Chapter 38
Of Monsters and Men
The wind blew the silvery-white snow across the cave opening. They were lucky to have found shelter on such short notice. If Sonya hadn’t seen the entrance through the blowing snow, they would both be long dead.
A small fire barely burned in between Dearekk and her. They had managed to scavenge enough twigs and kindling to keep it burning, but the elf feared that they might have to resort to burning supplies to keep it going through the night.
Closing her eyes for a moment, Sonya found herself jerking out of a light sleep more and more often. She could still hear the sound of the fire snapping and popping, but her mind drifted into slumber. Just for a little while, she could pretend that she was back in the Tunnels at home, sitting on her bed with Tatiana rattling on and on about something that didn’t matter. Then Sonya would remember where she was and it was if the cold winter wind snuck into the cave and slapped her across the face, waking her from her little fantasy.
Dearekk chuckled a dark, humorless laugh from the corner. “Sleep, Sonya,” was all he said. The light from the fire barely flickered across his face, giving him an unearthly appearance.
Shaking her head, Sonya replied, “No. Not until you do. We agreed to take shifts and I know if you take the first one, you won’t wake me up.”
An all out laugh burst forth from Dearekk’s mouth, but it was bitter and almost threatening. “I couldn’t sleep if I wanted to,” he shot back. “It’s better if at least one of us has our wits about us.”
For a long time, Sonya was silent. She studied the half-elf sitting before her, wondering how something half human could be so intriguing. Humans, after all, were the essence of stupidity. They were all so greedy, violent and selfish. She had always thought of humans as being worse than beasts, but here was a man, no a boy, who confused her to no end. He took the laws of her world and turned them upside down. He was a human who experienced grief and regret. And it made her think, how many others could be like him?
“It wasn’t your fault,” as soon as the words slipped out of her mouth she regretted it. The strange look her companion was giving her forced the elf to elaborate. “The hermit’s death, I mean. It wasn’t your fault.” She shuddered to remember the way his kind, grey eyes disappeared behind the glowing mask of blue. It had been just like when he was fighting the hydra at the Gyresherm.
Dearekk stood suddenly. He looked almost frightening as the light from the fire cast strange shadows upon the face she had grown to know so well. “It wasn’t my fault?” he hissed, anger lacing every word. “It wasn’t my fault? Sonya, I killed him! I killed an unarmed human being!”
“No,” Sonya violently shook her head. “Did you see the way he was acting? It seemed like he was possessed. You killed him because he was moments away from attacking you.”
The half-elf was by her side in an instant, grabbing her shoulders and shaking her. “He wasn’t possessed, Sonya. I was! There is this…this thing inside of me that I can’t control! It comes out when I’m weakest and wreaks havoc on everything it can.” Letting go of her, Dearekk fell to the floor and put his face in his hands. “How did I kill him, Sonya? Did I snap his neck? Steal his soul? I opened my eyes and all I saw was an old man with the light gone out of his eyes. What happened?”
A tidal wave of memories washed through Sonya, causing a shiver to go down her spine as she recalled what happened back at the cabin. “You…” she cleared her throat, “You touched his forehead, said a few words I didn’t know, and then he fell over dead.” She stared at the ground, trying to think of something to say.
“So that’s how it happened.” Sonya winced at how hollow his voice was. A bitter laugh escaped Dearekk. “Some things you can’t just make good, Sonya. I’m a monster; a monster and a half-breed. I always have been. I’ve never really belonged anywhere and I never will.”
For a moment, there was nothing Sonya could say. Then there a familiar emotion washed over her: anger. Standing up so she could tower over Dearekk’s form. “Oh, stop pitying yourself!” she snapped. “Think about it, it wasn’t you who killed that crazy old man. You were possessed! And you may feel like you don’t belong, but think about this for a moment: my people have been hunted, killed and ambushed for the last half a century. We have no escape and we are not the only ones. The fay, the dwarves and even some of the humans have lived under the King’s tyranny for far too long. If you give up and give into the beast inside of you, then you are already lost! And if you lose yourself, there is no hope for this land.”
Knelling down beside him, Sonya whispered, “This isn’t just about you, Dearekk. If we fail, everything is lost. The war will rage on, and as strong as the elves may be, we are no match for the humans’ massive numbers and an invincible king.” She paused for a moment and grabbed the half-elf’s hand. “We can do this…together.”
Dearekk looked at their intertwined hands for a moment, and then looked up, his eyes meeting hers. When grey met elf-green, Sonya was surprised to see unshed tears in her companion’s eyes. He opened his mouth as if to say something, only to close it and nod.
As she tore her eyes away from Dearekk’s, she noticed just how close they were together. Unconsciously, her eyes darted down towards his lips, then back to his eyes. He was inches away from her. All she needed to do was lean forward and…
Jerking away, Sonya let go of Dearekk’s hand and stumbled back. Dearekk seemed to have a similar reaction. As he pulled away, he hit his head on the cave wall behind him. Sonya was too flustered to even ask him if he was all right.
There was a long, awkward silence between them. Then Dearekk cleared his throat, scratched the back of his head and said, “Um…we should probably take watches.”
“Oh, of course,” Sonya replied, perhaps a little too quickly. “I’ll take the first one.”
She would have to be blind to miss the look of doubt on Dearekk’s face. Softening up a little bit, she let out a small smile. “Maybe, you could try to contact this Revolaton,” she suggested shyly. “I mean you don’t have to if you don’t want to,” she quickly continued, “but if you want to control him, it might be best if you understand what it is.”
Slowly, Dearekk nodded. “That would be wise,” he said slowly. “And it couldn’t hurt, right?”
Sonya only offered a small smile in return. Turning, she prodded the dying fire a little bit.
“Sonya?” she heard Dearekk whisper. Turning to face him, she saw him lying down. “Thank you,” he simply said before turning with his back towards her and pulling a thin blanket over his shoulders.
She felt a warm reaction growing in her chest and the small smile grow on her face. Dearekk Kingsson, she thought to herself, you may just yet redeem the human race.
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At first, she thought her ears were just playing tricks on her. But after the third time, a fear began to creep into the young elf’s heart. A low growl mixed with the shrieks and screams of the wind blew into the cavern. It was the roar of a hungry beast; a hunter. And it was headed their way. But that wasn’t what frightened Sonya.
Nothing lived this far up the mountain.
Leaning over, she shook Dearekk awake, her eyes never leaving the cave entrance. “Dearekk,” she whispered, “Dearekk, there’s something out there.” She turned to face him, only to see that he had not stirred.
“Dearekk?” she shook him harder. But he did not wake. Panic began to set in and she slapped him across the face. “Dearekk wake up!”
Suddenly, aqua runes began to glow through his skin, crawling up his neck and spreading to his face, like a sort of barbaric war paint. And still he did not stir.
Stumbling away from her friend, Sonya scrambled across the cave floor, only to run into something solid and furred. Whirling around, she found herself staring into a single eye of molten gold.
Terror coursed through her veins and set her blood on fire. A huge roar filled the cave and everything went black.
(A/N Merry Christmas/Hanukkah/whatever to you guys!! Sorry for the super late update [I know a few of you have been waiting patiently for a long time;) ] Anyway I hope this chapter was worth the wait!! The song on the side is Demons by Imagine Dragons [my new favorite band]. It was the song I was listening to when I wrote this chapter. :) Remember to vote and comment PLEASE!!! They make my day and I love feedback so much!! Have a great Christmas, all you people!! ~*~*~Ninja Out~*~*~)