Bloodied Paws [BP Book 1]

Sides and Spirits

[Ireland]

Nev found me as well as Tucker and told us what happened to Grace. She was really upset about it, seeing that she'd been on of Grace's closest friends besides Addie and a few others who weren't present here. Later we held Grace's funeral, and then we went about the day as best we could. But a thick pall seemed to hang over the village, one of darkness and melancholy that I couldn't quite describe.

The feeling still weighed on me as I walked down the dirt path to the harbor. Well, we call it a harbor. Really it's a few makeshift docks we made out of wood and other materials we find. It's stable enough to walk on, but I wouldn't push it past that. Near it was also a small hut, full, I knew, of chests with some fishing gear and other odds and ends for marine-related things. The sounds of clucking were always present in this part of the village - a coop was built for a bunch of chickens we keep for eggs.

The gentle swish sound of the waves filled my head as I came closer, sitting down on the soft sand near the shore. It pushed my sad thoughts to the back of my mind, washing it over with calming. I exhaled, feeling the wind brush my hair against my forehead. It was nice to get away from people for a while, get some alone time.

After a moment of sitting there, I realized something... off. Silence filled the air. Abnormal silence. Like even the birds felt the sadness that weighed on us all.

What the hell?

I stood up, very cautiously looking around. It was as if the world had hit some kind of pause button, everything silent as the dead on a dark night. Even the water stilled. A breeze swept through the air, sending an icy chill down my spine.

A small figure materialized from shadow, four-legged with fur and pointed ears. It was almost innocent-looking at first. My eyes flickered to the side, then back to the small creature. That's when I saw the two crimson wings spread from its small body, the two wing shapes glowing red on its chest.

And it's eyes. It's eyes. Two red dots like small lasers boring into me. You'd think it's lack of a smile or sharp teeth would be slightly comforting, but that's just it - it lacked a mouth entirely.

The small creature's grey tail swished contently. It tilted its head, quick like a curious owl staring from a tree. My heartbeat quickened. A deep, demonic voice echoed through my head.

"Hello, young one."

I tried to scream, run, do anything, but my eyes were glued to the thing. My muscles refused to obey my commands, frozen by invisible ice to the ground below me. The thing started to slowly creep towards me, never blinking or faltering in step as it paced calmly and ominously to my position. It only stopped when it was barely a foot from me.

What do you want from me, was what I wished to say. But even if I could utter a word, most likely it wouldn't reply.

"Don't worry," it spoke in a reverberating voice around me once again. "You'll be safe once you're dead."

Suddenly the small creature lunged, knocking into me with surprising strength that sent me to the ground. It's bright red eyes very suddenly disappeared, it's fur turning ink-black as a needle-toothed smile split its face horizontally in two, opening to consume me whole.

-

Sunlight flooded my eyes as I shot upright, gasping for air that suddenly filled my lungs. My heart was pounding with a vengeance, instinctively I placed my hand on my chest as if to make sure the pounding was truly my heartbeat and not an illusion. The surroundings were back to normal, the sounds now reaching my ears. I was still on the dock.