Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Lathanos's Great Journey ❯ Demons and Nightmares ( Chapter 3 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Ch. 3
Demons and Nightmares

The second horse seemed to be taking its time. Its eyes were just as intelligent as the first one’s. This one was all black, and the tips of its mane and tail seemed to have been dipped in white paint. As it studied Lathanos intently, a white, five-point star appeared upon its forehead. “We call this one Black Star,” said Romona. “It’s a tad stubborn, this one, but its very loyal to its rider,”
Black Star got down on its front knees, as if bowing to Lathanos. Lathanos got on its back, and Black Star stood up once more. As if on cue, Romona then mounted Firebolt. They rode simultaneously into the forest.
Black Star was struggling along behind Firebolt, just barely able to keep up. Romona saw this and smiled. She bent down low and whispered, “Firebolt, let’s show Lathanos what you can really do!” Firebolt obliged, vastly picking up speed. Romona’s eyes sparkled as the smile on her face widened. Through the hours that they rode, her expression never changed. Not once.
Hours passed, and they were finally entering a clearing in the forest. ‘Damn, Firebolt sure is fast!’ Lathanos thought.
They came to a halt when they entered the clearing. Lathanos then got off Black Star. Romona followed sync, dismounting Firebolt. “We will camp here tonight,” said Romona. “We leave at dawn. If you are not ready when that time comes, I shall leave you behind,”
“Ok…That was one hell of a ride! These horses have potential!!”
“Yeah, they are some of the best in the land,”
“When we get to Sentino Village, I need to find Fintomo, so just meet me at the tavern there, ok?” Romona gave a simple nod. It was already late, so they set up camp and headed straight to bed.
That night, Lathanos had quite a frightening nightmare. It wasn’t your average bad dream. It was truly…terrifying…

Lathanos found himself on a vast, foggy plain that went on endlessly. The sky was stone gray. Lathanos heard Romona’s worried shouts of his name echo throughout the land. Yet, he couldn’t see her anywhere.
Lathanos ran in the direction her voice was coming from, shouting, “Romona, where are you?! Romona!!” He was surprised to find his voice not echoing. Romona’s voice did, yet his did not. Instead, his voice was merely a whisper. He found this to be quite strange. He continued running in her direction.
After awhile, her figure finally became visible. “Romona~~!!!” Lathanos screamed. His voice, however, was still a small whisper. He ran to Romona, but when he reached her, her figure transformed into the black shadow of a demon. He drew his sword and attacked. When the blade struck the demon, however, the blade disintegrated.
Lathanos pulled back and unsheathed the sword Viscone had given him. The blade was blood red and shimmered like diamonds. However, as soon as he had it unsheathed, the blade shattered. Lathanos was frozen in fear. He was defenseless.
“Now, it’s my turn, Wretch!” the demon hissed. He rushed Lathanos and struck him, sending him to the ground.
All of a sudden, Romona’s figure appeared in front of the demon. The demon grinned and closed his fingers together like a blade. He jabbed right through her, but he didn’t stop there. He then ripped off her wings and dropped her lifeless body in a pool of dark red blood.
“NO~~~~~~!!!” Lathanos cried out.

Lathanos awoke in a cold sweat. He steadied his shaking hands and patiently waited for Romona to awaken.
Shortly after she had woken up, they cleaned up and rode off into the forest once more. Hours passed. They now neared Sentino Village…
Once in Sentino, Romona headed for the tavern and Lathanos began his search for Fintomo. After hours of searching the village, he finally realized that Fintomo must not be in the village. He gave up his search, his head drooping, and he headed for the tavern.
Romona sat quietly at the tavern, thinking about the previous night. Her cheeks flushed, turning red. She lowered her gaze. Her dreams haunted her even now…

She looked up slowly, her hair falling over her shoulders. She watched it. Something flowed down it and fell at the end, as red as her hair. Her hands shaking, she reached out to the liquid and touched it. It was warm, and it smelled strongly of blood.
Something brushed softly now against her cheek, and looking, it was a petal. A cherry blossom. The cherry trees surrounded her, the blossoms almost covering up the blood on the ground. Her blood. She stood up slowly, her once white dress now stained red.
As tears trickled down her face, she said, “In all true battles, the blood rains,” She reached out her hand, adding, “It is like the cherry blossoms fall,” She closed her hand, turning it over. A petal fell gently to the ground. Her eyes finally were caught in the light. A distant look filled them.

Romona blinked a few times, transfixed. Looking up, she saw an Elven man before her. He was particularly handsome, his high cheekbones showing that he was of noble blood. His large, blue, almond-shaped eyes shone brightly. His lips were pressed tightly together. Wrinkles in the corners showed he frowned much, but his laugh line could compete.
Romona stood up gracefully, nodding curtly before saying, “Sir,”
The elf smiled, his grin spreading to the tips of his ears. He bowed, slightly in mockery. “My princess, I have a message from your father. I shall deliver it now,” He held out a piece of parchment. Romona’s eyes moved over the fine text as she read every word upon it:

My Dearest Daughter,

I regret to inform you that Panthias has been relocated. You are fortunate that he was a high noble or else your childhood friend would have died.

