9. Annette

Ifollow Rukh through the woods, wanting to see for myself what he is up to when he thinks I’m not around. I hang back, doing my best to stay hidden, though I’m not certain he truly has no idea I’m here. He’s a demon, after all.

I’ve been around dark elves my entire life, and I’ve seen how evil they can be, so I’m no stranger to the cruelness of nonhumans. But I’d be lying if I said that a demon like Rukh didn’t terrify me a little bit. But he doesn’t seem intent on causing me any harm, and I find myself unable to rest until I understand more about him.

As I follow him, trying not to call attention to myself, his long white hair flows behind him, those little black horns poking through at the top of his head. His black leather armor helps him blend in with the shadows of the night, making me wish I had my own set.

Suddenly, he whips his head in my direction, searching for me. Once he spots me, he does not look angry. Instead, he only puts a clawed finger up to his lips to signal that I need to be silent.

For some reason I can’t explain to myself, I feel something warm in my chest. It feels like approval, and why I would want the approval of a demon is something I don’t even try to justify to myself.

Still, those glowing red eyes narrow on me as I nod my agreement, and when he finally looks away, a shiver runs down my spine, making the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.

It’s those eyes that scare me the most when it comes to him, and I’m not quite sure why that is. I mean, it’s not like I haven’t seen red eyes before. No, it’s something else. Maybe it’s the intensity with which he looks at me. Like he’s seeing something that I don’t. Like he’s looking into me, and I don’t know what he will find.

A noise sounds from up ahead. He stops, listening, before walking closer. I follow him, ducking behind a tree when he stops. The sound of cruel laughter follows, and it’s not coming from Rukh. I hold my breath, trying to hear as best as I can.

When Rukh moves, so do I. When he stops, I stop. We follow this pattern as he stalks what appears to be a group of bandits. It’s so dark that I can’t fully make them out, but judging from the shape of them, I think they’re dark elves.

“Ooo, what do we have here?” one of them says. My blood runs cold, thinking that they caught me, but their voices are too far away for that to be possible.

“Please, we’re just passing through. We don’t want any trouble,” a male voice answers.

“He looks scared,” one of the bandits laughs.

“Please, just leave us alone.”

“Ah, but what fun would that be?”

“No! Don’t get any closer!” the man begs. “Just take me, okay? Just take me and leave my wife and kids behind.”

High-pitched laughter screeches through the forest, making me cringe.

“How noble! But your bravery isn’t going to save you now, my friend. In fact, you just made this game even more fun. How would you like to watch your little wife be torn apart, limb by limb?”

“Oh, come on, Mefius. We can do better than that,” the first bandit chimes in. “Why don’t we start with the children and make her watch?”

The laughter sounds again, threatening to burst my eardrums. I dare to peek out, trying to catch a glimpse. The moon reflects just enough light down on the road to confirm that they are indeed dark elves.

I hide once more, before searching the spot I last saw Rukh at, but he’s no longer there. My heart speeds up, beating so loud that I’m afraid these elves are going to hear it.

If he left me here, I’ll kill him. That is, if the elves don’t kill me first. They’re so close, I’ll never be able to get out of here without them hearing me. I never would have gotten so close to them if I thought Rukh was going to leave me.

I rack my brain for any spells I could use to silence my steps, but I come up blank. It’s not that I lack the knowledge. But at this moment, I can’t think of one simple spell.

Maybe I can try to fight them off until Rukh hears my screams. He let me go alive before, so it’s not like he wants me dead. Surely, he would help me if he heard me. I want to believe there’s some kind of twisted kinship between us, even if fraternizing with a demon probably only spells bad things ahead for me.

The human woman screams, and I peek out again, watching as the dark elves snatch the two children and dangle them in the air. The kids can’t be much older than ten, one boy and one girl. Both of them start crying and thrashing about.

“How shall we kill them, Mefius?”

“Hmm, I think the mother should choose. What do you say, Mom?”

