Broken Circle

Chapter 6: Misery Loves Company

Dolan:

    After being blinded momentarily by the green light, I realized I was no longer standing by the creek. Instead I was sitting in the dining hall of my family home. 

    "You would make a much better host than the girl. I can't wait to break you down and take over your body," the demon's voice echoed with a chuckle. I remembered this day very clearly. It was the day my family decided I would be the one to go live among the templars. They had prepared duck, my favorite, as a way to try and soften the blow. I waited for my father to break the news all over again. The scene unfolds before me and I block out everything they are saying. I won't let this demon break me.

     "Such a pity. Your father, mother, and brothers didn't want you. It just makes you want to...disappear" I hear the voice whisper in my ear and I quickly turn around to face it. As I turn the scene suddenly changes. Now I am in the training grounds. The other recruits are pointing at me and whispering things. I piece together that the young girl has been possessed by a despair demon. They feed off of people's lowest moments. They urge people to snap at loved ones and take their own lives. I hear the recruits muttering about how my dad bought my spot among the templars. That I couldn't even lift a twig, let alone a sword. 

     "You really need to work on your material demon, I'm not offing myself because some jealous idiots wanted to poke fun at me!" I yell at the demon. 

     "Patience Dolan, patience. I like to go in order by time, not intensity." The demon appears in front of me, I rush forward to tackle it and just like that it's gone again and I'm face planting straight to the ground. As I start to push myself back up I see the scene around me has changed yet again. I'm surrounded by burning buildings. The air is thick with smoke and ash. The screams of men, women, and children burning alive fill the air, and the scent of scorched flesh fills my nose. I cover my nose trying to block out the smell. I hear gasping next to me. I turn my head and see a woman trapped by a beam gasping for air. She looks me in the eyes and struggles to force air into her punctured lungs.

    "Why didn't you save us, Dolan?," she asks with her dying breath. 

    "You should have gotten here sooner!" A young boy's voice cries out ahead of me.

     "If you were truly destined to be a templar like they tell you, and like you truly believe, then why have you failed us?" An elderly man to my left says as he burns in the flames, "You failed your family, your order, yourself, and your Maker!" 

     I quickly stand up and start trying to help save as many people as I can but as soon as I get to them, they slip away. We knew there was talk of a possible rage demon in the area, but we weren't able to get to the village in time. By the time we got there the village was on fire, and many people had already passed. We defeated the demon, but we weren't able to protect the innocent. They died because we had prioritized another mission. I fall to my knees, cover my ears, shake my head and close my eyes. 

   "This isn't real, this isn't real, this isn't real!" I shout, repeating the mantra over and over. After a couple minutes pass the smell dissipates and I am afraid to open my eyes, already knowing what's coming next. A hand grabs my arm and forces my hand away from my ear.

     "Dolan, please open your eyes. Look at me Dolan!" Her voice was a symphony to my ears. The Maker sent her as an angel to guide me through this. It was the most soothing sound in the world. We used to be a group of twelve. When we took our vows, three of us were assigned to join knight-lieutenant Brennan's group. Arnold didn't last long and I wasn't particularly close to him. Then there was Edith. 

     I don't even know how it happened. We were never close throughout our recruitment. Long journeys on the road, battles fought side by side, dinners next to each other, shared tents. Over time we grew closer. I missed the smoothness of her skin as I held her in my arms at night. I missed the soft press of her lips against mine. A hand tenderly stroked my cheek.

     "Look at me Dolan" she pleaded with a sense of urgency in her voice. I didn't have to open my eyes to know what the demon would try to show me. I saw it frequently in my nightmares. Her honey blonde hair sticking to her face with the blood seeping through the wound on her head, tears flowing from her amber eyes, lips trembling as she fought to stay conscious while I held her. The salty taste of her tears mixed with the iron taste of her blood as I kissed her lips one last time. I kept my eyes shut. 

     What the demon didn't know is that I was beginning to forget the sound of her voice. Rather than break me down, hearing it again gave me a sense of hope and the courage to fight back. No more wallowing and waiting for this to end. It was time to strike. In a swift motion I pulled out my sword from the sheath and sliced the demon clean in half without even opening my eyes. 

    Blood spilled over me as I realized exactly what I had done. The fake world faded away, and left me with the truth. I sat there for what felt like an eternity before Knight-Lieutenant Brennan finally found me. 

    "Makers Breath Dolan, what have you done?" He screamed, grabbing me by my shoulders and shaking me. 

     "It was a despair demon." I managed to respond. I know I messed up. If I had gone back to the group and told them what I saw instead of rushing into it head first alone we could have tried to save her. Instead I had slain a mere child. Her blood was on my hands.