Halfling (editing in process)

Chapter Twenty-Three

Aria woke up alone. Javen and Payne were gone, the fire was out, and something was whining. She sat up, a small frown coming onto her face as she looked around, her eyes spotting the note. She picked it up, shaking her head as one hand moved up to her mouth to conceal the whimper, tears freely flowing down her cheeks.

"N-No..." She whimpered, feeling her heart quiver and seize in her chest.

Payne was gone; she hadn't even told her goodbye. Her hand trembled, causing the paper to shake as she brought it to her chest, a broken sob leaving her. The one person that could comfort her, the one person that she wanted to hold to because her world was in shatters... was gone. She looked at the chest through watery eyes, the noise coming from within. She opened the box and was met with a small pair of crimson eyes.

It was so small she could hold it in two hands. The little pup was black as the night sky, like the obsidian that used to adorn her father's home. The moment their eyes had locked she had felt... something. They were connected, just as she had been marked by Lucien and then her father, but this one... This mark she felt in her very soul. She had stared at it for a long time, and it had stared back at her, both of them seeming afraid to touch one another. Then it had given her a short yip and hopped to the side of the box, holding itself up as it begged for her to hold it. She frowned as she picked it up by the scruff of its neck, wincing at the strong smell of sulfur that came from him.

"What are you?" She questioned.

She couldn't help but smile as it attempted to lick at her fingers, its little tail wagging furiously as it wriggled to try and get closer to her. She held it close to her chest, the pup snuggling close to her, whimpering in excitement.

"Are you supposed to be the protector that Payne mentioned in the note? You are too tiny to be a protector. You could barely stand off against a squirrel, let alone Lucien or any other demon that wanted a piece of my hide." She said, scratching his ear, finding comfort in holding him.

"Aria, I got us some breakfast, are you awake yet?"

Aria jumped at the sound of Javen's voice, a soft gasp leaving her as the pup jumped from her arms and grew to the size of a small horse, his eyes glowing with a hellish light, muscled body poised to strike as he growled low, revealing two rows of teeth that gleamed, sharper than any dagger.

"Oh shit!" Javen was up a tree faster than Aria could follow his movements. "Aria! What the fuck is that?! Call it off! Call it off!"

Aria looked at the dog, too shocked to do anything for a moment before blinking and patting her lap. "Come here boy, it's okay. That's my brother; you don't have to worry about him. Down boy."

The dog growled low at Javen one last time before looking to Aria; and then abruptly shrunk back down to tiny size and hopped into her lap, snuggling into her stomach and laying down.

"I think you can come down now Javen. I'm sorry... P-Payne... Payne's gone."

Javen slowly came down; his eyes weary as he moved to sit down next to Aria. He put an arm around her, jerking back when she flinched and the dog growled at him. He sighed and put his hands behind him.

"What do you mean she's gone? I assumed she went off to find some food or something. Have you been crying?"

Aria turned her face away from him and handed him the note. "She's gone... She's never going to come back again. S-She... She made me feel safe." She whispered, shaking her head. "And it's all Lucien's fault! All of it! What he did to me, what he made her do to me! She thought that she hurt me... But I've been hurt before. No, it isn't what I would want after what he did, but I didn't want her to leave... I feel so empty and she was s-supposed to help."

When Javen put his arm around her again she didn't flinch away. She moved close to him, sobbing into his shoulder.

"Shh... Shh don't cry Aria." He whispered, panic in his eyes. He didn't know what to do with crying women! "Listen to me. We are going to find that third relic, and we will destroy Lucien. Maybe when he's gone you can get Payne to come back. I will do everything I can to try and help you get her back, but we need to go... I don't know if Lucien can find you here easily, but I don't want to find out. Are you well enough to travel?"

Aria sniffled and thought about shaking her head, to just leave her there so she could bask in her misery and sadness. But he was right. They needed to kill Lucien before he caused more damage than he could have already done, and without the fear that Lucien would make her do something else, Payne might come back to her.

"I...I don't know how far I can walk, but I will try."

Javen nodded. "If I had a horse I'd give it to you, but mine went off when we went into that cave."

The puppy hopped off her lap, and grew again. Aria yipped in surprise as it gripped the back of her shirt and put her on its back with a simple flick of its head. She looked down at Javen in alarm, the look mimicked in his eyes.

"I repeat myself, what the fuck is that thing?" Javen questioned.

"I... I really don't know. It smells like Hell. Hellhound?" She questioned, burying her fingers into his fur, a soft sigh leaving her lips. "He's so soft though... I guess he is my protector now."

"I can protect you. At least up here I can. You going to give it a name or are we just going to call it fucking hellhound, because we can name it that and it would be just fine with me."

Aria rolled her eyes and rested her head on the dog's back. "His name is Marcus." She replied quietly. "You hear that boy? Your name is Marcus."

Javen sighed and got up and started to walk beside the dog. "Here, I got us some fruit for the trip. Do you even know where we are going?"

Aria bit into the apple and nodded. "Follow me and Marcus, we know where to go."

There was a hard look of determination in her eyes underneath the haunted look that Javen hated to see in her eyes. He would see that demon dead if it was the last thing he ever did. He would personally go to Hell and throw him into the pits again and again if he had to. Aria had been happy. All of them had been happy! He had been thinking of starting a family, Aria and Payne were going to go off and do demonic things. He would have made sure that he and Aria continued to see one another, after all, she needed someone to teach her more about her elven heritage. But all that... Their little fantasy had been shattered.

And if Payne didn't come back to her he'd kill her too. He had made her promise that she would be there for Aria, and she had abandoned her.

Goddess above help us. Mother, wherever you are, whether it be in the Isles of Paradise with dad or in that bracelet, bring Aria strength. I don't think we are strong enough to face this on our own. Javen thought, and pressed ahead, groaning as the dog licked him.

"Fucking hellhound." He muttered darkly, and he could swear the damn thing smiled at him.