~𝑪𝒆𝒓𝒖𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒏 𝑺𝒊𝒏𝒔~ •𝓐 𝓜𝓸𝓷𝓼𝓽𝓮𝓻 𝓡𝓸𝓶𝓪𝓷𝓬𝓮•

~Chapter 1~

Verity

×Trigger Warnings include: Kidnapping, use of harsh language, anxiety, panic attack, guns, swords, other weapons, hired mercenary, cynophobia, Duolingo.×

I stared out the window at something glinting in the moonlight in the forest, rain pouring down the window in the process. If I had to be honest, I was lost in thought, trying to fill the empty void of silence with concentration to make it less awkward between me and Edward. Though he didn't seem to mind my daze...
"What the-..." I whispered softly, my words beneath my breath, though slightly fogging up the window before me in Edward's office.
"It's shiny..." I furrowed my eyebrows, getting closer to the window and leaning against the velvety, burgundy plush of the sofa.
"Oh great, shiny." Edward's cigar nearly fell from his mouth and his voice came out in a huff.
He caught his cigar in his left hand, his feet propped up on the desk in front of him as he glared down at the Glock in his lap.
"What did we teach you about shiny shit?" His British accent poked through the slightest.
"It's a trap." His words were short and sharp, accent thick on his tongue as his eyes narrowed in suspicion.
I scoffed, looking down at my crossed legs, the fabric of my white dress hanging off neatly.
"A trap, for me? Why would anyone want to trap me?"
I spoke sarcastically, putting a hand dramatically on my heart as if offended. I knew the reason people would want to trap me though. My body, my soul, my flames. I was a divine being, given a gift straight from the elements of the earth and brought by the gods. I wasn't exactly a goddess though, those women lived above.
"You're special, 'course they'd want you. You're a goddamned walking, talking bag of money to halfa' the country. A bag of flesh to the other half, and a prize to the nation." He spoke in his gruff voice, though a little too quiet when drowned out by the sound of the rain curtaining the outside of the base.
"I'm not that well-known. Not the whole damn world cares about me." I didn't know if what I said was entirely true, though I didn't want to know if it was...
But I knew that people wanted me for sure, as a weapon, a threat, and a protector for some.
He snorted.
"You bloody well are. To every government from here to Hong Kong, everyone wants a piece o' yer arse."
He shifted a bit in his chair, moving his Glock to his desk as he took out his lighter and lightly toasted his cigar a bit more. Though he wasn't a very patient man and nearly lit the thing up into flames.
"Even you?" I retorted, scoffing again as I looked at him from across the room.
He looked away for a long moment. His words sounded rough and heavy as they fell from his lips.
"That's different. I'm captain of this establishment and team... don't need any bloody complaints to the general..." He tossed his head in annoyance, shoving his lighter into a small box in one of his desk drawers.
"I know it is..." I started.
"You're different from the others, thankfully. You're just about the only one I can go to that'll let me just sit in your office." I chuckled and looked around his office, sitting on a sofa in the corner with my legs crossed. The window beside me was blurred by the rain, but that shiny thing in the distance was still catching my eye. Maybe someone really was trying to lure me out... it was a possibility...
I doubted it though, maybe some soldiers were just guarding the outer gates and their gear got caught in the moonlight? That would be a stupid explanation though...
"Well, maybe yer' just about the only one who'll stay quiet when I wanna be alone." He let that hang in the air. The words were a compliment coming from him though, a rare thing for him. He wasn't one to just go out and give star stickers to his team members.
I chuckled.
"I get that a lot. People say I'm just... Quiet. I know I am, despite my flames." I looked down at the blue flames along my dress, capturing the essence of something cool, but yet they were deadly to the touch. Well, only if I wanted them to be... My flames were my gift and I could luckily control if they caused destruction or not. At the moment they were just silently stretching themselves along my hands and dress. It was always a relief to let them out, like a nice stretch after a long sleep, that was what it felt like. Euphoria.
"Not everyone has the words, Verity."
He finished his cigar and crushed the butt out with his boot. Then he looked out the window, rain still coming down strong and slamming against the pane.
I looked out the window with him, in a trance because of the sound and sight. I loved rain, even if my blood had fire running through it.
"Ever miss it?" He asked idly, the wind blowing hard against the window and rattling it back and forth.
