13 - Rico
I couldn't see a single thing. It was like someone had shoved a thick grey cloth around my head, constraining my vision. It felt as if I was fumbling through an endless void of darkness, trapped with nothing but my thoughts. Their screams echoed in my head like trumpets, making my ears ring and my head spin.
Painful shrieks pierced me as I ran forward blindly, the light from the fire Grey had started masking over the smoke, making it look almost demonic and evil, like a foreboding enemy ready to rip your throat out at a moment's notice. It sort of reminded me of my childhood days, stumbling through life blindly without a care in the world. It would seem as if nothing would ever go wrong, sort of like a fairytale. You were the hero that was destined for greatness and nothing would stop you from reaching your goal, not even death itself.
But this… Was no fairytale. As I stumbled through the darkness I could almost feel death waiting for me drooling with glee, it's fangs ready to snare me in an instant. My throat was dry as sandpaper and my eyes were full of tears as I lumbered aimlessly through the dim smoke, it felt like I was trying to make my way towards a target I could never reach, it was pointless. I began to give up and slow down, my run turning to a brisk jog to eventually stopping completely and kneeling down on the sooty brick.
As my knees touched the ground my pant leg was instantly soaked by a liquid I had knelt down on. I dipped one of my feathers in the strange liquid and licked it, my tongue sifting around the shaft, picking up a few drops from it's damp, soft tufts of fuzz. As the liquid hit my taste buds the overpowering taste of iron instantly punched me in the face, it's flavour lingering in my mouth, seeping into the cuts on the inside of my beak, making my face burn with pain.
Blood, if there's a pool of the stuff here that's this large then that means whoever it's from couldn't have gone far.
I crawled across the floor, keeping my finger dipped in the blood as I went, every movement would lead me to my target, I just needed to find whoever this was fast before the build came down. As I continued down the trail of blood, I began to see a light in the distance, it was as if it was beckoning me to come towards it's soft yellow glow.
My crawl broke into an all out sprint as I ran as fast as I could towards the exit. Even though every step felt like a thousand needles were being jabbed into my knees and feet, I kept towards my goal. It was things like these that kept me going, the sheer excitement of death always excited me, but not in the way you think. I craved the feeling of adrenaline coursing through my body as I would be an inch away from death. The buzz of joy was like an extra boost of energy that would push me closer and closer towards my goal.
The exit was so close now, less than fifteen feet. With the last of my energy I burst out of the building, falling down onto the surprisingly wet and grungy pavement. I tried to stand but it seemed like I had over exerted myself a little too much. My eyes closed as my head hit the pavement, dreams taking control of me as I shifted into the gloomy twilight of my worst nightmares.
"Rico?"
It was George. We were back outside of my house, the wet grass making my clothes damp as I knelt on the ground, scared of what was to come. George had an expression of pure hatred on his face as he walked towards me, his hands were clenched into a ball and the veins were popping out around his knuckles, making them look almost goulish.
I watched as he raised his hand, and a mystical energy began to float around him, it almost looked as if it were dancing to the beat of an unhearable song, it's flashing bursts of light almost hypnotic. As he approached my feeble body, his features began to melt away, his face dripping like a piece of pottery that had been overheated, it's beautiful artwork slowly fading away in tiny drips, stripping it of its life and purpose.
As the light began to fully envelop him, he started to grow larger, almost to the size of a full grown man… A human man. As the shimmering glow of colours began to dissipate, a massive beard began to fold out from his face, each black hair was especially groomed, giving off an incredibly brilliant shine. As the aura completely disappeared, it did seem that the man was human. His dark crimson suit gave off an alarming feel of authority and his perfectly shined jet black shoes were so clean they almost seemed fake. In his hands rested a dark cane, it's head topped off with the silver skull of a menacing lion.
"Good day little Rico, I'm afraid that you've seen too much. The boss politely asks for you to be eliminated, my condolences."
I screamed and made a break for it, dashing out into the streets, crying desperately for help with the strange man in hot pursuit. As I ran, I almost felt as if I was slowing down, like some invisible force was holding me back, preventing me from gaining speed. I turned to see the man behind me, quickly gaining speed. His eyes were glowing with deep blue energy and as he moved, there seemed to be doubles of him that would trail behind him.
"I wouldn't try to run if I were you, it'll only make your demise more painful." The strange figure was behind me now, his thick hand clasping the edge of my shirt, preventing me from moving forward.
I tried to squirm out of his hold, but his grip was as firm as iron, I couldn't have made it out even if I tried. As I sat there helplessly, I remembered my father's words:
Son, your morte could be very dangerous if others were to get their hands on it, I want you to never use it, if someone were to see you use it could ruin everything.
