Music recommendation: The Quiet Violence by David Chappell on Spotify.
As dusk approached, the sun settling behind the mountains, Lyra safely returned to the cottage. She placed her weapons by the door and walked to the kitchen to start supper.
While de-feathering one of the pheasants, her mind drifted back to Tobias' warning. She felt there was more to the rumors and the infamous creatures no one had witnessed in years.
'Why raid small areas like Horkshire or Talonstone? What is their purpose? What is there to gain than livestock and grain?' She thought, invested in the mystery behind their motive.
'Demons.' Lyra couldn't help but reflect on her nightmares. It was strange; all the creatures she knew today were fighting alongside the demons against the celestials in her vision. The creatures she witnessed and the ones she interacted today were stark in contrast. The wild gleam in the eyes of shifters compared to the tamed ones like today were night and day. She couldn't understand the visions that haunted her at all. She sighed as she continued her preparation.
Lyra was engrossed in her thoughts, unaware of Conrad's return home. As he entered the kitchen, he looked over her shoulder, finding her process of nearly plucking the bird bald. Clearing his throat to break the silence, she jolted, her brows shooting up as she twirled around to find her grandfather standing behind her. Her thoughts have distracted her more often than she was comfortable with.
Schooling herself, giving an impassive look, Lyra returned to her task she wiped her hands over with a rag and grabbed the black pot and filled it with water. There were variety of vegetables, carrots, celery, and onion. With precision she grabbed the cleaver etched into the cutting board and diced the vegetables into the pot before returning to defeathered bird and cleaving the meat into pieces. The fire in the kitchen remained lit and continued to warm the house while the aroma of stewed vegetables and pheasant could make a man water. She didn't care about the awkward silence between them. She was still upset about their previous banter and did not want to discuss it.
Conrad had just returned from speaking to the councilman regarding the incident at the market. Lyra was never one to cause trouble, but challenging a sentinel would have resulted in public punishment if not for his military rank and persuasive skill.
Lyra was expected to marry and settle down at her age, but her actions painted her as a rebellious teenager. 'Women,' Conrad thought, closing his eyes in displeasure. 'Complicating creatures,' shaking his head, he sat at their dining table, positioning himself across from her. Crossing his arms over his chest and leaning against the backrest, he addressed her sternly,
"Do you realize the damage you almost caused, Lyra?"
she paused, her gaze fixed on the fire as she stirred the pot, ignoring his question and remaining silent.
He continued with a stern tone, "You are not a soldier, and yet you outright assaulted a guard, a celestial no less. The damage to your reputation is tarnished, and I fear the Danish family will back out at this point. Do you not think before you act?!" Conrad's tone rose, imbedding each word like venom.
"I was defending someone innocent!" Lyra argued, defending her integrity. "The only thing that I damaged was that man's pride, and he couldn't take an insult from others lightly. He was going to hurt those people, Grandfather." Lyra stopped what she was doing and met her gaze with her grandfather's glare.
"Two villages are gone, and the tension is rising among the people. One of them mentioned the raids were caused by demons and –" she said, only for Conrad to interrupt her banter. Slamming his fist on the table.
"It has nothing to do with you, Lyra!" He rebuked, and the nerve on Conrad's temple formed. Standing abruptly, causing the chair to fall on its back with his blood pressure rising, his scolding continued.
"When will you learn not to mettle on rumors and focus on your future?!" he admonished. Exasperated by his granddaughters' foolishness, he took a deep breath before settling back on her face. Her eyes were sharp, but tears started to pool, yet she refused to let them fall.
Dejected, Lyra scoffed, "You never listen…" she muttered under her breath. "You're right. I should focus on my future," she spoke, looking away with a defeated expression. "Since I caused so much grief in your life, I should just leave."
Conrad was taken aback by her remark, "Leave? And go where?" he questioned. His stern expression slowly cracked.
"Anywhere but here. I can't stand it anymore," she said, wiping her hands clean with a cloth and moving away from the kitchen. Conrad grabbed her arm, stopping her from leaving. Conflicted by the burning desire to flee from this small confide space but the hurt in Conrad's eyes held her back. She cherished him, her only family she had left.
"Lyra—" Conrad murmured, his anger dissipated. She shrugged her arm free.
