Morrigan felt a sense of dread hovering over her more with each passing day. The candlelight was still weak, half formed in Tyler's mind. Atheists are the hardest to ease in. What spell wouldn't be cast off as smoke and mirrors? At least he could retain memories now.
They drove quietly, Tyler resisting his urge to question everything. When stepping out of the car and beginning the walk to her apartment, She turned to face him, but ended up turning in the wrong direction, reacting to the sound of broken glass.
A street lamp on the far end of the street started to buzz. She tilted her head, listening in as the bulb burst and the glass cover fell and shattered on the ground. The next street lamp over did the same, slowly shrouding the street in darkness.
Tyler looked around, confused. He saw something, and positioned himself in front of her.
Morrigan heard him step forward, but brought her cane up and across Tyler’s chest, using it to guide him behind her as they backed up to a brick wall, "You don’t want to be in front.” She looked around using all her intact senses to flush out whatever threat might be present. Morrigan's voice called out, urgent and loud, “What did you see. Do you see anyone along this street?”
"On the right side,” he said. “someone’s walking but I can’t tell you much else. The other side is clear.”
“Thank you. Try to keep quiet," she whispered. She sent a pulse of static and it revealed nothing. She tried again, and still, her only method of seeing failed. She searched her mind. Not many things can hide from the static.
Only three lamps were left on the street. Two on either side of them and one directly above. Darkness fell upon them soon after. The figure stood less than thirty feet away. The moment the lamps died, Morrigan raised her cane and a blinding ball of light shot out from the tip. It lit the street better than the lamps ever could.
The figure stood in full view, shielding its eyes from the light. It stood about 6 feet tall and resembled a man apart from the face. Its face was grotesque and twisted with over exaggerated features. Its pitch black eyes were too big for the face, its nose was far too high. When it adjusted to the light, it looked with a devilish smile stretched literally ear to ear, flaunting three rows of pin like teeth.
Morrigan smiled, lowering her guard as she spoke, " Another messenger? Don't frighten my friend here, speak up." Morrigan felt a moment of relief, perhaps meeting something inhuman could push Tyler over his mental block.
The thing roared and charged at her. She narrowed her eyes, unsure of what the sound meant. She tried to dodge out of the way, swinging her cane in a tight arc. When the cane passed Tyler, he felt himself thrown to the side by an invisible force. She thrust the cane back toward the creature, seemingly freezing it in midair.
"I don't think so. Explain yourself," she demanded.
The creature spoke quickly, with a deep croaking in its voice reminiscent of a door in desperate need of adjustment, "It's my job. I have a contract."
"On my life?" Morrigan replied. "You can't be serious."
"I am," it replied. Don't like it? File an appeal."
"Morrigan?" Tyler said, his voice quivering.
"Not now. It'll be okay." She began, turning her attention back to the creature." So, you know, you can't succeed. Why-" Tyler shouted her name again as a second creature tackled her to the ground. The creature frozen in the air dropped, rushed over to join in, and clawed ferociously at Morrigan's throat.
She held them back, holding both ends of her cane and pushing it up against her attackers. Tyler delivered the strongest kick he could muster, landing the blow directly to one creature's shoulder, forcing it off of her.
Though it was off balance, the creature made a final swipe. The disgusting razor like nails sliced Morrigan's throat with ease. There was a choking sound, a gurgling that sputtered out of her as the creature flailed about trying to orient itself. A flash of light sent the second creature flying back.
Morrigan gulped for air as blood poured out of the wound. Morrigan pushed Tyler aside and stood as the liquid filled her lungs. She held her breath. Her face showed no sign of pain or discomfort.
Covered in red, she grasped the cane at the middle of its wooden body. She stood perfectly still, grabbing the other end of the cane and resting it behind her head on her shoulders.
The creature lunged forward into the pool of light from above, attempting to strike her again. She lightly and swiftly twisted her body, stepping outside of the creature's path and bringing the tip of the cane around. The tip barely collided with the creature’s chest and a small white spark burst from the point of contact.
A wave of force and a loud pop sent the beast flying back down the street, its body broken and lifeless. She repositioned herself, turning to the side to address the second creature attacking from the dark as soon as the other landed on the ground.
She stepped to the side again, arching her back to dodge the attack. She waited, swaying with grace and confidence. It attacked again, leaping forward to drive its nails into her chest. She tapped the creature's skull with the lightest touch. A spark of green light flashed, and the head was gone in a burst of blood that scattered across the street and Morrigan's face.
Morrigan felt it, an urge in and embrace the sensation. She refused. She focused the static and the wound on her throat began to close, but still interfered with her breathing. She tried to take a breath and choked. She turned from Tyler as she sought to purge her lungs, her hand in the air as if to excuse herself.
Tyler looked with a feeling he couldn’t even describe. There was terror in his face, an open mouth not capable of speech. Morrigan waited, testing her lungs again before turning to him with a look of hope and also fear.
“Tye?” she choked. He backed away, unable to speak as she continued, “Tyler, answer me, please. Are you okay?”
He screamed his reply, as if the struggle to speak added volume to his words, “Am I okay?”
She laughed, the sound uncomfortable to hear with the healing cut in her throat. She felt something on her skin when she faced him, like sunshine in the dead of night. “Not so sure of your world now, are you?” she said, finally able to swallow again,
“I- no, I'm not.”
“I’d rather it not be so soon, but come on,” she said walking past him. “You're staying with me tonight." She approached the stairs to her apartment and realized he wasn't following. "Tyler," she called. No answer came, "Tyler," she yelled. She heard a body fall to the ground, struggling to stand. She dropped her cane, darted forward, and nearly tripped as she felt out for his body. "What's wrong?" she asked.
