Lightning assaulted the night, igniting the gray pallet of rain clouds. Before the Hunter lay the infested forest; blackened by the twisted energies of the Beast within. The gnarled tops of the trees reminded him of gnarled hands clawing at the sky when bolts crashed above them.
He ran his fingers through his short, brown hair before he put his tattered, straw fedora on his head. Tightening his grip on the worn scabbard of his katana, Ren entered the blackened forest. The crimson light of the moon would soon bleed over the mountains; he had to make this quick. His light brown jacket and faded, blue denim pants shielded his scarred body from the drizzling rain, but it would not be long before the rain sleeping inside the clouds would awaken. The rain did not bother him; to Ren, the rain was a guardian. What did bother him was the thought that his prey would escape and he would never see his daughter alive again.
This is a bad idea.
Not now.
You know I'm right. You'll walking to your own death.
I didn't ask for your opinion.
Well, you're going to get it. This is suicide! And for what? A girl that might be your daughter?
I'm not going to argue with a voice in my head.
You barely even know her! Besides, Suzume died fifteen years ago and Noah can't be any older
than ten. I'll admit that she looks a great deal like your mate, but there’s no possible way for Noah to be related to you.
Ren stopped. Memories of Suzume flooded into his head. Her soft raven hair was silk in his fingers, the love in her deep, sapphire eyes strengthened his desire to protect her, and her strong body, hardened after years of Hunting, was pressed into him, arms wrapped in an embrace. Ren pushed the images of her away before he saw her corpse, twisted and bloodied. Until he met Noah in a settlement half a days journey from this forest, Ren thought that their daughter had died with Suzume that night. The voice in his head was right, Noah was too young to be his daughter, but the Fenrir who attacked the settlement earlier today had not killed her. That alone meant that Noah was more than human.
Ren, listen to me. In all the years I've been in your head, I have only disagreed with you when you are being an idiot. Your father had a hundred years more experience when he fought a Fenrir in the moonlight and that didn't stop him from being slaughtered. You're going to get us killed. There’s no way the Beast hasn’t already done the deed.
No, she's alive.
Ren –
No, it took her for a reason. It wants to Feast on her energy and the only time it can do that is when the full blood moon is in the sky, which won't be for a few more hours. If I don't kill the Beast tonight, then it will grow stronger from the Feasting. It has to be tonight, you know it just as well as I do.
The voice was silent, but Ren could feel his frustration through the bond that they shared, a bond that Ren never understood, but knew he had with the voice.
Ren, listen to me. I know that Fenrir's are nearly impossible to find during the day, but they can be found.
He knows I'm here. If he knows someone is looking for him, then he won't be found.
I can't talk you out of this can I. A sigh passed through Ren's mind. Alright, if you're going to get us killed then I might as well try to keep us alive.
Just keep an eye open for the Fenrir.
I don't know how useful that'd be. I use your eyes to see.
Then shut up and just let me know if you notice something that I miss; I can't focus with you chatting away like this.
Alright, but you know better than going into Infested Forest at night. The moon gives them strength. That's why they tried to blot out the sun. And with that, the voice was silent. From the day that Ren awoke as a Hunter over a hundred years ago, the voice had been a part of his life. He would have been dead many times over without the advantage of having a second mind using his eyes. At different times Ren had tried to name the voice, but it always rejected Ren's attempts, so he simply called it Voice.
Ren closed his eyes and opened his mind to the world which cannot be seen by humans. His eyelids shot open and his white pupils expanded until they coverd his irises and he saw the streams of life – ghost like waves of light dancing in the night air. The crimson aura of the blood moon began to bleed over the distant mountains and through the shadowy clouds. In the day the forest was nothing more than a thick grove of withered and dieing trees, but at night it burst with life as the moonlight seeped through the coal-like, blackened husks. Ren's eyes scanned the moonlit forest, seeking his prey. The waves swirled around him and began to cluster to the north. There. Cautiously, Ren entered the woods and the trees welcomed him with a thousand black, needle-thin fingers stretched towards the ruby-black sky.
His ears picked up the sounds of numberless Lesser Beasts. They mocked him as he dared to enter their home at night. They would not bother him, most Lesser Beasts were cowards and wanted nothing to do with humans, let alone Hunters. They rarely ever left the safety of their lands, Lesser Beasts had strength only in numbers and were more vulnerable to man's weapons. Greater Beasts, however, could only be harmed by a weapon that has the energy of a Hunter channeled into it. Entire settlements had been wiped out by a single Greater Beast.