"No! I hate being here where no one listens to reason, and I hate—" she snapped but was interrupted by the tolls of a bell in the distance. Her eyes widened, and her face paled. The village was under attack.
"Stay here. Close the windows and lock the door." Conrad ordered Lyra. He stepped over to his room, returning with a large sword, crested with a golden cross symbol on its pommel, sheathed as he strapped it to his waist, making his way to the front door. There was no time to assemble his armor.
"I'm coming with you. I can hel—" Lyra said as she followed behind as he reached the door. He turned around, placing his arms on her shoulders to stop her.
"No, you're too important, dear one." He spoke solemnly, placing a tender kiss above her head. "Promise me you will stay here and not come out." He prayed the Creator above she would be kept safe and not let any harm come to her. He too was all he had left of family. He would never forgive himself if anything happened to her.
**Music recommendation: Blood & Ash by Taylor Ash on Spotify music.**
Lyra could only nod in response as he turned back to open the door. Peering out, an orange glow broke the darkness beyond the tree line, which was the town's location. Faint screams could be heard, and Conrad slammed the door shut in front of her.
Without delay, she immediately began closing windows, drawing the curtains over them around the cottage, and locked the door with a latch. Her heart rose as time seemed to tick by slowly. She tried calming her nerves by grabbing a wooden mug and filling it with water from the jug in the kitchen, drinking it in big gulps. She recalled her grandfather's dagger in his bedroom and decided to keep it on hand for safety.
Reaching for a candle on the dining table she lit, she quickly made her way to the room. In the room, his bed facing the window with a nightstand on the right and a small dresser on the left, she went to the nightstand by his bed. Rummaging through the drawer, she finds a silver dagger, the blade slightly longer than her hand, with a leather hilt and gold cross symbol on the pommel. She held it tightly to her chest to steady her breathing. Alone in this house with the small light as her only comfort.
A few minutes passed that felt like an eternity she felt herself relax only to stiffen by the sound of crunched leaves made her hold her breath. Shrieks could be heard from afar, the sound drawing near the cottage. She blew out the candle, cloaking herself in darkness with the occasional moonlight peeking through the curtains; her heart skipped a beat at the fear of being discovered.
Lyra knelt beside the bed on the floor, gripping the dagger tightly, her knuckles turning white. Muffled noises could be heard outside the window. The sound of broken pottery and unknown grunts could be heard. She closed her eyes tightly, prayed for the intruders to pass. In vain, she heard glass shattering from across the hall and pounding at the front door, shaking the walls; her heart leaped to her throat. She remained frozen in her spot.
Suddenly, the smell of smoke fills the air, filtering into the room beneath the doorframe with an eerie orange glow. The house was on fire with her in it! She stood facing the window, covering her nose and mouth with her sleeve and stifling a cough. Before her hand reached for the curtain to pull, a large shadow blocked the moonlight peering into the window. She swiftly planted herself against the wall, holding her breath, molding herself to the wood so the figure didn't notice her presence.
After waiting another moment that felt like an eternity, she heard footsteps retreated. Releasing a shaking breath, she parted the curtains franticly, opened the window, and slipped out of the frame. Planting her feet firmly on the cold grass below, she looked up to her home only to widen in horror the entire structure on fire.
A menacing growl startled Lyra from her reverie to find a daunting man with ghoulish pale skin and red eyes facing her. The flames from her home gave him a foreboding nature. Her nightmare coming to life, she felt her body felt cold the recollection molded into reality.
Demon.
The creature lunged to grab her, but Lyra instinctively dodged him, ducking under while drawing the dagger and piercing his stomach. A guttural growl rumbled in her ears as she twisted the dagger further. In defense, he kicked her in the abdomen, sending her a few paces away from him. She landed on her back with a thud, she hissed at the impact with the wind knocked out of her.
The demon curled over, holding his wound as he staggered and groaned loudly, "GET HER!"
Lyra, fearful that others like him were coming, couldn't fight them all with a measly dagger. In desperation, she rolled over to her side, and kicked off to a sprint. Snarls and rushing footsteps were close on her heel, pushing her muscles into overdrive she ran into the forest.
Evading her captors, dashing through the tree line. Branches, and thorned bushes scraped her arms and legs. Adrenaline pumping through her veins, she did not dare look back to the shrieks and growls closing in behind her. If she could make it to her grandfather, she had a fighting chance. Granted if she survived.
