Nyx: Remnants of the Ashen Blood Chapter 2: The Awakening

BY Hardikkumar Joshi PUBLISHED Jul 03, 2021

Mark shook the chains binding him and grabbed a handful of dust and gravel. Something flitted closer and he could see a slight thump on the lid. He observed everything through lowered lashes, his body rocking monotonously, still not betraying his wakefulness.

A spiked tentacle tore through the lid and threw it away. Then he saw her.

She entered very delicately, floating through the chamber like a phantom. She was radiant, even shrouded with black tentacles. She sat down on the opposite rock facing him. A tentacle wriggled its way onto where he lay and grasped his body and raised him above the ground. Mark’s eyes blurred, and everything became fuzzy.

After some moments of silence, she spoke, “Finally, you are awake. Horvien. How does it feel trapped here? Do you feel the same agony, the pain that festers as you slit my fellow companion’s throats? Tell me, wanderer. You, for reasons unknown, have sparked my interest. You seem to smell different. Many people have tried and failed to bear the sign of Argrod, so tell me how is it that a 16-year-old pathetic kid like you was able to active the sign on the night of shifting, wander through the forest, stroll deep into those hideous caverns and yet live up to tell the experience. Even experienced mages have tried to bear the sign and have upheld it for mere minutes.”

“I do not care for your creatures. They are beasts, nothing more. This is my job and I will hunt every single one of your kind,” Mark retorted.

“Brave words coming from a boy. I have not seen a human like you in years and I have lived for thousands of years. You do not understand the bigger picture here. Something like this has not happened in years. When people hear of your tales, it’s only a matter of time before the king will dispatch his troops to capture you and the best part: I just made it easier for you. I started spreading rumours about you killing Jared, the king’s son. They already found his body and now, even as we speak, they are hunting you down. After you, there won’t be anyone strong enough to hunt us and we will continue to expand our rule. Soon enough, we will take control of this kingdom and we will prevail. The fun never stops.”

“The people are braver than you think. We fight for justice and truth. We will never bow down to you, filthy creatures.”

“Your kind will and sorry, but you won’t be around to see the destruction. But first, I need to examine you. As you know, I am the goddess of blood; I can absorb anyone’s power just by consuming their blood. You are too precious; you do not realize how important you are. Your blood is too unnatural, even for a human. Soon, I will consume your blood and take out every detail of the deep caverns from you.”

“How will you plan this destruction, anyway?? What did you do to me? By whispering their closest one’s name into the wind and luring them here. That is the best you have got??”

“That would be hilarious. As to answer your question, it wasn’t me who was whispering into the wind. I already had other plans to lure you. There are some strange things around you, I say. I didn’t hear even a faint whisper; the forest is under my control. Everything happens as I command. I am certain that there wasn’t any voice in the forest. Forget it. Let me just kill you.”

With that, she raised her tentacles and propped Mark into the air. She drew a spiked tentacle and razed the skin on his neck. He could only see her eyes and an outline of a mouth in the shroud preparing to suck his blood. He was running out of time quickly and he had to do something. He closed his eyes and remembered the sign of Argrod in his mind and tried to thrash until she dropped him onto the ground.

He threw the gravel into her eyes and, after buying some time, managed to free his dagger from his belt and he plunged it into her eyes. She shrieked and threw him onto the ground. Once upon the ground, he spilled some of his blood on the ground and with trembling fingers drew the sign while she tried to drag him.

Mark trapped her tentacle in his cuff and thrust the metal deep into her slimy skin. Dragan helped him make some adjustments to the sign. Irileth nearly completed drawing the eyes when she summoned her guards. Hadrian could hear footsteps and suddenly the cave started burning down.

“Today, no one leaves alive. If I die, so shall you.”

With that, she grappled with Mark with her tentacles. She squeezed him with her slithery tentacles. He lost his breath and could feel his ribs crunching. He had to do something. That’s when he saw that the eyes in the sign were complete, so he spoke the binding spell: “Vraze Grothom Zalgruis”.

A faint mist appeared and grabbed her into the circle. She roared and thumped every wall, but the circle dampened her powers. He approached her carefully, barely escaping the fire.

“Tell me more about the forest. Why are you doing this?? Where is the princess??”

She chuckled and snarled.

“You came all the way looking for her. Alas, you see it’s too late now. I could have easily disposed of her, but I had other plans for her. She is alive, but not in the way you expect her to be.”

“Your time is up. Any last wishes??”

“Perhaps the moon has addled you. Do you think this mere circle can hold me down? A goddess.”

“First of all, you are not a goddess. You are just a creature. A monster. Nothing more.”

He could feel his strength decreasing. Holding up the sign was too hard, and he still could not stop the bleeding. He reached for his buckskin and glared at the entrance. They were coming faster and faster.

That’s when he realized his mistake. A mere distraction and the holy circle would vanish. He had been to keep the circle in the forest while running because the hound was a lesser creature, but she was holding down the queen of the forest and he made the mistake.

She smiled, and the circle vanished. She quickly threw herself at him and grabbed his neck. She started sucking on his blood. He clenched his teeth and held them tight. Suddenly, she howled and released him. She was choking, blood pouring out of her mouth. A scream, despairing, echoed from her mouth. She started to burn.

“Fool!!!, what is this treachery of yours?? Your blood is burning me, killing me!! Who are you? You smell different, taste different. Master told me you were strong, but not strong enough to kill me. Master needs to know ... Agh!.” she shrieked and burned away.