grabbed it with her other hand, its black blood flecking her mouth. "Wrong! I've got you! And now you can't get away!"
The skinner's eyes widened as Lara drew in breath, realizing the error of its attack as she put as much as she dared into the spell.
"Tempes-TA!"
It may have been air, but with Lara's magic and at point blank range it was like standing next to a lit powder keg. The two combatants went flying in opposite directions. The blast ripped a chandelier off its hinge, bringing it crashing to the floor as windows were blown out and decorations were torn off the walls.
Lara could not feel anything above her chest, but she had enough awareness to know which way was up. She flipped herself over and landed on her feet, whistling three quick tones as she held out her hands. Her sword and knife flew to her, fingers wrapped around their hilts seconds later. She started spitting furiously, wanting the skinner's blood out of her mouth. It was incredibly metallic and acrid, and hopefully disease-free. She felt her nose and lip bleeding, but nothing felt broken.
The skinner did not have Lara's luck. Being on the business end of the spell gave it a far harder blow. It went bouncing down the hall like a stone over water until it skidded to a stop. It laid still, body battered and ears ringing. The taste of Lara's blood was still fresh in its mouth. It tasted wrong. Not like a human was supposed to.
It spat the blood out, shaking its head as it pushed itself up. It ran a tongue over its teeth, feeling the gaps where several were knocked out. Its chest ached fiercely, and the sight in its left eye was blurry. Three of its claws were broken as well. It looked up and saw Lara rise to her feet. The woman apparently suffered no worse than a bloodied nose and mouth.
The skinner cursed inwardly, shedding the damaged claws in place of new ones. If it ever saw that black sorcerer and his masked witch again it would bite their hearts out! Their information was completely wrong. This monkey was a far cry from a normal human! She was not even a normal witch! The agreement was to kill the princess and her bloodline. The bodyguard was to be disposed of only if she got in the way. Had it known this gale-breathing ape was that bodyguard it would have asked for five times what they offered–no, ten!
Lara came running at the skinner, sword and knife crossed over each other. It tried to stab her neck and middle at the same time, but her blades deftly diverted its claws. She kicked the inside of its knee, causing its leg to falter. The skinner slashed back at her, only to have her sword block its claws as her knife slashed its arm. The skinner clawed her side with its other hand, but it was like cutting into rawhide. Her muscles immediately tensed, turning hard as rocks. What should have disemboweled her only left cuts deserving stitches. Nowhere close to a killing strike.
The skinner snarled angrily. Just what sort of witch was she?
Lara felt the claws bite into her side, sharp pain making her tense up. She swung her knife back and bashed the guard into the skinner's temple before slashing its cheek open. The skinner stumbled back bleeding and dazed.
She grimaced as she felt the wound healing. It was subtle, but she was healing slower than before. She put more into that wind blast than she should have. She was nearing the end of the fire's energy. Once it was gone, she would be back to her own strength. Either that or whip up another bonfire's worth of flame, and she would rather not risk such a flashy spell. She needed to end this soon.
She leapt at the spinner and spun her sword like a baton, bringing it around herself and then swinging down on the skinner as hard and fast as she could as she landed. The skinner was caught off guard by her speed and blocked with interlaced claws, catching her sword between them. Lara quickly pressed her knife across the back of the sword, pushing down even harder. The skinner fell to one knee, straining to keep the sword from coming any closer to its head.
A flicker of moonlight behind the skinner caused Lara to glance up. A familiar banister and staircase were at the end of the hall–the same one she chased Sebastian down. In the furious pace of their fight she had not realized exactly where the battle had taken them. This was the southern tower, which meant those stairs led directly to the main ballroom.
Lara had another of her ideas.
She pressed even harder on her weapons and the skinner pushed back even more. But just as it did Lara pulled her swords away. Without anything to resist the skinner's claws went straight up in the air, leaving it completely open. Lara snapped her heel into its chin in in a blinding fast front kick, lifting it onto its feet. She immediately leapt to the side, knocking its closest arm away with her sword as she twisted in midair, whipping a kick as hard as she could at its chest. The skinner blocked her foot with its other arm, but the magic blast she landed on it had weakened it. The bone cracked, pushed to the very edge of breaking.
Then, defying human ability and gravity, Lara stabbed her sword into the floor, suspending herself in the air a moment longer. She stuck her other leg out and twisted over again, driving the heel of her other foot above her previous strike in a devastating ax kick. This time the bone did break, and with a loud cringe-worthy crunch. The skinner shrieked like tearing metal as its arm lit up with pain.
