Skye's Arrival

“Heathe,” I breathe, giving him a sharp greeting. Do not show emotion. It’s how he gains his power.

“I see that Glendal wasn’t exaggerating. You are alive. I thought for sure you would have been executed.” He looks me over again, as if I’m a phantom.

I resist the urge to grimace at his use of the Celestial King’s formal name. This also confirms what Alona implied. They announced my true punishment. Well that’s just great. “Considering the circumstances, this was their alternative.” I slowly start reaching for my bow, careful not to drag attention to my movements.

“I wasn’t sure it was you, until I felt her.” He licks his lips, appearing not to have heard me. “She’s strong. Something unusual indeed.”

“Heathe,” I warn as he takes a step closer.

“So dark. So beautiful. So pure and ready for a master.” He says, still looking through me, as if trying to draw Dawn to the surface.

“Heathe, back away,” I order as he takes another step towards me.

“Can I see her?” He asks, taking another step.

I can feel my darker nature stir. It doesn’t like him, and it doesn’t want to surface. Dawn knows as well as I do. Whichever nature they mark, they control. She may thirst for blood, but my recent battle has made us agree that there are things darker than what we want to be involved in.

It looks like I’m going to have to talk to Nate to find out what exactly the Mystical Advisor has gotten himself involved in. Then again, I have a feeling since I’m staring at what appears to be one of his minions.

“Heathe, why are you here?” I ask while he licks his lips.

“I can hear your heart. It would be so easy to kill you and steal her for myself. Master won’t like that though. To get rid of a Celestial Soldier, and to feed off its energy…” He trails off, his eyes growing unfocused.

I shudder. He’s always been deranged. “Heathe, who is your master? What is his purpose?”

His eyes snap to focus on my face. There is a dark grin as fangs descend from his lips, signaling his hunt. That’s not good. “To bring us here.”

I feel Dawn shift in my skin. She wants to fight; and loves it. However, we both know we’re dead if he gets me into that second nature. The bad news with me being the one forced to fight, is that Dawn is the stronger half. I’m more agile, but my strength is below even the lowest demon. Her strength exceeds it.

“Who is?” I ask, voice strong as I finally grab my bow. I slide the string in place. I grab my arrow and place it in the bow the second he starts to laugh.

“He misses you; you know. Maybe there is a way I can save your sweet soul.” Venom starts dripping from his fangs. “Dawn is a little too much for him.”

If he was trying to offend my other half, she didn’t like him either. “Who is your master?” I demand.

“I can introduce you to him.” Heathe offers.

“How about you tell me his name first?” I ask.

“You know who it is.”

I shake my head, refusing that. “No, it can’t be.”

“Yes, it is. He wants you and Dawn on his side. He would have come for you sooner, but he didn’t know you were still alive. I mean, you did kill your master after all. That act usually is punished with death.” He looks me over. “It looks like they just slapped your wrist. This body…”

Heathe shakes his head, trying to control his thoughts. “However, since you seem so unwilling to accept this, I’ll give you his name-“

“Or I simply can introduce myself.” A deep voice cuts in.

Heathe stiffens when a woman appears behind him, standing in front of a looming figure. I look at the woman with a glare. Her maroon hair is twisted into a braid that hangs over her slender pale shoulder. Emerald eyes hold a smirk as she looks me over. Without even hesitation, I switch my bow over to her, making Heathe widen his eyes and take a step back.

“Esmeralda,” I greet darkly. Dawn is fighting to stay unsurfaced; she wants her blood almost as much as I do.

“I forgot you two know each other,” the deep voice chuckles, fully appearing before us. His face is achingly beautiful. Black hair pairs with grey eyes, giving his sharp face an alluring edge, though I know if I were to be near him it would mean death. This is the exact meaning of a lethal demon. His face brings prey, and they willingly give themselves to him. You’re dead the moment you see him.

“Koan, allow me to take care of her,” Esmeralda says while she takes a step in front of him to shield him.

Koan ignores her. “Skye, it’s wonderful to see you again.”

“Nice to see you alive.” I nearly spit at him with deep sarcasm in my tone.

He chuckles, making my insides quake. I hate that. “I admit, it did take a moment to return to a body. However, there is always a moron that wants to take more than they need. Take Esmeralda, for example, she’ll never accept she’s nothing to me.”

She flinches but doesn’t look at him. “She’s beneath you, Master.”

“And you’re beneath her,” Koan barks, making her wince. Despite his verbal abuse, she’s still refusing to move away from him. He smiles at me. “Besides, a fight is not necessary. Skye, if you’ll please follow me. I’ll get you some clothes more suitable to your beauty.”

“I’m not coming with you,” I say, still tensing for a fight. I think of my weapons and locations. I have several knives strapped to my legs, and one tucked under my shirt. There are more, but I need something in easy reaching distance. They’re fast, but I’m faster. However, I need something sharp since I lack their strength.

I also go over their weak points, trying to remember which spots will impact the most damage. Dawn is trying to picture key points as well. She knows I won’t win with strength. I wish she could fight Esmeralda. Not because I can’t, but because it would be enjoyable to watch.

Koan’s perfect face falls for a second before recovering. “Dear, you’re already leaving this town in rubble. Let’s not make it worse.” He takes a step towards me. “Come, I’d like to get you dressed appropriately. Your status is too high for those garments.”

“That’s your opinion.” I state, trying to calculate a way of escape. “How about you start talking fast? What is your objective? I already know who you duped.” Stalling, I look around. The town is evacuated at this point. When demons are at play, you do not want to be near them.

He sighs. “Heathe, Esmeralda, please retrieve Skye for me.”

“What about Dawn?” Heathe demands.

“I’ll handle that. For now, Skye needs to reside as the ruling being. If Dawn does surface, I’ll handle it.” He looks me over, seeing I’m prepared to fight to the death on this one. I’ll always fight to the death, and he knows this.

Esmeralda grins. “This should be fun.”

My only key to noticing her attack is the slight tensing of her shoulders. I wait a few seconds before releasing my arrow, letting my breath go with it. I grab another arrow while I see my arrow plummet into Esmeralda’s heart and step to the side in a spin, pulling my back to Esmeralda; knowing Heathe is going to be going for my torso while I’m occupied by her. I stab my arrow down in calculated movements, my arrow penetrating his skull.

“Morte,” I breathe, hearing a chorus of screaming as my arms run deep with green runed markings. I look at my hand, still gripping the arrow, catching a slight second of Heathe’s disappearing body. In the corner of my eye, I can see Esmeralda’s has vanished too.

Still gripping my arrow, I turn to face him next, but freeze in mid step. His warm breath on my neck send shivers through me, while the points of his fangs causes my breath to catch. It is then that I notice his strong arms wrapping around my waist like it’s a loving embrace. Dread fills me when he presses my back into him. I’m dead.