Ashes of Revenge

Raven twitched in her sleep a few times and suddenly jerked awake. Gasping for air, her hands roamed her body for anything that resembled fire. When she found only Colt, she sighed and relaxed.

She leaned back against the wall and rubbed her face with her numb hands. Her breathing slowed, and a headache washed over her. She remembered bits and pieces of yesterday, mainly Ash.

Raven stumbled out of bed and changed out of her sweaty clothes and into the other ones again. She made her way down to Malik and groggily took a seat at the counter, resting her elbows against the surface. Her head fell into her hands. She couldn’t stomach a drink, so she allowed Malik to sleep in his chair.

***

Colt mumbled as he twitched, groaning more. The knives in his hands slowly extended. His eyes shot open, and he sat up, bringing his hand in front of him as if stabbing or slicing something. He looked around the room as he breathed out in short pants before his knives went back into his hands. Cold sweat stuck to his skin, and the room spun around him. He had no idea if what was happening was because of a hangover or the nightmare.

He stumbled to the window and pressed his forehead to the cold glass. Closing his eyes, he imagined he was outside, and after a few seconds, the tremors shaking his body subsided. He used all his strength to resist breaking the window.

It was strange how the exact same dream every night could spark different emotions. Sometimes, he wanted to scream and cry and make the pain and memories go away. Others, he wanted to demand that Raven and Richard take him to the Shifter Kingdom so he could enact his long-awaited twisted revenge. He wanted to have everyone who hurt him at his feet, begging and crying for him to make their pain go away . . . and he would oblige.

Rather reluctantly, he pushed himself away from the window and looked around, finding that Raven was gone, and Richard was asleep against a wall. Though last night was fragmented in his mind, he knew Richard was exhausted. Deciding to allow Richard to sleep more, he walked downstairs and sat at the counter where Raven was.

Raven still had the faint glow of sweat upon her skin, and her eyes were sunken in by dark circles.

A knife extended from Colt’s finger and he, ever so gently as not to scratch it, traced over the wood, trying to remain calm.

The tip of the blade dug into the table when a terrifying shriek filled the night air.

Colt heard a calming, beautifully honeyed voice, “Come here. . . ,” a sing-songy tone echoed into his ears.” Come here, Colt. . . ,” the voice sang out again.

His head slightly tilted, his hair shifting against his forehead as an intoxicating smell entered his nose. He inhaled deeply and exhaled. The headache floated away from him, and his body followed after. He slowly got down from the stool and began to walk to the door.

Raven stared at Colt for a few seconds, trying to figure out what he was doing. Colt grabbed onto the handle, and Raven quickly left her stool, sending it tumbling to the ground. Her back collided into the door, slamming it shut.

A metallic noise rang through the room. By pure instinct alone, she lunged towards the ground, his knife only missing her by a centimeter or so; instead, getting lodged in the doorframe. Before she could begin to gain her bearings, Colt walked out into the night.

Raven breathed out deeply as her eyes widened. The unfamiliar feeling of fear began to overtake her, feasting upon her and awakening something buried amongst embers and ash. Her body shook in panic as she stood and sprinted upstairs.

“Richard!” Raven said as she burst into the room. Richard jerked awake and stood, grabbing his sword. “Colt went outside!” She sprinted out of the room, her gloves already on and sword holstered.

She ran through the pub and out the door, freezing in the street and only managing to find darkness.

Her shaking hands struck each other and ignited the sword. She stumbled back as a creature lunged for her. At the last second, it moved away from the light and back into the blackness. Her heart skipped a beat, and her breath hitched in her throat. Suddenly fear from everything was beginning to engulf her, and she didn’t know how to cope. All she wanted to do was shut down; however, she knew that that wasn’t an option.

Raven could faintly see the glowing of various Monstro eyes looking at her like they had done when they first arrived. Closing her eyes for a short second, she got her breath under control and pushed the majority of her fears to the side.

She looked around once more, trying to find Colt. When she couldn’t find him again, the small amount of fear that was left in her body grew.

A few Monstros began to move towards her.

Fear and adrenaline raced through her mind. She thought about everything she had learned about this Kingdom. All the books she had read. The creatures. What Colt had done.

It clicked: Sirens.