Just as she started to fall Lara pulled her sword out, turning the blunted back to the skinner as she swung at its gut. "Claymore, blast!"
There was a crack like a firework as the sword unleashed a powerful explosion on the skinner. There was a flash of fire as the skinner was sent hurtling down the hall and straight through the banister, sailing out over the tower's heart. It collided with the opposite wall and bounced off, grabbing hold of the stairway railing with its good arm as it fell. It hung off the side, its other arm limp and useless and its skin smoking and blackened.
Lara wasted no time in her pursuit. She ran for the ruined banister and leapt, flying across the tower for the skinner as it started hauling itself up. She flung her sword at it, startling the monster when it struck the wall in front of it. Moments later she slammed into it from behind, breaking through the banister and crashing against the wall. The impact dazed both of them, and Lara felt her knife fall out of her hand. She was sure she cracked a rib, but the adrenaline of the leap had her going full tilt. She quickly wrapped her arms around the skinner's neck in a sleeper hold, legs encircling its waist. She wrenched it away from the wall, rolling through the splintered section of banister and off the side of the stairs. The skinner quickly grabbed an upright, leaving them dangling over empty space.
"Get off me, you maggot!" yelled the skinner as it tried to shake Lara off.
"You know what happens when a skinner falls five stories?" she asked.
The skinner's eyes flew wide open as Lara planted her feet against the stairs and started to push. "What are you doing!?"
Lara freed her right arm and raised her elbow. "Let's find out!"
With a shout she brought her elbow down on the skinner's head like a hammer. The brain-bruising strike caused its grip to loosen. She pushed hard with her legs and leaned back at the same time, pulling the skinner's hand off the railing. They hung in midair for an eternal moment then started to fall.
Even plummeting like rocks the fight did not stop. The skinner stabbed its claws into Lara's left calf. She cried out and released it, the monster twisting around to face her. It pulled its claws free and stabbed at her face. Lara deflected with her arm and then grabbed its wrist. She seized its neck and pulled it in as she bashed her forehead between its eyes, following it up with a punch to its right eye. She then took the skinner's wrist in both hands and twisted her hips hard, throwing herself into a spin like a sideways top and whipping the skinner around. With a heave and a yell, she hurled the skinner straight down the center of the tower, sending it plummeting head over claws.
Music had long been part of Ariel's family. Every one of Triton's daughters was an experienced singer and musician in their own right. So when it became official that Atlantica's princesses and their families would be coming to live in Seahaven, Ariel had entrusted Grimsby to make sure they would have no shortage of instruments to chose from.
For this reason, Grimsby commissioned a new grand piano from Seahaven's most esteemed craftsmen. It was a beautiful piece of workmanship with its dark mahogany wood, gleaming ivory and ebony keys, and polished brass pedals. The sounds it produced were so lovely that when it came time to move it to the music room on the second floor, the princesses unanimously decided to put it in the main ballroom instead. Such an instrument deserved to be heard by all, and the acoustics of the ballroom and tower allowed it to be heard far through the palace. The princesses spent many hours enjoying the piano, filling the ballroom and beyond with such sweet melodies it would seem the air itself was singing.
Unfortunately, the spot in which the acoustics were best was right in the center of the south tower's ground floor.
The skinner crashed back-first into the piano like a meteor. The piano folded in on itself in a mess of splinters, metal, strings, and monster. Its final melody was shattering wood and a rude clamor like many children banging all the keys at once, accompanied by a crack as the marble floor tiles beneath it split.
Lara saw the skinner sprawled in the wreckage as she fell, slow to start moving. Gravity was not choosy when it came to falling from height. Even with its superhuman toughness and the piano to "cushion" the impact she knew the skinner would not walk away unharmed.
Which reminded her she would not be exempt from injury if she did not act quickly. She focused her magic into her legs. Her limbs became hot as the magic enhanced them. She angled her feet at the skinner and clenched her jaw tight, preparing for the impact. Even with her body strengthened this was going to hurt, and she risked injury if she landed incorrectly.
The skinner jerked its head up as it noticed her, its left eye bulging as it realized her intent to crush it. It rolled aside just before she hit, reducing the remains of the piano to scraps. A cloud of wood dust, splinters, and ivory chips went flying out. The shock sent jarring pain through Lara's feet all the way to her spine, but the only thing that broke was the marble underfoot as it cracked further. Her muscles ached from straining to keep her from smashing flat into the floor, but she remained upright.
