Chapter 1- An Unlikely and Unwanted Partnership

It was just after dawn. The forest woke slowly, animals crawling from their dens into the sunlight. Azrael stared down the hill, watching as the villagers trudged about, preparing for the day’s market.

The forest was still covered in shadows. Azrael liked it like that. No one ventured inside her forest at any time of day. There were rumors of giant lizards and flying monkeys living in the forest, and of people being eaten by a devilish monster.

Azrael chuckled humorlessly at how simple humans could be. The average human believed almost anything. They feared the forest because they didn’t understand what was going on within it. Because they couldn’t explain what happened they invented things. The demons; the flying monkeys; none of it was real. It was all created by the human imagination.

None of them even stopped to consider the possibility that someone lived in it. Azrael had claimed the forest weeks before. It was the only place she had found near a small village with a limited number of heroic idiots. Nobody in the village was brave enough to venture in by himself. There were hardly ever passing warriors, and those were easily dealt with. It hadn’t taken long before everyone had known to stay out of the forest and not to hire anyone to kill what was inside it.

What they didn’t know that it was all Azrael’s doing. Everything that had ever been seen in the forest was done to make everyone leave Azrael alone. She didn’t want to see the stares of people as she walked by, or hear the whispers behind her. It had been a year since she had truly shown herself in a public place. The last time she had done that had ended up in a huge bloodbath.

Azrael was a Drakan; part human, part lizard. Her arms to her shoulders and legs to her hips were covered in scales as black as ink that seemed to swallow the sunlight. A black tail jutted out from the base of her spine. Bronze-colored hair was kept in a braid that reached almost to her knees. Purple tanzanite eyes were set above grim lips and a slightly crooked nose. She wore a long-sleeved shirt and long pants despite the growing heat. Her tail swished back and forth restlessly.

At an early age, Azrael had developed the power to walk through and manipulate shadows. Her scales, as a result, turned black. It was said in Drakan lore than any Drakan who had black scales had been claimed by the dark god, and was cursed. Her clan quickly abandoned her, leaving her alone to deal with her new powers that she could not control.

Soon after that she developed the power to transform, and a mild form of pyrokinesis. For a Drakan, this was normal. She had watched her mother play with fire many times, and was able to control it effortlessly. The transforming power was also second nature. With careful observation and practice, Azrael gained better control over her shadow-manipulation abilities. It was easier for her to step in and out of shadows, to bend them to her will. She still had problems with it, but it would come in time.

One night, completely by accident, she discovered that she could walk through dreams. Not just hers, but others’ as well. She changed a child’s nightmare into something sweet. Her newest power was very easy to control, although she didn’t know why.

Over the years, Azrael had picked up friends. At age seventeen, she was alone again, and not at all happy about it. Her purple eyes scanned the town below her. The market was starting to become busy. People bustled about, buying food, flowers, soap, and other things. She knew she would have to go in to buy some things she had recently run out of. Even though she was a Drakan, she liked to be clean. Her hair would turn greasy if she didn’t wash it soon.

A rabbit shot across the forest floor. Azrael pounced, sinking her claws into its flesh and ripping. It was dead in an instant. Hungrily, Azrael ate, two-inch fangs sinking into her breakfast. The animal barely took the edge off her hunger, and she stalked off in search of other prey.

Azrael looked up. Birds settled on the branches of trees, enjoying the morning sunlight. They covered the tree where all of her belongings were stored. With a sigh, Azrael created a tiny flame in her hand and tossed it in the direction of the birds. The ball burst in midair and the birds scattered in a hundred different directions.

“I don’t want you pooping on my stuff, you stupid feather balls,” she growled to them. She knew they weren’t listening, but it made her feel a little better. She transformed her claws and talons into hands and feet with fingers and toes. Humans had such soft feet. She hated it, but she knew that she would need to appear human if she wanted them to overlook her.

She changed her face, as well. Her hair grew shorter, and her eyes became brown. She didn’t want anyone to see her real form and remember her face. It wouldn’t be good for some villager’s health if that happened.

Azrael hated going into town. It was hot and there were too many people to run into. People always gave her odd looks because they didn’t recognize her. Strangers were not common in the tiny village. Azrael would often glare at them or ignore them. Some men persisted if they thought the human she chose to become was pretty. One time she had gotten cornered by some of the village boys. They hadn’t listened when she’d told them ‘no’, and she had been forced to break some arms and a few noses to get away.

