Under the cloak of darkness, I kept my eyes half-shut to avoid drawing attention to my presence. My eyes glimmered with predatory intensity as I moved silently among the sleeping soldiers. Half of the men on watch were already dead, and I positioned them so that they would appear alive from a distance. I masked my movements in shadows, skillfully evading the faintest creak of armor. I remained undetected as I fed off the blood of unsuspecting warriors with lethal precision.
I had tasted just a few of them, counting on the fact that the younger ones were sometimes not too lazy to clean themselves. But when I did taste them, I made sure to make it look bad. Unfortunately, most of them smelled like pigs, and their skin was covered in sweat and dirt. A short dagger worked just as well as my teeth.
I slipped out of the sixth or seventh tent and clung to its heavy cloth wall. Another dozen down. But that was not enough. I crouched down as an older man walked by, seemingly on his way back from a late-night piss break. He passed me without a single concern, so I let him walk in peace.
I chuckled at the thought of his horror in the morning when he found his friends butchered like piglets.
My stomach ached, trying to talk me out of another killing spree.
I pushed the idea of doing something foolish out of my mind and decided to retreat for now. My wings were strong enough to carry me a decent distance. Yet, I found myself in an old hunting cabin hidden among young fir trees. I could make it back to the mountains, but this cabin was closer, and sleeping here would be better than sleeping in the narrow ravine I found yesterday.
I frowned when I noticed a large basket of fresh apples set behind the door and soft fir branches on the bench against one of the walls.
Either it will come back, or those soldiers have already taken that human captive. They killed it if it was a man and kept it if it was a woman. Not that it mattered anyway.
I hated sleeping with my shoes on, so I took them off along with my coat and hat, which I had used to cover my unusual ears.
I had to admit that it was quite comfortable, even though I couldn't fit my legs in. The soft drizzle made it easier to fall asleep.
My senses forced me to focus when I heard small twigs breaking under careful footsteps and the sound of fabric rubbing against dense vegetation all around me.
A young woman stepped in without suspicion, but staggered back when she saw me. Her eyes jumped across my things before staring right into mine.
I couldn't help but be grateful for this little distraction. Their reactions were always amusing.
She was quiet for a moment. I could only hear her startled heart beating in her chest, urging her to run for her life.
I braced myself, anticipating her next move. But, to my surprise, she let out a weary sigh, quietly shut the door, and plunged us into heavier darkness.
"Are you hurt, sir?" Her voice formed a question I had heard only once or twice in my life.
"It's not my blood. Leave the formalities." I spoke before I could think it through.
"Do you want mine, too?" Her mellow voice resounded again. Human reactions are always amusing, and hers is no exception, even though it's unusual.
"I do. You smell better than all the ones I've tasted today." But I won't. I'm so full, I could puke." She made me admit it, but her answer surprised me even more.
"Please do it quickly when it comes. Good night."
I watched her lean into a corner and shiver in the cold before wrapping herself in the heavy skirt she wore.
I tried to listen to the pleasant chaos that had just erupted in the military camp, but the heavy rain and her soft breathing distracted me.
My aching belly also prevented me from getting a good night's sleep.
Startled and petrified, she abruptly disrupted my train of thought. Frozen in fear, I watched a group of riders thunder past us in the dense forest, their horses pounding the ground with an imposing weight.
"Shh..." I hushed her before she could scream for help. But fear wasn't the only thing I could sense from her. She sure is a healthy one.
"Did you have a pleasant dream? I feel..." I took a deep breath and chuckled. "I can smell you."
I saw her frown, but that was it. She didn't scream or do anything; she just sat back down quietly and obediently. I knew what she was doing. One isn't hungry while sleeping.
But I, on the other hand, was so overfed that there was just no way I could fall asleep. I watched her sleep, and after a few hours, she walked out. Was she trying to run away? But she was back sooner than I thought.
"Entertain me, woman. I'm bored." I said, giving out another order when she sat down. I had to do something, or else the boredom would kill me. I rose from my seat and stretched my aching back. I wished to unfurl my wings, but the limited space within the hut simply wouldn't allow it.
"We can play a game," she said, eyeing me. I had to suppress a smile.
"The games I play are surely not to your liking, human." But if I kill her now, what else can I do? Play with her body? That would be too boring. Watching her turn into a bloated corpse, and then into a pile of sun-bleached bones, was tempting. But there wasn't enough time to finish my game.
