Chapter Eight

Kasaf was bored.

That boredom was what led him to stroll down the mist-filled streets of Acaldin. Street lamps cast golden light through the light mists. Buildings, blocky in shape, rose in the form of a hill, streets formed from cobblestones rising on an incline. Many alleys cut through these buildings, the scent of ash and piss mingling in Kasaf’s highly sensitive nostrils. The scent burned there. On occasion, he could spot men and women clad in navy blue uniforms, rifles slung over their backs. Horsemen. Hood still up, he grinned to himself. He supposed it was only right that the Horsemen were out here. After all, he had grown rather dangerous lately.

In the distance, the towering mass of granite and stone gleamed from the early daggers of dawn, shadows etched along its length. The mass led to a circular block of stone carved with many slits of glass that served as windows, ringed with a rising crop of metal. The Keritia, he recognized. His nose twitched in disgust at the sight of the building. Just you wait, old man, he thought with a wild grin.

Kasaf made a left, entering the mouth of an alley. Bags were in the process of being sucked into metal boxes, puffs of smoke belched from holes hidden along the sides of the boxes. His nose twitched once more. The smells drifting towards his face were putrid and inviting. His stomach growled in delight. How long had it been since he feasted? A woman is close…. Kasaf advanced down the alley, where he came across a woman with her back against the brick wall. Her scarlet eyes and black hair denoted her heritage. She’s Oseka…. Probably mixed with some Liteha, too… Kasaf flicked his tongue along his lip. The woman wore a top that left little to the imagination. It hugged her extensive curves, and her long legs were covered in silver, skin-tight stockings.

“You speak the common tongue?” Kasaf asked her.

“Y-yeah.”

“Good. Why don’t you come back to my place with me?”

“Are you...paying?” The woman bit her fine lip slightly. She fought to still the trembling of her left hand, which was pressed against her chest. Her entire body gave off waves of fear, the kind that left him feeling warm in his stomach.

“Of course,” Kasaf said with a grin. “You’re pretty, I’ll give you that. You deserve some coin, just for that face alone. Ya know, I’ve been living like this for a while… I’m thinking of slowing down for a bit. Give me a child.”

The woman’s eyes widened. Her lip trembled, more than likely from her instincts telling her to decline him. Hmph. I don’t think she will, though. Whores grow up thinking that they have to be subservient. They don’t see life no other way… She’ll comply, all right. I know she will. And if she doesn’t…. Kasaf licked his lip once more.

“Give you...child?”

“Yeah. You stupid or something? I said it pretty clear enough, didn’t I?”

“I…” the woman pressed a hand against her chest. “I...the laws of the Chetial say that its servants can’t bear any man’s child. That’s the law. Going against it means….being tossed into prison. Or worse. They’ll cut your head off for not listening. I don’t want to die.”

It was then that Kasaf noticed the necklace gleaming around her pale throat. He inspected it silently. Hmph. Silvcrean necklace...So someone’s died and left her alone, is that it? Suppressing the urge to frown, he leaned in to place a hand on her shoulder. The woman tensed; Kasaf smiled invitingly, willing his fangs to retract so that they weren’t visible. I’ll humor you for a bit, all right. I’m hungry, greedy, and bored. You’ll have to do….

“Is that true?” Kasaf said. “You can’t give a man a child, even if you want to?”

“Even talking to you right now can get me in trouble… Please...”

Kasaf tightened his grip on her shoulder before leaning his face closer to her body. His eyes found her cleavage; Kasaf used his free hand to press her against the wall with ease. The woman parted her lips in an attempt to scream. She managed to let out a poor attempt at a scream; Kasaf pulled apart her lips to grip her tongue, holding himself back.

“Did I say you can yell?” he said. “No. Be a quiet little whore and let me take you. What’s a better place than a piss-covered alley?”

The woman’s eyes grew tearful as she attempted to struggle under his strength. A bleat, likely only audible to his kind, cleaved the silence. Hm...that sound…. Kasaf released her tongue, causing her to gag. A hand pressed against her throat as tears spilled from her eyes. Kasaf brushed her cheek with his lips, squeezing her backside. The woman yelped and tried to bat away his hand; Kasaf gripped her wrist with a grin.

“Today’s your lucky day,” he said, grin still lasting. “I won’t kill you, all right. Someone’s wandered into my safe space, is all.”

He slapped her cheek gently. The woman hurried out of the alley; Kasaf was too busy dwelling on that horrible sound to care. What he told the prostitute was indeed true. The sound he heard could only mean one thing: An individual or group of individuals had truly wandered into the city. His city. The thought of such a thing was enough to make his jaw tighten. Lowering his hood, he concentrated on the gia slithering up and down the slick brick wall like wispy snakes. Heart thumping multiple times, he willed himself to push forward, stomach clenching. Kasaf found himself outside the alley, the scent of ash lingering behind him. The street was clear of any Horsemen and civilians. Lines of shops, mostly food-oriented, surrounded him on opposite sides of the street.

He whipped his head around in search of any sign of the disturbance’s source. Not there or there. Damn it. Where… Another bleat rocked the air, causing him to sway slightly. Kasaf tilted his body in the direction of the sound. It’s close, all right…. Someone’s treating me like a child…. Growling, he pulled up his hood and hurried down the street, passing the shops. His heart began to clatter with each step he took, until he reached the source of the disturbance.

All he found was a group of children. They regarded him with wide eyes. Kasaf wondered what they saw when they looked at him. A monster? A scary adult? He turned away quickly. His fellow elves mocked him for his refusal to feast on children’s blood and souls. They claimed it was a delectable meal. He just ignored their comments. Killing children was going too far in his opinion, so he swore to never do it. He just wished he could understand why he felt that way…

Peeling away from the children, he crossed the street. No more bleats sounded, which probably meant that whomever caused them was on the move. They’ll probably come back, all right. I should go back home. It’s almost sunrise. An elf, especially a minor one, faced limited strength during hours of the sun for reasons still unknown. Kasaf was determined to figure out why this was the case. If he did, he figured Basil would reward him with a higher rank and position. Being known as a minor elf did nothing but stoke his anger. It felt like his pride had been ripped to shreds.

There are strong people here, he thought with distaste. More than likely, there’s a bunch of them. I might have to be careful… He ran a hand down his face. What was he talking about? I’ll just keep kidnapping women and feasting until I grow strong enough to take on the head of this damn city. I won’t let any strong people meddle in my plans. With that, Kasaf vanished in a wisp of smoke, leaving behind the sleeping city.