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“You can’t make her do that!” the father shouts.
“Both it is then,” the elf replies.
“No! No, wait! Just wait!” the mother says.
Holy shit, is she actually going to choose? It’s pretty obvious that the elves are just toying with the parents. They’re going to kill both children either way. And even if they did let one go, he’s too young to know how to survive on his own when they kill the parents, too. I doubt he would last a week.
Where is Rukh? He should stop this.
While they’re distracted, I begin to back away, using the screaming and crying to mask my footsteps. Then all of a sudden, the screaming stops. I halt in place, my fingers trembling as I hold onto the tree in front of me.
“Put them down,” Rukh says.
He’s still here? I peek out, and sure enough, there he is, standing with one arm outstretched while the dark elves hover in mid-air. But they aren’t giving up easily, still clutching the human children.
As I watch, I realize that the dark elves are moving their mouths, but nothing is coming out. Rukh has taken away their ability to speak. And by the looks of it, they are furious about it.
“No?” Rukh says, shooting them a cruel smile. “That’s okay.”
He lifts his other hand, blasting a ball of blue fire towards the elves. Their arms go up in flames, and the kids begin to fall. The parents rush forward, catching them before they can hit the ground.
“Get out of here now,” Rukh shouts at them without even glancing their way.
I watch the family run, both mother and father carrying a child. Sadness washes over me, knowing that while they survived this encounter, that doesn’t mean they won’t die of starvation or sickness. Or worse.
Rukh steps closer to the elves, eyes narrowing in on them, completely focused. The fire that was burning on their skin dissipates like it was never there.
“Despicable,” he mutters. “Hateful creatures. I never much liked your kind. All you do is take with no regard for the consequences. But now you will pay them.”
The first elf wails, regaining his ability to speak as his limbs start to crack one by one. With each twist of his hand, Rukh snaps his arms, legs, and lastly, his neck, before lunging towards him.
I look away as he feeds on him, unable to stomach the sight of it. When the second elf starts screaming, I look back. Dark tendrils climb their way up his skin, and by the looks of it, they’re burning him.
“Let me go!” the elf manages to gasp through the pain.
“Were you going to let those humans go?” Rukh asks, pausing for a moment.
“Yes! Yes, we were only messing with them!”
“That’s another thing about your kind. Always lying.”
“Please! I’m begging you!”
“The humans begged you, but you showed them no mercy. Why should I?”
“I’ll be good! I’ll never kill a human again!” he screams.
Rukh only laughs, the sound somehow even more cruel than the elf’s was earlier. He cocks his head to the side and watches as the black mist slowly eats away the elf’s flesh. The smell of burning skin wafts through the air, and once again, my stomach is a mess. I cover my mouth and nose with a hand, gagging.
As Rukh licks his lips and begins advancing, I take this as my cue to leave. I’ll wait for him a little farther away, but I can’t make myself watch this.
I find a tree far enough away that I can no longer smell the stench and lean against it, inhaling the fresh air. After witnessing what I just did, I understand more of why Rukh kills. He clearly seeks out those who are evil, like the elves back there.
It seems wrong to approve, however. I start to question myself and my own integrity if I can applaud the death of anyone. It goes against everything I thought I believed.
Does anyone have any right to play god? Is Rukh a demon or a savior? Could he be both?
And why does he do this, anyway? Is he truly motivated by some kind of noble purity that seems at odds with his demonic nature, or is there something he gets out of this that I can’t see yet?
