Impossible Love

I stalked forward as quiet as the night itself. The wind wrapped itself around me, chilling me to the bone, as if it were warning me that there were monsters ahead. As if I didn’t already know that. It calmed my nerves to know that they were stupid enough to have their base this close to a hunter’s village. I studied the gloomy wooden house for a moment, there was only one candle lit in the front room and the rest of the house was dark. I crept forward keeping out of the light I circled the house. I located my quarries in the back bedroom, preparing to sleep for dawn was almost upon us. It was a man and a woman, who’d gone on a killing spree, the bodies we did find were torn apart and drained of all blood. All the victims were innocents, so killing the vampires would mean nothing to me. The only door was in front and I didn’t want to make any noise to alert them. I carefully opened the door making sure it made no noise. I took three steps in and froze. There was another vampire in the house. Her dark brown hair curled creating almost a halo around her. Her skin was darker than anyone’s I’ve ever seen. She was the most beautiful girl I’d ever seen. She looked shocked and scared, but she made no sound and didn’t move. Her gaze slid to the door leading to the back bedroom, losing the weight of her gaze allowed me to move, and I headed towards the door once more. I placed my hand on the knob and the candle went out.

I whirled around squinting in the dark looking for the other monster, but she sat in the same spot, looking at me curiously instead of the scared face she wore before. She gave me a slight nod as if she were edging me on. I was reluctant to turn my back towards her, but I had to act quickly, or the others would find out I was there. I placed my hand on the hilt of my dagger and slipped silently through the door.

The woman was standing over a large wooden box made for burying the dead. It was large enough for two. Upon realizing this I determined the man was already in the box awaiting dawn. I pulled the stake attached to my hip out of it sheath and threw it with unparalleled accuracy. It landed directly in the woman’s chest. She wasn’t dead yet, but she was immobilized. The man shot out of the box with inhuman speed. His mistake was going for the woman first. Rushing towards them and while he clutched the body of his lover, I cleanly removed his head from his body with my silver dagger. Taking another stake out I pushed it up under the mans rib cage and into his heart. I the cut off the woman’s head and made sure the stake pierced her heart. Leaving the bodies where they laid and put the heads in a large sack. I carried the sack back into the front room.

She was still there curiously waiting. Her eyes glowed with anticipation. She glanced down to the sack in my hands and cocked her head.

“I next?” she asked her voice was soft and heavy with an accent as if English wasn’t her first language. She looked strangely innocent. I had a sudden strong desire to protect her, in that moment I knew I couldn’t kill her, even if I wanted too.

“You should leave soon, others are coming,” I warned her, ignoring her question.

“You hunter? You kill me,” she told me her eyebrows furrowing in confusion.

“You aren’t on my list,” I replied digging out the wanted poster to show her. She glanced at it, then back to my face. In a quick movement she titled her head as if she were listening to something. I breathed once, and she was in front of me. She reached her cold hand to my face and carefully caressed it. I could feel my face heat with a blush under her hand, and my heart speed up. She smiled at me with all the warmth of a sun.

“Strange,” she said. I let out a breath and she was gone, vanishing before my eyes.

I heard the noise now, a large cart coming towards the house, I heard the voices of men chattering, voices I recognized. My group was here for clean-up. I walked out of the house to meet them.

“Isa!” my twin Ike called, we were nearly identical with golden hair from our mother and blue eyes from our father. I raised the bag of heads in greeting and in proof that I was ready for them. Ike ran over to me, and we watched as the older Norn brothers carried the barrels in a circle around the house, releasing the water as they went. To create a moisture barrier that would stop the fire from burning down the forest. Ike and I gathered dry brush, to get the fire started. The Norn brothers joined us and we had a contest to see who could build fire the quickest. It went on for a while, we struck the rocks in a repetitive motion. The first flame came at first light.

We watched as the house burned in the morning light. It took a while for the fire to go out. While we waited we threw daggers at targets we carved into the trees. The one with the least points had to walk home and the others would get to ride in the cart. I teased Ike the entire way home as I sat in the back of the cart. The Norns would throw in a couple of insults when I was running low.

