Winter Nights of Hell

Chapter Two

A Magician and a Fox-Person

 

A soft stream of light filtered to me, and my body reacted by rolling over and pulling the covers over my head, groaning. When my body rolled over, I felt an incredibly sharp pain that jolted me to sit up. Jolting up was a huge mistake, as my head began to pound with pain, forcing my body to be put back down. I let out another groan of pain as I took in the surroundings. I was in so much twisted pain my body felt weak. Muscles tense, and sides feel like they’ve been cut out. Looking under the covers at my side, I realized my wounds were dressed with compression bandages. Confusion rolled over me as I tried to recall what happened the previous night. The only thing I could remember was an incredibly horrible feeling that made me feel like I had too much alcohol. I sighed deeply, closing my eyes as I leaned backward onto some pillows. I worked last night, so there was no way I had too much alcohol. Then it hit me - my drink was spiked, and someone chased me. Surprisingly, I somehow made it to Abigail’s Tree without dying. That’s everything I could remember, though, as my head was extremely foggy and hazy. 

That’s when I felt the bedspread that lay out before me. Curious, I furrowed my eyebrows and continued to feel the blanket that lay on me. It did not feel like my bedspread at home. My entire body tensed up once again, and I gasped. This was not my bed. Did the drunk catch me and make me go home with him?! Fear ran through me as I lifted my gaze to scan the room. The room was huge and a gentle lavender color - dressers and a huge window that looked out into the darkness. I forced myself to turn around on the bed and throw my feet over the edge - I had to get out before this man returned to the room. 

However, as I threw my feet over the edge of the bed, I came into contact with a figure. Letting out a scream, I threw a pillow at the figure sitting a few feet from the bed. Was this the man that…?! 

“Oh, are we having a pillow fight? If that’s the case…” This man softly spoke, even chuckling a bit.

I then felt the weight of my pillow land on top of me as I crawled under the covers, which caused me to scream again after realizing this wasn’t a dream! This had to be the man that took me last night. “P-p-please get out! I don’t want any more trouble!! I don’t; please leave me alone!!” I cried out to him, fear running over my entire body as tears began to run down my face. He hurt me. 

“I didn’t think you were that type of woman,” The man chuckled. “Besides, you’re not really… my type.”

I immediately sat up, gasping at that comment. My gaze locked with this man, and I instantly realized this was not the same person that attacked me last night. This man’s hair was as white as mine! The one that struck me last night, well, I didn’t see his face, but his hair was black and much taller and shaped strangely. However, when he made that comment, I felt embarrassed and angry. I was going to speak up but was so angry and petrified that I couldn’t think of the words to combat his insult. How dare he! It’s not like I went home with him! I was attacked! I didn’t know this man, I didn’t know where I was, and I wanted to go home. My pale face lit up like a firework on the 4th of July. I could feel tears streaking my face even quicker. With no comment, my body curled under the blanket like a turtle returning to its shell.  

“Listen, that’s not what I meant,” The white-haired man murmured.

 “Where am I? How do I get home? Please, I really want to go home. I do not want to be here.” I cried hopelessly. I pulled the covers so tight over me that I felt like I was in a sauna from the tears I was crying from embarrassment and fear.

“I’m sure you have a lot of questions, but…” 

“That’s enough, Enoxon. Damn,” A second voice sounded.

My eyes grew wide as I recognized that voice, and my memories started to flood back to me. I had made it to Abigail’s Tree safely, but the drugs I had ingested took their toll on me when I reached the heart of the tree’s roots. I remember the cold, icy hands that picked me up and the dagger that stabbed into my side and twisted in me. I remember the blood oozing out of my side and the screams I let out of unbearable pain. It was horrifying. The second voice I heard sounded like the one that appeared out of nowhere - it didn’t belong to the man that attacked me. It belonged to the second man. I’m unsure what happened after being thrown into something and hitting my head, but I saw an orange flame before fading out. 

“Fine, fine,” the first voice, Enoxon, sounded. “I’m sorry,” He said incredibly softly and smoothly. 

I wanted to know who these people were, why I was here, why they were here. 

I had no idea who these people were and what they wanted. Perhaps the drugs messed with me so much that I saw the wrong hair color? But black and white were two opposite colors. There is no way I mistook that. Then again, it was dark as hell. Between being embarrassed and ashamed, I just wanted to get up and leap away from them. It took numerous deep breaths to calm down finally. I finally felt slightly better after a few minutes of silence and my incredibly awkward crying. The blanket slowly slid off my head, and I tried to make eye contact with the two people in the room.

