The Inner Circle: The Knowing by Cael McIntosh

shock of
bluish black hair were unmistakable. ‘Demon!’ Other voices joined
the woman’s cry. ‘Silt!’
    Ilgrin gazed about his surroundings,
looking . . . searching for a way to reverse what’d been done.
People dashed in every direction, but a brave few began to brandish
makeshift weapons: a farmer with pruning shears here, a hunter with
a bow over there. Even peaceful Abnatians would not think twice
before slaying a silt. Still, Ilgrin remained fixed to the spot.
They’d only seen his face, but that was enough. They knew what he
was. All was lost.
    In one fluid motion, Ilgrin threw away
his coat and flared wings, easily with a span of six strides from
wingtip to wingtip. Such a gesture achieved its intended purpose. A
disbelieving hush fell over those that’d refused to run. They were
paralysed by fear, allowing Ilgrin the opportunity to bend his
knees. Rhythmic screams and terrified howls rose up, reaching a
feverish pitch as he beat his wings and ascended into the sky.
    Something zipped passed Ilgrin’s face
and it didn’t take long to realise that he was being shot at. He
tore off his shoes and allowed them to fall as a second arrow
passed beneath his feet. Ilgrin had a choice to make: he could fly
higher than arrows could go and live off the hope that no one had a
pistol, or he could fly low over their heads to prevent them from
taking the risk of shooting. Even the death of a demon wouldn’t be
worth the loss of human life.
    Ilgrin pulled in his wings and
dove. He caught himself sneering at the site of the scattering
humans. Anger born from years of discrimination boiled to the
surface and Ilgrin screamed in fury. They wanted a demon? They’d
have their demon. He swooped over the terrified people, dragging on
clothing and knocking off hats. He snatched up a man’s bag and
tossed it into the air, sending papers scattering everywhere. They
were all so scared. Ilgrin laughed even as tears ran down his
cheeks.
    ‘ Is this what you
wanted?’ he cried, swooping over a group of young men, forcing them
to dive for cover.
    A young woman in a bright yellow dress
stumbled as Ilgrin swooped. She glared with such ferocity that one
would’ve thought he’d personally wronged her. Flaring his wings,
Ilgrin slowed long enough to latch his toes around her arms and
drag her into the air. He’d have a better chance of escaping if he
had a hostage. At first the woman kicked and fought, but as they
ascended higher and higher she began to cling to Ilgrin’s legs,
fearful of falling.
    ‘ What do you want
from me?’ The girl cried.
    ‘ My freedom,’ Ilgrin
called over the wind.
    ‘ Please don’t kill
me,’ she begged.
    ‘ I’m not going to
kill you,’ Ilgrin said pityingly. ‘I’m no different from anyone
else.’
    ‘ You’ve kidnapped
me!’ she shouted. ‘I hate you. You’re a demon. I hate
you!’
    Taken aback by her excessive display of
aggression, Ilgrin looked down to make eye contact. ‘You don’t even
know me.’
    ‘ Oh, I know you,’ she
laughed manically, her eyes becoming glassy. ‘Of course I know you!
I have the knowing. I’m Elglair.’
    Ilgrin swallowed fearfully. Her
ordinary pupils told a different story, but the claim coupled with
her strange behaviour made him nervous nevertheless. Having gained
sufficient distance from the city Ilgrin banked toward the earth.
‘I’ll put you down,’ he told the woman, his eyes fixed on an empty
field.
    ‘ Don’t think you’ve
seen the last of me,’ the woman snarled. ‘You’d better remember me.
The day will come that I will slay you. All of you.’
    ‘ What is wrong with
you?’ Most people would’ve feared and even hated Ilgrin, but nobody
behaved this way. It was as though she’d lost her mind. ‘I’m not
evil!’ Ilgrin exclaimed, after putting the woman down safely in the
middle of the gently sloping field. ‘If I was, I’d have killed
you.’
    The woman dropped to her knees and put
a hand to her forehead. ‘What happened?’