Night. Cold, wet, heavy.
The rain kept drumming endlessly on the roofs, on the stone pavements, on the shutters of the windows. Telan — a small town in the heart of Westville — drowned in darkness and dampness. People were preparing to sleep, torches in the houses were going out, and only occasionally one could hear children coughing or a door slamming.
In one of the houses slept two sisters. Selene — fragile, light-eyed, with long thick hair the color of a dark sky. In the next room — her elder sister Irida, taller, with the same hair, but cut short, down to her shoulders. She had just put out the torch and lay down, pulling the blanket over herself.
— The rain… it's for long, — she muttered, feeling the wind press against the shutters. — Tomorrow, I have to wake up at dawn again.
But rest didn't come. Again and again the face of their mother came before her eyes — pale, exhausted, back in Vinnis, that last night. Her lips barely moved:
"Protect her… Do you hear me, Irida? Protect your sister…"
These words always lived in her heart. But today — they became prophecy.
First — a rumble.
BOOM.
Then another. The ground trembled, the windows rattled.
BOOM-BOOM.
Telan exploded with screams. Someone shouted in the street, doors slammed at once, horses neighed in panic, dogs howled. Through the roar of the rain one could hear the sound of breaking glass and a woman's shriek.
Irida jumped out of bed. She pulled the curtain aside and flung open the window — but there was only darkness and pouring water. And yet something squeezed her heart. She felt that death had come to this town.
And at that moment the house shook from a blow. The wall of the next room cracked and collapsed.
— Selene! — the voice burst out before the thought formed.
A wild cry. Her sister's voice.
Irida rushed into the room — and froze.
Before her towered a nightmare.
A monster the height of the ceiling, skin dark-red, wings arching from its back. Horns, claws, eyes — inhuman, full of hunger. It loomed over Selene, and her desperate screams tore the air. The stench of sulfur and burning filled the room, pressing on her lungs.
— D-d-demon… — Irida's lips barely moved.
Her body stiffened. Her hands shook, her legs seemed glued to the floor. Her heart pounded so loud it echoed in her ears. She wanted to run away, to close her eyes, to hide — her whole body begged her to disappear. In her mind flashed the death of her parents, the chains, the hunger… and again her mother's voice:
"Protect her…"
— DON'T TOUCH HER!
The scream shattered her paralysis. Irida lunged forward. She knew she was powerless, that she was going to her death, but fear and love clashed in her chest — and love proved stronger.
The demon only turned his head. A grin. A wave of his hand — and the air tore with red light. A clot of energy struck her chest.
Irida's body arched, as if a red-hot iron had been driven into her. Ice and fire at once pierced her lungs. She fell, choking on her breath, her fingers clutching the floor, but she had no strength to rise.
— Sister! Nooo! — Selene screamed, tears mixing with the rain dripping through the broken roof.
The demon kicked Irida with his foot.
— Humans… always so pathetic, — his voice was deep, grating, like metal on stone. — But women… mmm… the finest flowers of this world.
He raised his gaze. In the house across the street, at the window, someone was watching. A girl. White as chalk, clutching the frame, unable to move. The demon grinned, spread his wings.
— Ha-ha… another one…
And at that moment, above the roar of rain, above the crackle of fire and the cries of Telan, a voice thundered:
— DE-MON!!!
The words ripped through the night like the strike of a blade.
And after them — sounds.
Heavy footsteps. The rhythm of boots on wet stone.
The clash of metal. The screech of weapons against armor.
Voices. Harsh, male, commands: "Forward! Move!"
Telan was no longer asleep.
And the nightmare was only beginning.