Chapter Eleven

Chapter Eleven

1

"Helm," she whispered.

"Magnificent," he said.

She swiveled on her boot heels to see him sitting on the countertop behind her. Her heart became an excited acrobat doing somersaults as her stomach tightened and felt the tiny wings fluttered rapidly inside. His red orange eyes glowed in the pale light, his fire hair with its orange roots, yellow length and blue ends added color to a rather lifeless room.

"I have done what you have asked," came her reply. She was feeling brave under his stare and wondered if she demanded favors if he would comply.

"So you have," he agreed. "But we still need to gather as many survivors as possible. We need a full circle to perform the ritual."

Her eyes narrowed. "What ritual?"

Helm hopped off the countertop. "Well, if we are going to stop Krosnos we need to summon an army of our own."

Sheva scoffed. "This is all a game to you, isn't it?"

"In a way, yes," he laughed then became serious again. "Look, Krosnos plans to create more fiends. These fiends will be immune to your projectile weaponry. My plan to summon my old faithful would be brilliant. They will stop them from ripping you humans apart."

Sheva sighed and bowed her head. She felt the urge to refuse. There was little else to consider at this moment.

"What about my friends?"

"They are safe. You will meet up with them again.  We should go," he said, his voice feathery soft.

Sheva bit her lip. She followed him back to the first floor, surprised he hadn't evaporated into thin air like on so many other occasions. Maybe he didn't feel things like humans felt. She wondered it. His emotions were either nonexistent or well controlled. She often glanced at him as they wandered onto Main Street. His beauty illuminated the dismal night and again she drew near him. His vanilla scent wrapped about her.

"I sense life," he said.

"Wait," she heard herself say.

He turned to her, the ray of moonlight washing over him and highlighting his every feature. "Why should we wait?"

"What reward do I gain from helping you?"

He chuckled. "You live. That should be reward enough."  He shifted his gaze to empty space. "What else could you possibly want? Humans are never satisfied. I thought your life and the lives of your friends were what mattered most to you."

She lowered her head, closed her eyes for a brief moment and took in a deep breath.  An ominous cloud settled over her thoughts and she replied. “Of course, but I’d like to believe this to be something to never occur again.”

Helm resumed, "All right then. You make sure to follow me. I know you can handle most other things on your own but there are some adverse elements here you will not be able to confront alone."

She nodded, this time less intently and waited for him to lead.

Mystery bundled her in a tight envelop as again reality shifted, prodded her essence and muddied her senses.  Was Helm still in her company?  She searched for him amongst the chaos of twisting color and shape, but soon sank to her knees as nausea rolled over her.

     2

Threads of fantasy drifted away as reality splashed around him in bleak hues.

Helm leaned against the wall, his back flat on the surface riddled with scores of pits and fissures. He rested against the uneven surface. His forehead wrinkled. He tired to press the issue, but refused to discuss it.

Helm emerged from the foulest shadow. It had once been a shadow of a human soul but now as he let it drop he was exposed for the savage he truly was. Of course, what one person called savage he called survival. He went by many names. The one he treasured was Helm. However, now the name provoked intense disgust in him as he watched Hudson scurry along with that human. It wasn't as if he hated them. In fact, he wanted to help them in many ways. Some of them deserved what they got, that was for certain, but not all of them should succumb to such a miserable fate.

He tossed the thought into the recess of his mind where he hoped to bury it. Sooner or later it would unearth itself and he would think of it again, but for now, he must focus on the matter at hand. He needed to establish trust in mortals. It would be a challenge since talking to them often turned his stomach. The though brought a smile to his lips. He didn't have a stomach to turn. But that didn't mean he was hollow. He often gazed inward and even in physical form he was a mass of mystical energy. He often wondered what it would be like to have organs and real tissue. Then again he hoped he never found out.

He nudged the twitching corpse with his heel. It was a shame. Though he hadn't been the provider of death, he did not condemn it. It was a human death by human means. Mystical kills were one thing, this was quite another.

His amber eyes burnt red orange. The sequence in color matched the throb in his forehead as a single red vein spiraled across his face and through his hair. Pain was never enough. It always funded him with bountiful pickings. It should have been a blessing but he now believed it to be a curse.

His teeth clenched. Krosnos drew near. It was not clear yet why but he figured he would learn in time as the boy would. Hudson sure knew how to choose heroes, he thought with a sarcastic grin. He would never be able to be a hero. He was a scrawny runt. Still, as he disappeared over the horizon with his sibling, he perceived a fire about him. He might not have been much to look at but he had strength and determination. It read so clearly on him. Why else would he be as he is; a street tramp? His meals came out of dumpsters.

Helm nodded. A yellow flesh sagging form of life slinked by and groaned. It was far from a groan of rage or pleasure. It sounded more like a note of fear. Krosnos had no control over it. Krosnos' fiends made from its physical samples of blood were loyal servants yet still recognized power and never dared to challenge kin of their Ancient master.

His thoughts turned to the glowing orange clouds. How long would it take before they realize there was no use in running? Wherever they went Krosnos was sure to follow. He molded with darkness and became as one with the shadow of the alley way.