Hazumi

Introduction to the main character, a dark angel called Hazumi.

Hazumi let out a silent sigh as her gaze travelled down the tower block she and into the alley sixteen stories under. The black feathers of her slightly outstretched wings reflected the pale moon’s glow above and streetlights down under. Under the stronger rays of the sun they could possibly get the colourful brilliance that raven feathers got, a playful game of green and blue… but she wouldn't know �" it had been years since she’d last seen the sunlight… and years since it had last seen her. 

Soon her agile wings would carry her soundlessly to her target and her blade-like talons would extend to the size of sabres and pass judgment on another unsuspecting nex. Hers was not the cheerful, full-of-life daytime with its excitement and emotion. Hers was the night, stealthy and quiet like impending doom. She was a creature of the dark and her sigh would be the only whisper the world would catch of her existence. She was unheard and unseen, an elusive herald of death. She came over the sinners like a dark cloud and the only thing left in her wake were the ashes of those who could do no wrong ever again.

It wasn’t a life she had chosen. It wasn’t a life she would choose. But it was her life. 

Hazumi pushed herself off the edge of the building and dove down in a free-fall. She didn’t bother spreading her wings even though they could soften the bite of the cold air against her skin. In fact, for a moment she enjoyed the fresh, grating gust running its nails down her face, almost gently, that brought forth a feeling of peace and serenity. Then the moment was over; reality snapped back into place and hot droplets of blood smeared her senses. 

Her claws sank deep as her freefall was interrupted by the nex’s unsuspecting skull with the helpless crunching sound of torn flesh and broken bone of the now lifeless body. Like a cat the lux now arched her back and spread her wings open to soften the impact on her own body as the other one turned to dust and united with the city’s polluted air. The woman’s bare toes gently touched the ground as she landed and rose to her full height. Only then did she glance at the nexes victim that she didn’t truly care about �" a scared, weeping girl in the corner of the alley, herself covered in the blood the vampire was after. Hazumi gazed at her blankly, deprived of compassion or sympathy. Her work here was already over and whatever happened to the human was none of her concern. 

Her wings spread and brought her back to the rooftop where she closed her eyes and lifted her chin up high to inhale a breastfull of evening air. It was cool and fresh, with a hint of upcoming rain and a promise for morning dew. It felt real. Grounding. Without opening her eyes Hazumi started slowly pacing along the ledge letting her bare feet explore the concrete. The ground had still preserved some warmth from the long set sun and felt pleasantly alive against the rough skin of her feet. 

As she was walking along the rooftop, a sudden tingle ran up her spine, alerting her of something sharp cutting into her flesh. Rather than rushing to pull the irritant out, the lux couldn’t help but smirk at the unpleasant sensation. Killing had long lost its challenge, if it ever had any and pain was a welcome guest that rarely visited. Whenever it did, it reminded her that she still had something left in her… if only a physical ‘something’. Right here all she needed was efficiency. There were no ‘orders’, no ‘reports’, no ‘interaction’… no beings that required her to ‘speak’ or ‘feel’. All that was requested of her was disposing of certain elements.

It was all about killing. And she didn't object. Why would she? She was created for this and she was good at it. Within the life of an assassin feelings and emotions were distant, sent to some distant realm where she might actually need them. Pain alone felt real and made her feel alive. 

Hazumi opened her eyes and, sighing once again, prepared to return to the world of duty. 

Her breath escaped her as an unfelt waft carried a single snow-white feather her way. It was unmistakably a lux feather, a message from a fellow soldier or perhaps even one of her superiors in the Council. How long had it been since she had last seen a feather sent to her? The lux extended her hand with disbelief, as the small fluff landed on her palm. Images, emotions and words flashed in her mind, vivid and clear in their message. The Council was gathering and she was to attend.

As the feather turned to dust Hazumi pulled the glass shard out of her foot and collected her sandals, bewildered as to why she, the Kinslayer, was invited to such an important event.

***

Twenty minutes later, as the first sunrays kissed the sky, Hazumi landed on the rooftop of an unremarkable block in the rundown neighbourhood of Sasen in the western part of Loom. She never bothered to use the main entrance from the street like normal people would. To her, the approach from the roof was much easier, because her ‘home’ was on the highest floor �" it gave her and easier and faster escape in any emergency. That’s what her mother had told her.

 

Hazumi gave her wings a final stretch as the apartment itself was too small to allow more than one wing to be extended at a time and even then, it would probably touch the wall. The space was small and scarcely furnished but alas, it was all she could afford with the minimal goodwill she was receiving from the Council. Besides, it was where she had grown up. After her mother died the whole space was re-arranged. All personal belongings of her late parent were either confiscated by the Council or burnt by herself. The only things that remained from that past were the sofa and bed, the wardrobe that still held a few old rags and a few nigh-forgotten books at the bottom. and a small box of miscellaneous items. And a mirror. For some reason that was alien to her, Hazumi didn’t mind the mirror. Perhaps it was because her body was the only thing she truly possessed.

 

Hazumi dropped her clothes on the floor in the hallway and went straight in the shower. She spent the next half hour erasing the physical remnants of the violent night’s work �" she washed the sweat off her skin. Scraped the clotted blood from under her nails. Rinsed the ashes of the neces off her hair and eyebrows. And relished in the warm embrace of the water for a few blissful moments after. Once done, she stepped out of the bathroom and in front of the mirror. It looked back at her calmly, passively, expecting her to be her own judge.

 

The lux stared at her reflection critically, running her eyes over her body. She was about to attend a Council meeting for the first time in her life. She would be surrounded by the lumina who dwelled in the daytime, the pristine and beautiful, the admirable…. And then there would be her. With her ghastly-pale skin and her abnormal, cat-gold eyes. Her hair looked black but once it was dry it would lift and lighten, reaching her lower back in the auburn waves that were her greatest source of pride. Her athletic lithe frame would be hidden under the formal shirt and trousers her mother used to wear but her height would still stand out and so would her wings. Medium-sized but large enough to draw attention for they were black as the waning night. She couldn’t hide them even if she knew they made most lumina uneasy.

 

And yet, Hazumi didn’t mind any of that. She didn’t mind the black wings of a sinner or the old, drab clothes of a fallen angel. After all, they were all part of her life; they were her only truth as her body was her only belonging. However, there was one part she did mind.

 

Her hand came up and tentatively ran slender fingers across her neck. Across the whole left size of it, spreading out to the front, was a large white scar consisting of three strokes. The only unsoiled part of her skin was the tiny space that was spared as the claws had ripped through her flesh and came out cleanly on the other side, very early beheading her. By any account, she should have died that day. Even just looking at the memory of it was enough to make Hazumi sick.

 

Dropping her hand with a sigh, the woman turned her back to the mirror and proceeded to get dressed. Today was extraordinary and she had to look her best.

Author's Note

Please let me know what you think, any comments welcome.

PS. In case it's still unclear, the lux (plural 'lumine') are similar to angels while the nex (pl. 'neces') are akin to demons.