I refused, trying to come up with another idea. Torture would be nice, but she didn't look like someone who could handle pain. That would get boring quickly. Her scream might also attract unwanted attention — I reminded myself.
"Give it a chance, please." She ran out before I could decide how to entertain myself and returned sooner than I expected. I listened to her babble about the rules I was already familiar with, knowing I could beat her even with my eyes closed. I was used to playing with nuggets of gold and raw sapphires, but sticks and pebbles would suffice.
"What are you going to play for?" Curious about where she learned to play such an old game, I gave up and pulled a gold necklace with green stones from my left pocket as I joined her.
"Are you married?" I asked, noticing a wedding ring next to my prize.
"Widow. He died years ago. He was a good man, but marriage didn't bring me any joy." She opened up, but then she made a rookie mistake when she eagerly took the stone I had just sacrificed. This will be an easy win. I almost laughed in her face.
But she wasn't so stupid as to fall for half of my traps. Her face frowned as she tried to dig her way out of another trap I had set for her.
"Don't distract me," she grumbled suddenly.
"Your empty belly is distracting us both. I'm going to bed. Leave it alone, woman. We'll finish this later." I was finally tired enough to sleep. Exhausted, I sank onto the narrow bunk. My weariness finally overpowered me, and sleep claimed my restless mind.
Sunset woke me up every time without fail. I felt great. I shrugged my shoulders and chuckled, my mind filled with plans for tonight's hunt.
Wait a minute. Is she still in here? I took another step toward her and got a little closer. I was so close that I could smell her healthy body, but not close enough to reach her. That would only hold me up; I had work to do.
Yet, I found myself standing even closer, my mind clouded by the possible taste of her blood. Would it be rich and sweet or mellow?
I was sure she would be delicious. Fucking delicious. I leaned even closer, sniffing her with bared teeth in an excited smile.
I reached out, but stopped before I could grab her. Focus. There's work to be done. They wouldn't expect a threat this soon. Everyone is still awake.
She can soothe my stomach as soon as I'm done with them.
I forced myself to step out of the hut and sneak all the way by foot to the first patrol. They could see at least four other groups guarding the perimeter. Not this one, though. Nor the ones on my left.
Where should I begin?
Right in the middle. That would be perfect. I flew high in the clouds, waiting for an opening. I counted the soldiers going in and out of every tent, trying to decide which one would be the easiest to start with. I dropped from the sky and jumped into the tent I had chosen, folding my wings back under my heavy coat as I did so.
He was eating and pushed some of the mash out of his mouth to scream for help.
"How can you scream without vocal cords in your throat, you dumb shit?" I chuckled while holding his head down and cutting through his fat neck.
He stopped squirming quickly, so I wrapped his body in a blanket and covered the puddle of blood with a rug.
I waited. I listened to muffled voices coming from outside.
"Branko this, Branko that. I'm not a fucking slave, you fuckers." Someone stepped closer but only pissed and walked away again, annoyed.
I got bored.
I should have ripped her throat open and used her young, healthy blood to treat myself. Instead of doing this.
"Marco?" A low grunt disrupted my thoughts just in time. I grabbed him and closed his mouth before he could make a sound.
"Marco can't save you, boy," I said in a hushed tone, devoid of any trace of compassion. I groaned and spat it out before I could swallow it.
Sick one. I broke his neck, disgusted, and hid his body on the opposite side under another blanket.
I filled the tent with bodies and moved on to the next one.
I returned to the hut, exhausted beyond belief. I was too tired to deal with the person curled up like a cat on the bench. I took off my shoes and dropped my hat, along with some stockpiled food that I had found in one of the tents.
My coat landed on her before I could think of a better place to put it. Too lazy to wake her up, I dropped it next to her and fell asleep faster than ever.
Her wriggling and fast heartbeat woke me up just before noon. I kept quiet out of pure curiosity. I peeked at her just as she tiptoed around the bench and looked back at me, surprised.
I grinned, realizing how little humans need to be happy. I knew some of my peers kept stockpiles of humans in basements or, if they were fortunate enough, in guarded hamlets.
"Just say thank you and eat, woman." I shifted into a more comfortable position, but she interrupted me again when she leaned in and patted my head. What the hell was that? She was already out the door before I could turn to face her, crouching over the vegetable I had dropped on the floor earlier.
Is she retarded? I frowned and sat up.
"You know I'm going to kill you eventually, right?" I asked when she came back and closed the door behind her.
