The Dark of the Core

Overwhelm

Skye awoke feeling oddly warm and facing a dim fire. She sat up unsteadily causing something to slip off the top of her body. She looked down and saw a long black cloak. Her expression became one of confusion as she wondered how it got on her. Pushing her questions aside, she took a look around. Besides the unconscious wounded soldier, the cave was relatively empty. Scattered belongings and crinkled mats indicated that Teor and the other soldiers were still nearby. It was then that Skye heard the sound of hearty laughter and cheering. Curious, she stood up holding the cloak to her chest while dusting her own cloak off. She then made her way out of the cave.

Immediately her eyes squinted at the sudden brightness and she quickly raised one hand to shield them. Once the sun’s glare had been blocked out, Skye caught sight of a group of men bathing in the pond. A few of them were splashing each other playfully and all had relaxed smiles on their faces. She couldn’t help but stare at the scene. When was the last time she had laughed so carefree? Her eyes then met with Teor who was looking at her. He gave her a smile that Skye did not return before sauntering over to the edge of the pond. She turned her eyes away quickly as he hoisted himself up onto the bank.

“Good morning.” Teor said as he walked in front of Skye to face her. 

She noticed that he was wearing a white shirt with long puffy sleeves and black pants to match. Her eyes then fell to the cloak she was still clutching before looking to Teor. They widened slightly as she made the connection. “I-I’m sorry!” Skye quickly apologized as she held out the cloak with her head downcast. Teor raised an eyebrow in surprise that Skye could not see but took the cloak nonetheless. 

“Why are you apologizing? After all it was my decision to give my cloak to you for the night.” He replied while swinging the cloak around himself and tying it in place. Skye did not reply and merely stood there biting her lip. After a few silent moments, she started to walk away from him into the forest. “Are you going somewhere?” Teor asked curiously.

Skye turned back to face him briefly before nodding her head. He stole a quick glance towards his fellow soldiers who were now pushing each other under water for fun then turned back to Skye. 

“Would you mind if I join you?” He asked with a smile. Skye hesitated then gave a small shrug before walking away. Teor hurried to catch up to her. The girl seemed to know her way around the forest pretty well. To him however, the trees all looked the same and it made him feel as if he was walking in a circle. He was starting to get pretty anxious when he spotted a break in the trees up ahead. The scene before him astonished him greatly.

It was at the edge of a cliff overlooking the vast sky and a dense forest underneath. Small flowers bloomed everywhere on the open ground and he could just catch the blue outline of hills in the distance. The sun was shining brightly making the atmosphere that much warmer. Skye moved and took a seat at the edge with her feet dangling over. When she realized that Teor was not beside her, she turned around and motioned for him to accompany her. Teor hesitated as he cautiously stepped forward. His fear increased as he saw just how high up the cliff was. Taking a deep breath, he took his place next to Skye stiffly. He had no idea just how tense he had been until Skye’s feathery hands touched his own. Her touch was gentle as she pried open his hand. Teor shook his head stubbornly and shuffled backwards slightly. Without speaking, she released his hand and turned her attention back to the scenery in front of her. Silence passed between the two of them, both were just content to let nature speak.

“Do you like being a prince?”

The sudden interruption to the peace surprised Teor and it took him a few moments to pull himself together. When he replayed the question in his head, he was at a loss at how to answer for he had never thought about it before. 

“Considering the riches and privileges that come with royalty…I would say the norm answer would be yes.” He answered uncertainly, brows knitting together in thought. Skye did not answer and Teor thought she had not been listening when she spoke. 

“Do the riches bring you happiness, Teor?” She asked softly without looking at him. Again the question shocked him. He stayed silent while contemplating an answer.

“I…dislike it.” Teor finally admitted with a sigh. He then looked out to the forest beneath the sky. “That is why I am very envious of people like you.” He said causing Skye to turn to him as he continued. 

“You are free. You are not trapped inside a cage unable to make your own decisions or escape.” He finished giving a wry smile in Skye’s direction. She was staring at him with an unreadable expression. 

“You think I’m free?” Skye asked with a slight frown. Teor nodded as he finally plucked up the courage and shifted his hands while shuffling forward ever so slightly. 

