Death

Chapter 2
Death

“Early one morning the sun was shining,

I was laying in bed.

Wondering if she had changed at all,

if her hair was still red.” -Bob Dylan

      Kriss awoke to the chattering song of morning birds and the smell of someone cooking breakfast.

No, that's not quite right, she awoke to the smell of someone burning breakfast. For a moment she lay there with her eyes closed just enjoying the call of the birds and the cool, welcoming breeze over her body but there was something about the smell of breakfast that was wrong. Father, on the rare occasions he tried to help, burned breakfast often but that wasn't quite what she smelled. There was something in the coppery twang that reminded her of liver and she hated liver. Her stomach began lurch unpleasantly in response. There was also a musky, sweet perfume in the air unlike anything she had ever smelled before. Her stomach threatened to betray her again but it wasn't the growing queasiness of her stomach that at last made her eyes fly open, it was the breeze. Lying in the comfort of her bed, even with the windows open, had never felt like this. She was outside. On the ground. And-

      “Elly!” She screamed for her sister, opened her eyes, and scrabbled to her feet all in one disoriented instant. Nothing around her looked familiar yet with growing horror she began to process where she was. The massive pile of smoldering wood next to her had once been her home and where she now stood was what had once been the softest grass in all the world, where she and Elly used to play. Now it was just scorched earth, radiating outward in sooty black fingers. It reminded her of the dried starfish that her father once brought home from his travels. She wondered where he was now and why he had left her all alone. Wanting to cry, she forced herself to be strong and began searching for her sister. She steeled herself for what she might find. Something told her that her parents were never coming back.

      As if on cue something stirred beneath the pile of steaming rubble that once had been their home. Kriss flung herself on the pile and began hurling blackened pieces of wood aside with inhuman speed. The wood was still hot and little devils of embers flew everywhere as a result of her effort, singeing her face, hair, and clothes. She would not feel the damage she did to her hands as they began to blister and burn until much later, after the rush of adrenaline had abandoned her and left her to fend for herself against the pain.

      At last she uncovered the softly moaning swell and was relieved to find Elly lying there. She was barely recognizable. Her shock of curly, red hair was gone along with her eyebrows, reduced to an ugly mass of singed, dead hair that sloughed off under the gentle stroking of Kriss's hands. Kriss carefully carried her sister to a patch of scorched earth and gently set her down. Elly was badly burned, the worst damage to her arms which had been bare at the time of the...attack?

      Knowing that her sister was safe Kriss took a good look around for the first time. There had been an obvious explosion, the scorched earth where she sat with her sister had been the focal point, her childhood home had simply been too close to the flames to survive. Her sword was gone, she knew that instinctively, that it had been the reason for this whole disaster. Why she and her sister had been spared she could not say. Her parents-

      For the first time she noticed the source of the 'cooking breakfast' smell. Chunks of meat and gore hung from the ring of trees that encircled her erstwhile home. Kriss's stomach did one final lurch before she turned her head and expelled its contents onto the black earth beside her. Gently taking her sister's head into her lap she finally began to cry, softly at first but soon her wails of horror, grief, and loss flooded the little clearing.

      She did not hear the small unit of armed men and women when they emerged from the tree line behind her. Their leader held up a fist, indicating that they come to a stop and for a short while they stood there listening to Kriss, shifting on their feet, nervous and embarrassed. At last their leader moved forward and spoke, her voice both soft yet firm.

      “Mistress Moonblade-” was all she got out.

      Kriss spun on her with catlike reflexes, throwing out a dagger from somewhere hidden on her person. The heavy blade flew straight at the leader's head with deadly accuracy and would have easily been the end of her had she not held up one hand, crackling with blue flame, and caught the dagger in midair. Her fingers wrapped around the razor sharp blade and with a quick flick of her wrist the dagger crumbled into tiny pieces that made a soft tinkling as they fell to the earth.

      “Mistress Moonblade,” she continued, unfazed. “On behalf of Eris, the Discordians offer our sincerest condolences. We also offer you and your sister safety to study at out temple. There you will be safe from any who wish you harm and will be able to take advantage of an exemplary education. There will be many courses of study available for both of you.”

      When Kriss did not answer, she quickly continued. “We must leave now. There are others on their way to kill you.”

      Kriss looked down at Elly. She moaned softly and opened her eyes, looking up at Kriss in confusion. “Why are you crying?” she asked. “Did you break my bow?”

Kriss looked over to the strange lady who had just offered them sanctuary. She nodded once. They would go.