She's My Prey Episode 5

Chapter 1

RENEM

The humans are yelling and the dark elves are charging and it’s more important to me to get away than to stay and fight. I make the decision quickly, picking Sadie up and throwing her on my back, taking off at my full speed to get away. I cannot have them grabbing her.

The dark elves that came after us seemed more focused on the humans than on us and didn’t get a good look at me. This is beneficial because I don’t want them hunting for Sadie. No matter what she thinks, she belongs to me now. Her blood called for me, therefore she is mine.

It takes a little longer to travel back to my cave on foot with Sadie on my back, but the sky is still dark. She clings to me in a way that has my entire body thrumming with a warm energy.

Once we arrive, I deposit her on the ground and she scrambles away from me, panting and breathing hard, her cheeks red.

“Are you ill?” I ask, uncertain as to what is going on with her.

“I need a minute,” she mumbles, stepping away with her hand over her chest. She takes in a few deep breaths and I watch as the red leaves her cheeks. “I was scared,” she says, explaining herself. “And freaking out. And you threw me on your back and ran so fast that it was overwhelming.”

As she explains the emotions, I try to listen carefully, taking note of the expressions on her face and the way her body reacted in turn. I do not understand fear. I have seen it in others but it makes no sense to me. Why would I ever feel anything akin to fear? I can overpower any threat and overcome any attack.

“You need not fear anything with me,” I tell her. “I can protect you from anything.”

“Thanks,” she breathes out a sigh and her lips curve upward.

“What’s that?” I ask, tilting my head.

“What’s what?”

“Your lips, what are they doing?”

“Oh,” she bites down on her lower lip. “It’s called a smile. It means I’m happy, I guess? Grateful, really. I’m grateful that you got us away from the dark elves.”

“I see.” I have never seen a smile before. Every person I’ve encountered has either worn a grimace or a frown on their mouths. Those I understand.

“You have a lot to learn about emotions,” Sadie remarks as she walks over to my cave to sit on a log and rest. “Why don’t you understand emotions? Surely you’ve experienced happiness before. Or pain?”

“I heal quickly,” I tell her, walking to stand near her.

“I don’t mean physical pain,” she shakes her head. “Like...when someone does something to upset you.”

“Then I eliminate the threat.” I stare at her, not understanding her questions.

“Well, what if it was a threat you couldn’t eliminate?” she presses. “Like what if they took something from your cave and ran away, something that was important to you.”

I stare at her, uncomprehending.

“What exactly are you?” she asks, wrinkling her brow. “You’re...different from the dark elves. You don’t look like anything I’ve ever seen before.”

“I am waira,” I tell her.

“What’s waira?”

“It’s...me.” I don’t know how to explain it. “We are small in number. Only male. Ancient.”

“Oh, hmm.” She makes a little noise.

“Do you find me a monster?” I ask. Many have called me that. It hasn’t ever bothered me before. I like that they are afraid of me. But for some odd reason, I find myself worried that Sadie views me as such.

“I don’t know,” she says. “You kidnapped me from my wedding. You dragged me off. But...you’ve also protected me and you got me all that stuff from the city.”

“I would do anything for you,” I tell her.

“Why?”

I don’t have an answer. She seems hesitant about asking anymore questions so I busy myself with setting up her bed and her things. The things that humans need, I remind myself.

After a few hours, Sadie’s stomach makes the noise again, but she does not reach for the cans. When I ask her why, she doesn’t give me much of an answer.

“You would like me to hunt for you?” I ask, checking.

“Could you?” she asks, nodding her head up and down. “The food here is good, but my belly craves something warm and fresh.”

“I can do that,” I tell her. “I will be gone for only a quick hunt.”

“Okay,” she says, that strange smile on her face once more. I leave and capture a fat little suru for her to eat and when I return, she’s sitting on the bed, reading one of the books I procured for her.

Part of me is curious about the fact that she could have gotten away but chose to remain while I was gone. “How come you didn’t leave?” I ask, dropping the suru to the ground.

“I don’t want to,” she says simply, getting up to help me clean the suru up to prepare. We cook in silence together, Sadie showing me more about how she prepares food to eat. It’s quite something, unlike even the cans and definitely unlike anything I’ve done since I’ve only ever eaten my food whole.

