“Now that’s what you call a comeback, pet.” He said running a finger down my cheek with his lips twitching for a smile. I rolled my eyes at him and he broke out into a full laugh when I said,
“Men!”
“Bring the rage, my Brothers…bring the rage!” Jared shouted making his beasts snarl and snap their jaws with excitement.
“Alright bitches, you heard the man.” Orthrus said nodding to his men to spread out as the next set of demons came closer. One of the largest ones didn’t seem to be carrying a weapon so he moved quicker than the rest. Just as I was wondering what he was planning on using against these guys, he opened his mouth so wide, he dislocated his own jaw. Then he started to regurgitate something and soon the start of a thick chain could be seen coming up. I heaved a few times in the sight of him puking up metal, never being very good watching someone else being sick.
I was at least pleased to know I wasn’t the only one that thought this was gross…but then it got worse. He bent over at the waist just as the chain was long enough to curl along the floor and then we all noticed another bit coming out from…oh God!...the other end!
“Oh Hell no… That is just sick…man that is wrong!” Orthrus said along with Marcus saying stuff along the same lines. Then Orthrus stepped up to Marcus, slapped him on the back and said,
“This dudes all yours, my man.” The look Marcus shot Orthrus was enough to have me slap my hand to my mouth to try and squash down the laughter. Orthrus saw my attempt and gave me a friendly head nod that said he appreciated I was on his side.
“The Hell it is! You’re the bastard that can lick his own balls, you go at him!” Orthrus dropped his amused face and growled.
“For that, both of you are gonna deal with him, now go.” Jared ordered, turning serious all of a sudden.
“Fine, come on pencil dick, let’s go kill this metal sucking fu…” I didn’t hear the rest of his comment as Jared grabbed me and pulled me close.
“What’s wrong?”
“I don’t know, but it feels different this time, like he is waiting for something bigger to come. Promise me that when I give the word, you will go to Marcus, he will get you out of here, somewhere safe, then I will come find you…understand?” I bit my lip at the thought of any of these guys getting hurt but didn’t say anything, I just nodded.
“Good girl” He let me go and just before he turned back to the fight I grabbed his forearm.
“Jared…just, play it safe…yeah?” He gave me that handsome grin of his and said,
“You worried about me, little pet?”
“I’ve got a vow to keep, remember?” I said smiling up at him. He gave me a quick kiss on the cheek and whispered,
“That you do, darling.” Then we both took in the scene. The demon with the chains still had them dangling from both ends of his body but now had enough to swing around as weapons in each hand. I saw that neither beast particularly wanted to get within touching distance of the chains and I found this to be a bit funny, considering why. Here were all these mighty Hell beasts, and some of the most frightening creatures I had ever seen and they were worried about touching something as gross as where those chains had been…well minus the heinous situation we faced…that part was something I couldn’t find humour in.
In the end though, they had no choice as Orthrus grabbed one bit of the chain in one head’s mouth and the other bit in his second set of jaws. Then he jumped, twisting his body and in the process managing to loop the chain around the demon’s neck. Then with both mouthfuls of metal he nodded to Marcus. The same evil grin sparked something devious in his eyes as he produced a ball of flames in his hand. Then he dodged his way passed a lunging demon and grasped the chain closest to demon’s mouth. This caused the metal to glow poker hot and that heat travelled along each link, not only on the outside but on the inside of his body also.
“Now!” Marcus shouted to Orthrus and the two-headed beast started to pull down on the ends of the chain just as that heat made its way around the demon’s neck. One more pull like a pair of dogs with a bone and the massive demon’s head singed right off his body. The rest of the demon, minus his head, fell to the ground just as the scorching chain burnt the rest of his body from the inside out.
“My Lord!” Marcus’s shout shocked my head round in time to see a demon, that’s torso was riddled with throwing knifes, coming at us. Then, before I could shout out Jared’s name, he had me wrapped in his arms and turned so that his back was to the demon. I felt his body vibrate before he jolted as though being struck over and over again. I heard him groan but more in discomfort than pain.
“Are you alright?” I whispered up at him, muffled in the warm cocoon his arms held me in.
“Peachy.” He replied dryly, before looking over his shoulder. He must have seen the threat was over so he released me. I gasped as he turned round presenting a back that was full of embedded knifes. But unbelievably this wasn’t the reason for my reaction. It was less what was in his back and more what his back had become.
Instead of the back of a leather jacket moulded to a muscular back, now the leather had been shredded by the triangular shaped raised points that covered his back like scales. Only instead of them resembling the skin from a lizard, they looked more like a mixture of something Jurassic and hardened clumps of cemented fur.
Each one was ridged on top like a shell and the further down his back they went, the larger they were. They started off black closer to the skin and got lighter, being grey in the middle until the ends shone like metal tips.
Then he shook and the scales rippled, fanning out until all the blades dislodged and tinkled to the cobbled stone. It was incredible and I couldn’t help myself from reaching out and trying to touch him. Just before my shaky fingers made contact, I found my wrist shackled and I looked up to see Marcus looking stern.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” His warning was enough for me to take a step back, taking that threat seriously. Jared then took large angry strides to the demon who was about to discover the wrath of unleashed Hell’s beast’s fury. He lashed out and grabbed the demon by his neck, brought his face an inch from his and said,
“I liked that jacket.” Then he twisted his wrist and snapped the demon’s neck like it had been attached to his body with a toothpick.
