The Boy and the Animal

Part I | Sixteen

In an instant, my mind left me, and my body usurped it. Thoughts of what he could possibly mean without giving into the obvious conclusion accelerated like gasoline inside my head. I tried to calm myself, to breathe and ascertain rationality again, but it was no use. My breaths came in short gasps, and I could feel that familiar panic again. My heart rattled its cage in desperation.

And finally, nothing was left for me to guess any longer. In the corner of my eye, I caught a shuffl. My head immediately darted to it, only to see the guards that were supposedly "on errand" holding Dark by his shoulder and Jesiter in chains and binds. Only muffled growls and screams came from the boy, as they had muzzled him, and Dark simply remained silent.

And standing just behind them was Captain Guardred.

I had never felt so much rage course through me in my life. All of the panic that ripped through me caught aflame, and my very veins boiled inside me.

"I must say, I'm impressed with how you were able to turn him into a housewife," Tobis said in that same voice he used when he would spend hours chatting with us under the porch those years ago. He stood and leaned so that he was face to face with Jesiter. "But a monster's still a monster. Mm, look at those eyes so full of hate. You got away from me once, swine, but not again." Jesiter growled at him. "Anyway, let's get this over with already."

"Captain Guardred," I pleaded out to the captain. She looked away and shook her head.

"I'm sorry, Cyrus, but you've done too much," she muttered. Then, stepping toward me, she motioned for me to stand. "For the unlawful collection of a bounty worth 10,000 gold or more and the harboring of a dangerous entity, you are charged. The penalty is death."

"Listen to me, Guardred, I did what you asked! I took care of him; he isn't a problem anymore! He's-"

Shing.

The sound rang out in the air- the only piercing noise in the sequence of silence that followed. It was the first thing I realized in that instance- a slice, a crack. I managed to blink, and, the moment I did, a surge of pain soared through my body from my torso. Suddenly, I realized that I was on the floor with blood gushing from my chest onto the floor.

As if in slow motion, my head rose to peer up at Tobis- who wiped dripping blood from the captain's scimitar with a rag as he stared at me with those burning eyes. I opened my mouth to speak, but the agony in my chest paralyzed me until all I could manage were short gasps. My body collapsed, and all I could do was watch helplessly as he turned to Jesiter and Dark.

Captain Guardred made to speak in shock, stuttering a horrified protest as she moved her body to protect the other captives;  Tobis simply rolled his eyes and shoved the blade through her armor and directly into her neck. She dropped with a gurgling cry, but little fight escaped her any longer as she dropped to the ground in a pool of her own blood.

In the intensity of the air with the guards trembling in their boots, Tobis withdrew a pendent necklace bearing Enicrih's emblem and held the glowing, twitching object up to Jesiter- whose docile eyes had melted into the brutality of the wild. The boy fought against the chains and screamed, but his restraints were too much.

My brother said something, but his cry was too muffled. Their image was becoming more and more blurry as I lie there, and, in flashes, I could see her. Not again, I thought as the blade was pressed against Jesiter's neck. Not again. Not again! I willed myself to move, but I was frozen; the feel of the surface below me, the blood oozing from my mouth, even the agony of the wound were fading.

"Would you believe I was in my room and this beauty started glowing? I roamed around and peeked in a few rooms, and, low and behold, the man responsible for my daughter's death had a fugitive with him! Two birds with one stone, huh?"