Our group made it back to the village late-afternoon. Luckily for me. I didn’t have night duties until the next day. I presented the elders with the heads of the bloodsuckers; they were placed on stakes in the middle of the village square. Everyone gathered to watch them burn, our group was surrounded, with praise and thanks. They even allowed us to start the fire, vampires are never truly dead until they are taken by the flames of the earth and turned back into the dust from which they were first made.

As the final flames died the village dispersed back into their daily routines. Ike and I made our way up to the hidden cave, where we kept track of our kills. We painted two more lines on the wall. Making it a total of twenty-six, between the two of us. Not bad, considering we’ve only hunted in the surrounding villages. There’s a rumor that there is a leader of the bloodsuckers that is creating more of their kind without any thought. Most of the elders in the village were focusing all their efforts on finding the leader, so our team had taken over the daily hunting trips. It’s more responsibility, but also more experience for the future.

“Isa?” Ike interrupted my thoughts. I realized that he had been talking to me for a couple minutes.

“Sorry, what were you saying?” I apologized looking at him. He paused to stare at me with concern.

“What were you thinking about?” he asked me.

“About the future and what we have to do,” I replied sullenly. He nodded as he considered my words.

“Speaking of the future, what do you think of Ann?” he questioned leaning back trying to adopt an air of casualness, trying to show that it didn’t matter what I said, that he was just merely curious.

“The girl from the mountain village?” he nodded, and I thought for a moment. We had met her two moons ago, saving her from a bloodsucker. She had seemed kind and definitely had eyes for my brother.

“She’s nice I suppose. Why?” I answered.

“I was thinking of taking her as my wife,” Ike replied turning his face.

“She’s not of our village, so the elders won’t approve,” I warned him.

“I know, but Isa I can’t imagine my life without her. I haven’t felt this way for anyone,” he told . His eyes were filled with an emotion I’d never seen before.

“When have you had time to get to know her? What about Lana?” I saw the hurt pass his face as I mentioned his promised one. From the day he was born he was promised to her. I however was unexpected and not fate bound by the village.

“I’ve been taking supplies to her village on our free days and Lana will be fine. She doesn’t even care for me,” he said with determination in his eyes. I knew he was right. She believed our jobs to be barbaric and wouldn’t even celebrate when we made kills, like the rest of our village does.

“Do you...” I paused it wasn’t a word we used much “Love her?” He considered it for a moment then nodded.

“More than anyone else, even Killer,” he told me, gathering his things. Killer was our wolf. We found him when we were children, the runt of the litter and abandoned by his mother. We became his only life source. We both loved him dearly, I knew he was serious at that moment.

“I’ll have your back. The elders can’t banish both of us can they?” I replied standing up on the rock ledge.

“Isa!” Ike proclaimed, gathering me up in a hug. “Thank you!” I patted his back, unaccustomed to this much contact from anybody. He released me and we climbed down to where Killer was waiting for us.

“What are you going to do if they won’t allow you to marry her?” I asked after we had walked for a while

“Then I’ll move to her village and live with her family. Until we’ve built a home for ourselves,” he said with an unwavering gaze towards the horizon. “You can come with us,” he added as an afterthought. This was the first time that ‘us’ didn’t include me, it made me feel a bit lonely.

“Maybe, I might go off on my own and be a solo hunter. Just me; me and Killer. How’s that sound Killer?” I asked the wolf, he barked in reply. Reacting more to the tone of my voice rather than the words. I reached down and patted his head.

“Mother and Father won’t like that,” Ike warned me, I scoffed at his remark.

“You were just saying that if they didn’t approve you were going to run away. What’s wrong with me doing that?” I said irritated at his refusal.

“You know why, and its not safe by yourself!” he snapped I stopped and faced him.

“I am more than capable of taking care of myself,” I said angrily, turning from him and sprinting away, with Killer by my side. He called after me, but I kept running. He didn’t even give chase.

