By The Moon's Blade

6. Grasshaven, About One Year Ago

I returned to the village without issue, lucky to avoid any questions from my father. I figured he wouldn't ask much, seeing as he's been as desperate for quiet as I have been. We went to sleep soon after dinner but the sound of something outside of our shack forces my eyes open in the dead of night.

The sound of panting is the first thing I hear, audible but distant. The second sound is a low growling, taunting me out of my home. And the third sound is the most terrifying, an impatient gnashing of teeth. Those terrifying, gleaming teeth. I touch the tooth that lays on my chest. In those last moments before sleep, I was able to fashion a necklace out of thin, brown leather strips and knot them around the tooth. It might not hold any physical power, but it makes for a nice trophy. And reminds me what I'm fighting for.

I try and ignore the teeth crunching outside as best I can. I toss and turn for another several minutes, trying to ignore the sounds outside of the house plaguing me. I try and convince myself that the sounds are in my head. The stress has forced my brain into a breaking point, but I'm reminded of the reality of our situation as bloody gashes and sunken eyes dash across my lids. I know their plan, and I know they want me to fall for the bait. I keep thinking I'm better than that, until I sit up and place my feet on the wooden floor.

I quietly get out of bed and avoid making a sound as I get my Vestige knife and leave the shack, barefoot and armed with only the single dagger. The moon hangs in the sky in a half-circle, enough light shining down that I'm able to see more than just vague silhouettes in the darkness. I see the knife react slightly to the moonlight. Almost as if the knife is begging for more.

I pick up the sound of panting blended with faint laughter and follow it, holding the knife in front of me for protection and a bit of light. I'm headed towards the Crimson Wilds again. There's something about that forest that's just so... uncomfortable. Even the crooked limbs of the trees let off an energy that makes my stomach curl.

The purple light does little to help guide my feet over the rocky ground and sharp edges slice slightly into the beds of my feet. But, the pain barely registers as my focus is only on the sound of the threat lurking in the trees. The cold of winter does its job as it numbs my extremities, making each slice less and less noticeable.

My mind is as blind as my eyes as only the thought of revenge consumes me. They shouldn't have come out tonight. Every ounce of my being is dedicated to making them pay. My eye darts to the sharp blade extended in front of me, honed to a perfect point. I imagine taking the blade and slicing it across its throat, blood emptying onto the ground below. I imagine stabbing it through the chest, twisting and turning the blade cruelly.

I'm so distracted in my bloodlust that I almost don't recognize the flickering gold eyes in front of me. The sound of panting has become louder, the gnashing of teeth more impatient. I halt as soon as I see the sparkle and keep my single blade extended towards the threat.

"I thought you were smarter than this, Rozi," he chuckles. The voice echoes in my head, nothing spoken aloud. He drawls out my name, thick as tar. The words curdle in my stomach. The voice is alarmingly charming.

"Who are you?" I respond in kind. I waste no time with pleasantries.

"I believe you already know."

"Why are you doing this?"

The Demonclaw pauses, "Hmmmm, great question. I don't think I'll answer it."

My eyes flare with fury and my hand shakes, causing the glow from the knife to jitter erratically. He chuckles again before filling the silence.

"No more questions already? I thought we were just getting started."

In that moment, I see him flash his teeth. They seem to glow with a dull white bioluminescence. I imagine those teeth tearing through my mother's flesh, bits of her body still embedded within the gaps. Remnants of her blood seeped into the pores.