The flapping of wings made her neck snap up, and she saw Richard in the air for a second before he disappeared. His dark wings managed to hide his body against the night sky.

“Richard!” Raven yelled. “Tha water!” She sprinted towards the river, hoping Richard had heard her.

As she neared the water, she finally spotted him.

Colt was up to his shins in the gray water, and he was slowly walking deeper into it. Standing in front of him was a Siren.

Blue and green matt scales weakly shimmered against its black body, seemingly randomly scattered around the creatures body. Its eyes were entirely black, and its black hair was slicked back. The Siren smiled, revealing its sharp teeth before it spoke, “Come here . . .” the beautiful voice rang out.

The creature grabbed his chin. He leaned in closer, continuing his descent into the water.

Raven grabbed Colt’s shoulders and shoved him back. She sliced her sword through the Siren, and it dropped dead. Sheathing her blade, she grabbed him and began to pull him out of the water before he drowned.

A hand latched around Raven’s ankle and pulled her back. Arms wrapped around her and began to drag her underwater. She struggled against the Siren as she felt her feet leave the ground when they reached a drop-off. The Siren opened its mouth, revealing its sharp teeth once more. Her hand finally managed to grab one of her daggers, and she plunged it blindly back, striking the Siren in the stomach.

The Siren screeched, twisting and turning and thrashing in pain. Even though they were underwater, the noise pierced Raven’s ears. Despite it, she repeatedly forced the dagger into the creature until she was sure it was dead, and she was out of breath. Quickly clawing and kicking her way to the surface, her shoulder painfully reminding her that an arrow had been shot through it. She grabbed the ledge and pushed up. Her head broke the surface, and she gasped for air as she coughed up water.

Richard grabbed her, his wings quickly pulling them back. The Siren that stood where the pair had just been, opened its mouth to speak, but before it could, a throwing knife impaled its throat, and it fell back into the bloody water.

“Yeh ok?” Richard asked.

“Never felt better in my life,” Raven remarked as she turned, looking for Colt and only relaxing when she saw Richard had dragged him up on the bank. Colt was still in a daze but was at least safe.

Raven and Richard trudged through the water and back to Colt, kneeling beside him. Raven lightly slapped his face, only earning a twitch and groan. Becoming impatient, she slapped his face as hard as she could.

Colt sat up as he breathed in deeply, his knives immediately extending. Richard and Raven grabbed his wrists before he had the chance to do anything. Looking around, Colt saw he was no longer in the pub, and he was soaking wet.

“What happened?” His eyes frantically darted around to try and determine where he was.

Raven sighed in relief and leaned back. “Bloody Sirens happened.”

They released his wrists, and his right hand slowly rested upon his face, where a misshapen handprint rested against his skin.

Screeching and screaming filled the air again.

“We should go back inside?” Colt asked.

Richard and Raven nodded and stood. Both reached down a hand for Colt and helped him up.

“Yeh good?” Richard asked.

Colt faintly jumped up and down before he stared off into space. “I think so.” Raven breathed a laugh at Colt’s pure random weirdness.

They started to head back to the pub. All their weapons drawn in anticipation of something leaping out at them.

“This is kinda fun,” Raven said with a sly smile. The good feeling of adrenaline was coursing through her veins, rather than fear.

“Yeh have a weirdly disturbed mind,” Richard said as he chuckled while shaking his head. Raven only winked at his remark.

“I want to get out of this town,” Colt said.

“Oh, I agree completely, but-” Her body was jerked back and pulled into the darkness.

“Raven!” Colt screamed as he looked around for her. The only place that looked like she could have gone was a dark area between two buildings. Despite wanting to run after her, he knew better than to. “Raven!” Colt screamed once more. He wished he had his crossbow, so he didn’t have to be so close range.

“Fifteen seconds,” Richard said. He flew towards where Raven had gone. If Richard wasn’t back in fifteen seconds, then that meant that he was in trouble too.

Five. . . . Six. . . . Seven. . . . Colt counted in his head. Noises could be heard in the darkness. He bounced on his feet. Eleven. . . . Twelve. . . . Thirteen. . . . Fourt- Richard came flying directly towards him.

