A Flame in the Shadows - With Art!

{|} Chapter 3 {|}

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Caliente's body ached with soreness as she shifted onto her side. She felt as though stones had been pelted against her body in her sleep.

Opening her soft turquoise eyes, Caliente found herself surrounded by warm, sticky blood,  some of which covering her own talons/

' 'Wha-?! Wha-!?' ' She mumbled in a frenzied panic, jumping to her talons and sprinting to the cliff edge.

' 'NO-!' ' The lithe hybrid screamed in anguish at the sight of her parents stiff bodies. Tears rolling down her cheeck, she rushed to her sisters' room. She identified her youngest sister dead on the entrance floor, white as a cloud and deep blue eyes frozen in terror. Caliente crept into the room, her heart almost splintering into hundreds of pieces at the death she had already witnessed. She stared emtionless at the floor, too overcome by grief to want to confirm if her other sister had perished as well. Finally, she lifted her head to find a motionless figure on the moss covered ledge.

Why? She thought simply, crashing to the floor as a small puddle began to form from her tears.

' 'Who . . . Couldv'e done this?' ' She mumbled between sobs, leaning against the cave's wall.

/' 'Why, it was you love.' '\ A slimy voice echoed in her ears.

Caliente jumped to her talons, expecting her family's assassan to be near.

/' 'Cute. But it was you who did this darling.' '\ It spoke again.

' 'W-Who are you?' ' She squeaked, creeping towards the main cave.

/' 'I thought we already went over this doll? Zoterues is my name.' '\ It scoffed, seeming to be annoyed but a hint of joy hiding behind its voice.

' 'But you're a HiveWing. I don't see you anywhere.' 'Caliente mumbled, almost whispering as she stepped out onto the cliff.

/' 'Hmph! Well this is annoying. Let me break it down for you; when you signed that scroll, you gave me permission to inhabit your body and thus control your actions and words. Simple! I was going to leave your family alone, but they were SO ANNOYING! You are a fun one to puppet though, doll!' '\ It rambled on. Caliente hardly noticed it though, grief annd regret sweeping through her as she held her bloody talon up to the gash along her mother's spine.

' 'I did this-?' ' She mumbled, hardly believing it as she measured the width of the gash. Sure enough, the hybrid's talon fit perfectly.

/' 'Indeed, m'lady! It was fun it was!' '\ Zoterues exclaimed.

 The dragoness walked numbly between her family's corpses, grabbing a piece of jewelry from each. An orange pendant necklace from her mother, a talon-made bracelet from her father, and two frill-rings from her sisters.

/' 'What a pointless action.' '\ Zoterues criticized.

' 'G-Get out.' ' She mouthed. ' 'Get out!' ' She screamed, anguish and grief racking her soul as she collapsed onto the blood stained stone.

/' 'Not too interested in that love.' '\ Zoterues spoke simply, not seeming to care for the hybrid's mental state.

Caliente continued to lay there, tears streaming down her cheeks and mixed emotions clouding her judgement.

' 'Hyai!' ' She took off towards the mountains, Zoterues' slippery voice still ringing in her ears.

The dragoness flew deep into the mountain range, her grief and anger masking her exhaustion and her possessor's voice.

It's all my fault, was the only thought running through her mind. 

Finally, she collapsed into a creek in one of the mountain's valleys, darkness immediately overriding her vision as her exhaustion swamped her.

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{|} Bit of a short chapter this time. To be completely honest, this episode hit hard. I lost a lot of people close to me (Not by death but by other means) and I believed it was my fault. This book has made me realize how frighteningly similar Cali and I are 🤷‍♀️ {|}

-GG