The Faerie Slayer
Prologue

Prologue

The storm was brutal enough to make shake of my frangible home. As if the sky had mirrored my emotions, it thundered and roared with enragement. I had mere minutes, if even. My mind was a chaotic mess, scantly doing it's job of steering me in the right direction. I stumbled through the halls of the small bungalow, my vision often failing drastically and without warning. I had given much thought to the day that I would die, more times then I could ever count but in reality, there was nothing that could have prepared me. My heart had sank to my knees when I had caught sight of the papyrus scroll on my window sill. With smeared black ink were engraved the words ; they're coming.

In the background, I could hear the breathless grunts of panic from my husband, accompanied by the screeching sounds of a crying Aubrette. I reached into the crib and grasped hold of my squirming baby. The lights were now off, and all that lit the room was the occasional strike of lightning. I fled out the back, bare feet thudding against damp soil. The tears that streamed down my face in racing puddles were washed off with rainwater. I did not dare to spare a glance at my home behind me, I could not afford it. I knew that as long as Aubrette was with me, she was not safe. It was me that they wanted, not her. Helplessly, I wandered through the murky night, through the thick mist and shadows. In the distance I finally caught sight of a brick home bordering the forest. I felt the blisters on my feet and the cuts from the gravel road begin to ache and burn. I ran up the steps, wincing as the palm of my foot made contact with something hard and sharp. I kneeled to place my baby on the front porch and knew right then and there, that this would be the very last time that I would ever get to hold her. I did not feel heavy, nor mournful, I felt undone. I ripped sheer white cloth from my dress and suddenly wished I'd had worn something warmer. I wrapped Aubrette as best as I could and spared her one last kiss on her forehead. My fists pounded on the entrance door as hard as I could muster in an effort to compete with the deafening storm. Through the limpid curtains of the front windows I could see an approaching figure. With one last glance of goodbye, I left my baby forever, the haunting sounds of her screams forever echoing in my background.

I could have ran off as an attempt to spare myself momentarily, but a life without my husband or Aubrette was not one I was destined to live. I returned to my home that night to discover my husband slayed, a dagger through his head. Hovering over his body, match in hand was the ogre of my nightmares. I could not run, I could not hide, I could not fight. I was mortal and he was immortal. In every life, song, daydream and tale, I was fated to lose, this was my foreseen end. The creature raised clawed fingernails , bearing a wicked grin and aimed them for my chest. I sank to my knees and felt the life as it drained out of me and unlike my husband, I bled. My last thought; I pray that I chose a good home for my Aubrette.