Taint of Darkness - Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Fire & Ice

Cynthia cowered in the small crevice, waiting for the Thing to strike. She shivered as its long, forked tongue flickered out at her and advanced. Looking this way and that, she tried to find a point of escape. No such luck. The Thing started closing in. Suddenly, a shrill cry echoed through the cave.

"Kajiki! Keno mo ku denmaji?"

With the strange words, an odd-looking old lady appeared around the corner of the cave's narrow path. The lamp-light she held illuminated part of the cave. The Thing spotted the lady and started toward her, and for a moment Cyn thought it would attack her. But instead, it started to rub up against her like a cat, and made a distinct sound somewhere between a purr and a growling hiss.

The lady ignored it, pushing past the Thing to the crevice where Cynthia was hiding. Cyn now saw the old lady more closely. She had mid-length ginger hair and was probably overweight. Her eyes were blue, and the robe she wore was a dark of red.

When the light fell on her, the lady seemed surprised at first, but then her expression softened.

"Poor thing," She said, "Kajiki probably scared you half to death. Are you alright? Don't worry, she's completely harmless."

As sincere as the old lady sounded, Cynthia was too frightened of 'Kajiki' to come out. The lady sighed, bended down, and much to Cynthia's surprise, lifted her off the ground and carried her out of the ice cave. 'Kajiki' followed beside her all the way to the cave entrance before it turned around and returned to the cave's icy depths.

After the lady carried her for awhile, she yawned. Until now, Cynthia didn't realize how tired she was from running and how late it had gotten since entering the cave. Slowly but surely, she drifted off to sleep, staying awake just long enough to see the forest open into a clearing, revealing a small, comfy looking cottage.