Angel on the Edge (2 page)

His heart skipped a beat as the one and a half foot
long box slid out from behind the wall. The container was solid oak
that showed no signs of wear, only a thin layer of dust that
covered its smooth surface. Replacing the board beneath the window,
Dale lifted the cover and bit his lower lip as the moonlight
sparkled off of the blade. It was a silver dagger. Over a foot
long, it was a solid piece of craftsmanship without a single
imperfection. The edge was a sharp as a needle and the leather hilt
was oiled and without a stain.

Three years earlier, he had discovered the weapon
buried in a box that his mother had hidden on her side of the
house. It was a cold winter, and the village was looking for things
to burn when she had sent him to find anything that would catch a
flame. Rummaging through a few useless keepsakes he had found the
magnificent box and the weapon it held. All around the treasure
were faded photos of his mother and father though the man's face
was always cut off or ruined beyond recognition.

She had always forbidden him from asking anything
about the man, even others within the small community of survivors
refused to talk about him. Gift in hand, he had kept his find a
secret. The blade must have been from him, it was the only thing
that made sense to his fifteen-year-old mind. He didn't know why
his mother hated him so much, but in his heart he knew he wanted to
know more. If keeping this dagger was one step closer to having him
around, Dale knew he needed it in his life.

With a push, he hid the box under his bed as he
stood and slid the knife into his belt. Where he was going, he
might need it, and if his mother found the box, it wouldn't matter.
He was going to find the Angel in the woods and prove to everyone
that she was real. She protected them, kept them safe from the
horrors of this world, and tonight she needed his help. He would
not let her down.

* * *

Darkness surrounded Dale as he continued down the
path to the Whispering Woods. Fires lit to shield the village from
the shadows of the forest burned behind him as he covered the
ground between home and his angel as quickly as he could. Above,
the moonlight provided a beacon of light that filled the night with
a sense of peace as the soft glow encircled the small village and
those that remained asleep. Two men walked the grounds throughout
the night, vigilant for any beasts that roamed the countryside
looking for food that was left unprotected.

It took a single attempt for him to escape the
fencing that housed them, the sentry's occupied with following
their paths more than policing the villagers. Their home had not
seen nor heard anything come from the darkness of the woods for
some time. Many believed it was because God had blessed them, their
location still hidden from their enemies within this world. Dale
knew, though; she was out there, and she kept the evil at bay.

As he approached the first set of red oaks that
stretched high into the night, he could sense the difference in the
air. The darkness pressed onto his skin like a film of oil as it
masked all movements as he stepped further into the darkened
forest. Oak trees, maples, and elms gnarled in death quickly filled
in along the path. Pieces of bark crunched under his feet as
sharpened twigs caught on his sleeves pointed yet brittle as they
snapped and fell to the dry earth.

With a turn back, the shadows of the forest had
already blocked all vision of the village that was no more than a
few dozen yards away. Closing around him, the world he had known
became a land of nightmare with darkness fighting desperately to
swallow him whole. Lantern extended down the path; he struggled as
he pushed the fear down into his gut. He could never forget that it
was there, the shiver of doubt running up his spine, a constant
reminder as he continued forward.

Minutes turned to hours in his mind as he continued
over fallen logs and through dried bushes. There was no clear
passage, no indication of which way to go other than the pull he
felt within his chest. A small voice whispered in his ear,
beckoning him forward and warning him every time he strayed from
the path.

His shoulders ached, and his feet felt raw as he
continued along. The silence of the trees was unnerving, the air
stagnant and filled with an unmistakable stench of dust. With every
step he took, his nerves continued to battle his need to continue.
He was lost and in his mind he knew he'd be lucky to find his way
home before morning, if he ever found it at all. Maybe she wasn't
out here, could it all have been a dream? With his hand shaking the
half-empty oil lantern, he reached down to place his hand on the
hilt of his father's dagger.