This was the first time I had ever disobeyed my father, it almost seemed foreign and alien as I concentrated on the man's body behind me, my hands vibrating as I used my morte to take out his metal cuff links and ram them into his chest, making him reel back in pain and surprise. I immediately reacted and struggled out of his grasp, running into the closest back alley I could find, weaving my way through the twisting halls, trying to shake him off. I don't remember much about the rest of what happened, all I can remember is stopping in Matt's shoppe, completely out of breath, and passing out. Letting him embrace me as I hit the floor.
Light pierced through my eyelids, making me shoot awake in a cold sweat. As my eyes adjusted to the brightness, I realized I was lying in a completely white bed. A glass vase filled with flowers sat on the wooden dresser next to me, their petals being the only splash of colour in the barren room. As I turned to my right, I saw that Alice was by my side, she had braided her hair and was wearing a fluffy pink dress, a ribbon neatly tied around her waist.
"You're finally awake I see!" She beamed, her hair giving off an almost angelic glow.
I scratched the top of my feathered head, "Ugh." I groaned, still groggy, "How long was I out?"
"Oh not long." She played with her wings, twirling one of her feathers around her fingers, "Just around five hours or so."
"And how long have you been sitting here next to me?"
Her face got redder than a tomato, "About five hours or so."
We shared a few nervous chuckles and then Alice got up from her stool and started for the door, her wings anxiously flapping behind her.
"I'm just going to let the others know you're alright, I'll be back 'k?"
"Okay, but before you leave Alice, I was just wondering where the hell I am. Care to explain?"
"Why don't you come with me and I'll show you around, that is if you can stand, I tried my best with my healing magic."
I swung my legs off the end of my bed, and put as little weight on them as I could, testing to see if it was alright for me to walk.
"Yeah, I-I think so." I responded, still confused about what was going on.
"Here." Alice slid over to me and put her arm around me, "Let me help you with that, just put your weight on me."
I leaned on her as we went out the door, trying not to crush her frail frame with my body. As we made our way through we entered a particularly large living room. The room was just your average room, two orange sofas sat adjacent to each other on the sides of the place, a wooden coffee table sat in between them, two hot drinks rested on it's firm top, filling the room with the smell of cocoa and coffee. Ray and Corra were both sitting on the couch to the left, chatting to one another, while Jack and Julian sat on the one to the right bickering with each other like children.
As soon as Julian saw me, he stood up to greet me, "There he is! How are 'ya kid?"
"I'm fine." I grumbled, "And don't call me kid, lacertia. And since when did Ray get here?"
Ray turned to me, "Are you kidding? I knew exactly where you guys were going to go. You can actually thank me for saving your ass. So you're welcome."
"What do you mean-"
Corra immediately spoke, "Ray was just on his way to Jack's when he found us lying on the ground outside his shoppe. If it weren't for him gods know what would have happened to us." I hadn't noticed before, but Corra was pretty banged up, she had bandages wrapped around her side, and she was clutching her ribs in agony, what you get for almost dying twice in two days I guess.
Alice helped me over to the couch on the right and we both crammed in next to Ray, making him get up and sulk over to the other sofa, "So what happened to Grey?" I asked, "I mean, he was there wasn't he?"
"I took care of him." Corra said smugly, admiring her single blade, "I had to lose one of my knives in the process, though."
"I told you." Ray chimed, "We'll pick up another one for you when we reach Zleigh."
"So where exactly are we?"
"I just sort of walked into some old lady's house and she let us use it for the night, so I guess we're crashing here." Ray said, he seemed surprisingly unenthusiastic about the whole bit, considering he basically just got free shelter for a day.
An old avenium shuffled into the room, a tray with five mugs of hot cocoa in her feathered hands. As she slowly creeped across the ground, her pure white dress swished along the ground, almost acting as a broom.
"Would you dears care for some hot cocoa? I made it just now!"
"Ms. Finch," Corra added, "You just made us some hot cocoa five minutes ago, you don't need to spoil us so."
"I did?"
Alice leaned over to me and whispered in my ear, "She's got a little bit of a memory problem, if you couldn't tell."
"Yeah, kinda picked up on that thanks."
As the others talked, I noticed a small baby blue cat walk up to me and rub against my ankles, an orange bow tied around its neck acting as a collar.
"Who's this little sweetie?" I asked, scratching its chin.
"Oh, that's Aria." Jack said, a newly lit cigar was already in his mouth, "Alice rescued her from my store so I just kind of let her keep the thing."