I turned my head in his direction, just barely being able to hear him over the sound of the hurricane-like storm outside.
"Miss what?" I asked softly.
"The life. You said you were just a normal girl once, that the flames were a gift." His voice was softer now, almost sympathetic in a way.
The wind was howling outside, pressing hard against the window pane, the rain hammering down. Edward seemed lost in thought, the silence heavy with regret and nostalgia.
"If you could go back to that girl you used to be, would ya?" He asked, taking his Glock and putting it in a different desk drawer.
I sighed and looked back out the window.
"I don't know... I miss my old home and my old body. People think I'm dangerous and full of rage because of the fire within me, but I don't care about that anymore... I love my gift because the gods gave it to me. It had to be for a reason..." I shrugged my shoulders a bit, now looking back into my lap. I noticed that my flames had died down from the calmness the rain brought me. Now I didn't know which was the storm, the one outside or myself...
Edward shifted in his chair once again, his eyes studying me as I stared out the window.
"What if they gave you these flames just to punish you?" He asked, sounding not so sure about his question as if worried to offend me.
"Then I'd learn to love it."
I replied in a breath which I sighed in the end, my words coming out and fogging up the window once again.
Edward's words made me wonder if he thought my life was miserable from what I had. He would be wrong if that was the case. My power made me feel, well, powerful. It gave me courage and strength. It made me feel peaceful at times, even when my blood boiled from fear or anger. It was like the reassurance in an adrenaline rush, like I was doing something with my life. But was I really? Hiding away in a military base from the public? Was it really safe and productive?
Well, not everyone got an opportunity like this, so maybe I wasn't completely useless...
"How are y' so bloody optimistic?" His words were quiet, almost amused, but still rough.
He leaned back in his chair, putting his hands behind his head and looking up at the ceiling fan which was motionless.
I chuckled.
"I guess that's part of my "punishment"..." I was sarcastic, rolling my eyes but smiling nonetheless.
He huffed out a breath like a laugh, a smile almost playing across his lips.
"...Maybe they gave you the fire 'cause they knew you'd never burn." He smiled at me, chuckling gruffly in his throat. It was nice to see him enjoying himself for once.
"Maybe. I can control it anyway, so... maybe they were right..." I trailed off.
"Then you're stronger than you think, dove." He nodded to me, his dark brown hair covering his eyes for a moment. How that man still had that much hair in his forties, I did not know...
"I guess so..."
I continued looking out the window, but my brow furrowed when I saw the shiny object getting closer as if to try to lure me in more. During our conversation, I had almost forgotten about the shiny thing. But now I was suspicious and serious.
He followed your gaze, his eyes narrowing in suspicion and concentration. His voice was rough and low as always, barely above a whisper. I could feel the intensity coming off of him like something was on his mind. "Stay away from the shiny." He warned, but in a serious voice now.
"B-But it's so-..." I started but he cut me off.
"No, no, no. You stay right here and stay put." He said in a voice almost threatening as he stood up from his desk, pushing his chair in and grabbing the sniper rifle leaning against the side of his desk.
I had a good idea of what he was going to do. But was it because of my obsessions with shiny things? Or was he just paranoid and suspicious?
It was the bird side of me that was making me drawn towards the shiny little glinting things. Another part of my divinity was that I could transform into a blue phoenix. Just like my blue flames, I had a phoenix form that could match.
My daze was broken when he walked over to me, his 6'2 figure looming over me as he reached across me and shut the curtains quickly, making direct eye contact as he did so. It seemed like he was trying to get a point through.
"And don't look out the damn window." He practically hissed, staring at me intently.
His sniper rifle had landed in my lap when he went to close the curtains, so he picked it up and then walked over to the exit in the corner next to his desk.
"Are you gonna go out there?" I asked worriedly, not wanting him to go out there with supposed intruders.
"Just want... a look, that's all." He promised, but something about his manner was unsettling, and it got worse as he opened the door.
He exited the office, leaving me alone. The door slammed shut behind him, and I heard something outside: the sound of metal grating against metal in the distance, like a sword being sharpened.
The wind roared and howled while rain poured down in the night, swaying the current of the rain and occasionally leading it to pound against the glass of the window behind me. It was unsettling and all-too-new for me. Even when I was supposedly protected at the base, the smallest things still gave me an unsettling and worried feeling.