He was shivering though it was too warm to be cold.
Fear iced his veins as he sought anything that he could use to
stable himself. Warm against his skin, the soft leather welcomed
the touch as his hand molded around the grip, his fingers wrapping
as if holding the weapon was as natural as breathing.

"You must run, go now!" Her voice broke the
silence.

Pulling the blade from his belt, he held it out in
front of him as his light shook and forced the shadows to dance to
the beat of his frightened heart.

"Why are you here?" Her voice asked desperation
laced within her words. "Stupid, you know the rules. The forest is
forbidden, at night I cannot protect you."

She was near; she had to be. He could feel her magic
as it pressed against him like a cloth drying in the summer breeze.
There was movement in the darkness. Shadows flowed between trees as
thick as smoke, waves of darkness circling him as he backed himself
against the hollow shell of a forgotten maple tree.

"Do you not hear me?" Her voice was frantic as the
black abyss of the forest pushed closer.

Flickering, Dale watched as the tiny flame of his
lantern waxed and waned. A lot of the fuel had burned, but plenty
remained though the fire struggled to burn.

"I cannot hold them, why are you here?"

Her voice was screaming in his head. She was all
around him, but so was the evil that seeped in from the woods. Deep
growls circled around him. Guttural and rabid, he could sense the
demons as they moved closer. His father's dagger shook as he held
it out in front of him, its point reflecting the light as it moved
back and forth.

Shadows were only a few steps away. Darkness had
filled in all but the light that reached out no farther than his
arms. Dale could feel his knees giving in. The fear inside so cold
his heart pounded a slow cadence behind his ears.

"They are here, run now!" She screamed.

Bright white light flashed before his eyes as the
darkness erupted around him. Yelps and howls echoed through the
forest as a path opened before him. His feet would not move as the
black shadows rolled around the forest floor like a ball of dark
yarn. Rays of golden light spit out as the dark mass tumbled
through the brush, crushing the brittle corpses of long withered
bushes and forest grass.

"Run!"

Her voice rang clear within his mind as Dale pushed
away from the maple tree. Rumbling trembled the forest floor at his
feet as a shadow as tall as the gnarled canopy above his head
approached slowly. With feet made of lead, Dale backed his way
toward the path that moved away from the struggle. He could feel
the evil that permeated the air around the demon. Pillars of
darkness spewed as the mass continued toward him, the light that
had saved him now plunging its way further away into the
shadows.

"Now!"

Dale waited no longer as he spun on his heels and
ran with every ounce of adrenaline he could muster. Light splashed
around him as the lantern shook violently with his retreat, the
warmth of his father's blade radiating along his arm as he pushed
himself harder. Branches and dry tendrils of brittle vine cut into
him as he pushed forward. The rumbling of the ground grew fainter
in the distance.

Sweat dripped down his face and stung his cheek as
it ran over the scratches that now tore his skin. He could no
longer hear her, the pounding of his heart a thunder that chased
him like the shadows that were quickly closing in. Ahead he could
see the path that was set for him begin to close. Holding in death,
the trunks of the forest twisted in an embrace as they created a
wall, their limbs joined in a final dance of defiance.

Not wanting to slow, Dale pushed forward as his eyes
searched for a clearing. The distance between him and the end was
closing as he could feel the arms of shadows reaching out for him,
grabbing at his ankles as his strength began to reach its limit.
Searching, the light from his lantern showed no opening within the
barrier that prevented him from leaving the shadows.

Trapped. There was nowhere to turn as he slowed and
threw himself against the wall. Nothing moved as he fell to his
knees beside the barrier of hollow wood. Back on his feet, Dale
pressed his back against the end of the path. He willed his
breathing to slow as he watched the darkness close in.

Slow at first, the demons took their time. Humans no
longer ventured into the darkness that filled their world. Their
lives and understanding long ago lost to the wars that had taken so
many. Dale could feel the slow stink of death begin to climb his
body. Tiny and without strength, the flame in his lantern struggled
to remain lit. Burned down to nothing but a crescent orange flame,
his light, and his only hope was almost gone.

