The Slayer

Chapter 14 - ^^

She drew a deep breath, and stepped forward.

'He is mine' she spoke.

'What?'

'I said he is mine' Sumaey repeated. 'My master is a great and powerful wizard, he gave me this creature as a gift, but a nasty storm scared him off and I've been searching for him ever since.' She paused then. 'He is terrified of lightning.'

The men exchanged another glance with each other, this one confused.

'A gift?' one of the men said sceptically.

'Yes.'

'What is his name?' the other man asked suspiciously.

Sumaey glanced down at the creature who crouched low in the water, as if wanting to hide in it.

'Spirit' she said at last. 'His name is Spirit, and he is mine.'

The creature gazed up at her with wide eyes, wearing a strange expression that looked suspiciously close to admiration and awe.

'He is your pet?' one of the men said.

'If you want to call it that' Sumaey said. 'He is very dear to me. Please, don't hurt him....'

The men hesitated.

'Fine' the leading man said sheathing his sword. 'But if we see you again and you're causing any trouble' he said casting a dark glare down at the elemental, 'I swear that if we catch you again we will kill you. Your master saved you this time...don't ever come back.'

The elemental crouched fearfully under the man's stare, body hunched submissively.

'I mean what I say' the man spoke loudly to Sumaey as the men either side of him sheathed their own weapons too. 'If we catch him causing trouble again, there will be no second chance.'

'I understand' Sumaey bowed low. 'Thank you for your kindness...it won't happen again I promise.'

'See that it doesn't' the man replied.

Sumaey turned to the elemental then.

'Come on Spirit' she spoke softly. 'Come here...it's alright...'

The elemental exchanged one last fearful glance towards the men, before slinking away from them, moving on his hands and knees in a crouched position through the water and towards her.

He reached the edge of the lake where he stopped, gazing up at as he knelt before her.

Seemingly satisfied by this gesture the men moved out of the lake, walking briskly away, their eyes lingering on the two before their silhouettes were swallowed by the darkness.

Sumaey gave a heavy sigh once they had gone, and the sounds of their footsteps had faded.

'That was dangerous' she said, 'I could have been hurt or even killed by them.'

She turned back to the elemental who knelt silently before her.

'What trouble have you been causing?' she asked him, but he only stared up at her in wide eyed silence.

Sumaey looked back into his face. One of his eyes looked as if it were tattooed, with a heavy black outline all around it, with a sharp black line running down his cheek from his lower eye-lid, beside which were two black dots side by side.

'You're a strange creature' she said to him, before turning away to abandon him there.

It was then that the creature spoke to her.