At the last second, Richard’s wings pressed against his back, and he managed to roll while in the air, barreling past Colt. He flipped around and landed on his feet.

Colt’s eyes narrowed when he saw something slowly coming out of the darkness. A white bone-like leg stepped forward. Raven’s kicking legs came into the light, and Colt’s lips slowly parted at what he saw. Raven was suspended in the air; the creature’s white, boney hands were grasping her neck. Her hands were tightly holding its arm, trying to relieve the pressure; despite her efforts, her face was slowly turning red, and her breathing became more strained.

The creature had four arms coming out of its sides, and six skinny legs were supporting it. The creature’s multiple eyes were red, and its mouth split apart into four different sections, creating a flower-like shape that contained fangs within it.

Raven moved her hand, and a small throwing dagger slid into her fingers. Both Richard and Colt saw it, readied themselves, and nodded to her. Before the creature could do anything else, she plunged the knife into its face. Its hand released her throat; as she fell, the blade tore through the Monstro, slicing it until her feet hit the ground.

The Monstro began to flail its arms and legs around wildly, and Raven barely managed to avoid them as she stumbled back.

Richard grabbed her and pulled her away. The lack of breath finally caught up to her, and she began to gasp for air as her free hand latched onto her reddened throat.

The creature stumbled forward, still flailing and screaming. Colt stepped towards it, ducked under one of the arms, and avoided another effortlessly with more speed than the Monstro could keep up with.

Colt jumped into the air and swung his hand, slicing the Monstro’s throat open. The creature fell to its knees. He took the opportunity to slam his hand into its mouth. The strike was so hard that his blade came out the back of the creature’s head. It finally slumped over, dead.

Colt stepped back as he breathed out; however, his relief was short-lived when he saw more of the same creatures coming out of the darkness.

Richard, Colt, and Raven all readied their weapons and prepared for a fight. Raven’s sword came ablaze once more. More knives slid out of Colt’s wrists. Richard’s wings expanded as he readied his sword.

A black mist appeared on the ground next to the creatures, and when it disappeared, Ash stood there. The creatures began to back up, but he brushed his hand against a few of them before they could escape. A few managed to get away while the others began to scratch and claw where he had touched them.

The small group all stared at him in confusion as he calmly walked to them. Colt noticed the black liquid coating his hand once more. He looked to the Monstros, who were still clawing at their flesh, a small patch of the liquid against them.

Ash snapped his fingers, and the liquid began to move. The creatures continued to scratch where the liquid was, nearly impaling themselves. The blackness climbed up them and entered into their mouths.

Within a few seconds, they were all dead.

“Follow me,” Ash said. He began to walk back to the pub, as the three stood there for a second before they followed.

Richard wanted so badly to ask who Ash was. He had seen him both times Raven and Colt had gotten drunk, but they had never been introduced. However, right now, he was only concerned with getting Raven and Colt back to safety.

“What was that?” Raven asked Ash.

“What was what?” he questioned back.

“Tha black liquid. It movin’. Monstros dyin’.” Raven was finding it hard to form a coherent sentence or thought. She turned her head back to look at the creatures and saw that their eyes were watching her.

“That was my Necromancer power of death. Call it what yeh want: Black Death, Black Liquid. I don’t care.” His voice was calm, matter-of-factly.

Raven looked at Ash for a second before she turned to face Colt and Richard, now walking backward.

“We need to make sure tha men are ok.”

“I’ll make sure they are ok, yeh need to get back inside,” Ash said.

“How do we know yer not gonna kill them?” Richard asked, his voice stern and gruff.

“Because if I wanted yeh or any of yer men dead, then they would be dead.”

“Why don’t yeh want us dead?”

Ash finally turned around and faced Richard. “I don’t like killin’ for no reason. Just don’t try an’ kill me an’ we won’t have a problem.” Ash turned back and continued to walk to the pub.

“Yeh know where tha men are?” Raven asked as she held the door open.

“Yeah, I can sense ’em,” Ash said.

Raven paused for a second before she closed the door, finding that Malik was still asleep in his chair.

They sat at the table in their room. Raven pulled out the map, tracing random parts of it. Colt ran his fingers through his wet hair, and Richard stood stock still.