“Are you not free? You do not seem to be bothered by neither demons nor humans. The outside events do not seem to trouble you in the least as you said.” 

Skye did not reply and merely continued staring at Teor. She wanted to correct him and tell him that she was far from freedom. Her prison was not a cage but a dark endless pit. She had been falling and will continue falling for eternity. There will never be a light that would be able to penetrate that darkness in her heart. When Teor met her eyes, she quickly turned away. It was then she realized that she had not yet given an answer, instead she decided to change the topic. 

“Is there a sort of war between the two races?” Skye asked thinking back to the way the soldiers had reacted to her at first sight.

Teor gave a dry laugh. “It is more of a mutual hatred towards the other. Humans were raised to destroy demons and demons were raised to kill humans.” He said while shrugging. 

Skye frowned. “Then it is nothing more than an endless cycle of death.” 

Teor shrugged again causing Skye to get agitated by his non-caring attitude. “They murder our children and our families, why should we show them mercy?” Skye found herself getting angry and a low hardly audible growl escaped her. Her eyes widened in surprise as she jumped back in shock, hands flying to her mouth. What was that…? Did I just growl…?

Teor had caught her movement and stood up with concern in his eyes. “I apologize if my words came out sounding off-mannered.” He said before hesitating. “I did not mean to scare you off…” He said glancing briefly at Skye who was still shocked. Suddenly a question formed in her mind and she could not help but ask it. 

“What would you do if I was a demon?” She blurted out in a voice louder than her usual quiet one. 

Teor looked taken aback by her question and his eyes narrowed after a few moments.

Suddenly his hand flew to his belt and withdrew his sword, pointing the tip at Skye’s throat. “I will kill you.” No sooner had the words escaped his mouth when a beast sprung out of the forest and knocked Teor to the ground. It growled angrily and snapped its teeth inches away from his face. The sword now lay a few feet out of Teor’s reach as he desperately tried to grab it to protect himself. 

“Run, Skye!” He managed to yell out as a warning. There was no reply and he thought perhaps she had fainted when he heard her voice.

“Diego, calm down…” Skye said softly as she stepped forward and placed a hand on the werewolf’s body. The werewolf growled but did not turn to her. 

“It was my fault. I asked him a question…I should not have.” Skye said softly as she retracted her hand. 

Diego stopped his growling and turned to Skye forgetting about the paladin in front of him. Immediately Teor scrambled out from under the wolf and grabbed his sword. Skye saw what was happening though Diego did not as he had his attention fully on her. Without thinking, she ran forward in front of Diego and took the blow from Teor’s sword. It was merely a s***h across her upper arm and to be honest she could not feel the pain.

When Diego saw what had transpired, he gave a low and menacing growl before preparing to pounce. Teor had a look of utmost guilt and shame on his face and attempted to run forward to Skye’s side but was stopped by Diego’s growl. 

“Stop it!” Skye cried out ignoring the trickling of her own blood down her arm. Her voice caused both human and wolf to turn to her. She gave a small sigh and stood up from her position while clutching her injured arm. 

“Teor, perhaps you should go check on your men?” Skye suggested in a soft voice. Teor opened his mouth to protest but Skye stopped him. “Do not blame yourself for my injury. It will get better and rest assured Diego will not harm me in any way.” She said in a firm voice while giving a nod of her head as emphasis. After a few moments of silent staring between Teor and Diego, Teor finally sighed and disappeared into the forest.

Skye was still watching the forest when she felt something warm yet moist on her injured arm. She turned and was face to face with Diego. He was nuzzling softly with his nose on her arm. She gave a ghost of a smile while shaking her head. 

“I’m fine. It will heal.” Skye said trying to hide the truth that she could not feel the pain, knowing it will just worry Diego. Instead she moved towards the edge of the cliff again and sat down with Diego stepping up beside her.

There were a few moments of silence before she spoke quietly. “Is that my purpose as a demon? To kill and destroy humans?” Skye asked, her eyes glancing blankly out at the scenery.

