The ropes that twined around his body chafed his skin with every movement no matter how small. He didn't seem to care; the men jeered at him long fangs flashing in the darkness. His captors. His mind spat the word as if it were poison.
He knew this had been coming, he had known it since the moment he had betrayed who he was. The moment he had denied his blood he had brought this upon himself.
Who he was he had put behind him; or tried to. Now he was a captive in his own country.
His eyes blazed with hatred for no single person in particular. His captors sneered hissing and clicking; as his eyes closed he felt the weight of what he had done come down on him like a waterfall. That night came back to him as clear as it had that moment, that second…he would give anything to figure out what had happened that dark night, the night when he himself became something…unnatural.
Chapter One:
The thunder boomed sending a sense of foreboding doom upon all. The flicker of the candlelight cast long shadows upon the wooden walls. The sent of burning cedar filled the small room.
Lighting flashed tearing through the sky as if it were an untamed animal. The sigh came from the lips of a young man. "How dreary…" He stared out the window as if trying to summon a picture of the world beyond the inky blackness, then suddenly it would be there, lit as if everything were silver, the moment only lasted as long as the lighting decided.
He tapped his fingers on the rough wood of the carved window sill. He blew his brown hair out of his face in a futile attempt to see.
The door creaked then slammed open momentarily startling the young man. His eyes darted to the figure stumbling in the doorway.
Quickly his mind assessed what he saw and his forehead reacted in a frown. "What are you doing here? You're asking for it especially in this weather." "Oh be quiet you know I'd rather brave that then stay at home." The grin that was flashed was more of a grimace as a thumb was jabbed at the still open door.
He sighed again and gestured to the fire. "You may as well sit down, since you've already invited yourself in."
"Thanks, yet again. You have no idea of what I put up with! It's nice to just get away." The intruding individual was actually his friend. Who had the odd habit of appearing when ever the weather was bad.
The brown haired youth eyed the wet floor with distaste, he would tend to that later, and first he had to unearth the cause for his friend's appearance this time.
As the fire ate the wood that it was fed the heavy silence became unbearable until he could no longer withstand any more. "So? What's happened now?" his green eyed gaze was met with an icy blue stare and a meager response.
"Nothing."
"Nothing?"
"Yes nothing…well nothing of great importance. This time I will not be returning if that is any great surprise."
The brunette rolled his green orbs with frustration. "Will you stop speaking in confounded riddles?"
The soft laugh that was rarely heard seemed more of a frustrated grunt rather than laughter. "No, but I will say this much." He turned his body toward his friend, water still dripping onto the floor in a steady stream.
"I have finally discovered a way to become more powerful."
The young man groaned and dropped his head onto his fist.
"Coal, come on you know those plans get you nothing but burns and creatures that tend to take a liking to eating you."
Coal waved his hand then leaned back in the chair shaking his wet black hair from his face. "No this time I've really got it! I will finally be rid of those…creatures! You'll understand tomorrow. I will have to go into the forests, but when I come back I will have powers that even those things will not dare stand against."
His enthusiasm was plain. And yet there was something behind that, hurt? Fear? He couldn't tell all he could tell was that something was bound to go amiss.
"I'm telling you Coal, it's a bad idea and you know it."
"Why must you always be such a stick in the mud Soun?"
Soun shrugged and licked his lips. "It's who I am, as you are one who is asking for your death. Now what have you got this time…What haven't you tried? Oh yes right…Demons?"
It had been meant as a jest however something in Coal's eyes sparkled then, something that told the jest had become more of a guess, and that guess had proved correct. It was a look Soun was going to wish he had never seen.
Coal leaned back with a small smirk his blue eyes danced behind his veil of long black hair. His arms folded behind his head in unison with his feet crossing.
"That's exactly it."
Soun stared at his friend a moment before parting his lips to speak.
"Demons?" Coal nodded his blue eyes closed.
"Yes Demons." Soun chewed his bottom lip listening to the hiss of the fire before he spoke again.
"And how exactly to you propose to do this…whatever it is?" Coal opened his eyes and reached deep inside the soaking cave of his cloak. "With this."
He produced a rather soggy looking bunch of parchment which he passed to Soun. He looked up at his dark haired friend as he carefully took it from his hands, Coal seemed rather smitten with himself or rather his idea.
Soun shook his head and lowered his gaze to the yellowish paper. As he read his eyes searched for some excuse, some other option, but none were found.
Finally he lifted his gaze. "A spell?"
There was a short silence as thunder boomed gripping the tiny cottage in its hands before releasing it in a flash of white light. "Yes, a spell, a powerful one at that." Coal leaned forward and ran his finger over a line. "This here, It's a spell that I uncovered in the old archives in my library. Funny I never knew we had spell books there, I'm no wizard or anything of that sort…but a simple spell should be easy enough."
Coal drew back folded his hands and rested his chin upon them. "I hear that it's only been used once and that the speaker of the spell became quite powerful." Soun scoffed and handed the parchment back. "More like he was killed and never heard from again, isn't there some kind of warning of death or something of the sorts on there? I assure you that no good will come of this."
Coal stuffed the paper back into the folds of his cloak sighing deeply. "Look Soun, I know that you never approve of these plans of mine, but I've got to do something don't I? You understand don't you?"
Soun looked at his boots hearing the thunder take its hold on his cottage once again his eyes lifted to his friends as another flash lit the land in silver.
"I still say it's ridiculous, no matter what form of creature is after you. A sword or stick will do well enough against those foes."
Coal pushed back in the chair with a heavy sigh. His blue orbs stared into the fire Soun watched as it consumed them licking at his pupils.
"They will eventually find and kill me Soun, and you know it." His voice was soft a whisper broken by the crash of thunder, Soun did know it, Just like he knew that Demons were no way to become more powerful and that somehow something was seriously wrong.