Mirrored Circus

Chapter 2

The tiger sauntered forward, her mouth open slightly to reveal a full set of gleaming white teeth, pointed and ready to kill. Her smokey grey fog continued to pour off of her, rolling around on the ground like balls set in motion. The tigers golden eyes met mine, and suddenly those seemingly hard, fierce eyes became pools of fire, liquid and moving as if in a dance. She lowered her head, still keeping eye contact with me, and stalked forward till her nose touched the top of my hip. It wasn’t then until I realized how huge this animal was.

Slowly, I moved one hand to rest on top of her head. This creature, so fluid in movement as if it was actual smoke, was as soft as a childs toy. The grey and black hairs felt like Italian silk. My hands drifted over her till they reached her ears. Much like any house cat, they were like velvet between my fingers. I gently rubbed them in hopes that it would calm both of us.

Within seconds, her alluring white stripes became elegantly written words. Thank you. One flashed while another read; I won’t harm you. The kind words zigzagged across her torso to the tip of her flicking tail.

I jumped back, hidden behind my face covering was a surprised look, though I was sure she smelt it. The tiger plopped down on her haunches, sending out a small tornado of her smoke. “What is your name?” The script neatly connected over her chest.

“Kaukis.” My name floated to the top of my arms before I could comprehend the fact that a tiger was more or less talking to me. She gave what appeared to be a smile back. I asked the animal for hers.

“Gwyllion.” Flashed her stripes. I smiled back at her, mostly because I realized she wasn’t going to eat me. “No child, I will not eat you.” It took a moment to remember that all my thoughts were brought out onto my body. “Now, are we going to stand here or get out?” I imagined a snap in her voice.

“Lets go.” I replied, not wanting to encounter the horrible man again.

Wait-Ekimmu! This woman, so unique was too much to leave behind. I turned towards Gwyllion, but my intentions were already clear. She gave me a slight nod and pounced towards the locked door.

So quickly that I questioned if it even happened, her white claws morphed into golden talons and raked the door, sending a shower of wood chippings around her, along with a glittering trail of sparkles from her nails. She repeated this twice before the door gave way and fell open, freeing us.

Two men from both sides of the now shattered door swarmed us. Being grabbed from behind, I was put in a tight headlock, leathery fingers grazed along my neck, threatening to snap it. Putting as  much force as I could, I kicked my right leg back, hoping to destroy my attackers privates. He fell like a bag of rock onto the marble floors. A string of curses literally strung themselves about his body. Flipping my head back, I saw that Gwyllion had easily taken care of her attacker, he lay in a daze on the ground, shallow shimmering streaks carved his torn body. We didn’t make eye contact as we turned our attention to the door separating us from the girl I was trying to save.

I tested the knob, foolishly thinking it would be left unlocked. Of course it wasn’t. Gwyllion easily read my intentions and went to work, attacking the door with all her might. The golden trails of light made it seem like it belonged in a fairy tale, but the setting made such a beautiful thing seems so out of context.

After another slash from her paws, we were both through. Ekimmu still lay in a crumpled heap on the floor beside the bed.

Gwyllion nudged my hand with her snout, trying to get my attention. “She’s been poisoned, we don’t have much time left.” I read from her fur, twisting my head to be able to read the full sentence. I wish I hadn’t.

I sank to my knees. Why did I care so much about her? She meant nothing to me.

After that thought I instantly wanted to hurt myself. Ekimmu was beautiful, the kind of beautiful that you knew existed but saved it for fairy tale princesses in shimmering gowns and Miss Universe. Even though I could only see her hair, a white that the moon was sure to be envious of, red lips that challenged a rose, and silver eyes that seemed like they fit on a unicorn.

In a world full of demons, how had I met an angel?

Shuffling my knees awkwardly, they brought me to her. Scooping her up in my stiff arms I held her to my chest, feeling the gentle rise and fall of her breathing. Her red lips were parted and I fought back the urge to kiss her, to kiss away all the pain and suffering she received from being with me. To kiss away the poison that was pulsing through her body.

Gwyllion pushed her furry head against my shoulder, diverting my focus from Ekimmu to her. It wasn’t then that I realized I was crying, tears splashing down to roll down her soft body.

“Step back, child.” The tiger’s worlds scribbled themselves along her backbones. I set the warm body of Ekimmu down on the cold marble of the floor. The animal padded to the other side of the girl so she was in the middle of us. Gwyllion bend her head and opened her mouth to reveal her deadly pearl white teeth had become glorious golden incisors. The tears were still present, making me wonder if I was seeing the glow or if it was just an effect of the pooling water.

And then she bit her arm.

I lunged forward, grabbing for her arm but the tiger refused to release her hold. I knew yanking would only cause damage so I watched in shock. After what felt like years, she released her bite to reveal a row of golden holes in Ekimmus body.

“Trust me,” the tiger flashed. I nodded slowly, not taking my eyes off of her.

What happened next I would have never predicted. Her inky black mold burst into a flame of light, shimmering as if she was a fairy and dissolved off off of her, leaving a black pool under her naked body.

Gasping, her eyelids flew open, revealing her hypnotic sterling eyes. She sat up and scrambled into my arms, salty tears zooming down her face and neck. Her cold arms wrapped around my neck and her legs crisscrossed around my torso, refusing to move one inch away from me. My fingers traced circles around her back, weaving up and around her raised vertebra in an attempt to calm her down.

Eventually her hard sobs turned into choking breaths, her chest fluttering with every intake of breath.

“Kaukis,” She breathed, testing her voice. Her throat was rough, but mine would be too if I had just narrowly escaped death. “Kaukis, it’s not safe here.” She whispered, her lips at my collarbone. I nodded my head as an answer. “We need to go.” I nodded again and she slowly rose from my lap, testing out her wobbly legs.

The second she realized she was naked, she blushed a deep crimson and adjusted her hair to fall over her breast and moved her hands to her pelvis. I snatched the sheets off the nearby bed and tossed them to her, turning around so she could wrap it around her exposed body. She tapped me on the shoulder and I turned around to see the sheet oldly clumped up, most of it spilling out of the floor around her. She giggled, a soft kind of laugh that you would think could only come from a child. I pulled up a section around her knees and tugged hard, ripping the cheap fabric in a rough line. Now the material rested right at her kneecaps, she knotted the top like you would a towel and looked down to admire her work.

She giggled and did a twirl like a ballerina, but stopped abruptly. I followed her gaze and saw what she was so fixed at; the mirrors. Each had a huge hole through the center, as if someone had launched a bowling ball at them.

Gwyllion slinked back into view from the other side of the bed. Ekimmu jumped at the site of her and hid behind me. I touched her wrist in comfort and moved to rub the tigers head, sending off a shower of smoke clouds.

“Do not be wary of me, child. I will bring you no harm.” The animal’s text wove in and around her body until it could be read clearly. Ekimmu still did not move from behind me. “On another note, let's get moving. I sense that more people are around.” The long sentence twisted around her body like a serpent. She nodded towards me and started towards the door. I counted to three and pushed Ekimmu gently forward, snaking my arm around her hips in an attempt of comfort.

I didn’t know where we were going, but we all slowly walked out into the grand room. The tiger, the blonde angel, and the cloaked boy, side by side, entering the unknown.

Yeah, don't know how I feel about this chapter.