 Diego growled from beside her and she knew he was angry though for what reason she did not know. She looked down at her lap with a sort of sadness in her eyes. 

“I am not even sure if I am a demon. I don’t know what I am anymore…” Her voice was so soft, hardly audible but with Diego’s heightened wolf senses he could hear her clearly. He gave a small whimper and nudged her arm with his nose. 

Skye turned to him with slight frustration. “I mean do I even look like a demon? Besides my hair and eyes, nothing else gives me away! I don’t have wings or horns, or hooves like Jocene! It’s no wonder people mistake me as a human with abnormal hair and eye colour.” She ranted before her body slumped. “What is my purpose…?” 

From behind her, she could hear shuffling and turned to see Diego moving one paw through the dirt as if he was writing something. When he had finished, he looked at her and pointed to what he had drawn. Curious, Skye stood up and walked towards him. On the ground she barely recognized the number eighteen. 

She looked at Diego puzzled. “What is it?” Diego merely tilted his head in the direction of the number. Skye’s brows knitted in thought as she spoke. “I’m turning eighteen soon though I don’t know when my birthday is…” She paused just as Diego nodded his head fervently. “But I already knew that. You didn’t have to tell me.” Skye said with a small smile as she turned her back. “I’m going to go check on Jocene.” She finished while walking into the forest not catching the growl of frustration from behind her.

***

If the grey clouds looming outside were no indication of upcoming danger, then the feeling of dread she had in her chest was. Skye just couldn’t place the worry. Of course, every morning when she woke up she would feel dread but this time was different. With a heavy heart, she stood up from her bed and sauntered to the bathroom. It was then that she realized the huge gash on her right upper arm and merely placed a bandage on it. After a very quick shower, Skye dressed in her uniform making sure to cover up as much skin as possible before exiting her room with her bag. No sooner had she closed the door behind her, she found herself face flat against the wall held by someone.

“What did I warn you about locking your door?”

The voice hissed causing Skye to whimper. She started to regret locking her door yesterday night. Cayleb held her by the neck with one hand while he pushed open her bedroom door with the other and pushed her in. Skye stumbled and fell onto the floor. However, almost immediately he had her up and thrown onto the bed. He descended on her like a predator when it had spotted its prey. She whimpered as his hands found their way under her skirt. Wasting no time, three of his fingers entered her at once. His speed was frantic causing Skye pain but she did not cry out. His mouth met hers sloppily before moving to her neck where he bit down hard. At this, Skye cried out and tried to push him away. This was not the first time he had bitten her but it had been a while indicating Cayleb was very furious. The small sense of relief she felt when his fingers pulled out of her was short-lived. He had pulled down his pants and positioned right outside her entrance. Without a moment of hesitation, he plunged into her fully. Her fingers clutched the bed sheets so tightly causing holes.

“Scream my name, b***h! Now!”

Skye bit down her lip hard trying to refrain from screaming. This did not set well with Cayleb who just increased his pace angrily. It was not long before Skye felt the pain creep in. He kept going, releasing all his anger out. Finally, he unloaded inside of her. The feeling of the warm substance swirling around in the lower part of her body made her sick. He sneered at her and pulled up his pants.

“Watch your move next time.”

That was the only warning he gave before dipping two fingers into her then popping them out and licking them dry. Skye barely registered when he left the room. She felt sore, more than usual. Unsteadily she sat up on the bed, pressing a hand to the bleeding wound on her neck and saw a huge patch of blood on the sheets. This brought tears to her eyes as she recalled a similar situation a few years back.

Dinner had just ended and Skye excused herself to her room quietly like she always did. She could not take much more of the lewd stares emitting from her then fifteen year old step-brother. As a thirteen year old, Skye had to admit her own body had filled out quite nicely though she wished it hadn’t. She hated the way the male species stared at her like she was something to eat.

Skye had just made it to her room and turned around to lock the door when Cayleb appeared in front of her. He pushed her roughly away from the door while closing it behind him. She had no idea what his intentions were but she was indefinitely scared. He closed in on her quickly, blocking out her screams with his mouth. That was her first kiss.

