There was a harsh bite in the wind as it blew over Myrine’s face, turning her blue hued skin purple from the cold. She let out a small gasp as she tried to turn her face away from the harsh gale. Winter was truly upon them now. This far north the sun struggled to shine for more than a third of the day, but even still the fishing hamlet of Scarstooth carried on. There were mouths to feed and even the freezing of the ocean could hardly stop them from their duty.

  Myrine looked across the ocean as she struggled to stay warm. She watched the boats slowly returning to port, some were filled with the cheers of sailors that had been blessed by the All Mother’s bounty, while others dragged themselves into port in shame.

  The ground cracked as Myrine walked down the path from the church she called home. The deep freeze was settling in and it wouldn’t be long until the long winter was upon them. The wind howled over the ocean as it passed through Myrine like a knife. She shivered as she clutched her padded winter coat closer still. Even with her mittens and hood she could hardly keep warm in the harsh winter climate. She blew a lock of her auburn hair from her face as she watched her breath mist before her.

  The fact that she had to make the trek into town was her own fault, she had been the one to forget the salt when she had been tasked with grabbing supplies the day before. That didn’t make the walk anymore tolerable. She snuck a glance at the sun as it began to dip below the tree line to the west as she cursed. Between the priest giving her an ever growing list of chores and her migraine that had lasted the better part of a week she hadn’t had the chance to go out earlier before sunset. That meant the walk home would be much worse.

  With little to do Myrine let her eyes wander over the docks below once more. She saw the families of the fisherfolk coming to greet them after a hard day's work. The laughter and excitement on the children and parents' faces as they embraced one another. Myrine frowned as she forced herself to avert her gaze. Just two more years. She thought to herself.

  The church of Scarstooth doubled as a boarding house for orphans and less fortunate children. It was there that Myrine had called home for the last thirteen years of her life, though incidentally that was the only place she had called home. But when she turned fifteen she would be seen as a young adult in the eyes of the Empire and given the opportunity to enroll in the academy.

  As a Tideborn there was no greater honor than rising in the ranks of the academy in the hopes of joining one of the many orders of the Court. Perhaps she would be a scribe, or a researcher. The thought of it all lit a fire in her chest as she grinned from ear to ear.

  Lost in her thoughts Myrine came to the edge of the town. Her calves ached from walking down the large hill, but she ignored it as she continued down the cobblestone street towards the market. As she passed folks she couldn’t help but notice the all too familiar glances that they snuck at her. It was as though the villagers were afraid to hold their gaze on her for too long. It was also completely normal for Myrine at this point. She had asked the head priest why the villagers seemed so standoffish with her once, but he simply mumbled about them being on edge after some incident happened in the past.

  Turning the corner into the town square Myrine saw the stands of the local merchants and traders being closed for the evening. She cried out in surprise as she broke into a quick jog, hoping that she wouldn’t be too late. As she huffed and puffed she finally arrived at her destination. ‘Lou’s odds and ends’, a small sign read as Myrine looked in horror as she saw the aforementioned Lou walking away from his now closed wagon.

  “No!” Myrine cried out in frustration as she kicked at the ground. The head priest wasn’t a man that was quick to anger, but he also didn’t hide his disappointment either.

  “Well now. You look like you’re having an awful night.” A woman’s husky voice rang out before laughing heartily.

  Myrine turned to face the owner of the voice. She knew who it was even before she turned. “Good evening Martha.” Myrine had heard the other villagers refer to Martha as a ‘battleaxe’ of a woman, a description that fit like a glove in her case.

  Martha was a wide grizzled woman that was getting on in years, though from the muscles she sported and the scars on her face she wouldn’t be meeting the Nightfather anytime soon, at least not without giving him a fight to remember.

  “Let me guess.” Martha said while clearing a nostril. “That sack of shit on the hill sent you to grab something while he’s huddled around a warm hearth didn’t he?” There was always a hint of a threat when she spoke.

  Myrine nodded. “Salt. He wanted me to grab some salt but only sent me at sunset.” She groaned.

  “You’re in luck. I just got some in. It won’t be like that fancy shit Lou sells, but it’ll be a helluva lot cheaper.”

  “At this point I would take sea salt.”

  Martha slapped Myrine on the back with enough force to almost send her to the cobblestones below as she laughed. “Follow me.”

  The two walked the ever quieting market as they made their way to Martha’s stand. As they approached Martha threw back the side flap to reveal the inside of the stand. She started rooting through boxes as Myrine leaned in to have a look. Among the various trophies and bones that lined the back wall was a small chain with the symbol of the All Mother on it. Myrine narrowed her eyes, in the dim light the symbol seemed to have a reddish coating.

  “Here we are.” Martha said as Myrine leaned back quickly. “That’ll be five green chips.”