“Ok, we need to discuss what to do about tha Morte Mountains. We can either go around, which will take twice as long, or we can go through, which is twice as dangerous,” Raven said, circling the Mountain range.

“Scenario,” Richard said, “we go around.” He knew it helped them to talk through things.

“Our supplies probably won’t last a long time,” Colt remarked. “Maybe four days.”

“What about if we double ’em?” Raven asked as she ran her fingers through her hair.

“There’s only so much that we can take with us. We are limited to tha bags on tha horses and what tha men can carry.”

“Huntin’ is out of the question,” Raven said. “The Monstros would have scared off any livestock around tha Mountains. When Royal families go around, they have a cart for food. We don’t even have that luxury.”

“What are our chances of comin’ out of tha Mountains unharmed?” Colt asked. His knife began to trace over his lips.

“I don’t know. I’ve never traveled through tha Mountains before. I’ve heard it takes around two to four days to get through, but that’s if we get through.”

“If we go through, it is doable, but without a guide or proper map, we could get easily lost,” Richard finally spoke. “Goin’ around is almost as much of a risk, though, because we will be outside at night.”

They all sat in silence.

Richard’s wings twitched from stress as he stared at the map. Colt’s knife pressed harder against his lips. Raven rolled her shoulders and breathed out in pain when the arrow wound pulsed. She pulled down her shirt and saw that the now expanding wound was bleeding again, completely coating the shirt fragment.

She cursed under her breath and stood, roaming through her bag.

Richard’s eyes left the map, and he looked up at her. Flint and steel were firmly grasped in her hand. Colt followed Richard’s gaze.

“What are yeh doin?” Richard asked.

“My bloody shoulder is bleedin’.”

“So yer goin’ to-”

“Cauterize it?” Raven finished. “Yeah, it’s better than dealin’ with it.”

Richard paused, understanding why Raven was doing it, but he hated that she would do it. “Yeh sure?” he asked.

Raven froze where she was for a second. Her mouth opened and closed a few times before her eyes looked down. “Yeah . . . I’m sure. . . .” She finally said in a soft voice that seldom came from her. It caught both Richard and Colt off guard.

“Raven, yeh don’t have to-”

“I’m just tired of this bloody thing gettin’ in my way,” Raven cut off Richard. “Tha Siren nearly managed to take me out because of it an’ now tha wound has opened again.” She sighed as she went back to preparing to cauterize her flesh.

Transfering a few things into her left hand, her numb fingers didn’t grab the items, causing the flint and steel to hit the floor with a clang. Raven screamed a curse at her hand’s lack of feeling. She began to pace, attempting to calm down.

Colt walked over to Raven, who was becoming more flustered by the second. He picked up the items before he grabbed her arm, freezing her instantly. He motioned with his head for Raven to follow him back to the table, and she did, sitting back down. Colt handed Richard the two objects. Getting out a small bottle from her bag, he placed his finger over the opening and turned it upside down. Placing the bottle onto the table, he rubbed his coated finger over his knife.

Colt held out his blade, and Richard looked up at him. The Shifter was looking at the wall with a dead set face, but he nodded.

“Yeh don’t have to,” Raven guiltily said.

“It’s ok,” Colt reassured, “I want to.” He gave her a faint smile that she didn’t return.

Richard hesitantly struck the flint and steel together a couple of times before the steel ignited. Colt waited a few seconds in slight pain before he extinguished the fire, leaving behind burning metal. He knew it wouldn’t melt or even bend - Shifter metal was too durable for that. But, he could feel the heat trying to singe his skin.

He pulled down the side of her shirt.

Raven stared at the map, not even blinking as she waited.

Colt pressed the knife onto the wound, and the unique sound of sizzling flesh resonated throughout the room. Raven bit down on her lip, and her un-numb hand clenched into a fist. Colt removed his knife and placed it on the back of the wound. After a second or so, he removed it.

Raven’s hand immediately flew to her shoulder, rubbing her thumb against the melted skin.

Colt’s knife retracted, and he softly shook his hand to try and rid the heat from his skin.

Raven’s hand rubbed against her nose again. “Thank yeh,” she said.

Colt nodded as his response.

In an attempt to forget the pain, they looked back at the map.

Richard read both their expressions and knew what needed to be said to help them: “Around or through?”

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