I like watching the way she works. Her eyes get focused on the task in front of her and she is quiet and methodical with her movements. I also like how her eyes look.

Her eyes are blue, different blue than the elves I’ve seen with blue eyes. Sadie’s eyes are more like the color of the sky during a storm. When she’s focused on cooking though, they soften to almost the color of the sky on a clear day.

As soon as she’s done, she serves us both the food. Eating cooked meat is strange to me. It doesn’t particularly taste better or worse, just different, a little softer.

“Thank you for getting us this suru,” she says, tucking a strand of her brown hair behind her ear. She added some of the canned vegetables to the meal, making it into what she calls a ‘stew.’ It’s wet and more mushy than the meat I eat but I don’t mind since she’s the one who cooked it.

We continue in this pattern for the next few days, cooking together, cleaning up and talking more about ourselves. I find out that Sadie and I both have no idea where we come from originally.

“It’s strange,” she says, sitting with me next to a fire to keep warm. “To not know your own past, don’t you think?”

“I don’t think about it,” I tell her. “I just live every day following my instincts.”

“Like an animal,” she murmurs. “That makes sense. But you’re intelligent too. I’ve noticed,” she says, peering up at me from under long lashes. “You’ve got intelligence far beyond that of a simple beast.” I like her compliment, it makes me feel strange inside.

We leave the next day to head to the river to fetch water and I reflect on my time with her. It’s much easier to talk to her now. She’s much less demanding and more accepting of my company.

“Why do you not ask for more?” I ask her as we walk at a much slower pace than I prefer to travel at. “I would get anything you asked.”

“I only asked you for that stuff to upset you,” she says, cheeks going red. I’ve learned that is a sign that she is embarrassed or agitated when that happens. “But you’ve been kind enough to do it so I don’t want to make you upset. You’re kinder than most anyone I’ve ever met.”

“That is truly unfortunate,” I decide. “I am an instinct driven creature. Kindness is unknown to me. If keeping you safe and content is kindness, I don’t understand why anyone would prefer the company you had been keeping.”

“Most don’t,” she admits. “We do what we have to in order to survive in the Bordello.”

“As do I,” I agree.

Out of nowhere, a volley of arrows fly at us. Instinctively, I grab her and carry her away, hiding behind a line of trees. I am not worried about the arrows but Sadie cannot withstand the injuries.

“What’s going on?” Sadie asks, a tone in her voice that tells me she’s anxious.

“The dark elves that were attacking us in the village have found us,” I tell her, their scent clear in the air.

All the color drains from her face, leaving her looking pale. “I don’t want to go back,” she whispers to me. “Please, don’t let them take me Renem.”

“I won’t let them take you,” I promise. She belongs to me anyway. “Stay here. I will fight them off.”

I rush out from the treeline, heading straight for the dark elves. They shoot more arrows at me, which I duck, diving straight into their midst to start fighting them. There are five, not impossible but I don’t have time to hunt them one by one. I need to take them out quickly.

Throwing myself at them, I start grabbing at dark elves, tearing off one’s arm and using the bloody arm to beat back the next that attacks. I rip off another’s head and aim for a third’s throat when someone stabs me in the side, pushing the sword in deeply.

Knowing that Sadie is waiting for me to return, I keep fighting on and take them out quickly. Only one is left and I leave him alive to interrogate him.

“Who sent you?” I demand, holding him by the throat.

“Gandorf Rianorlos sent us,” he says, gasping around my grip. “He and his son Indor are looking for Sadie. They won’t let you keep her away from them!”

I finish him off and rush back to find Sadie peeking out from behind the tree. I’m quick to clean up the blood, worried that she will think of me as more of a monster if I don’t.

Despite my appearance, she comes up to me anyway, looking me over for injuries. I wave her off, the stab wound already healing. I like that she thought of me in that way.

“We can no longer stay here,” I tell her. “The elves are looking for you.”

She glances backwards, in the direction of our cave. “Where should we go?” She tugs at her hair. “And will I ever be able to get away?” she mumbles, though I don’t think she was asking me.