3. The Shrouded Village #3
The obsidian form had passed right over her, then halted its pursuit in the sand at the edge of Lunara’s Spring. Its ears were crescented in shape, tapering from black wisps to rigid silver at the ends. They twitched, listening.
Extending from its spine was a serpentine tail, covered in jagged spikes that glinted like silver. The bladed whip lashed just above Flora’s head, and she inhaled a panicked gasp.
The swishing tail paused, and the thing looked back toward her.
The creature’s head was distinctly feline, with wide, pupil-less eyes that were as intense as they were hollow. Its fur was like midnight velvet, so black it seemed to swallow the light, and its legs were sheathed in scales of onyx that trailed down to taloned paws.
With the force of a bear and the stealth of an owl, the nightmare prowled closer.
Flora remained still as the darkness approached. She stretched her arm, but the edge of the sand was all she could reach. Tarnished silver talons dragged dangerously close to her hand, so she jerked her arm in toward her chest.
At the movement, the creature paused, a glint of sharp teeth flashing behind curled lips as its tail flicked. She looked up, and hollow eyes looked back down.
It had heard her.
An unnatural snarl resonated from its throat, drool dripping down to Flora’s cheek. She swallowed her cries as its maw unhinged, exposing a sea of serrated teeth. Hot, rotten breath swirled across Flora’s face. She held her own breath, but still, there was no muffling the pounding in her chest.
Too terrified to scream, too helpless to run, she watched as the monster sniffed the air, its face now only centimeters from hers. Its dim white eyes stared blindly through her.
Blindly.
As stealthily as she could, Flora lobbed the white stone from Aonia into the spring. Barely audible was the plop of the pretty stone as it struck the water.
But even against the sound of the cascading waterfall, the creature heard it. Curious, it straightened, snapping its head toward the plunk. With perked, twitching ears, it tracked and sniffed the air.
Flora crawled slowly, dragging herself toward the waterline on her elbows and knees.
The world blurred as her tears fell silently, and she begged herself not to breathe.
She had only made it to the edge of the sand when the creature began to screech and snarl behind her back.
She was still just a talon’s swipe away, and the water was still out of reach.
A sharp, deafening wail split the air, and Flora hazarded a glance over her shoulder.
The creature had stooped low, as if to pounce, but something had left its eyes widened with pain. From its neck, a violet fluid was seeping into the grass and sand below. It stumbled, heaving and spitting angrily as a familiar figure crouched around the twisted, barren tree behind.
Flora whimpered, no longer able to muffle her terror, and the monster’s lip seemed to curl into a trembling grin at the sound. It steadied itself, stepping toward her as she scrambled back.
Noec lurched from the shadows, armed with a violet-stained weapon. With both hands, he drove it down, deep into the monster’s skull. Dazed, Flora watched as the beast let out one final, sickening whimper and fell limp.
She retracted her feet as its body rolled with a heavy thud. Its mouth snapped one last time, its empty eyes staring angrily into nothing.
Noec stepped back, coldly watching the creature’s head slump to the ground.
Noec’s ashen face fixed down to the hollow blackness on the ground, and his eyes were shadowed with something far too heavy for a child.
He knelt to the grass and went to wipe off his blade, a dagger that looked more like a sword in a young boy’s hand.
As an ember of evening sun flashed across the hilt’s engraving, Noec paused.
Geno.
Noec stared at the word as though it had caught him by surprise.
“Noec?” Flora croaked.
He looked up sharply like he’d forgotten she was there. When Noec met her startled eyes, his cold expression softened, and he returned the knife to his leather bag.
“Are you okay, Flora?” he asked, helping her to her feet. “Florabelle. Sorry. Is it okay if I call you Flora?”
Flora blinked, still stunned. Her jaw hung slightly open. “I’m fine,” she replied, though her voice was shaky. “I… I don’t care what you call me. Are you okay?”
Noec scrubbed at his hands, smearing the violet blood across his skin as if he just couldn’t get it off.
“Noec?”
He swallowed, his voice barely above a whisper when he replied, “I’m fine. We just... “ He closed his hand. “... we need to get you home.”
Flora’s heart still shook her chest, beating erratically as she struggled to breathe. She tried to calm herself, but it felt impossible. Violet oozed from the shell of the creature, seeping into the roots below. The body began to crumble, crackling like wood in a fire.
“Everything’s okay now... you’re safe..." Noec’s distant words reassured Flora as he guided her to the edge of the spring, “I’ve got you.”