  Myrine blinked. “Five? But salt is normally at least twelve?”

  Smiling a wicked grin Martha lowered her voice. “Like I said, this isn’t that fancy stuff. Five is plenty. Use the rest and buy something for yourself. All Mother’s tits, when was the last time you had money of your own?”

  The silence was enough to answer that question.

  “It’s settled. Take the salt, pocket the spare chips, and treat yourself for once.” Martha grabbed the five green chips and stuffed them in her pants before Myrine could argue, shoving the salt into Myrine’s chest with a thud.

  “Thank you!” Myrine said breathlessly as she tried to steady herself. The old woman for her part didn’t wait to chat, instead continuing home as she gave a wave.

  A smile crept into Myrine’s face as she giggled. Seven green chips wasn’t much. But it was more than she had ever had to call her own.

  With a smirk she ran down the road, hopping as she called on her gift to summon a slick of water under her shoes, with a gentle coaxing she manipulated the water tension to allow her to glide along the stonework with ease. It was a trick she had picked up when she was young, although it could help her get around town quickly she tended to avoid it as using her gifts made her tired.

  The sky had turned pitch black in the short time that she had been in town. The streets were silent as the residents made their way indoors to escape the harsh winter evening. Myrine watched her breath fog the air as she began to spin while sliding along the stones. The sensation was similar to when she had tried ice skating. With every kick she gained more and more speed until she was flying down the empty streets.

  In the dark of the night she missed a bundled shape in the middle of the street. Myrine cried out as she tried to stop in time, but it was too late. Her feet clipped the humanoid looking thing as she was sent sprawling to the street below. Just as she was about to hit the stones she willed her body to shift into water. Her body's molecular structure changed in an instant as she splashed against the hard ground. The impact splashed her new form in a wide area as she slowly started to try and reform.

  When shifted Myrine always felt like she was half asleep, she wasn’t quite aware of her surroundings but she could still feel herself. It was like closing your eyes and moving your fingers, somehow your brain knew where your hand was at any time and could relay that information.

  The trickles of water that had been her body until a moment ago were still part of her in a quantum sense, they could be moved and manipulated even when her mind was technically no longer a physical thing. With a thought the puddles coalesced into a singular thing as Myrine pulled herself back together. Her body and the clothing she wore reknit themselves to how they had been before she had shifted.

  Gasping to catch her breath Myrine looked up at the shape in the street. She stumbled to her feet as she approached it. “Hey, are you alright?” She asked as she laid a hand on the figure's shoulder. The body rolled over limply to reveal the bulging eyes of a dead man.

  “All Mother protect me!” Myrine cried as she held her hand to mouth, pulling away from the corpse as she fought the bile that threatened to overtake her. She looked around the empty street as she choked back the urge to vomit.

  There was no one.

  Something was wrong, deeply and truly wrong. Myrine had been so lost in her own world that she hadn’t given it a second thought but there should have been at least someone on the streets at this time. More than that, there was no sound whatsoever, not the laughing of families for dinner, or the angry singing of the drunks at the bars. Nothing.

  Myrine ran to a nearby window that was lit by flickering candle light. She peered in and gasped as she saw a family seated at their table. She raised her hand and pounded on the glass, but even as the pane shook there was no sound. Reaching a hand up she tried to speak but still there was nothing. The world had grown silent.

  Just then something shifted in the corner of her eye. Myrine spun around and saw a masked figure in a black cloak. In its hands was a wicked blade that was dripping with blood.

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  Scrambling to her feet, Myrine screamed as she took off in a sprint. She cried out for help over and over helplessly as her eyes welled with tears. Risking a glance back she saw the masked figure walking calmly down the street after her. Further behind the masked murderer Myrine saw a dozen more masked figures emerge from the shadows.

  She looked back in front of her, before her stood another group of masked shapes. Her blood froze in her veins as she looked around trying to find a way to escape. There between two of the buildings was a gap no more than a few inches. She steeled herself as she ran towards the narrow crack. The masked figures for the first time seemed motivated by this sudden change as they barreled down towards Myrine. The lead figure reached out a hand as he snatched at Myrine’s hood. In that moment she shifted into water as she poured into the crack to escape.

  There was no way to see the outside world while Myrine was shifted, she could only feel her way around. If she reformed while she was still in the crack her body would be crushed to death. So she crept further and further until she could spread out over a large surface.

  Reforming again Myrine gasped. Her coat was in tatters, the figure must have been touching her coat when she shifted. While Myrine could transform clothing that was directly touching her, she couldn’t shift other people into water. Even with her long wool shirt she was shivering.

