34Prologue: Chir at Night
The moon shined brightly in the night sky. Somehow, it had been able to penetrate past the dark, storm clouds and take a prominent position where all in the quiet town of Chir could see it. The street lamps flickered as the soft wind blew, the fire in the lamps creating an assortment of deformed, morbid shapes. An assortment of animals went about their business mewing and howling into the otherwise silent air. And the moon shined brightly out of its reflection in the pools of rainwater – the last testament to the storm of the day.
Sir Khayan strode down the paved sidewalk with an air of frustration and impatience. He had a reputation for being calm and collective, but anybody who saw him at the moment would find that hard to believe. Khayan paused for a moment and turned his head up as if he was thinking of something. Then, shaking his head, he proceeded with a walk quicker than before.
At the moment, the topic plaguing his mind was the killings of domestic animals. It was rather frightening. Recently, a string of dead animals were found throughout the respectful town. Uproar had naturally occurred, and now, the townspeople were trying to decide the course of action to solve the problem. Sir Khayan was the person chosen to find a solution. And, to him, it was quite troubling.
Not that Erza Khayan didn't want to help the town. The town was important to him. But being the most venerable man in the region had its disadvantages. He was always expected to be brilliant, and sometimes, he had a fear he would not meet such expectations. Tonight was one of those times. He had no idea what to do to make the whole town satisfied. However, he had to make a plan, and he knew he had to succeed. Then, maybe, everything would be alright.
"Ah!"
A shrill scream pierced the night air. Khayan blinked. Gazing around, he found that he had walked out of the town and into the surrounding estate of the wealthy heiress, Kisa Orayne.
"Ah!" The same scream sounded again.
It was coming from the main house. Cautiously, he pushed past the gate and began to slowly walk towards the house.
"Ah!" The scream pierced the air – this time louder and held out longer.
Khayan broke into a sprint.
"Ah! Ah! Ah!" The screams continued, this time close together.
He was close to the house.
"Ah!"
Almost there.
"Ah!"
The house was just a few feet away.
"Help –"
The last word was cut off. Khayan reached the door. It was shut. Pushing the door, it eerily creaked open.
"Hello?" he said quietly. "Is anybody there?"
No answer. Cautiously, he stepped into the house.
"Hello?" he called out. "Miss Orayne? Are you there?"
He walked through the hallway looking for any sign of life. Opening and closing the doors to the adjoining rooms, he found nothing. Finally, there was one last room to look at in the hallway – the library. He paused, a debate raging on in his head. What if? Oh well, he had already went past the point of no return. With a degree of uncertainty, he pushed the door open.
Nothing.
Sighing, he reproached himself for his thoughts. Nothing probably had happened. His face carefully orientated into a stoic expression as was expected in his circumstances, Khayan turned around and –
"The devil!" he shouted in surprise as the image before him caught his eye.
But on closer inspection, he couldn't help but utter:
"Oh, Creator, please help us…"
Kisa Orayne was hanging from the ceiling, a bloody mess.
A/N: This story is the first in a series of stories that I've been developing for a long time. I don't want to give much away, but the backbone deals with solving a murder while the core of plot deals with magic and nonhuman beings.
Reviews and constructive criticism are much appreciated.
Thanks!
Signing off...