From the heart of a semi-dense forest, the rhythmic thud of an axe splitting wood echoed through the trees. A rugged man, clad in a flannel shirt and sturdy boots, stood by a pile of logs, his breath misting in the cool air. His muscles strained with each swing, the axe blade biting into the wood with a satisfying crack. The ground around him was strewn with splinters, and the fresh scent of pine lingered in the air.
The trees grew in clusters, a fellowship that hindered most of the sunlight from reaching the bare earth. They towered over anything man-made for miles to come. Closing in on everything like a pack of predators swarming prey.
A short distance away, nestled among the towering pines, a modest cabin stood. Wisps of smoke curled from its chimney, starkly contrasting the biting cold of the outdoors.
It was like the trees snuffed out heat wherever they could find it.
Through the frosted windows, the flicker of a fire cast a golden glow, and the laughter of children floated out, mingling with the chirping of birds. Inside, his wife and two daughters huddled over a board game and a coloring book, their faces illuminated with joy and concentration.
The man paused. The house was too far to see from where he was, but he stared in its general direction. He felt somewhat content. Never did he ever think he could find peace such as this.
He wiped the sweat off his brows and wondered if he deserved any of it. The simplicity of his life, a wife who loved him dearly, two adorable daughters, and the contentment he felt. Many would argue that he did not. And maybe they were right.
"That's enough wood," he said to himself and swung the axe onto his shoulder.
As he bent down to pick his haul, a chill that had nothing to do with the weather crept up his spine. With the axe suspended in the air, he scanned the surrounding forest.
An ominous feeling settled in his chest, heavy and foreboding. His eyes darted in the direction of the cabin, his family still blissfully unaware of the creeping unease.
Abandoning the wood he'd chopped, he held the axe with both hands and sprinted back home.
It wasn't a normal chill he'd felt. The spells had somehow failed, something had gotten in. Whatever had gotten in would be looking for him at home.
The smoke emanating from the chimney grew closer and closer, assuring him he was almost home.
Just a few more steps.
Emerging from the shadows of pine, he arrived at the clearing where his cabin stood.
Most men would have frozen in their tracks. Lesser men would more than likely lose their sanity. But not him.
Without breaking his stride, without stopping to question a thing, he hefted the axe unto his right hand and with all his might threw, it at his target.
The axe spun in the air and just as it was about to make impact, it froze. He too had frozen mid-stride.
"Ethan Blackwood, is this where you live?" The demon smiled a malicious, toothy smile.
Ethan looked like he wanted to say something, but his frozen lips would not move. His eyes seemed to be free from whatever it was that was happening, and it wasn't focused on the demon. Instead, it was transfixed on the cabin door. Almost like he was begging someone from inside to notice what was going on.
"Ethan Blackwood, concerned about a life that isn't his? Age has made you pathetic," it spat.
It was an unsightly thing. Nearly seven feet in height, slender, hairless, and tar black with runes and carvings all over its body. It had hind legs for feet with hooves of steel, but the rest of its body looked human. On its head was a single, long corkscrew horn nearing two feet in length.
There was a short stump where the second horn should have been. Somehow, it seemed possible to think Ethan was behind the absence of the second horn.
"Why don't I say hello, to these people who have stolen your spark," It said with a glint in its onyx eyes and a smile on its black lips.
The demon turned to face the door and it blew apart immediately, startling the girls inside who began to scream.
Heat began emanating from Ethan's body and the air suddenly began to crack like it was made of glass. Fault lines materialized through thin air like reality itself was about to shatter.
And maybe it did. Whatever it was, broke and the axe continued on its path, but the demon had moved.
The axe head bit down deep into the cabin wall and remained there.
"Aisling. Get them out!" Ethan yelled immediately he felt his body could move and made another sprint for the cabin.
"I expected you to escape sooner. You have grown weak," the demon said and once again, Ethan found himself frozen in place, this time, mere meters away from the door. He had a good view of what was going on in the house.
Aisling, Ethan's wife had huddled in a corner with the children. She held some kind of trinket or amulet to ward off the evil presence.
Her long auburn hair stuck to the side of her face and her green eyes reflected the fear thumping in her heart.
Ethan shattered through the barrier once again, quicker this time but another one immediately held him in place.
"That won't stop me," the demon announced and stretched a hand at the group.
The youngest daughter, Maeve flew out of her mother's grip and towards the abomination.
"Maeve," Aisling screamed in a voice that nearly broke Ethan.
The demon caught her hand, letting her dangle in the air.
Small, seven years old, and with her father's dark hair, Maeve looked like a mouse caught by a snake.
Ethan broke through another barrier and was immediately hit with another.
The demon grew the nails on his free hand and struck her across the cheek with it, leaving three slender gashes.
He let her go and she dropped to the floor, her wood seeping black blood that sizzled on the hardwood.
"Maeve?" Aisling called as her daughter began to whimper and groan and writhe across the ground. She tore at her own hair and coughed up blood.
Ethan broke through another barrier and the cycle repeated itself again.
"Mummy," Maeve called out as her body began to smoke. And her hair burnt up. Her skin was starting to resemble coal and embers.
"No!" Aisling blubbered almost running to her youngest before remembering she still had another to protect.
"Mummy," Maeve screamed out in pain. "Mummy, mummy, mummy," she began to scream repeatedly, causing Aisling to cover her ears.
Ethan repeated the cycle again. What he was doing was futile, but seeing his family in danger prevented him from thinking straight.
"Mummy," Maeve said again, but not in the voice of a child, she sounded like an interference over a radio.
Her transformation was complete. Maeve Blackwood had become an infernal. A creature of the hellscape. A creature of eternal pain.
