Esha wrapped the dusty blanket around herself and shivered violently. She wasn't dressed for a winter storm. Their old barn was not very weather resistant either, seeing as they hadn’t had any large farm animals for many years. There hadn't been any repairs or patch jobs done in years. She didn't know why she was being held here, nor where Alia was. Or if her sister was even alive.

  Not that she hadn't tried to find out of course, but all of her queries were mostly ignored or met with an occasional scowl. The creature that was holding her hostage hadn't uttered another word to her for several minutes now. He sat by the open barn door, seemingly unaware of the freezing temperatures, sharpening his knife. On occasions, he glowered at her, usually when she attempted to speak to him.

  She'd fled to her room to hide at the first sign of trouble. Just as Alia had instructed her to do in case bandits ever decided to break in. She assumed the same applied if Rakshasas broke in too. Once in her room, she glanced around desperately trying to decide where the best place to hide would be. There weren't many options. It was either the closet or under the bed.

  Deciding on the bed, she shoved a shivering Rajan in the closet with a firm "stay" and slid the door closed. Rajan laid down, like a good boy, and indeed stayed. She crawled under her low bed with some difficulty - this had been easier when she was smaller and hiding from imaginary monsters - and clasped both hands over her mouth to try and stifle her panicked breaths. She trained huge eyes towards the door, praying that nothing would come through.

  She heard another scream from her sister and a loud crash. She buckled in her tight confines, whimpering as she hit her head, and forced herself to remain still, listening. A muffled conversation and several shrill cries of pain. Now there was nothing but silence. Esha's eyes welled up and tears threatened to spill. Had Alia been killed?

  No. Please no. She pleaded silently to any Gods that could hear her.

  Heavy footsteps followed by the sound of the front door being opened. A second, slightly lighter, set of footsteps joined the first. A deep voice began to speak in, hardly audible. A second voice replied a bit heatedly and was abruptly cut off by the first. It sounded like an argument.

  Wonderful.

  The conversation went back and forth for a few moments, each voice sounding rather frustrated, then silence once again.

  Slow, deliberate footfalls began heading down the hallway now. Esha began to tremble and pray incoherently once more. She heard the doors in the hallway being opened one by one followed by a longish silence. Slowly, the rooms were being searched.

  She froze. From under the bed, she saw the door to her room swing open and two booted feet enter. Her hands were still plastered over her mouth, halting her fear from spilling out in a scream, but still, her ragged breaths were slightly audible. However, the owner of the feet didn't give any sign that he'd heard. They strolled, almost casually to the closet and slid the door open. She almost cried out a warning to the dog but caught herself.

  Rajan shrank back, whimpered, hid under a pile of clothing, and appeared as harmless as a puppy could appear. The feet were paused in front of the opened closet, most likely considering the next course of action, then headed towards the window. This puzzled Esha. Did he think she'd gone out the window in this weather? Doubtful.

  They approached the bed and hesitated again. She closed her eyes, praying that the end would be quick, when the feet began towards her bedroom door and into the hallway once again. She had almost heaved a sigh of relief when they came bounding back in and the bed was heaved across her small room.

  Her piercing shriek lasted only a fraction of a second as the creature snatched her from the floor by her throat and lifted her into the air. She was now eye level with the green-eyed brute, her feet dangling a couple of feet above the wooden floor. He examined her with a curious expression, turning her face, harshly, left then right. Instinctively, she began kicking at him as she struggled to breath. His features were inscrutable for a moment, then became amused as one of her kicking feet managed to catch him in the knee.

  "Stupid girl," he hissed through carnivorous teeth, before flinging her effortlessly against the wall. His pronunciation sounded broken as if Common was a language foreign to him.

  The impact was bruising, and she landed in a heap stunned, clutching the back of her head. Her eyes rolled in their sockets as she struggled to remain conscious. He stared down at her, his top lip curling into a sneer of triumph.

  Another being had appeared in the doorway, studying her as well. Esha fluttered her eyes in her stupor and tried to focus more clearly as she compared the two. The green-eyed one that had discovered her was none other than the man she'd seen at the fishing spot earlier today. The other was undoubtedly his invisible partner whose presence she had felt watching her. Their coloration was very similar - skin and hair shades varying slightly - as were their features. The one who now watched her from the bedroom entrance was the elder or, at least, higher in rank; he was taller, a bit more gruff-looking, and his armor was decorated much more intricately.

  The younger one, still with that snide grin, pulled out one of the two swords on his back and prepared to swing when the one watching held up his hand.

  "Really now? We came here for answers. Your bloodlust can wait." He said in Common, chuckling a bit.

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  The young one, blade still drawn back, froze. Bewilderment colored his features as if he hadn't understood fully all the words spoken by the elder being, this soon faded into resentment. They began to whisper in a foreign tongue. She saw him gesture angrily at her and; his tone was quick, clipped, and very displeased.

  The elder responded firmly, cutting off any and all objections, glaring at his younger counterpart. The two locked stares for a long moment, in an apparent battle of wills before the younger finally dropped his eyes first and sheathed his weapon. When he returned his gaze to the girl, she flinched back as she saw the smoldering hate within it.

  The elder snickered once again and left the two. Esha didn't move, her eyes locked on the hostile male who stood in front of her. His glare, was silent and unnerving. She found herself trying to scoot back away from him, even though there wasn't anywhere left to scoot.

