The Demon Within

Continued from here.

Ceranda and Faeloth were traveling over the plains in search of a new town to work in, having caused much too many troubles to the last one. Ceranda had used her magic to hide the cumbersome back wings and tail, but had kept her ear wings visible, since they were alone on an empty road. Faeloth loved those, so she didn’t hide them unless it was necessary for interaction with other people.

Ceranda’s head wings twitched suddenly, in a way they never had, right before she felt the fabric of space-time ripple between Faeloth and herself. They were both blasted away from the center, where a bright white light could be seen, blinding them both.

As Ceranda struggled to her feet, she heard Faeloth cry out. Looking towards the sound, shielding her eyes from the light, she could barely see Fae’s silhouette and a being of light grabbing on to his arm. The being had a heavenly shape, with bright feathery platinum wings that were emanating most of the light.

Trying to break free of the encasing, she felt she would not last much longer, and began to concentrate instead on creating a rift inside the bubble, that would lead to the astral plane. Just as the light overcame her senses, she managed to open the rift, and she fell head-long inside. It quickly closed behind her, and she was left in the dark void of the astral plane.

Ceranda thrashed in her sleep, lines of anguish and then pain crossing her expression.

“Faeloth!” She cried out. Slowly, Ceranda stopped thrashing and stirred. Her eyes fluttered open, flashing red before turning chocolaty brown. Slitted irises adjusted quickly to the light in the room. She looked at the unfamiliar wooden roof as her racing pulse calmed down.

She was alive…

Someone must have found her then, someone that had not been afraid of her leathery head-wings. Or hadn’t known what they symbolized. Looking around the simple wooden room, she started slowly experimenting moving her limbs. She seemed to be in one piece, although the slash in her side still hurt when she moved. The blade had bitten deep, and had been magically imbued. How much time had passed since the fight? She had been badly wounded, but she could not gauge how long it should have taken for her to regain her health, specially since it greatly depended on the healer.

Looking around the simple room where she lay, she saw a straw pallet to one side, a simple wooden table with a set of chairs in the center, and a wardrobe, besides the bed she lay in. On the table, she saw her assassin dagger, sheathed… and her collar. She gave a start, staring at it unbelievingly. They had removed her collar? How stupid and unaware were they? Her eyes flashed red as her anger rose, and she sat up, flinging the bed covers aside as she moved her legs off it, and onto the floor.

She was dressed only in her underwear and the bandages that covered her torso and arm, where the worse of her wounds were. This really didn’t bother her though, she was more than accustomed to waling in little or no clothing when alone.

Her side burned as if on fire, and fresh blood tinted the bandages around her waist. Closing her eyes to steady herself, she stood, walking over to the table, intent on recuperating the collar. But as she reached the table, she stopped, her eyes flickering between the dagger and the collar. Conflicting thoughts ran through her mind.

Why take the collar? Why force herself to be limited again, when she would have more power without it? Why not grab the dagger instead, and kill the idiot that had unleashed her darker side?

Her hand caressed the dagger’s sheath, bloodlust tinting her eyes slowly redder.

Movement in her peripheric vision made her look towards the door of the room. A tall man with fiery red hair and a sooted, sweated appearance stood on the threshold, staring at her, surprised. Her grip on the dagger tightened, as she pulled it off the table and unsheathed it, eyes intent upon the stranger.

Anger, distrust, and hate flashed across her features, her eyes blood-red, as she charged on him, unthinking, all control gone. Only her primal instincts cutting in. But as she lunged, the wound reopened, gushing more blood due to the sudden movement.

Waves of pain coursing through her body, she cried out, her eyes changing from red back to brown, as she fell to the ground, the dagger clattering towards the man’s feet. She bit back a second cry as she held her bleeding side. She looked up again, this time only hurt, fear and pleading in her chocolate eyes.

“The collar.” She gasped, “You shouldn’t have removed it…” She closed her eyes, as another wave of pain coursed through her. With eyes closed, she concentrated on the wound. If she had been long enough without the limiter…

Her body shimmered slightly, as se concentrated her magic on the wound. For a second, black wings began to materialize on her back, but they quickly faded. It had been enough though. The bleeding had stopped, and she opend her eyes.

“You either Limit me again with that collar, or kill me…” she said softly, looking at Forge sincerely, “but if you leave me be, I will kill you next time I loose control.”