Accidental Demon Slayers: Melody of Light pt. 31

Clare rounded a corner, shielding Max as the walked.  Liz was humming now, a soft, sad tune.  The sound was guiding them, and every bell and whistle in Clare’s mind was going off.  This was all wrong, and she was walking towards it, instead of running away like any sane person would. 

The hedges dropped off, revealing a life-sized chessboard, polished so bright that the moon was reflected in the uncovered squares.  The three-foot tall chess pieces stood guard on either side, and standing in the middle of the board, her back to them, was a woman. 

“Liz?” Max stepped forward, towards the board.  Clare held out her arm, blocking him. 

Liz stood, her head hung low, her face hidden by her hair.  Her shoulders were slumped, and she seemed to be rocking on her heels gently, the movements matching the dreary rhythm of the song she was humming.

“I loved you so much, but you never saw it.” She stopped rocking. “Then the first pair of perky tights and tight abs that walks by you gets a ring on her finger.”

“I don’t appreciate you…” Clare cut him off with a sharp glance. 

“Don’t.” Clare’s voice was a harsh whisper.

Clare took a step forward, slowly, carefully.  Her toes stopped at the edge of the chessboard. 

“Liz, right?” Clare kept her voice neutral. 

The woman nodded. 

“Liz, can I ask you something?”  Clare took another step forward, making sure her slick soled high heels didn’t slip on the polished marble of the chessboard.  “How did you know Max proposed?”

Liz’s head snapped towards her, and Clare froze. 

The woman’s eyes were liquid metallic, the surface swirling and churning like two balls of mercury.  She was smiling; her lips stretched too wide, her skin looking raw and ready to rip. 

“I see all.” Her voice was different now, lower and rough. 

“Clare! Max! Where are you?” Ashtyn’s panicked voice made Clare turn her head. 

It was in that moment, the moment she took her eyes off the Liz thing, that the chessboard seemed to erupt, the pieces thrown away, the slick surface warping, wrapping around Clare, embracing her and pulling her off her feet. 

How could she have been so stupid?  How could she have let her guard down?

The last thing she heard before the darkness washed over her was Max screaming her name.