Chapter 78: The Morning After
I awoke as the stench of smoke seared my lungs, clutching at my sword even as I rolled to my feet. The morning’s gray light was stained with filth, an ever-spreading plague we’d been fighting for months. Billowing clouds of darkness rolled from the village our squad had taken refuge in, and the blood drained from my face as maniacal cackles rent the air. I drew my sword and took a shaky breath, standing in formation aside the other members of my squad. The smoke and fire twisted as hulking creatures strode through, impossibly immune to the hellish heat of the burning cottages. My blade clattered from my hand it turned, piercing my soul with its fiery gaze. It had horns and scales and a tail and claws and fire and...everything went black.
"Found you..."
I wrenched awake as the fiendish voice invaded my mind, clutching the blanket with trembling hands and staring wildly about the room. My chest heaved as I gasped for breath, my clothes clinging to my sweat. The cool morning air slipped through parted curtains, and I shivered as it caressed my clammy skin. After a moment, my heart slowed and I rested a hand against my head, rubbing between my horns. I felt completely drained, both body and soul, my mana reserves empty. It was my second time feeling this way, but that did little to comfort me.
A sleepy yawn meandered through the air as Trithe stretched her arms above her head. "Morning already?" She asked, laying her head back on the pillow and closing her eyes.
I didn’t respond, mostly because I didn’t yet trust myself to speak. I drew my knees to my chin and hugged my shins, trying to stop myself from shivering. Whatever that had been, it was certainly no dream. Another vision, perhaps? Yet this time I took a third party’s perspective, some nameless soldier in a faraway land. His fear tainted me, amplifying my own of whatever monster they’d been fighting. And that voice... I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to forget the sound of crackling embers that intruded on my mind.
"Bad dream?" Trithe mumbled, rolling over to look at me. "Happens to everyone their first time."
Nodding weakly, I resumed staring out the window, watching as dawn broke. The grays gave way to golden light as the sun crested the mountains, throwing dusty sunbeams into the room. Trithe’s bed shook as she stood and began dressing for the day, putting on her usual provocative leathers and skirt.
We were in the inn of some small village, the same who’d requested our aid with the goblins. After the slaughter yesterday, I thought I could sleep through anything, but it seems I was mistaken.
"What do demons look like?" I asked in a small, wavering voice.