Azrael sighed, but headed for the town. She had money to get the things she needed, stolen or earned in various ways. In her head she made a list: soap, another comb, for hers had broken, perhaps a new shirt, and something to eat. Preferably something cooked.

She skirted the hill, coming into the village on the north side. It wouldn’t do for someone to see her coming out of the supposedly haunted forest. They would think she was something come from inside it to wreak havoc on the village. After dodging around several clusters of people she came to the market and was instantly swallowed by chaos. The cries of animals, shouts of humans, hurrying people, and the closeness of it all made her dizzy. She did her best to hurry through it all, keeping her head down and not looking anyone in the eyes.

“Excuse me, Miss,” a voice at her back said, barely loud enough to be heard over the noise. “Are you all right?”

The speaker was a Skarn. He had very long black hair, perfectly framing a tanned face. There was a scar across one green eye, and Azrael could tell by the lack of a pupil that he couldn’t see out of it. He wore a leather vest, and spines stuck straight up from his forearms. He carried two claw bracers, a sickle, and what looked like a pair of kamas. Azrael wondered if he could really use them. Judging by the muscles that accented his frame, she could guess the answer.

“I’m fine,” she growled. “It’s just a little hot.”

“You should drink some water and sit in the shade for a while,” the Skarn told her. “You might get dehydrated.”

“Thanks for the advice,” Azrael sighed. She wanted to get away from the town as fast as she could, but this Skarn was holding her up.

“My name’s Sofiel,” he informed her, holding out a hand.

“I don’t shake,” she replied stoically. “I need to go, though. Thanks.” She turned and hurried away, stopping to rest in the shade. When she looked back, the Skarn was talking with a teenage boy with brown hair. Azrael decided that she didn’t care and finished her shopping.

After leaving the village, she nearly ran back to the safety of the forest. She transformed back into her normal form, calming at the feel of her own hair against her back. Quickly, she put her purchases into the hollow tree and went to a pond to wash herself.

Azrael sat in the water, letting it cool her skin and clean the dirt out of her clothes. She lay on her back, looking up at the sun. She wished it was night time. Night was her favorite time of any day because there was never anyone else awake; just her. She could sit and stare at the moon for hours, not thinking anything. Until she fell asleep, of course...

When she fell asleep, her nightmares tore her out of it. They were the reason she had Insomnia. If ever she got any sleep, nobody else would, because they would be woken in the middle of the night by her screaming. It helped to keep the villagers away, but it didn’t help for Azrael’s nerves. She thought that she might go insane from her nightmares.

“Stop complaining,” she ordered herself. “You’ve put up with them for almost thirteen years. You can do it for a hundred more.”

“Do what?” a voice wanted to know. Azrael jumped, leaping out of the pond in a wave of water. She hit the ground and nearly tripped over her own tail. Luckily she managed to stay upright and spare herself the embarrassment.

“Don’t ever sneak up on me like that,” she ordered, glaring at the Skarn she had met in the village. His companion stood behind him. How had they found her? The pond was in the middle of the forest, and Azrael had changed her form. “What are you doing here?”

“The villagers think this forest is haunted,” the other boy, a half-elf, explained. “We thought we’d come and investigate.”

“They’re just superstitious,” Azrael scoffed. “There’s nobody in here but me. Get out and leave me alone.” She began walking away from them, still upset that they had caught her off-guard. She scolded herself remorselessly. The last time she had been caught off-guard–

“So are you the one that’s been haunting the forest?” the skarn–was his name Sofiel?–wanted to know. “The villagers are very afraid of what goes on in here. They say that they stopped hiring people to go in because they kept finding bodies and entrails a day later.” He stroked the leaves of a potted plant he was holding.

“That’s because I killed them,” Azrael said, a humorless chuckle in her voice. “They were idiots, anyway. Brutes, the lot of them. They all tried to charm me, and when they couldn’t, tried to kill me. The only thing they helped with was relieving a little stress by allowing me to maim them.” She leapt onto a tree-trunk and scrambled up it. The tree began to move. Azrael looked below her and saw that Sofiel was chanting.

In a flash of understanding, Azrael realized Sofiel was a druid. The tree’s branches reached up to grab her. Azrael darted out of its reach. More trees came to life, straining to get to her.

“Stop that, you damned tree-hugger!” she growled at Sofiel.

“Come down,” the half-elf commanded. “We want to talk.”