"Please save me, God. Where is your angel?" Dale
whispered as he closed his eyes.

Sharp bark bit into the skin of his back as he
pressed himself against the wood as hard as he could. He knew if he
opened his eyes his world would be as devoid of light as he felt
with his eyes closed. He could hear them breathing, and his skin
crawled as he felt the tiny hands walk up his skin, poking and
prying to find a way inside.

"Please!" Dale shouted as the sickness washed down
his spine in a tidal wave of emotion.

Shock and pain lanced through his ankles as he felt
the thorny vines wrap around his legs. He could feel the fire begin
to race itself up his veins as the tendrils squeezed harder,
wrapping his pants in a knot at his boots.

"Ah!" Dale screamed as a bolt of electricity shot up
his extremities, his thigh muscles cramping in response.

With his back against the wall, he reached down to
try and grab the vines that now held him prisoner. Heat radiated
from the vegetation as his hands wrapped around the moist limbs,
and the spines caught on his skin. Blood tickled his fingertips as
he realized his eyes were still closed, opening them he could see
through the feint light, that his palms were dripping as the thorns
had ripped a gash through his hands.

"You are mine," a deep throaty voice rumbled in
Dale's ears as the shock stood him back up.

Darkness had overtaken everything as his lantern was
no more than a hot wick that awaited a new flame.

"Please…"

Dale's voice failed him as his bindings squeezed
tighter around his ankles, the pain buckling his knees. With a
yank, the young man found himself face first on the ground, his
mouth full of dust and dry pine needles as he lifted his face to
the darkness above. Red eyes stared back at him, their power
burning with magic and hatred as the vines choked the blood from
his feet and pulled him through the wall.

* * *

"A human, out here once again," her voice was soft
but laced with anger. "As if my job wasn't hard enough. What could
this boy have been thinking?"

Dale felt the crust on his eyes as they struggled to
open. He was laying in the dirt, the hard earth a flat board as his
lower back ached. A nagging itch irritated his ankles, where his
skin swelled, and his muscles were sore from the cramping.

The sky above him was clear and dark with thousands
of stars shining down from the distant heavens like beacon's
calling a traveler home. The wind whistled a strange fairytale like
melody as it tickled the fine hairs on his arms, the air fresh and
cool with a hint of moisture.

"Our boy, the adventurer, finally awakes."

Dale could hear her voice, young and strong, but
full of confidence he knew he didn't have.

"I heard you pray out there, so don't go trying to
tell me you don't speak," she said.

With a look around, Dale pushed himself up until he
was seated, his breath stolen as he took in his surroundings. He
was in a small forest alcove, walled in on all four sides by the
same gnarled trees that had proven detrimental in his retreat from
the demons of the darkness. Ferns and tall grass grew all along the
natural barrier, swaying in the soft breeze like dancers
celebrating the night. In the center of the small clearing was a
pool of dark water, its surface reflecting the moonlight above as
tiny waves rippled from the center.

"Where am I?" Dale asked, his voice a harsh scratch
against his throat. "Am I dead?"

"You would be," She said, this time behind him. "If
it wasn't for Learnie over there."

Dale spun on his seat and pushed back as his new
companion came into view. She was as tall as he was with golden
blond hair that laid softly over her broad shoulders. Soft high
cheekbones framed her face with skin as pale as the moon above, but
her eyes stopped him the moment he saw them. Softly set against her
face, they were dark and depthless, an endless pool as he could
feel his soul becoming lost in her vision.

"Who…Who is Learnie?" Dale asked, his heart racing
as he licked his dry lips.

"Learnie would be your only friend here other than
me," she said as she stood up from her crouch, forcing him to push
himself away without knowing why. "Of course if I weren't around,
you'd probably be his lunch."