Shattered Silence

I watch the scene unfolding at the bottom of the hill where I stand. I didn't make it to Marish Town in time. Buildings are on fire, people are screaming, and I can practically see blood staining the streets. I spring into action, not wanting to waste another moment. The streets are chaos; soldiers and enslaved daemons are butchering magical beings all around me. The pain-filled cries tear at my heart. Some humans are there as well, tied up and herded into a cart. The "traitors" who harbored the Others, no doubt. I see some soldiers circle around a trio of shapeshifter children. The poor things are trapped in half-way form, part human and part leopard, so terrified they can't complete the Shift. Their mother lies in a pool of blood nearby. Rage courses through me, hot and fast. I focus on the earth, making it shudder and roll beneath the soldiers' feet. They stumble, and I move towards them.

I can electrocute them if you can get all that metal armor off. Ash rustles her wings, her claws pinching my shoulder. I nod. I concentrate on the armor, heating it. Soon the soldiers are shouting and tearing their armor off. It falls to the ground, glowing red hot. Then I make it rain on them. When the ground is wet enough, Ash strikes. Even in her miniature form, her lightning is powerful. She breathes a stream of violet-silver lightning at the soldiers, and they fall to the ground writhing and screaming until they're nothing but partially charred corpses smoking in the dirt. I race to the shapeshifter children.

"I'm not going to hurt you," I assure them. "You need to run, before they see you." The three of them finally complete their Shifts and race away. When I'm sure they're safe, I head for the cart holding the humans. A soldier is banging on the bars with his sword, laughing when it makes some of the prisoners cringe. This is how the Ordinaries behave, and they dare call us monsters? I approach the soldier, and he lowers his sword. "You shouldn't be out here right now, girl," he says, suddenly the picture of chivalry. "It's not safe."

"You're right." I draw my dagger and ram it through his throat before he has time to blink. He falls to the ground, choking on the spray of blood. Ashira breaks the lock from the cage, and the humans stumble out, staring at me with wide eyes.

"Go," I urge them. They scatter, disappearing down alleys and side streets. I turn at the sound of footsteps. More soldiers, chasing down some earth daemons and what appear to be dryads. Peaceful Others who protect and nourish the earth. What has Mathias told these people to brainwash them like this? There's nothing but fiery hatred in their eyes. One catches a dark haired dryad, clamping one of those metal bands around her wrist.

"Kill the others!" he shouts while the dryad falls to her knees and sobs. I draw an arrow from my quiver and shoot the soldier. My aim is good; the arrow pierces through his eye and sticks out the back of his skull. Then the arrow shimmers out of existence and reappears, clean, in my quiver. The arrows were tipped with the poison from a manticore's tail, a poison so potent it can kill nearly anything. The fallen soldier's body shrivels in on itself, decaying rapidly. He's lucky I shot him in the eye so he was dead before the poison took effect. Otherwise his death would have been extremely painful. My father gave me the poisoned arrows and enchanted quiver when he was teaching me to shoot. I whirl away, loosing one arrow after another. I take down six soldiers in less than a minute. Ash buzzes like a hummingbird through the ranks, using small lightning bolts or her razor sharp claws to take down a few more.

When the street is cleared, I kneel by the captive dryad and touch her shoulder. "It's all right," I say gently. She looks at me with woeful green eyes an shakes her head. "No, it's not," she whispers. "They've Cuffed me. It's over." I grab her wrist and inspect the metal encircling it.

"Almost nothing can break it," the dryad says. "Mathias has control over me now, no matter where I go or what I do. He could make me hurt people, other dryads, the trees. I'm a danger now. You must kill me."

I jerk. "What?"

"It's the only way to set me free. No one gets out of the Cuff unless they're killed or Mathias lets them go. It even prevents the wearer from killing themselves to escape." She stares at me with a sadness so profound it makes me ache. "Please. I can't bear the thought of hurting anyone. It goes against a dryad's nature."

I draw my dagger slowly. "Narastae amanet baeuna ma'anundul." May your soul go peacefully to the stars. I plunge the blade into the dryad's heart. Dark green blood stains the front of her dress. Her eyes glaze over and fall closed. I realize that tears stain my own face now. But she was right. It would be crueler to leave her under the control of someone who would use her as a weapon. I kiss my fingers, then touch each of her closed eyelids.

"Miss?" I turn to see an older soldier, his dark hair peppered with gray, watching me with concerned eyes. "You should be in your home. We're conducting king's business and it's no place for a young girl."

I stand, eyes narrowed. "I have no home," I snarl at him. "And I care nothing for the king or his business."

Before he can reply, a large shape looms from the alleyway and slams into him. An earth daemon. His skin is like black bark and horns covered in leaves protrude from his head. The soldier flies across the street, slamming into the wall of a nearby building and crumpling in a heap. The daemon stares at me without blinking, his dark eyes seeming to study me.

"You look human," he says, his voice sounding like crackling leaves. "But there is something different about you."

"You should leave before he wakes up or more of them come," I say. His gaze flicks to the fallen dryad then back to me. "You set her free." He doesn't say it like a question. "Why?"

"No one deserves to be under the control of the false king."

The daemon cocks his head to the side, and I could almost swear he's smiling.

"Good luck to you, little one." He sinks into the ground and vanishes. The town is quiet now, shrouded in death. I look at the bodies of the murdered Others. Deciding I can't just leave them here to be dealt with by the humans, I close my eyes and will the earth to take them. The grounds undulates like a snake, rising up to enclose the Others in small green mounds. White flowers bloom on them, and then the ground flattens out again, leaving no trace of the Others aside from the blood staining the dirt. I whisper the elfin prayer again. The soldier the earth daemon saved me from groans and stirs.

Do you want me to deal with him? Ashira asks. I shake my head. "No. Leave him." I hear more soldiers approaching, calling someone's name. I slip away into the lengthening shadows, keeping close to the walls and out of sight. As I turn down a side street that leads to the edge of town, I sense movement behind me and feel a flicker of daemon magic. I snatch an arrow from my quiver and whirl around, bow primed to shoot. I find myself looking into the wide blue eyes of a girl. I frown. I definitely sense traces of magic on her, some kind of shadow or night daemon, from the feel of it, but she wears the uniform of one of Mathias' soldiers.

"You can put that thing away," she says, stepping back. "I'm human. You're safe."

I fight back a derisive snort as Ashira burrows further under my cloak. I don't lower my bow. The girl sighs. "Look, I promise you I'm human. You should come with me, you're covered in blood."

In the dim light, she clearly can't tell that the dried blood is emerald green instead of red. I hear footsteps coming up the street, and a man's voice calls, "Rune! Where are you, girl?"

Cursing, I turn and run to the end of the street, vaulting over the fence. I hear the soldier girl shout for me to wait, but I ignore her. I hit the ground on the other side and run for the woods in the distance like my heels are on fire.