  She took a moment to get her bearings, she was in an alley of some sort that was between two rows of houses that ran the whole main street. She tried to speak but she still couldn’t hear a thing. From the corner of her eye she saw a door burst from its hinges silently as a brute of a masked man lumbered into the alley.

  He turned to face Myrine.

  With a curse Myrine ran once more down the alley away from the approaching assailants. Her lungs burned as she breathed heavily, her heart felt ready to burst in her chest as she risked a glance backwards. The large man was gaining on her quickly. She had no choice but to try something risky.

  Leaping for a moment Myrine formed a sheet of water under her boots as she slid along the ground. While it meant she could outrun the man, it also meant that she would run out of stamina all the quicker. Still, she allowed herself a smirk as she looked back once more hoping to see the man's frustration.

  Instead she saw the man sliding along the stones as well. Only where she looked like a graceful ice skater, the man looked like a torpedo rocketing towards her. Myrine had enough time to brace her arms before the man collided with her, sending her flying into some garbage bins that were along the side of the alley.

  Myrine fought to breathe as she winced from the pain. Before she could think, a huge hand grabbed her by the throat and raised her in the air. Even with the mask she could see the hints of the man's smile. He was looking forward to killing her. She mustered everything she had and screamed into the nothingness. As she bellowed something shifted as a wave of heat radiated from within her belly.

  A shockwave erupted outwards as the world grew thunderous once more. The town was filled with the cries of the dying and the doomed. The masked man looked at Myrine with wide eyes as he grunted. “How the hells-”

  Whatever the man had hoped to say was cut short by the axe that buried itself in his skull. A wet gurgling escaped his lips as he fell to the ground in a heap. Myrine managed to catch herself as she turned to face the wielder of the axe. There she saw a panting Martha, covered in blood and sweat.

  “Are you alright?” Martha asked as she grunted with effort to remove her axe from the dead man.

  Myrine leapt forward and clung to the broad woman as she sobbed uncontrollably.

  Martha laid a hand on Myrine’s back. “Listen. The town is crawling with these bastards, they came out of nowhere and there are a lot of them.” She was interrupted by another three of the masked figures emerging from a nearby house. “Shit! I’ll hold them off, you have to get to safety. Run for the treeline!” Without waiting she threw Myrine behind her as she charged into the masked killers.

  Myrine wanted to stay and help, but she knew she would simply get in the way. She ran through the alley, taking turn after turn as she tried to make her way through the town undetected. Between the buildings she could see a series of fires raging in the distance, one of them was the church at the top of the hill. She stopped to stare at the place she had called home bellowing with smoke.

  There was no time to dwell on what was happening, there was only her need to keep moving, to survive. As adrenaline coursed through her she could hardly remember the cold anymore. She finally broke free from the maze of back alleys and narrow side streets as she came to a stop to gather herself. While Myrine had grown up in Scarstooth, she never really had the freedom to learn its ins and outs. That was to say, she was completely lost.

  The screaming was becoming more scarce, which either meant the townsfolk were managing to defend themselves, or there weren’t many folks left to scream.

  As Myrine tried to figure out where to go next she turned to see another masked figure emerge from the ground itself only a few feet from her. The stones shifted and warped as the towering man lurched forward and grabbed at Myrine. She screamed as she willed the water on the ground to form into a wall. But it was too little too late as the man grasped her shoulder with an iron grip. She gasped as her collar bone cracked from the force.

  With the last of her strength Myrine poured her gift into a sphere of water that formed around the man’s head. She then willed it to freeze in place. The man’s grip loosened as he stumbled back clutching at his head.

  Myrine took the chance and ran blindly into the night. She saw an open door and dived inside as she looked for a place to hide. The building was a butchers, a place to prepare and store fish before they went to market. There were dozens of chains and hooks that hung from the ceiling. Behind her Myrine could hear the man shatter the ice as he cried out in frustration. It was soon followed by another pair of voices speaking with the man.

  Crawling into the back of the room Myrine hid behind some crates in the far corner as she held her hands over her mouth to silence her ragged breathing.

  The door creaked as the masked men stepped into the room slowly. “Come on out. We promise not to hurt you.” One of the men called out, his tone made it clear that they had no intention of keeping that promise.

  Myrine tried to shrink into the corner further. Willing the men to move on and leave her be. She waited for what felt like minutes as she stared at the edge of the crate she hid behind. The only sound she could hear was her own heart pounding in her chest as she stared unblinkingly, waiting for one of the men to peer around the corner.

  Just as she felt she might be in the clear the box was tossed aside. “Found you!” One of the men cried as he grabbed Myrine by her hair and threw her into the middle of the room.

  “Please!” Myrine screamed as she looked at the three men that loomed over her.

  “Sorry kid, orders are orders.” Another of the masked figures said nonchalantly as he pulled out a silver dagger.

