The Sixth God (Arc 1: From The Pale Ashes) [BL]

Chapter 11

"Ah..." Shida took a step back, wanting to run as Grey made his way over but his feet stayed glued. Running would only make it worse once Grey caught him. And though his body knew that, his mind was still screaming.

"I'm sorry!" Shida cried, crouching low and covering his head with his arms. His knees drew up to his shoulders, protecting his vitals.

"I don't blame you," Grey said above him.

Shida froze, peeking up between his arms. A boot slammed down, Shida's scream ripping through the night. His arm flared up in pain as he fell back. Shida quickly curled back up, guarding his twitching ribs as breathing became like inhaling flames.

"Monsters can't help what they are. Seducing others to sin, forcing them into eternal darkness with Umbra where they cannot reincarnate. Monsters can't help but follow their instincts."

The boot slammed down on his back, pressure building with each word. "That's why we punish them."

Shida squeezed his eyes shut, quivering as he waited for more pain.

"Hmph." The pressure from the boot disappeared and Shida flinched, waiting for it to come down.

A door slammed. Shida's eyes snapped open, pushing himself up so quickly the room spun. The nightmare-no, memory- was still fresh in his mind.

Milly stared at him from the barn doorway, a sneer twisting her lips. The snow sparkled in the day, perfect except for the footstep trail that carved through it. 

Shida looked toward the window, the sun brightly shining through the frost. It's noon already.

Shida was astonished. He knew that he wasn't allowed to leave the barn until Ina left for school but he should have been up four hours ago.

Cold sweat ran down his spine and Milly threw eight gold pieces on the ground, a few pieces getting lost in the straw.

"Go to town and tell Delilah we need a Geldkey for tomorrow. And be sure to be back as soon as possible." Milly smiled sweetly at him.

Shida felt like he was going to be sick. Milly never smiles at him. Never even looked him in the eye before. It made his whole body tremble.

He quickly scooped up the coins and threw on his worn-out cloak. Shida paused at the doorway, waiting nervously for Milly to move.

Milly's eyes shined brightly, the green even deeper with her dress. Shida stared at the dress, too nervous to meet her eyes.

It was a dreadful moment that seemed to last eternity before Milly moved out of the way, not bothering to lift the recently bought dress up as it trailed in the dirt and soaked up the snow.

A dark premonition entered Shida's head but he just swiftly passed her, running down the driveway to head toward town.

On the road, Shida kept his steps quick, eager be away from that house for awhile. Running errands was the highlight of Shida's days. He was able to leave behind the pain and fear and pretend for a bit that it didn't exist. On occasion, Shida would get lucky and run into Claire during her odd jobs. She would always stop for a bit to chat. If Shida got really lucky, he would be able to see Delilah. Though she ran a stall year round here, she personally was rarely ever there. Mostly it was workers or people who owed her a favor taking control of the goods for the day or week depending. When she was available, she and her cousin would always give him candy.