Mark of the damned

~3~

{Xenos}
A small whisper caressed Xenos's ear. The woman was far away now. This will feel strange on a mortal like you, but whatever the voices tell you, don't listen. Then she slid back about ten feet away. The fire around them burned bright. It crackled over the bloody ground. Though, Xenos could no longer see the bugs and human remains. The woman shot her hands up, then sliced down. In a giant wave, all went dark. Xenos jumped back, tripping on nothing. He could feel solid ground below him, smell the rust of blood, hear the chirp of insects. With the fire out, cold engulfed the now black void. Pressure filled Xenos's ears. The silence almost spoke.

Sudden inaudible whispers rushed into his thoughts. Xenos slammed his hands over them.
But he felt as if they were melting away. The sounds seeped in.
"Xenos!" His fathers voice called, "Xenos help me please!"
He looked around only to see nothing, "father! I don't know where you are!" He paced franticly, taking his hands off of his ears. Loud voices, again, filled his thoughts.
"Xenos come for dinner dear" a silhouette appeared in front of him.

"Mother?" Xenos ran forward, but the silhouette only grew further away. A larger shadow outline materialized, Xenos called to it. "Father! Please don't go!" He reached out to touch the shadow, but felt nothing.

A blast of light flurried around Him. A mother, father, and son came into view. They sat on a cotton blanket, Atop soft green grass. Xenos recognized them. Mother, father. He fell to his knees, their laughs echoed in his head.

The mother seemed to notice Xenos. She held her soft looking hand out to him, "come dear, you are safe here with us" she smiled, her cheeks dimpled. The father stood up and put his hand out as well, "you don't need to help me anymore" the child hid shyly behind his mothers leg. Xenos looked at the boy. Himself. Light brown skin, caramel hair. Doe eyes. So innocent. Back when life was easier. Tears brimmed in Xenos's eyes. A light breeze blew through the grass.

Xenos started to reach out his hand. He looked down and saw his mark. The family looked eager, they stretched their arms further. Xenos looked back up at them as tears rolled down his cheeks. He retreated his arm. The family frowned deeply, "oh wont you come with us Xenos" the little boy finally spoke. Xenos dug his palms into his eyes to stop the tears. He slowly stood up.

"I love you" he looked back down at the mark. The scene whisked away. All was dark again.
The mark started to bubble and seer as it did when he shook the woman's hand. Xenos cringed in pain. Black liquid like strings rolled out of the scars.

"What in the world-" like a shot, the strings flew into the void. Seemingly never ending. Without warning, Xenos was wrapped with the black coils. He instantly recognized them as the ones the woman had been cloaked in.
Inky, thread like lines spread across Xenos's skin.

In a loud crack, the fire sprung back up around him. The black discontinued from the scars. Xenos observed his now dark veins.
"You've proven you can reject temptation"  the woman called to him. Xenos looked to her, studying her sharp features. In the fire light, the deep curve of her cheekbones astonished him. Though, her eyes held no emotion. It was then when he realized he would never be able to understand this creature.

With weak knees, Xenos began to walk the distance between them, he began "why? I knew hell was bitter, but why?" The woman stood with no qualm, "Demon."He hissed in Greek.

"Leviathan. I answer to Leviathan" the woman corrected nonchalantly, " my dearest mortal , you are in hell. You are the dammed" she laughed, " if you cannot handle such a trivial amount of torment, you will surely not survive your journey"