A deathly silence rang out through the room, Edward's presence seemingly the only thing that made it less empty-feeling. But now I was alone. Alone with the rain and my flames. But my flames had died down for the moment.
It was sudden, but a sharp shriek that nearly gave me a heart attack, rang out outside. I gasped and immediately turned towards the curtains as I heard the scream. But I didn't want to look outside either... I desperately wanted to go outside to see if it was Edward or someone else who had screamed. But I promised Edward I wouldn't go outside...
Another scream. The wind was howling and the rain was pouring down in torrents so sharp and quick that I could barely see anything outside. No one screamed like that. Not a man. Not a woman. Something inhuman.
Oh shit, time to fuck off...
I wouldn't just leave Edward alone in the rain outside with some demon thingy though. I wasn't a traitor... But I couldn't fucking do anything!
Ughhhhhhh... What was I supposed to do? I was torn between calling for help or staying put like I was told to do. But the other soldiers were deployed, at home, in the barracks, or at the outer gates. There was no one to call...
I went frozen, my mind screaming yet blurry at the same time. My fight or flight instincts were killing me. I wanted to run, fight the intruder, help Edward, and stay frozen all at the same time. All my instincts were fighting each other, but all I could do was freeze. I was on the verge of a panic attack.
Since I was panicking so much, I got lost in thought and was ultimately distracted that I didn't notice the shrieks and yells getting closer. I immediately dashed to the opposite side of the room, opposite from the window. I didn't want to be anywhere near the action. So I hid under Edward's desk, breathing heavily and whimpering softly.
I wanted to be smaller, so I shifted to my phoenix form, curling up in a ball in a little corner under his desk silently. I felt tears welling up in my blue eyes. Would this be the end of me? Had whatever was out there killed Edward? Would it kill me too?
A loud crash came from outside, and something was pounded against the wall. Then, another voice, one much deeper and more sinister than the last. There was a growl, low and deep, and then...
"Give her to us!"
There was the sound of metal being swung through the air, most likely a weapon. But didn't Edward have his sniper rifle? Why wasn't he using it to his advantage?
The sound of the voice sounded so familiar, but so demonic I couldn't quite make it out...
I was still hiding under Edward's desk, curled up in my blue feathers, hyperventilating at this point. I was just so terrified. What on or off this earth was outside asking for me?
Praying out loud, I pleaded for Edward and myself to be safe from harm from whatever this thing was. I knew Edward had to already be hurt, estimating the size of the creature based on its voice and where it was coming from. It had to be big...
The door exploded inward. Another howl from the wind and the rain pounding down just added to the pile of anxiety and fear struck within me. From a crack in the wood in Edward's desk I could see it. A tall, gaunt figure stepped inside, roughly 8'4. He was dressed like some kind of hooded mercenary, but his features were so obscured that I couldn't make them out. His arms were laced with weapons, and his voice was deep and definitely demonic.
"Give her to us! Αλλιώς θα βασιλέψει η εκδίκηση!"
What the fuck was going on?! I was so scared and confused. Who was this large mercenary and what the fuck was he saying? I was no language master for sure, I never did my Duolingo, so this made me more confused.
I continued hiding under Edward's desk, sniffling softly and trying to make minimal noise. But luckily the wind and rain outside obscured most of the noise that I made.
I looked through the little crack in Edward's desk, searching for him frantically. I couldn't hear his voice or see him. But the mercenary seemed to be speaking to him, so I assumed he was okay...
A shadow then passed by the office door, moving so fast that I couldn't see exactly what it was. Another growl, then the shadow leapt into the office. This monster looked like a wolf... except ten times the size and black with a silver collar around its neck. It looked like some hellish dog. The claws were a sharp black color, and his mouth was filled with jagged teeth. The mercenary crouched down to speak into his ear.
"The bird girl is here. Find her!"
The merc then threw a black shiny orb, which cracked on the floor, sending dark tendrils of a black smoke-like substance throughout the room. I covered my face with my wings as the tendrils crawled throughout the room.
A howl pierced the air and I heard the sound of paws on the ground, it was the wolf. He clawed at the ground, making his presence known. He was getting closer and I could tell, his growling was practically up to my ear.
