"Midnight" by Victoria Lia Yu

My name is Jenna, and I’m neither human or angel, yet both human and angel. Figured it out yet? I’m a halfling, part human, part Midnight. My life’s mission? To bring down as many Midnight as I can with me to the grave. I’m still mortal you know. Think it’s easy? Maybe, if you count demolishing a steady rate of at least ten Midnight a month.

“Jenna! Where are you?” A petite Dawn with red brown hair squeaked. The sun was setting and soon she would be too weak to fight the Midnight. She had only minutes to get to safety. “Ah!” She fell backwards crushing her silver-white wings.

I jumped out from behind a tree dragging the struggling body of a Midnight angel. The typical Midnight look had either ice blue eyes, purple, or crimson red. This girl belonged in the purple group. Her black wings were ragged at the edges where I slashed with my favorite dagger, a crescent-shaped blade with a sapphire encrested in the silver hilt. Her raven hair tangled across her dirty face after being pulled across the forest floor. “Fraeya, chill. All you got to do is kill it. I know you’re scared and Lord Gregor has been angry at you for the past month for not killing at least five of them. I’ll help you get the prey and you finish them off. It’s still marked as your victory.”

I pushed the Midnight down on her knees and whiled angling her neck to Fraeya’s dagger. “Just do it Frae, it’ll be all over and we can go home.” Home, that word sounded disgusting considering what place I was calling it.

She raised her slender dagger up, the golden blade shined in the last remaining rays of the sun. “Hurry up, Frae! We only have a few minutes to settle this gal.” In one swift fluid slice, her golden dagger cut through the Midnight¡¯s neck. Her blood gushed out of her artery like a current, washing the earth with its sinful redness. Moments later, the body turned to dust and all was left was a single black feather. Fraeya collapsed to the floor in a fit. When will she ever get over her fear of blood? I handed Fraeya her trophy, and she put it delicately in the pouch hanging from her hips.

“Mission complete!” I said brightly, hoping to cheer her up a bit. She only smiled weakly before getting back up. With the mission completed, we almost forgot the urge of time. I looked at the sun and only the faintest sliver remained. “ Cr**! Fraeya, we better hurry before you face peril.” I grabbed her arm and started running.

Where is the exit to these grounds again? I’ve never been good with directions. That’s why I have Fraeya with me. Everything she hears, sees, touches, and smells, she never forgets. “Frae, a little help here?”

Maybe I ran too fast. She was entirely pale from the speed. Her expression was a bit dazed. Dammit, I can’t be responsible for her demise, not now, not in a million years! Weakly, she pointed to the left where in the distance was the trickle of a spring. I grabbed her legs and swung over my back. “Don’t move, Fraeya, you’re in for a speed race.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” She said annoyed, protesting to the fact that she’s riding on my back.

If I wasn’t wrong, since we killed that Midnight, I felt that we were being followed. Now’s the time to confirm my suspicion. “I think a few Midnight have us targeted as their dinner.”

“Oh really?!” Fraeya turned around and an arrow zoomed past her face, nearly scratching her face. “You don’t say! Now, if you¡¯d hurry and get to the spring. There’s a clearing big enough for us to take flight, as long as we don’t have to actually brawl with those.” Pointing her finger to behind my back.

Giving a moment to look back, I would have stopped to see the majestic scene if we weren’t the prey. A group of two dozen Midnight were racing towards us. Lucky for us, the trees are too close together to allow them to spread their wings, however, neither can we. Now that’s an advantage.

The springs finally came into sight, oh joy! Except, they’re practically at my tail. With a last spurge of speed, I come out into the opening only to find four Midnight waiting for us. Fraeya stares in fright at them. Never has she seen so many Midnight in her life, neither have I, well¡­at least at once. She came down from my back and stood next to me. As weak as she was, she still maintained her impassive look when she tries to hide her feelings.

“What have we got here? Two straggling Dawns! Now isn’t that a rare treat,” the one in the middle said. His white blonde hair swaying down to his waist, enhancing his cold ice blue eyes.

“Definitely,” purred the female to his right. Her auburn curls glowing with her crimson eyes.

“The brunette looks tasty.” The other female next to him hissed teasing Fraeya. Her impassive face gave a quick twitch. Her dark black locks bounced at the sides of her head, her purple eyes glowing lustfully at Fraeya.

Then, the white blonde looked back at me with his eyes narrowed. “Wait a moment, you don’t look like a Dawn. Black wings with purple and blue feathers, raven hair, grey eyes, you look like one of us.” He accused with those devilish blue eyes of his. Ugh, why to all the Midnight I meet tell me that?

“Sorry to ruin your suspicions, but that is none of your business.”I glowered back at him. By now, all the other Midnight had caught up with us. We were surrounded.

“You must be. Unlike your companion who looks like she’s dead, you are perfectly unaffected with the setting of the sun. Now tell me, you are Midnight right?” He said with a hint of excitement below.

One of his companions suddenly looked closely at me. “Unless you are the fabled half-blood that is heard of once in awhile.” The on the far left said with a strong accent. His dark brown hair shimmered with the glow from his purple eyes.

“Of course, you must be the fable Midnight that works for the Dawn. Did you know that we all consider you a traitor,” The white blonde said with the faintest hint of amusement in his voice.

“I’d like to chat, but look at the time. We really need to get back. Would you mind moving to the side, or will I have to use force?” I tempered my voice carefully, not trying to put in too much poison, but not to sound weak either.

“Of course I’ll let you pass. I’d like to save our fight for another day.” The white blonde said again. I can’t say that I wasn’t surprised. That would be a lie. Actually, to be brutally truthful, I was taken aback horridly. Not only was I the surprised one, the two females next to him were utterly shocked.

“Lester, how dare you! What if Lugh found out? He’ll murder us!” The with the auburn curls hissed. Her crimson eyes found my grey ones as they burned into

He merely waved his hands at her. “Mina, this would have been what Lugh wanted. He doesn’t like taking others against their will. You should know that by now after serving him for a century, or do you?”

She lowered her glare, apparently disgraced at herself. Whoever this Lugh is, she definitely honors him because she just went entirely silent. I watched with caution, waiting for the sign to go. He looked at me and smiled, quite surprising when they just discussed killing my friend earlier.

I took flight and all the other Midnight gawked in complete horror that their head just let me go away. With a weak Fraeya in my arms, I left, spreading my dark wings in the night sky returning to our home.