Wanted

Rowan

____

A shriek of pain.

A look of horror.

Then blood.

Her blood.

The thick red liquid that spilled on the white tiled floor and splashed on the gray walls. The one that dripped from his claws which held at their tip, a faintly beating heart.

I could still remember how my heart had sank at the sight, how my kneels had buckled underneath me at my helplessness, how my eyes had watered with immerse grief as her last cry of pain rang through my ears over and over again. The emotions that went through me had quickly turned into burning rage that was set to destroy everything in it's path.

That night was the begining of my woes and misery.

The memory was one that stuck with me and stayed at the forefront of my mind ever since. It was something I would never forget, not even this pouring rain nor biting cold could wash it away from me.

Lightening flashed, and my gaze fell upon the name carved into the gravestone in my handwriting.

Arabelle.

My Arabelle.

For many years, I had come to this grave, fallen upon my kneels and wept. Seeking forgiveness over and over again, knowing in my heart that it would never be granted.

At first, I had thought that there was a way for me to bring her back to life, and so many years had I spent in searching for such solution. Many had told me that it was impossible, but I never listened till I was forced to find out on my own, that it was, indeed, impossible.

Giving up hurt more than going on, but going on would only lead to a dead end.

I was stuck. For the next many years I was stuck, till my guilt, frustration and anger lead me to the vengeful doorsteps of revenge.

A snap.

My ears perked at the light rattling behind me, my nose scrunched up at that disgusting whiff in the air.

That smell.

I knew it all too well.

The Night Crawlers? But why? They only fought against those that wronged them personally and I had done nothing to them.

The almost silent swinging of metals flying in the air, made me duck, letting the ninja stars meant for me, plant themselves right into Arabella's gravestone instead, green liquid washing off their jagged ends due to the rain.

Red clouded my sight in an immediate fury.

Fucking bastards!

How dare they alter her resting place?

The lightening flashed again and I could see their long uneven shadows moving behind me as they maneuvered through their hiding places.

My brows furrowed in anger and my claws shot out with precise intensity to defend and kill.

Knowing that their first plan to weaken me had failed miserably, they came out at me, rushing towards me with full force, but I was just as quick and to their disadvantage, more calculative.

The ninja stars I sent flying in the air were endless, they cut through rotting flesh, drawing black blood and causing a foul smell to fill the air of the rainy night.

With the weapons dug all around them, tall skeleton figures still moved quickly towards me, monstrous growls and shrieks ringing from the depth of their visible throats, their excessively long tongues hanging out of their open mouths and dripping with green venom, ready to rip their victim apart with their fangs, quick claws sweeping barely pass me, an attack I skillfully missed.

One cut from their venomous claws would weaken me and that would be it.

One cut was all they needed.

Monsters, the lots of them.

I still had no idea what they were after and why they were attacking me, but I had something to protect.

Two things.

The golden armours I had on my two wrists. If I were to lose them, I'd lose my mind.

I threw myself to the back of one, digging my claws into the slippery flesh and grabbing unto the skeleton beneath in order to get a grip. The black blood that oozed out, poured around my wrists armour, down to the Night Crawler's back. I endured the putrid smell that shot into my lungs after, but the shriek that tore through the Night Crawler's throat almost left me deaf.

It swayed around violently, trying to get me off its back, but my grip only tightened around his bones with a death grip. I couldn't let go, the Night Crawlers were too much for me to fight in my weakened state. I was still nursing the cuts on my back that I had received from the attackers I encountered in the early hours of this morning, from where I had retrieved one of the wrist armours I now had on. I needed to use this Night Crawler as my shield and weapon to get things done.

Lucky for me, Night crawlers were as stupid as they were dangerous.

Trying to get me, the rest turned on it, attacking with fierce intensity.

Now, they were divided. Enemies.

My Night Crawler attacked right back, reaching it's claws into the chest of the others, dragging out the glowing gem imbedded deep within them, smashing it away, letting the Night Crawler that formerly possessed the glowing piece of rock, drop dead on the floor, their black blood spilling into the mud, rain beating down on their now lifeless skeletons and fermenting flesh.

It went on and on, till the Night Crawler grew weak but before he was brought to it's kneels. I found another victim, till the only Night Crawler left was the one I held unto.

Without wasting time, I pushed my hand all the way into it's back, breaking bones to withdraw the life gem in it, then I yanked it out and smashed it.

With a ear splitting shriek, it staggered and I hoped off before it fell to the ground.

My heart racing wildly in my chest, I ran to Arabella's gravestone, using a piece of rock, I knocked out the ninja stars that had been earlier stuck to it. But there was a dead Night Crawler on the grave and it irked me to see it there.

Pushing it away, I realized there was a small leather bag stuck to it's bony waist.

I picked it up and flipped it open, only to find in it a piece of paper.

My lips tugged up in a smirk upon reading it's content.

There was a picture of me, above it, the words, "Wanted Alive or Dead" and a very attractive bounty below.

I chuckled darkly, tossing the piece of paper into the mud, as I hunched over in a maniacal laughter.

Finally, the Wrath King considered me as a notable threat.

I had been expecting that.

In fact, I wondered why it took him this damn long.

I couldn't celebrate for long though, dropping on the piece of paper in my hand was rain and red liquid.

My blood.

A Night Crawler must have scratched me in the midst of all that fight.

I went down on one knee with a thud.

Hungry.

Weak.

Lacked strength.

I needed to feed immediately or else, I wouldn't like what I would become.

Quicker than I could blink, I formed a portal to the easiest realm and teleported.