"One nicked me. That really hurts," he said, his voice dreary.
Morrigan wrapped an arm around him, then pulled her hand back when she felt something wet against his side. She lathered it on her fingers. Blood.
"Stand quickly." she said, solutions filling her mind and being scratched off one by one.
"I might need an ambulance," he said. "Shit, I can't afford that."
She gave a weak laugh, "You happen to be in good hands already." She managed to help him to the stairs, but there was no way she was getting both him and her up to her apartment. She settled him down, carefully lifted his shirt and condensed a pulse of static, releasing it with a snap of her fingers.
She could sense the wound, felt the pain, and admired the color of the blood in the moonlight. She shook herself from the thought, the passion nipping at her nerves. She may have to give in after all. Judging by the look of the wound, it was the only option she had left.
The wound cut deep, puncturing organs. She stared at it, wondering if she trusted herself enough to not lose control. She took a deep, shaky breath, reached out and hovered her hand over the wound. She focused the static on the wound, learned from it. It was caused by the same filthy nails that cut her. She noticed a severed artery. He was losing blood fast, but she could work with it.
"Do you have a knife," she asked.
He shook his head, "no, why?"
She gave a low growl, hitting a step with her fist. She took a breath, thought for a moment, and tensed up. She raised her hand to her face and bit into the meat of her palm until she tasted blood. She gave a shuddering sigh, as if the feeling brought ecstasy. Static leaked from the wound as blood coated her hand. She rubbed her hands together, savoring the sensation.
She shook her head, trying to stay focused. She covered the wound with her blood soaked hands. She could only imagine Tyler's face. She imagined his shock at injuring herself, and the disgust as she touched the wound, mixing the blood.
In her mind, intimacy laced the exchange from beginning to end. She could feel the blood blending together, merging with his. For a moment, it felt as if they shared the same body.
He resisted, trying to back away, but only pushing himself into the concrete steps. "What the fuck! What are you-" he stopped and slammed his eyes shut, wincing at the pain.
"Stop it," she said. "Relax." She could feel him struggle, trying to obey but also trying to comprehend what was happening, "Good, now please remember how to breathe," she chuckled.
He took a breath, and the blood began to move. It traveled from the fibers of his shirt, the concrete leading to where he was stabbed, and worked its way back into his veins. The sensation was strange, like an injection without a needle.
She felt it too. The wound glowed, and faded. It sealed, little by little. She was proud of herself. Her blood sterilized the wound, a strange quality of blood willingly given in The Scarlet Arts. It always made her feel pure.
His breaths came more naturally, slow and steady. The wound sealed shut, the tissue reforming and shaping as if it never happened. The glow faded, leaving red flakes of dried blood on their skin.
"There now," she said. "Should I kiss it?"
She heard him rustling around, his hands and eyes searching for the wound on his body like she hid it away somewhere out of sight.
"Wow," He said, shaking his head and running his hand through his hair.
"I'm good, I know." She replied. He was doing remarkably well. He wasn't asking questions. He wasn't demanding answers or screaming 'burn the witch.'
"It's like I can still feel it."
"Phantom pain," she began. "Your body still can't believe what happened."
"Not sure any part of me can."
She smiled, "It will pass in an hour or two." She rubbed her hands together, trying to clean off the red. The urge to give in faded. She was in control.
Tyler spoke after a short fit of laughter, "That was cool. Can I even ask?" He stopped and chuckled before continuing, "Where would I even start."
"Don't start," she said, standing up to help him out of the car, "There will be time. Right now we should leave. My apartment is warded. They can't get inside." She helped him up, and they walked up the stairs.
I liked this chapter for the most part. It, of course, has the given occasional typo. As far as your horror/unsettling theme, you've established a world that would be horrifying to live in. The creature's lack of clarity in both visuals and abilities both sets it up to be scary and inadvertently removes that affects as we don't really know how much danger they're in. As far as character fear, it might just be me, but I don't particularly feel anything. Their fear isn't tangible. I don't read horror because I dislike the seeds of fear it plants in my mind, but this doesn't feel particularly horrific and I'm not sure whether that's me or the story. The other bit of the chapter that slightly confused me is how the chapter is mainly written in 3rd limited of Morrigan's perspective. However, there are visual cues that don't really fit toward the beginning. While this could be written off as "she can see some things," I feel like the inconsistency in her blindness is slightly confusing. That, and there are lines like "Tyler resisting the urge to question everything" which allude to the perspective being his. Because this line is telling the reader what Tyler is feeling, perhaps you should more so have Morrigan notice Tyler's unease as he shifts in his seat. The way he occasionally opens his mouth to ask something but forgets and looks away. She should be able to see that kind of thing through the Static. Oof. That was a kind of harsh comment, but it was most of the things that I noticed in the chapter. Take it with a grain of salt as sometimes I forget things or have odd perspectives. That, and don't forget that your writing is still phenomenal.
YESS! this is actually very helpful. I noticed a lot of this last night while editing but didnt want to leave a note. didn't want the bias and wanted to be sure it was noticed. The visual cues are probably the toughest part and the thing that needs to be fixed the most storywise moving into the final draft. originally this chapter featured morrigan being far to strong, when in reality she's supposed to be at a HUGE disadvantage. I have some ideas to fix it. She gets alot of second thoughts here as she knows she cant properly protect Tyler. Thats not clear, and it shall be adressed. No worries about harsh comments. I need those more than good ones in this case. The horror is something im working on. Its virtually impossible for it to exist with Morrigan without explaination as... to be honest she's kind of part of that horror. hmmm... definately gotta fix this.