She was drowning. Burning. Blind. There was a roaring in her ears that wouldn't go away. She clutched at her chest, it felt as if she had been impaled. More than that it felt like her insides were burning up in an inferno of pain and shock. What had hit her? It sounded like a monster. Had the demons found them again?
'We're all going to die...' She couldn't help but feel it. Think it. She couldn't see and every second that passed was another second he could coming towards her. Another second he could be sinking his weapon into her back to finish the job. But she was a trained killer, a seasoned killer, her life revolved around survival and death. She wasn't going to let a monster end her in the shitty streets of Arboros.
"You're going to tell me where your dragon is little rider." She could smell his fetid breath as he huffed in her face. She could feel his enormity as he towered over her even without her vision. She placed her hands out in front of her as she tried to pull herself up. She could feel the rubble beneath her fingertips-- and the blood.
Her heart was racing as his thick fingers wrapped around her throat. He lifted her from the ground harshly before chuckling. She wrinkled her nose at the stench of him. It was almost like he was rotting from the inside out.
"I'll get the answers out of you one way or another half-giant. Maybe we'll start here..." He pressed a finger into her left eye. The scream he managed to pull from her felt like it was ripping her throat apart. She dug her fingers into his hairy meaty arm. Why was he so hairy? It was almost like... Fur.
"Put me down!" She screamed as she attempted to ignite him. The demons she battled before burned like dry tinder but no matter how much she tried to douse him in flame he just laughed. To be honest she wasn't even certain it was working, between her exhaustion and starvation she could hardly manage an explosive outburst.
"That's right... Physical pain won't break you will it? But perhaps..." He grumbled as he wrapped his huge hands on either side of her head. Somehow that was worse, her entire body felt like it was going to pull apart. She was about to ask him what his idiotic plan was but the piercing pain in her skull and mind shattering intrusion was answer enough.
She could feel him digging in her mind as he forced himself deeper and deeper. She had been assaulted by men multiple times, she had learned long ago to brush of their advances and their touches. But this was different. She had never imagined that one could have their minds raped.
"Get out of.. .My head!" She kicked out sharply only to connect with what she assumed to be a rock hard abdomen. Yet his assault continued. She tried hard to wall him off at every turn to no avail.
"I will find what I'm looking for... Or maybe she'll find me? Dragons are extremely protective of their riders after all." He laughed as she screamed again at the sharp twisting pain in her head. It was so severe that her vision was filled with white lights. She kicked again but her strength was waning. She choked on a cough as her own blood dribbled down her chin. She had never felt more aware of her own impending death as she did in that moment.
"Damn, you are everything they told me you would be." He grumbled as he tossed her back to the ground. In an instant his mind retracted from hers and she was her own once more. She coughed hoarsely as she tried to ride out the searing agony coursing through her body at the impact of hitting the ground. She blinked her eye slowly, her head was swimming almost as much as her vision. All she could make out was shadows.
"I can't break your mind, sprit, or body enough to get what I want. Not like this. But I know a little birdie who might hold the answers." What had he seen in her? What secrets had he managed to rip away? Her heart stammered as she wondered what he could mean by 'little birdie'.
'Hephatus please keep him safe.' She prayed silently over and over again. She prayed he wouldn't come. Prayed he was sleeping safely in an Inn far away. More than anything she prayed she had the strength to get back up and keep fighting before the monster decided to go hunting for the others. It was her job after all and she wasn't holding up to it.
"Let's see if we can't coax him here aye? I wonder if I can make you scream enough for him to hear you." He stepped forward again before grabbing her by the throat once more. She spat in the direction she anticipated his face to be. All she could see was the shadow of what looked like the head of a bull. It had two thick horns curling up to the skies. What sort of monster amalgamation had the demons made now?
"You can try all you want you stupid fuck but you ain't getting shit from me." She would have kicked him to push the point home but his grip grew stronger and her ability to think or see straight vanished.
"I'll enjoy the effort." She could hear her bones groaning in protest at his ungodly strength. Her black vision was starting to spot with little bright glowing stars. Was that what dying was like? Did your world fill with the stars of the heavens as your soul left your body? She could practically feel her soul floating from her.
"Dragon rider..."
"The time has come..."
The voices were oddly familiar. As she struggled to breath she tried to recall where she had heard those hauntingly beautiful harmonies. But then it hit her. Asha and Umwell, the twin eyes in the heavens.
"The gift is yours to command."
"To see the truth."
"To know what hides in darkness."
"Open your eyes and see his heart."
Just as soon as their voices filled her mind they were gone and with it the little stars that were plaguing her were gone too. That's when she realized she was on the ground again and the monster was pacing just a few feet in front of her.
"Pathetic little giant, can't even go without air for more than five minutes. I wonder where the dwarves are? We'll know soon enough..." She dug her fingers into the dirt before trying to open her eyes again. This time they both opened. She looked up to see what she could only describe as a horrific mash-up between a bull and a human. Cattle legs, a cow tail, gray fur, but the upper part of his body looked more humanoid. Well, except for his head. It was as bovine as she had imagined before. 'I guess it wasn't imagination then after all' she thought drearily.
It only took a split second from looking at him to realize that he didn't look right. He had a thin shadow that surrounded his body. The shadow was black but she could also see a dark red thrumming light in his chest which bled the same glowing red outwards throughout his body. With every moment it would dim then shine bright again like a heartbeat. It made the shadow around him flicker too.
"What... The fuck?" She could see glimmering lights everywhere. Bugs, rats, humans, everything had a thin aura of light around it. More than that everything seemed to have a 'core' of sorts. It wasn't always where their heart was but she didn't have time to contemplate as to why.
