Halfling (editing in process)

Chapter Twenty-Two

"I'll tear him to shreds!" Javen yelled, rampaging through the clearing as Payne tried to communicate with him.

Aria was sitting on the ground with the spectral elven woman, her eyes, haunted but laced with wonder, never left the ghost. She was leaning on her, the woman, though nearly translucent, holding a solidness that kept Aria from falling through her. The woman was whispering softly to her in a language that Payne didn't understand, but Aria seemed to. Both their eyes were filled with tears and the same look was shared in their eyes.

"And you!" Javen yelled, turning on her. "Where the fuck were you? You were supposed to protect her! You were supposed to keep things like that from happening! You failed when her father took her to that world of darkness, and you failed when that other demon took her! But it was too late this time! Look at her! Look at her damn it! It's your fault! You told me you would protect her, I trusted you! You let that bastard defile my sister!" And he slapped her.

Payne didn't stop him, didn't try and argue back. He was right. Guilt ate her from the inside, making her sick. She should have been there for Aria. She shouldn't have let her guard down. She hadn't been there when Aria needed her the most. She turned away from him, looking to Aria and her mother, feeling sad. Her mother had shared the same fate; taken and raped and it had killed her.

"I want you gone. Get the fuck out of here! I don't want you so much as looking at my sister again, and I swear to the Goddess if you do I'll-"

He was cut off as a swirl of shadow wrapped around Payne and pulled her to Aria, the girl leaning her head against Payne's leg.

"Leave her alone Javen." Aria said quietly. "It wasn't her fault. It was no one's fault but Lucien's. She was as powerless as I was. And please stop screaming, my head... hurts..." She looked up at Payne sullenly before turning her attention back to her mother, the woman stroking her head. "She has to go now... She said that she will try and gain strength again to appear again, but she is tired." She said quietly.

She watched as the woman faded away, her bracelet glowing brightly before settling on her wrist again, humming with energy. "Let's set up camp. I'm tired." She said quietly and rose to her feet, beginning to gather up wood for a fire.

Javen watched, a vein in his temple twitching before he groaned and started to set up the clearing. He was muttering darkly under his breath, fury still burning in his eyes.

None of them ate; no one felt like it. They sat around the fire as the sun disappeared and night claimed the sky. Javen would try and comfort her, only to have Aria flinch away from him and curl closer to Payne. This seemed to calm the anger that drove him down a little bit, and he was now sat on the other end of the fire, staring into the flames.

"How did you get us here?" Aria questioned, seeming to startle both Javen and Payne.

Javen cleared his throat and looked up to her, but she refused to meet his eyes. "My mother showed me." He said quietly. "She knows how to summon demons, it is an ancient magic and probably why your father targeted her, she knew demon magic. It was forbidden, but her grandmother insisted she knew it for emergency situations. It was a simple process, some words, and it felt really... wrong. But I got you two here fine. I can't pull him here, I don't know why. Maybe he is stronger than I thought he was."

Payne opened her mouth to speak but shut it sadly, running her fingers through Aria's hair.

"He took all my father's power, and he's been collecting energy since before you and I met. He has been growing stronger and stronger, even with that energy he probably still could have taken us. Once he got the power from killing my father... He is stronger than us all." Aria answered, tossing a couple of sticks into the flames.

"Is there any way we can beat him? There must be something we can do... The relics. You said you were looking for relics. You have my mother's bracelet and I have the quiver. You said there were three, and they would allow us to take down your father, would it work on Lucien? Where was the last one located?"

"In a crypt deep underground. I don't think it will work Javen, he's too strong."

"We have to try Aria... What is the alternative, run for the rest of our lives? If there is a way we might defeat him we need to take it. We need to try."

When Aria didn't speak he nodded. "We'll set out tomorrow." He replied, and started sharpening one of his daggers. "Get some sleep Aria."

When Aria shook her head, Payne carefully laid her down, her head in her lap. She could feel her stiffen, hear her heart as it started racing in her chest, could practically taste her fear. Her breathing was shallow and she began to shake. She turned quickly and gripped onto the material of Payne's dress, burying her face into the cloth as she trembled. Payne gently separated her hands from her dress and laid down beside her, letting Aria cling to her, letting her try and fight through the fear. The tremors stopped a few hours before dawn, and Aria finally fell asleep. Payne had stayed awake with her the entire time, holding her, letting Aria whisper against her skin, whispers of fear and hatred for herself, hatred that she couldn't do more, that she wasn't able to fight more. Guilt that she had responded to it, that she had liked the feeling of his body, his hands upon hers.

Payne held her until the sun came up, when Javen finally went to sleep as well. She got up, careful not to wake Aria. She looked down at the sleeping girl's face, her features betraying that even in her slumber she was plagued by fear and nightmares. Payne's fingers curled into fists as she looked down at her, guilt gnawing at her stomach and her mind.

I am sorry Aria. I am sorry I wasn't able to protect you. I'm sorry I wasn't there to fight for you. It should have been me. I would have taken an eternity of slavery to prevent that from happening to you. I... I can't be here. I can't hurt you again. I'll destroy him. I promise I will destroy him for you, and you'll never see me again. You'll never have to worry about me hurting you. But I'll get you something that will protect you, better than I ever could. I shouldn't have gotten attached to you. I shouldn't have thought that we could be together. I am a sadist, a creature that revels in the pain of others. How could I ever love? You'll find someone eventually, someone that will treat you as the Goddess you are. You will heal, you will learn to love again. And when Lucien is dead, you may finally have peace. Goodbye my sweet Aria... Please... Please forgive me.

Payne left the note, along with a small metal chest beside Aria. She looked down at the girl, a lump in her throat as tears coursed down her cheeks. She would have endured a thousand tortures for her. They could have been happy together, she would have liked to think. They would have gotten a place, far up into the mountains where no one would bother them, since Aria had a distaste for Hell. They would have practiced magic by day and made love by night. They could have had it all. But now the dream was a nightmare soiled by darkness. A memory that made Payne hurt so badly it didn't turn to pleasure. She placed a gentle kiss to Aria's forehead, a shuttering sigh escaping her lips before she disappeared.