RED EYES, DEEP LIKE THICK BLOOD ENCASED IN A GLASSY reflection. They looked to a young woman who stood in the distance perplexed in wonder. She watched as fog rolled over the flat and colorless landscape and through the petrified branches of dead trees.
The icy wind was like a saturnine whisper and it nearly stole away the young man’s sense of direction. Shiny strands of long black hair whipped over his face while he strove to calm his breathing. Standing with her on this plane again made him breathless and it was difficult to restrain himself from running to her. He knew that if he did, any hope of progress would be ruined.
Go slowly and take your time, the man counseled himself. Not so fast. His muscles tightened. Will this finally work?
The young woman studied his distant face. There was an undertone of apprehension in her expression that she was unable to hide and she knew it. Regardless of that fact and his near intimidating presence, she felt an undeniable gravitation towards him. It was overwhelming.
Deciding that he was through negotiating matters with himself, the young man started off in her direction. His body flowed in perfect posture over the cracked and broken stones at his feet. She watched him carefully and once there was only but a few feet separating them, the young man reached for her shoulders. Harder the wind blew, seemingly warmer than his touch. He watched as she bit down on her bottom lip and agreed that his complicated misery had definitely seen worse days.
The young woman closed her eyes, trying to calm herself. While she did want to stand with him, an implanted reaction kept telling her to run. Not this time. She was strong enough now to stand against it. The two of them stood for a few nervous moments, attempting to consume their indelible anxiety.
What is this place? It was the only thing the young woman was able to think of as she scanned the scenery. The sheer desolation of the plane inebriated her vision and it reeked of a slow and agonizing death, one that she was unable comprehend as of yet. Harder she gazed out into the impenetrable fog, hoping to see something beyond the smoky grey.
The man grinned as he watched how hard she was trying to focus. There was no way for her to know where she was in her current state. He had tried repeatedly, even after all of his failures, to make her see who he was and where she belonged. There would be no stopping him until he reached success. He touched his fingertips to her chin, hoping it would help her ruminate.
Hot blood rushed through her veins and she stepped backwards, disconnecting from her trance. She was always this nervous. Luckily for her the young man was patient but she would never know to what extent. As much as she tried to refrain she was unable to stop herself from becoming drawn into the web of his mysterious eyes again. Her hands slowly rose to his face as if it was a memory telling her to do so.
He recognized a familiar element from behind her gaze. This was the first time she was ever this receptive to his presence. It’s finally over. His heart started to burn with victory while her hands continued to him. After all this time…
If he was lucky, there would be just enough time to tell her everything; what had happened, why she was cast out and who was searching for her. There was so much information she needed and even if he was able to explain everything, there was no way to know if she would remember it. In the instance before her hands met his cheeks, her arms forcefully locked. Her confused expression said it all. It was about to happen again. His premature triumph paused and withered.
Swiftly, a brilliant haze engulfed the plane around her. It was so bright that she couldn’t help but to squint. The earth between their feet stretched like melting plastic and ripped them away from each other. Before the young man could reach her, just like every time before, an indescribable force pulled her straight through the cadaverous plane. Stinging tears flocked up, leaving her purblind in a coffin of cementing light. She thought to herself, why? It was as if something was deliberately torturing them.
The man threw himself onto his knees and reached inside of the lesion for her grasp. She saw the dedication in his eyes but knew she was out of range. Bloody tears plummeted off of his face and barreled down as if he had slit his wrists wide open. The red hit her in the face but it didn’t alarm her. Instead, she stared down his misery and wondered where it truly came from. His tears continued to drop hard, raining into the palms of her hands.
The man had no choice but to accept the fact that she would soon again be gone. He pulled himself back and threw his fists into the earth. The young woman continued to survey him while a slight trepidation formed in her breast. She felt the energy.
He squeezed his eyes shut, severing the stream of flowing red. Attempting to mollify his frustration he forced himself to breathe slow and deep but his shaky breaths reminded him that it only ever contributed to the reawakening of his terrible vicissitude.
Through his arched back, new bone broke through on every column of vertebrae, amazingly thick and almost burnt in color. It spiked up high and curled in towards his ripping and transforming flesh. He roared again and this time his jaw coarsely dislocated and grew, taking on a new structure while his lips stretched harshly around the deformity. Massive clumps of muscle over exploded over his old form and razor-sharp teeth pierced through his gums in both directions, filling every space available. Beads of sweat adhered to his pulsing veins that rose from beneath his skin. He lifted his face to the grey sky and let out a monstrous bellow as his face expanded to fit into the rest of the transformation. His claws ripped at the flesh on his cheek while he smiled in a sort of insanity.