“Please don’t hurt my kids.” She sobs.

“I tell you what. I won’t hurt them. Well, not both of them. But you’re going to have to choose which one. And then dad here will be the one to decide how it dies. Sound good?”

“No! Please don’t do this!” the mother screams.

“It’s very simple. Either both of them die, or one of them dies. But you’re going to have to give me an answer, and soon, before I decide for you. And I think we both know what I’ll choose.”

“Mom, please!” one of the kids screams.

“You can’t make her do that!” the father shouts.

“Both it is then,” the elf replies.

“No! No, wait! Just wait!” the mother says.

Holy shit, is she actually going to choose? It’s pretty obvious that the elves are just toying with the parents. They’re going to kill both children either way. And even if they did let one go, he’s too young to know how to survive on his own when they kill the parents, too. I doubt he would last a week.

Where is Rukh? He should stop this.

While they’re distracted, I begin to back away, using the screaming and crying to mask my footsteps. Then all of a sudden, the screaming stops. I halt in place, my fingers trembling as I hold onto the tree in front of me.

“Put them down,” Rukh says.

He’s still here? I peek out, and sure enough, there he is, standing with one arm outstretched while the dark elves hover in mid-air. But they aren’t giving up easily, still clutching the human children.

As I watch, I realize that the dark elves are moving their mouths, but nothing is coming out. Rukh has taken away their ability to speak. And by the looks of it, they are furious about it.

“No?” Rukh says, shooting them a cruel smile. “That’s okay.”

He lifts his other hand, blasting a ball of blue fire towards the elves. Their arms go up in flames, and the kids begin to fall. The parents rush forward, catching them before they can hit the ground.

“Get out of here now,” Rukh shouts at them without even glancing their way.

I watch the family run, both mother and father carrying a child. Sadness washes over me, knowing that while they survived this encounter, that doesn’t mean they won’t die of starvation or sickness. Or worse.

Rukh steps closer to the elves, eyes narrowing in on them, completely focused. The fire that was burning on their skin dissipates like it was never there.

“Despicable,” he mutters. “Hateful creatures. I never much liked your kind. All you do is take with no regard for the consequences. But now you will pay them.”

The first elf wails, regaining his ability to speak as his limbs start to crack one by one. With each twist of his hand, Rukh snaps his arms, legs, and lastly, his neck, before lunging towards him.

I look away as he feeds on him, unable to stomach the sight of it. When the second elf starts screaming, I look back. Dark tendrils climb their way up his skin, and by the looks of it, they’re burning him.

“Let me go!” the elf manages to gasp through the pain.

“Were you going to let those humans go?” Rukh asks, pausing for a moment.

“Yes! Yes, we were only messing with them!”

“That’s another thing about your kind. Always lying.”

“Please! I’m begging you!”

“The humans begged you, but you showed them no mercy. Why should I?”

“I’ll be good! I’ll never kill a human again!” he screams.

Rukh only laughs, the sound somehow even more cruel than the elf’s was earlier. He cocks his head to the side and watches as the black mist slowly eats away the elf’s flesh. The smell of burning skin wafts through the air, and once again, my stomach is a mess. I cover my mouth and nose with a hand, gagging.

As Rukh licks his lips and begins advancing, I take this as my cue to leave. I’ll wait for him a little farther away, but I can’t make myself watch this.

I find a tree far enough away that I can no longer smell the stench and lean against it, inhaling the fresh air. After witnessing what I just did, I understand more of why Rukh kills. He clearly seeks out those who are evil, like the elves back there.

It seems wrong to approve, however. I start to question myself and my own integrity if I can applaud the death of anyone. It goes against everything I thought I believed.

Does anyone have any right to play god? Is Rukh a demon or a savior? Could he be both?

And why does he do this, anyway? Is he truly motivated by some kind of noble purity that seems at odds with his demonic nature, or is there something he gets out of this that I can’t see yet?