Black Nightmare

Black Nightmare

Prologue 

  A high-pitched scream echoed throughout the manor, causing everyone to flinch. But the servants dared not move.

  Tap. Tap. Soft footsteps pattered on the tiled floor as a figure moved closer to the servant’s quarters. Hurried sounds of feet beating against the cold marble floor made its way into the ears of the servants.

  The door turned slowly and creaked open. A young teen of only fourteen stood at the doorway, his face partially hidden by the shadows. He held a lamp in one hand, its weak flame flickering pathetically in the encroaching darkness. Moving back quickly, the servants bowed and stood against the door, rigid with fear.

  The teen moved in gracefully, setting the lamp down on the round wooden table in the middle of the room. Outside, the winds howled as they banged against the windows. A sudden flash of shining steel caught the servants’ eyes as they were drawn to the weapon in the teen’s hand.

  “Master Reynard?” An elderly servant hesitantly spoke.

  The teen did not reply, instead choosing to lift the sword to his face, watching as the crimson blood dripped from the steel blade. Reynard’s blue eyes glistened with an unreadable emotion as he swung the sword, spraying the blood everywhere. Spraying the blood of his parents.

  The servants’ eyes widened in recognition, and then fear. They pressed their backs against the wall as they surveyed their young master. He smiled a chilling smile before sprinting, the tip of his sword penetrating the skin of the servants as their lives flashed before their eyes. As the last servant fell victim to death, the teen’s smile was now of malice.

  The hurried footsteps came to a stop as another smaller figure appeared at the door. Reynard turned to see who it was. In an instant, the malice in his smile disappeared.

  A young boy was standing at the doorway, his green eyes overwhelmed with despair. His black hair matched that of his older brother’s as the two stared at each other. In his left hand, he clutched a dagger.

  The boy stumbled into the room, his eyes fixed on his brother’s face. “Why?” The boy choked out, unshed tears shining in his eyes. “Why, big brother?” They boy whispered.

  Icy blue eyes bore right into saddened emerald. Reynard immediately released his grip on his sword as it fell, making a loud clang when it touched the metal floor. The boy jumped and started to shake violently in fear. He tightened his grip as Reynard moved towards him, placing his warm hand on top of his dear younger brother’s. Carefully, Reynard shook the dagger out of Tyler’s hand and threw it aside before hugging him.

  “It's alright,” Reynard muttered. “Everything's fine, it’s alright.”

  Hot tears fell on Reynard’s shoulder as his brother hugged him. “You didn’t kill them, did you?” Tyler sobbed. “Big brother didn’t kill mother and father right?”

  Reynard shook his head as he lied, “No. Someone else came and killed them both.”

  Tyler smiled a watery smile as he cried, “I knew you wouldn’t kill mother and father.”

  “Right, right,” Reynard assured him. “Everything is fine. Just forget it. The servants are fine too. Just forget.” With that, Tyler’s green eyes grew blurry before focusing again. His eyelids fluttered shut as his body went limp. Reynard caught him before he fell and carried him back to his room.

  Tucking him in, Reynard smiled to himself. Yes, that’s right, he thought. Just forget, my dearest brother. Everything will be fine, I promise you.

  Satisfied, Reynard turned and left the room, making his way to the servant’s quarters once more. With a wave of his hand, all the blood disappeared at once, leaving only the dead bodies behind. Reynard smiled as he placed his hand inside the black leather bag he brought with him. He clasped a glittering black gem the size of his hand and pulled it out. He walked over to the nearest servant and placed the jewel over her heart. The gem glowed red for a moment before it was absorbed into her skin. The maid’s eyes flickered open before she stood up, almost robotically. She positioned herself against the wall just like when Reynard killed her and the other servants.

  After doing the same for all the servants, Reynard looked at them in the eye. Their black eyes stared emptily back at him. The plan’s almost complete! Reynard thought gleefully.

  “Act kind and gentle and always fulfil your given assignments,” Reynard instructed them. “Protect my brother, Tyler Lyren, at all costs. Do not mention anything about this night.”

  “Understood,” the servants chorused. Reynard smiled and turned, walking towards the door.

  He paused when he reached the doorframe. “By the way, please clean up the main bedroom.”

  He didn’t bother wait for a response but he could hear a faint ‘understood’ from the servants.

  Once Reynard was in his room, he let out a cackle as he put his hands together. “After tonight,” he whispered to himself, “Nobody else will remember the late Earl Robert Lyren and Countess Misao Lyren. To the world, they died ten years ago. No one but me will remember.”