The wet ground cushioned Ren's steps as he crept through the tainted forest. The rain broke free of the sky's grip and a torrent of water crashed against the land. Fortunately, streams of life are not affected by the weather. Being a Hunter had advantages, heightened senses being one of them. This meant that he could hear and see every droplet of water hit the ground, but that also meant that he could feel every ounce of rain that landed on him. He had learned to tune out the weather when he could, but while on the Hunt, he could not afford to. Ignoring anything his senses told him could lead to his death, and right now, his senses told him to duck.
The streams of life shifted and the pattern of rain fall changed behind him. Something was approaching. Ren hit the ground, a tackle inches above him. It was gone again before he had regained his footing, but the streams of life now rippled in the Beast's wake. There's our boy!
The Hunt was on.
I know, Ren thought, now make yourself useful and help me keep track of him. Voice could be helpful at times. Having two minds using the same pair of eyes was an advantage when running through a blackened forest – one mind kept track of the prey and the other focused on the surroundings. It made running through muddy terrain almost safe.
Grab that next trunk. Instinctively dropping his duffel bag, Ren did as Voice told him. His grappled onto the withered tree. The rain slicked trunk would have been impossible for a human to hold on to, but Ren's powerful grip drove his fingers into the bark. Some of the roots broke out of the muddy soil, but the tree held strong. The sudden stop jolted him and it took a few moments for Ren to regain his bearings. A few feet in front of him was an edge that lead to a very steep drop. Ren doubted that even he could survive the fall.
Thanks.
Ren pulled himself towards the tree and saw his bag a few yards away. The shock of stopping pulled him out of his trance like state. Catching his breath, Ren once again opened himself to the darker things of the world. His pupils expanded and the streams of life danced again before him. Before he could move to pick up the bag a deep voice spoke to him from behind.
“You are brave to enter into my forest, human. Or are you foolish?”
Ren didn't bother to answer; one wrong move and he was dead. The streams of life began to ripple, teaching him the location of the Beast: ten paces behind him. If the streams were this effective at long distances, then the Fenrir would not have taken him by surprise.
“Turn around, I want to see the face of the impudent imp that trespasses in my domain.” Ren did as he was told. Ten paces away the Fenrir sat on a stone twice the height of Ren. The Fenrir's silver fur gleamed in the red moonlight. The demon dog examined Ren with emerald-green eyes. A frightening strength slept inside its massive, canine body. Ren could be torn in half before he could so much as blink. He was glad that Fenrirs enjoyed playing with their food before eating. “You have the eyes of a Hunter,” the Beast's ears perked up. “You are smaller then the last rodent, imp.”
Ren did not respond.
“Can it talk, I wonder? Maybe this one is too frightened to speak,” the Beast sniffed the air, “No, it is not fear I smell, it is anger. You are angry at me?”
“At you and all of your damn kind.”
At this, the Fenrir threw his head back and laughed, it was a crackled and grainy laugh. “Oh, I remember you now. You were there this morning when I took that sleeping Huntress. Did you come to find her? I'm afraid that you're too late. Her energy was delicious.”
Ren's hand rushed to the hilt of his katana. No, don't let it provoke you. You have to calm down. Voice was right, if he made any stupid moves here, then it would all be over. But he began to slowly channel his energy into his weapon – any faster and the Beast would notice it.
“Oh? A reaction? An imp came to save an impling? How very brave of you. You humans will never cease to entertain me.
“We will when you're dead.”
“When I'm dead?” another laugh bellowed from the Beast. “Do you think that I've only killed one Hunter before tonight?”
“No, but I'm the last one you'll live to see.”
“Fool!”, the Beast was visibly angered, “Now you shall see why you must never hunt a Beast in the the full light of the blood moon. Draw your weapon imp, I would hate for this to be over to quickly.”
Ren's attack was not ready, but he did not want the Fenrir to know that. Without the proper amount of energy, his steel blade would be useless against the dangerous energies that gave life to Greater Beasts. As useful as channeling was for Hunters, it was not without limits. The energy did not last long once it left his body. Even if he knew where the Beast was before he entered the forest, his attack would have been useless had he prepared it too soon. He held onto the scabbard with a firm grip and tightened his hand around the hilt.
The Fenrir stood and began to draw strength from the moon. The silver hairs of its fur stiffened, forming thousands of razor sharp needles. The cavernous mouth of white fans twisted and the saliva turned a deep, venomous green. Razor like claws cut out of its paws. The emerald green eyes melted to a crimson red. A blood churning howl that would send lesser men running vibrated through the forest. Seconds passed and the Fenrir became a demon.
Before Ren could react, the Beast launched through the are – the power of its legs left a crack in the stone it had been perched upon. Ren rolled to the side just as the Fenrir's deadly claws sliced the surrounding trees. Ren quickly regained his footing as the Beast landed, but its form faded into the night air.
The Beast's laughter echoed through the forest, but Ren could not see it. Where is it!
