Black Rayne Silent Screams

by Yvonne Nicolas

  the tightly woven steel suit that protected her skin. She winced at the pressure

  and gagged at the foul stink.

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  Suddenly, she couldn"t breathe. Her lungs were compressed. The weight had

  gotten heavier. She swung fiercely at the invisible creature in an attempt to get it

  off her while taking desperate sips of air.

  Her limbs were seized and forced to the ground. It wasn"t able to hold her

  immobile, but it made it impossible for her to escape its grasp, almost. It would

  take more than a bout of dark magic to hold her down.

  Battling the pressure, she struggled to reach for the dagger tucked in her

  boot.

  “Blaze, I can"t get a visual! Light that wanka up so I can blast his arse!” Copper

  shouted.

  Blaze gathered her spiritual energy, bent her leg past the binding force, and

  grabbed the handle of her weapon. Igniting the blade with blue flames, she slashed

  at the creature on top of her.

  “Get the hell off!”

  Two deep squeals rung out as the pressure was immediately lifted. She

  flipped onto her feet and sucked the stagnant air into her starved lungs. To her

  surprise, two large demons stood before her, drooling with lust.

  “Now, now boys. One at a time,” she taunted, waving her finger.

  She eyed her automatic crossbow not far from her. She sprung the short

  distance to her fallen weapon, slid her foot beneath it and kicked it up into her

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  hands. Not allowing the ghastly entities to make another strike, she launched two

  flaming arrows into their guts.

  From her post, Copper released a series of shots. She severed their arms,

  filled them with gaping holes, and spilled their black blood onto the withered

  grass. But in a matter of seconds their arms grew back and their wounds healed.

  Only when Copper"s bullets pierced their throats was there some damage done.

  Infuriated, the creatures charged Blaze with their heads dipped and their

  arms covering them.

  Their heads!

  “I think I"ve just figured something out.”

  Back peddling, Blaze eyed their swift movements, making sure to keep her

  feet beneath her. As she went for her knife, they disappeared. Already aware of

  their position, she swirled on her toes, her blue flamed blade extended and sliced

  through the demons" throats. She watched their bodies disintegrate into nothing

  before her.

  “I thought so. We have to take their heads.”

  “Bloody good call, my fire wielding friend,” Copper extolled.

  She readied her crossbow and ran back toward the temple. “Thanks, just doing

  my—”

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  Something slammed her in the back. She dropped her to her knees. Her

  crossbow left her grasp. Before she could recover, her assailant grabbed her hair,

  yanked her head back and clamped down hard on her shoulder. Huge teeth tore

  into her muscles and cracked her clavicle, ripping a piercing scream from her

  throat. She tightened her grip on the ignited dagger and slashed backwards, nearly

  dislocating her arm in the process.

  The creature leaped off of her.

  Once it shed its cloaked form, its head was blown off. Blaze flipped

  backwards, ignored the excruciating pain in her shoulder and stooped down to

  prepare herself for the unseen.

  Geez, something had to give. She couldn"t keep waiting to be attacked to

  make the demons uncloak themselves.

  A huge explosion in the courtyard drew her attention.

  “Spade,” she whispered. She felt a moment of relief that he was all right. It

  was known throughout the family if there were explosions coming from his area

  then Spade was rocking and rolling.

  “Blaze, we have to make them show themselves,” Copper said, stating the obvious.

  “I have an idea.” Blaze placed both hands on the ground. “Spade get off the ground

  now!”

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  Without waiting for a response, she sent a sheet of blue flames along the

  perimeter of the temple, setting ablaze the soil and dead grass. A blanket of rain

  showered from the dark cloud above, doused the dancing flames, and engulfed the

  area with a thick mist of blue vapor. An echo of loud wails drifted through the

  horizon as every demon was forced to reveal themselves.

  “Oh my God!” Blaze gasped in horror.

  “Holy shite! They"re fuckin" everywhere!”

  Droplets of rain mingled with sweat beads formed on Copper"s brow as she

  unremittingly unloaded rounds at the sea of angry shadows surrounding her sister.

  “Blaze get out of there, now! Head for the temple! I"ll clear the way!”

  “I"m on it, Copper!” Spade shouted.

  A smile arched on her lips. Through the blue haze, her war brother took on

  the demons like they were nothing.

  Swinging his demon-slicing machete with skill and agility in the right hand,

  he claimed heads of the howling creatures. With the left hand, he wielded the

  automatic grenade launcher and pumped them full of explosive rounds.

  A sudden thrust to her side, then a hard strike to her back threw her off

  balance. Winded, she tumbled down the slippery tile roof. She tried to get a grip,

  but the sheets of rain plowing down on her made it impossible.

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  The ground was coming fast.

  Finally, she was able to grab hold onto the eave of the roof as her body

  tumbled over the side.