The nefarious creature opened his eyes to witness the woman’s last seconds with him. He absorbed his dejection and embraced it, letting out a minatory grumble. It echoed down to the young woman as if it could temporize her vanishing.
Small falling fragments of earth disappeared into the massive cloud of white below. The young woman was now a tiny silhouette, barely visible to the creature like a small doll that had been thrown into a rampant fire. He stood invalid with a look that seemed to whisper I will try again, and the next time I do you will be mine.
Slowly the incarcerating light began to swallow her limbs away. She concentrated on the man’s new form standing at the edge above her. The head of the enormous demon-like creature was adorned with four horns that curled backwards, winding unevenly to the tips. His eyes were still visible; the unbreakable red pierced through the light surrounding her. The creature looked familiar, too familiar. A red halo grew from inside his figure and expanded.
A sudden flash erupted in the back of the woman’s head, veiling over her gaze in a hot sensation. She saw the same monster only this version seemed untamed. It was running through a lush forest in the dusk, smashing down trees in its path with flailing limbs. Its vicious eyes looked to her.
The flash subsided and her vision cleared. She focused back onto the beast; his gleaming eyes were still beating down to her.
Another flash exploded over her eyes and now the creature was standing in a dimly lit room. Candles sprinkled about the brick walls and flickered violently as he roared. Massive wooden doors which were meant to open up to a large study were smashed and splintered to the ground. An old man dressed in a brown cowl lay curled at the creature’s bulky feet, shriveled and terrified. His whimpering pleas to spare his life were cancelled out by the creature’s roars.
Against the wall behind the old man stood a bookshelf packed with ancient handwritten works. The creature sloppily stole up a few manuscripts and with one swift motion he tore them in half. The old man pulled his limbs in close to shield the tender areas of his flesh just before they made contact. Smirking at the man’s distress, the creature started to circle his body; every step overwhelmed the foundation of the room. Tears began to form in the old man’s eyes. They seemed to come forth in such a labored manner to which the creature sneered.
Grumbling, the creature picked up the old man by his neck without regard and reeled into his teeth. The acrid scent of his breath tied knots in the stomach of his captive. His grasp hardened, hoping for death to finally come.
A young woman started down a stone hallway drenched in an amber glow from the rows of tapers that lit the way. She was carrying a bottle of wine that she had picked up before her visit and was looking at the label smiling, almost entranced in her delight.
“You will never guess what I found at Teagan’s…” she started quite giggly and looked to the door that was usually ajar, opening to Benson’s study. She was expecting to see his head shake at the threshold of her long ranting but paused once she came to notice that the doors were obliterated.
Her gaze pierced in and beheld the creature with Benson latched in his hand. Her smile quickly dropped and the bottle of wine slipped from her fingers. Benson looked to her and soon his eyes had no choice but to roll into the back of his head.
The young woman removed her sword from the sheath behind her back and ran towards the beast with astonished eyes. She was not at all prepared for this situation and was shocked that she was unable to feel his overwhelming presence initially.
In what she considered to be the perfect moment, her blade came to a straight line towards the beast’s chest. Faster than she could anticipate, he swung his enormous arm and knocked her almost high enough to touch the ceiling of Benson’s two story library. Panicky hands reached to grab ahold of the banisters, torch holders or any other object to stop the momentum but to her dismay nothing would be able to break her fall.
Almost in laughter, the beast dropped the old man to the floor, more interested now in the young woman who was trying to interfere. Gasping and coughing for air, Benson rolled onto his knees and tried to restore his breaths.
The woman rose to her feet, clenching her teeth. Her trembling hands reached out for her sword that lay on the ground just before her feet. She grasped the handle and held the blade to the beast again. While concentrating into his stair she forced away any signs of pain from her face.
The blade glinted in the candlelight and reflected a dapple of bright red to her attention. The young woman looked at it in wonder and cocked her head to the side just in time to watch more of the red fall to the stone floor. She thought out of some luck she actually stuck the monster before he flung her but examined his torso to find there was neither a wound nor dripping blood. A severe pain registered. She looked down and found her shins enveloped in blood. It was her own sword that cut her.
She pulled up her skirt and stared at the wound, shocked as if she had never seen her own blood before. Ensorcelled and lachrymose she lowered one finger to touch it, evincing more agony to flow. As her eyes began to lift to the creature, leaving off at the claws of his feet, he flung her into the bookshelf behind Benson. The creature picked up her fallen sword, just one half of his hand being too large for the handle, and galumphed towards the two.
