Discovered

Emma had suffered through many moments of incredulity in her brief life. Her parents' deaths. Being forced from her home. Even watching as a great pike broke free from its harnessing spear on the docks, its monstrous fins and toothy, gulping mouth laying waste to the fishermen nearby. All of these filled her with shock, sadness, and fearful disbelief at the senselessness. None compared with what had just happened.

She huddled mostly nude in the corner of a warehouse, heatless emerald flames still dancing upward from her eyes, licking at her matted blonde hair, their shadows playing along the walls in the dark corner where she rocked slowly back and forth. Emma clasped her hands tight against her face as if able to hold her shattered thoughts together and glanced toward the twisted empty doorway she'd come in from.

The metal door itself lay bent and mangled halfway across the warehouse, its crumpled form bearing silent witness to the fury she'd unleashed. Still, several long hours later, emerald lightning occasionally flicked across its misshapen surface, throwing the dust drifting through the warehouse into sharp relief. Her eyes found the pile of snow which had formed in the empty entrance to the warehouse, drifting lazily to and fro in the wind's embrace. She was helpless to stop the tears springing to her eyes from slipping down her dirty, pale cheeks.

What had she done? Those boys were dead. Torn apart like crepe paper in a gale. She'd felt their horror and agony as whatever power had possessed her coursed through their bodies, ripping their very being from them. Their twisted expressions lingered in her mind, terror and agony contorting their features into garish caricatures. What had happened to her? What had she visited upon them?

She was her, and yet not at the same time. Other beings had rushed into her, their voices were whispering and cajoling her, nipping at the fringes of her mind with indistinguishable warnings and promises. There was one, though, far more powerful, and vengeful than the others. The voice was animalistic and primal. Something still human, but so enraged and hurt it had devolved into a monstrosity of pure darkness and hate.

That creature had used the power she hadn't known she possessed, coupled with her terror and anguish to mow those boys down like grain before the reaper. The monster had merged with her, intermingling with her body, mind, and soul to lash out with devastating effect.

Had that been the end of the process, she might have been rather relieved. Yet the voice was in her head. She sensed the beast of darkest obsidian as if it were a physical presence prowling through the corridors of her mind, waiting for the chance to unleash its rage again.

What should she do? The bodies would be discovered sooner or later. When they were, she would be whisked away to the dungeons of the city watch, or the mines or, gods help her, the batteries. She had to escape! Whatever the power had torn away from those people had filled her. The essence she'd absorbed from the boys had invigorated her in a way no meal ever had.

She felt new and exuberant. She was still physically hungry and longed for nourishment, but her spirit and mind were full. The power coursing through her body, crackling at her fingertips and licking upward from her eyes was amazing and…addictive.

Yes, she was still hungry, but she knew the beast within her was as well. The monstrosity hungered for more and more of what it had stolen, and she had to flee before she gave in to the needs of the monster in her mind. She could run as far as needed, but she had to find somewhere safe to think. Somewhere sheltered to breathe and figure out her next steps. To do that, she decided finally, she needed to get away from here.

Emma stood shakily, smoothing the remains of her ruined clothes, trying to spread the tattered fabric out to cover as much of her nudity as possible. While able to salvage the scraps of her dress, she found them to be sorely lacking. Possibly…maybe they had money, she thought. If so, she might buy some clothes and something to eat. Was that wrong?

She'd killed them. Ended them as easily as a cook snapped the neck of a chicken and now, she was going to rob them? She closed her eyes and sighed deeply in the darkness. The power still licked and surged on the fringes of her consciousness like a snake, but Emma had control for the moment. How long she could maintain was anyone's guess and the fear of what would happen if she slipped gripped her in its icy grasp.

Unnerved and overwhelmed, Emma ran her hands through her pale blonde hair to try to settle her thoughts. They were going to rape me, she reasoned. They were going to rape and kill me, and I was defending myself. There was no doubt about that. She had merely defended herself. She had killed them before they could torture her.

Now that they were dead, it only made sense to take some measure of dignity and humanity back from the boys who had every intention of stealing both. Besides, taking their money would be no worse than what she'd already wrought.

No. It wasn't right. She had already killed them. Nothing could bring them back, but trying to profit from their deaths certainly wasn't justified. She would simply have to make do. First, though, she had to get away from here. Even if her crime was self-defense, she doubted the guard would see the matter in the same light and just let her go. Still, the prisons would give her a warm place to sleep and a meal. No. The prisons were no place of respite, and she certainly didn't want whatever had happened to happen again. She had to flee. Her mind made up, she opened her eyes and froze in fear.

Five figures had appeared in the doorway. They moved silently into the warehouse, spreading out slightly as if to bar any escape. For a brief, panicky moment she was afraid it was the spirit of the boys she'd killed come to exact revenge, but it became clear quickly these people were neither apprentice fishermen nor, in fact, all male at all. What should she do?

Emma glanced around the warehouse, the dancing shadows from the fires in her eyes gradually fading and searched for a way to escape. No avenue immediately presented itself, except perhaps the windows. Emma wondered if she should bring up the power from before, her mind seized on the possibility, and a thrill of anticipation ran through her body. She heard the monstrosity clambering through the chambers of her mind screaming in frenzied excitement.

No. Whatever she'd done before was too frightening and dangerous to use. She wasn't sure she could call on it as one would a barkeep in a tavern, and she was almost certain she had no way of controlling it. Best to leave the power alone for now, Emma decided.

She just had to convince whoever it was she was a useless stray hiding from the cold. Her gaze flicked to the wrecked iron door lying twisted on the warehouse floor and winced. Still, she reasoned, there was no way anyone would believe someone like her was capable of doing anything like that.

"Ye don' 'ave t' worry," one of the figures said, her voice echoing in the empty room. Emma jumped in surprise at being addressed, her heart pounding with fear. "We're no' 'ere t' hurt ye. We wan' t' help ye."

"I-I don't know what you mean," Emma's voice wavered, and she stepped away from the wall a pace toward the closest window. "I'm ju-just trying to keep warm. I didn't know th-this place was off limits. I'm s-sorry! I'll leave!"

"What's yer name?" the figure said, coming closer. She was a pretty girl with long red hair falling in waves over her shoulders and down her back. A frilly red dress could be seen beneath the heavy leather coat she wore. The rings on her fingers glinted dully and a wide, friendly smile crossed her lightly freckled face and caused her eyes to crinkle charmingly.

"E-Emma."

"Emma, a lovely name t' be sure." The girl held her hands up to show Emma she was unarmed. "M' name's Kiley. The Empress sent me t' keep ye safe."

"Huh?" Emma blinked in surprise.

"Ye taught th' ones outside a lesson, aye?" Kiley gestured with her head toward the door and the bodies in the alley.

"N-No! I didn't! I was just…trying to stay warm!"

"It's ok!" Kiley's smile broadened. "Believe me, no one's angry wi' ye! As I said, I'm here t' help ye. We'll take ye somewhere safe and get ye some food and somethin' nice to wear before takin' ye to meet the Empress."

"I don't understand," Emma managed. The Empress? THE Empress? The one in the castle? The one who ruled the country wanted to meet her? This made no sense. It also seemed staggeringly dangerous given the turn the evening had taken.

"I know ye have a ton a questions, an' I swear we'll answer 'em in time. For now, we need t' be off. It's no' safe here." Kiley held her hand out toward Emma. "I swear I won't let anythin' happen to ye." Emma hesitated a moment before reluctantly taking the proffered hand. It certainly didn't feel like she had much choice in the matter.