  He appeared disgusted and turned to suddenly hurl her small bookcase through the window in an apparent loss of temper. The cold rushed in followed by the howling wind and snow. Taking advantage of the distraction, she regained her senses long enough to bounce to her feet and run into the hallway. He was on her in a second, pulling her back into the room by the back of her neck. Lashing her arm to the side, he slung her towards her toppled bed, and she reeled back several steps, falling over it.

  He approached with both blades drawn again and had them both pointed at her, inches from her face. He gestured to the doorway, shaking his head and said, “You. No. Run.”

  "Go away! Leave me alone!" She cried, cowering and waving her hands in front of her.

  He slanted his head at her and narrowed his eyes. Twirling the large swords expertly in his hands, he nudged her with the toe of his boot. She batted it away and shook her head, inching as far back from him as was possible. His brow furrowed and he gave her a sharper nudge this time, bordering on an actual kick, and jerked his head upwards.

  He wanted her to stand. She swallowed painfully, dry throat issuing an audible click and shook her head again. He let out a frustrated snarl and brought his left sword down sharply. It sliced through her mattress and wooden bed frame cleanly, as if they'd been made of butter. She watched in abject horror as her bed fell apart into two perfect halves. He gave her another not-so-gentle nudge with his foot and gestured again that she should rise.

  Stand up or be chopped in two. It wasn't a difficult decision. Esha stood shakily and peered up at him mistrustfully. He nodded and waved a weapon towards her bedroom door, indicating she ought to walk there, his expression disinterested again.

  Esha wasn't very enthusiastic about going anywhere with him, and her face showed it. She glanced at the exit and then back at him and she set her jaw stubbornly, deciding to have some dignity about this. She purposefully held her nose high in the air as she sauntered by him towards the door; giving the impression that she was now unperturbed by his presence. She heard his heavy steps just behind her and she was given a strong shove forward, regardless of her cooperation. She turned her head and shot him a sour look which he returned with one of his own. His glare won out and she picked up her pace a bit, facing forward once more.

  All show of bravado was quickly forgotten, however, when she saw the older being crouching over the prone figure of her sister. He was busily tying her hands and arms behind her back. He then picked her up and tossed her on the sofa like a sack of grain when he'd finished. Alia's face, now visible, was pale, bruised and unresponsive. Esha would have thought she was dead if not for the fact that she'd been bound. Why bother to restrain a corpse?

  "Alia! Alia! Are you ok?!" Forgetting the threat behind her, she ran to her sister's side and shook her. "Wake up, please. Please wake up, Alia," she sniffled, tears finally getting the better of her.

  A hand gripped the collar of her robe roughly and hauled her back out of reach of the unconscious woman. She'd had about enough of being pushed and pulled around for one evening. That, combined with the shock of the invasion and her distress at seeing her injured sister, caused white-hot fury to bubble up to the surface. She wrenched free, whirled around and gave her tormentor a vicious slap across the face.

  "I hope you die! I hate you!" She screamed at him, finally breaking down to sob.

  The older one watched this show with obvious enjoyment. And, in response, only crossed his arms, glancing over at his brother. His eyebrows were raised as if to ask, well? Now what will you do?

  Dumbfounded at her audacity, the younger Rakshasa touched his cheek as if he couldn't quite believe what she'd just done. He stared down at the weeping girl and then back at his brother.

  He said something in their language while pawing at the hilt of one of his many knives. His voice sounded as if he was complaining.

  He tossed the elder a surprisingly human-like glance, eyebrows raised in eager hope. The sort of look designed to coax the older one into acquiescing to whatever he'd asked.

  A shake of the head indicated to Esha that he'd been denied his request. She'd cringed back after her outburst, frightened at what the consequences might have been. The younger male fixed her with a dark glare and clenched his jaw, unhappy at the refusal. He spat out something else to which the elder merely nodded in response. She watched, sniffling, as the older creature swept his arm towards the front door and turned his attention back onto the female lying on the sofa.

  Before she was half-pulled, half-dragged outside, she watched as the elder took hold of a strand of her sister's hair and brought it up to his face to examine it more closely.

  The short walk to the barn was extremely cold and her fingers and toes became numb within moments. Esha kept giving her kidnapper suspicious glances as he walked behind her, not quite trusting he wouldn't just impale her on one of those horrible swords he carried. It was obvious that he wanted nothing more - despite the elder's apparent orders not to.

  Shivering uncontrollably now, Esha walked through the barn's double-doored entrance and immediately spied the horse blanket, snatching it and pulling it around her. It was old and dusty, but also thick and warm. She scrambled up onto a stale hay pile and burrowed back into it as best as she could, wrapping the blanket around her as insulation.

  He watched with veiled interest as if wondering about her activity. She shot him a frown and then refused to look him in the eye, crossing her arms sullenly. "What do you want with us?"

  He arched a brow and leaned back against the door frame, unresponsive.

  "Can't you go away and leave us alone?"

  He crossed his arms and didn't answer.

  "What are you going to do to me and my sister?"

  A roll of the eyes and a yawn.

  "You're an asshole."

  Utter dismissal; he turned his back on her.

  Esha was half-tempted to try and rush him, but her stinging neck made her think better of it. She gave up trying to get answers and waited for whatever was going to happen, to happen.

  Back in the now-empty bedroom, Rajan whined and trembled in the closet. His human had not told him he should stop 'staying', so he remained.