“Now, listen to me,” the voice of Enoxon stated. 

Instantly, my eyes shifted to the man named Enoxon. 

“You are probably in a lot of pain right now. Taking it nice and slow when you get up would be best.it nice and slow when you get up. If you don’t, you could risk hurting yourself worse after yesterday,” He spoke softly. This guy was of average height, average looking. However, the get-up he was wearing was pretty interesting. With what looked like a robe that one would see in a fantasy world, he wore a white one lined with thick black lines on the collar and bottoms, with three lines going from the top of the robe to the bottom. There were very thin golden trammels that hung from the collar of the robe and gently rested on his shoulders, pairing it with an amber-red tassel around his neck and one long tassel earring on his left ear with a shimmering, aquamarine jewel. This man wore a large black pointed hat with a few white ribbon-like decorations and another metal trammel wrapping around the base. Around his hat, he had figurines, but I couldn’t make the figurines out. With hair as snowy-white as mine, his hair was shaggy and hung just barely above his eyes; he let out a soft sigh. “Why was that man attacking you?” He asked. 

I frowned and held my hands together tightly. I did not reply to the man, unsure if I could even trust this man.

“I know you are scared,” the man named Enoxon spoke gently, offering a friendly hand that I completely ignored. “I know you’re in pain, but we can’t help you if you can’t help us.” 

“Enoxon, this is stupid. She’s a girl who was attacked in the forest by a de… Damn, man. Why the hell should she trust us?” The other man spoke. “Or any man. She was nearly killed.” 

My gaze shifted to the man behind him, leaning against a tall, wooden dresser. This man was tall but looked rather grave. His posture seemed closed off as his arms were crossed and his gaze cold. His amber gaze was so piercing it felt like it was cutting through me. They were like that honey dripping out of their container, with the sun shining on them - almost as if they were glowing. His short but messy hair is that of color from a silky raven’s feather. I took in his broad features from a distance, studying his oval-shaped face. That is when I noticed something behind him. I continued to shiver in fear as all I could remember was the shadowy gaze that stared down at me when I was caught. However, the man standing back wasn’t the same though. His hair was shorter than the others, and his features were different. In fact, so different that I saw something strange. Something faintly glowing as amber as well, such as his amber-brown eyes. I watched it swish to the right and then the left, back again to the right.. Wait, swish?

“What-?” Enoxon turned and looked in the direction of which I was staring. “Kurai, what the hell? Your tail is showing!” The man huffed, turning immediately to look at this man with a tail. 

I stared at the man whose name was ‘Kurai.’ This man’s ‘tail,’ I watched it swoosh back and forth. It was a long black tail with a bright fiery-orange tip. It looked very fluffy! 

“And you look like a damn fairy from a fantasy book; who cares?” Kurai sighed, putting his arms out and shaking his head.

“Humans dress up like wizards all the time!” Enoxon argued, huffing and crossing his arms. 

“Whatever. Snow was it? Ok,” Kurai sighed and turned his attention to me, pushing Enoxon out of the way as he approached me.

His figure was slim but hidden underneath his solid black clothing. Tall, pale, but handsome, this man’s get-up was a black kimono robe with orange lining. The top of the kimono robe exposed the top half of his chest, and a fuzzy hood-like decor circled his neck. Under his robe was a bright orange undershirt that ran down his chest. On the left of his chest was an orange charm-like tassel with a little blue gem in the middle. Behind him was a black, white, and orange tail that was fluffy as hell. Nearest to the base of his behind was black, fading into a very light gray-white, and eventually, I got to the tips of his tail, which were bright orange like his gaze. As he approached me, I stopped staring at his swishing fluffy tail and raised my head to connect with his stare. His look was intense that burning orange of fire dancing for eyes. Little orange specks appeared on his face that shadowed over due to the little illumination of the moon. They almost looked like freckles on his oval face, a peek of perfect top-notch cheekbones. 

As he approached me, he asked, “Do you know who that… The man was?”

I shook my head and frowned. “I assumed he followed me home from the bar. If it was the same man talking to me before he disappeared without paying... But I bartend every Friday night,” I murmured so softly. I couldn’t help but tell him my story if they were the ones who dressed my wounds. They saved my life if it was him or the other guy. 

Kurai’s burning orange eyes were so intense that I couldn’t bear to look away. I felt the need to tell him something was forcing me to share what I had experienced with him. I opened my mouth to continue the explanation, but nothing came out. I noticed something on top of his head, which completely pulled me out of my trance. “Y-Y-Your Ears,” I murmured.