The skinner started cackling as the dust settled. "Looks like the blood loss went to her head! Stupid monkey! Witch or not she'll be a splattered bag of bone shards after that drop!"
"Who're you calling a splattered bag, scar face?" said Lara as she straightened up, startling the skinner. It tripped back, scuffling away till its back hit the wall. Its right eye was clenched shut, and half its claws were broken. It was bleeding heavily, leaving black streaks over the floor.
"That's impossible!" screamed the skinner. "You can't survive that! You can't even be standing! What are you!?"
Lara kept her eyes on the skinner as she walked out of the rubble, brushing dust off herself. She raised her hands and whistled three times. Her sword withdrew from the wall, clattering onto the stairs and sliding down. The grip caught the tip of Lara's trench knife before a piece of banister redirected both blades off the side of the stairs. The sword turned slowly as it fell, threading through the knife's guard before it landed point first beside her.
"You're done, skinner," she said as she pulled out her sword.
"It'll be done when you're dead, witch!" spat the skinner.
Lara slowly picked up her knife, watching the skinner closely. "You just broke a piano with your spine. You've got one good eye, a trashed arm, and the other one's not much better. And with the blood you've lost you won't be in fighting shape anytime soon. You haven't got a chance."
The skinner snarled at her, using the wall to push itself upright. "It disgusts me to say it but you're right. You've beaten me."
Suddenly it spat a large bloody glob of mucus at Lara. She quickly cut the blob, but half of it splattered in her eyes. She stumbled back, wiping furiously with her forearm at the blinding phlegm.
"Know this, human!" spat the skinner. "I will be back, and I will kill you!"
Lara wiped a thick glob out of her eyes, forcing herself to keep them open. She saw a blurry skinner limp into the ballroom, making straight for the nearest window. Even with a damaged leg it was still moving fast.
"You're not going anywhere!" she said as she drew back her sword. "Claymore, shoot!"
The sword flashed red-hot as she stepped and swung, leaving a trail of red light in the air. The heat gathered in the blade's tip then shot forth like an arrow. It punched through the skinner's thigh and flew across the ballroom, bursting into a shower of sparks when it hit the floor, leaving a black scorch mark. The skinner shrieked and fell, clutching the smoking hole in its leg.
Lara wiped and blinked the remaining gunk from her eyes before she approached. Her footsteps echoed in the empty ballroom over the skinner's pained sounds. It staggered onto its feet but fell, unable to put weight on its leg.
"Now it's really over," she said, stopping just out of the skinner's reach.
The skinner's face twisted in utter loathing. "Get on with it! Kill me! Claim your supposed third kill!"
"Don't tempt me!" warned Lara. "It's half what you deserve!"
The skinner spat black blood at her feet. "Let me guess–justice for trying to kill your princess?"
"No." Lara pinned the skinner's hand under her foot. Her eyes bore into it like daggers. "For the man you killed. You did more than take his life and his skin. You took him from his parents! You took him from his friends! Maybe he had a wife! Maybe he had kids! And you…!" She placed her sword tip between its eyes. "You didn't leave enough of him to bury in a hatbox!"
"If it's revenge you want…" The skinner leaned towards her sword, letting it press against its skin. "Then take it, witch."
Lara wanted to. She wanted to give into her anger and shut the monster up for good. She wanted it to suffer long and hard so it could know the pain its victim went through and the anguish his death would cause. She gripped her sword tighter, wrestling with herself.
"Much as I'd like to…" She pulled her sword away. "You're more useful alive. I've got questions, and depending on your answers I might let Eric find a nice dark cell in the dungeons for you to rot away in. But if you give me any more trouble…"
She knelt down, putting weight on the skinner's hand as she placed her knife against one of its fingers. "Get the point?"
The skinner narrowed its eye at her, the one she punched squinted to a sliver. Lara waited for it to answer, half of her hoping it would cooperate and the other half hoping it would not.
"What do you want?" it finally said.
"Tell me why you're here," she demanded.
The skinner snorted at her. "Isn't it obvious? To kill the prin–."
"I figured out that part already," interrupted Lara. "Tell me the reason. Skinners are a lot of things, but they're not this bold or gluttonous. You didn't come just for Melody. You came for her whole family. You could never eat all of them even if you were starving. And you're never this reckless about taking marks. So why does the Hive want them dead? And why did they let a hothead like–?"