Maeve had grown to about five feet in height. Her body was charred and pulsating like coal. Her eyes had burnt out and were replaced by flames. Her breath came out as smoke. Her nose had burned off and her mouth was ear-to-ear.
"Fetch your sister," the demon said as Ethan broke another barrier. He had been able to make it to the porch now and his extended foot hovered over the wood.
"Maeve, it's us. It's me, it's mummy," Aisling said trying to reach her youngest while brandishing the amulet. But it had no effect on her.
Maeve's left hand transformed into a jagged piece of cinder and in one swift motion, she plunged into her mother's chest, smashing the amulet on its way.
Aisling's eyes widened in shock as blood raced to escape her longs, some getting on both Maeve and her sister.
The cinder rescinded and she collapsed to the hard floor, spluttering and gasping for air.
Maeve grabbed her sister and threw her across the room to the demon who caught her by the collar of her blouse.
It set her on the ground and placed a hand on her head, holding her in place. It then turned to face Ethan as Maeve returned to his side as well.
"Bring my sword, Ethan," was all the demon said to him and began to sink into the floor with both girls in a small hurricane of fire.
"Daddy? Daddy," his human daughter cried.
Frozen Ethan could do nothing but watch as his daughter struggled to reach him. They continued to sink till they disappeared, leaving a raging inferno in their place.
The barrier broke and another did not form.
"No!" Ethan screamed reaching for where his daughter had been moments ago.
The fire was spreading fast and the cabin was going up in flames.
"Aisling," he said as he rose into the building and carried his dying wife out.
"E-ethan," she spat through a clump of blood.
"Shh shh, don't talk," he cautioned as he set her down.
There was a big gaping hole in her chest. The cinder had gone clean through and made an exit.
The floral printed dress she wore looked like a bandage. It was soaked with blood and clinging to her skin.
Ethan held a hand over her chest and closed his eyes, working some spell, but he couldn't focus. The fear of his wife dying and the fear of his daughters was getting to him.
His hand would glow yellow and sputter before turning off again. Even if it had worked, it wasn't likely that he could have saved her. Maybe if the injury had been on his body there would have been a chance.
"O-o-our daughters," she wheezed. "S-save o-our d-daughters, E-ethan," she said looking him dead in the eyes and squeezing his shirt.
"I will… just, stop bloody talking, just…" Ethan trailed off.
Aisling put a bloody hand against his cheek and caressed his sad face with a sad smile on hers.
"I'm s-sorry…" her voice trailed off as she exhaled one last time, the light in her green eyes quickly fading.
"No, don't say that," Ethan pleaded but there was no response. "Don't say that," he said again, much louder, but was met with the same result. "Please. Don't. Please," he begged as he pulled her body closer.
In the background, the cabin crackled and spat as the fire consumed it. The smoke ascended to the heavens like a biblical offering.
"You sadistic bastard. Why? Why?" he screamed at the sky. "She was good… they all were. Why would you let this happen? What would it take for you to do your job?" he screamed but received no answer.
Ethan held on to his wife, feeling her body gradually grow colder and colder till it was like she had never known warmth.
But even then, Ethan would not let go. Not even when the fiery carcass that had once been their home collapsed with a thunderous sound. A sound that declared he had officially lost everything.
Dusk came and met the pair. Ethan had not moved in hours. His soul was processing his grief. Any small movement and he felt he would crumble completely.
He finally stirred when the noise of the night caught up with him. Darkness had fallen and the forest had come alive, but his Aislin remained still.
Ethan rose to his feet, carrying his wife in his arms with him. He walked a short way into the forest and stopped at a particular spot where the trees were not as clustered.
The ground suddenly bulged and shook like something huge was digging its way underneath. The surrounding trees snapped and groaned as the soil tilled over and they were uprooted and felled, exposing soft bare earth.
Ethan lowered her gently onto the floor and kissed her forehead. Linen materialized out of nowhere and began to wrap up her body. He walked a few meters away from the wrapped body and then began to dig with his bare hands.
Like he had done the trees, he could have done the earth as well, but he chose not to. This was his punishment.
Satisfied that he had dug deep enough, Ethan carefully placed the wrapped body into the gaping earth. It was time to say goodbye and his legs suddenly felt weak and unable to support him.
Ethan knelt by the shallow grave, his fingers raw and blistered from digging and his vision cloudy with tears.
"Aisling," he whispered, his voice breaking. "I failed you… I failed to protect our family. This… this is my fault. You knew about the life I had lived, you knew what I was and you accepted me, you loved me regardless. But even getting someone as pure as you to love a monster like me wasn't atonement enough. Maybe my sins are too much to atone for. I am a damned old fool. You…" he stopped when his voice trailed off.
His chest heaved with sorrow and bubbles formed in his throat, stopping him from speaking further.
"You saved me from the darkness of my old life. You anchored me to something different. But I have to become a monster again. It's the only way to get Fi back. And I promise you. I will get our daughter back and I will avenge you and Maeve. All of Hell will pay for what they have done. I will make this right. I swear it."
He rose shakily to his feet and the grave began to refill with earth.
"Goodbye, my everlasting love," he said when the last bit of linen was covered with soft earth.
He picked up a stone and whispered to it in a strange language and dropped it on the grave.
It sank into the earth and a gravestone rose simultaneously. The stone would prevent anything from disturbing the grave.
Ethan closed his eyes and took a deep breath, taking in his surroundings and preparing his mind for what lay ahead of him.
When he opened his eyes he was a different man. His gaze was hard and his soul was enraged. Even the forest sensed it and had gone quiet.
Ethan returned to the ashes of his home, looking for something he could salvage. The moon had come out and its light angled on the gravestone.
Aisling Blackwood
Beloved Wife and Mother
1987 - 2024
"I'm sorry."