She swings her sword and it crashes down onto the intruder's. Behind them, the sun makes the castle's shadow longer and longer, hiking her anxiety.
"Leave now!" She growls, bearing all her weight down on her weapon.
He grins, twisting his wrist and flicking her to the side. She stumbles, but catches herself to spin around.
He's staring at the castle with lust.
She grimaces and charges him. In his distraction she's able to slide her blade against his side. Shocked, he bats her away. The tang of blood fills the air.
"Why are you making this difficult?!"
She doesn't reply and bursts forward again. The man side-steps her and bashes the back of her head with his sword.
Dazed, she falls onto one knee. The old castle overlooks the fight with indifference. The point of his blade draws her attention.
"I'm offering a lot of gold for this place," he says as he moves around her, sword still pinning her. "It's isolated, perfect for me."
She shakes her head. "This is my family's manor."
He casts a sly gaze around. "But I see no one else here." His grin is sharp. The silhouette of the castle stretches over him as streaks of orange curl around it.
She needs to get inside, but sees no other option. "OK," she relents.
He raises an eyebrow, lowering the sword a fraction. "Just like that?"
"Yes," she gasps. The last fragment of light fades beyond the horizon and she feels the change rip through her. She's too late.
Terror fills his eyes.
YOU ARE READING
The Eternal Return
Short StoryA collection of speculative short stories and flash fiction. A few of these are also posted on my blog and others still I wrote in creative writing classes or for flash fiction contests. Please, let me know what you think.