I ran until I was breathless and panting. I sat under a large tree that shaded me from the afternoon sun. Killer laid beside me resting his head on my thigh. The heat from his body, the air, and my lack of sleep made it easy for me to fall into sleep.

I awoke to something vibrating under my head and a beautiful ringing laugh. I stiffened realizing that I was leaning on someone. I slowly sat up and looked at the person, her yellow eyes captured mine and I was unable to look away. It was the vampire from the night before. The moon, high in the sky, illuminated her skin giving her a glowing appearance. Her eyes lit with laughter.

“Hello,” she said in her sweet voice. My eyes moved to her mouth, and I saw her lips were quirked upwards into a smile, which made her even more stunning.

“Hunter?” she said as if it were a question. I then realized that Killer wasn’t resting on my leg anymore. That broke the spell and I looked around for him. I found him resting his head on her legs, which I found to be bare. Except for a short skirt made of animal skin her chest wasn’t covered much better.

“Hunter!” her voice made me snap my head up to attention. She was squinting at me as if trying to figure me out. There was a long silence, as if she were waiting for me to do something.

“Isa, not Hunter” I said simply. She reached her hand to my face. I flinched away from her cold hand, but she ignored it and continued to lay it on the side of my face, keeping my attention on her.

“Isa” she pronounced slowly making sure to get it right. I nodded and she took my hand in her empty one and pressed it against her cheek “Zoha” she said slowly and waited until I repeated her to drop my hand from her face. She didn’t release my hand though, she kept it firmly in her lap. I looked at it for a long moment.

“Isa” she repeated over and over again as if it were her favorite word. She said it until I looked into her eyes. Her focus was entirely on me, and I could feel the heat rise to my cheeks. Her brows furrowed, her free hand returned to my face.

“Hurt?” Zoha seemed concerned, my heart sped up at her touch. I shook my head ‘no’.

“I’m fine,” I said earnestly. She let out a deep breath and smiled her fangs fully in view. I had forgotten she was a monster for a moment. Panic gripped my chest. My limbs froze under her gaze. She didn’t seem like a monster, just different. The desire to run from her released the hold fear had on my legs. I stood and was forced into an awkward bending position because of the iron grip she had on my hand.

“I have to go” I told her quickly tugging my hand desperately trying to break her hold.

“Go?” she asked seeming worried.

“Home, I have to go home,” I repeated panic fogging my mind.

“Stay” she demanded.

“I can’t” a look of pain crossed her face, it made me stop and my panic disappear.

“Why?” tears peaked through her eyes.

“My family’s worried.” I said my breathing slowing.

“I come.” she said determinedly. Standing up she switched her grip to where she could hold my hand and walk next to me. I shook my head.

“You can’t. There are more hunters. They will kill you.” she considered my words, and came up with a decision.

“I take you” she didn’t wait for my response, she just started walking and tugging me behind her. Killer walked next to her like a loyal servant.

“Traitor” I whispered. Zoha looked back at me and slowed her walk until she was walking beside me. We walked in silence and every so often, she would say my name and gently squeeze my hand. I squeezed back and she would smile brightly at me. I kept reminding myself she was a monster, but the conviction wouldn’t stick in my mind.

We reached the guarded perimeter of the village, there would be someone coming along quickly. I stopped and looked at her.

“Zoha, go now.” I said firmly. She frowned at me.

“Isa” she said in a sad tone. If she stayed much longer someone would see her.

“Zoha please” I said urgently, looking around. She started to say something but froze, listening. She squeezed my hand and she was gone. I walked towards the village, my hand feeling empty without hers.

After a few minutes I came upon the one of the perimeter guards, unfortunately it was my father. Without a word he slapped me hard across my face. I tasted the metallic tang of blood in my mouth. Though I didn’t dare lift my hand to cradle my pulsing cheek.

“Don’t miss curfew again.” he said coldly, then he turned and continued his walk around the village. Part of me hoped that Zoha hadn’t seen that moment of embarrassment. Another part thought about how nice her cold hand would feel against my cheek. I walked blindly towards the village thinking about the strange vampire, who didn’t seem evil.

