Chapter 28: The Icy North (III) Creatures in the Night

Killian sat up and stretched his legs. His body retained a warmth that fought the cold air on his skin, and he got on his feet.

The small bird flew to his shoulder nuzzling into his neck and blonde hair, giving it a small illuminating glow to it from the magic.

'Thanks', he said petting it, unsure what had happened during his sleep, but only this creature had been with him, and he had somehow survived the cold.

The darkness around him was still the same, but his body had rested and he started moving forward again, exploring the tunnel ahead of him.

His stomach was empty and the discomfort soon returned, but he kept pushing ahead in silence, with the occasional chirps from the little creature.

Cold air caressed his cheek bringing him a subtle rotten smell, making his already upset stomach turn for the worse.

The smell became worse as he proceeded forward, where he reached a fork in the cave.

The light around him disappeared, as the little bird scurried in under his shirt, hiding behind layers of clothing without a sound.

That was when he heard it, the high-pitched sound of metal scraping against stone like someone was sharpening knives in the depths of the cave, the sound echoing at the walls, bringing with it the stench of rot and death.

Killian held his nose and pressed himself against the side of the cave, sliding sideways along it, till his body fit into a small crevice, the sharp rock poking holes in his clothes and scraping his skin.

Footsteps were heard together with the constant scraping sound of metal on the hard rock surface, the sound interconnecting with itself as if it was several knives being sharpened.

"Hurry up, I want to get out of here, I am hungry".

A high-pitched scratchy sound more like a shriek than a voice echoed through the cave, seemingly close to where Killian was hiding.

The pitch-black around him was pushed back by a yellow light approaching, spreading over the sharp edges of the wall he was trying to press against.

"Why do those smelly humans want this so bad, it is useless rock", the sharp voice continued.

Killian heard a snort nearby and froze in his spot.

"Why should we care, it helps us get rid of them if they walk around killing themselves over shiny rocks instead".

Killian peeked from the hallway he was in, quickly covering his mouth as he saw two creatures he had never seen before.

Before him at the fork in the hallway, stood two creatures, the upper body was that of a human, and their lower body from the waist down was that of a bird. The arms had normal human hands with long claw-like fingernails, and from the arms grew long metal-like feathers, that dragged over the ground, creating the scraping sound, Killian had heard.

The smell was horrible and Killian panicked as his stomach turned, trying to keep himself from throwing up where he stood.

The bird inside his shirt chirped, and his heart stopped, with it his breath as he tried to listen for the scraping of metal, hoping it had covered the sound of the bird.

But there was nothing, no sounds at all, all sounds had seized.

The dim light instantly disappeared, and the tunnel was back in its dark surroundings.

Minutes passed, without any sounds, and Killian was confused.

'Did they leave?'.

He wanted to peek.

'Then why did they shut the light off so suddenly, they had not just walked away with it'.

He knew they were there, they must have heard him, why else would they have gone quiet.

'They are waiting for me… for me to show myself first', he thought.

His legs were tired, and his mind was racing, unsure about what to do.

This was nerve-wracking. What should he do?

Minutes passed, and he closed his eyes trying to calm his mind and tried to breathe slowly and calmly without a sound.

He listened to the silence feeling his body, and the air around it, still smelling the awful stench, that gave away that they had not left. They were still there.

His mind would not rest, filled with fear and uncertainty he tried to calm himself.

That's when he felt it, something familiar, a small strain of invisible force, like he could touch it but not see it. It surrounded his body as a thin layer on his skin. It felt alive and was slowly moving around him like it was a source from the outside that had decided to caress his body.

He concentrated on the pain in his legs, and he felt how the thin layer moved down to cover them more, dulling the pain in his muscles as it did.

'Is this …magic?'.

His heart beat faster in his chest, hoping he had finally found a small glimpse of magic within himself.

From what Dante had taught him, and what he had read, people in this place were born with magic, and it was when they had created their core, that they would be able to utilize it. However he had never felt any core within the body of the young Killian, he was now in.

