That Creature is Hideous!

One moment Ryon had been jumping through a portal at his king's command, the next he found himself falling from great height. He barely noticed the portal to the Realm Between closing behind him as he tumbled through the air, his large feathered wings flailing wildly while he tried to catch an aircurrent. When he finally found one that steadied him, he let out a sigh of relief and stretched out his wings. For a moment, the current rocked him back as the wind got caught in his long, black feathered wings, but he didn't feel any pain. Nor did he feel the biting cold that was typical for such heights.

Ryon flew over frozen forests and fields that stretched out beneath him to what seemed like infinity. He redirected himself into a slight downwards slope and sniffed the air. Tiadar, he thought recognizing the country. Many scents of nature and magics, little of man.

But now that he paid attention, he did encounter a strong whiff of man-smell.

He looked down and his keen eyes enabled him to see even the tiny moving spots clearly as the group of men they were. However, he was surprised to see that those men were much taller and had a much lighter skin-tone than the people he was used to see. He knew that there were light-coloured people living in Tiadar, such as demons, even though in his capacity as Ookubi he had seldom anything to do with them, and the occasional denison hybrids, who had skin like that, too. But those people below were neither. Only one of those down there resembled the denisons, the inhabitants of Tiadar, who populated most of the country. Like the rest of the men, he was clad in green and brown to blend in with nature's given colours, but his skin colour was darker and his build stouter than that of his companions.

They moved deliberately and Ryon could see hounds running back and forth. He could even hear the animals bark and the humans bark back at them to send them running again. He couldn't believe that so many denison hybrids should be on the move together. What were they doing? Hunting?

That's so strange. They even act like denisons, the Ookubi thought. But there are so many of them. At least three scores of them, probably more. Also, they seem to be prepared to camp for days out here. What is their game? It wouldn't happen to be the same one I'm after, would it?

As he studied them more closely, he saw them looking up, but at this distance to their eyes he could only be seen as a speck against the overcast sky. They would take him for a bird and think nothing of it. What they didn't saw was the roughly man-shaped shadow with a set of large wings that he cast on the ground.

Out of curiosity, Ryon turned his head to see where they had come from, but he couldn't see any kind of castle or holding. The only thing he could make out was a settlement that lay miles and miles ahead of them. But for one reason he didn't think that those men were returning to their hometown.

It's strange… They are this far out, but they don't look like they've been out for so long. All their clothes are still fresh, he thought.

But then, he smelled a strong scent of magic that overlayed the ever-present whiff of magic in this land so strongly that it could only mean that its source was nearby.

He narrowed his eyes, and - indeed - behind the men was a rippling magic portal.

How curious, he thought. But since he didn't see any black-haired young girl among the men, he sped up his wing strokes and left the group behind him in a matter of minutes.

When the sun had moved an hour's worth, he finally spotted his charge. She was stumbling through the woods, clearly struggling with a slash on her side. She, too, was so very white. Like freshly fallen snow. But this time he didn't need to guess the reason, why that was.

So her name's Lily, huh?, he thought, allowing his specialized vision to read the name that dangled over her head. How curious.

And just as he started to dive down, she seemed to come aware of his presence and rush into cover.

But it was already too late to hide now.

***

Hurrying through the woods was a young woman with hair as black as ebony, skin as white as ivory and eyes as blue as dark sapphires.

Usually, her eyes would be as clear as mountain lakes, but now they were fogged with pain, fatigue, and stress. Only a few yards behind her lay the holding of Westershire, where she had spent all her life up until now. But that lay behind her now. Literally.

She clutched her left side with her right arm, trying but not quite managing to stop the ooze of blood. She could feel the hot stream trickling over her waist and running down her leg. She cursed the guards who had tried to prevent her escape. She cursed the brat that had commanded them. She cursed everyone in this cursed mansion and doing so kept her focused on the path ahead. That and the burning anger coursing through her veins which helped her keep her head clear.