Upon arriving home, I received another slap from my mother. She said nothing and walked to her room without another glance at me. I didn’t ask about dinner. I knew she wouldn’t have saved me any. I went to the room I shared with Ike. He was sitting on the bed. Ike soundlessly held out a large piece of bread and there was a cooked piece of meat sitting on a piece of cloth next to him on the bed.

“Sorry” I mumbled taking the food and sitting down on the fur pelts on the ground. He got up from his spot and took a mud salve from the windowsill, he carefully rubbed it on my cheeks while I scarfed down the food.

“Are you okay?” he asked softly. He was no stranger to our parents discipline, but he knew I got the worst of it.

“I’ll be fine” I said tiredly. He nodded as he took in my answer. It seemed as if he fought the urge to say something.

“On our next free day, will you come with me to the mountain village? To see if you like it?” He asked, I nodded agreeing even if it was just to please him. It wasn’t what he wanted to ask, but I wasn’t going to push him if he decided against it. I finished the last of my food and Ike suggested we sleep. Ike opened the window shutters to let Killer into our room. Mother didn’t like him in the house.

I climbed into bed then Killer hopped up beside me and Ike next to him. The hours I slept earlier did nothing to battle my growing sleepiness. With the adrenaline effects gone from my aching muscles, sleep came easy to me, if only to escape reality for a while.

I awoke the next day in the afternoon to an empty bed and my mother’s loud voice. I changed into new clothes, and walked to the family room. Mother glared at me.

“Took you long enough to wake up!” she said angerly. She looked to my father as if giving him the floor to speak.

“The elders have decided that you and Ike, of sixteen years are of the age to marry” he pronounced, shock stole my voice and my mother continued where my father stopped.

“You will marry into the Norn’s family and Ike will marry Lana in five days.” she finished. I opened my mouth to speak, but her glare silenced me.

“Its decided.” Father said coldly. They left me to my thoughts. I didn’t want to marry anyone, let alone a Norn. They weren’t bad people I just could never imagine myself being happy with them. Tears of frustration fell from my eyes. My freedom was gone with the blink of an eye and no one asked me what I wanted. My chest ached as I choked out sobs, I thought I had more time than this. My thoughts turned to Ike, was he going to tell the village about Ann or was he just going to disappear. Would he take me with him? Did I want to go? Thoughts ran through my head one after the other. Eventually I realized I had made it back to my bed.

As it neared dark I cleared my head, I had perimeter duties that I couldn’t be late for. I made myself go through the motions, forcing myself not to think. Ike had come back home to get his gear for perimeter duties as well, but he had the same quiet I carried. Neither of us spoke as we go into position. I numbly walked forward, counting my steps to occupy my mind. We spaced out in a large perimeter. Large enough where we couldn’t see each other.

Eight hundred and forty-two steps later a cold hand slipped into mine. I wasn’t startled, I didn’t look at her, I just squeezed her hand.

“Sad, Isa?” Zoha asked, and I found that I enjoyed hearing my name coming from her mouth.

“I’m trying not to be” I said softly, fighting back the tears that so desperately wanted to escape. Zoha lifted my arm a bit and slipped under, fitting perfectly next to me. She softly repeated,

She softly repeated, “You okay, Isa, you okay” her presence calmed me and I found myself content with hearing her voice. We stayed like that for a long time, Zoha fitting perfectly beside me a warm presence soothing my soul.

Zoha froze causing me to stumble and the next thing I knew, she was gone. I nearly cried out from the loss of contact. Rim came jogging up to me and I realized it was time for a shift change. He took in my appearance and got a worried look on his face.

“I don’t want to go back.” I admitted. He gained a sad look of understanding and put a gentle hand on my shoulder. Maybe he did understand. Maybe he was forced to marry someone he didn’t love. Maybe the entire village had. That may explain why everyone seemed to never be truly happy.