The skinner suddenly threw its head back, laughing hard and loud. Its chest heaved as it cackled and then changed to hacking wet coughs.
"Something funny?" asked Lara.
"So that's what you think this is!" chuckled the skinner, shaking its head as though it heard a terrible joke. "No wonder you'd ask me that!"
"Talk!" demanded Lara, pressing her knife harder to its finger. "Why are they marked!? Why did they send you!?"
The skinner grinned wide at her, baring its bloody teeth. "They didn't."
Lara expected almost any other answer, but that one caught her flat-footed. "Huh?"
The skinner cackled and coughed again. "I don't know if your monkey friends are marked or not, and it doesn't matter to me either."
"Then why did you try to kill them?"
"Gold."
"Gold?" Lara gripped her sword tighter. "Why would you care about gold? It's useless to your kind!"
"Not if you know where to spend it. If there's one thing I've learned from you humans, it's that everything has a price. That includes your own kind. You'll peddle human lives as easily as cattle! I could've eaten like a king with the gold that warlock was offering! I'll bet him and his pet witch are watching us right now!"
Lara swallowed anxiously, not liking what she was hearing. "Are you telling me the Hive didn't send you?"
"I'll starve before taking orders from them again!" spat the skinner. "My brothers and sisters can sate themselves on vermin and keep spouting that creed garbage, but not me! This world is crawling with meat, and I'll eat it when I want, where I want, and how I want!"
The color drained from Lara's face in an instant. Suddenly everything fell into place. The seaclops and pirates appearing at the marina on a suicide mission. The skinner's rushed attempt on Melody's life. This sorcerer and witch that were paying it for the blood of the royal family. And most distressing, the unexplained absence of the guards and firelight from the fifth floor to the ballroom. It all pointed to one terrifying conclusion.
One of them was in the palace.
"Claymore, ignite!" she barked as she quickly backed away from the skinner, the sword covered with flames an instant later. Its light filled the ballroom, but the flickering shadows it created only frightened her further. She turned about in panicky circles, afraid to leave her back exposed for even a moment. She strained every sense she possessed to its limit. Every hushed whisper of air tickling her neck, every creak of the palace was feeding her anxiety in leaps and bounds.
"What's put you on edge?" asked the skinner, amused by the abrupt shift in her behavior.
"You idiot!" she shouted at it, watching every shadow and dark corner she could. "You blasted, damn idiot! Do you realize what you've brought here!?"
"Do you, huntress?" answered a cold sibilant voice.
Every nerve in Lara's body seized up, and for a moment she forgot how to think. Fear clutched her like an icy hand, squeezing like a python as it wrings the life from a rabbit. The flames of her sword waned, responding to her feelings of dread as she slowly looked up.
There, standing upside down on the ceiling, was a figure. It was clothed in a hooded cloak black as darkest pitch save the red running down its center and around its hood. The fabric acted against the pull of gravity, enshrouding all eight feet in secrecy. Its face was lost in the shadow of its hood, its four red eyes slanted slits glowing in the black.
Fear and adrenaline enhanced Lara's strength as she dropped her knife, taking the sword in both hands as she prepared to blow the intruder away. "Clay–!"
It was already too late. The figure leapt off the ceiling and landed in front of her with no more than a whisper. Four wiry black tendrils burst from its hood, three stopping her swing as the fourth whipped her in the throat. Lara gagged, unable to finish the command as another tendril emerged from its cloak and snared her ankles. It pulled her feet from under her, knocking her head hard against the floor. It whipped her over its head in a circle and then flung her across the ballroom, more tentacles chasing after her. She hit the wall with her back, making stars flash before her eyes and cracking the plaster. Before she could fall, the pursuing tentacles seized her arms and legs, pinning her halfway up the wall. One grabbed her sword hand and dislocated her wrist with a sharp wrenching motion. Lara cried out as the sword fell from her hand to the floor with a clatter, the ballroom returned to night's shade as its fires went out. She struggled to get free, but the tendrils did not budge against her strength.
"You will not use that sword," said the figure flatly, ignoring the skinner as it used its good arm to pull itself away.
Lara knew she had to use that. There was no other choice, not if she or everyone in the palace wanted to see the sun again. This creature was on an entirely different plane of deadly from the seaclops or skinner. Never mind that she had almost exhausted the fire's energy and that she never wanted to use that again. This monster would kill her and then everyone else in the palace who saw it.
