The Frozen Moon - By J.D. Swinn Page 0,2

have believed that he were only a black pen drawing, now being inked out by its creator and sent back to the world of the mind where it belonged among lurking nightmares.

She eased her sword into the monster’s chest, just below the breastbone. With one final, horrific shriek, the pixie crumpled to the ground in a blackened, glistening heap. The faerie woman gave her a look of gratitude; Nameh nodded, then continued through the battle. When she focused all of her strength into her sword arm, she realized that she could kill most pixies with only one blow. She ravaged through the crowd, slaying beast after beast; she hardly seemed to notice that she was now dripping with black blood.

Adrenaline pumped through her veins, and life all but fell away. It was only her, her sword, and the seemingly endless supply of foes. She had heard only one pixie speak throughout the battle, when he had challenged her. His voice had been shrill and unpleasant, like dragging a knife over glass. She wondered why the faeries, who were not much different than the pixies, seemed so much more civil, more human. She cut down another pixie, and another, drawing on the excitement of destroying evil. The pixies weren’t exactly evil, she thought, but they were more so than the faeries with whom she was fighting. But who even knew where the line between good and evil rested anymore? She supposed nearly everyone seemed good in their own mind, and those that stood in their way appeared evil. The best anyone could do was fight for what they believed in.

She was dragged from her thoughts when an arrow embedded itself in her back, penetrating the Guardian battle clothes she was wearing just below the shoulder blade. She reached back and ripped the arrow from her skin, grimacing against the pain. Had she not been wearing the Guardian clothes, it would have killed her. The arrow tip was soaked with her blood, crimson against the steel. She whirled about to see a pixie standing twenty feet away, his bowstring still quivering. She was upon him instantly, much to his surprise; he had likely expected her death. Her body was fully in shock, and she felt almost nothing after the initial blow. She drew no dagger, no sword, but brandished only his arrow. With her shoulder and the speed she had gathered, she struck him square the chest, knocking him backward onto the ground. She stared into his eyes with her own intense glare, “Don’t you know it’s dishonorable to strike from behind?” she nearly growled. A smile now spread across her face, a look of terror across his. She stabbed the arrow through his heart, and the delicious irony not wasted on either of them.

As blood poured out of his chest, it mixed with her own that had covered the arrow. The result was a ghastly black streaked with a deep crimson, the blood of a human and the blood of a monster so mix, she thought. Where did she know those words from? She didn’t have a chance to search her mind for the answer; her vision was suddenly blurred out in a flash of white light. All around her, the sounds of battle ceased and were replaced by an unearthly quiet. She wondered if the arrow had sunk deeper into her torso than she had originally thought, she might have been bleeding out into the late summer earth without even realizing. Breaking the silence, weapons clattered to the ground in a thunder.

The brightness faded, and her eyes adjusted as the light returned to the normal nighttime glow. So she wasn’t dead. All around her faeries stood, confused, with weapons still drawn. She looked down at the pixie she had killed with the arrow. The blood which had, only a moment ago, covered his body was now gone, leaving behind no traces. She blinked, trying to put the pieces together in her mind. A figure jogged over to her from across the lawn, but she was nearly too overwhelmed to recognize Max.

“What did you do?” he asked breathlessly. She stared at him for a moment, his words seeming to bounce off of her shocked mind. Finally, they sank in and she responded.

“It wasn’t me,” she said. “I was just fighting, and then…” she trailed off, not sure how to continue; she wasn’t sure what had happened next.

“It was you, I sensed a huge burst of magic coming from you, and then