The woman rose. She plucked a few books off her body and threw them against the wall on the other side of the room. As the beast was closing in she sucked back a nervous breath and reached into the sachet on her belt for a small tin canister. As he lunged his face towards her, she opened it. A powerful green flame shot out and he dropped her sword in order to shield his eyes. That was the only trick she had up her sleeve.
He stumbled backwards over the scattered books. As the flame died out, the young woman threw the tin at the beast who continued to howl with blackened flesh on his hands and cheeks. He batted the air as if the flame was still launching towards him. She wanted to laugh but she knew how serious of a matter this was.
The beast turned to her with a smirk that stretched and peeled apart the burnt skin from his cheeks, exposing spots of raw flesh. Her face contorted and he seemed to enjoy her reaction.
The young woman’s gaze darted right to her sword which was covered by the creature’s giant foot. Her brows rose in acceptance to the fact that she was practically defeated now that he had her remaining defense under his control. Typically when she would visit Benson or the Council, she would have more protection than really necessary but unfortunately for her this was not one of those times. It must have been Lowenna’s persistent nagging that swayed her decision.
One of the few tapers behind the beast caught the young woman’s attention. It was amazing that any of them were left standing. She looked to its flame and attempted to lull herself out of her agony breath by breath.
The creature walked closer yet, sensing the woman’s defeat had come too easily for him. She sat on the ground motionless, disregarding his steps purposefully and continued her persistent gaze into the candlelight. She really looked more stubborn than helpless.
As the creature inched in towards her face a puddle of frothy mucous dropped into her lap. Once the warm wetness ran between her legs she shuddered with a queasy feeling. The young woman’s eyes grazed over his inconsistent lumps of flesh, cringing as she exhaled.
The creature paused. It was hard for him to believe what was happening. It was as if her face was able to melt away his state of uncontrollable rage surfaced through the brainless actions of his Daeva transformation. It was the first time ever he was able to see through the blindness.
Out into the air crept a pasty blue smoke. It snuck around the beast’s back and dove smoothly to the floor, catching the woman’s eye. She tilted her head to the side and sent a few stinging sweat drops over her puffy eye. She felt a relief like no other.
The creature took notice of her changed expression and looked down. The same strange blue caught his eyes as more of it wrapped in front of him. Sharply he turned his head around and beheld Benson who was lying on his side. He looked weak, but determined. He braced his hand while the strange blue smoke poured out from his palm. Clamoring in confusion, the creature raised his arms in the air. He lost himself under the blindfold again.
The smoke was quick. Just as he tried to throw his fists down, it wrapped around his forearms tightly and forced them to stop in mid-air. Brilliant sparks of light flashed and soon a symbol formed in yellow light below the creature’s feet. Benson lowered his head in concentration. His hand shook violently while trying to steady the flow of smoke as it continued to wrap over the beast’s limbs. The symbol grew to a blinding luminosity and the young woman sat petrified while locked onto the beautiful yet frightening display before her. She had heard so many stories, this was the first time she had witnessed anyone conjure the Chimera Snare. Brighter the flashes grew and flickered, casting everyone’s shadow to whip about the room.
It seemed that the strange blue smoke would squeeze the beast to the point of death. He pushed his whole massive body forward in one last effort. His exertion was so great that the veins on his neck looked as if they would burst. His weary red eyes moved to the young woman and examined her in subtle concentration as he gave up the fight against his restraints.
The young woman inched away from him with what little strength she had left. In addition to her bleeding thighs, her lip was a volcano of flowing blood that pumped out with a dense burn. With her eyes still locked to the beast she spit at his feet. The red splattered onto the ground and spread to meet his toes. It was meant it as an insult but she could have sworn that his warped smile grew.
Benson crinkled into a ball and grasped his hand tighter. The blue now wrapped over the creature’s burnt countenance and took the woman away from his eyes. His body forcefully absorbed the blue smoke and as it did his opacity faded until his shadow was cast no more.
The red halo faded as the memory trickled off of the young woman’s eyes. She whispered, “My red eyes?” and locked her hands together against her chest.
From above the creature stood, looking down despondently as the white light stole her away. It had happened again. He thought that this time would be different.
Inside of the young woman’s radiant durance she unlocked her fingers to a handful of sparkling red jewel fragments. A blossoming pain formed as he reclaimed his rightful spot in her heart. It filled her with a rush of emotions so severe it was unbearable.
Just before the light stole the sparkling red from her gaze, she spoke once more, “My red eyes…”