The Legacy

Kain adjusted her hood over her face, a smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. She enjoyed the hunt as much as she enjoyed eating. Especially if it was a chase. The low rustle of leaves and grass told her that her target wasn’t that good at getting away. Her smile tugged higher onto her cheek, and she slid from the tree branch. Her feet landed soundlessly on the soft tuffs of grass. She turned towards the rustling sounds about to pursue after it when she heard someone scream. It was a woman screaming, and by the sound of her voice, she was in pure terror. It was a deafening and chilling sound. Even for her.

Kain cursed silently as she began to take off into the other direction. She ran towards the screams of the woman and away from her intended target. It meant that her original target was getting away of course. Abbadon won’t be happy with her. Kain whipped her head slightly to the left as the screams sounded again. She re-adjusted her direction and ran as fast as she could. Kain knew the difference between screams of terror and screams of someone who had just seen a fae, and who-ever this woman was, had a mixture of both edged into her screams. This woman had a fae at her side, and by the sound of the screams slightly getting higher Kain could tell that it wasn’t going to leave her alive.

Kain jumped over a hedge and found herself running into an empty street. She looked around, trying to see where the woman might be or perhaps catch any sign of fae presence but all she saw was darkness and a faintly lighted river of tar. The dull streetlights didn’t help with illuminating the space around her. All it did was cast extra shadows into the already spooky darkened streets. She clenched her teeth together, grinding them harshly on to each other, just the thought of losing yet another fae she has been hunting sends shivers down her back. She never failed at catching and- disposing- fae. Never. It is why she was the best. She was expected to be the best. The best doesn’t let one let alone two fae escape. Abbadon will not be pleased at all.

She ran around for a bit. The screaming had stopped, leaving the night to its eerie silence. Just as she was about to give up and turn towards a new direction, something prickled her ears. She stopped and listened once more, closing her eyes to help her concentrate better. She had to force her breaths to slow down and her heart to stop pounding from all the excitement. It took her a moment pause when a faint gurgling sound drew her attention towards the bushes on the other side of the street, she was facing. Swiftly, Kain made her way toward it and rounded the bush. There in the middle of the second lane, she could make out two figures. The one was long and still, as it lay on the ground. A large pool of pale material flooding around the figure. It was the screaming woman. Kain didn’t have to be the best to know that. The other figure was slightly deformed and hunched over the first figure. Kain drew her long silver dagger from her belt and held it poised, ready to attack. The woman was gone, Kain knew that the moment she saw the body lying in the street. She had been too late. Too slow. It was yet another thing Abbadon would hold against her. Kain clenched her dagger harder, she still had a chance to end the attacker. She silently stepped closer and brought the long dagger up. Just as she was about to bring it down hard, the hunching fae swung around and snarled at her. For a moment Kain was caught by surprise. The thing’s mouth was covered with pearly pink liquid dripping from its pitch-black teeth. It was fae. Kain knew that. What threw her was its appearance. She had hunted a lot of fae in her life, but none looked like the thing standing in front of her. This fae has blood red eyes and rotting green skin. It is the ugliest thing she had ever seen, and just by looking at it, she knew it is pure evil.

It went for her with its mouth splitting wide enough to rip her apart in the same way he did to his previous victim. She was faster than it was. She drove her dagger into its head and twisted, black blood seeped over her skin with a sewage like stench to it. It fought for a split second before falling limp. Her eyes where still focused on his face, a frown creasing over her forehead. Soft gurgling sounds came from beside her, forcing her gaze from the dead fae toward the woman. Kain thought she was dead. She should have been given all the blood and the large gaping wound. For the briefest moment Kain looked back down at the fae she had just killed. The one she had been chasing before didn’t look at all like this one. This one was just wrong on so many levels. Not that there was anything right about fae. It’s just that this one left her with an uneasy feeling in her gut. She couldn’t pin pint at that moment what it was that bothered her.

Kain went down to one knee, looking down at the pale woman. To Kain’s surprise, the woman turned out to be a young girl about her age. The other thing that surprised her was that the ‘woman’ wasn’t human. She was fae. Kain looked back at the fae she had just killed. The pearly pink blood still glistened against the skin of his mouth. It was feeding on her. a fae was feeding on a fae. Pressing her fingers to the young fae’s throat, she had to keep herself from jumping back when the fae’s eyes suddenly flew open. She wasn’t dead, but she was fading fast. Kain moved her eyes over the fae’s body, inspecting it for any wounds other wounds before her eyes focused on the fae’s abdomen. There was a large, gaping hole over the space where her stomach used to be. Her intestines visible and punctured. Shimmering pink blood seeped down from the wound, mixed by some thick black substance. The fae’s clothing was shredded but what caught Kain’s attention was the material. The fine satin like material was the kind of material only fae wore. Kain whipped her gaze back to the girl’s face. Why was she here? Why was she attacked by another fae? The girl was staring at her with bright blue eyes, ringed by a tick metallic pink line. Staring back into those eyes, Kain caught herself feeling guilty for not getting to her in time.

She shook herself mentally. She was a hunter. A fae hunter. She didn’t feel sorry for them or care if they died. Good riddance! Two less fae in this world tonight! Kain frowned down at the fae, urging herself to feel hatred for the young girl. But her eyes. Her eyes held Kain’s. There was something about the way she was looking at Kain that made her want to help the young fae. Make her want to protect her.

There was a thin line of metallic pink liquid trickling down from the corner of the young fae’s gaping mouth. She was trying to say something, but the liquid blocked her words from coming out. Kain’s lowered her head down towards the young fae’s mouth. Kain couldn’t make out much of what the girl tried to say above the gurgling words, but she did catch a whisper of one word. A word the girl kept repeating with desperate urgency. Kain lowered her head a little more to hear better but the young fae fell into a stillness and exhaled her last breath.

Kain lifted her head back up, looking down at the young fae’s face. She looked into her ever-gazing eyes. A heavy feeling started to bloom in her stomach. She was feeling sorry for the young fae. Kain shook herself mentally. If there was one thing, they were trained to do it was to not have feelings. Especially not for fae. Because fae were savage monsters who hunted and killed humans. There is no such thing as a good fae. Kain looked down at the lifeless young fae. What did this all mean? She wondered. A fae killed by another fae! “Zorzia” Kain whispered into the darkness of the night as she carried the fae into the woods.