Payne stood up and scanned the darkness, the shadows almost impossible to see through. He knew he was being followed and he had an idea by who. Closing his eyes a moment, he drew a breath and listened to the near still sounds of the forest. Five miles, maybe six. They could cover that distance faster than he could. Any Tormentor would be an even match for a Shadow Fiend, but Payne was not just any Tormentor. He was seen as weak by his own kind. Tall, willowly and gentle, he had a soft spot in his black heart no other of his kind had. As a youngling he found a dying dog and instead of torturing it in its final hours, he held it in his arms and cried, finally making one single violation of the animal’s life to create a monstrous Tormentor-dog pet. His father slit the dog’s throat when brought home and beat Payne for hours with a whip to teach him a lesson.
“Youngling, you are weak!” He hissed between lashes. “How dare you use our powers to make your own pet. If the council were to find out, they would end your life slowly”
Payne shuddered as the sound of his father’s voice echoed in his mind… so many years past and he went off on his own, away from the rest of his family. The only minor familiar thing he kept with him was the ragged teddy bear he’d found in an empty farm house as a youngling, tucked away in his tight coat. His long fingers stroked the lump where the little toy lay underneath and hidden away.
He shook his head, to bring him back to the now, moving quickly to find a place best suited to defend himself against the enemy. The shadows were used to their advantage, but Payne knew what would work for himself. A mile along the shallow creek was a enough of a drop off to make a decent waterfall… here he could back himself against the stone and face the enemy and have a chance to save his own skin.
It took him no time at all to find the rock wall, the water tumbling down over the stones. This would have to do, it was only a little taller than himself, but he crouched down with a long piece of wood gripped in his hand to wait. He felt his way to the middle where the rock created a bit of an overhang, his coat slick with water and his boots heavy, making his progress difficult, but he could hear the odd whispers over the splashing water. “Seee… you.”
He turned to face the shadows in front of him.
“Weakling…. all alone.”
Payne let out a hiss, but sadly it was one that wouldn’t instill fear in a rabbit let alone a Shadow Fiend. Perhaps the rabbit did faint, he couldn’t know for sure.
“Alone… unwanted.” The voice whispered.
He growled like an angry feline. “Never!” his voice cracked a bit has he uttered the word.
The darkness seemed to chuckle as a pair of red eyes peered at him from the shadow. “Coward… hide in the waterfall like a frog.”
Payne finally bared his sharp teeth at the being. “Hardly… if you are so brave, you come forward!”
The shadows seemed to fold around the eyes and the male finally stepped forward. “Fine, I will come and get you coward Tormentor.” The long black-purple hair moved like a veil around his face, his own twisted smile full of sharp teeth. “I don’t fear your kind and to kill the coward Tormentor will be an easy one too.”
Payne shook a bit in rage, which the other being took for weakness and came forward slowly and further from the shadows. “An easy kill for me, yes….”
“No female… no one wants you. Such an embarrassment you are. Kill you and keep your head for a trophy.
Without the shadows, the Fiend had much less power, but was still strong. Thankfully he didn’t see the long branch he gripped in his arm under the falling water.
“Bold statements for you, tracking down a Tormentor!” Between his own anger and the cold water, he couldn’t help but chatter his teeth, making the Shadow Fiend laugh even more. Stopping only outside an arms length from Payne he looked him square in the eyes. “Are you ready to die young one?” Without hesitation, Payne swung his arm, log and all, bringing the full force across the side of the Fiend’s head, knocking him down. Taking the opportunity to pounce on the falling creature, he dug his claws into the other’s face as he pushed it down under the water.
The Fiend scrambled to dig his own hands to free his face, now submerged under the cold water. In a panic, he tried to squirm away from the young Tormentor, but soon he would need to breath or slip into the shadows to escape.
Payne clung to the wiggling being, desperately trying to throw a leg around the other’s body to hold him down till he drowned. It was a true fight to the death… and within five minutes was over as the Fiend sucked down water instead of air. Gasping for his own breath, Payne finally let go after feeling the other creature stop fighting. He gripped the male by the hair and pulled him from the creek, twisting its neck to make sure it was truly dead before dropping to his knees in the gravel. The weak Tormentor killed his first foe. He would be welcomed home as one of his own again with no questions.
For some time he sat, shivering against the cold before moving to the dead body. A trophy… he must return with something! He turned the lifeless body over to stare into the eyes that had turned black. The head would be too cumbersome to carry, but the signet ring of the Shadow Fiends would be perfect for one. He pulled the ring off the finger and stopped, slipping it back on and severing the whole hand from the arm. A hand would do perfectly. Not only bring the ring, but the whole hand of his enemy home! He nodded, then bent over and gagged, spilling bile and some of the remnants of his last meal next to himself. This would be something he’d have to live with for a very long time.
He moved to pull the Fiend’s bag from its body and shoved the hand inside, then searched the body for other trinkets and weapons to take with him. When satisfied, he stood slowly and made his way in the direction of home.
The demon was now dead.
