Page 76 of Monsters of Desire and Nightmares of Passion

The village waits for me at the end of the road, like a spot frozen in time. Only it isn’t. Half of the houses are broken down and covered by a strange, red growth. The streets are empty. Shadows are not borne, at least not in the classic sense, but there are always young ones around to learn the art of war. Only no there’s nobody. Nothing.

Silence surrounds me on the narrow streets as I walk towards my brother’s hut. I feel eyes watching me from behind closed doors, small windows cracked to cast their gaze on the stranger who moves freely on the streets of the village.

All my friends are dead, and these people here were only leftovers.

“I’m Draw, son of Drug. I am here to lead you into battle.”

The call that escapes my chest makes me shiver. I hope for the familiar roar of war. Instead, all I hear are doors being shut fast.

The central square of the small village was our meeting spot, at least since we were pushed away from the Capital. Why did I allow that? They condemned me. Even now, I feel it. But then, at that moment, I believed it was the right decision. I needed stay close to Ivy. No, I wanted to stay close to Ivy. She was… she is the most important first to me, more important than even my own people. I’m paying for it now.

“Fuck off. Xam is our leader,” a voice calls out from behind a closed door.

“Show yourself.”

“No.”

“Coward.”

The voice is silent.

“You can find me at my brother’s hut. I’m here. The Church of Light is back, and they’re stronger than ever. They have the means and numbers to resurrect The Demented Dark Lord. We all know what that means. If you’re not a bunch of cowards, you will step out from the darkness and take your rightful place again. We are strong warriors. We are here to stay. We’ll take back The Land of Nightmares. It’s ours.”

My hopes are crushed as I look around, wishing at least one of my brothers would show up. No one came. I walk slowly towards Xam’s hut.

Xam can help Ivy. He’s the only healer left.

He’s also my only blood brother and I miss him, but if I tell him that he’ll punch me in the face.

I lean against his house and stare at the familiar sky I’ve missed, waiting for him to step out and talk to me. Time passes, but time here in our realm is different from human time. It goes slower.

The door opens and Xam exits hut, heading toward me. He’s silent. As he gets closer, he pulls out from a hidden pocket of his tattered robe a bottle with a dark liquid inside.

“She’s going to be fine.” Xam gives me the bottle. I take a long dip, allowing the familiar burn to run down my throat.

“Thank you.”

Xam shrugs. “I heard you challenge them. They won’t fight. They don’t care.”

“It’s my duty… our duty as leaders to make them care. Father would.”

Xam’s fist clutches my throat. “Leave father out of this. I held his hand when he died. He went mad after the loss of his last mate. Mating is wrong.”

“You had a mate once, and you loved her.”

“And she died.”

“That doesn’t cancel your feelings for each other.”

“Draw, I don’t know what the fuck you want. You come here with your half-dead mate and ask me to heal her. I did. Now you want me to rattle up the few people who are still faithful to our bloodline and do what? Send them to die in the human real, fighting The Church of Light?”

“Yes.”

“You left us. You turned our back on us. You allowed this to happen. This is all that’s left. The others are all under her heel.”

Xam looks down to the ground.

We share another sip of the bottle. This must be how defeat tastes.

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