She barely opened her mouth when one of the tendrils on her arm unfurled and gagged her, wrapping around her head like rope. She bit down as hard as she could, but it was like biting a rock. The figure gave no sign she was causing it discomfort much less harm. It would the tendril tighter, pulling painfully on the corners of her mouth.
Three more tendrils snaked out of the figure's cloak and flew to her, stopping with needle sharp tips pressed to her forehead, heart and the middle of her neck. "Nor will we have you using magic."
Lara's eyes widened. Did it just say we?
Like shadows brought to life, six more figures fell from the ceiling, landing with the silence of an autumn leaf drifting down to still water. All wore enveloping black cloaks, standing taller and more terrifying than any man. Unlike her captor Lara could see their faces, or rather the plain white masks obscuring them as their crimson luminous eyes peered through thin angled slits. They silently flanked the one holding her, assembled like a demonic firing squad awaiting the call to execute.
"Once you have completed your training, these will be checking under their beds for golden-eyed sorceresses," said her father, ruffling her hair affectionately.
Lara giggled, tickled at the thought of such a creature being afraid of a little girl. She flipped the page again, eager to see the next picture. It showed what appeared to be a tall thin person wearing a long black cloak with the hood pulled up. Its face was hidden behind a smooth plain white mask with four narrow eye slits.
But the page itself was completely different. Whereas the previous pictures had been drawn in painstaking detail, this one did not show such careful attention. It was made in panicked slashing strokes, as though the author had drawn it in a hurry under great distress. Black ink was splattered and flecked all over the paper. There was not a single word of description, much less a name. It was not part of the book either–merely a paper shoved between pages. The picture had a foreboding air to it, as though it was intended as a warning.
"Hey, what's this one?" she asked her father, holding up the picture to him.
Her father did not answer her. His eyes narrowed at the drawing, jaw clenching as a hint of a frown appeared on his mouth.
"Dad?" said Lara, concerned at his behavior. She had never seen her father act this way. Perhaps she found something she was not supposed to? There were certain books in the library she was not allowed to open. Some she needed her father present to do so. Others she could when she was older. And others still she was never to even touch. Maybe this book was one of those and it slipped by him? Or did she ask something she should not have?
"I'm sorry," she apologized. "Please don't be mad. I won't ask about it again, I swear."
She started to put the page back, but her father stopped her. "There's no need to apologize, Lara. I'm not angry with you. As for this creature, it is one you must know so you can understand how dangerous they are. I doubt there is another picture of one anywhere in this world. This book is the last its author wrote, and this drawing his final entry. He went mad shortly after and then disappeared. All because he caught a glimpse of these creatures."
Lara swallowed at the sternness in her father's voice. "What is it?
"A nyctophile, like the skinner," he said. "But far, far more dangerous. Few know of their existence, and fewer still have seen one and lived to tell of it. They hunt from the shadows, and they will kill to keep the existence of their race a secret. You must never speak of them to anyone. Should you find yourself facing one you must kill it, for you cannot run far or fast enough to lose them. They are…"
Lara remembered the name her father said all too well. Ever since that day she had not uttered the name outside his presence. Twice she encountered them in the east, and twice she was fortunate to keep her life and limbs. She never saw the dark the same way after, never dismissing the feeling she was being watched even when she was alone. Now she stared down not one but seven of these real-life monstrosities. The inescapable assassins. The hunters in the night. The perfect predators of humanity.
These were the nyctophiles known as slendermen.
Melody followed Ariel and Grimsby on the point guards' heels as they made their way towards the ballroom. With the guards aiding those who needed it and carrying the smaller children they moved much faster than before. There was a greater sense of security as well from the number and vigilance of the guards. Their hands never strayed far from their swords, eyes watching every corner and every shadow for a possible threat. There was no telling if that monster came alone.
Yet Melody could not shake the feeling they were not fleeing to the ocean of their own volition. It felt like they were being allowed to. They had not encountered anyone else on their way. Surely they should have run into more guards or servants awoken by the noise. Why was the palace so still? Why was it so dark? This all felt too simple. Too easy.
They ran through a pair of doors, running into the entrance hall to the main ballroom. It was a wide and grand construction with a high arched ceiling and crystal chandeliers overhead. Large marble sculptures flanked fluted columns leading to the massive double doors of the ballroom. The moonlight through the large windows illuminated patches of the hallway like a row of chess squares as they moved between light and dark. The flickering light from the candles along the walls made their shadows dance about. The chandeliers' crystals caught some of the moon's pale light, mixing with the glow of the candles to refract into scattered specks of white, orange, and yellow. It gave the hall a majestic and haunting aura, as though they were the first to set foot in it after many empty years.
