Darkness Girl: Trickster God

Prologue

A flock of gulls passed overhead jostling one another for scraps. Their harsh, screaming calls cut through the air like knives. Sarafina shaded her eyes from the sun and squinted against the glare coming off the sand. Her little sister, Eva, was running towards her, ankle-deep through the surf. Sarafina smiled at her sister's childish delight in the splashes she made as she ran.

'Sarafina! Guess what I found?'

'Hmm?'

Eva came to an abrupt stop in front of her with a spray of water. Sarafina brushed some stray droplets off the linen fabric of her sundress.

'I found a body!'

She announced it like a child would announce any other find, presenting it like a newly collected object for examination and admiration.

'Where?' said Sarafina, urgently.

'Further down the beach.'

'Show me!'

Eva's expression showed her satisfaction with the effect of her announcement. Sarafina followed close behind her as she ran purposefully through the sand.

She saw the dark shadow being buffeted by the surf well before she was able to make it out as human. As they reached the body, Eva hovered close by as if to remind her sister that she was the one who found it first.

The girl was lying face down against the sand like a discarded doll. One of her arms was thrust outwards, as if she'd been reaching for something when she died. Her hair had been dyed blue; the matted locks swirled in the sandy water as each wave came in to lap around her body.

Sarafina rushed into the water. She slipped her arms under the dead girl's armpits and dragged her further up onto the beach, staggering under the weight. When she had her out of the water, she placed the girl carefully on her back and listened to her chest. There was no sound.

The girl looked to be about Sarafina's age. She might have been pretty, but it was hard to tell. There were bruises covering her face and deep, bloody cuts on her arms and body.

As Sarafina stood up, she heard Eva squeak. She looked across at her sister's expression, then looked down at herself. Her white dress was soaked with blood.

'What on earth happened to this girl?'

'Should we bury her?'

'You can't just bury bodies on the beach. You have to tell the investigators first.'

She brushed the wet sand off her hands and looked at Eva.

'Besides—'

There was a harsh cough behind her that made her jump. Eva let out a short scream and rushed for the safety of her sister's skirts.

The girl had turned herself over onto all fours. Blood dripped onto the sand in thick, heavy gouts. She let out some coughs that sounded like her throat was filled with crushed glass.

'She's alive!' Sarafina said, her heart still pounding in her chest.

The girl started to struggle to her feet. Sarafina rushed forward and put a restraining hand on her shoulder.

'You need to relax,' she said. 'You've been seriously injured.'

The girl turned and gave her a look filled with malevolence and hate. Sarafina automatically withdrew her hand.

'Who the hell are you?'