Mercy in the Dark

Drip. Drip. Drip.

The smell of filth and rot clung to every breath.

I sit quietly, looking around the miserable, dank little prison cell. I was tempted to laugh. Did those pathetic, small-minded men really think this, or truly any cell could ever hold me? They feared what I was, but they truly had no idea how much power I commanded. I could have killed them a hundred times over by now. I sighed. Sometimes having a conscience really puts a damper on a girl.  

They called me evil or a demon, but it was not my heart that was tainted black by ruthless deeds. The cruel men who had locked me up here made me look like an angel in comparison. I snorted slightly, a small smile tipping the corner of my mouth. Well, maybe a fallen angel would be a better description for me.

I leaned my head back against the wall. It felt like it had been ages since I had had the opportunity to rest. How I longed for a soft bed to lay my weary body down on. I glanced around me in disgust, or just a floor not covered in filth. Even that would be acceptable at this point.

Despite the disgusting accommodations, I felt myself grow drowsy and my eyelids heavy. As I slowly slipped away into my unconscious mind, where, for a few moments at least, I could find peace.  

I startled awake, launching off the floor into a crouched position, frantically searching for the source of the noise that had awakened me. There were no lights, and my eyes refused to adjust to the darkness. I took a deep breath and centered myself, reaching out with my mind in all directions. There! I heard it again, a muffled cry. I could feel the pounding heart, ragged breath, and could smell the absolute terror and desperation. My brows furrowed together as I sensed more of the person making the cry. It was little more than a child.

Gritting my teeth, I opened my soul and allowed my power to reach out to determine the cause of her cries. Her hands were tightly bound over her head, and she was hanging, her toes just barely scraping the blood-stained floor below her. I felt her tense and then scream again as the whips lashed her back, tearing through cloth and flesh. I began to tremble, fury taking hold at the pain being inflicted on her. A child, an innocent child! I recoiled as the pain of the lash landing on her back again seared through my skin.

My reasons for being here no longer mattered. I breathed out an unsteady breath and closed my eyes. I had promised myself I would never use this power again. Then another scream. I called up my darkness.  

I felt it settle over my skin and refused to think of the physical changes now happening. My only focus was on ensuring that the child never felt another lash. My eyes shot open, and what once was impenetrable darkness now was as bright as day. I walked over to the entrance and simply laid my hand on the door. It shattered and fell to dust at my feet. I reached for the girl’s mind. Then the world folded around me. When it settled again, I stood before the man holding the whip.

I watched as the look on his face changed from sadistic enjoyment to terror. Then I looked at the child. I felt her pain as my own. Every cut and tear on her small back was burned into my memory. How had one so small and young survived such horror?  

Gently, I held my hand out toward her, lightly touching her slender arm. I raised my head and called on my powers once more. The jailer screamed and tried to run, but there would be no escape for him today. I threw my hand out toward him and, with my power latched onto his very life essence, locking him in place, then I began to speak. The words that had been imprinted on my soul as an infant, I took all the injuries, the suffering, and the pain for the innocent child and funneled them through myself into the man who inflicted them on her. I watched in satisfaction as his body began to break and bleed as the injuries he had just been inflicting on her returned tenfold upon himself.

I healed every wound on that poor child, every scratch, and passed them on to that sorry excuse for a human being.  

I felt myself beginning to weaken; pain had always been the price of my magic. Every life I saved left its scar on me. But in the end, she was left perfectly healed, asleep and resting in a blissful dream, and he was moaning in agony on the filthy floor. With a whoosh, I released the power and let it seep out of me and back to whatever dark place it had come from. I was shaking slightly as I carefully untied the girl and took her in my arms to carry her away from this cursed place. My questions could wait till another time to be answered.  

Later, I sat on a log staring into the small fire I had built. I had carried the small child as far away as I could before the strain of my time in that cell, and the use of my power was too great, and I was forced to find a secure place for us to hide away and rest. My mind was in turmoil as I sat quietly staring. Why was such a young child locked away in such a place? Who would want to hurt her and why?  

My entire life, I had to act with caution. I spent most of it hiding and did my best to only help when I could do so without being seen. It was how I had survived. But today I had thrown all that aside and acted without thought. What was it about this child that made me forget everything else? I sighed heavily as I watched the hypnotic play of the flames.  

I glanced over at her sleeping form. I had known this for less than a day. Yet somehow I already knew I would burn the world before I let anyone hurt her again. I knelt and with bowed head I silently swore to the gods that she would have my protection for as long as she might have need of it.

I slowly pulled my dagger from its sheath. Then I loosened the ties at the neckline of my tunic, tugging it aside to reveal my shoulder. I closed my eyes and began to chant the spells of binding and guardianship under my breath, weaving back and forth as I did so. I felt the bite of the tip of the knife as my hand moved of its own volition, cutting the tattoo into my skin that would bind me to the protection of this child. The magic took its blood price. When it was finished, I sank back onto the forest floor, exhausted. I forced myself to call upon my magic once more to heal the wound on my shoulder before resting back against the log and surrendering to the exhaustion pulling at my limbs.

As I began to slip away into the blissful oblivion of sleep, I uttered one word, thrusting out strands of awareness throughout the forest around us, ensuring that if anything were to approach us, it would ensnare them. That done, I closed my eyes and let my dreams take me away.

I felt her mind stirring long before my eyes ever opened. I felt for any signs of intruders, but there was nothing there but birds and small animals. The child was beginning to stir, and I could feel the confusion in her mind as she tried to make sense of what had happened. I slowly opened my eyes and sat up quietly against the log and stirred the flames back up from the coals they had banked into to warm us in the chill of the early morning. The child groaned, and I immediately did a sweep of her physical condition. She was perfectly healthy except for a little soreness from sleeping on the ground. Satisfied, I rested my head back, waiting for her to awaken.  

I am not sure what I expected when she woke. I had no experience with children, but from what I had witnessed in marketplaces, they were noisy, unruly creatures. This child simply sat up, rubbed the sleep from her eyes, and waited. Just sat there staring at me with large, solemn gray eyes. I had never seen eyes that color before, and it was unsettling how much they seemed to see. I shifted uncomfortably.

“What is your name, child?”

 My voice came out gravelly, rough from disuse. I cleared my throat. She simply continued staring at me with those huge eyes.

“Can you speak?”

Nothing, not even a flicker. Well, alright then. I stood and looked around, trying to decide my next move. I put my hands on my hips and sighed.

“Well, girl, we can’t stay here forever. We will need food and shelter. I need to know why you were in that place if you want me to protect you. I need to know where the danger is coming from.”

The girl tilted her head slightly and frowned. I sighed again, dropping my head into my hands. Perhaps she didn’t understand my language. I pushed my thoughts into her mind, images to show what I was asking her. She smiled slightly and then shook her head.  

Finally, she shook her head, and her voice came out soft and tremulous.

“Is this real?”  

“Am I imagining you?”

My heart broke at the fear and hope warring in her voice. I could sense the turmoil in her; she was so afraid to believe that she had been saved. I smiled gently and held my hand out toward her.  

“I promise you, I am real.”

I pulled my shirt to the side to show her the healed scar.  

“Do you know what this is?” I asked her.

Her eyes widened as she looked at it.

“It’s the mark of a sworn guardian.”

I nodded.

“That’s right. I am your guardian now, child. I will stay by your side and keep you safe for as long as you need me.”

Tears filled those strange gray eyes, and I shifted uncomfortably.  

“Now, please. Can you tell me your name and what happened to you?”