Chương 34: Chapter 33

My hands shoved at the fur blanket frantically as I tried to free myself from its confines. I pushed hard from underneath, lifting the covers off my legs right as something impacted the other side of them. An angry hiss and the sound of claws scratching rabidly followed my impromptu blanket shield. I kept moving forward, folding the blanket over the top of the rat. It behaved as violently in response as one would expect, screeching bloody murder and flailing around like a… well a rat in a sack.

With my legs free I backed away, looking to the door. I could run and make my escape, but the rat would either give chase, or worse, try again on another night when I wasn't awake. Or had it only tried because I was alone? I didn't know! The adrenaline pumping through my veins made it hard to think and the terror I still felt was leaving me feeling muddled. My willpower reared its monstrous head and everything calmed down. I had fought worse than this. In the womb, I destroyed a Lesser Demon Prince.

Within a few days of being born I survived a mortal wound. And just a few months ago, I killed a crow that launched a surprise attack on me. This rat, weird though it might be, would fall just like every other beast that had thought me its food. The wriggling form of the rat moved towards the edge of the blanket. Escape was within its grasp. I grit my teeth and dived forward, trying to land on top of it.

The little bastard was too slippery and managed to escape so I threw my pillow at it and bolted for the door, throwing it open behind me. I knew the bait was set as I heard the scrabble of claws as the rat gave chase. I just hoped the precious seconds I had bought for myself would be enough. My mother's room waited just a little ahead of me. Ducking through the door I activated Muffled Steps as I ran for her mirror.

Moving as fast as I was, the sound wasn't completely hidden by my skill, but it was definitely muted. Putting the mirror on the floor, I turned and ran back behind the half open door to the room and crouched. The rat skidded on the wooden floor, its elongated claws a hindrance to its speed as it turned and rushed into the room. Watching it in the mirror I waited till it was about to pass the door then sprung forward, getting a hand on the back of its neck. The little bastard screeched and hissed in fury.

Thrashing it tried to turn and bury its long, dark claws into my skin. Instead, my stomach grew warm and fuzzy as aether flowed into Controlled Grip. My fingers felt like they were made of steel as I closed them slowly, one hand holding the rat by its neck, the other by its hindquarters so it couldn't curl up and use its rear claws. The entire time, I watched it from the mirror, not looking directly into its eyes as my fingers began to squeeze its neck.

The hissing turned to squeaks of fear, the rat thrashing about. Then even those feeble noises faded as it struggled to get air through the crushed tube that had once been its neck. I felt my aether bleeding away second by second, but I refused to let go. My forearms hurt from holding on so tightly as I strangled the little rat to death. Just as my aether was about to bottom out, I felt the rat die. Not because it stopped moving. I was too paranoid to trust something like it.

Instead, I could tell from the feeling of fragments of something surrounding it, just like with the crow. Without thinking, I inhaled them like they were air, feeling them vanish into somewhere inside of me. I shook myself from the trance I was in, releasing the rat. I glanced quickly at my Status, searching for one specific line. Path of Soulstealing (4/10) Sighing tiredly, I collapsed onto my bum. The dead rat lay on the floor before me, like discarded trash. Was this what I was?

I had no regrets about killing the rat. Not even a little bit. It had clearly come after me with the intent to do something horrible and deserved not an inch of mercy. But, was I stealing its soul? Its chance at entering the Ocean of Souls, like I had after my previous life? I didn't know, and I was honestly too tired to think about it. Besides, I had other problems to handle first before I got all philosophical and mopey.

There was a dead rat on my mother's floor for one, possible damage to my blanket and a moved mirror. I started with the easiest task and stood up to return the mirror to its rightful place on my mother's table. With that out of the way I felt a slight shift back to normalcy. The danger was over. I just needed to handle the fallout. I turned back to the scene of the crime. Scooping up the rat I looked at its lifeless form. For the most part, it looked exactly like I would've expected a rat to look.

Dark grey fur covered most of its body, not including its tail. An elongated nose led to a mouth filled with a couple of large incisors. What was odd were its front claws. I had of course heard the clacking on the wooden floor when it ran, but now that they were up close I could see how much longer and sharper the claws were on its front paws compared with its rear ones. Very odd, I thought. Though, maybe that's just how rats are in this world.

Would certainly help with digging, or I suppose, cutting up little boys that are left at home all alone! I suppose I couldn't blame my mum or gramps. I mean, we lived in the middle of nowhere and while it was dangerous outside after dark, it seemed unlikely that something could easily get into the outpost. The building was pretty sturdy. I knew I was just avoiding thinking about what I needed to do next, so I stopped myself from getting even more sidetracked and carried the dead rat downstairs.