  “You…dirty…bastard,” she murmured breathlessly, dangling off the side of

  the roof. To gather air back into her heaving lungs seemed difficult, that was until

  she heard the snarl from the demon waiting up top for her. Fury consumed her.

  “Don"t worry, I"m coming for you, bitch.”

  She tightened her grip on the sturdy eave, took several deep breaths then

  began to swing her legs. She rolled the swaying motion up into her body, flexing

  the muscles in her arms to hold on. The long overhang gave her plenty of room to

  swing her body back and forth until she was able to pivot herself high enough to

  gracefully flip back onto the roof.

  Once on top, she crouched down like a tiger and glared at the burly blood-

  red creature, who had the nerve to growl at her. She reached down and drew her

  fighting knife from her boot.

  Challenge accepted!

  The beast rushed her. Tracking its rapid demonic approach, she squeezed

  the handle of her knife, and allowed it to draw closer. Once within arm"s reach, she

  shifted to the side, keeping her balance on the slope, and with lightning speed,

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  slashed through the demon"s neck. Black blood showered her then was quickly

  washed away by the rain.

  A piercing squeal attacked her ears. It turned and glared at her, its head

  hanging halfway off its shoulders. Only leathery slivers of flesh, muscles and

  arteries kept it connected. Before it had a chance to regenerate, she attacked and

  sliced through the remaining part of its neck. The head hit the roof with a thud.

  She turned away from the disintegrating body and bolted toward her rifle. A

  massive hand sought her neck, lifted her in the air then hurled her down onto the

  roof.

  Shite!

  Wincing, she quickly gathered herself, rolled onto her stomach an
d scurried

  to her feet. Seven demons glared at her with green glowing eyes and human blood

  dripping from their mouths. They blocked her path to her rifle.

  “I got seven on me!”

  Copper zipped to the far end of the roof, beheaded a demon with ease and

  then went after another. Halted in her attack, she was grabbed by her ponytail and

  forced, face down, over the ridge. The abrupt pressure on her stomach caused the

  food she consumed earlier to violently erupt from her gut.

  Lightheadedness blurred her vision.

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  Her arms were pinned down and legs forced apart. The sound of their snarls

  combined with the rank smell of sulfur and blood, induced her to heave again. The

  demons clawed at her backside, attempting to shred the shark suit which

  protected her skin. Becoming increasingly irritated at their failed efforts, they

  pressed their weight down on her, and smashed her harder onto the ledge,

  drawing out tears and gargled screams.

  Near to passing out, Copper closed her eyes and prepared for the darkness

  to take her.

  There was a rapid sequence of whooshes above her. She opened her eyes,

  tightened her muscles and gathered her soul"s force. With the high-pitched

  squeals echoing through the night, the weight lifted off of her.

  “Its boom time, kitty!” Spade shouted.

  “Copper, get off the roof!”

  She strained to push her bruised body off the ridge and glanced over her

  shoulder at the demons. Blue flamed arrows with dynamite attached were lodged

  in their throats.

  Boom time indeed.

  With as much speed as she could muster from her battered frame, she

  stumbled groggily to her feet, disconnected the pain in her stomach from her mind,

  grabbed her rifle then somersaulted off the roof.

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  Chapter Ten

  Fusing Spirits

  Rayne opened her eyes and jerked upright in the bed. Her heart knocked

  heavily against her chest at the disturbing dream she"d just suffered.

  The room was pitch-black. She blinked a few times to adjust to the

  darkness, but every time she closed her eyes, the faces of the six people who"d

  invaded her mind during sleep flashed behind her lids.

  Feeling misplaced, she reached across the bed for her dark lover for comfort

  and realized it was empty, but she could feel his spiked energy all around her.

  “Demetri?” she called out.

  Across the room two red orbs appeared. Eerily the darkness separated then

  there he stood. Wearing nothing but his pants, he glared into the mirror with a

  long shimmering sword grasped in his hand. An identical ghostly reflection stared

  back at him.

  “Wow, you have a reflection,” she muttered in disbelief. She eased from

  beneath comforter and wrapped the sheet around her naked frame to block out the

  breeze that mysteriously whirled throughout the closed suite. “You"re just

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  shattering that old vampire myth, huh? Why are your eyes red? That can"t be

  good.” When he said nothing, she stepped closer. “You okay?”

  “No, she is not fully aware,” Demetri"s addressed the mirror. “We haven"t the

  time to inform her. She must feel the truth and take action.”

  “Uhh…who you talking to, babe?”

  He cast her a side glance. She shuddered and took a step back. There was

  death in his scarlet eyes and it made every muscle in her body seize.

  “Are, are you here,” she faltered, fear lacing her every word. “Or did you just

  switch out on me?”

  Chuckling, he blended into the shadows and melted from her sight. “I am

  here. The sun is approaching.” The impressive steel along with his eyes flashed

  through the darkness.

  “Which means you gotta leave?”

  For a moment he said nothing. The silence along with his unseen presence

  heightened her unwavering anxiety.

