Slayer Traits First Year

4

She hurt you...

My eyes fluttered open to a dark room where light beamed through the outlines of the door. My neck felt stiff; my throat burned with every breath. I moved and groaned when my entire body felt like one giant blob of bruised. My shoulders were tight, my arms anchored unnaturally behind my back. I tried pulling my hands forward, but something kept them bound at the small of my back.

I was bound and thrown on the floor like a sacrifice.

What absolute bullshit is this? What happened?

She hurt you...

I froze, held my breath, and searched the darkness for the source of the voice.

The room was small. If anyone else were in the place, I would've already bumped into them. I squeezed my eyes shut, thinking I'd imagined it. I rolled onto my back, clenching my teeth when my bones and muscles burned from the movement. I sat up slowly, my spine clicking with the stretch, my shoe hitting the door.

She hurt you..., the words were right beside my ear, echoing into the small room, but no one was there. I was alone.

I searched the darkness, knowing full well that I wouldn't find a single soul. I tried to swallow, but again my throat closed. I coughed, but that made it hurt more. The air like cold steel blades stabbing my vocal cords.

I'd heard the voice before, but I couldn't remember where. The deep, velvet-smooth baritone of the sound was something that paired well with nightmares, a nightmare I'd had before.

The sound of claws scraping along walls made me sit straighter, hyperventilating as sharp sounds skittered across the walls, surrounding me, coming closer until it came to a halt behind me. My heart pounded against my ribs. My chest burned as my muscles tensed, and my skin grew tight over my bones. The room became colder than the arctic circle, enclosing around me until it felt like I was overwhelmed by a commanding presence. A breath colder than ice caressed the skin on my back of my neck. Eyes widened, heart, seized beating when long fingers sank into my shoulder, anchoring me to the floor. More hands skittered across my skin — circling my throat, mirroring when the Slayer had choked in her fist.

She hurt you..., the voice whispered behind me, cooing from the darkest corners of my mind. A headache tightened around my mind like a vice. Tighter and tighter until it felt like my eyes would burst from their sockets. She hurt you, my sweet soul...

Hurt me?

All at once, the fingers that held me down vanished. My flesh burned as if a fire had scorched me. I could only hear my laboured breathing. More voices flooded the darkness, muffled, some louder than others, accented, different languages and coming from behind the door. The sound of boots marching on tiles growing louder and louder until the doorknob rattled and whooshed open.

Light flooded the room, burning my eyes. The smell of burning wood filled my nose. Titan was framed by the light, a knight against the dark, he seemed just like the hero I knew from stories. His grey eyes widened when he saw me, and he rushed to my side, large calloused hands plucking me from the floor like I weighed nothing, carrying me to another room.

"You're alright," Titan whispered as he placed me on a couch. His voice was deep and smooth, rumbling deep within his chest.

He crouched down in front of me, reaching for a knife that tucked into his boot. He cut my hands free and slowly moved my hands to rest on my lap. He gently took my face between his large hands and angling me in different ways; his expression was unreadable. I couldn't look away from his face. It's been so long since I saw him last.