“What if I told your parents that you stayed to keep me company on my shift. But instead you take Killer for a walk to calm your nerves.” he suggested softly. It wouldn’t be too unusual, Rim was a close family friend and I’ve done it before. I nodded numbly, and he bent to pet Killer, then turned to give me a hug. Rim was more of a parent than my real ones. He was also the reason I was such a great hunter. He believed in me when no one else had. I bid him farewell and walked away from the lit path of the perimeter and into the moonlit darkness.

I followed Killer as he seemed determined to find something. He led me straight to Zoha, tail wagging as he approached her to be pets. She patiently obliged and then walked to me. When she got close, her face scrunched up as if I smelled bad. Though I didn’t think I smelled any worse than a when she last saw me. Before I realized what she was doing, she had her arms around my neck in a tight bear hug. In the back of my mind I realized I should be scared, terrified even, but I couldn’t bring myself to care one way or the other. She held me for a long time. Slowly I relaxed in her arms, breathing in her scent. She smelled like wildflowers and the river, a sweet almost intoxicating smell. Without knowing how, or when it happened, we were suddenly on the ground and Zoha was carefully cradling me as if I was going to break.

All of the stress and weight had been lifted off my shoulders, and I cried for the loss of my freedom. Heavy sobs racking my chest, and tears that burned my cheeks as they fell, all while Zoha held me and murmured words soothingly to me in a language I’d never heard before. Coming from her it was light and musical, and in that moment I felt I could listen to it for the rest of my life and be happy, truly happy.

By the time we stood I was stiff and my body ached. Zoha didn’t seem to have that problem and she paced in the small clearing as I stretched. The moon was starting to set but we had a while before the sun rose. Zoha smiled at me warmth filling her eyes like pools of gold.

“Isa come” she said excitedly holding out a hand for me to take. This was the first time she asked. Zoha had always taken my hand by force, without regards to what I wanted. I hesitated, a look of doubt crossed her face and her open hand started to close slowly. I knew I wasn’t supposed to feel this way. But I desperately missed the feel of her skin against mine. So I slipped my hand into hers and gave it a small squeeze. he looked to my face and I gave her a small nervous smile. I had no idea what I was doing but I just knew I didn’t want to hurt this beautiful creature. She smiled back and gently squeezed my hand. All the jewels in the world couldn’t compare to her smile.

I followed this creature of contradictions through the dimly lit forest to my doom or destiny. We walked in silence except for every once in a while, Zoha would glance back at me and say my name joyfully, giggle and speed up for a moment or two. It wasn’t long before we reached a cliff face. There was an opening to a cave about twenty feet up. But there was no way to get there. It was a sheer cliff, with no footholds that I could see. In a sweeping motion Zoha picked me up as if I weighed nothing. There was a rush of wind and we were suddenly standing in the cave entrance.

“Home” Zoha stated setting me down. There was nothing that I could see, but she took my hand and led me down farther into the cave. I had to totally rely on her because I couldn’t even see my hand in front of my face. She dropped my hand and I started to panic.

“Zoha? Where are you?” my voice went shrill. There was a sharp clacking noise and a fire was lit reveling the small cavern we now stood in. The fire sat in the middle of the round room. Opposite the cave entrance laid animal pelts and furs, large enough for two people. This is where Zoha sat, waiting for me.

“Isa?” she held her hand out to me, I went and sat next to her. My stomach chose that time to rumble, reminding me that I hadn’t eaten all night. Zoha laughed while I dug in my satchel and pulled out some berries and munched on them, watching the fire. My mind was racing with questions but I finally settled on one. I leaned my head against Zoha’s shoulder. She looked at me delightedly.

“Zoha, how did you become like this?” I asked her, and I felt her shoulders stiffen. There was a long silence. I sat up and looked at her.

“I’m sorry you don’t have to tell me.” I took back my question. She looked sad but thoughtful as if deciding if she should tell me or not. I took her hand in mine trying to comfort her. She looked at me and gave me a sad smile.

