Talien froze on the spot. The headlights were turned off but it was still bright enough outside to illuminate the ice rink at least partially. He could see the lines on the ice, the goals and the empty stands. He was alone. He should have been alone but Tal felt eyes on him. Somewhere in the dark lured someone, something, and watched him. He didn’t dare to move or speak. He stood there in the middle of the ice rink and waited for the other to reveal themselves. Despite the cold his body refused to tremble. It was a stupid fear. If someone was already watching him it didn’t matter if he moved but Tal was scared, so incredibly terrified that he couldn’t think clearly. His eyes did move though. They searched the darkness for a sign of life. He was limited to examine the stands before him but that paid off to be enough.
He saw her hand first. It appeared out of nowhere and held onto the boards, the rest of her body still concealed by the darkness surrounding them. Tal’s breath quickened and now finally the shaking set in. More parts of the woman appeared in his field of sight. She moved unnaturally, as if her body didn’t really belong to her, as if she had only recently learned how the joints worked and how her feet staggered. The ice didn’t help her. Even though Tal was struck with terror he couldn’t help but almost smile as the strange woman slipped on the ice and clung onto the saftey of the boards. She snarled and growled and his smile disappeared. She wasn’t human. Those sounds weren’t human. He took a step back. He almost slipped as well but he knew the ice rink. He knew how to work it. “Don’t try to run, boy. I will catch you.” The woman now hissed and bared her teeth. Nothing about her seemed human. How could Tal mistake her for one?
“What are you?” He asked. His voice was surprisingly calm. In his mind he was figuring out how to leave. He was demanding his body to teleport. He was begging. It didn’t work and so he carefully took another step back and didn’t slip again. “Your mother.” She replied dryly and knelt down. Tal didn’t expect her comment and winced slightly. “Are you a demon?” He asked instead and watched her curiously pressing her palms onto the ice before her. The woman, the demon, it, began to crawl towards him on all fours. The body bent to its will and the limbs wobbled under its weight. It was unnatural to move that way, the bones should break, the skin should tear but the demon lifted its head in an irregular angle and smiled at Tal. “Are you scared, descendant?”
The answer was yes. Tal fought off his paralysis and ran. He slipped over the ice and fell but it didn’t matter. The creature crawled towards him and laughed. His heart was beating heavily in his chest as the hunter chased its prey over the ice rink. Taliesin didn’t stop when he reached the normal ground again. He shut the door in hopes to keep the creature occupied for a little bit before he ran again. His ankle throbbed but in the rush of adrenaline he could ignore the pain. “You can’t hide from me. I can sense you.” A stifled cry escaped his lips. “How?” He yelled back and searched the darkness for an escape route. Only the ice rink itself was illuminated. He could spot a few exit LED’s in the distance but he couldn’t be sure that the hall was even opened. What if he was locked inside with this monster? Tal didn’t have a choice. If he wanted to get out, he had to trigger his teleportation ability.
“Mortals, Demons, Gods.” The demon moved on the ice but Tal had the feeling that it grew closer. He ran into the dark stands and hid between two seatrows. Maybe it could only sense a direction. Maybe it couldn’t see in the dark. “We found you because you are different. You shine.” Shine? Tal had so many questions but he couldn’t risk speaking up. He’d be damned if he got killed because of his own curiosity. “Your protector too.” The voice was distorted and close. Tal pressed himself harder against the back of the seats and shut his eyes. “He shines. Not as bright as you. They never shine as bright as the descendants. Until right before their death. Then they burst into flames that devour them whole.” He wanted to push the picture away of Nik, his Nik, bursting into flames and crying out while burning to ashes.
“Come out of there, boy. My master has been patient enough. It’s time.” “Who is your master?” Tal spoke without thinking. The creature laughed without any humour and the tiny vibrations shook the ground. It was crawling closer. “You will know him soon.” It whispered and all of a sudden everything stopped. It was quiet around him. No steps, no sounds, no laughter. Nothing. Tal dared to open his eyes. He checked the dark spaces beside him. Nothing. Has it gone away? His breath hitched as something wet dropped onto the floor beneath him. A shiver ran down his spine as he slowly lifted his gaze. The demon’s twisted neck reached above him and its cruel eyes smiled down on him. “Peekaboo.” Tal screamed.
The demon grabbed him by his collar and dragged him out of the seatrow. It pushed him forward and forward, dragging him over the ground as he screamed and wailed and kicked and punched. It hummed a melody while being utterly unbothered by Tal’s attempts to flee. He was back to pleading with his own body. He felt the surge he’d had in the garden with Nik but he couldn’t keep it. He was unable to concentrate on anything. Then suddenly the creature let go. It cried out loudly in a shattering wail and Tal didn’t lose time to run. He didn’t turn around again until he heard another voice. “How dare you kidnap and attack a student? You should be ashamed of yourself!” Tal froze so abruptly that he almost ran against the glass doors. “Mr. Moreno.” He whispered and looked back. His coach was fighting the creature with a hockey stick and scolded it loudly. Could he see that it was a demon? Did it appear in a different shape to him? Tal didn’t waste any more time. “Mr. Moreno!” He yelled. “Run!”
His Coach looked up and then down at the creature again. “Too late.” It snarled loud enough for Tal to hear and grabbed Mr. Moreno’s leg. The man fell and screamed out in pain as the demon settled above him and lifted the hockey stick. “Mr. Moreno, run.” It mocked Tal’s voice and laughed bitterly. “Mr. Moreno, run.” It repeated and Tal bolted. He crashed into the creature and sent it tumbling down the stairs of the stands. “Take my hand.” He told his Coach who stared at the woman in shock. “Please, take my hand.” Tal felt the surge. He was ready now. He knew he could do it. “Paul please!” His head snapped towards Tal and he reached out his hand. As soon as Tal grabbed it they were gone.
They landed in the entrance hall of Nik’s manor. Mr. Moreno was getting up quickly and staring at his surroundings while Tal stayed on the ground. His whole body was shivering and he felt like throwing up. It was the first time he managed to teleport but he couldn’t feel happy about it. He almost died. His Coach almost got hurt by a demon. They’d found him once and he knew that they would find him again. Mr. Moreno was walking around the entrance hall and finally stopped in front of the family portrait. “Is that.. Nikandros Bennet?” “We’re at Nik’s manor.” Tal managed to say and tried to sit up. He immediately got dizzy and his head hit the ground. Mr. Moreno flinched at the sound and was quickly next to him. “Taliesin?” He asked but Tal was barely able to focus on him. “It’s okay.” He said. “I just need to…” “Taliesin!” He blacked out.
Comments (2)
See all