Marked

Chapter 3

He stood in the doorway, moonlight illuminating his outline. He was tall, with shoulders that were as broad as the frame of the opening. Roe couldn't see much of his features, and she cowered near the bed with her knife in her hand. She tried not to seem scared, to not let him hear the traitorous pounding of her heart, to not let him see how her hand shook slightly as she held the blade close to her chest. He took a step into the darkness, and snapped his fingers.

The candles lit instantaneously, light washing across the room like a wave. She crouched deeper into her defensive stance, eyes widening slightly. This was the only indication she gave of her profound surprise; She had only ever seen small spatterings of magic in the human districts, none so confident and deliberate. Her own magic had been weak as well, so much so that all she could do was create a few haphazard sparks. He wore a cloak around his shoulders and a hood over his head, so she could only see his jaw under the shadow of the garment. His features were sharp from what she could see, his chin and the tip of his nose almost pointed. When she looked closely at his cloak, she could see the hues of blue that she had noted earlier, realizing this was the man who owned that strange little stone. Had he really missed it that badly that he needed to come here?

He towered over her, and they remained like this for a moment, assessing each other. Suddenly, he spoke.

"You took something from me." His hand floated down to the hilt of the sword that was tethered to his hip.

He wore several rings on his fingers, silver and shining from the flickering candles. One of them had a small ruby embedded into it, with whorls of silver surrounding the edges of the stone. She could see an earring dangling from his right ear. Jewelry was an unnecessary luxury in this part of the world, and to have so much of it was more than just a display of wealth. It was a display of power. Under his cloak, he wore a fitted black tunic and pants that had clearly been tailored for his exact measurements. The material it was made of was nothing she had ever seen before, darker than the deepest pit, all light seeming to evaporate into the garment. His black boots were coated in a fine layer of dust, and she was honestly surprised he hadn't had them shined before putting them on his feet. Disgusting. The flagrant excess of his clothing was disgusting.

Roe's breath hitched in her throat as anger bubbled to the surface, and she forced herself to inhale and exhale slowly before responding.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

He took another step forward, and she could see a sneer cross his lips as she stood slowly. Roe knew her way around a knife, but she wasn't sure she could take him head on. He was at least a full head taller than her and definitely stronger. Who knew what kinds of weapons he hid under that cloak? She was much better at sneaking around than she was at fighting hand-to-hand; She just hadn't had much practice in it. But something about the swaggering arrogance that he carried himself with was infuriating, insulting, and unacceptable. This was her home, and he had violated the place of safety she had carved out for herself. She could feel herself gripping her knife so hard that her knuckles must have been white as she angled the blade towards him.

The anger boiled over, and Roe launched herself at him, swiping her knife across where his face should have been. She blinked, and he had stepped out of range so easily that it poured gasoline on her simmering rage. She advanced out of the door, gearing for his face again, sprinting for him as fast as she could push herself, praying that she struck this time. She didn't. He was impossibly fast, and graceful in his cat-like reflexes. He hadn't put a hand on her, but was effectively evading every strike with overwhelming ease. She charged him a third time, and this time he stepped to the right, causing her to stumble. As she fell to her knees, he chuckled.

"Are you done? All I want is for you to give back what you took."

She rose to her feet and glowered at him. He was much faster than he should have been, and she could barely see him as he dodged her blows. Something in the pit of her stomach told her that something wasn't right, but she pushed the feeling down and tried to focus. He stood before her, casually, as if she wasn't just attacking him with everything in her. She knew at this point, to fight might be foolish, but her pride and fear were controlling her every move. She swept her leg out and tried to trip him, and he jumped back lazily, once again infuriating her while barely lifting a muscle.

Then, before she could react, he was behind her, covering her mouth with his hand, dragging her inside. His arms were like steel wrapped around her body, and she tried to fight her way out before quickly realizing that it was pointless. Just as she gave up, surrendering to her fate, she heard them. Their wet, heavy breath echoed down the street, striking fear into Roe's heart. She could hear the slapping of their hands against the dirt as they prowled closer, sniffing deeply into the night air.

"Where is the talisman," he hissed, severity coating his every syllable. Her heart pounded, and the world slowed. All she could hear was the panting that permeated the silence.

She pointed to the table, and he pulled her over to it, hand still clasped around her mouth. He grabbed the stone and whispered into her ear.

"You must be silent. You cannot make a sound. They will pass by us, but only if you stay very quiet. They can't smell us, or see us." He released his grip on her mouth, but she stayed rooted to the spot.

Her heart was in her ears, panic making her head spin. She had only been so close to them twice before, and that was behind closed doors and shutters. She knew deep down this offered little protection, but it was still a small consolation she did not have now. They crept closer, their size apparent by the weight to each step, their presence made known by the monstrous sounds they were making. The room began to swirl around her as the sounds grew closer.

He hadn't moved, either. His chest was still pressed up against her back, and his arms had moved to her shoulders. She wasn't exactly sure when that had happened, but was thankful for it as her knees buckled. He held firm, keeping her upright, but not moving an inch. They were passing by the open door now.

Nothing had ever sobered her like seeing them for the first time. It was like all of the adrenaline had focused into a single point, bringing everything into razor sharp focus.

They were indeed large, the height of the first story apartment she was in, and crouched over onto all fours. Large, gray hands curled in the dirt as they rose to sniff the air right in front of her doorway. The fingers were so long that they folded up under themselves twice, at least six joints in each. Their faces were smooth, with large black slits sliced through the middle, which was what she supposed was their nose. They didn't have any eyes. Their skin was pulled tightly around their muscles, and she noted their knees, which were pointed in the wrong direction. They seemed skinny, but she knew that to be a trick of their design; These things were nothing but muscle. And then there was their teeth. Blackened shards of bone, grown in haphazard directions, so large that they couldn't close their mouths even if they tried. Saliva dripped down their jaws in long trails as they surveyed the area, huffing at the ground.

There was a brief moment where they paused in front of the door, heaving deeply into the night air as if they'd been starved of it for far too long. She worried her heart was beating too loudly.

Then, they moved on.

He didn't let go of her for quite some time after that, until they were sure they were long gone. When he finally removed his hands, he brusquely stepped aside, dusting off his cloak.

She stood there, mouth agape, before murmuring, "You're marked."

He finished her thought for her, the words she hadn't dared to say out loud, "And the last person I touched was you."