The Bringers of the Night

‘What do you mean?’ Marta cried, beyond terrified now. The tears welled up in her eyes and, despite my relentlessly pounding heart and white skin and frantic breathing, she seemed to be more scared than I was.

‘I’ve got to get out of here,’ I said. I was already out of my bed and fumbling around in my wardrobe in the dark for a bag. I knew I had one in here somewhere.

‘What are you doing?’ she continued. To be honest, I wasn’t giving her many answers. Finding the time, I sat down on the end of my bed and began to explain.

‘The Demons are hunting me down,’ I began.

‘Why?’ she asked again.

‘Because they are!’ I said. It came out a little too harshly, but I had the right to be in a bad mood in this situation. Taking a deep breath and continuing, I explained; ‘I haven’t been doing a lot with my life right now. I’ve been moaning a lot, complaining a lot, and I’m pretty sure most of the time that this world is going to end. After all, Minister Malvoritus and his gang of Dark Emperors are doing a good job of making it happen. I’ve been moaning so much that my life has been deemed worthless by the Demons. Now they’re coming for me.’

‘But you haven’t done anything wrong!’ Marta said like she was pleading.

‘Try telling that to the Demons,’ I said in a grim tone.

‘So where are you going?’ she continued.

‘Somewhere,’ I said. ‘I’m not absolutely sure. But I probably have only a week to live, so I’m going to make the most of it. I’m going to get a boat to Larveksia...I think, and go and find Emperor Varisii.’

‘Why do you want to find him?’ asked Marta, confused more than anything.

‘He’s one of the few Light Emperors left,’ I said. ‘Most of them are Dark. If I’m going to die anyway, I have nothing to lose, so I’m going to go to him and beg him to do something about this shitty world. He should know what’s going on. I can already tell there’s going to be a war between Light and Dark—'

‘There’s going to be a war?’ Marta cried.

‘Yes...maybe,’ I said, distracted. I’d forgotten to mention that I could sense things like that. I could feel the tensions brewing beneath reality.

‘But basically,’ I continued, ‘he needs a motive to properly get into the war. I’m going to find him and insist that he does it. I can be as harsh as I want—if he kills me for insolence it’ll be better than being Claimed by the Demons.’

‘That’s horrible,’ Marta whispered.

I sighed, fumbling for clothes and my essentials in my wardrobe and drawers, not looking her in the eye. ‘It is,’ I eventually whispered. We were silent for a long time. I ran out of the room and back in a few times; once with toiletries and once with some food.

Half an hour later I was ready to go. I had my purse, a few clothes, some toiletries and enough food to last until tomorrow. Anything else I could buy—I had enough money to last me my last few days.

I headed down the stairs and Marta followed hurriedly. I grabbed my shoes and pulled my dark cherry coloured hair back into a loose ponytail to keep it off my face. I was wearing an old pair of trousers and a black top—stuff I didn’t mind what happened to it.

‘Well...here goes,’ I whispered, standing motionless in front of the door, afraid to open it. Once I left, it would be the last time I would ever see this house.

‘I’m sorry,’ Marta said, no longer hiding the tears. We’d been best friends since we were five, and now we would never see each other again.

‘If you happen to find a telephone, call me,’ she said.

‘And when will I find a phone whilst I’m out on the streets and on a boat?’ I asked rhetorically, laughing to conceal my own tears. I hated crying in front of people.

She threw her arms round me and we hugged tightly. This would be the last time I’d ever see Marta.

‘Goodbye,’ she whispered.

‘Goodbye,’ I replied.

‘And good luck,’ she said.

‘You too,’ I said, ‘with life. Have a great life. Don’t ever look back, for the Demons will be behind you.’

I think the well-known quote was too much for her right now, and she burst into floods of tears.

‘It’ll be fine,’ I assured her, although I was far from certain of myself. With one last regretful glance around my home, I swung the door open and walked out into the icy night.

I had to get to the port. Thankfully, I lived down Ocean Road which, as the name suggested, looked out over the ocean. It would only take a short walk if I went briskly to get down to the harbour.

I had always dreamed of travelling across the ocean. Out there, on that distant horizon, the sky was blue, and in the morning it shone gold with vibrant rays of light shining from the sun. The waves sparkled in the light on cloudless days; millions of tiny diamonds glittering on a perfectly smooth surface. I had never been on the ocean properly. I had only ever seen it. I paddled in it as a child when I visited the beach, and one time we hired a rowing boat for an hour. Unfortunately, we ended up stuck in some rocks and by the time we safely got out of them, we had to head back to the shore. I’d never been further out to the sea than in the gentle, safe waves of Cleveport Bay. This was different, though. This would be the ocean I’d always dreamed of.

As a water elemental, being on the sea for many days would help my affinity with the power, and it would keep me at my strongest. If anything was going to keep the Demons away for a few extra days, it would be by staying strong.

I was running now, but I knew I could never truly outrun them. They were always behind me now until the day they caught up.