Strange New Eyes

Chapter Eight - Killer

Even separated from them, Letter blood has a special connection to its owner. A Letter is aware of every drop, whether spilled or pulsing through their veins. Something inside them feels it more deeply than a simple thought or a sensation. They feel the rhythm of their own hearts trembling in their blood and that of the hearts of those their blood has entered. And for this reason, Aysel felt every beat of the woman's pierced heart as she killed her.

This was worse than seeing death, or mourning it. This was like dying herself. Tears rolled unnoticed down her cheeks as the woman struggled to stay conscious even as Aysel's spike drove deeper and deeper into her chest. She could feel the desperate flutter of her heart as it tried to beat, like a bird trying to fly on a broken wing. Her body was frantically trying to repair and protect her even as she fell to her knees, then to her elbows, her eyes staring sightlessly into the pool of blood she had created. Aysel saw and felt as she collapsed into it. And then, in a few terrible moments more, she was gone.

Aysel fell to the ground, shaken and physically shaking. That had never happened with the rabbits or elg she had hunted, or the sheep she had helped slaughter in the fall. This was something new, disturbingly so. She knew that this death, the death of another being, was different and more significant than that of a beast.

"Mmm..." someone moaned. Aysel raised her head from her hands. Some of those tied up and ready for slaughter were stirring, awoken by the sudden splash of blood from the woman who would have killed them.

One of them raised his pale head, which now dripped blood, and turned towards her. The flash of red-tinged gold at his throat made him instantly recognizable. "Enrick!" Aysel stood and hurried over to him, and drawing still more blood from her wrist, severed his ties.

As soon as he was free he scrambled away like a scared animal. It took a moment of staring at her with wide, yellow eyes for him to realize who she was. "Aysel," he said, his voice hoarse. "You came to find me."

"Dunyasha realized you were in trouble," she explained, her voice and her hands still shaking. "You can't save my brother if you're dead." Enrick glanced at the others, and Aysel added, "We're here to save everyone. Help me with the ropes."

He did, slowly. He seemed to be hurt, but Aysel was busy convincing dozens of People that she wasn't going to skin them at the moment.

"It's okay," she said soothingly to one. "I'm going to free you."

"Lying Letter," they spat back. "Get your accursed blood away from me."

"Leave them, Aysel," Enrick said. "Don't rescue them if they don't want to. It's obvious they'd much rather a Letter who hasn't had a change of heart skin them."

They fell silent after that, and suspiciously watched as Aysel cut the rest of their ropes.

Aysel and Enrick has managed to free everyone still alive without any Letters stumbling upon their rescue mission. The group of them, around twenty-five in total, watched impatiently as Aysel rubbed her fingers over her now quite sore wrist and then on the ground. The circle was broken.

They all swarmed out and scattered. "We'll break the other circle," Enrick said in a hurried, hushed voice. "You just run, and don't get caught."

Some of them nodded their thanks to him, but most of them took one last, frightened look at Aysel and ran off.

"And now it's our turn," Enrick said, walking quickly and pulling Aysel along by her uninjured wrist. "Almost every Letter left— Dunyasha's doing?" She nodded. "Well, she bought us time but not much. We need to get out of this camp and away from here before they come back and try to skin us both."