Sneak Peek: Scars, Chapter 25 (Patreon)

We're almost to the end of this arc; the final battle awaits. To hopefully pique your interest, here is a snippet of what to expect from the upcoming chapter. The fight doesn't appear to be going well, and Melody herself begs Khy-kala to find a way to live... but one that may have a price of its own.

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“Your concern,” Khy-kala rasped as she pulled herself closer to her sword. “Touches me. But if I die, you’ll get what you wanted.” She coughed blood again, laughing cruelly. “Freedom.”

Are you willing to sacrifice your life for that act of spite, elf? To leave so much undone, your redemption unattained? Is that worth my suffering at this moment?

“Anything is worth that.” Her sword was just out of reach and she stretched out her hand towards it, claws scratching over the church’s floor.

And the mayfly? The little mite that you wrapped your arms around like a newfound pet? Did you not make a promise to her, Khy-kala? Would you break it and let the curse take hold of her?

Khy-kala’s fingertips could just touch the pommel of her sword, but she couldn’t grip it. “What... would you have me do?”

The answer, when it came, was no surprise. You know what I would have you do, little rabbit. Take part of me. Enough to live. Continue your little struggle to keep me caged for one more day. Or let it all end here. Everything you hope to accomplish and atone for, the promise you made to that doe-eyed bovine. Lose everything now... or merely risk a greater battle in the future.

She reached out towards Khy-kala, a delicate hand arising from black water. Take what you need, Khy-kala, the demon entreated. And only what you need, if it means you live.

It wasn’t from kindness that Melody made this offer and Khy-kala knew that every pact bartered with the creature would make it easier for the demon to claw its way out of its fleshy prison. Every concession would damn her a little more. Even this gift would weaken the hinges of Melody’s cage...

...but she could see the faces of the men and women of Janth’s Bend. They’d sent for her. Trusted her. They kept knowledge and memory of her people alive in a place no one would imagine it, but it wasn’t just them. Jilene’s face rose to the forefront of the elf’s thoughts. The sound of her voice, the tremble in when she stuttered and started babbling. The scent of her, so close to Khy-kala and the way her frightened murmurs faded away when the elf pressed closer to her... the blood Khy-kala had found her sitting in, the horror and shame in her eyes...

The indescribably perfect hand beckoned her gently, almost submissively. Take what you need, Melody’s words were a soft, loving symphony. Live. Be the predator I know you are and kill this thing. For yourself and for the little mite and the promise you made.

Trembling, Khy-kala’s hand inched not towards the edge of her sword, but the demon’s own outstretched hand. She would never know if she could resist Melody’s offer, or if she would have given in. Before she could do either, the vampire regained its equilibrium and staggered towards the crawling elf, grabbing her by the throat and lifting her off the ground, her hands desperately grasping for the sword that lay just out of reach.