Your Loving Father

The elf looked at her. He laughed as he said, “He is very coldhearted I would say,” He passed her a small look before bowing and backing out.
Romona turned her furious gaze towards the window, staring out at the town. Finally, she sat down at a table, dropping the parchment. Looking up, she saw Lathanos, and a small smile crept onto her face. Motioning for him to join her at the table, she saw the look in his eyes. Her smile disappeared as she said, “No luck?” As Lathanos shook his head, she put her hand over his, feeling a slight shock. Looking up, she said, “At least you have some news?” She gave his hand a gentle squeeze, a small smile on her face.
“He is out on business,” Lathanos replied, “but he’ll be back later today…so let’s stay awhile. We need some supplies anyway,”
“Yeah,” said Romona. They paid for their rooms and headed up to them.
“I know I should have told her, but I didn’t want to worry her!” Lathanos mumbled, eying the large cut on his arm, which was half hidden under his cloak. He winced slightly from the pain.

Earlier that day…

Lathanos knocked on the door of a small hut at the edge of the village. No answer. He knocked a little louder. Still no answer. “Mr. Fintomo?” Nothing.
“You are looking for Kazaka Fintomo, are you not?” said an elderly woman near the hut.
“Aye, ma’am!” said Lathanos.
“I am sorry, but he is not here. He is away on…business, but he will be back tomorrow, I’m sure,” said the elderly woman. “You are welcome to stay in the village if you want. There is a tavern that way,” She pointed towards the village entrance.
“Ok, thank you,” Lathanos said kindly.
“Anytime, Dear,” said the woman.
“Lathanos!!” a voice like that of a demon’s cried. “I have finally found you! Now draw your sword and face me, or die!!” A man no more than twenty with hideous, orange skin and spiky, green hair stepped into the open. His eyes were glassy and black. The man wielded a very large buster sword. He also had a katana sheathed to his side. Everyone quickly ran into their homes.
“So, shall we begin?” Lathanos suggested calmly.
“Let’s!” the demon hissed. Lathanos unsheathed his sword and charged. The demon raised his sword to block. Ringing steel filled the air. Blow after blow after blow the demon blocked. One particular attempt by Lathanos had him and the demon struggling to push the other back. “Damn you! You should just give up! I am far superior to you, Lathanos!!”
“We’ll just have to see about that!” replied Lathanos. They pushed off each other. Lathanos leapt into the air with his sword blade above his head, ready to strike. Just as Lathanos was about to slice through the demon, it moved out of the way, and the blade just barely grazed its cheek.
“Very good, Lathanos! I underestimated you! This is going to be a very fun kill if I do say so myself,” the demon exclaimed. “By the way, the name’s Estimos!” He charged at Lathanos, ready to strike. He just barely managed to block Estimos’s blow. He then moved back and jumped into the air. He reached into his robes and pulled out three kunai knives. He then threw them at Estimos, One grazing Estimos’s arm, the other two missing.
“Damn, that was my good arm!! Now you’ll pay!!!” Estimos screamed. He raised his huge sword and swung at Lathanos. Lathanos raised his sword to block…and got knocked back into a tree, hitting his head on it pretty hard.
“Ow…damn! This guy’s crazy!!” Lathanos muttered, struggling to his feet.
“Hah! Is that the best you can do?! And to think I actually thought you were the ‘extraordinary swordsman’ talked about throughout the land!” Estimos cackled. He raised his sword to strike. “Die, you lying bastard!”
Lathanos thought quickly and moved under the sword. He was about to strike when Estimos unsheathed his katana with his free hand and blocked, wincing at the burning sensation in his arm. Lathanos gasped. “No way!”
“There is no way in hell you could ever defeat me!” Estimos laughed.
“I will defeat you!!!” Lathanos cried, raising his sword. He rushed Estimos, ready to strike. When he got to the demon, however, Estimos struck Lathanos with his katana, leaving a burning gash in Lathanos’s arm. Lathanos collapsed to the ground, dropping his katana and gripping his arm, wincing.
Estimos moved back a little, smirking. “We shall meet again, Boy. Be ready when that time comes! I actually want a challenge next time!!” He then sheathed his swords and disappeared.
“D-damn…he got away…!” Lathanos said angrily, sheathing his sword and making to pick up the kunai he had used. His arm was still stinging from the gash.

Present…

‘Who was that guy? He was so strong!’ Lathanos thought.
Suddenly, Romona burst into the room, completely forgetting to knock. “Hey, did you hear about the swordfight in the –” Romona began, when she saw the gash on Lathanos’s arm.
“Yeah, I heard about it…” said Lathanos, looking downcast.
“You were in the fight, weren’t you, Lathanos?” asked Romona.
“Yeah…”
Suddenly, there was a knock at the doorway. “Lathanos is that you?” a man asked. He was tall and lanky, with long, silver hair and icy blue eyes. He wore tan robes and white slacks. “Good heavens, Boy! What happened to you?!”
“I was in that fight earlier,” said Lathanos. “Would you happen to be Kazaka Fintomo?”
“Why yes, yes I am! I am to give you this stone,” Fintomo placed a blood red gem in Lathanos’s hand and closed it around the stone. It was in the form of an oval-shaped pendant. “This stone will enhance your abilities with a sword, and it will make demons quite easier for you!”
Lathanos tied the pendant around his neck. “Thank you, Fintomo! Where to now?”
“Keep heading north. You will eventually reach a port city, but be careful! The land to the north is filled with demons and beasts,” Fintomo answered. “I bid you farewell for now,”
Lathanos and Romona headed to the northern exit. The waved as Fintomo saw them off. His smile was the last thing they saw.

A/N: So, what’d you think?! It definitely had more action in it than the last chapter, right? I wanna know what you guys think!!!