Alice picked up the cat and cradled it like a baby, rubbing its belly uncontrollably. Surprisingly, Aria didn't seem to mind, "She's such a sweet little baby! She's kind of like a smaller, cuter and less stinky Ray!"
Ray immediately stood up, clenching his fists, "You dare compare me to… to… that thing?"
"I mean… Yeah." Alice responded awkwardly.
Ray shot her a murderous look, "Why you little-"
"So Julian!" I yelled, grabbing everyone's attention and stopping them from killing each other, "You don't look so hot, you hurt?"
"It's nothing, just a flesh wound." Julain lifted up his shirt to reveal a massive burn across his chest, it looked as if his leathery skin had been charred in the center.
Corra immediately stood up, "Julain, that's more than a flesh wound. We need to get you taken care of right now."
"I'm telling you, I'm fine."
Corra turned to Alice, "You know what to do."
As Alice stood up, placing Aria on the floor, I heard her mumble, "Where have I seen this before?"
It was almost entertaining as I watched Corra restrain Julian while Alice placed her hand to his chest, and cast her healing spell, making the burn disappear in a green flash. As soon as they were finished, Julian threw himself back onto the couch, seething with anger.
Alice slumped back down on the sofa, exhausted, "I think that's all for me guys. I can't handle any more magic for the rest of the night, I'm pooped."
"Good," Corra clapped her on the back. Maybe I was just being paranoid, but it seemed like Alice was the only one she was actually somewhat friendly to, "You deserve it, do you want to go crash and get some rest?"
"That does sound good, but I was kind of hoping I could stay up and talk some more." As she spoke, a yawn escaped her mouth, sealing her fate.
Corra immediately stood up and pushed her down the hallway to where the guest rooms were, shoving her inside and slamming the door shut. Surprisingly, Alice didn't say a single word about it which was surprising.
"So how come Grey was there in the first place?" Corra asked, "I mean, didn't that tavern we fought him in last completely collapse on top of everyone?"
"That's a good question." Jack thought out loud, "Magic would be my guess, or a teleportation capsule. But I doubt that last one, they're far too hard to come by, I only had one in my entire stock until… well…"
"Don't worry," Ray rasped, his muddy boots were were lounging on the nice wooden coffee table, talk about respecting the host, "After Zleigh, you won't need to work anymore."
"Are you offering me a job? I mean, you all are so young and then I'm..."
"Just because you're in your forties doesn't mean you can't be a useful addition to our team." Corra chimed.
"Precisely." Julian continued, "When you used what I'm assuming is your morte that helped us escape what would have probably been our demise. Perhaps you could be backup that Cornelius could send in case things got sour?"
"I like the sound of that." Ray confirmed, "You're hired, that is if Cornelius okay's it."
"Alright, I don't know who this Cornelius fellow is, but it sounds like an interesting challenge nonetheless. I accept your offer."
"So how about those magic items we were supposed to pick up? There's no chance of us getting them now." Corra added.
"Well, I guess I could see about getting some direct items from my supplier, or we could pick some up in Zleigh."
"That's true," Ray said, "I never considered we'd find any magic item sellers in Zleigh, considering how heavily populated by both civilians and guards the city is. Cornelius said he had connections there so we'll have to confront him about it."
The rest of the night was the usual, consisting of drinking, talking about our plans for Zleigh, and more drinking. It would have been a lot more enjoyable if Alice was there with us, but I had fun nonetheless. Around midnight I decided it was time for me to hit the sack. Getting up from the now beer stained couch, I groggily made my way down the hall directly in front of me. As I approached the door room I had been assigned to, something caught my attention. There was a strange sound coming from the other side of the door, it sounded as if someone was humming intently.
Instinctively, I ran to the closest guest room to seek help but as I opened the door I instantly regretted it, a wave of nausea washing over me as I realized I was now inside Alices's room. Thankfully however, she was asleep, her wings covering her like a blanket as she laid on the bed, dreaming peacefully. Trying not to be heard, I tiptoed backwards, I couldn't even risk the slightest risk of being heard. As I reached for the door handle, a booming squeak flooded the room and Alice shot up, her hands glowing with energy.
Great. I'm dead.
"Rico? What are you doing here? You weren't…" She gasped, "Were you spying on me? You always were curious about my wings!"
"What? No!" My stomach was spinning like an ocean current sloshing up and down, making me feel sick, "I heard this sound coming from my room and I was wondering what it was, so I came to you for help. I didn't mean to disturb you, I really didn't!"
"Fine." She got up from bed, doing a little stretch before walking up to me, "Let's go check it out, but if you're lying to me gods help you!"
As we walked to my room, Alice was completely silent. This was the first time I'd actually seen her genuinely angry, she looked ahead as we walked, her face completely solemn, keeping her body at least five feet away from mine.