“Real home far away. Over lot water. We live in trees. Man like you come. Yell things. Killed all. We fight. He bite, Diata, me, bite him. Diata stab him with hunting stick. He die, Everyone die, Diata live, I live. We come here. On wood in water.” Her broken speech painted a picture in my head of a village being torn apart by a vampire unable to defend themselves. The entire village destroyed, I’ve never come across wreckage like that but I’ve been told stories of entire villages being wiped out. I squeezed her hand and asked the question called to mind after her story.

“Who is Diata?” Zoha smiled warmly at the name.

“Sister.” she said struggling with the ‘r’.

“You have a sister? Where is she?” I asked looking around the cavern, as my heart began to pick up speed.

“Hunting” Zoha answered looking at my wrist. Could she hear my pulse? I knew I had to ask the question, the one that would change everything depending on her answer.

“What do you hunt?” she gave me a shy smile and patted the animal furs under us.

“Animals” I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding.

“You don’t kill humans?”

“No. Animals, or Diata”

“You drink from Diata?” I asked, she nodded and squeezed my hand.

“Sun soon” she warned me her head titled towards the entrance. “Stay?” she pleaded.

“I need to go home. Can you put me back on the ground?” she looked sad.

“Come back?” she asked, I nodded and stood holding my hand out to help her up. She reached behind her and pulled out a small pouch. She pulled out a string of beads and tied it to my wrist. It was beautiful and like her I had never seen anything like it. She took my hand and pulled herself up. She picked me up bridal-style and another gust of wind surrounded us for a couple of moments longer. Then we were outside on the ground. She gently placed me on my feet. The sky was greying with the first sign of dawn. Zoha looked towards the sky and then too me.

Her face leaned towards mine and in a matter of seconds her lips gently brushed mine and like a gust of wind she was gone. Moments too late I felt my cheeks turn crimson and my head went dizzy with the adrenaline. Killer who had been patiently waiting at the bottom of the cliff walked over to me. I glanced at the sky again and there was a hint of orange.

“Home Killer, go home.” I told him. He took off in a fast pace and I followed in suit running as fast as I could. The sun peaked out from the horizon as I made it to the perimeter. I carefully circled around until I found Rim. He smiled as he took in my out of breath state,

“Feeling better?” he asked handing me his water-pouch. I took a couple of drinks, trying to slow my heart and breathing.

“Much better, thank you,” I told him honestly, and I was pleasantly surprised to find that was true. I thought of Zoha and I felt my cheeks redden again.

“Shall we?” Rim asked titling his head in the direction of the village, the sun rising steadily in the sky. A new day, a new chance. We walked silently. Rim didn’t ask where I went or what I did; and I didn’t offer any information. He dropped me off at home pausing to talk to my parents. I went straight for my room.

Ike sat up in bed, sleepily petting Killer, who I assumed jumped through the open window and woke him up. I climbed over the two, to my side of the bed.

“Ike?” I said. He looked over at me and answered with a “hmm”

“I need to talk to you later, at our spot,” I told him as I drifted off to sleep, tired from the events from the night before.

Ike woke me up in the late afternoon and he waited for me to get ready. We didn’t talk the whole way there. The quiet weighed down on us, knowing that what we talked about here would change our lives.

We climbed to our cave and Ike set out a blanket, along with some food. But neither of us ate.

“Have you told the elders about Ann?” I asked him. He nodded.

“I did. Last night while you were out. Like we thought, they don’t approve. I’m going to have to leave soon. Will you come with me?” he asked once more.

“About that. Ike I think I’m in love.” I told him, he looked shocked.

“With who?” he inquired, obviously thinking of anyone it could possibly be.

“A girl, named Zoha.” I said watching him. He got really quiet.

“Ike, do you think a vampire could be good?” his eyes got wide at that question.

“She’s a vampire! What are you thinking?”

“She’s different I swear. She doesn’t even drink human blood. She’s really nice.” I pleaded my case.

“She hasn’t hurt you?” he asked concerned but quieting down as he considered my words.

“No she’s actually helped me quite a bit.”