If you can't see it Ren, neither can I.
He only heard it when it paused to jump. In any other situation he could use the streams of life to pinpoint the Beasts location and predict its next move, but this was a Fenrir and Ren had made the mistake of allowing it to change forms – not that he could have done much about it.
This is a tricky one; too bad your sword wasn't ready yet.
It's hard enough already to channel without running.
A surge of air announced another attack from Ren's left. He quickly grabbed the hilt of his katana and used the curve of the sheathed weapon to redirected the Beast into a nearby stone. The Fenrir slammed into the rock, but was unhurt by it; the grin on its face sent chills through Ren's body.
I think he's enjoying this!
That makes one of us. The face of the Fenrir melted through the shadows directly in front of Ren. If not for his trained reflexes shoving his scabbard in the the Beast's path, Ren would be dead. Instead, he was knocked to the ground with the venomous fangs, dripping with poison, only inches away from his face. The only thing between him and death was the cracking wooden scabbard that he pressed against the Fenrir's throat. Ren's strong body was only just able to keep the Fenrir from snaping his head off. The bright, green, poisonous mucus hanging from the Fenrir's mouth dribbled onto the ground, the sound of stone searing shot past Ren's ear.
“You are strong, imp. I shall enjoy eating you.”
“You'll have to kill me first.” Ren put what strength he could into his legs and kicked the Fenrir off of him. He scrambled to his feet and turned to face it, but once again it was gone by the time he was ready.
That's a nice little trick, isn't it?
Too bad you can't teach me that one.
Oh, it's easy. You just need a few million pieces of metallic, silver fur that bounce the light off of you.
The Beast came from the side, its needle like fur scraping against Ren's hand as he dove to avoid it.
You're not helping.
The streams of life bent before Ren's eyes: the Fenrir was coming from behind. Ren did not have time to get up so he pushed himself and rolled to the side moments before the Beast landed. The explosion of dead leaves, fallen branches, and mud clouded Ren's sight for only a moment, but it was long enough to nearly kill him; if it had not been for a sturdy tree, the slick mud would have thrown him off a cliff. He caught a quick glance at the Beast just before it faded away again. The Fenrir's eyes gave away its enjoyment.
It really is enjoying this!
Focus, Ren. Keep your head in the fight.
Ren pulled himself up. When I'm done channeling this will be over in one attack.
Then we just have to find a way to distract it so you can have time to channel.
Oh, is that all.
The streams bent once again above him and Ren leapt to the side, but not before the needles of the Beast's fur cut his face. This time it did not flee to the shadows, but instead the Fenrir stood its ground and rammed Ren in the chest with its powerful hind legs. A normal human would have been snapped in half by the sheer force of the kick, but it had been a long time since Ren was a normal human and his body was hardened by the strange internal energy that gave Hunters their strength. Even with his hardened body, the Beast's claws pierced Ren's skin and blood began to trickle down his shirt muddy, faded green shirt. Ren shot through the air and slammed into a tree. He grunted with pain and struggled to get back up.
Watch it!
Voice's warning almost came too late. The Fenrir slammed Ren down, pinning him to the ground as its claws dug into his flesh. His left hand caught the Beast's throat and held it at bay. Ren's blood coursed down his arm as the sharp fur pierced his hand. He could not strangle the creature, nor could he crush its throat – Ren's hands did not hold the strength to bend steel. His right hand searched for his katana, but his eyes found it close to where the Beast had kicked him.
“You put up a decent fight for an imp, but you should have known it was a mistake to come into my home at night.”
The fangs were only inches away from Ren's face. He desperately pushed, fighting for his life, fighting for the chance to save Noah, but his strength was leaving him. He looked around, desperately searching for anything that would help him save his daughter. He could channel his energy into his hand, but it wouldn't do much against the natural armor of the Fenrir. He moved his head to the side, narrowly avoiding a slimy drop of poison.
His eyes darted to every angle his head could allow, struggling, searching, trying to find something that would get him out of this situation. His free hand slapped around in the mud, reaching, trying to find anything that could be used as a weapon. His fingers found a stone just big enough to hold. The stone was weak; it wouldn't hold a charge for long, but it would have to do. He picked up the rock and began to channel his body's energy into his arm. If his timing was off in the slightest then he was dead. It was all on this one shot. Well, who wants to live forever? Voice wasn't very reassuring.
“The mistake, demon, was you underestimating me.”
The Fenrir laughed. “You must have landed on your head, I'm the one who's about to kill you.”