Lights glimmered in the distance; she knew she was close. Sensing someone closing in on her right, she ducked as a lean, pale creature jumped to tackle her, only to collide with a tree as she evaded him by a hair. The creature screamed in frustration. She felt her lungs giving out, and the smoke didn't help her escape as she drew near the opening. The covered of the forest and smoke obscuring the creatures' vision did assist in evading capture but also slowed her down due to inhaling the fumes, causing discomfort to her lungs. Death by suffocation of the smoke and flames or impending doom by the demons in pursuit of her. Both options were terrible, and she pushed her body to the limit to escape and make it to the opening of the village.
Dashing out of the forest and into the familiar paved clearing, sheer terror filled Lyra's eyes. Bile threatened to rise in her throat as she gaped at the sight before her. Bodies littered the streets, homes and shops were engulfed in flames. Soldiers fighting off the very creatures the people dreaded.
Demons. Knowing her assailants were still hot on her trail, she threw herself into the fray. She ran, searching for her grandfather, praying he was still alive and fighting. She couldn't bear the thought of losing the only family she had left. 'Grandfather where are you?!' panicked stricken her exhausted form.
Lyra rushed through the frantic crowd. She failed to notice where she was looking, tumbling onto the ground and scraping her knee. Dazed, she turned back to see what she tripped, only to pale at the gruesome sight. It was the guard from earlier that she fought against. His body was limp on his back, with stab wounds around his battered torso, his arms missing, and blood spewing out and pooling around him. His vacant eyes fixed, staring at her.
She hurled whatever contents she had in her stomach on the ground and hurled again. Though he was a brute and prideful, he didn't deserve death, especially in that manner. She hesitantly reached out to him to close his eyes and sent a brief silent prayer in her mind.
Shaking off the momentary shock, Lyra forced herself to look away from the lifeless guard and pressed forward through the chaotic scene. The urgency to find Conrad and ensure the safety of the fellow villagers fueled her determination, even as the haunting image lingered in her mind.
In the distance, at the center of the town square, Conrad was locked in combat against a large demon. A few shallow wounds with blood seeping through his tunic were visible as Lyra rushed closer to his location. The chaos of the invasion unfolded around her. People pushed as she fought through the crowd, demons cutting down men, women, and children in their wake.
She notices another demon approaching Conrad from behind with a mace raising above his head, poised to strike. She flung her dagger with speed and precision; the blade lodged squarely between the demon's eyes. The creature slumped behind Conrad, catching his and his opponent's attention. He shoved the demon with his sword before cleaving down on its shoulder; the creature released a gut-wrenching howl before its eyes dimmed, slumping over in utter defeat.
Conrad sees Lyra running towards him and grimaces.
"LYRA! DAMN YOU WOMAN! I TOLD YOU—" Conrad reprimanded Lyra, grabbing her shoulder and shaking her. She was safer at home, and the town was in ruins. Lyra cuts him off.
"The house was on fire. I barely escaped!" she hugged his large frame as her heart pounded. She nearly lost him, and he reprimanded her regardless. It didn't matter to her, she held him tightly, wanting to wake from this nightmare.
Conrad cursed. He wrapped an arm around her and led her away from the square. They found cover in a nearby building that still stood. A couple of families huddled together in the room while he and Lyra stood at the door.
"Conrad! there's no time to evacuate everyone, we need you back to hold them off!" a fellow soldier shouted across the courtyard. Beckoning Conrad to return to his position and holding the line. There were three celestials flanking one another in the air, swooping down to cleave their enemy. On the ground, were ten foot soldiers, mixed races range from humans and couple shifters, their features resembling feline and canine traits. They were overwhelmed by the horde of demons. It was a massacre and the few bystanders that barely escaped from the flames were all huddled together— cornered like a caged animal.
"Grandfather, please don't go," Lyra pleaded. Conrad looked worse for wear but didn't show it on his face. "You're wounded. Please, I can't bear to lose you," her voice cracked as she coughed. The adrenaline rush waned as exhaustion was slowly overtaking her body.
"Lyra. Please, stand strong," Conrad chided. He thanked the creator for seeing her unharmed but couldn't afford to lose her when his men needed him. He couldn't comprehend the timing of it all. The vast number of demons invading would've brought a warning ahead of time, but he didn't have time to dwell on it. The demons were here, and the soldiers had to hold off as long as possible.
