Ray is low on time, luck, and hope; his only chance is an artifact that may not even exist. But upon meeting Landon, Ray is beginning to believe he might find all four.
*****
Cambion...
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Landon's mind went blank as he stared at the beautiful stranger before him.
Him? Have something belonging to this person? It was ridiculous enough that Landon existed in the same world with someone like this. The idea that Landon had somehow picked up something that this person owned - that his filthy fingers had grasped what belonged to a creature that looked every bit the divinity Landon did not believe in - was enough that Landon almost laughed.
And then he did laugh - or rather, he chuckled, awkwardly. He lifted his hand to rub the back of his neck. "I'm- uh, sorry. I think you have the wrong person." He offered the stranger a smile. "We've never- I mean I don't think we've ever met before."
"No," the stranger confirmed.
"Uh, I can help you find whoever or- er, whatever, it is that you're looking for," Landon offered, feeling oddly off-kilter. Normally a pretty face wouldn't affect him nearly this much. However, for some reason, this person seemed... different and Landon found himself stumbling over even the most basic words.
Thankfully, the stranger didn't seem to mind. He seemed just as nervous as Landon was, or at least his body was just as tense. Tenser than Landon originally realized. It was hard to tell beneath the thick fabric of his cloak, but the man seemed on the verge of fight or flight. Ah, was he embarrassed because he knocked on the door of the wrong person?
"I know that you have the Crimson Sheath," the stranger said.
Which was... a string of words Landon never expected to hear in his entire life, much less from someone so beautiful he put sculptures to shame.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Landon said.
The only sheath he had - crimson or otherwise - was the one belonging to his dagger and it was impossible that that was what this stranger was looking for. The dagger had been with Landon for years now and a silly sheath wasn't something that a person spent years looking for. Besides, it had been his parents' - or he was pretty sure that it had been his parents' - before they... before Landon had become a Sea Child.
"You do," the stranger insisted. "I don't know what or who you are but I am willing to fight to take what is mine by birthright."
The stranger took a step forward.
Landon slammed the door in his face.
Perhaps the price of inhuman beauty was insanity. Landon's heart jackrabbited in his chest as he stared at the door, wondering what the stranger on the other side would do. He was clearly insane. Most likely insane. Landon usually liked to believe the best in people so maybe the stranger was just... confused?
That was most likely it. He had mistaken Landon for someone else and he only sounded insane because Landon didn't know what this crimson sheath thing was. If Landon was the guy this stranger was looking for, the one who had whatever it was the stranger was looking for, then everything would make perfect sense. Hopefully, now that Landon had closed the door, the stranger would realize his mistake and-
A knife pierced through the door.
Nope! Nope, the stranger was definitely insane! What type of person just stabbed a door for no reason? Not a sane one! And why did he need a stupid sheath when the knife he had seemed plenty good to Landon. Good enough to stab through an admittedly pretty thin but definitely still wooden door!
Landon made a noise that was... not all that flattering as he jerked as far away from the door, trying to get as far away from it as possible. He cursed the small space of the room. There wasn't anywhere for him to go besides out the door. The room's only window would put him right beside the person who just proved he had no issue stabbing a door!
The stranger removed the knife slowly, almost methodically, as if he were removing the knife from the carcass of a great beast he'd brought down. For a moment there was only silence. Then, lightning struck and the stranger stabbed the knife back through the door once more.
This time, Landon definitely yelped.
He needed to get out of here. The door was locked but they were in no way secure. If the stranger had the strength to puncture a door, he had more than enough strength to kick this door down considering the shitty excuse for locks that were on it.
The stranger did not remove the knife a second time. Nor did he kick the door down. Landon waited, in agonizing silence, each moment dragging over his skin like a dull blade. He couldn't hear the stranger outside but he could barely hear anything over the rain. It was impossible to know if he had left or not. What if he was prowling around back to stab the other side of the building.
He might be able to for all Landon knew! These walls weren't much thicker than the doors. At least, he assumed they weren't, given how clearly he'd been able to hear the late-night activities of his neighbors the prior evening.
Briefly, Landon considered crawling into his bed and pulling the blankets over his head like he was a child again, convinced that the monsters wouldn't be able to reach him if they couldn't see him. But Landon had grown up. He knew there were no such things as monsters or gods. However, he did know that there was such a thing as beautiful lunatics with knives. He almost crawled under his bed regardless.
Instead, Landon pulled out his dagger. He tightened his grip around its hilt and tried to ignore the trembling of his hand. Holding the dagger felt awkward. Landon had never really held it like this, like a weapon, before. He never had a reason to. He still didn't like holding it like this. He didn't want to fight this person. He didn't want to hurt or kill them.
But Landon also didn't want to die.
The world, however, had never given a damn about what Landon had wanted and it certainly wasn't about to start now. Because Landon's window burst into flames.
The force of the blast sent Landon flailing. His spine collided with his back wall as a cry of pain was pulled from his throat. Reality warped as golden fire danced before Landon's eyes. The room was suddenly so hot that sweat was blooming on Landon's brow like flowers. The air was so thick Landon had to gasp to breathe at all.
Landon tried to push himself up. His instincts were screaming at him. He needed to run, to escape this burning room, or else he would die. However, Landon's legs refused to bear the weight of his body. A hiss escaped Landon's gritted teeth as he slouched against the wall. Was this really how he was going to die?
He squeezed his eyes shut. Shit. This was such, such shit! Landon didn't want to die here. He definitely didn't want to die like this! No. No! Landon refused to accept such a shitty fate. He was a Sea Child, something unwanted and unloved. He had survived that. Landon would survive this too. All he had to do was get up!
Footsteps.
Landon opened his eyes to see the stranger step through what remained of the window. The glass bubbled and melted beneath his fingertips. An illusion? It must've been. Landon was probably half-dead from the smoke and the heat of the flames. There was no way that this person was able to walk through them like that...
Because that was exactly what he did. The stranger waded through the flames as though he, himself, was made of flame. In return, the fire did not seek him out as it did Landon. It simply licked at the edges of his cloak, more like a dog than a force of nature.
"Ah," the stranger said, bending over Landon. "I knew you were lying." His fingers passed Landon's body entirely, instead of curling around the dagger still gripped tightly in his hand. "Release the Crimson Sheath, or I am going to kill every last person in this inn."