  Myrine shut her eyes as she sobbed a silent prayer to the Celestials above to deliver her. She heard the man raise his arm for the strike as it brushed one of the chains hanging from the ceiling.

  The blow never came.

  Risking a glance, she saw the would-be killer frozen in place with his arm raised. The other masked men looked as confused as Myrine. As one of them reached out to grab the paralyzed man they were met with the silver dagger being plunged into their throat. The third figure reached for his own weapon and ran the madman through, dropping him to the ground in a heap.

  The final man standing turned to Myrine with a fire in his eyes. “You did this! What foul magic did you use on them!” He cried. He readied his blade to strike but a sickening crack echoed as one of the hooked chains sunk deep into his sword arm. He screamed as he tried to reach for the hook with his other hand, but another hook sank into that arm as well. Before he could react the chains were pulled taught in either direction as he was suspended into the air above.

  Myrine watched as the man was torn in half, a torrent of blood splashing to the ground before her. She vomited uncontrollably at the sight of the steaming entrails. She crawled on her hands and knees away from the gore.

  Behind her she heard the soft footfalls of someone approaching. It was the wet sound of bare skin on the ceramic flooring. All she could do was freeze as she waited for the end.

  “Are you alright child?” The voice was gentle and masculine, with an odd rasp to it. “They won’t hurt you anymore.”

  Myrine turned slowly, in the dim light she could only make out the man’s silhouette. He stood over six feet in height and was dressed in the loose tatters of a robe. As the thing that masqueraded as a man stepped closer the light caught its horrid features. Its skin was translucent and blue, rippling with muscles that shifted visibly beneath its scaled flesh. Gnarled fingers ended with blackened claws that dripped with blood. Worst of all was its face. Bulging eyes that were milky and vacant, an almost nonexistent nose consisting of just two holes in the middle of its face, its mouth was the thing of nightmares. A massive yawning chasm with row upon row of serrated teeth that twitched on their own.

  When the creature spoke the voice emerged from a set of gills along its elongated neck. “All Mother’s blessings upon you child. I mean you no harm.” The creature was a walking hypocrisy. A monstrosity that spoke with the calm voice of a cleric spouting sermons of the All Mother.

  As Myrine sat frozen in fear, her body unable to move, another masked figure burst through the door. The monster didn’t even turn as it simply threw a hooked chain into the throat of the attacker. With a casual twist of its arm it pulled the hook back into his hand as the masked man gurgled his final words helplessly.

  “You killed them…” Myrine whispered.

  For the first time the creature faulted in its approach. “Yes.” It said plainly.

  “Why?”

  “They have turned their backs on their humanity. The choice is as simple as it is heartbreaking. Either I kill them, or they will kill us; and while my life has little value in the eyes of our maker. Yours is a precious gift that must be protected.”

  The monster moved to stand above Myrine as he offered her a hand. She reached up and took hold of the scaled skin as the monster helped her to her feet. With a gasp she fell forwards. “My legs feel numb.” She mumbled.

  “You are in shock child. If you’ll excuse me, I must get you to safety.” The creature said politely as he scooped Myrine into his arms. “Now, hold on tight. We have company.”

  Even as the words left the strange man’s gills the windows burst as a hailstorm of bullets poured into the room. The corpses on the ground lurched on unseen puppet strings as they were raised to shield the pair from the onslaught. After what felt like an eternity the gunfire stopped. In that instant the monster man spun in place, delivering a strike with his foot to what was left of the corpses. The bodies exploded into spears of blood and bone that fired through the window. From the darkness Myrine heard the death cries of the attackers.

  The monster didn’t bother waiting to see if the gunmen were dead, he simply walked out of the butchers and into the main road.

  The sounds of fighting had grown frantic as the whole of the city seemed to be awash in flames and bloodshed. The worst of the screaming seemed to be coming from near the seafront. The monster turned to regard the screams, then made to walk in the opposite direction.

  “Where are you going?” Myrine asked. “We have to go and help the others!”

  The monster kept walking. “That would be unwise. The whole of the city is overrun by a militia of mercenaries. I cannot guarantee your safety. It will be better to take you to the treeline where you can wait until the mercenaries finish their attack before-”

  “Wait until they finish? But the whole town will be killed!” Myrine clutched at the monster's robes. “Can’t you save them?” She pleaded.

  “I-” The monster stopped in his tracks as he looked down at Myrine with his blind eyes.

  “I beg you.”

  With a sigh the monster turned towards the sounds of the raging battle. “As you command.” He whispered.

  The pair set off as the monster began sprinting towards the seawall.

  “What is your name child?”

  “Myrine.”

  “It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Lady Myrine.”

  “And you are?” Myrine asked.

  “The name’s Phi”