Aylah and Diago looked at one another with stern expressions, both feeling vindicated about their apprehensions concerning their new ally. They both took a step back from Thatch. However, their internal tracks of thought were interrupted when the man himself turned to face them. The look on his face was sad and startled.

  “Just try to deny it,” Said Diago angrily

  “I can’t” said Thatch, but his tone was rich with remorse.

  “so it’s true! Then why help us at all?! What was the point!?” Aylah cried.

  Saarsken allowed the interchange to take place with a twisted smile. He was enjoying this disunity and was content to let it run its course.

  “Please, listen to me,” Thatch pleaded, “I was tricked. I don’t know how to explain it, but please believe me. Only now do I remember what happened.”

  “And what on earth could that possibly mean, you traitor?” Said the indignant Diago

  “I crawled through a waste hole for this!” Aylah cried in frustration

  Diago started and then looked over at Aylah, “…you did?…why?”

  “Shut up sunburn! We are dealing with something right now.” She then turned back to Thatch, “How can you possibly explain this?!” she cried again.

  “I don’t know how! The best I can say is that, somehow, I was tricked. My memory was messed with and cloudy and a false image was put in my head. When that… thing showed up I remembered that it ripped the truth from my head” This last phrase was directed at Saarsken

  “What ‘thing’?…Saarsken?” Aylah asked, still disbelieving.

  All three of them turned to the smiling figure on the roof. His eyes flashed with a green hue that was not present before and he laughed.

  “WHO ARE YOU?” Thatch called out with a touch of fear in his voice.

  Aylah and Diago were not sure what to think or who to trust. Saarsken continued to laugh. As he did, it grew steadily more disturbing until it slowed down to nothing. The man doubled over and shook violently. He grew still and then stood upright. His entire countenance had changed yet again. His face looked gaunt and his posture was stronger. His eyes were green. Not just the iris, but the entire eye was a deep sickly green, and from them came a steady flow of mist. When he spoke, his voice had changed as well. It was more like a pained, wheezing, whisper.

  “Who am I? You will call me the Firstborn of the Slain”

  Shock riddled Thatch’s face and he was unable to even blink. Diago was filled with fear at the sudden change in the man he had grown to despise. Aylah was the only one who was able to reply, though she too was shaken by the change,

  “What do you want with us?” She demanded, though without the force she was trying to emit.

  The figure on the roof smirked, “You three reek of Fade”

  The statement rocked the trio to their core. The malice in his voice could be felt even through the guards surrounding them. There was a pressure of intimidation that made everyone below feel heavy with dread. No one could breathe, let alone speak. Whatever this thing was, it was evil.

  “How fortunate that we should meet.” Said the Firstborn using Saarsken’s face to produce a wild-looking smile, “saves me the trouble of having to deal with you later. As always, our existence crosses the Fades. As it should be. It was our design”

  As he said this last phrase, a wave of intense mental pain drifted through everyone, even the guards. Grunts and cries of pain were heard in cacophonous chorus while the figure above looked gleefully at the torment below. Hopelessness was the dominating feeling carried by every shoulder now pressed down by the weight produced by the Firstborn. It was as if a hand had reached into every head and began to rip at the brain and while that happened a thousand pounds were placed on each shoulder. Guards began to pass out and drop to the ground one by one. Both Aylah and Diago’s visions were beginning to close and they were on the verge of dropping as well. Thatch was more able to resist the mental attack, but he too was succumbing to the dark heaviness that was placed over the area.

  The Firstborn continued to watch with glowing green eyes. He enjoyed every moment of pain he caused. Using Saarsken’s face, he smiled ever wider and then softly said, “Die now”

  Another wave of darkness pressed down. The feeling of weight doubled making it unbearable. Aylah and Diago dropped to their knees holding their heads and crying out in pain. Thatch continued to stand, putting every ounce of strength he had left into resisting, but was beginning to waver. After the moment of bold firmness passed, he too dropped to his knees clutching his temples in agony. By all rights, the pain should have caused all three to pass out like the guards did, but something about the force gripping them kept them conscious for every second of torment. Thatch felt certain that if this continued for too much longer permanent damage would be done to their minds. However, nothing could be done to stop it. All they could do was take it.

  Then a sudden flurry of motion caused everything to stop. The pressure lifted off and light was able to enter again into the minds of the three below who were still conscious. Thatch wavered where he stood, trying to steady himself and gain his bearings while also trying to see what had happened. Diago and Aylah both were very weak, but both had varying levels of intense relief now that the pressure was gone. All three looked up, searching for what had saved them.

  Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

  There on the roof was the limp body of Saarsken, knocked out cold. Above him was a jynx.

  They were all stunned, unable to believe what they were seeing.

  “No way,” said Diago while the other two still stood open-mouthed, “it’s you!”

  At the sound of Diago’s voice, the jynx lept down and rushed to his side. It nuzzled up to him and wheezed. Diago was still stunned, but being overwhelmed by the feeling of relief, he gave the jynx a firm embrace. On either side of him, Aylah and Thatch just watched. They looked at each other, both wanting an explanation, neither able to give one.

  Aylah was able to muster up a singular inquisitive word, “How?”

  Diago released his embrace, still looking at the creature with pride, “I don’t know.”

  He examined the animal and found some claw markings on its hide as well as something wrapped around its hind leg. He removed it, much to the relief of the animal. He looked it over and recognized it as part of the netting that roofed the race canyon. He remembered something he had overheard spectators talking about while he made his escape.