Her feet hurt in the cold air of late September, but she couldn't care about that now. She mustn't. Like a hunted animal she cast occasional looks behind her. Was that the sound of footsteps? Or was it just the usual sounds of forest life? Was it possible that they would be able to keep up with her? Or maybe they relied on hounds to follow her trail of blood and, maybe not take her down, but at least weaken her until the main corps arrived. Even though the pain was breath-taking, she hastened her steps. She had to get away from them!

Lily…

The girl stopped dead in her tracks when she heard a strange voice inside her mind. What…, she couldn't even finish the thought, before the voice appeared again. Lily…

Startled she looked around to see if anyone she knew was anywhere nearby… But there was no one there. She narrowed her eyes and decided to go on. Maybe this was just a distraction… Someone calling her name to make her stop so that the guards could get her. Or maybe it was just a product of her haunted imagination.

Yeah, that's probably it…, she thought and continued her way through the bushes, following a winding deer track, only paying close attention to everything she could sense outside her mind.

There was something… Suddenly, without a warning, she had the sensation of invisible hands grabbing her and pulling her forwards. Out of surprise, a muffled yelp escaped her throat. But as sudden as the sensation arrived as sudden it disappeared again - just as if it had never been there in the first place - and the girl fell on her knees which knocked the breath out of her chest for a second. What… She looked back over her shoulder, but she still couldn't see anyone. The ground beneath her trembled, as if the earth itself had been taken by surprise and was now shaken. Or was it just her hands that trembled? But no, when she looked up at the rustling leaves above, she could see that they were not swaying in the wind but shaking by an invisible tremor.

But as soon as the sensation appeared as soon it went away, and Lily remembered that she had to move on.

She quickly regained her posture, stood up and hurried on.

***

Lily looked up when she heard a sound that caught her attention. Other than the soft rustling of the leaves in the wind it sounded rather off. It was a rustling, yes, but it seemed not to be in the rhythm of push and pull that the wind dictated the trees. It almost felt like another wind itself, and Lily could sense the power behind the unsuspecting sound. Instinctively she crouched down and rushed to the bushes to hide behind an oak whose trunk was thicker than her shoulders were broad. Cautiously she glanced upwards once more, and was instantly glad, that her instincts had not failed her. Gliding just above the tips of the tree was something that looked like a huge man-shaped bird, scanning the ground for something… Or someone, she thought.

But she didn't have time to finish that thought as the creature decided to come down and land in the open area just in front of her tree. For its size it was remarkably silent. Only the sound of rustling feathers and, what she thought, sounded like grinding old bones, were to be heard. She stared at it in disbelief. It was... Hideous! It had very long, thin legs, leathery skin and messy hair. Sprouting from its back were two huge black wings and its arms were so long that its claw-like hands almost touched the ground. Now it stood bent over, scanning the undergrowth with bulging blood-shot eyes, but she guessed that, when the creature decided to erect itself, it must stand nine to ten feet tall.

Just in time she remembered her caution, as the creature slowly turned its head in her direction. Quickly she pulled back her head, pressed her back against the trunk and forced herself to be absolutely silent. She could hear the creature's quiet sounds of movement as it turned around. Go away!, she thought. There's nothing here for you!

Then, she heard another sound, and it took her two heartbeats to understand, what it was: the creature was talking! It sounded like two rough stones grinding against each other. Or like an angry crow. And at the same time, it sounded very much like a dying person whispering their final words. "I know you are there", it croaked and whispered. "No use in hiding, now".

Lily cursed under her breath. What should she do? Should she confront the creature? Or should she pretend she wasn't there? There was still a chance that the creature was just bluffing... But no. If she was found, she would not be pulled from the undergrowth squealing like a pathetic little human girl. She would deal with the situation like she always had: with dignity. Also, if things got out of hand with this... thing... there was nothing, that a demon could not kill.