Heretic

         Heretic.  Murderer.  Every day, Izra heard them whispering it as she passed.  It was what had gotten her thrown onto this god-awful, piss-poor excuse of a planet.  She couldn’t blame them, really — after all, there at least was a reason she was here, even if it was horse shit.  And you miserable bastards all got stuck here with me, she thought.

***

         In the slums near Kanehani, young girls disappeared all the time — everyone accepted it as a fact of life.  Everyone knew where they were.  But no one was willing to stop it — they were all to afraid of the consequences of even admitting they knew what was happening.

         The truth was, the children were being stolen by a monster, one that hid behind his priest’s robe deep within the monastery.  The ecclesiastics protected their own, no matter how ghastly their appetite.  And no one went against the Church; to do so was suicide.

         But when Izra’s sister Priam went missing, she didn’t care what the cost was.  She was all Izra had left — their parents had perished toiling in the Fegueran mines years ago, leaving Izra alone to care for her.  And she was going to make the beast pay for his crimes.

         She’d taken a knife and managed to sneak into the priory.  It hadn’t been difficult to find the devil: sickeningly enough, she’d been able to hear Priam’s screams once she’d entered the hall near his quarters.  But by the time she broke through the door, she was too late — she was greeted by the horrific sight of the priest with his hands still clenched around the neck of Priam’s lifeless, naked body.

         Blinded with rage, Izra had flown at him with the blade, slashing every inch of flesh she possibly could before the others got to her.  When they’d reached the door, she slit the demon’s throat, slicing so deep she hit bone.  When they pulled her off of him, she was covered in blood, spewing curses at them for allowing this abomination to hunt freely.

         She’d expected to be executed for her “crime.”  But somehow, the Fates had smiled down on her, and the Premier decided to be merciful and spare her life.  Instead, he’d ordered her to be exiled to Azariah, the newly discovered planet far on the outer edge of the Empire.  The next day, she was on the first transport, filled with pilgrims praying for a better life on the new frontier.