“RRRRAAAAHHHH!” An ear shattering roar erupted, causing everyone to stop and look to the cause. Just near the entrance four of the demons were walking in what looked like a chained giant and struggling to do just that.
“Time to go.” Marcus said, but before he could grab me, a demon caught him from behind, momentarily taking him off guard. This gave me enough time to watch Jared drop the demon like trash and step up into the middle of the courtyard. Along the way he casually kicked another dead demon out of his way and then nodded to Orthrus. His brother’s heads both nodded back and then his eyes found mine.
Orthrus then let go of his other side and his beast peeled away, sliding from his body, once again looking like black sand. Once he was again in his human form, he slowly turned, looking for Marcus and rolled his eyes when he found him fighting off one of the demons. I saw him mouth the word ‘asshole’ before he started to fight his way over to us.
Meanwhile, my gaze turned back to Jared just in time to see two things happen simultaneously. The first had me suck in a frightened breath as the demons all let go of the chained giant at the same time, falling back to get away quick enough. The second had my mouth dropping as Jared shrugged off what remained of his ruined jacket. Then just as the giant man was about to reach him and I mean the very last second,
Jared changed.
His body rippled and unlike the others that had received their beasts through the ground, Jared was his own beast. His clothes tore, and then his skin split like a knife cutting through thick rubber until his host was no more. In its place was a beautifully terrifying creature to behold. He was by far the biggest out of his fellow beasts but he managed to look more graceful. H
e was a similar shape to a large cat, like a lion or a tiger rather than a wolf or large dog. The way he moved was so precise and calculating rather than brute strength attacking.
He had tall legs with massive clawed paws the same as his brother’s beast had. However, his claws were longer and curled like polished talons. All of his body was covered in the same scales that I had seen on his back, only they were smaller and more tightly knitted together on his legs, giving the appearance of being smooth to touch. However, the ones near his back and around his neck were more pronounced. Kind of like a deadly mane as they looked sharp at the tips as if being dipped in silver.
But it was the lethal beauty in his face that really got to me. The adrenaline pounding through my veins for the upcoming fight had my pulse rate rocketing and he turned his face to me as though he could hear it.
A low forehead that connected to a thick muzzle and a wide nose at the end that was flat. Lines flared out from his nose that I imagined became more prominent when angry and snarling, which he didn’t do when looking at me. His eyes were slanted and almond shaped which had lines running from the corners to his ears that gave him a cunning grace. They were the only thing left on him that remained like Jared, being piercing silver, only now with his black pupils in slits.
He was now all Cerberus and he was going in for the kill. The new demon was at least eight feet high and was huge. Not so much with defined muscles but more like just body mass as everything seemed to be overly large. His chest looked as though a stood up barrel had been sliced down the centre and then strapped together. His arms were longer than they should have been, which gave him a demonic primate vibe, made worse when he started swinging them around in an attempt to get to Cerberus.
The sheer speed in which Cerberus moved was incredibly fast and it was hard to keep up with his movements, unless he slowed to a calculating prowl. I could now understand where all the myths came from, because when Cerberus moved his head, there looked to be at least three of him due to the blurring speed.
I then focused back on the demon and it was his head that was the most distinct difference, when comparing him to a human male. Although most of his features remained the same, nose, eyes, ears and head shape, it was his mouth and his forehead that held the most differences.
Around his mouth there were no lips, just all open jaw with teeth that although the same shape as ours, were about ten times bigger. The fangs however hung down and locked with the bottoms ones, which were the same size as a jungle cat’s. This gave the appearance that his jaw was far too big for his face. Then there were the holes in his forehead that looked like someone had ripped out a central horn that was meant to still be there.
A pair of deep set eyes gave the illusion that he might not have any, if it wasn’t for the reflection from the moon that shone in them when he raised his head to roar at Cerberus.
And then he charged. Only this time Cerberus had obviously had enough of watching for his enemy’s weaknesses. He let the raging giant run at him and at the last minute he used the flint wall of the courtyard to jump from, landing behind him. But this wasn’t the only thing he counted on as the giant not being able to stop his momentum, went crashing into the stone head first.
“Show’s over.” Marcus said from behind me and just as things started to fade I saw Cerberus lunge for his back and deliver the killing blow to his neck.
“Wait!” My plea was lost somewhere in that courtyard, one we were no longer in. After a brief touch of darkness, I found we were now in some sort of mausoleum. It didn’t take long, thanks to the moonlight shining down on pale stone, to realise I had seen this place before. Earlier that day in fact, I had walked up the hill behind the Hellfire Caves and looked through its locked gates.
It was a large open space of green grass and tall flint walls with no roof. It was an enormous hexagonal building with each side having a large arch flanked by Tuscan columns, as well as smaller arches, and rectangular openings. Most, I gathered, were designed to hold memorial slabs, busts or urns. All along the top in the corners of each bend were three vases of stone with the one in the middle being larger than the others. It was a beautiful structure, but right now I was a bit lost in what was happening below.
