C24 Danka Destroyer

Scene from EC's novel "The Girl with No Name" - www.asstr.org/~caligula97030/d…

Danka drifted off to sleep, but did not sleep very long. She woke up in the darkness and groped her way towards the main medical area, where a single lantern was always lit. Shivering in the cold, she lit a second lantern and returned to Ilmátarkt's bed to retrieve her clothing. She had woken up early, but that was just as well. It would take her a while to prepare the breakfast and summon Isauria.

As she glanced at her still-sleeping husband, a troubling premonition swept through her, that she would not have the opportunity to bear children with him after-all. She worried about the curse that she carried: that because of her, his life would end shortly and end badly. Was he destined to die and was she destined to live without him?

She pushed aside that thought and made her way to the tunnel that led outside. The clear pre-dawn air was brutally cold, but a full moon illuminated the snow, making it easy to find the path leading towards the kitchen cabin.

Suddenly she stopped. Her feet no longer moved; they were firmly anchored to the ground. She took a deep breath before the world vanished into pitch black darkness. Two yellow eyes, starting out as mere dots in the distance, slowly approached her, growing until they filled her entire range of vision.

"Danka... Defender Danka... Danka Síluckt..."

Danka tried to push the image out of her mind. It was her imagination. It was her imagination. Those eyes weren't real... just her over-active imagination. She needed to pick up her feet and keep walking and get those eyes out of her sight. She tried to move forward, but her feet wouldn't budge.

"Danka Síluckt, don't try that with me. You know it won't work. You can't wish me out of your life."

"Then how can Ilmátarkt do it?"

"Because he's a fool, that's why. I don't bother with fools. I let fools think whatever they want, because it doesn't matter. In the end, everyone comes to me, whether they want to or not."

"...and you can't let me live with the same illusion as my husband?"

"I could, but I choose not to."

"So, what do you want from me?"

"Right now, just to remind you I'm still here. Your husband can prattle on about how my Realm doesn't exist, but you know that's not true. And if you try to forget, I'll return to remind you."

"Then... what about the question he asked? Why am I so important that you'd only want to talk to me? What makes me so special?"

"You're my witness. When everyone around you lives no more, you're the one who will walk away unscathed. You're the one who will carry the memories."

"Memories of what?"

There was no answer. The darkness vanished and the moonlit night returned. Danka was able to pick up her feet. She was chilled to the bones and sick with horror and fear, but at least she could move again. She caught her breath and continued her trek to the kitchen. Regardless of the fate eventually awaiting him, for the moment Ilmátarkt was still alive and still needed his breakfast.