It was a deathly silence that night, that was pierced with a gruesome gasp for breath, the gurgling of blood and an eerie scream. Shade opened one eye, then the other, and rising to a sitting position. The small campfire cracked, danced and bracketed once more, casting light over the clearing. Shade looked upon Meccha, sleeping peacefully not a metre away, and then at Blackjack, resting with his wings enclosed around him like a blanket.

The Daemon slayers usually didn't sleep at night, or so it seemed. But the past few days in this world were nights. The sun hadn't risen in over ninety seven hours, in counting. It was then that the three companions realized something was terribly wrong in this world. They had traveled many days, or nights through the thick woodlands of Par Tharkasis, without a wink of sleep, in hopes of finding the answer to their many questions. Finally, after spending many days searching in vain, they sank down on the forest floor, declaring it a campspot and drifting off to their subconscious because of exhaustion, and hunger.

Shade drew in a shaky breath. Screaming had awakened him, but not the others. He wondered if it was the work of magic, or if his two friends were so completely exhausted that it would take a near explosion to waken them. Cursing, he decided that perhaps he should investigate.
Another scream shredded the night like a broad axe claiming the head of a victim. Travellers in the woods had to learn to awaken in the woods quickly, or they didn't awaken at all. Quickly, Shade blindly reach for fireblade, swiftly kicked sand over the campfire with his free foot and froze, sword extended diagonally in front of him. He pivoted slowly, waiting... his companions did not even stir.

Nothing. The wind fanned the scent of mud and decayed plants from the river to the south, but carried no sound beyond the stream's gurgle and the creaking of the ageless tree branches overhead.

Then, twanging against Shade's nerves like fingers on a mistuned harp, the scream came again. From the north, he realized.

Leaving the camp behind, in hopes that he would be back before they realized, Shade advanced forward. The night creatures of the woodland -raccoons, skunks, rats and others unknown- flattened against the ground as the daemon slayer pounded past.

Shade paused at a cleft in the path, waiting for a clue in which to send him to the left or to the right.

Seconds of silence flew past, then once again, a scream sent Shade sprinting along the left fork.

Shade dashed into a clearing of oaks, and other trees just into to see a human, shrinking away from a much larger figure bearing a broad axe. The human was female; Shade tripped over a goblin corpse realizing that this was what must have caused the agony-filled cries. The female must have managed to kill these, but was having a little trouble with the remaining two. Shade saw the whites in her eyes, as she gazed up on her attacker with fear, a bladed staff ready in her right hand in case she had to block a blow.

The creature looming over her brought the axe down, which she nimbly dodged, whirling around just fast enough to slit the side of her attacker with the blade of her staff. The beast gave a painful yowl before savagely charging at her again. "Help!" the girl finally cried, as the axe missed her by an inch. "Help"

Rising from his hiding spot, and drawing fireblade from it's scabbard, Shade lunged forward, jumping onto the creature's back, driving his blade into it's neck. Black liquid oozed from the wound as the beast fell screaming. Sensing another behind him, Shade leaped out of the way just in time to see a goblin plunge an axe into the back of the already dead beast, where Shade had previously been, just seconds ago.

While trying to pull the axe out of the body, the goblin failed to notice the girl come up from behind him and knock the creature senseless with the back of the staff's blade. Shade walked up to the unconscious goblin, and drove fireblade into it's chest without mercy. The girl's eyes widened. Shade was prepared for any reaction but the one he got.

"Why did you do that?!" she gasped at him, slamming into him with the flat of her staff with a strength that even she didn't know she possessed. The daemon slayer toppled to the floor. "I could have found out why I was....."

"Mira?" Shade interrupted, as he recognized her blue eyes and her lithe figure.

"SHADE!" she exploded, half in relief and half in apprehension, dropping her staff. Even though he knew that it was the sybil, it was hard to believe what she was doing here. She was a guardian of Rapses, not an adventurer. She offered a bandaged hand to help him up

"What are you doing here?" he demanded once he brushed off wet leaves that clung to him. It was only then that he realized he was in nothing more then he bleachers, boots and torn shirt. Her look of astonishment turned into one of wry amusement.

"Oh?" she looked at him crookedly, an eyebrow cocked over a sardonic eye "Did I wake you?"

Shade didn't answer, he seemed a little occupied brushing off the muck and mud of his boots.

All characters, places and anything else portrayed in this story is copyright 2004 to the author, Isabelle Davis (Drakhenliche), and may not be used without express permission. Meccha/Soul (c) Elsa Lai 2004

Comments, questions, whatever, can be addressed to me at the www.NecroDragon.com forum.