"This your room?" We were in front of my room now, Alice had her hand on the doorknob but something wasn't right, the noise was gone.
"Yes but-"
But it was too late, Alice had opened the door revealing an empty room, only a single bed sat in the corner, Aria sleeping on it peacefully.
"Just as I thought, there's no one here except Aria, and she's asleep!"
"But I-" Before I could finish, Alice had already stormed out of the room, slamming the door shut.
I sighed and got dressed for bed, taking off my shirt and sulking under the covers, trying not to disturb Aria who was curled up at the foot of the bed as I settled in. I tried not to think much of Alice's feelings as I tried to sleep, but the thought of her broken heart kept me awake, like a freshly brewed coffee. After around an hour of lying awake, the soft pur of Aria sleeping lulled me to sleep, my eyelids growing heavy and shutting, the image of Alice still burned into my brain.
I woke up from a dreamless night as the rising sun shone through my window, blinding me as I shuffled out of bed, my eyes still closed as I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes. As I reached for my shirt, a somewhat high pitched voice came from the bed.
"Could you maybe not change in front of me?"
I whirled to see a girl no older than fourteen sitting on my bed. Her sky blue hair fell down below her shoulders and down to the middle of her orange dress. A bow of the same colour was also tied in her hair, pulling back little blue cat ears that had sprouted on the top of her head. Shocked, I lost my balance and fell on the floor as she walked over to me, her blue tail brushing along the ground as she moved.
"A-Aria?" I choked.
"Of course it's me! Who else would be in your room?" I hadn't noticed, but when she opened her mouth, I saw two of her top teeth came to a point almost like fangs.
What did I drink last night? This is one wild hangover.
"I-I'm sorry," I stuttered, "This is just a lot to process, you know?"
"No, not really." She snipped, "Where's Alice?"
"Probably in her room."
"Alright." Aria got up and left, for a cat she sure was a grump.
"Not the greatest start to my day." I mumbled to myself.
I put on my favourite green jacket and left my room, lumbering down the hall groggily, a hangover clearly affecting me to some degree. The living room was packed and bustling as I entered it, Julian, Ray, Corra, Jack and Alice were all sitting on the stained couches chatting up a storm, cups of coffee in their hands—except for Ray of course—he was starting off the morning with a nice cold beer, a man of culture I see.
As soon as Alice noticed me her smile turned into a frown, like she was doing her best Corra impression. She got up and stormed out of the room angrily, completely silencing the room. As she slammed her door everyone looked to me at the same time, a look of both confusion and disgust.
"Rico, it looks like you have some explaining to do." Corra had her arms crossed, looking even more menacing than usual.
"It wasn't what you think I swear! It was Aria! She turned into a human and then she—"
"Prove it." Ray's eyes were tearing apart my soul, his empty pupils shining from the reflection of the beer bottle in his mitts.
I picked up a now cat Aria who was curled up into a ball on the couch, her fur soft on my feathers as I held her, almost soothing me.
"Watch, she'll grow into a human, I swear! She was humming in my room and I got scared so I went to Alice for help!"
Nothing happened no matter how hard I yelled at Aria to change, she just kind of stared at me blankly. Maybe the others were right, what if I had just drank too much?
After a good five minutes, Julain was the first to break the ice, "Rico, stop making excuses," He shot up from the couch, drawing his sword, "Such deviant behaviour cannot be tolerated!"
I stumbled backwards as he stepped towards me. Knowing Julian he'd probably slash me to ribbons without a second thought if he had the chance. Thankfully however, Corra stepped in before he could get too rough.
"Julia that's enough!" She stepped in front of him, her single knife drawn like a fierce warrior, "Despite what has happened Rico is still our teammate! No killing!"
Julian sheathed his sword and sat back down, his face splattered with disappointment. As he got comfortable, he gave me a piercing glare, "You stay away from Alice. If I find out you ever hurt her again, I'll kill you."
I got up and stormed out of the room towards the kitchen, slamming the door behind me. I was completely fed up with no one ever believing me. They only saw me as the team jokester, someone you shouldn't take seriously. All I've ever wanted was to be seen as tough and strong, but all the others see me as some childish weakling. I opened one of the large beige cupboards searching for food, but as I was about to grab a snack a familiar voice startled me.
"You're gonna follow me here as well?" It was Alice, and she didn't look pleased to see me.
I pointed to Aria who was at her feet, rubbing affectiously against her ankles, "I swear I'm not making any of this up Alice! I would never lie to you, I swear it!"
"Right, and do you have any proof of Aria turning into a so-called human?"
