Peoplediedhere!
A prayer came to her lips, but she knew that wouldn’t help. Free will gave all beings sovereignty over their existence, and unless it interferedwith matters of life and death, nature, even evil nature, was given its due course.
Damn them all for it!
This wasn’t her realm. Her kind couldn’t survive in this hideous place where men ate their own.
Even their young.
It was forbidden! Not to mention the fact that she didn’twantto be here.
Amongthem. Petty creatures like the crone before her, who cared nothing for anyone other than themselves. They lived to sow strife and pain.
Truly, she loathed them all.
Looking up at the clear gray sky above them, Ariel knew she must return to her domain before the taint of mortalness damaged her eternally and left its stink upon her.
Turned her into the pitiless crone before her and made her every bit as cold and unfeeling.
“What must I do?” Ariel asked in desperation.
The smile that curved the crone’s lips sent a shiver down her spine. “You must do as I did with my son. You must love with all your heart, then watch what you love most die horribly and in pain. Hold him in your arms while he struggles for life, and cry in misery as you’re helpless to stop the angel that comes to steal his soul after he draws that final breath. Only then will you be free.”
Are you serious?She was being punished for doing her job?
Ariel shook her head in denial. “I grieve for your loss, but I have no choice about whom I take from this world. I’m given orders that I have to follow.”
Whenever a particularly skilled warrior died, the Nasaru were sent after them to recruit them to their ranks as a nekoda. It was a noble calling for her son. But she wasn’t allowed to tell that to the crone.
The old woman laughed bitterly. “And now you dance tomycommand.” As she walked a small circle around her, dried, fallen leaves dragged crisply under the full ragged hem of her skirt. “I know you don’t understand grief. You’re not capable of it. But you will, little reaper.You will!”
Then she was gone.
Ariel looked around the forest. No trace remained of the woman. If she could dream, she’d blame it on that, but she never slept. Nor did she feel stiff, dry grass beneath her hands, the cool breath of air on her cheeks, nor the heat of the sun on human skin.
Yet she felt those things now, and by that she knew this was real. A true waking nightmare!
“You can’t leave me here!” She couldn’t be found by her enemies! An Arel alone was a dead one.…
On trembling limbs, she pushed herself up.
Lifting her arms above her head, she commanded herself to rise. To fly.
What had always come so effortlessly refused to obey her now.
Her golden wings were gone.
I’m mortal.That terrifying thought shot through her mind with a dizzying fright that spun her head and brought tears to her eyes.
How could this be?
She couldn’t fall in love. It wasn’t possible. That didn’t happen to creatures like her. They were never to be so tainted.
“Surrender yourself to the curse. It’ll be easier if you do.”
Her heart pounding, she spun around at the words and faced a white wolf. Its eyes glowed red.
A demon.