“Kurai, you sure like to blow your cover,” Enoxon sighed behind him.

With no hesitation, my hand raised to touch one of his long foxlike black ears with the same orange speckles as his face. I had to feel them, but as soon as my hand was about to connect with Kurai’s ear, my hand was smacked. I gasped, putting on a frowny face, and returned my hand to my body. I disconnected from Kurai’s gaze and pulled my body backward from him.

“How do you know my name?” I asked quietly, pulling the blanket up on my face. 

“Your I.D.,” Enoxon said, holding my bag and tossing it gently on the bed beside me. “You have a lot of interesting human gadgets in your bag,” the robe-wearing man spoke up. “Your name is Snow Rumaki, born 24 years ago, white hair and lavender eyes - an interesting combination,” He paused and thought for a moment, staring at me. “Rumaki, huh? What an interesting surname name...” 

I was too confused to be angry with them going through my stuff, but I quickly grabbed my bag and reached inside - as I remembered my dagger in there. When my hand searched the inside, it was gone. “Where is-” 

“Ah, you mean this?” Kurai spoke, pulling out something that was sheathed in the side of his pocket. “This is an ancient dagger - was this what you used for protection?” The fox-man held up my dagger and unsheathed it. Under the sheath sat the black dagger handle, turning into a lighter red-orange color towards the top. The blade itself was a steel-gray color, with steel-gray markings on the base of the dagger. An orange fire opal sat at the bottom of the sword, back where the handle was.

“Please don’t break it!” I quickly said, “That is a crucial piece to me.”

“This old thing?” Kurai replied, dangling the dagger by the fire opal. 

“Yes!” I begged, trying to reach it. 

“Well, it’s staying with me for now until I know you’re not going to stab us with it - not like you could anyway, but still,” Kurai mocked me as a smirk formed on his face. 

“It almost saved my life. May I please have it back?” I whimpered to him. I watched as this fox-man sheathed the dagger and put it back on his side, ensuring its safety by clipping it in. Well, at least he was being careful with putting it away. The dagger was hand-made, but how he described it as old made me question my father. How did Kurai even know it was ancient in the first place? My main question is, what was up with his ears and tail?

Enoxon came up to Kurai and me and offered a friendly smile. “I know this was a scary scene,” He started. “But why did you run to the lake? Why not go back home or to the bar where you came from? I’m sure there was some protection somewhere.”

I shook my head, “Shiverbell isn’t a dangerous place - we often don’t have any patrol at night. The bouncers usually are home before I am - I live far from it,” I spoke gently, looking down at the palm of my hands. “It was quiet at the bar. I had a short interaction with the man... But that’s it.”

“We can confirm that it’s because he’s a —” Kurai muttered before getting cut off by Enoxon.

“A bad man, a prick, a horrible excuse for a man,” Enoxon muttered, giving the fox-man a cold glare.

“R-r-r-r-ight,” I murmured, avoiding their gaze still. “I typically stay with a friend on Friday nights, but she wasn’t available the other night.”

“To make you walk home on a night of a full moon by yourself is incredibly stupid,” Kurai stated, sounding somewhat agitated when he replied. 

“Well, I’m glad we found you when we did,” Enoxon stated. “Kurai and I were out… Hunting, and we heard some voices, so we followed them, and it led to you!” The man rubbed the back of his head and grinned ever so awkwardly as though he were hiding something. “Kurai was the one who got there first, saving your life.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I glanced at the fox-man. I wanted to thank him, but I couldn’t manage the words as I was stunned by his appearance. Perhaps he was just really big into cosplay? 

“Anyway, you ought to stay and relax a bit. Kurai will be able to dress your wounds again at some point,” Enoxon stated. “If you left now, you’d probably fall right over and hurt yourself some more,” Enoxon told me. “You’re in an awful and critical position. Those wounds were intense - lucky you had a Nogitsune to heal your wounds.” 

I repeated after Enoxon, “Nogitsune?” I feel like I’ve heard of that word before. I don’t know, but it sounded similar to Kitsune - Spirit of the Fox. Or a shapeshifting fox. Perhaps a Nogitsune was identical to that? What was a Nogitsune doing here, even at Abigail’s Lake? They’re practically demons. Why was a monster here on earth with humans saving one? I didn’t even know demons were confirmed - I thought they were just folklore. If Fox-boy is a Nogitsune, then I’m assuming that the other man was something of folklore life too. Perhaps a warlock or something?

Kurai approached the robed boy and matched his level. He stared intensely at him, a bit of anger dancing on his posture as he reached for this wizard’s neck with flaming fiery hands. “Enoxon, do you realize what you just did?” He scoffed. 

