Ratter Ch. 03

When it stopped, she could feel him. Like a caress in her mind. His presence relaxed her body into a trance as her flesh responded to his touch. Through him she could feel her skin regenerating and the once broken bones growing stronger. He traced a mental hand along her abdomen and up to the base of her skull. She gasped at the weight on her mind as it struggled against his invasion. He withdrew, leaving her body cold and her mind in a haze. When her eyes opened, he was already gone.

She pulled back the sheet and studied her legs. Not even a scar. She stripped off the shirt, running her hand over her abdomen. The large scar had disappeared, so had the smaller cuts and bruises. Even her hair looked healthy. She smiled. Everything was back to normal. Everything except the small scar across her breast.

***

Despite the healing, April's thoughts kept her awake beyond exhaustion. She'd wrestled the covers for a couple of hours before settling for a cane chair by the window. It was raining. She loved the rain. It would be so easy to just forget why she was up and enjoy it. But she'd never sleep again.

Seere and Rane weren't human. Both had saved her life where they had no reason to. Somehow that made it easy to accept that they weren't human. But could she accept that she wasn't? She turned once again towards her reflection, it looked human enough.

Hybrid. Hybrid of what? She ran a hand over her face. Creatures she had no defense against were trying to kill her and she didn't know why. She looked human, she felt human. Title or not she needed to know what she was. But all she could think was 'This must be how Seere feels all the time.'

The floor creaked and she jumped out of the chair keeping her senses keen for another sound.It's a storm you idiot. Of course the house is going to creak.Despite her reasoning the panic rose in her throat. She was in foreign territory. How was she supposed to know what was normal and what wasn't? Silently she inched her way towards her bedroom door, peeking out into the hallway. She couldn't see anything, but then she hadn't seen anything before. Turning back into her room, she heard a loud crash and bolted to Seere's door.

Inside the room the storm was raging, and so it seemed was Seere. His body was writhing against the sheets, his arms lashing out at the air. Moving closer, she could see the source of the noise. The broken pieces of his lamp scattered on the floor beside him. She tiptoed around them and turned to Seere. His body was shaking and slick with sweat. His face scrunched up in pain and anger. The soft growl she'd heard when she entered the room had dulled to a whine now that she was closer. Avoiding his arms she reached forward and nudged his shoulder.

She shrieked as strong hands gripped her and threw her down, pinning her under his weight. She looked up, his eyes filled with a rage that rippled through his entire being sending his breath into a low growl.

His naked form moved against her and she could feel every inch through the shirt. It occurred to her she might want to scream, but it was taking all of her willpower not to wrap her legs around him and growl back. She gave a mental laugh at the thought.I am seriously fucked up.

His nails dug into her wrists and she yelped, "Seere"

Recognition and guilt flooded his face and he rolled off her running his hands through his hair. "God, I'm sorry"

"It's okay" she took a deep breath gaining some self control "you were thrashing about so much I thought I'd better try and wake you before you broke more than your lamp" when she turned towards him, he was looking over the side of his bed with a smile on his face.

"I hated that lamp. Guess my subconscious wanted revenge."

"I think you got it"

He smiled and the butterflies in her stomach stirred.Stop it,she ordered. They didn't listen. He was staring at her and she fumbled around for a distraction "so what did you dream about?"

He shifted back against the headboard and pointed to the black stone around his neck "this."

Curiosity overtook her common sense and she reached forward to run her hand over its smooth surface. Her fingers brushed against his skin and she jumped back, vaguely aware of the amused look he gave her. "You never said what it was"

"When I first met Rane, this was how he knew I was different. It shows images of the past. Every creature that walks in the human dimension and doesn't belong here is, for some reason, connected to it. Some are heroes giving their lives defending the human race, others are monsters"

"What does Rane say about it?"

His eyes narrowed "Rane's a funny creature. He knows a lot more than he tells. Whenever we're together, he always calls it 'the black stone'. Never by its real name, whatever that might be."

"Why would he hide things from you?"

"He thinks he's protecting me" April rolled her eyes and he laughed. "It's hard to understand when you haven't been through it." He admitted "Rane believes as most creatures do. That in order to become who you were meant to be, you need to fight for your right to be it. He won't key detail because he believes it would have a negative impact on my journey."

"Must be hard to accept"

"It is at times. I can tell he wants me to know things. Sometimes I think I should push him for it. But I know he's right. If he told me everything, I think my mind and spirit would be a lot weaker than it is now"

April yawned and leaned against the pillows another thought coming into mind. She eyed him warily, wondering how he would take it. "I lied about what happened on the cruise"

"I know"

"You know?"

"You're a terrible liar"

"Well, how much do you know?"

"Just that you lied. I try not to read minds."

She sighed. "After everything I know now, what happened doesn't seem so strange"

"Sounds promising" he smiled and she found herself smiling back.

"The party had finished and we'd dropped everyone at the shore. I was ready to leave but my uncle came up to me." She turned to him "I didn't want the party. I'd left that life and survived on my own for eight years. The whole point of those kinds of things was to assess which was the more profitable match for the host. He told me he was sorry, that he knew it was hard to be back and wanted to make it up to me.

