Half Breed

Chapter 4

Riminya's wings beat fiercely and with urgency as she took them away from the clearing. The trees below her raced by quicker than she'd ever seen. Her face was contorted in worry and fear; Dikoni could only look up at her, holding his wound.

What she couldn't see was her aura trailing behind her in deep plooms of blue, it's pattern turning and twisting apart like paper being torn and reformed. It's traces dissipating in the air in seconds. Her heart surged in her chest but her eyes refused to look at the one she held. Too afraid to know yet how bad the injury was. She could feel the warm liquid between her hands and it came to stain her shirt but she couldn't seem to care. Her darkened orbs were watching for any sign of the Nephilim who'd done this. She constantly glanced behind her as she flew, making extra sure she was as far away as she could take herself and Dikoni.

His pale hand moved up to her face, his eyes half-lidded and dull. "Riminya," his voice whispered out. "Stop."

She still didn't look at him, instead she dove into a thicket of trees. We'll be well hidden here, she thought. As she slowed, her wings beat with as much force as she could muster to stop herself and be able to set his cold form down.

Carefully she laid him down in the grass. The sun lightened the two as she leaned over him, her knees on either side of his abdomen. Riminya gazed at his right shoulder, her head spinning. Suddenly, she exhaled, and her emotions calmed. "Okay," she started, not intending to finish her sentence. She moved quickly, pulling out her own canteen of water and unscrewing it.

Dikoni watched distantly as her hands moved with her own bloodstained shirt, tearing a piece off and holding it with her teeth. His mind smiled, but his face didn't move. In his head, he saw the same girl who sewed up his stomach when her own father shot him down; the same girl who was so naive in the beginning. Seeing her grow and learn and adapt to this new life he'd brought her into. . . This time he actually smiled, even laughed a little.

Her eyes caught his with something that looked like distress and confusion as her wings dissolved away into thin air. Riminya's hands were tangled in his shirt, tearing the fabric to get to the laceration, balancing on her knees over him. His lips were slightly turned up, "I guess we'll have to walk."

Riminya furrowed her eyebrows at him, shook her head, and went to her canteen. She poured water over it and quickly tied the cloth from her shirt around his shoulder, making a tourniquet and bandage in one. She sighed and leaned back, sitting lightly on his stomach.

The dragon giggled again, "Awe, I was enjoying my view."

Riminya looked down at her chest and scoffed. But a smile still crept onto her lips. "You little shit," she grumbled while beginning to laugh.

A flock of starlings had stayed all but silent above them but, startled by something, all exploded out from the trees into their murmuration. By the hundreds, Riminya watched while spinning around and drawing her dagger swiftly, as they moved in surreal patterns; it was as if they were black waves in the azure haze of morning.

The dragon under her laughed, "They're birds, Love."

She spun back around to face him, her eyes dark red, "You almost had your goddamn arm cut off and you're telling me about birds?" Her voice held a deathly venom as she spoke. "You should be more scared than I am, damnit!" Riminya shifted back down onto the grass around them, her voice becoming frantic and scared, "I didn't think he'd hunt us. . ."

Dikoni's face became serious at her last words, "You know him?"

The demon let silence envelope them. Light was spilling through the trees and illuminating herself and her counterpart. Riminya nodded hesitantly, "He was what I saw when I left. He stopped me and ended up taking me to this village. His sister let me go because she knows what I am." She fiddled with her hands in her lap. She only dared to glance at him once, his eyes were narrowed but it wasn't anger in his features. "He's Nephilim. I thought they didn't exist anymore. . . Now I know better."

The dragon sat up and touched her knee, his expression softening, "We're all learning now."

Riminya walked behind the dragon as they pressed on, per his insistence. He didn't falter but she did carry his satchel, that was something he couldn't stop her from doing.

The bleeding had stopped but the injury was still open. Riminya took to checking on it every hour or so.

Now, the sun was high in the sky, shining down on them like a spotlight. That's what it felt like to Riminya. Her skin crawled at the thought of someone watching her from behind. She caught herself constantly watching over her shoulder and jumping at any sound that she could hear. For most of the hours, she kept her hand securely on her knife as they made their was through the millions of trees.

Her darkened eyes were trained to her left, being sure that she'd heard rustling. She scanned the area but slammed right into Dikoni's back. Her brows creased and, over his shoulder, she glared. Her mouth opened to protest but he quickly hushed her.

The dragon pointed very slowly in front of him. Riminya's eyes followed where he pointed to and the sounds she'd heard suddenly made sense.

A creature sat, bending over the carcass of what looked to be a rabbit. It had long slender fingers that picked at the carcass gingerly. It snarled as it dug though the dead rabbit and came to eat a piece that it had picked. The entire creature didn't stand any more than three feet tall, it's entire body was covered in brown, leather like skin, and the feet it crouched on looked dog like. It's spinal bones stuck out from it's back almost in spines and it's ears twitched, listening.

It gave an awful, sheer shriek that made Riminya cringe and move to put her hands over her ears.

The creature took to tearing off parts with it's teeth, and Dikoni ushered the demon backwards away from the thing, trying to make as little sound as possible. 

Once out of ear shot, Dikoni leaned over to her, "That's an Aldis. They're like goblins but more... Bloodthirsty."

"Did my kind make those?" Riminya asked timidly as she looked back in the direction of the beast. 

Dikoni hesitated but slowly shook his head. "No, not these creatures. These are just natural to this land. You don't have them on your side of the wall. . . Thankfully."