Dark Sun Rising

Chapter 2

The tires screeched, and the lights continued to flicker frantically, distorting the passengers' vision. Zari firmly grabbed the back of her seat with one hand while clasping her bag with the other. The train halted with an impact, and the passengers lost their balance. Silence engulfed the compartment.

Something was crawling outside Zari's window. She tried to peer out into the inky blackness of the Greywoods. As she tried to focus, another crash rocked the train and Zari fell backward out of her seat. The boy that had been tattooing himself caught her and helped her up to her feet.

"Hey...easy," his firm tone and icy blue eyes pierced her soul.

"I saw something! Right there!" Zari pointed at the window, which was becoming foggy.

"Where..." Spike asked when a loud banging came from the other side of the compartment door.

The flickering lights soon went out, and screams echoed and bounced between the walls of the chilly compartment. While the passengers cowered down to take shelter, Zari found herself leaning against the kid who had caught her.

"What the heck...." Spike managed to get up and looked around the dark train. He felt the presence of the Fellman right behind him, but there was someone else too. In the very next moment, a sharp light appeared at the end of the compartment, lighting it up for a brief second, in which Zari spotted a cloaked figure right in front of her. Though their face was pitch black, Zari could feel the warm breath on her cheeks.

She didn't dare to move a single nerve, hoping that the moment would be over soon. Fear crept into her as she continued to look at the hooded figure, and her body went weak.

Her bag slipped from her hands, and a white crystal fell out. The loud clanking alarmed Spike, and he swiftly grabbed Zari in his arms, spinning around. With his back against the shadowy figure, he remained firm in his place, shielding the woman.

Zari pulled herself free when she spotted the crystal and leaped at the object, which had slid under a seat in the opposite aisle. As she grabbed it, two sets of eyes glanced at her from under the seat. The little girl and her mother had taken refuge there, but now, their cover was blown too.

The figure moved around Spike and approached Zari's hiding place, pushing her aside with one arm, while the other pulled the girl out of her hiding place. The innocent screams of the little girl echoed throughout the train as Zari fell to the floor, clutching her bruised abdomen. Before she could get up, another hit sent her head reeling.

The little girl's sharp screaming and her mother's pleading words all turned into a mumble, a mere whisper for Zari. Suddenly, the only thing in her field of view was the crystal she was trying to deliver to her brother. She crawled under the seat and grasped it in her hands. Instantly, the world was gone.

***

Saya's mind had gone completely blank. She had been trained for years to confront monsters and the Daevas in service of the church, but the sight of one in person had awakened a terror in her that she hadn't known existed.

Two Daevas had followed the hooded figures into the compartment, slinking their way along the floor. One of them was advancing toward her. Its long, black snout and red eyes were streaming black smoke, as was every inch of its contorted body. It leaned back on its haunches and set to pounce on her.

An image of her sister flashed in her mind and her tail sagged as she felt the end coming. She clenched her fists, ready to take on the monster when suddenly, the Daeva was knocked out of the air mid-jump and landed with a crash onto an empty seat, left heaving. Spike landed in front of it, looking down at it.