“Were you with her all night?”

“Yes, she told me about what happened to her, and Ike, she’s a victim, I swear.”

“How did you meet her?” he said asking another question, I told him about the night I killed the other two vampires, I told him everything, including how she made me feel, how I didn’t want to marry a Norn, or stay here, or go with him.

He listened patiently, until I ran out of things to say.

“What do you think Ike?” I asked my heart in my throat. I waited for him to tell me I’m insane, that I was the world’s biggest idiot. But he didn’t,

“Do you truly love her?” he asked, I thought long and hard, and I believed I did.

“Yes, I do.” I stated affirming out loud what I knew to be true in my heart.

“I’ll support you then, but if she ever hurts you, she’s a dead woman” he promised me. We then began planning how we would leave the village. Pack only the essentials, tell no one, and we would leave at nightfall.

The next few hours blurred together and before I knew it, I was on the back of my horse, ready to leave. But fate had other plans. My horse was too loud and I ended up getting caught. I was put in the pit, to sit out the decision of what was to be done. They knew I had planned to leave them, and that wasn’t allowed.

Night fell and I worried about what Zoha thought, was she worried, was she going to come find me? I hoped not for it would be a death sentence. There was a scream and the men yelled. In the commotion, the wooden barrier over the pit flew off, and she was there. My golden eyed angel.

“Isa” she breathed out in relief. She jumped in, and held me in her arms. Her lips met mine in a fiery embrace that left me breathless, the wooden barrier was pushed back over the pit, and I was aware of the villager’s eyes upon us.

“Isa? We go?” she asked starring at the barrier in horror. I held her in my arms and cried. I knew we wouldn’t make it out of this alive. Someone threw a spear and it imbedded itself in my right calf.

“No!” Zoha screamed in rage, followed by a string of words in her language, only this wasn’t musical it was anger, and hatred. I lost track of what was happening, pain taking a hold of my mind. The next thing I knew Zoha laid beside me a spear in her stomach. She reached a shaky hand towards mine, ignoring the pain, I crawled closer to her and took her hand. She squeezed so tightly that I’m sure my hand was broken. But I couldn’t let go, that pain would be far worse.

A ladder was put in the pit and the men of the village came and tore us apart. I cried out at the loss of her touch. Strong arms held me back. While I would have run to her if I could. A sharp pain reminded me of he wound on my leg as someone ripped the spear out of it. They tightly bound my leg and carried me up the ladder after Zoha.

They had tied her to a post, and she cried out my name in heartbreaking cries. Someone was screaming loudly, and I couldn’t see who, until I realized the screams were coming from me. I yelled her name I begged and pleaded. For them to let her go, my father came and slapped me, so hard I couldn’t breathe. I heard Zoha scream in rage, then pain. I forced my eyes open. The children threw rocks at her instructed by their parents. I screamed, cried, and cursed every single person there. Men took turns, cutting her skin and watching her bleed.

Her golden eyes never left mine, filled with pain, suffering, and sadness. There were cheers and laughter coming from all around us. My father was cheered on as he pushed the stake through her ribcage into her heart. I couldn’t breathe. Then mother lit her on fire. I found my breath only to scream in rage and pain.

“Isa” Zoha whimpered with her last breath as she caught flame and burned in a matter of minutes. Through my tears I saw my mother’s skirts. She spit on me and held my face in her hand.

“You are a disgrace and exiled from our family. Be thankful the Norns are still willing to take you or you’d be dead too” she said with a cruel smile as she walked away.

“You bitch” I yelled through sobs. I had never seen her move so quickly in my life. Her shoe sending me into the darkness as she kicked me with all her might.

Someone shook me awake, my head pounding I could hardly hear the quick whispers.
“Isa, we have to go, come on” Ike whispered urgently. He unbound my arms and I stumbled onto my feet forgetting my wound and falling into Ike’s open arms. He carried me to my horse and secured me to her.

