The Host of Hyperion

Chapter 13 - Elisabeth

Hello! I'm back sorry for such the long wait I got super busy and I wasn't able to collaborate with my co-author but I'm back for now!

My blood ran cold as my eye met the beady eyes of Mr. Wright.

He glared at us from where he sat on the ground, his mouth pulled into a mix of a grimace and a snarl. A line of golden blood dripped down from the gash in his cheek from where Kennedy had hit him with her knives. I stared at the blood, watching it slowly drip down his cheek, the gold catching in the moonlight. An image of gold splattered on a wall entered my mind and my hands started to shake.

"What's going on?" Kennedy asked faintly, every drop of blood absent from her face. She looked like she was about to faint. "Who are you? What are you?"

"Does it matter?" Mr. Wright wheezed. Another spurt of blood was visible in his torso, spilling down his sweater vest. "We're all doomed."

"What're you talking about?" Kennedy choked.

"They were gonna kill me if I didn't give you up," his eyes lacked malice and energy as he slumped forward weakly.

"Who?"

"Him." He growled.

"Him? Who's 'him'?" I asked, my grip on my scythe tightening.

Mr. Wright's eyes flicked back and forth, searching the surrounding shadows, his body shuddering with the cool air and the very horror in his bones. "I... I..."

He coughed, and blood spilled down his lips. "He's watching us right now. I can't--"

Something split through the tree, and Wright screamed. We jumped back in shock to see a great spout of blood blossom through his shirt, the golden point of an arrow sticking through his chest.

I gasped and shook in fear as Mr. Wright tipped forward, his head hitting the ground with a thud. I tore my gaze from Mr. Wright's body to see a dark figure swamped in shadows. The light glinted on the second arrow that had been reloaded, the gold shining menacingly in the dark.

I took a few steps back, only to meet the rough surface of a tree. I glanced at Kennedy, who had her eyes trained on the weapon in the person's hands, her grip on her knives turning her knuckles white against the strain.

I opened my mouth to speak, but only to have a pitiful, strangled sound come out, my vocal cords refusing to cooperate. Fear gripped my heart in a vice-like grip, my body tense against the rough wood of the tree.

The stranger stepped forward, the shadows falling away to show what appeared to be a tall person, shrouded in dark clothing. They lowered their bow and tilted their head slightly, as if they was analyzing if we were a threat or not.

After a few moments of tense silence, the figure reached up to remove its hood when Mr. Wright leapt up from his huddled form on the ground and lunged at the figure. He stretched his arms out, his fingers curled to resemble claws. The figure snapped its head towards Wright and in a flash, had an arrow driven through Mr. Wright's left eye. 

Mr. Wright collapsed with an inhumane shriek and as soon as his body hit the ground, he dissolved into a cloud of dust. The figure then lowered their bow to their side and brushed some of the dust off their shoulder, as well as kicking the dust pile around and spreading it into the air.

I shivered and pressed myself further against the tree, trying to make myself seem smaller. I glanced over to Kennedy once more, her face a mix of fear and shock. I turned my gaze back towards the figure and then towards the small dust pile being kicked around. My mind wasn't processing what had just happened.