“Well, I don’t,” Azrael snarled, dodging branches. She did a back-flip, tumbling towards the ground. Using her powers, the landed inside the shadows safely.

“Where’d she go?” Sofiel asked. Azrael carefully moved into a shadow behind them. She wanted to know what they wanted from her.

“Probably teleported somewhere,” the half-elf sighed. “Either way, let’s get out of here. You know that I don’t like forests.”

“I don’t see why,” Sofiel retorted. “Manakel, you should learn to be more friendly. I don’t think she liked you.”

“I don’t like either of you,” Azrael corrected. She commanded the shadows to capture their legs. They yelped at the sight of the shadows moving on their own. Azrael appeared in front of them, shadows sliding off her like water.

“What do you want with me?” she demanded. “If you came here to bother me, go away. I might let you live if you leave right now.”

“You couldn’t kill us if you tried,” the half-elf spat, drawing his rapier. He was dressed like a pirate; loose shirt and breeches, boots that folded over at his knees, and a leather sword belt. His brown hair was shoulder-length and kept in a rat’s tail. His lively green eyes held a rebellious spark. Azrael smiled sadistically at the thought of snuffing that spark out.

“I couldn’t?” she asked slowly. “Would you like me to prove you wrong?” She seized his throat in a clawed hand and squeezed. “I could kill you a hundred different ways and think nothing of it. The only reason you are still alive is because I don’t feel like killing you yet. Push me any farther and you will be simply a red spot in the dirt.”

Manakel’s eyes were wide. There was hatred and fear in those eyes.

“Stop!” Sofiel cried, struggling to get free. “Don’t kill him!”

“I don’t plan to,” Azrael promised him. “But I want you both to leave me alone.” She looked the pirate half-elf in the eyes. “Savvy?”

His eyes flashed. “If I had the use of my sword–”

“Well, the fact of the matter is, you don’t,” Azael snapped, cutting him off. “You’re stuck in my shadows, and there’s next to nothing you can do about it. Deal with it.”

“So hostile!” Sofiel scolded.

“If you were me, you’d be hostile, too,” Azrael snarled. She let go of Manakel’s throat. “Go away. Leave me in peace. I’m only going to be here for another week or so. Until then, the villagers will have to deal with the haunting.”

“Where will you go after?” Sofiel inquired.

“That’s none of your business,” Azrael sighed irritably. “But if it will shut you up, I’m going to hunt down and kill the man that ordered the slaughter of my tribe.” She stalked away, releasing them as she went. Sofiel stepped gracefully out of the shadows, but Manakel fell flat on his face. Azrael allowed herself a tiny giggle for that.

“Please wait,” Sofiel called after her. “Maybe we can help you with that!”

“Go away,” Azrael ordered. “It’s my business.”

“Don’t you think it would go easier with a little help?” Sofiel probed. Manakel caught up to him and put a hand on his arm.

“Do you really think that helping her is a good idea?” he wondered quietly. “She just said that she could kill us if she felt like it.”

“If I felt like it, I could kill you,” Sofiel pointed out. “But that’s the thing; I don’t feel like it. And at this moment, neither does she.”

“She’s getting there!”Azrael warned. “Bugger off, the both of you! I don’t want your help! I just want to be left alone.”

“But don’t you get lonely?” Sofiel wanted to know, following her still. “You don’t really like being alone, do you?”

“Yes,” Azrael snapped. She paused. “Sort of...not really.”

“See?” Sofiel exclaimed. “Let’s go together! It might even be fun.”

“Fun?” both Azrael and Manakel cried in unison. They looked at each other suspiciously.

“I still don’t want you with me,” Azrael told them. “Follow me if you want, but if you fall behind, I’m not waiting for you.” She shook her head as she left, wondering what in the world would possess the druid to want to follow her. What, for that matter, would possess her to let him? Behind her, she heard the two of them arguing. She chose not to stay and listen, opting instead to go and clean out her tree. If they were going with her, she was going to leave the next morning. Hopefully she could lose them somewhere along the way.

“Where should we meet you?” Sofiel yelled after her.

“Here, tomorrow morning,” Azrael yelled back. “Don’t be late, or I’m leaving without you.”

“That’s fine!” Sofiel agreed. “Hey, wait! What is your name?” Azrael stopped, wondering if she should really trust these people with her real name.

“It’s Azrael,” she answered, and darted off.