"This way, your majesties!" called the captain as they trotted to the doors, waving for them to follow. "We'll have you down to the beach in just a minute!"
Suddenly there was a loud short shout from inside the ballroom. The group quickly halted when they heard a crash, followed moments later by a sharp cry that made the hair on Melody's neck stand up.
"What was that?" asked one of the guards.
"That's Lara!" exclaimed Aquata. "I'm sure of it! She's in the ballroom!"
"I thought she was fighting that thing on the fifth floor!?" said Adella.
"Doesn't sound like it!" said the captain. "We'll have to go a different route, your majesties! Sergeant, take their highnesses outside! You ten with me to help Anc–!"
The candles went out all at once, plunging the hall into the dim of night save the moon's ethereal glow. Melody flinched like everyone else, alarmed at the abrupt loss of light. The guards immediately circled the royals, swords out and fully alert. Melody huddled close to her mother, both scanning about skittishly.
"W-what was that?" asked Alana.
"P-probably just the wind, princess," suggested Grimsby. "These old buildings do get drafty. Perhaps there's a-a window open?"
Melody swallowed, not confident in Grimsby's hypothesis at all. If it were wind, they would have felt it. And would it not have taken out the candles in a wave? This felt like something else. It felt deliberate. That sensation of being watched was stronger than ever. She looked about, trying to determine what was causing it.
"Nobody panic," said Eric slowly. "Captain, go help Lara. Do whatever you can. We'll go out through the gardens."
"We think not."
An incredibly tall thin figure in a black cloak materialized from a shadow in front of the doors. It wore a plain white mask over its face, glowing red eyes peering through four thin slits. It seemed to glide rather than step towards them, utterly silent in its motions.
Adella, Arista, and Alana started screaming, as did most of the children. The mermen quickly put themselves in front of their families as the guards moved to confront the intruder. They formed ranks in seconds, swords trained on the figure. They were professional in their formation, but their trembling showed how unnerved they were by its appearance.
"Identify yourself!" shouted the captain. "Who are you?"
The figure stopped, standing silently before the guards. Its eyes shifted behind the mask as it surveyed the group.
"Identify yourself!" repeated the captain.
Still the figure said nothing.
"In the name of the king, I demand you identify yourself!"
The figure looked at the captain as though his voice had reached a volume audible to it.
"Are you the one who attacked our princess?" asked the captain.
"No! That's not it!" answered Melody, her voice taut with fright. "This isn't the monster!"
Suddenly there was more screaming. Melody spun to see a second figure appear behind them, no less silent or ominous. The merfolk clustered together as more guards went to confront it, swords out but chattering like their teeth.
"We're trapped!" exclaimed Adella.
"Show your hands!" demanded one of the guards as it trained a crossbow on the second figure's face. "I said show your hands!"
The figure guarding the door looked to its partner. Melody saw their eyes flicker and flash behind their masks, reminding her of lantern fish using their lights in the deep ocean to communicate. She had an unsettling feeling these were doing the same.
"I won't ask again!" shouted the captain. "Identify yourselves or we will treat you as–!"
He never finished. A storm of long black tendrils erupted from under the figures' cloaks and descended on the guards. They seized them with the swiftness of striking snakes, wrapping their necks with inhuman speed. Swords were seized and thrown aside or snapped in half. The guard with the crossbow fired before a tentacle grabbed him. The figure snatched the arrow out of the air with a blindingly fast tentacle, snapping the arrow in half and discarding it. Melody screamed as the tendrils darted into the clustered royals, yanking out the guards among them. The guards were lifted off their feet, flailing and gagging as they hung like a forest of condemned criminals.
"They're not human!" screamed Arista.
"Neither are you, mermaid," said one of the creatures. "Or your unborn."
Melody felt a chill run through her at the creature's voice. It could speak! And it knew their secret!
The struggling and choking of the guards began to wane, their brains succumbing to the lack of air. The creatures tossed them aside as they went limp, scattering them about in a tangled mess. The royals clustered together like sardines herded by sharks. Tall, black-robed, red-eyed sharks that incapacitated their escorts in less than a minute.
