Red Lips Always Lie

True Beauty

The next morning came a lot slower than Kneffi had planned, she was not used to the concept of night and day. At home there was never time to sit back and rest, every second of her time was spent torturing souls or helping her sister plan raids. There was never night and day, only dark accompanied with the glow of flames; so watching the sun come up was a strange experience. She marvelled as the sky went from dark and full of clouds, to a reddish pink as the sun began its slow incline. When it was finally up and the bright light gleamed through the tent and open windows she moaned softly in appreciation as the warmth kissed her skin. 

The boys finally woke and Kneffi watched as Cody eyeballed her his eyes growing dark with lust and looking away quickly when he noticed her watching. He was soon off to the side cooking them breakfast, but still stealing glances that made Kneffi’s skin crawl and by the looks of it, Cael’s too. He refused to stray too far from her and kept a close eye on his friend. 

While Cody was far enough away Kneffi decided to tell Cael she was leaving and thank him for his hospitality. He was not fond of the idea and argued with her saying she was now his responsibility because he found her the night before. Kneffi had scoffed saying she was capable of going about above ground on her own, but Cael would not let up. He asked her how she would get from place to place, where she planned on going, how would she track a person without knowing who it was, and finally he brought up the issue of no clothes. That last statement made her the most nervous, after the experience she had with Cody the night before she was not looking for it to happen again with more men. 

“Fine,” she had said. “Give me some pants.”

- - - 

The three were on the road a few hours later after packing up the campsite. Kneffi had tried to help, but all the strange contraptions kept pinching her fingers and falling apart. The boys couldn’t stop laughing at her until finally she decided to give up and climb a tree. She sat on the branches and watched the boys clean up and when they were finished crawled into the back of Cael’s pickup truck. 

The windows were open and she felt the warm breeze brush her hair away from her face, Cael kept looking back at her in the rear view mirror with a small smile on his lips. Kneffi ignored his looks and just enjoyed the drive, every jostle of the truck as they went over a small pothole in the road, the shift of the weight in the vehicle as they turned lazy corners on the highway. It all felt... Peaceful. 

She smiled to herself at the thought of feeling at peace, it didn’t feel real. Her life was supposed to be hectic, painful, gruesome, everything except peaceful. This world was supposed to be full of pain and suffering, her father taught her it was a terrible place. It was supposed to be worse than home, but it was the opposite. She felt warm and giddy on the inside, it made her want to do something crazy. Something fun.

Before the boys could react Kneffi had her window down and was sitting on the frame with her knees hooked on the inside of the door. Her hands were up in the air as she screamed and laughed, her hair whipping around her face and tangling in the wind. Her eyes started to water and her voice got hoarse, as she quieted down she could hear the boys screaming for her to get back in the truck before she hurt herself. 

Sliding back in the truck she was giggling as the two boys looked at her horrified. 

“You do realize we are going over one hundred kilometres right!?” Cael yelled, but Kneffi could hear the laughter hidden in the scorn. She knew he wasn’t really mad, maybe scared, but not mad. 

“I was fine, you should try that sometime!” She exclaimed. “It was so fun! And it felt so good, all the wind in your face makes you feel like you can fly!” 

Cael watched her knowing this must all be new for her, and some small part of him felt pride in being able to show her the joys of his world. The more she smiled, the faster his heart beat. He liked this weird demonic being; she was beautiful, red skin and all. He wanted to touch her again; he wanted to feel the warmth he had felt the night before when he grabbed her wrist, but that damn necklace was screwing it all up. That, and the fact that he had no guts.  

Cody had begun talking to Kneffi as Cael lost himself to his thoughts, they were talking about the mountains outside and all the different kinds of birds that flew through the trees. His heart swelled hearing all the wonder hugging at her words as they passed her beautiful lips. As she was distracted looking out the window he studied her, he knew it was creepy and maybe a little weird, but he couldn’t not marvel at her beauty. 

She had told him that men see their most desired image of a woman when they look at her, he couldn’t help but wonder if her true form was what he most desired. She was odd and definitely unnatural looking, but she was also perfect. He kicked himself for it, but he had studied her the night before. Every inch of her body was seared into his mind; the beautiful curves and taut muscles, her long black hair that flowed like ink along her back, and her breasts. Oh god, her breasts. They were just perfection, sitting high up on her chest with cute little ni...

“Cael!”

“Cael! What are you doing?!” 

Suddenly a horrible sound filled Cael’s ears and his world went from bright and sunny to black.