"I'm not naive. But there's no point in dwelling on it now. Just do it when you have to." She knelt in the middle of the room, so I joined her since I didn't have anything better to do.
"Why didn't you remarry?" A sudden curiosity crossed my mind. It was weird. I usually didn't care about my food at all.
"I was finally in a position where I could choose my husband. I wanted to find someone I could truly love." She muttered, her eyes roaming across the board before she made her move. It was a rookie mistake, but as I took her stick, her face lit up.
What just happened?
"Show me again," I ordered after frowning at the board for a moment.
She did as I said without a second thought. I enjoyed how obedient she was.
"So I have the last two rocks?"
"We can call it a draw. I have two as well." Her calming voice soothed my grumpiness. We played for so long just to call it a draw? But I wanted that ring.
"Okay. Let's trade our wins. Now, I'll have the sticks." I tried putting the ring on my little finger, but it got stuck on my second knuckle, and I couldn't push it any further. Does she have such slender fingers?
"I'm glad you're enjoying the game," she muttered, gazing at the floor. I was so close that I could lean in and kill her in a matter of seconds. Yet she was calm. Her heartbeat was regular, and her breathing seemed normal, too.
"I'd rather have a different kind of fun, but I don't know how long I'll be stuck here." This will have to do. What are you going to play now?" I asked, trying to find the golden hairpin I knew I had somewhere.
"Do we have to bet on anything? I don't have anything to bet that would work." She said, trying to put the necklace on her wrist.
"It goes on the neck. That's a necklace. That piece of gold means nothing to me. I've got tons of stuff like that." I explained, following her movements, eager to rip her throat out with that piece of jewelry in the near future.
"Let's play for the bench. The winner will sleep there tonight." She suggested with a naïve smile.
"That's my bench." I teased her, getting the exact outcome I expected. Humans are stupid.
"But I really..." Her startled voice trailed off.
"I'm sure you have something else to offer." I pushed her a bit further.
"I have nothing but my clothes and my body. I'm not going to lose either of them to you in a stupid game."
I made her angry. I couldn't help but chuckle. Is she suicidal or something? Talking to me like this? But I was in a good mood, and she was good company.
"I'm fine with the bench." I agreed and watched her smile with satisfaction.
"Let's make this a little more complicated," she said, taking one of my sticks and putting half a shell in its place. "That's your general. If I pick him up, I win, regardless of how many soldiers are left." Here's mine." She pointed at her shell.
I stretched out the game as much as possible and captured her general when the sun set. I left her behind and crawled to their camp. But they became cautious and formed a ring of humans around a ring of flickering fires in the middle of the meadow.
No fun for me today.
I returned and dawdled because she was nowhere to be found. Oh, there she was! My entertainment just stepped in, shivering from the cold and starving.
"You can take my coat if you're cold—" I offered it to her and watched as she obeyed my command once again.
"Come sleep here with me, woman. I'll keep you warm." I added as soon as she touched it. I was curious. I wanted to see her angry again.
"Bend your knees. Keep your legs apart." She stepped closer and waited.
What?
What the actual fuck?
I got curious, though. I was so curious that I spread my knees and waited for her next move. Before I knew it, she was kneeling above me, cuddled to my chest.
"Like this?" Her hot breath tickled my skin, and I nodded. It felt great. She was so warm and cute that I had to force myself not to pet her like a cat.
"Hmmm..." I said, watching the top of her head wriggle a little before she calmed down and fell asleep.
A weird feeling tickled my mind. I liked it, I realized, as I traced the contours of her figure with my fingers, running them along my coat. Then, I drifted off to sleep.
Today, I sank into strange dreams. Not unpleasant, just weird.
Her body was hot, almost too hot for my taste. I tried to get up without waking her, but when I realized I was going out of my way for a mere snack, I simply dropped her by my side and took the coat.
But she was cute. A cute snack. It was refreshing to finally have a meal that wasn't screaming in fear, shitting itself, and passing out before I could even touch it.
Why is she looking at me like this? I couldn't stand it, so I left.
But it was dark and quiet. I realized they finished the bridge and froze. I should pursue them. They must be tired; I could easily kill anyone who falls behind. It would be an easy task.
Yet, another longing filled my body. It was time for my snack to finally be mine. I'll rip her to pieces tonight. I almost giggled at the thought of her shattered bones.
I turned around and stepped back inside. She was still lying on the narrow bench, her sleepy eyes following me as I sat beside her.