Suddenly Ariel darted for a nearby sword. One of the creatures sent a tentacle out and slapped the blade, snapping it at the hilt before it used the appendage to roughly shove Ariel back. Attina caught her before she could fall, quickly pulling her back into the group. Melody and Eric went to her, as much to protect her as to assuage their own fears.
"You cannot escape," said the creature behind them.
"Do not resist," said the one that shoved Ariel. "Or we will restrain you by force."
"Wh-who are you?" asked Ariel timidly. The creature gave no answer, only withdrawing its tentacle beneath its robe.
"Why are you here?" asked Eric.
"Orders," said the creatures together.
"Orders from who?"
The eyes of the creature by the door glowed brighter. "You will learn."
Lara heard shouting and then screaming from behind the doors, followed by the sounds of snapping metal and choking. That had to be the princesses, and she could only think of one reason they would scream like that. She struggled harder against the slenderman's hold, but it was like ship's anchors holding her down. The tentacles' flimsy appearance belied their incredible strength. There was no way she could get free. Not without her magic. And this thing would kill her before she could try.
"The royalty are contained," said the slenderman closest to the doors. "The guards are silenced."
"We will not be disturbed," added her captor as it removed the tendril from her mouth.
Hearing that made Lara struggle even more. Just how many of these things had come? There was no telling what they would do to the others now that they had seen them–no, she knew exactly what they would do. If only she could use her magic! But as long as those sharp tentacles were poised to strike she had no chance. Even with her mouth free it would skewer her before she uttered the first syllable.
"Then we proceed as planned," said her captor.
Breaking glass sounded through the ballroom. Lara glanced from the slendermen to see the skinner pulling itself through one of the windows. One of the tendrils on her leg released and raced over to the skinner, seizing it by the neck.
"Starting with you."
The slenderman threw the skinner into the air, its tendril swinging around and striking it with a crack like a whip. The skinner slammed into the floor as the other six quickly seized it with their tendrils, keeping it pinned down.
"What are you?" choked the skinner.
"We are the eyes and hands of the night," answered one of the slendermen restraining it.
"We ensure the anonymity of the Hive," said the one beside it.
"And pass judgment on those who shed light upon it," added another.
Lara shivered. The way they spoke in turn made her hair stand on end. It was as though they were inside each other's heads.
"Your voracity is your undoing, skin thief," said the slenderman holding her. "You were a fool to come here, even more to bare your claws to a sorceress. Especially thisone."
"You do not know the depth of her powers," said another.
"Even we would not face her alone or so brazenly."
"Her reputation precedes her."
"Why would I care for the reputation of one flame-gobbling witch!?" spat the skinner as it fought against their hold, trying to get its claws on one of the tendrils.
"You should."
The skinner froze. Every hair on Lara's neck stood straight up as a chilling fear stopped her breath. That voice…they both knew it.
"She's still an unknown west of the Dragon's Teeth, but there's hardly a soul east of them who hasn't heard of her by now. She made quite a few names for herself there."
Footsteps echoed through the chamber. Steady steps descending the tower stairs.
"You should hear them. There's Cannon Fist, the Torch Blade, the Wind Cutter, the Pirate's Bane, The Witch Eater, the Hellhound. That last one has a nice ring to it. Hellhound…it just rolls of the tongue."
That voice was so innocent and sweet, yet it made Lara and the skinner quiver with fear.
"But if I had to pick my favorite name, I would go with Painkiller. I think it captures her tenacity perfectly. That, and how hard she is to put down. I mean, just look at her! You could paint the walls with how much of her blood you splattered up there, and she still bested you!"
"It can't be! Please no!" Lara muttered, praying to anyone, anything that she was mistaken. Let it be anything else. A skinner crossed with a seaclops, a hundred slendermen, or an army of devil worms.
Just not her.
Lara's prayers were dashed when a little girl in a simple blue and white dress came down the tower stairs. Her long hair was white as bleached bone, falling down her back to her feet. Her teal eyes glowed with an unnatural light, the twin slit pupils in each eye focused on the restrained mage. The slendermen turned to the girl and bowed as one, heads low in respectful submission.
Lara's eyes widened, her racing heart pounding like thunder in her ears. "Y-y-you!"
The girl smiled from ear to ear, revealing sharp pointed white teeth. "It's been a while, Lara."
DISCLAIMER: I do not own "The Little Mermaid," Disney, or any of its associated characters and intellectual property. I do not own the listed song(s). Everything else, however, is mine =)
