Chapter 2: Abomination
At first, she mistook his rasp for the snickering of little
girls just a short distance away. But strange sounds swirled through the
abomination’s rotting lungs, its exhalation culminating with a mangled whistle.
Aveline surged forward, not questioning the wings sprouting
from her back. She didn’t have the slightest notion how large they were or at
what velocity she was flying. All she knew was that she needed to get out of
there fast, even if it meant delving deeper into the void. “Light as a
feather-”
“Hasten thy demise!” The creature roared.
The little girl shot through the chasm with renewed vigor.
“Please mother, deliver me from this pit of ruin.”
“Only in ruin shall you find her. Now that I have come for
you, your reunion is all but certain.” The beast’s putrid stench filled her
nostrils.
His booming voice echoed through her, striking a familiar
cord. “I know you. You were in my backyard with the fairies just a short while
ago.”
“Are you certain of that?”
Though she did not see him through the dense thicket in her
backyard, she could feel his presence. On the journey over he slipped in behind
her, waiting patiently for his opportunity when she swept past the gates of the
netherfaery.
His glowing eyes snapped open before her, dull and glassy
like chunks of dusty ice. “There is no sense running any longer. Accept your
fate as any primitive should.” Blue fire erupted from his mouth, causing his
teeth to glow as well. Rows and
rows of hideous teeth snapped down at her, each about the size of her
abbreviated form.
“Anabelle, Anaia, Amorina!” she cried, swerving aside at the
last instant.
“They cannot help you here.” The monster unleashed its
volcanic breath again, singeing Aveline’s wings.
It was a dragon, here in the darkness with her! And it
wasn’t a cute little pet dragon as found in children’s books, but a demon born
of nightmares.
“Mommy….daddy…please!” She knifed through the air.
“Yesss…cry for mommy and daddy…” The dragon illuminated the
void with its white-hot breath. Before Aveline knew it, the winged serpent was
on top of her.