Whatever it was, it was reacting to his thoughts and movements, like an invisible thing, that had taken a liking to him.

'How do I use this?'

He held on to the cane clenching his fist around it, trying to concentrate this unknown force over his body at his will.

Nothing happened around him, everything was still, but he was starting to feel hot in this cold place, and his back was sweating against the rock.

Clink!

A Sharp metal object slid across the rock wall near his head, embedding it deep into the stone.

"Found you little rat".

He could no longer feel the thin force around him, as his mind was solely focused on what was in front of him.

The dim light was back, and he looked into dark black eyes with yellow irises.

With it was a row of metal feathers stretched out from the back of a human arm, pressing up against this throat in the dark.

He could no longer hold back and the foul stench coming from the feathers made his stomach give in, and he retched out his guts, feeling sick and weak in his body.

"Gross! Why are humans so disgusting!"

A pair of hands grabbed him by the shoulder, and with ease pulled him out from his hiding and threw him to the ground.

"How did he get in here? The entrance is monitored by Zeran, there is no way he would let a human in".

The voice was ignoring Killian laying on the floor, and the two birdlike human creatures started conversing like he wasn't even there.

"How should I know", the other one grunted back, and threw a kick at Killian who groaned as the power behind it was much stronger than he would have expected from those ugly chicken legs they were walking on.

Killian held on to his cane and tried to get up, but a hand grabbed him by the neck and the sharp feathers hanging from the arms were easily tearing through his clothes.

"You are coming with us, Zeran will want to talk to you".

A bored sigh came from the other creature, who was holding a small lamp with a candle.

"Can't we just kill it? We can leave the corpse here and eat it later".

Killian's eyes widened, and could only mutter small words in confusion.

"What.. are you?"

A chuckle rang through the cave, a chilling high pitched chuckle followed by the sound of metal rattling like chains, as it seemed his question had amused the thing that was holding him up with ease.

"Seems this young one, has not yet heard of us". There was a smile on the creature's human face, which almost seemed normal if the metal feathers weren't growing out of these human arms.

"You know, we were here first, before humans, yet you don't even know of us".

Killian regretted asking, as the breath coming from the one holding him carried a stench far worse than the feathers. It was like a rotting decomposing smell.

"Don't entertain him, he will barely be an afternoon snack, look how scrawny he is".

The disgust in the voice was evident, and Killian looked over at the other human

Like bird creature.

His face was not actually bad looking and the hair on his head was black as a crow. Somehow if the bottom part was not visible and the disgusting smell not surrounding them, they could pass as normal humans to him.

To his stomach's demise, the creature threw him up over his shoulder, letting him hang over it like a bag of potatoes, not even worrying about tying him or somehow confining his hands and feet.

The sheer force made it clear to Killian, that they could tear his limbs apart like butter at any moment, or if they preferred they could simply skewer him with their feathers.

The option of escaping seemed slim, and his feet would not be strong enough to carry him far, as his body was already weak from hunger.

They didn't say they would kill him just yet, there was still hope that Dante and Stella would find him. He swallowed his saliva, knowing it was just wishful thinking, but did not let his mind think of the likely outcome this encounter had for him.

They came to a room in the cave, crudely carved out, and along the walls were piles of rocks.

A small desk was on the opposite end and Killian saw something red reflecting from the dim light of the lantern.

"It will be dark by the time we get out of these tunnels, just leave him here, We can bring him to Zeran tomorrow".

Killian was thrown back on the hard rock ground of the cave, having the air knocked out of him, and gasped while trying to get it back.

"It is your turn, I tore the last one out".

Killian didn't know what they were talking about and couldn't see much, but heard a small screech.

One of the creatures bend down and grabbed his hands while the other held one of their metal feathers in their hand and bend it around Killian's wrists with ease.

The sharp metal was cutting into his skin, and he was afraid it would be serious if he tried to wriggle them free.

Blood was already tickling down his forearm.

"Just wait patiently there little human".

They shoved him into a small adjacent room filled with more piles of rock and closed a crude heavy wooden door that barely fit. Leaving Killina in the cold darkness.