The Darkness Beyond the Stars

Chapter 27: I learn the various uses of a frying pan

Though I wanted to stay, I stood slowly and moved out of the room. A little while later I had a fire lit in the tiny fireplace and bacon merrily hopping in a frying pan over the coals.

Someone landed with a thud on the wooden landing. I grabbed a pair of tongs and flipped the bacon.

"If you'd like some, I can put more on."

There was no answer.

"I mean, I was pretty hungry, and the rest was for Raon-" I turned around.

A shape stood in the doorway, a hood thrown back, revealing a long blond braid, hooked nose, and eyes like pits of darkness.

I felt my blood freeze. The Twisted looked at me, then the open door beside me. 

Raon. 

I felt anger grow in the pit of my stomach. He had tried to kill Raon. I scrambled for a weapon nearby. The Twisted took a step nearer, and my fingers closed around the heated handle of the heavy pan. He eyed me, then grinned sickeningly and walked towards the bedroom.

"You stay back, you bastard." I snarled, and took a quick step forward, swinging the pan with all my strength. The hot grease splattered across his face, and the side of the pan collided with his head with a sickening crunch.

His eyes rolled up to his brain and he collapsed, half-cooked bacon sliding out of his hair and onto the floor.

My heart thundered in my chest as I stood over him. The anger flared as his arm twitched, and I swung down the pan with all my might.

Then I stood back. "Well, that's disgusting."

A glint of metal caught my eye, shadowed by his coat. I knelt next to him and felt him for weapons, pulling out a number of knives and several darts. After I'd removed the belts and sheaths I piled them next to him and managed to pull his long coat off, throwing it across the pile of weapons.

I looked around. There wasn't really any place to keep him, and even after what his head looked like now, I didn't know if he was still alive. It was seriously doubtful though. You had to have an intact brain to be alive. He didn't deserve a proper burial I thought savagely.

I turned around in a quick circle, then grabbed his feet and pulled him towards the open door.

"How are you this heavy." I growled.

I stopped on the landing, breathing heavily. THen I pulled him to the very edge and gave him a good shove.

The body sailed over the edge, then as I watched, got stuck on a branch far below.

I shrugged, and went to wash up.

...

A few minutes later a breathless Morok swung onto the landing. He barreled into the kitchen, a long knife in his hand.

I watched him incredulously.

"They're...coming. Someone saw me..." He gasped.

"They came. I took care of them." I tried to hide a smile.

"What?"

"Well, I pancaked their brains with the frying pan."

"WHAT?!"

I nodded, face aloof.

"Where...where is he now?" Morok turned around as if expecting to see the body tucked away nicely in a corner.

I pointed at the floor. "Down there. With a branch through his gut."

Morok gaped. He didn't just stare, his mouth dropped open.

I grinned and set the clean frying pan over the fire again.

.....

That night I slipped into the bedroom quietly, closing the door behind me. A breeze wafted across the room, making the sheer curtains around the bed float across the wind. Even though there was no moon, the stars shone so brightly that she could see Raon's face. His eyes were open, dark and fixed on the open window.

I moved around the bed and sat behind him. He turned his head, and watched me.

I smiled and set my head on the pillow.

"I'm afraid I killed somebody today."

His brows knit together. "What?"

I shrugged. "A Twisted came here, and he started to go at you, and I hit him with the frying pan. Twice. Then I threw him off the landing."

Raon laughed, a tiny puff of air. "You are ridiculously proud of this."

I grinned and slipped my feet under the covers. "Of course."

"You've found it then."

"What?"

"You have to find something that makes you fight back. Otherwise you would have died, and probably me too." His shoulders moved up a tiny amount.

"You are my reason to fight." I moved closer and cupped his face with my hands. "Also you should teach me how to actually fight."

He rolled his eyes. "I would if I hadn't been skewered."

"How do you feel?"

His eyebrows went up. "Like I'm laying in bed with a seductive murderer."

"Um, I meant your skewer wound."

"Like I really wish every move didn't hurt. Otherwise I would have kissed you by now."

I moved forward and pressed my mouth to his. After a moment, I pulled back.

"Ouch," he mumbled. "Maybe not quite so...passionate."

I laughed and rested my forehead against his.

"I didn't say stop." He said softly.

.......

A blur surrounded Raon's thoughts. He tried to clear them, but it stuck, clinging to him and slowing him.

A deep throbbing was in his side, a throb that became a stabbing pain every time he shifted. It pushed away the fog surrounding his thoughts, and he opened his eyes. A ray of sunlight fell across his eyes, piercing them.

A face was next to his, long dark lashes settled against bronze cheeks. He smiled. This close, you could see freckles spotting her nose and cheeks.

His vision blurred, and he blinked quickly. It cleared slowly, enough for him to see Lilya's eyes open.

He leaned closer until his forehead rested against hers. She smiled.

Then a sharp pain stabbed into his side. He gasped and his body jerked, then his sight went black.