  “Goddammit Demetri, say something,” she snapped. “And stop going all

  shadowy on me.”

  “There is something you must do before I am forced to leave you,” he uttered

  in a haunting tone.

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  “No, uh-uh. This is bullshit. You can"t do this to me!” she said, jabbing her

  finger in the air. “Not after we just—c"mon, D! Don"t do this, this creepy weird

  crap. I"m not in the mind set right now. Don"t you think I"ve seen enough?”

  “You think I do this to upset you? No, sweet angel,” he finished on a

  whisper. “This cannot be helped. The darkness follows me when I am riled, when

  my blade is drawn. I smell Chingi demons, Sharayna. The same demons you

  witnessed attack those Andausians in your mind.”

  She bristled and stared until the shadows shading him were no more. The

  dark haze hovered over his body then spiraled around him like a tornado.

  “You know what I say to be true. You feel them, yes? What did you feel

  when you saw them fighting those shadows, fighting for their lives? What lies

  deep in your heart for those six souls your spirit is reaching out to?”

  His aura began to beam like a black light. She was at a loss for words, too

  damn freaked out to answer him. Panic clouded her mind for the strangers she

  shared some sort of connection with. She smelled the scent he referred to, the

  scent that made her want to puke her damn guts out.

  Gagging, she covered her nose. “What is that?”

  “Sulfur and demonic miasma, the scent that surrounds the soldiers, who are

  about to be drawn into the darkness,” he murmured with a frown. “I"m sorry, lover

  but if you don"t find it within yourself to take action, they will all die.”

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  She stumbled back at the sudden pain that slammed into her heart. Why

  did it feel like he"d just told her, her family was about to die?

  “I don"t understand,” she breathed out with her hand plastered over her

  chest.

  “There is no time for you to understand.” He held his hand out to her. “If you

  have the resolve to save these Andausians, then come to me.”

  Without hesitation, Rayne eased over to his outstretched hand and placed

  hers in it. “What can I do? I don"t feel like I can help them. They"re in Japan,

  Demetri.”

  “It doesn"t matter the distance. Your connection to them is the key.”

  He positioned her in front of him to face the mirror where the scent was

  stronger. He placed his palm at the base of her belly, and pointed the tip of his

  sword at mirror, which now rippled like water.

  “I want you to close your eyes and think of this team. Concentrate on the

  connection. Katsumi and I will do the rest.”

  “Who"s Katsumi?” she asked, staring at her distorted reflection.

  “The long shiny blade I hold before you. Now, close your eyes and

  concentrate,” he behest.

  Not sure she could concentrate on anything with the horrible smell

  assaulting her senses, she held her breath and met his request. Immediately, the

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  image of the lighted figures came forth. Wrinkling her brow, she concentrated on

  them and drew out faces in her mind. Just as they came into focus, she opened her

  eyes.

  Dressed in fatigues, they fought repulsive looking creatures that were only

 
shadows in her mind, until now. It played out in the mirror like a horror movie.

  Green eyes, long yellow teeth, putrid leathery skin—the ghouls were nightmares

  to look at.

  “OhmyGod!” she gasped.

  The scent of blood and sulfur mingled together brought bile up in her

  throat. Fighting to keep it down, she tried to push back and get away from the

  source, but Demetri"s hard body kept her planted.

  “Uh-uh, no, Demetri! I don"t wanna see this anymore! Make it stop!” she

  squealed in between gags.

  “I"m sorry, Angel, you must see this. Endure it, because this will not be your

  last encounter with the Chingi. Don"t sever the connection. Hold onto it.”

  “Hell no, I don"t think I can do this! Make it stop, please!”

  “You will do this,” he stated sternly. “Now, take my sword.”

  “Now?”

  “Yes, now.”

  “Dammit, D. Fine!”

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  Allowing the sheet to fall from her body, she reached behind her and took

  hold of his sword. In a split second, it stirred to its full, thick girth within her grasp.

  Chuckling beneath a lusty groan, he rested his forehead on the crown of her

  head. “Not that one, you impish little girl.”

  “Oh.” She snatched her hand back.

  “It"s astonishing how in a state of hysteria you are still able find it in yourself

  to grab my cock.”

  “My bad, okay. I"m freaking out,” she huffed. “It"s a reflex move. You need to

  be more specific next time.”

  He guffawed. “Sharayna, take the handle of the sword I"m holding in front of

  you, please.”

  “Fine.”

  She slipped her hand over the ivory hilt and a stream of energy shot up her

  arm and through her body, weakening her knees. Demetri held her up steady

  against him then let the handle go, allowing her to consume the weight of the

  glowing instrument. She began to pant at the relentless waves of vigorous force

  pouring into her. Her limbs trembled.

  Suddenly a soft feminine voice caressed the walls of her mind. “Steady your

  nerves, young Queen. Lord Demetri and I will channel your sinew to the sensor of the group.”

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