“Why did you do that?” I asked turning to Marcus.
“Orders spunky… just following orders. So you might as well get comfort…” His word ended abruptly on a shocked expression and a wheezing noise. I looked into his wide eyes amongst all the makeup he still wore and then when his gaze lowered, I followed it only to find an iron rod sticking out of his chest.
“Wh…at th..e.. fuck!” He spluttered with blood not only seeping from his wound but now also his mouth. I was frozen in utter shock at what I was seeing. One second I was talking to the cocky face that spent most of his time fooling around and then next he was stood in front of me loosing blood and looking far too close to death.
“Marcus!” I uttered his name and then something snapped me into action.
“I am going to get help!” I said taking a step back, about to turn when he just spluttered out one word…
“Run!”
Chapter 47
Prisoner of Promises
“RUN!” He bellowed at me when I didn’t move.
“I’m not running.” He groaned rather in pain or frustration, I couldn’t tell.
“I’m not leaving you to die…but I need to get…” I didn’t end up finishing that sentence as Marcus screamed out in agony and I watched the steel rod in his chest start to move downwards, forcing him to his knees.
Then I screamed.
There was a demon stood right behind him holding the end of the rod, controlling Marcus like a diabolic Puppet Master. But more disturbing still, was that I had seen this demon before, only back in my nightmare he had that rod painfully set in between his cheeks. Now, there was just gaping holes either side where it had been, leaving his face misshapen even more than before.
“NO!” I screamed and without putting much thought behind my angry actions, I flew at him. I had no weapons other than my rage that blinded my fear. I pushed against his chest making him let go of the rod and Marcus. But, more unbelievable than him flying back through the air and landing on the wall of the mausoleum, was the damage I caused. He fell down like a repulsive broken doll and I looked at the damage one push of mine had caused. The whole of his chest cavity had caved in from my tingling hands and I was in such disbelief that I had to look down to see for myself, half expecting to see a weapon.
There was nothing.
“Get out of here! Run girl!” Marcus shouted at me, but instead of climbing the gates, I was running back to him. I skidded on the wet grass and fell in front of him. His head was slumped and a strange wheezing sound came with his breathing.
“Hold on, I will get Jared and he will…”
“You sho…d…should have run… gir…ly.” He forced out in pain and then raised his head to look not at me, but the person I could now feel behind me. Before I could turn my head, I was seized from behind and stabbed in the neck with a needle. The world started to fade into a colourless fog, just as I heard words at my neck, from a voice…
I remembered,
“He’s right you know…you should have run from me.”
Then everything went black.
I woke up with a start to feel ice cold water being dunked over me. I shot up, coughing and spluttering, only to hear garish laughter echoing in the darkness.
“There, she’s awake, now go n’ tell the master so he can quit his belly achin’.” I heard the heavy sound of a metal door bang shut then the grating noise of a lock sliding home.
I rubbed the water from my eyes and felt groggy, like waking after being on some heavy drugs…unfortunately it was from past experience that I knew this. This thought had me wrapped up in a moment of panic as I jolted from was must have been a bed. I fell in a heap on the floor with a painful thud and I scrabbled my way to a corner.
“It’s not Morgan�
��it’s not Morgan…it’s not Morgan.” I whispered over and over again. I pushed away that broken part of me until it was locked away in pieces, lost in a vault. Finally, I looked up from where I had huddled my knees to my chest and saw the moon’s beam, coming through the bars on the window.
It lit up the space enough to semi recognise where I was. This prison was the same tower room from my nightmare. It may have started different in Sigurd’s shadows but it had twisted into what I sat in now. So, it hadn’t been a nightmare at all…it was my future!
I jumped up at this and ran over to the arched window and looked out to…nothing. We were too far up to see the ground in shadows so I would have to wait until the morning light. I turned back to the room and took in the small blocks that built up the circular room. Old iron pieces that once held candles stuck out of the rock, like battered arms hanging limp. The floor was covered in dirt and old straw. There was a small cot at the far end that looked to be made from crates and a battered mattress only a few inches thick.
I felt my lips start to quiver, not just from being cold and wet. The slow build of tears started to rise, threatening at any moment to fall, mixing with my cold damp skin. I didn’t want to cry, I knew it wouldn’t help but seeing Marcus slumped over like that…please…don’t be dead. I held on to the idea that Jared had found him in time, but this didn’t help with my emotional overload. I glanced at the wall of bars that was the only way I would be getting out of here, knowing that it wouldn’t be tonight. So, I did the only thing I could do at that moment, whether it helped or not,
I cried myself to sleep holding onto my necklace.
I don’t know how long I slept for, but I knew exhaustion made it a dreamless night. However, it was when I opened my eyes that I remembered I was already living through a nightmare. The sun shone through the window shedding more light on my dire situation. I gingerly got up, feeling the pain in my back from a hard night on this board for a bed. I was thankful at least that the grogginess had gone from whatever drugs they had injected me with.
The Quarter Moon (Afterlife saga) Page 54