I figured that using my fire to protect myself would be the smart thing to do, but when one of those smoky tendrils snaked around my body, my powers were useless. It was as if the power within me had been drained out, but the powers the tendril had were obscuring my fire and cooling me down. Now I knew that I had some sort of weakness to whatever this smoky substance was. That was not a good thing for this moment...
I thrashed around in the tendril's grasp, but that apparently made my presence known and the wolf immediately pounced over to me. Its growls were louder than I thought they'd sound when its fanged mouth was within reach. Breathing heavily, I tried to squirm my way out of the tendril's deathly hold, but to no avail.
I screamed, trying to call for help from Edward or at least scare the beasts off. This only aggravated both of them more, and the tendril snaked around my neck. Then the wolf lunged forward and grabbed my feathered body in its jaw, the tendril let go and now I was in possession of the growling wolf.
"Careful, Roman. Don't sink your teeth into the poor girl~." The mercenary hummed slyly as the wolf pounced out from behind Edward's desk and proudly trotted over with me in his grasp. His words sounded more like a threat to me than an instruction to Roman, who I presumed was the wolf.
The wolf slammed into the wall behind the desk, leaving a large indentation in the wall. It was as if the wolf was disoriented and dizzy, the adrenaline in its body still taking its course. As its claws dug into the wall, I noticed the broken silver chains dangling from its collar. They glinted in the light outside. Wait, that was what I had been seeing! That was the shiny thing I saw out the window earlier...
"He needs you for his army, and you will comply~." The merc spoke in a hissy voice.
Roman then gained balance and dropped me in front of the mercenary. My phoenix body was still weak and the black tendrils still had their effect on me. I was powerless and my body ached from being thrashed around by the dizzy, moon-drunk wolf.
I looked up at the tall mercenary, my head hurting and the light from outside only adding to my headache. The thunder, pouring hail, and rain caused a rumble in the ground beneath. And the wind rushing through the broken glass and door caused a ruffle in my feathers. I had no time to preen though, my body was too weak for that at the moment.
"Poor, poor little birdy..." The mercenary chuckled a bit, and I knew there was a smirk underneath that black and white mask of his. It was black with little silver and white accents around the jawline and forehead. It covered his entire face and made me wonder how he could even see through it. The hood of his cloak also cast a shadow over his face, which made me even more confused.
The mercenary crouched down to be closer to my laying form. He rested his forearms on his knees and shook his head at me.
"You little thing... Corvus will be pleased to have such a fine specimen in confinement." He whispered, then reached down to my body and picked me up in one hand, moving his hand up and down to feel the weight and size of my phoenix form. He nodded in approval then stood up.
My head swayed lazily a bit from being unsupported, letting me have a glimpse of how far down the ground was. The mercenary's height made the fall look pretty lengthy, but my dizziness was also a factor.
I could see the wolf sitting obediently and proudly at the merc's side, waiting patiently for instruction. But Edward was still nowhere in sight... that just made me even more worried. I was being kidnapped by a mercenary, my powers were useless at the moment, and Edward was seemingly gone.
The mercenary saw me observing the situation and brought his other hand up to cradle my head, my body laying in his hands. I would fly away if I could, but this stupid dark magic had taken a toll on my body. As I let out a groan of misery and pain, the merc looked down at me and put a finger under my chin, softly caressing the down feathers just above my throat.
"Aww, don't worry~. I'll take good care of you, my little swan~..." He promised in a hushed voice, but I could tell he wouldn't give a damn if his wolf companion ate me.
"Who are you?" I asked in a weak and raspy voice, my breathing shallow and uneven from being positioned in his hands so strangely.
"My name is Dion, mercenary for Corvus Nox, my master." He introduced himself.
His voice was deep, but not too loud to cause more aggravation to my headache.
He sounded proud of his title. I didn't judge him, Dion was a cool name. But who was Corvus Nox?
"We're leaving. It's a long journey to Helleve."
He spoke so casually, it was almost refreshing. He was like a soldier with a mission, confident and ready for a myriad of journeys ahead. His confidence was nice to hear after living with a bunch of heart-hardened soldiers. Even if they had similar motives, Dion was definitely more proud to be who he was...

~ I hope you liked the first chapter! I wrote this back in February, so it might have a few errors. Let me know if you have any suggestions for future chapters. ~