Page 13 of A Soul to Embrace

She scratched off a man’s helmet while biting into his shoulder, then tossed her skull side to side until his neck snapped. Once dead, she bit his head off and began to eat from the bleeding hole she’d made. The shape of her maw made her rather grotesquely violent when it came to eating, and she smeared blood all over her skull as she buried it into the gaping wound.

Only a few seconds later, barely halfway down his torso, she threw his body to the side so she could slash across the gut of a soldier who rammed a short sword into her thigh. Her claws caught in the metal breastplate of his armour, and she sent his body flying. He crashed into the side of a house with such force it cracked. The Mavka then proceeded to charge on all fours until her small antlers lanced his gut, and she shoved them both into the centre of the house.

Along with the creaks and groans of timber and the shatter of furniture, multiple high-pitched wails rang out. They momentarily hid the snarls of the Mavka inside.

A woman with three children sprinted from the house. She carried a little boy, likely no older than two, in her arms, while a pair of slightly older girls in pale nightgowns sprinted behind her. They headed towards the bell ringing deep within the village, likely a place where people congregated for safety.

The mother looked back, checking to make sure her young children followed before shifting the screaming boy in her arms.The moment she looked away, the youngest of her daughters tripped and was separated from her fleeing parent.

The little girl was slow to rise to her feet, and her crying was overshadowed by the Mavka causing unseen mayhem in their home. A fire blasted to life, setting the house ablaze within seconds.

With a quiet, nose crinkling snarl, Jabez pushed off the wall and leapt into a sprint. The closer he got, the more he scented the child’s blood from scrapes on her knees and hands, and the power of her fear. Both tingled in his nose, enough to make his mouth salivate, but Jabez’s hunger wasn’t an uncontrollable beast.

Just as he was about to make it to her, the Mavka burst through the wall of the house with a roar, throwing clay and stone rubble all around. Jabez slid across the dirt and shielded the child from the falling house debris with his body.

Just as he’d predicted, the Mavka turned towards the little girl creating a delicious scent.Shit, we have to move.Jabez somersaulted to the side when the Mavka’s large hand came down to squash them, and then he hooked his right arm around the little girl’s midsection. He lifted her by her side until her legs and arms dangled.

The Mavka dived for them both, but Jabez jumped into the air and grabbed ahold of the straw roofing of the house next to them. The child screamed as her dangling limbs swayed towards the ground, while he held her waist firm. He grunted when the straw began to break, and he looked down to find the Mavka moments from jumping for them.

Just as she did, Jabez booted her skull between her antlers, forcing her back down, and she hit the dirt with athump. He hissed in a breath against the pain that shot up his leg from the power of their collective impact.

More soldiers came to take her attention by shoving their weapons at her, and it gave Jabez the opportunity to let go of the roof. Broken straw cascaded on top of him when he landed, forcing him to close his eyes momentarily against the debris, but he didn’t bother to shake it off as he sprinted away with the small child.

Using his increased agility due to his mixed heritage, Jabez headed straight for where the bell was coming from. When too many stupid humans were on the street and heading in the same direction, causing a dangerous and foolish stampede, he jumped to a balcony. He climbed higher still so he could run across rooftops.

When he had a moment, he checked on the wellbeing of the girl. She reeked of fear, and her face was snotty from crying. She was a little shaken up, but he noted there were no other injuries besides her scraped hands and knees.

What mattered was that neither he nor the Mavka had damaged her.

Jabez knew himself to be an evil presence in this world, but he’d never harmed a child in it – at least not by his own hand. He’d also never stood back and allowed his minions to do so either. His reasoning to them had always been that a grown human gave more humanity and bred more for them to eat, but the truth was... he just couldn’t stomach the idea.

He’d instigated raids on human towns to feed his minions, but he’d always chosen places containing few young ones. He scouted and then protected where the young were hidden away with their mothers by casting a protective dome over that location. Then his Demons slaughtered the rest, mostly soldiers, and he moved them on before daybreak.

From then on, it was up to the humans to relocate while the sun was shining. Most fleeing their towns survived as theyescaped the burning ruins and ventured to other settlements nearby.

He gave the truly innocent a chance, and he thought that may be because he’d never been given one. His innocence had been stolen from him as a young boy, and he’d been at the mercy of dangerous beings for much of his life. He despised humans just as much as he did the Elves, but he knew what it felt like to be small, weak, and defenceless.

He knew what it felt like when no one had given him mercy.

Alright, this should be close enough.

When he reached the tallest building in the town that had the bell chiming, he skilfully landed between the narrow gap of two houses with a quiet thud. He propped the child on her feet, refusing to get too close to the exit in case he was spotted. Passing by the alleyway they were in, women and men fled to the towering building. He pushed the girl towards the entrance of the alleyway, onto what appeared to be a main street, then turned and walked in the opposite direction.

He didn’t care about nor want a thanks, and the soldiers guarding the assembly point would only attempt to fight him if he lingered.

Allowing himself a brief glance back, he saw the girl had turned as well, and she waved at him with one hand as the other wiped snot from her nose.

Gross. Don’t wave at me, you vile little thing.He gave a disgusted, disgruntled lip curl before facing away.

When he peeked out of the opposite exit of the alleyway, there were barely any humans on this narrow street. He followed the shadows to keep out of sight as he headed back towards the chaos he could hear at the entry point of the village.

With the child instantly forgotten, his walk was leisurely.

They’d been in this village for less than an hour, and he planned for the Mavka to eat many humans while theywere here. They had hours until sunrise would come, and she wouldn’t tire. Her wounds would be meaningless to her capabilities, no matter how debilitating they’d be for someone mortal like himself. The humans wouldn’t be able to trap her, as he doubted they had Anzúli-enchanted rope or chains, like those Demonslayers wielded.

Jabez peeked up at the glowing moon, and momentarily basked in its rays as it chased away the chill. He opened his red eyes once more to inspect the buildings he passed.

At a shop window that had the word ‘seamstress’ painted across it, he paused. Something silver resting on the storekeeper’s counter grasped his attention, and a grin lifted the corners of his lips.

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