"Ah it didn't take you long to wake up." The monster turned to face her again and she choked. His eyes were glowing purple. No doubt about it, the thing was demon. But just as it started to reach for her to play their little games again he paused, a thick oval ear twitching towards the sky. She heard it too, the dull flapping of wings.
"Nico no!" She tried to scream at him but a swift kick from the demon-bull man silenced her. She rolled on the ground in agony cupping her jaw. Had a tooth broken? She tasted an awful lot of blood.
"Ah-ha!" She watched in horror as a raven came rocketing down from the sky. Nico started changing mid air as he attempted to land next to her. But the bull-demon was faster, his massive hand wrapped right around Nico's scrawny frame. It happened in the blink of an eye, Nico was barely even human when the creature grabbed him.
"Talia!" His scream was like nails driving through her skin. Like blistering white hot nails. Her scars itched as she watched. Her body trembled as the monster squeezed.
"Please..." She clawed her way forward again. Was she really begging? Was she really going to beg a monster for mercy?
"Don't hurt him..." Her voice broke as the monster grabbed Nico's right arm.
"Can birds fly with broken wings?" It mused as it crushed Nico's forearm. Nico screamed and writhed in agony, he had never done will physical pain. He had hardly ever needed to. The more he screamed the more Talia got angry. More than angry. Pissed. Enraged. She clawed her way forward again before climbing to her feet. She'd break the demons arms. One bone at a time.
Just as he was reaching for Nico's other arm she rushed forward with what little strength she had left. Internally she was cursing the dwarves for taking so long to come help. She cursed the demon for sneaking up on her. Most of all she cursed herself for being so stupid.
"I'll kill you!" She screamed as she reached forward with a frenzied explosion of flame engulfing her fist and arm. But it was useless, the demon threw Nico to the ground before slamming his fist into her chest. It was far less than what he was capable of that much was obvious when she didn't go flying.
Before she could recover he picked her up by her throat again as he stuffed his fat wet nose in her face. She hissed and writhed as the mixture of fury and pain drove her but he simply huffed.
"All you gotta do is watch darlin." He licked her cheek before throwing her back into the darkness of the temple. The last thing she felt was her back snapping against the obsidian slab. Then she was consumed by darkness.
XXXXX
"Aww, your little girlfriend's dead isn't she?" The creature's laughter was like grinding stones to her ears. Or maybe that was the blood rushing in her head. Or out of it.
"I'll consume your soul for this you fetid monster! I'll make you my bitch for all of eternity." If she weren't in such pain she would have smiled at his threat. Instead she coughed.
'How much blood have I lost? How much more can my body take? I'm not healing...' Her thoughts were a muddled mess. She was dying.
"Rider! Please let me come to you." Reezara's voice was nothing more than a cry, almost like a baby. She was terrified. Her fear bled into Talia like poison.
"Get the dwarves to get armored up, we need help... But you need to stay hidden, he's after you... Us." She blinked back the pain to try and see where the demon was. She could see his aura but it was dim and fading in and out.
"You're gravely injured, you can't fight!" Reezara hissed desperately. Talia tried to push her away but her mind wasn't working right.
"Don't you dare block me out. I won't let him hurt you again!" The little dragon hissed. Talia tried to turn her head to find where her dragon was hiding but her body wasn't working either. When she tried to stand she found her legs wouldn't work. She looked down, she could see her legs but she couldn't feel them. Suddenly she felt a chill race down her spine.
"Reezara... Am I...?" She couldn't even ask the question. She couldn't think the word. She threw herself forward only to land on her chest. If she could have screamed she would have.
"Talia..." Reezara's voice was heartbreaking. She could feel the anguish as her chest tightened. It was already clear her back was broken. She couldn't walk. She could barely breath, her ribs were all broken and she was still choking on blood. She had been savaged multiple times before but nothing could compare to this.
"I need to heal. I need strength..." There was nothing Reezara could do but she couldn't help but say it anyway. Reezara didn't answer this time. Talia had to wonder if it was because she had grown too weak to maintain the telepathic connection or if it was because Reezara was up to something. Either way she could do little more than bleed into the dirt and wood.
"I can help you." She blinked and looked up to see a glowing blue eye and a glowing red one. Both were set into an eerily familiar face. Glittering red hair, high proud cheekbones, straight commanding nose, cold heartless eyes, thin pressed lips.
"You just need to let me out." Long fingers brushed Talia's chin as the mirror image of her drew closer. The image had black skin however like a shadow with only a few features shining through like the eyes and hair.
"I don't even know what you are." She spoke aloud to the apparition. She flinched as Nico screamed again. Desperately she clawed her way forward, though she only managed to drag herself nearly an inch. The image of her reeled back and laughed.
"I'm you! But better. Stronger. I can give you what you want. I can save... Him." She turned to wave out the doorway. Talia wanted to tell the vision of her to go fuck herself but as the chill in her body grew the more she feared what saying no could mean.
"He'll kill the boy, he's no use to him. But he can't kill us. You can't kill him, but I can. Let me punish him. Let me make him beg for mercy, don't you want to watch him bleed?" Her fingers brushed Talia's cheeks again. Her vision blurred as her breathing started to slow. She tried to force herself up again, tried to breath deeper but it was no use. She was slipping. And if she didn't succumb soon she'd have to watch Nico die. She had promised long ago to protect him at all costs. She wasn't about to fail now. She looked up again, the glowing aura of Nico and the demon was so dim now that she couldn't even see what was happening. But she could hear Nico crying.
"Save him.." She croaked desperately. The dark version of her smiled, white teeth flashed dangerously before the world shifted beneath her and she finally slipped back into the darkness.