“Go, go, I got it.” I slurred unable to make my mouth work properly. He got in the saddle of his and took off at a fast canter. I urged my horse to do the same. We raced from the village not running into anyone. Zoha’s death had replayed in my mind over and over again. Every single thing that was done to her was burned into my mind. We had made it as far as the fork in the path for the mountain village and the river village. By the time I made up my mind.

“Ike” I said as loudly as I could. He halted his horse and looked at me.

“I’m not going with you.” I said.

“You need to go and marry Ann. Never go back to the village, and don’t look for me.” I told him solemnly. He dismounted, and helped me down. He hugged me for a long moment.

“I love you my sister. Be safe, and if the time comes again, don’t be afraid to love.” he gently patted my hair.

“I love you too. Don’t forget me please.” I hugged him back ignoring the ache in my bones.

“Never.” he told me, he released me and helped me back onto my horse. I watched as he mounted his. We said goodbye to each other, and I watched him ride off into the distance. Killer sat beside my horse on the ground. I hadn’t realized he had followed us.

“Go with Ike, you can’t come with me Killer” I told him. He seemed to smile at me, but stayed still. I took a piece of meat from my bag and threw it in the direction Ike went. While he was distracted I quickly maneuvered my horse away from him.

I rode for a long time in circles. Calling out the name “Diata”. I had finally found my way to the cliff face where the cave was. I called out once more and she appeared, angry and glorious. Instead of the soft cloud of curls, she had her hair tightly braided to her scalp, making her fiercely beautiful. Her eye’s weren’t the golden color her sister had, hers in contrast were ruby red and shined with an ominous glow. She wore a short animal skin around her hips but was otherwise naked. The moon illuminated her dark skin, and she was taller than I or her sister.

“Why have you come?” her voice was deep, powerful, and her accent not quite apparent. I tried to dismount but faltered once my foot hit the ground. Diata caught me in a strong grip.

“I need revenge. I need to destroy those who took her from me. I need you to help me.” my voice cracked while I spoke and I could feel the tears falling from my eyes. Her expression softened.

“Do you know what you are asking?” she spoke softly now.

“I do, please help me.” I begged her. She gave me a once-over and lowered me to the ground. She held her arm to her mouth and tore the skin from her wrist. She put the bleeding wound to my mouth and urged me to drink it. I gagged trying to down the thick liquid. Diata took my wrist and bit hard on it. That was when the fire started. My bones broke, and my muscles stretched and moved into there new places. My blood boiled, and I tried to scream, but Diata’s blood filled my mouth and choked me. It filled my lungs and I couldn’t breathe. The pain wouldn’t stop, and it seemed to go on for hours.

I awoke stronger, though I didn’t remember falling asleep. My eyes could see more clearly than ever, and I could hear the ant crawl across a leaf a mile away. I realized my head was in Diata’s lap. I sat up and felt a burning thirst in my throat.

“Let’s go.” Diata said standing up. She held out a hand for me, and I took it. We ran for a moment before we reached the village. I came upon Rim, he startled by my appearance.

“Run Rim and never, ever look back” He didn’t help kill Zoha and he didn’t deserve this. Diata growled at his loss as he ran, but Everyone else would suffer, and that would have to be enough. We knocked out the guards and dragged them to the middle of town. We woke them by slicing their skin, and watching them bleed. Diata went through the houses and dragged the adults to the middle as well. I never saw the kids or what Diata did to them but to the rest, we feasted on their blood and screams. We tore off limbs and brought them to the brink of death. Making sure they suffered, Diata shoved a stake through my fathers’ chest and I lit my mother on fire. Then we stood back and watched the village burn. Their screams filled the air and the burning sensation in my throat stopped.

We went to the river to cleanse ourselves. I let the water rush by me taking away the blood and sins of the night. I looked at my reflection in the river and noticed my golden hair had become an icy blonde. The blue pools of my eyes had become red. I let go of my humanity in that moment, I had no need for it.

“Let’s go Isa.” Diata told me holding out her hand I took it and said,

“Call me Isabell.”

 

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Tag der Veröffentlichung: 20.06.2019

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