Sanctuary by Aloria

Prologue.

Greed was the cause of many an individuals down fall. Kingdoms had fallen and lives had been lost thanks to this one cardinal sin. And it was greed that would be the undoing for one family. Hunched down in a rickety boat three figures held their breaths. A fourth clutched a knobby wooden pole with gnarled fingers, pushing the boat through the canal they were in. When they finally docked it was with relief, though the male was suspicious.

"Five gold! That was the wager!", the bitter old boat man stated much too loudly. The woman hissed in distress and the young boy clutching her leg held all the tighter.

"The bargain was three." With sun kissed eyed male glared, hair flashing silver in the moon light. Nervously the boat man licked his lips, eyes darting to and frow. He didn't want to anger the demon in front of him. But he thought he deserved more than three gold for just transporting a family of unregistered dogs into the city.

He didn't have a chance to make his demands again. Shouts and the sounds of horses reached their ears. Before they knew it they were surrounded. In an effort to protect his family the male ushered them behind him and readied his claws. But it was too late. Ropes imbued with the powers of the local priests looped around him and bound him. "Run!", he called to his mate as he was forced down.

She was already gone, her young son clutched tightly to her breast. Under normal circumstances she could have easily out distanced the humans and their beasts. These were not normal circumstances. They'd had little to eat in the last few months and less rest. Weary from travel, it was a blessing that she was able to go as fast as she was.

With a sharp gasp the demoness caught sight of a large church. The same power that had damned her mate could very well be their salvation. "Mama, there's a man on a horse coming!" Whimpering, her pup burrowed his face in her shoulder and she put on a burst of speed.

"Sanctuary! Sanctuary!" Pounding on the doors she yelled for all she was worth. "For the love of the Kami, please! Sanctuary!" Yet it was late and the priest was probably asleep. It would take him time to get to the door, time they didn't have.

Abruptly she was yanked from the door and the child in her grasp shouted in alarm. When faced with her attacker she desperatly wanted to flee. Evil! Pure evil radiated from this man! Atop a black horse steaming in the chill of the night he sat. His eyes were red and burning, like the coals of hell. And his hair was riot of dark twisting waves. "Filthy dog, trying to sneak into my city?" He smiled, not so much a smile but a showing of teeth.

Cruel hands reached, gnarled into claws that hooked into the shirt of the boy. But she held on, weakly attempting to rescue her now struggling boy from him. "No, please!" Her eyes pleaded with him even as she begged. It earned her a boot to the chest, sending her harshly into the stone steps. A resounding crack filled the air, her body jerking once as red blossomed around her head.

At the sight of his mother's still form, shrouded in blood, the boy shrieked and twisted. Small fangs sank into the hand that held him. Snarling himself, the Judge back handed the boy and shook him. "Disgusting creature! I'll send you back to where you came from!" Knocked senseless he could not struggle. He was dizzy and all he could focus on was his deceased mother. He didn't move when he was almost flung into the well. Nor did he twitch when the Judge was chastised harshly by the too-late priest. The last thing he would see before he finally passed out was red, an all consuming red that would haunt him for the rest of his days.

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AN: This is based off of the Hunchback of Notre Dame, loosely. Sorry if it's such crap to start off with. I think I went over board. This is going to now turn into a drabble series. The prompt for this one was Red. X.x