Eyes in the Dark: Chapter 1

In the dark of the night, a gleaming white tyto flew silently on large wings. A tiny Kukuri rode between his shoulder blades on his back. Soul’s talons were only inches away from the ground as he made sweeping arcs over the more clear areas of the woods. The closer they got to the so-called ‘Haunted Woods’, the thicker the trees became. It wasn’t long before he’d slowed to a crawl in order to avoid the trunks at the edge of the forest. The Kukuri, named Habanero, on his back was doing the searching while Soul did the acrobatics. Her keen eyes were much better at spotting the small details of the landscape they were scouting.

Suddenly, Soul landed. His talons made a soft thunk as he touched down on the soft grass beneath them. Habanero seemed confused and climbed further up his neck. “What? What is it? I haven’t seen anything yet.”

“The woods are getting to be too thick for flying. If… we want to explore further in, we’ll have to walk,” the tyto explained. He twisted his neck around to look directly at the miniature Kukuri. “Do I want to look further in? No… but it’s our job. This rhakos has to be somewhere near here. It’s impossible the reports are all fabrications or someone’s fear getting the better of them.” Habanero nodded and so Soul continued to creep forwards. The dark trees began to lessen, with white ones taking their place. Each trunk had black markings which looked like eyes staring out at them, watching their every move. Soul could feel his companion nestle further into his feathers and hear her heartbeat quicken. He had to admit, his own heart was racing with anticipation and fear. He’d already been nearly taken out by a rhakos. He didn’t wish to encounter a second of the beasts, especially when the branches above formed a tight cage which he couldn’t fly through.

Out ahead of them, something rustled in the bushes. Both creatures startled and Habanero slid off Soul’s back. She crept forwards, trying to step lightly so as not to make a sound. The tyto behind her did the same, though moved much slower. His feet were much less adept for the fancy footwork Kukuri prided themselves in, but he wanted to stay close in case the little amber beast needed backup. She would take only one bite before the rhakos could swallow her… if it didn’t swallow her whole.

Suddenly, Habanero scrambled forwards and picked up what appeared to be a dark olive feather. On its edge, it had a lighter stripe of what looked to be grey. “Do you think this is from that demon bird they wanted us to contain?” she asked, turning to show it to Soul. He peered at it with curious orange eyes, picking it up in his talons in order to better see it. “It looks like it could be.”

“Or maybe it’s not,” the tyto suggested. “We don’t really know the colour of this rhakos. We just know it’s around here, it’s big, and we don’t want to be caught by it. Does it smell odd to you?” He handed it back over to the Kukuri. His nose wasn’t built for scent tracking… and while Kukuri could be easily beaten by Amoux in the sport, they still had a nose for smells that no avian Stryx did.

The miniature creature took a deep breath inward, trying to find anything unusual about the feather. It was almost instantly that she picked up on the bitter scent of sickness. It smelled of sulfur and she coughed. “Oh it smells awful!” The smell was so offensive that she dropped the feather entirely. “Ugh! What the hell!”

Another rustling could be heard, causing both the Stryx and Kukuri to freeze in their tracks. Their eyes scanned the dark woods, but while they felt as if they were being stalked, neither were sure whether it was because of the eyes in the trees or the potential rhakos hidden within them. A long stretch of silence followed and no further movement could be spotted. Soul couldn’t even hear the heartbeat of a living being nearby… at least not at first. As he filtered the noise and focused, the sound he’d initially assumed was a distant frog became clearer. It was a remarkably slow heartbeat… one of a beast that was near death. Once again, the brush near them began to rustle. Habanero pulled a knife from the belt around her thigh and Soul’s beak dropped open in the event they needed to attack.

“We need to get out of here,” the tyto said to his smaller companion. He was afraid to even whisper, but he knew that Habanero would much rather try to fight given the chance. The Stryx refused to allow her to be hurt.

“Agreed.” Both creatures turned to face each other, and in an instant the forest changed. A sickening smell wafted over their noses. Habanero blinked, then screamed. The trees weren’t the only thing with eyes now. In the dark was suddenly what appeared to be dozens of glowing red eyes. Although the beast was thus far keeping its distance, neither Soul nor the Kukuri wanted to risk the chance of infection. It was facing them now, its beak frothing with glowing corruption.

Without a second thought, Habanero shoved the knife back into its sheath and scrambled onto Soul’s back. “Go go go!” she screamed. The sound had loosened the final stone holding the rhako’s killing instinct at bay. It bolted forwards just as the tyto began to pick up speed. Soul’s eyes were wide with terror as he weaved through the trees. There wasn’t any room to stretch his wings to give himself a boost of speed, let alone enough room for takeoff.

“Soul! He’s getting closer!” Habanero shouted. She’d moved to stand on the tyto’s hips to the best of her ability, facing the rampaging, murderous bird behind them. The amber dove once again pulled the knife out, hurling it at the Stryx’s face. The beast stumbled and nearly fell, though it was clear the wound had not inflicted much damage… or perhaps the claws of corruption gave the rhakos a supernatural ability to take damage.

With her weapon gone and the trees beginning to thin, the kukri moved back to cling tightly to the tyto. “AAAAURGHHH!!!” Soul suddenly lurched to a stop. The rhakos had its jaws firmly on his tail feathers. Rather than stop running or attack the Stryx, Soul dug his talons into the ground and forced himself forwards. The pain was immense as the feathers were ripped from his tail, but as soon as they were disconnected, he throttled towards a clearing. Before the rhakos had any chance to process what had happened, Soul was already lifting off into the air with Habanero on his back, leaving a trail of blood that spun through the sky.