"Stay here where you will be safe. Help is coming," Conrad spoke in confidence.
He stepped back to return to the fight, but she followed suit, refusing to listen. She could give five hells that blatant lie. Help? She doubted reinforcements would arrive on time, two destroyed villages would explain it. She would rather fight alongside him and fend off the fiends than cower in fear. She saw a discarded sword imbedded in a carcass of what was left of the demon beside them. She gripped tightly at the hilt before pulling it from the torn flesh. It was heavy as the tip slammed to the pavement. Her shaking arms tried gripping tightly before lifting it at a fighting stance. She calmed her breathing as she cleared her doubts and focused on her survival. She lunged passed Conrad and back into the battlefield. A soldier pinned in combat with a demon and Lyra saw the opportunity and swung the great sword down its back. it shrieked as it arched in agony before the soldier impaled the creature with his weapon into its chest. Blood coated her hands as it dripped down to the hilt.
"Ten Hells Lyra—!" Conrad rebuked. He chased after her cleaving another fiend making his way to her. He couldn't help but be impressed by her resolve of defending her home. She took his teachings to heart and every step, she executed with precision. However, she was not sparring with wooden swords but fighting for her life and the lives of the village hung in balance. As he was closing the distance between them, another demon approached unsuspecting Lyra as she was locked in combat of a lanky creature with its claws and tough skin held her sword in place. She skillfully sliced through its fingers before cleaving his head clean off, unbeknownst to the looming threat behind her.
Conrad cursed under his breath as the demon lifted his sword and pointed toward Lyra's back. With no time to lose, Conrad pulled her forward, turning his body to shield her from the oncoming blow. Lyra felt time suddenly stop. Her breath hitched, and her eyes widened as she looked up at Conrad, who stood frozen. Blood dribbled from his abdomen, where the sharp blade pierced.
Conrad lost grip of his sword as it rattled on the gravel. He staggered, and Lyra placed her hands on his chest and shoulder to steady him from falling.
"NOOOOO!" Lyra screamed, her throat becoming hoarse. Tears burned her eyes, trailing down her pale cheeks. The Demon pulled his sword out from behind, and Conrad, buckling, fell to his knees, and Lyra followed him in horror.
She immediately pressed both of her hands on the wound to stop the bleeding, blood spilling through her fingers. She croaked between sobs. "P-Please no! Please h-hold on, grandfather," she looked back to his face, his skin growing pale by the second. This was all her fault.
Conrad raised his unsteady hand, his vision blurred, reaching out to her. She clasped it in her bloodstained hand, placing it on her wet cheek. He coughed as blood spilled from his lips, wheezing.
"Lyra—" he sputtered, blood sprinkled over her face, contrasting with the shimmering blue of her aquamarine eyes. "My little songbird," he smiled bitterly, rubbing his thumb to wipe a tear from falling through, smearing blood in the process. Her heart lurched to her throat. She didn't want to believe it. She refuses to. "Run, child," he whispered as his forehead dips over hers. He failed to protect the village, but damn, he would defend his granddaughter to the end.
Lyra felt his hand slipping and the weight of his body slowly giving out. His head slumped on her shoulder. The pressure alone felt like the world crumbled, her heart shattered. She looks over to her left to see Conrad's sword beside her. Her breathing labored, and she looked back to the person responsible for her family's demise—a demon cackling on the scene before him. He licked the blood from the blade he used, smiling menacingly. Blinded by rage, Lyra pulled the sword beside her and lunged towards the demon while Conrad remained hunched over and his head lowered.
Lyra screamed, swinging haphazardly due to the sword's weight and having trouble gripping properly from her bloodstained hands. The demon swiftly dodged each swing, toying with her. Eyes bloodshot as tears continued to fall, she flung herself at the diabolical creature once more, attempting to wound him, graze him, kill him—anything! She wanted to wipe that smile off his disgusting face.
He whisked beside her in the blink of an eye, mockingly whispering to her ear, "Nighty night, little bird." Lyra felt a sharp pain at the back of her head, dropping the sword. She staggered as the impending darkness clouded her vision, crashing on her side as the demon closed in on her. The sound of his annoying cackles rang through her ears before she lost consciousness.