Strix

***

The trespasser, ill-gotten gains in both hands, stumbled greedily into the woods. 

Shadows coiled, and the air thickened with malice. The Strix emerged. Long gray hair. Naked. Wild.

Her gaze burned like fire.

No words. Roots, like vengeful serpents, snaked from the earth, squeezing breath from lungs. Wide-eyed, the intruder writhed in soundless agony, silver cup and gold coins strewn haphazardly. 

The witch-demon retreated into the night, which, now unusually chill, was reminiscent of an icy, warm cocoon within a sepulcher of snow.