Skerrein
Cover Art by: Monster face vector created by catalyststuff - www.freepik.com
Obsidian Nightshard twitched his arrowhead tail as the twilight twinkled through the door of his den. The fury with which he scratched at the dirt where he slept kicked up a dust storm. He frowned as that blessed night, that the Earthlings call Samhain, drew one day closer. He moved intentionally toward his mud hole and splashed his face, dulling his diamond sprinkled purple skin.
Maybe the humans won’t laugh at my scare tactics tonight if I don’t sparkle in the moonlight.
When people hollered and hooted outside, his pointed ears perked up.
Speaking of.
Obsidian exited his den with theatrical flair, baring his teeth. The teenagers before him threw bottles. He swatted the glass away with ease and growled. The teens quieted.
Yes, cower before me.
Nightshard summoned his great magic and channeled it into the nearby pumpkin patch. The gourds plumped and bulged under the power. The face of each one split into a jagged smile and triangular eyes rotted out. Then, snapping his fingers, witchlight ignited within each.
The humans laughed and clapped, but then they turned and left.
Obsidian’s power wavered.
Not the reaction I was hoping for.
He thought of the old days when his power instilled fear in the people of this realm. Obsidian sneered. Laughter and disdain surrounded him now. The only creatures he could scare these days were the rats.
***
The next night, Obsidian’s tail twitched with less life. He clawed his sleeping space with less vigor. And a light dust devil surrounded him. He moved with ennui to his mud hole where he smeared his face with a thick muck.
His ears fluttered at the sound of passing humans.
More of them than last night.
With reluctance, Obsidian ventured into the night to roar, scratch, and frighten the passersby. He found the Jack ‘o Lanterns from the previous night missing. He let out a weak snarl. The young humans looked at him with what he could only imagine was a mild curiosity.
His nimble clawed hands worked his magic into a new set of pumpkins. The gourds grew larger and more grotesque, cracking and splitting until nasty glowing smiles framed their faces.
“That’s sick,” one teen said.
Another gestured toward the patch. “Yo, we should bring the others.”
Obsidian Nightshard’s magic dwindled. He threw his paws in the air and retreated to his den.
***
The sun rose and set. Obsidian swung his tail around cursorily. He gave his bed a couple of halfhearted scratches. He moved at a snail’s pace to his mud hole, caking hard clay onto his face.
The thump of feet echoed outside. Obsidian huffed, barely mustering a spark, reconsidered going out and curled up on the ground, trying to sleep.
The chatter of teenagers wafted into his cubbyhole.
“I swear it was here. Johnny saw it, didn’t you?”
“Yeah. It was really weird but kind of cute.”
***
Another night followed. Obsidian turned back to view his lifeless tail, too depressed to move it. He didn’t bother to scratch his sleeping area. He walked, head hung low, to what used to be his mud hole, now dried up.
Light footsteps outside caused one ear to turn toward the exit of his home.
I should ignore it. Not worth the effort.
His compulsion to terrify the humans overcame him. He moved cautiously toward the exit and listened. The shuffling of feet continued outside in the rain. Obsidian slinked out of his den and into a nearby bush, causing it to shake. The human gasped and looked around.
His skin tingled and his breath came in gasps.
Huh.
Nightshard waited for the young thing to continue its slow ramble down the street and then approached it silently. She turned just then, and Obsidian dashed behind a rock, his tail brushing the young person’s leg.
The human let out a yelp and hurried off, splashing in the puddles as she ran.
Obsidian felt a surge of power.
Well, this is an interesting turn of events.
He gave chase and caught up to her around the bend. The sound of her beating heart gave him renewed vigor. Obsidian spied a nearby pumpkin patch and snuck into it. He shuffled the leaves and cried a little.
The girl turned toward him, appearing hesitant yet concerned.
Nightshard unleashed his full power into the pumpkins as the sky thundered. The great fruit twisted until horrendous crooked smiles shone back.
“Aaaaaah!” she ran.
Sweet fear, how it nourishes.
***
The moon glowed. Obsidian stood listening while his tail moved with silent precision. He dug at his sleeping spot with fury. Satisfied, he dashed to his mud hole, watered from the previous night’s rain. He sprinkled just enough mud to cover his scent.
His heart thumped at the sound of humans approaching. He fought the urge to jump out, teeth bared. Instead, he crept to the door and moved in the shadows to the same bush from the night before.
“Hey, did you hear that?” one of them said.
Obsidian snuck up behind them and brushed his tail against a leg with malicious intent. The human jumped.
“What was that?”
The two young men huddled close together.
Obsidian looked at the pumpkin patch that the two now approached. His magic worked bit by bit this time, plumping a gourd just enough to draw the attention of two now scared teens. They gazed at it, and he stopped until they spoke in frightened whispers. Then he began again. He moved with renewed purpose, rustling bushes and brushing legs, until the teens had moved into the pumpkin patch just in front of his new masterpiece.
“Hey, does that look like a dragon?”
Obsidian flicked his wrists and the Jack ‘o Lantern lit up in a fireball of fury. The teens shrieked and sprinted away.
Sweet satisfaction.
Obsidian Nightshard went back to his den, smiling at his newfound knowledge. The heart of suspense, the glory of Samhain, dwelt in tension… and fear of the unknown.
