The Flash of the Christmas Blade

The rain beat against him as he stood silently on the hill, staring down at the little village with unblinking eyes. His long black coat flapped in the winter wind, making a long shadow behind him.

He could hear laughter coming from the bar, careless souls who would rather get drunk and piss away life rather than live it to the fullest. Most of the men he knew in there had families. Wives and little children waited for their husband and father as the bastard drank away all of the money they could be using for food or clothing.

Just the thought of a wife angered Matt as he gripped the handle of the long silver blade in his holster. He wanted to take the blade and ram it down the no account bastards throats, but he knew his anger would be misguided if he allowed that to happen.

Sure they men needed to be taught a lesson in the dynamics of family, but he wasn’t angry at the men, at least not at this time. He heard female laughter coming from behind him, followed by another male’s moan. Without a sound, Matt managed to hide himself before the couple saw him stand there. His boots barely made a splash in the puddles on the ground as he quickly put distance between himself and the couple.

With a jolt in his heart, he realized that the woman was none other than Clarissa , the woman who broke his heart, and the reason why he wanted to jam his sword down an ungrateful drunks throats.

His hand moved from the handle of the blade to the gun. When he touched the cold metal, he knew right away it was a bad idea. Not only would he cause panic, but he would regret killing her at once, no matter how badly he had hurt her.

It was Christmas Eve when he last saw her. She was wearing a red dress with a black lace shawl covering her shoulders. Her blonde hair was drawn up in a messy bun and her green eyes sparkled in the soft light of the candles around the hall. Matt watched her from across the room, feeling his attraction for her growing strong.

“Hello,” Clarissa said to Matt as she walked up to him. He gulped and scratched the back of his head, clearly unsure of what to do now. He quickly mumbled a “hello,” back to her. Clarissa smiled as she grabbed Matt’s hand, leading him to the dance floor.

“May I have this dance?” she asked, not waiting for a reply. She placed his left hand on her waist and took his right hand into her own left one. Her right hand was on his shoulder and soon, she was gliding with him across the floor, both seemingly without a care in the world.

“So, you’re not from around here,” Clarissa commented as they strolled around the garden.

“No, I’m not,” Matt muttered, watching the snowflakes fall from the sky. They ended up stopping in front of a gate lined with wreaths and lights. Matt grabbed Clarissa’s hand, while she used her other one to stroke his cheek. With their faces inches apart, Matt’s breath hitched in the back of his throat.

“Clarissa,” Matt whispered, staring into her deep green eyes. Her long lashes fluttered as she blinked, staring into his eyes as he moved himself closer to her still. “I love you,” he said even more softly.

“I love you too Matt,” Clarissa said back. She smiled up at him as she let her lips brush his in a ghost of a kiss. “Get me under some mistletoe, and that will be a whole lot better,” she whispered in his ear, removing her hand from his and walking toward the house.

Matt shook the memory from his head, not wanting to revisit that night. The night he did the one thing he swore he would never do. He gave his heart to one woman, one person he thought understood him, but she betrayed him mere hours after he confessed his love to her.

He caught her, another man in her arms. He felt his heart rip from his chest at the sight of her with another man. Even now, a year later, it still hurt to think about her, to stand and watch as she let another man know her the way he thought only he would.

“Clarissa, you’re so beautiful,” Matt heard the man mutter. Matt grimaced with disgust and turned from the two, but not before seeing the tattoo on the man’s back. With a jolt, he realized that the tattoo was coming to life, tearing from the man’s skin.

Blood pooled around the two of them, but Clarissa was two distracted to realize what was going on.

“Dragoneer,” Matt muttered, realizing what the man was at once. He had hunted and killed many of them, but this one was more powerful than any of them, he could tell that right away. He could sense the power coming from the man-dragon.

Using his many years of training and practice, Matt pulled out the long silver blade, running his hand over it as he took in a deep breath. The Dragoneer heard the swoosh of the blade before he sensed the attack, so he was able to snap around and dodge the blade before Matt was even a foot from him.

“Matt?” Clarissa asked, shocked. She looked around and saw the blood all around her. She gasped as she realized what had happened.

Matt backed up, his boots slipping in the mud as he reached up to touch his now stinging and swelling lip. He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, baring his teeth at the man-dragon before bringing up his sword again, trying to drive it in the monster’s heart. The creature dodged again, grabbing the tip of the blade in his hands. With a twist, the blade was forced from Matt’s grip.

Cursing, he reached into his boot for the dagger he kept hidden there, tossing it at the creature’s head. Using the moment of distraction, Matt reached into his holster and grabbed out the automatic handgun, quickly loading it and sending rounds at the creature. The bullets would just slow him down, it was up to the blade to kill the dragon.

“Grab the sword!” Matt commanded Clarissa. Clarissa was so terrified over what she was watching, she couldn’t move. With another curse, Matt threw his second dagger and dove for the sword, mud and blood caking his coat and skin.

“Get out of here,” Matt snapped at Clarissa. She still did not move, her eyes glued to the action in front of her. Matt managed to swipe the blade across the man’s stomach, causing him to double over as pain seared through him. Matt ran toward Clarissa, grabbing her up by her arm and shoving her toward the village.

“Get out of here,” he repeated. Clarissa nodded and ran down the hill. Turning back to the Dragoneer, Matt gripped the sword with both hands. He swung the sword one way, and the Dragoneer was too wounded to dodge the blow. Matt felt the sickening slide of the blade going through the man’s body, cutting right into his heart.

Panting and covered in mud and blood, Matt turned to look at Clarissa, who was staring at the man on the ground.

“Matty,” she whispered. She tried to throw her arms around him, but he held up the blood covered sword, causing her to freeze inches from where he stood. “Matt,” she was confused, Matt saw it in her eyes.

“Give me one reason,” he said, his eyes hard and cold as he stared at her.

“I didn’t do anything to you,” she gasped, staring at the sword as the rain turned to snow.

“Exactly one year ago today, Christmas Day, I told you something I swore I would never tell anyone, and what do you do? You betray me worse than anyone ever has before. I trusted you, and you stabbed me in the back.”

“I’m sorry Matt,” Clarissa said, tears welling in her green eyes.

“It’s too late Clarissa, you got lucky tonight, but luck can change quickly,” Matt said, lowering his sword. “I never want to see you again.”

“Yes, you do,” Clarissa said. “I can see it in your eyes you do.”

“You don’t know anything about me,” Matt snapped. “I’ve been burned twice by that fucking emotion, I’m not falling for it a third time.”
“Love didn’t kill your family Matt,” Clarissa muttered, walking toward him. He raised the blade again, a warning for her to stay away from him.

“They were killed because they loved, I survived because of my mother’s love, I kill for revenge over my mother’s love. I loved you, Clarissa, but you threw it back in my face, laughed it off as if it was nothing more to you than the words of a fool. Well, I have news for you Clarissa, you’re the fool. One of these days, someone won’t be able to save you, and you’ll end up with my family. It all comes back to love, you love the attention, you love the rush you feel when a guy shows you any interest.”

“Know this though, I will not be around much longer. My time here is done, and you, lying, deceiving you, will remain here, lost, confused, and with no one but yourself. You will bring on your own death, and for that, I am not taking the second chance.”

“Last Christmas, I gave you my heart, but this Christmas, all I give you is a word. A word so simple, but with so much meaning.”

“This Christmas, I give you ‘goodbye,’”