As I reached the ground floor, I made a beeline for the fireplace. I figured the burning fur might stink the place up a bit, but maybe this way if Gramps found it he would think the dumb animal just fell down the chimney. Find this and other great novels on the author's preferred platform. Support original creators! Tossing it into the fire I watched as the carcass hissed and burned. Within seconds the fur went up in flames as the oil within it greedily drank the heat from the burning logs.

The smell was about as bad as I expected but I figured it might clear up by the time the old man returned. I was wrong. Not a minute later the front door banged open and Gramps stomped into the room. Looking at him I couldn't help but think that he seemed a little tired. A feeling I could strongly relate to.

"What are you doing down here?" Cornelius asked.

"Did you get scared and want the warmth and light of the fire?" I debated lying. My Path of Deception could use the steps. But, I decided not to indulge in it. Gramps couldn't protect me if he didn't know what was going on, and if animals were going to keep attacking me, I needed protection. At least until I was a bit bigger and older.

"Rat tried to eat me," I stated. The old man's face scrunched up in confusion.

"So, you had a nightmare?" I shook my head and pointed at the fire. The old man walked over to join me. Standing next to me I realised that based on our height difference, I would probably be taller than he was when I was fully grown. My musing was interrupted as he moved closer to the fire. I felt the familiar fuzziness in the air that indicated aether was being used and watched the fire retreat from the rat's mostly cooked carcass.

"Tell me what happened," said the old man as he lifted the rat's carcass slightly to reveal its burnt, but still very visible, long front claws. I launched into my recounting of the events. How I had been awake and huddled up in my room, totally not scared and afraid to go to sleep in an empty house. How I had heard the rat coming and seen it sneak into my room. The unnatural nature of its movements and how I felt mesmerised, unable to look away or act.

Then the rattling of the window causing a distraction that broke the spell over me. Whether it was a literal spell, I didn't yet know. Then my mad dash to escape and the trap I had set up for it. Finally, how I had held it down and strangled it to death. I didn't mention the Path of Soulstealing though, and its omission caused my Path of Deception to tick upwards. As I told my story the old man listened carefully, not interrupting until I was finished.

"How did you manage to choke it? I wouldn't have thought you would be strong enough. They're fast and flexible little critters."

"I used my Controlled Grip Skill," I answered, realising I hadn't mentioned that in my story.

"You got a new Skill?" Cornelius mused, tapping his lips thoughtfully.

"Where from? Controlled Grip isn't a Stealth Skill…" I bit my lip. I'd really put my foot in it now. No point in lying, I decided. Better to fall on my sword, metaphorically speaking.

"I got it as a reward from the Path of Infiltration." Gramps grunted in response, kneeling down so that he was eye level with me. His bright blue eyes were so like my mother's that the thought of looking away didn't even occur to me as the heat from the fireplace roared back to life from Gramps releasing his spell.

"Whose house did you sneak into?" The question sounded so simple. The look on Gramps' face told me the answer wouldn't be.

"The prospectors'," I mumbled.

"Come again?" I thought he sounded surprised rather than angry so I repeated myself.

"When did you manage to do that?"

"Last night. After everyone was in bed, I snuck out and climbed in their window while they were sleeping." The truth was supposed to set you free. I very much doubted that statement was true, given how angry Gramps looked.

"Bastian, that was incredibly dangerous. There are beasts that live in these mountains that hunt at night and a little boy would be just about the right size for a good meal! Promise me you won't ever do something like that again!" Gramps reached out and held me in place with his arms, his blue eyes filled with a mixture of anger and worry.

"... I promise," I whispered, knowing it was a lie. The increase to my Path of Deception twisted the knife in the feelings of guilt I already had. While I might not do it again any time soon, I knew I would do something similar or equally as risky in the future in the pursuit of the Myriad Paths.

"Are you going to tell Mum?" Gramps looked away conflicted for a moment before turning back to me.

"I won't if you won't. The last thing your mother needs is one more thing to worry about. The same goes for the rat. We don't need to let her know about that, but if anything like this ever happens again, I want you to run and find me. Alright?" I nodded woodenly, my lack of sleep finally starting to catch up with me as I yawned. All the excitement and adrenaline had worn away at the edges of my resistance that was keeping me awake. I barely felt it as Gramps carried me back upstairs and tucked me in.

My dreams beckoned and as they claimed me I just hoped they wouldn't turn into nightmares.

Cornelius looked over the rat's carcass again now that Bastian was asleep. The front claws were all wrong. Too long and too sharp, like the talons of a bird more than the claws of a rat. Just like that crow that attacked the boy. Something was happening, and he intended to get to the bottom of it. In the morning, he decided he would send word for Hurin. The hunter might know what was going on, and if he didn't, he could at least investigate if there were more animals like this appearing around the outpost.

Cornelius moved back to his chair, pulled out his pipe and lit it with a strand of aether. He wasn't going back to sleep tonight.