  “So you are the one that got out,” Diago said, smiling.

  “What are you talking about?” Thatch asked, still almost breathless from The previous moment.

  “I overheard people talking about a jynx fight during the race that ended in a few jynx breaking through the canyon net. I didn’t know one got away, but apparently, she did.”

  The jynx nuzzled up to Diago again, wheezing again as she did when she was pleased.

  “But how is this possible? From what I have heard, jynx just don’t act like this” Aylah said while indicating toward the animal. As she did, the jynx shot an angry stare her way and gave a ferocious growl. Aylah stepped back, now wary of the beast before her, “that is more what they are like”

  “Easy girl,” Said Diago, coaxing his new friend. Then to Aylah, he said, “I don’t know, but I am not going to complain. She just saved us.”

  Aylah was about to say more but stopped when she noticed Thatch completely ignoring them and slowly approaching the hideout door. She remembered why they had come and what it meant to Thatch. She and Diago both followed after him, the jynx trailing behind Diago.

  No one spoke, preferring to let the weight of the moment carry itself. Thatch walked up to the latch on the door and pulled it. It would seem that the pressure created by the Firstborn was not placed on those within the cabin. Diago, Aylah, and Thatch only had a moment to take in the scene before them. There were three guards and one petit figure tied up near the back of the wooden shelter. There being three guards meant that Thatch’s assumption that there would only be two was false. The guards watched them enter. They must have recognized Thatch, because the moment they understood who was entering, all three began to act with practiced intention. Two guards rushed for the intruders and one turned to the helpless figure with a short blade at the ready.

  The two guards in front did not waste time on threats or questions. They simply attacked. Aylah and Thatch, being in the front, were stopped short by the rushing pair just beyond the threshold of the hideout. Diago, trailing behind, was only hindered by the bodies that blocked his path forward. Diago’s eyes widened as he saw the guard in the back raising his blade. Aylah and Thatch were too occupied to see how bad Rayna’s plight had become. The guard was moments from bringing the point down on the helpless girl before him. DIago didn’t have time to think, so, on instinct, he did what he was best at: diving in head first.

  “Aylah crouch!” Diago cried as he rushed forward, hoping and praying she wouldn’t waste time asking why or what he was planning. Thankfully she didn’t. She glanced behind, timing her crouch with his approach. Diago lept forward and used her as a single step upward, propelling himself over the bustle. He sailed overhead and collided with the guard in front of Rayna as he was bringing the dagger down. They fell back in a confused mass toward the back wall, each wrestling the other for control.

  While that was happening, Aylah was able to quickly subdue the guard in front of her, dodging a downward strike and shooting back upright, using her elbow to land a hard strike on the guard’s unshielded nose. He fell back in a crumbled heap. Thatch struggled a little more. The guard before him managed to land a cut on his right shoulder which made it hard for him to defend on that side, something the guard was doing well in exploiting. That is, until he was knocked off balance by a jynx rushing forward to get past him. The man lost his footing and Thatch managed to maneuver him into a choke hold that the guard was unable to break free from. He soon blacked out.

  Diago, who was still feeling weak from the wounds on his back and shoulder, was not faring well in his wrestling match. However, when his friendly jynx entered the fight, the match was decided. Diago was on his back with the man over him, making him a prime target for the pouncing beast. Pounce the jynx did and down the man went.

  The jynx tossed the limp figure of the guard to the side. Diago lay back breathing heavily from the struggle. Aylah stood by the door checking for any other foes. Thatch rushed forward to free his daughter from her bonds.

  “Rayna!” He said as freed her.

  “Father!” she cried in return, as the two closed around each other in a warm embrace.

  Thatch, holding his daughter close, did not notice that she had a knife in her hand that she must have managed to grab off one of the guards as she was tied up. She raised it high and brought it down toward Thatch. That would have been the end of him if Aylah was not so quick. She saw Rayna raise the blade just in time to rush forward and grab her hand to stop her motion. Aylah’s action also forced Thatch to the side, who now had a full view of what had happened.

  “…Rayna?” Said the pained father, looking incredulous.

  Rayna looked over and a twisted smile came across her face as her eyes flashed green, “Father, it’s me! Please help me!” said the Firstborn using Rayna’s face to smile wide.

  The Firstborn and Aylah struggled for the knife while the Firstborn mocked Thatch.

  “Please don’t hurt me! I didn’t mean it! Can’t you recognize your own daughter-!”

  Suddenly, the girl was knocked out cold from behind by the pommel of a sword.

  “That’s enough of that,” said Diago, very matter-of-factly.

  “Rayna!” Thatch rushed forward, to pick his daughter up. He closed his eyes and put his hand over her forehead. When he opened his eyes, the look in them was one of relief, “she’s alright. Just out cold” he looked up at Diago, “thank you.”

  “Don’t mention it” said Diago as he threw the sword to the side, “I had had enough of that maniac Firstborn anyway”

  “What was that thing?” Asked Aylah

  Thatch was about to respond, but thought better of it when he looked around at the unconscious bodies around him. “Not here, we need to get somewhere safe,” Said Thatch as he gently lifted up his daughter.

  They all three exited the cabin, aiming for nowhere in particular. Their only goal at the moment was to find safety where they could regroup and talk.