Enoxon’s eyes grew wide, and he grinned, shocked now. “Oh, you know, after she saw your tail and ears. But I’m the bad guy?” He threw his hands up and chuckled. “You’re just easily triggered, aren’t you?” 

I noticed that Kurai’s hands were lit with a bright red flame, and his fingertips turned into small flames. That was new.

“Ok, ok, Kurai, relax. You couldn’t take me on anyway,” Enoxon laughed, forcing himself to stand up and go to the other side of the bed. 

My eyes shifted from these two magical beings. Watching their interactions together made me think of two brothers. I needed to be assertive and stand up for myself. With that mindset, I forced the tears off my face and took a deep but quiet breath, sitting up and letting white strands of hair fall back onto the pillow. I grabbed a lock of my hair with my hands and began to twirl it. “U-um, so. W-why am I here? C-can I maybe, um, go home?” I asked them to be extremely quiet - avoiding all eye contact.

So much for standing up for yourself, a frown lingering as I looked back towards the silky, lavender sheets. “Also, what’s a Nogitsune, and why does he have ears and a tail, and how did you find me at Abigail’s Lake?” I just muttered random questions over and over and over - even repeats, I’m sure. I couldn’t help it; I was so nervous.

“Slow down, princess,” Kurai sighed, putting his hands back down. They were no longer on fire, and his eyes weren’t shimmering anymore - they were dull amber now. I wonder what triggered his glowing eyes vs. his normal amber-orange eyes. Perhaps I was still banged up and imagining things - I had no idea. I had to be imagining things, though, right? I hit my head pretty hard last night and lost a lot of blood. 

“P-please don’t call me that,” I murmured in response. “I am Snow.”

“Ok, slow down, Snow,” he responded, crossing his arms. “Don’t mind my ears or tail, just a part of me.”

Enoxon bit his tongue, but one could tell immediately that he wanted to laugh at Kurai’s response. He waved it off and took a deep breath to help himself from laughing again. His serene voice sounded, “You are an interesting person, Snow. Something happened at that lake that protected you. Besides Kurai getting in and beating the hell out of that guy, it was almost like it was protecting you. Something was protecting you at that lake.”

“Protection? It’s a tree in a lake,” I replied. “Its protection is that it’s surrounded by water with barely visible stepping stones and huge roots that keep the inside safe.” Abigail’s tree was extremely precious to me, even if there were some strange rumors about it. The lake itself was full of life and beauty, gracefulness and serenity. “It’s got a few ghost stories, but that’s about it. Perhaps that was the strange blue and red light I saw before I passed out…” I remember watching the blue light circling above me, whether from me being dizzy or something swirling. It turned from blue to red within seconds of touching the dagger.

“Ghost Stories?” Enoxon questioned, now full of curiosity. “Like what?” 

I hesitated, but it kept me distracted to tell the story of Abigail’s lake. The story has it that a woman heard a little girl crying, so the lady went to go and see who it was and if they needed help. When the lady crossed the river, she disappeared with no traces of her body left. 

“Did anyone try to find the woman?” Enoxon asked.

I shook my head and recalled the story deeply, “No. Well, I guess technically, yes. A young man went after his wife, who disappeared into the tree. This young man went into the roots and heard voices, but rumor has it the voices were louder and louder, which drove him into madness. Once the locals heard his yell to ‘turn back,’ there was silence and nothing more. They called it the Curse of Abigail; thus, it was called Abigail’s Tree. I saw Lights; they saw voices.” 

Enoxon frowned as he let out a sigh, shaking his head too. His amber-red eyes closed, and he stood tall with his arms crossed and began pacing the large room. “Interesting, the tale of the Blind Banshee even hit the human realm,” He said softly.

I repeated his words, “The Blind Banshee? Human realm?”

Enoxon nodded in response, glancing at me, “The Blind Banshee is just a simple story about a man chasing a woman for her riches, but she got injured, cheated on, abandoned at the tree, and left to die there. Eventually, she did pass, and she began to haunt men who hurt their women. Perhaps the Banshee protected you. Did you hear any strange wailing?”

“I guess I haven’t heard that story yet,” I replied, shaking my head, “I didn’t. The last I remember was seeing some bright blue lights, hearing a voice, and then seeing fire - which I presume belonged to you,” I pointed at Kurai.

“That would’ve been mine, yes,” Kurai bluntly said. “Fire is a specialty to me.”

(Kurai - AI-Generated Photo by Me Via NijiJourney )