She struggled against him for the longest of times but it was no use. He was a male and two years older than her, making him stronger in all aspects. He backed her until she fell onto the bed with him on top of her. With one hand he clasped both of her hands tightly above her head, while his other hand disappeared under her flannel shirt.

“Stop, please!”

Her voice was pleading and tears threatened to fall from her eyes. She felt no sense of pleasure when his hand rubbed her intimate flesh before bringing it up to his face to lick. He did not listen to her and merely ignored her. The little protests and struggles she made hardly fazed him. Still locking her hands in place, he moved his mouth to her breasts. She gave a small cry and he shot his head up to glare at her, silencing her. His mouth moved down her body and stopped at her naval. Seeing that he was so preoccupied, Skye used the opportunity to use her legs and kick him away. The movement sent him backwards on the ground and he clutched at his face in pain. His expression contorted into pure anger and she felt fear spike in her.

With a growl, he roughly slapped her across the face causing her to cry out in pain before plunging his fingers in her again. Every movement he made just increased the sick feeling in Skye. After a few minutes which seemed like forever, his fingers came out of her and he forced them into her mouth. She had to refrain from throwing up as she tasted herself. Suddenly she felt his other hand leave her body. She had no time to contemplate what was about to happen before something entered her. Skye whimpered in pain as she felt as if she was being stretched apart. He grunted and closed his eyes from the pleasure. All she could do was cry and give in. She had screamed yet no one seemed to care. He turned her around until she was on her stomach and slapped her hard on her behind. Again she cried out in pain begging for him to stop. Again her pleas were ignored as he continued impaling her. He gave a cry of pleasure and pulled out of her while a hot substance fell on her back.

Skye thought it was over but she then felt him press against her anal. Soon his fingers were plunging into her while his manhood entered her anal. It was an excruciating pain that she could not describe. More than anything, Skye wished that she could just die. He r***d her several times that night. At the end of it all, the bed sheet under her was a bloody mess. Her body was completely numb, aching and foreign. That was her first time...

Skye closed her eyes forcing the tears back at the memory. That first time had resulted in something more that lasted four years. It also resulted in the birth and death of a life. However, the baby never saw the light of day for within the first week Skye had a miscarriage. To say she did not try to purposely cause harm to herself was a lie. She would punch and even cut herself in the stomach. The thought of having his baby repulsed her more than she could comprehend. In the end she took one pill and it solved all her problems. Of course, it did not take away the guilt she felt or pain.

Biting her lip hard, Skye stood up painfully from the bed. It took great difficulty for her to wear her underwear that was discarded on the floor but she somehow managed. She then pulled out some tissues from a nearby box and placed them on her neck while wiping her hand. After grabbing her bag, she walked awkwardly to the door wincing with every step she took and looked out. She looked out to make sure the coast was clear then made her way downstairs painfully. She had just gotten to the bottom stair when she felt a sudden force and sting of pain across her left cheek.

“You little w***e!”

Skye didn’t need to turn her head to see who it was but she did anyway and came face to face with a fuming Heather. She could see Heather’s eyes were swollen and red indicating she had been crying. Before she could speak though, the front door opened to reveal a very drunk Annabelle. Annabelle’s eyes drifted around the house aimlessly then landed on Heather and Skye. Her eyes narrowed when she saw Heather’s tear-stained cheeks. Immediately she turned to Skye accusingly.

“What have you done?”

Skye felt anger course through her veins and settle in her stomach. She wanted more than anything to scream at them and blame them for everything. The anger inside her soon merged with the hatred and she felt that same feeling that threatened to overwhelm her before. She clenched her fists tightly causing her sharp nails to cut through her skin and stood still while listening to her step-family call her names, accusing her of things she had never done.

“You might as well go die! No one loves you anyway!”

The words Heather screamed at her struck her deep. It had been the same thought that Skye has had in her mind for her whole life. She knew no one loved her and no one ever will. If she died right now, no one would attend her funeral except for maybe Faith. The tears fell from her eyes before she could stop them. She had never cried in front of the family before. “If only death was that simple to come by…” Skye whispered as she mindlessly exited through the front door barely registering the shouts from behind her.