Hearts in High Places

Saviors Reunited

Tiberius

I watched the crystalline spheres bubble to the surface. The cold water calming my melancholic heart, the tears washed away in the refreshing flow of the lake. I sat on the bottom, my head barely beneath the gentle waves. I wouldn't run out of breath for another twenty minutes, but the water did not calm me as it usually did. I felt restless after watching her get hurt because of me, again. Her face still haunts my memory, that look seized with fear and apprehension. The way she held the bracelet beneath her shirt and panicked when she caught me looking made my stomach turn.

I stood, the water rushing off of me in rivers. The serene forest sang its delicate melody as the wind rushed through the pine boughs. The subtle smell of decay and pine tar weaving its way with the breeze. I felt several mundane life signs fleeing as I emerged from the lake, my footsteps shaking the young pines nearby. Staring at the setting sun, I sat and listened to the forest's hymns.

I had left her an hour from the gates of the city, so she was already there safe. Safe...what a joke. She was safe in the city. She was not safe with me. I kicked myself mentally for even thinking I could protect her. Brute force was easy but only if we were together, I could do nothing to help prevent her fear. I shuddered again at the look she gave me as she dodged my hand. I wanted to get close enough to the city that I would sense when she left but I knew that would likely only put her in more danger. I knew she was more than capable with normal threats, but the type of danger I brought to her was above her head, quite literally in many cases.

The forest's crescendo was interrupted by the sound of a woman screaming on the coast. I was over a mile away from the path but my hearing was exceptional. Her wails reached my ears. What if it was her? I felt panic fill my chest as her screaming pierced the thick forest. I listened closely trying to determine if it was her. Then the woman screamed for several entities to save her...including a giant. Only one person would think to ask for that. I barely felt the trees breaking against my knees as I sprinted to her.

As I approached the road, the scene I found made me sick. Several human-sized creatures surrounded her, tearing at her clothes. They may have been human once but magic and malice had transformed them into horrid creatures. They had extra fingers, ears, and eyes that bore a yellow and red hue. Their scalps clung to what few hairs remained and the smell they emitted was gut wrenching. Their beasts appeared just as ghastly with the glimpse I got as they scattered at my approach. The worst part of their existence was their life signs. The silver glow that usually represented a human was almost entirely swallowed in oily black malice. Their darkness is like a plague coating the land around them in their filth.

It took me a moment to register what they were doing. My giant's rage overwhelmed me. My hand slammed down on the group of them next to her that stood jeering at her and saying disgusting things. The smell that erupted from their crushed bodies like a tidal wave of excrement crashing into my senses. I felt my eyes water but I held my focus on the task at hand. Four of the scrawny creatures held Piper by the arms as she struggled against them, a small bit of pride wormed its way past my rage knowing it took four of them to hold her down. The five remaining creatures froze at the sudden and violent death of their comrades. They followed my arm up to me leaning out of the forest and let out inhuman screeches.

They released Piper and ran for their missing steeds. In their panic they failed to understand their steeds had run off and began running around Piper wailing like spooked animals. I managed to catch and squash the four that had held her. I looked for the fifth, seemingly the leader, and found Piper about to end the creature's miserable life. It writhed against her strong grip, screeching and spitting at her. She held the blade over the creature's head but her hand trembled. She planted the blade in the ground beside the creature's head. It soiled itself and passed out from fear. She did not acknowledge my presence yet, she just sat back and cried.