He handed me an envelope with three tickets to my favorite band" she laughed "I was shocked he even knew what it was. By the look on Seth's face so was he."

"Who's Seth?"

"My older brother"

She looked at him curiously as he relaxed and waved his hand to continue. "Like I said, it came as a shock. Then he said we should take the boat since we had a couple of days, he thought it would be good for our family to spend that time together." She paused "I think I knew then that something was wrong. I just didn't let it bother me."

"It was the next night when it happened. I was on the deck looking down over the railing when I heard a shriek from behind me. I turned and there was...this thing. It looked deformed. Like a snake wrapped around a human body with yellow-green scales. It leaned forward on all fours; its knees bent the wrong way"

"Gataro"

"What?" she looked up startled

"Did it have webbed feet and hands?"

"Yes"

"It's called a Gataro. Rape, kidnap, murder...pure evil"

April nodded. "I froze. I just couldn't move. Seth came out from his cabin and saw it. He started grabbing things off the deck and throwing them. But it had already started running. A chair nicked its leg and it fell against me. Next thing I knew I was flying over the railing. I hit my head on the way down" Her eyes widened. "I hope Seth is okay. That thing didn't fall after me"

"He's okay"

"How do you know?"

"If he had the nerve to throw things at it, he wouldn't have stopped when it turned in for revenge. Gataro are easy to kill. One good swipe to the head would do it."

"But my uncle wouldn't believe it. He'd blame Seth for my disappearance"

Seere moved up beside her and pulled her against him. She relaxed against his chest and listened to the steady rhythm of his heart. "I know you don't want to hear it but Gataro aren't free thinkers. It wouldn't have attacked you without someone else pulling the strings."

She couldn't wrap her mind around his words. Her uncle had cared for them since they were young. Why would he hire someone to kill her now? The thought alone made her shiver. "Can I stay with you tonight" she whispered.

He gripped the blankets and eased them both against the pillows. His arms came around her and she nuzzled into his warmth, barely hearing the whispered "sure" before falling asleep.

***

It was a horrific place from the outside. Screams echoed over the river of lava encircling the castle, and all manner of beast surveyed the area tearing apart anyone who dared to stray from the grounds. Inside, however, was a different story. Musicians played and people danced. Conversation filled the air, and children laughed. It was hard to believe that it was the same place.

Luthen ran forward on two decaying mounds he'd been left with for legs. His claws gripped the bound wrists of a female who she stumbled along sobbing for clemency.

"Will you just SHUT UP?" he screamed at her. She fell silent looking around for someone to help her. No one met her gaze.

Luthen loved the sweet taste fear. With her silence, he could revel in it. It was the one emotion in all the dimensions that could override the need for any other. Not that he could blame the girl for being scared. Luthen himself was a sight with skin like charred tree bark and eyes red rubies in his withered skull. A kind of mucus oozed out of the flakes and dripped onto the ground as he walked. If he hadn't seen the sight every day for the past five hundred years, he would be scared of himself.

The voices died down as he hobbled quickly down a white stone hallway and into the throne room. So much white made Luthen uncomfortable, and in the throne room there was no other color. It made the dark body on the throne, the centre of attention.

"My Lord, there has been a sacrifice in your name"

A gloved hand gestured towards the girl. "Come forward"

Spellbound the girl stepped closer to the black robed figure. "What is your name girl?"

"Natalie sir"

"And do you know who I am Natalie?"

"N-no sir"

The man pulled back the hood of his robe. His hair looked almost black against the pale of his face, but the few strands that captured the light tinted green. The eyes that looked at her with such emptiness, were a grey just shy of the purity of the black center. A golden hawk rested on his shoulder studying her. Luthen smiled at her as stepped forward.

The man moved off his throne with grace, speaking with a slight accent she didn't recognize "I am Lord Gare and you will find me most demanding. His eyes never left hers as he moved towards her. "There are many things I will take from you Natalie."

He brought her hand to his lips. "Obey me and I offer reward; disobey me..." he spun her around to face a mirror "and I'll have to punish you." The mirror shifted to reveal a woman being brutalized by what looked like a rabid dog. She was screaming and begging for mercy while two other creatures, the size of a small child, tore at her flesh. Tears streamed down Natalie's face as the image turned back into a mirror.

A hand reached up to stroke her face "you're so beautiful when you cry" Gare whispered in her ear. Turning, he called to a guard. "Put her with the others." The guard nodded and dragged her away. Her sobs echoing down the hall.

Gare settled back into his throne before turning towards Luthen. "Now, where is the other one?"

Luthen swallowed knowing his master would not be pleased. There was no way to tell if he would be punished. Lord Gare's temper was notoriously unpredictable.

"We sent a Hije as you instructed, my Lord"

"A soldier?"

"Yes"

Gare sat forward his eyes narrowing at the creature "and he failed?"

"Our sources say he was killed by Jinn"

"And they're certain?"

"Yes"

Gare leaned back "good, then there's still time. The Jinn will be a problem. But he won't stay on the human plane for long and there are many creatures the Jinn have no power against." The room drowned in silence before a smile formed on his face. "Send her something more local...with teeth."

Luthen grinned. A Jinn was no help, with what Gare had in mind.