The Sciell

Bleak stopped again.

The cavern smelled of fresh meat. Human flesh. The shield around Raesul prevented humans from finding them and trapped the residents inside. Where did the human flesh come from? The Hunters hadn’t visited the field in weeks.

She followed the scent. It led her to a part of the cavern she had only been once. The smell was coming from Iniquity’s bed chambers.

Bleak had spent years trying to figure out why the Del’Praeli craved fresh raw meat. She still didn’t know.

She sniffed again. The only ones powerful enough to leave the shield were all still inside it. Her Del’Praeli would never debase themselves by carving the flesh from dead humans. Shade and Vayle were a unique case. Why in the name of Darkness did the cavern smell like that?

Her Lifeblood shot out of her hands, wrapping Darkness around it to create swords. She had taught her power to draw her curved blades when her instincts screamed danger. Bleak gripped the swords and moved forward. She wrapped two shields around herself—one to hide her scent, the other to make her body blend in with the background.

She commanded the Lifeblood to lighten her body so her footsteps wouldn’t give away her position.

The smart move would’ve been to leave or find another route. The hallway was wide enough for two bodies to walk comfortably side by side. If she needed to turn in a hurry, she could. The passageway emptied to a large chamber several paces in each direction. Other than that, she didn’t sense any other way out. If the beasts setting off her inner alarm surrounded her now, she’d be trapped.

She still moved forward. The only beings in Raesul powerful enough to defeat her were her Del’Praeli.

Besides the usual smells, her senses didn’t pick up anything outside the meat. Bleak raised her blades and stopped. Her skin tingles. Her senses screamed. She was surrounded.

Eight shadows became black masses around her. Fresh blood rolled through their skin of Darkness. The pests smelled liked they had cooked themselves in a soup of dead humans.

Bleak recalled her swords. Using blades against them would be like battling the wind. She rather not fight them if she didn’t have to. Battling a Del’Praeli in this form was a nightmare. Most attacks didn’t work since they could make their bodies intangible. One trick was to attack them when they weren’t expecting it- not the best strategy since they relied on their instincts. They needed to make their bodies solid to hurt her. That was the best time to attack. Only, the window was small and Del’Praeli were fast.

Since their bodies were made of Lifeblood, she could eat them. Her stomach turned and groaned. Only as a last resort.