Hamartia - the Singing Dagger | #NaNoWriMo2019

Chapter 6.1 Stolen

Caelem stayed on his knees for what Mahani thought was forever.

Imbal the asug priestess curled her auburn curls between her fingers. Smiling, she smirked, "I can never resist a young man who absolutely reveres me."

She bent over to pat the Wind Spirit on the head and pulled his chin up. "Stand, dear follower."

As Caelem stood, he towered over her in height---but not in spirit. The supernatural being quivered in front of the priestess. Then Imbal yanked his sleeve.

Sinking her fingers down the curve of Caelem's collarbone, Imbal gave an approving nod.

"You were a brave warrior indeed, " she said, glancing at the spiraling ink on Caelem's body. "You have protected the Order well." Tears welled up in the Spirit's green eyes.

Okay, I don't get what's happening here. So... Why don't we just get along with how the palace is experiencing incipient doom?

Canelem rose his head and snapped his ears around the forest.

"Did you hear that?"

"Don't be sill---" Mahani felt the cyclops clamp his hand on her mouth again. Suddenly, she heard a whoosh through the treetops,
with an outline of a giant bat shadowed by the dark green.

Then they heard a consistent whopping call from a bird. Dragging their eyes above, they saw a nightjar. As the bird swooped down from its branch, it grew bigger and bigger in size until it hovered right above them in its full size---an aswang.

"Duck! ," Imbal shouted, as the beast swooped in towards them.

With the four of them flat on their bellies on the forest floor, the poltergeist swooped in again, its snarled teeth lined with dry, brown blood.

Mahani rolled over and jumped into a squatting position. She unsheathed her dagger from her back. Waiting for the moster's attack, Mahani tried to think happy thoughts before she had to stab a living being for the first time in her life.

This is my choice. I control myself.

As the aswang swooped down, Mahani gave the monster's belly a quick thrust.

The three others had already stood up again, ready to attack. As the aswang flapped its vast bat-like wings, the cyclops readied his sword; Imbal her golden whip, and Caelem his suddenly tusk-long talons.

Mahani looked at the Wind Creature. Dude, if I was those darn priestesses, I would never mess with those things.

Blood dripping slowly from its leather-hard stomach, the beast glared at the four of them with sanguine eyes. Slowly, the malevolence melted into fear.

With the four of them armed and willing to fight, the aswang decided to flap its giant wings back to the city, blowing in fresh wind on their faces.

Imbal coiled her whip back into her holster and looked at the direction the monster had gone. "I wonder who that was, " the priestess said.

Mahani coughed wildly. "Uh, what did you just say? Who? You know those creatures?"

Imbal laughed at the girl. "You probably know them too. Aswangs are shape-shifters, as you've seen. But they are also humans. People who've caught the condition from others."

Caelem nodded seriously. "Yes. That is why if you dream of someone offering you a dinner of black rice or raw meat, always forgo it. Otherwise the chick of the aswang will grow in your throat when you awake. Mothers, husbands, children, anyone from your family can become those beasts."

"But I thought there weren't any more of them here, in Selah, " Mahani pushed on. "So, how did that thing come here?"

Imbal and Caelem rolled their eyes at the same time.

"Who are you to stop a supernatural being who can fly? ," Caelem said.

Good point. No need to be rude though. Mahani looked pointedly at Caelem. She guessed by now that the priestess and the cyclops couldn't hear their wind-speak.

"Okay. So now all we need is to be alert, armed, and amazing."

After getting more bored scoffs from the two, Mahani added, "What I mean is that we have to find out what's happening in the palace now, so that whatever the Reapers are planning to do, we can intercept it from here."

"Way to, how did you say it Mahani, state the obvious? ," Caelem laughed at his own statement, the redhead priestess following his lead.

Now Mahani realized that she hated Imbal for something worse than humiliating her in front of the palace. A strong urge of posessiveness came over her. Mahani felt like she somehow owned the Spirit.

And this priestess was stealing him from Mahani.