The One Who Was [ON HOLD]

Tsal

 They were beautiful and unearthly. A golden glow emanated from those pupiless eyes. I could feel them searching my mind. Looking for anything to use against me. With a great effort, I turned away, and it dropped me to the floor.

I landed with my left arm twisted under me. An arrow of pain shot up my shoulder, and it was steadily increasing the longer I lay there. I tried to extract it from between my torso and the floor, but it was completely immobile. Instead, I rolled so that my face was smushed in the ground and my arm was on my back. Panting from the effort, I tried not to think about how I would stand up.

It was unnecessary. No sooner had I thought that, then a claw dug into my palm and jerked. I was pulled to my knees, and then my feet. Once standing, I could feel the warm blood trickling down my arm. After being pulled up by the arm that I now thought was broken, the pain had increased to near agony.

Wanting something to concentrate on besides my mangled limb, I looked up and at the monster's torso. It was just standing there now, waiting for me to make a move. It was scaled and green like a reptile, but had hair groing from the crevices between them. My gaze moved upward to its face. Strangely, it seemed to be almost human. And aside from those eyes, there was something familiar, that I couldn't place.

"You're Clara Hobbington?"

He seemed surprised. Almost awestruck. Startled, I stammered out an answer.

"Y-yes. What's it to you?"

It continued sadly, reminiscently, as if it hadn't heard my reply.

"So you don't remember me then. I suppose not. Not after all these years. You've grown more than I would have thought."

"Who are you?"

A wave of power hit me. Suddenly I was seeing images. Images from his past.

  A man rocking a baby back and forth in his arms. Running, chasing, the same child around in a field of green. Driving to work on that child's 7th birthday. Walking in to the building. Taking the elevator to the 14th floor. Grabbing a coffee from his secretary, and opening the door to his office. Stopping in shock when he saw a man in a blood red cloak sitting in his chair, in front of his desk. The man standing up and laughing.

"Foolish mortal." he said.

And then darkness.

I staggered back. A  faint whisper escaped my lips.

"No.."

And then louder,

"No. You can't be."

The claw that reached out for me was almost a caress. I slapped it away.

"Don't touch me."

It-he stepped back as if insulted.

"Why? What have I ever done to you?"

"If you are who you say you are then you left us! You left your 7 year old daughter, with your wife who didn't have a job!"

I was screaming now, giving no regard to the fact that someone might hear. He gave a short bark of a laugh.

"You think I chose to be like this?"

"You didn't?"

His form suddenly flickered. A transparent image of my father appeared in his place. And then it was gone and the monster was back.

"That is all that is left of my humanity Clara. An image with less substance than a ghost."

He seemed to be genuinely upset.

"What are you then?"

"A Tsal."

He said it bitterly, as if it were a painful memory that he'd rather forget.

"A Tsal," he said again, "nothing more than a slave."