“Really? Care to make a wager?” Ren let go of the throat and the Beast lunged forward. He pulled his head to the side, avoiding the dangerous fangs, and quickly shifted the energy from his arm into the rock. The rock cracked under the pressure of the channeling, but Ren was fast enough to slam it into the Fenrir's head before it broke. Thousands of tiny little shards of energy shotgunned into the demon dog's head; it wasn't enough to kill the Beast, but it would stun it. The Fenrir howled in pain as Ren’s attack forced the moonlight out of its body. “You lose.” Ren picked himself up and walked over to grab his katana.
Don't you think it would be wise to tend to your wounds? It's not going anywhere anytime soon. If it wasn't for the moon that much energy would have killed it.
I'm not going to risk it getting back up. I'm going to finish this, now. He bent over to pick up his blade and turned to see the Fenrir still writhing in agony. Voice was right, it wasn't going anywhere anytime soon.
I told you to tend your wounds. You won't survive a Slaying with that many cuts. And who would take care of Noah if you don't?
Alright! He grabbed a nearby tree and braced himself. He closed his eyes and channeled his body's energy. His body began to vibrate; a smoke started to drift from the tree that his hand held. Ren lungs would not release any air – it hurt too much to breath. An agonizing gasp burst from his mouth as the channeling came to an end. The black tree showed no sign of damage, other than the charred smoke that now crept from its flesh. If it had not been for the smoke, no one would have known that the tree had nearly caught fire.
Ren caught himself before hitting the ground. He turned himself to rest his back on the trunk and caught his breath.
Oh, it wasn't that bad? At least you stopped the bleeding.
I'd like to… to see… you… cauterize your own… wounds… without it… hurting like hell. After some of his strength returned, Ren grabbed his katana and walked over to the Fenrir. Its form had reverted to the daytime shape and was now panting heavily on the ground. The rain stopped as Ren moved in for the kill.
“Well done… imp. I did… not expect to… be bested by the likes of you…”
Ren channeled his energy into his hand and then transferred it into the sword. The katana began to vibrate inside its scabbard and a piercing scream cut through the night air.
“How many of my kind… have you killed?” It was gasping for air still, but Ren could see that the Fenrir was recovering.
“How many humans have you?” Ren was trying to stall for a little more time. His attack was almost ready, he could feel the vibrations reaching their peak.
“I cannot tell. Do you remember how many ants you've crushed?” It let out a bellowing laugh at this remark.
“Yes, I do. I'm about to add another one to the list.” His attack was ready, but so was the Fenrir. In one final desperate attempt, the Beast pushed itself at Ren, jaws open for a kill. The streams of life bent and Ren pushed his legs into the ground; bracing for the attack. He drew his katana from the scabbard, an arc of blue and white energy burst through the red light of the black forest and the blade cut through the Fenrir's jaw and into its body. In one swift strike the fight was over. Ren caught a glimpse of the Fenrir's green eyes: it knew its end had arrived. In the moments that followed the attack the body of the Beast began to change. The brightness of the silver fur dulled, the shimmering red eyes faded, its life was at an end.
Here it comes.
Ren braced himself as a purple ball of light the formed above the Beast's lifeless husk; the ball of energy would replenish what Ren had spent in the fight and add five more years to his life. A quiet stillness fell over the forest. The light darted at Ren and pierced his chest and he was knocked over by its force. He convulsed in pain on the ground; his fingers, arms, knees, all of his limbs began to bend against his will. He screamed in pain and white light burst out of him in all directions. After a few moments of agonizing pain, it was over. The Feasting marked the end of the Hunt the forest had been cleansed. Only one thing remained for Ren to do.
“Noah!” was that only thing that Ren said before his body collapsed. He could barely hear Voice calling out for Noah as everything turned black.
* * * * *
The gentle, gray morning sun broke past Ren's closed eyes – he had slept the entire night. He opened his eyes and was greeted by a pair of sapphires set in a human face looking at him – the same sapphires as Suzume.
“Morning sleepy head.” A giggly voice spoke to Ren. As he became more aware of his surroundings, he realized that his head was being cradled in a small lap. His white pupils adjusted and he realized that the sapphire eyes also had white pupils.
“Noah?”
The little girl nodded. “You had us worried for a little while there. You were really out of it, but he said you always pull through, even if you do give him a scare sometimes.”
“Wha? Noah,” Ren sat up and saw that no one else was there, “who are you talking about?”
“You know, him. The voice in your head.”
“Wait,” surprise gave Ren a rush of adrenaline. Only one other person had ever been able to hear Voice, “you can hear him, too?”
“Of course I can. He's the one that told me how to find you. Why are you smiling so big?”
“The only other person who ever heard him was my father.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah.”
Ren could tell that Noah was puzzling this out in her head.
“Then... does that mean we're related?”
“Yes, Noah, I think it does.” Ren could not hold back the tears any longer, the tears that he could not cry since the day Suzume and Noah were stolen from him.