"Well no, but she only seems to do it when I'm alone, she's screwing me over on purpose! It's a conspiracy I tell you! A conspiracy!"
But it was too late, Alice had already stomped out of the room, leaving Aria behind. As soon as she slammed the door shut Aria transformed, her figure growing into the size of a young teenage girl.
"Well that went rather smoothly, don't you think charm boy?"
asI w seething with anger, I could almost feel the steam rising from my head as I advanced towards Aria in a rage, "What the hell do you think you're doing you little runt?"
"Simple, she said smugly, "Being her best friend, don't want to have competition now do we?"
"You little… I'll tear every bone from your body!"
"I'd just like to see you try."
I cracked my neck and charged, lunging at her with full force. As I was about to make contact, she shrunk back down into a cat, sending me spiralling into the brick wall with a thud.
"Come on, you can do better than this!" She flipped her clawed hands towards me, taunting me as she mocked.
After a few more bruises from smashing into the brick wall, I finally managed to fake Aria out by lunging to the right, grabbing her by the collar of her orange dress.
"That's it, I'm finished with you." I grit my teeth as I continued to hold her by the collar.
Before I could anything else I heard the door open, snapping me out of my barbaric rage as I quickly dropped Aria to the ground, her form shifting into a cat as soon as the figure walked in.
"Rico? What are you doing?" It was Alice, she had a plate of toast in her delicate hands and another slice shoved into her mouth.
"I was just making some breakfast, that's all." I lied, a nervous chill wringing down my spine.
She picked up Aria, who had changed back into her cat form, "I just forgot some jelly for my toast, don't tell me you're trying to prove that Aria can turn into a human still."
"Listen Alice…" It felt as if I was going to be sick, like a monster had been let loose inside my stomach.
"I don't want to hear it," she humphed, "I've had just enough of your shenanigans for one day."
And then she left, slamming the door behind her, her body shifting away like a mirage in the desert.
I slumped against the wall, my heart was pounding and sweat had drenched my body, is this what I had become? I was starting to be just like Ray, selfish and murderous. I was beginning to let hatred blind me and if I didn't stop acting so foolish, it would fully take control and mold my being, deciding my destiny.
I walked back into the living room ashamed. It looked like the old avenium I had met earlier had already prepared breakfast. The smell of hot bacon and toast made my stomach rumble as I sat down on the couch next to Corra, Alice scowling at me from across the room.
"So it's decided." Ray declared, he was wearing a leather jacket and black jeans, his scarf neatly hung around his furry neck, "We leave for Zleigh at dawn."
"I guess so, there's nothing left for us here." Corra added, "Should we thank Ms. Finch and be on our way then?"
Julian unsheathed his sword and began to spin the blade in his palms, admiring its silver reflection, "Why at dawn? Why can't we just hop on a boat and go there now?"
"Cornelius has arranged for a ship to come pick us up, and lets just say it's not on the legal side of things." Corra explained, "I don't know all the details, but apparently he knows someone who can hook us up with transportation."
"Are you dears leaving?" Ms. Finch shuffled into the room, carrying a tray of hot cocoas, "At least have some cocoa before you take your leave!"
She tried to hand one to Ray but he held up his hand, "I'm good, I've already had some coffee."
Unlike Ray, my face lit up as she handed me a warm mug of chocolatey goodness, the sweet taste calming me down and almost making me forget about what had just happened earlier as I took a small sip of the nice hot drink.
Alice did the same, she gleefully clapped her hands together like a child as the old avenium handed her a cup, Aria climbing up onto her lap.
Ms. Finch began to walk up to Jack but he immediately denied the mug and lit another cigar, "Can you two drink those on the road? It should take a pretty long time to get to Grustenburg, not to mention the festival is still going on, we'll need to navigate through the crowds of people as well."
"Sure, as long as Ms. Finch allows it," I replied, "These are her cups after all."
I asked Ms. Finch if it was alright for us to take the cups and she agreed, topping my cup off with whipped cream after I said my goodbyes. After everyone had gathered their things, we got ready to traverse the festival and head towards Grustenburg.
I felt a rush of excitement as I opened the door and the sun blinded me, a new chapter of my story was about to begin, who knew what life had planned for me. However my joy was cut short, the smell of dead bodies choking me as the door swung open. There was no longer a festival, corpses of slaughtered creatara lay in the streets, beaten and bloody.
Alice knelt down next to one of the bodies, her eyes full of tears, "Not even the children survived." She choked, brushing the small Tigris' eyes closed.
Ray stepped out into the sunlight, his dark fur gleaming, "it appears Zleigh is going to be more difficult than we thought."