FOREVER KNIGHTS: #6 Malevolent Attentions

Harridan Hamlet, Paladines

RAESE

It was another beautiful night in the Paladines. The sun was just falling behind the horizon. Raese could see the dark outline of the Paladine Peaks in the distance. Separating the Paladines from Dread Country. The night was filled with pink, yellow and orange stars flickering. Only visible over the Paladines he knew. But reflective of the many lights in the Netherland Woods. Beautiful.

It was a peaceful night. He’d only had a couple drinks with Rodger at the Deep Country Inn tonight. I spent more time evading Leslie’s advances.

She had been particularly persistent tonight.

And he was aware he was losing patience with her. There’s absolutely nothing interesting about her. She was dull and cloying. Like the flowered oil she wears.

Raese had broke it off with her tonight. Telling her he’d tired of their relationship.

Leslie had made a great scene of sobbing riotously. “You’ve broken my heart!” She declared.

But I doubt that. Perhaps her pocketbook. He felt a pang of sympathy for her. Knowing she relied on the gifts of her lovers to keep her house afloat.

But I’ve given her plenty of jewels over the years for her to sell.

Even more lately since I’ve been paying her with them to leave me alone. He knew he should feel guilty. But he felt better knowing he’d not have to deal with her for a period.

It isn’t right to be with her when I’m absorbed with thinking of the spirit of a woman I only knew in a past life.

But oh, how I miss her…

Just as he was thinking such odd thoughts, he heard the tall grass near the road shuffling and glanced over in time to see what looked like a tree trunk leaping from the grass.

He reflexively stepped from its trajectory and hit it in the vulnerable ribs with both hands forcefully. Knocking it sideways violently.

He blinked at it in shock. At how he’d reacted. And at the sight of the creature.

It rolled to its feet and slinked through the grass. Peering at him through red eyes. Its head ducked low to the ground like a snake watching him. It moved sideways. Thickly muscled shoulders flexed as it shifted. It was snarling in a high broken sound that made his skin vibrate with alarm.

He found himself keeping eye contact with it and mimicking its strange motion. What the Hell am I doing?

When it jumped to attack him again his hand shot out, instinctively twisting and awaiting the rough length of wood that’d been summoned to him hundreds of times before.

But it didn’t work. And time seemed to slow as he was face with the giant dog lurching through the air. Covered in bark armor. Red eyes intent and jaw opening perilously slowly, ready to consume Raese.

Raese crouched in readiness. Feeling a tickle behind his eyes and suddenly the dark was vivid light. He could see crystal clear. A clenching rolled up from his stomach into a growl that parted his lips.

But before he could decide what he’d do. A white streak entered his peripheral and tore through the middle of the creature. Ripping a gash along its side and beneath it before it could fall. The white blur was gone as fast as it’d come.

Raese looked for it as frantically as the creature that fumbled weakly, one front leg not operating as it commanded.

Neither saw as it shot from behind them to go over the top of the beast, ripping it’s back open and taking with it a huge dark chunk of armor that left open a bloodied length of exposed pink skin.

Then there was a humming shriek as the white light returned from where it’d just vanished to lunge into the side of the black creature. Sinking in vicious teeth and clawing madly until the black dog’s insides lay strung along the road. When it took off again, it ripped pieces of meat that attached what was inside the beast. Making it fall limply to its side without ever getting a strike in on what had attacked it.

What was that? Raese vaguely recalled his drunken stumble from the Deep Country Inn when he’d seen a similar light vanishing with the dark little mound. Is something following me?

Even when it’d landed on the side of the black beast, it’s tossing head and frantically digging paws had moved too fast for him to determine what the creature was. But it seemed specifically designed to take on the thing that’d attacked Raese.

What was the glistening white creature? He felt like he should know but didn’t have the faintest idea.