Follow the Screams (The Executioner Trilogy Book 2)

by Kindra Sowder

  It was already beginning to swell inside of me like a proud peacock. It didn’t need more ammunition then I was already giving it. I stopped in my tracks, put my hands on my chest, and took a very large and very deep breath in through my nose. The air was too warm, almost muggy. I then let it out through my mouth slowly, and let every muscle in my body relax one at a time. This seemed to work great to get the beast to settle down and I could feel it nestling back into the dark recesses of my mind. To be honest, these days I’d prefer it too with everything I’ve had to deal with while down here. It was even worse than on the surface, but I was sure that would’ve changed by now because of Lilith.

  Gordon was sitting in front of the fire watching my every move. I knew I couldn’t be that entertaining so it had to be because he was worried. I was worried about Escara at the moment, but he was worried about me. I think he was concerned that I would lose control and I would kill him and Escara. It was taking almost all I had to restrain it when she was around because of what she was. I had ignored the feeling before, only choosing this moment to finally reflect on it. My body automatically responded to her like someone had touched me with a hot match. The beast would be coiled within and ready to strike at any moment when she was around and that was why I couldn’t really rest. I was much better when she was away. I trusted her because I could feel the truth coming off of her, but the beast didn’t see shades of gray. It was either black or white. It was good I was the voice of reason.

  It was strange though. Gordon was a demon, but he calmed me and the beast instead of enraging it. That was the interesting part, and the most confusing. I really wished there was someone I could talk to about that so I could have some peace of mine instead of always being on guard.

  Walking back to Gordon, I took another profound breath and let it out even slower than the first. I would remain calm and that would be that. I was trying so hard not to worry about everything that it seemed I kept forgetting about Gordon. I had never taken a minute to see how Gordon was and to really worry about him and his time here. To think I could be so selfish not to realize that this had to be effecting him too. He had been here before and took an offer to become a demon because he felt so strongly about getting out, and he was back again to wonder the black forest and desolate wastelands.

  I bent down and gave him a swift kiss, then came to sit beside him again. I wasn’t going to wait to ask him about how this was affecting him. The healing would start now if I had anything to say about it. I crossed my legs, placing my hands on my knees and I looked him square in the face. He was still smiling like someone who had just had their first kiss. How cute was that?

  “I realized I never took the time to ask you how you’re handling all of this. You became a demon to get out, and now you’re back in. I couldn’t even begin to imagine what that’s like.” Every word I said was true. I really had no idea. My mind couldn’t even fathom what it was like for him to be back in a place he hated so much that he would do hundreds of years of evil deeds to get out. I had never wanted out of something that badly. I guess I just hadn’t gotten to that point yet. Yes, I wanted out of here, but I wouldn’t sell my soul to the devil to do it.

  He cleared his throat and the smile was gone, replaced with a frown and a furrowed brow. He really didn’t want to talk about it. I could tell. His face was set in such a way that it was painful to look at, and I couldn’t help but look at the ground.

  “I did all I could to get out, you’re right. I even sold my soul to do it when I became a demon. The human part of me just wanted out so badly that I went above and beyond to get out. I didn’t want to be a prisoner,” he said, his voice low. It was almost a grumble, and I almost hadn’t heard him. My eyes shot up to his, and I could see the beginning of unshed tears. Those tears made me want to hold him, and we wouldn’t have to speak about it again. He continued anyways.

  “Being back here is hard. I won’t lie about that, but I was alone for so long. Then I saw you, fighting other demons to stay alive. It renewed some kind of hope in me. I was becoming savage. I was becoming something I hated until I saw you and realized we would make it out. I won’t be here for too much longer. That’s what’s helped me keep it together.”

  I smiled. I was right in the beginning. We were each other’s light in the darkness, and he had just proven that to me.

  “I’m glad I can be so helpful,” I beamed. I was still acting like a school girl with a crush and I had to fight the urge to twirl my hair around my fingers. I had believed that he would’ve turned into something else so quickly and I wouldn’t be able to get him back. Of course, I had also believed that he was in Heaven when he was clearly here. And then to find out whom he was before and learn he was a traitor. I was certain he wouldn’t turn his back on me.

  “You are very helpful,” he stated. That playful smile was back on his face and it was infectious. I even felt myself grinning like an idiot. I just couldn’t help it. There was nothing else to do but smile right back at him. To know that I could help him through such a hard time was a refreshing thing. I was trying hard to think of something even better than that, but the only thing I could think of were those tender moments after making love that you just lay there and watch each other. That was the best feeling. You felt love more in those moments than any other. At least, that’s how I felt.

  The fire beside us was very large and warm, and I turned from Gordon to look into it once more. Then we heard it in the distance. Escara was running towards us, waving her arms. Why she wasn’t flying was beyond me. She was yelling something, but I couldn’t tell what it was and looking at Gordon I could tell he was just as confused as I was. I strained my ears to listen and all I was able to hear was one word. Cherufe. What in Hell was that? It was a word I had never heard before.

  That’s when my question was answered. A deep and rumbling growl came from behind us. I was looking around to try to find the source, and realized it was the fire we had been sitting next to for what seemed like hours without any issues. Why all of a sudden? I wish I knew. In that instant I saw a black hand the size of my head reach out of the flames and another roar pierced the air. This was just my luck.

  Gordon and I were quickly to our feet, even though mine barely wanted to cooperate with me. I stumbled a little and Gordon grabbed my arm to steady me. Our eyes didn’t leave that hand. It fell to the ground and kneaded into the ashy surface, and another came to join it as yet another roar escaped the flames. It was deep, gravely, and demonic. It was the most terrifying thing I had heard until now. Even Lilith’s maniacal laugh was running second at that moment, and that sound was beyond terrifying. Gordon was wide-eyed with fear and I was sure I mirrored his expression exactly. Fear ran over me like a tidal wave, and the beast awoke. It was pounding against my self-control like it never had before, savage and animal. It was downright carnal.

  The creature began to pull itself from the flames, magma sticking to its rough flesh. It looked just like the trees in the black forest. Like charcoal.

  Once it dragged its body from the flames and was on the ground, it stood slowly and let the magma run down his legs and onto the ground. Smoke rose from the ashes and embers it ignited. It was too warm to cool down and turn into black rock so it stayed bright and liquid. It was tall, and extremely so, with horns on its head like you would see when the devil was depicted. Minus the idiotic looking tail. Its whole body was made of the charcoal like material, and every time it moved it cracked open to reveal magma flowing underneath. This thing was made to live in Hellfire, and that’s what I drew my power from. How in the world was I going to take it down?

  As we stood there, face to face with this creature, the beast was pushing against all of the control I had and it was all I could do not to give in. It wasn’t because it still scared me. It was because I knew there was nothing that part of me could do to stop it before it killed us all.

  Chapter 18: Surprise, Surprise

  All I wanted to do was run, but I knew I couldn’t do
that. I could still hear Escara yelling in the distance, but it was like she was muffled. Even Gordon’s voice as he yelled my name sounded distant. He might as well have been twenty yards away running and screaming at me, kind of like shell shock.

  All I could do was stand there, and nothing seemed to be able to shake me out of it. I was willing to bet a slap in the face would, but the only person near me who would do that was Escara. She was too far away for all of that. I needed to take action, and I needed to do it now before the shock of what I was seeing got us all killed. And when you died here that was it. There was nothing else. I would never go back up to the surface, and neither would Gordon. We’d be trapped in nothingness, and I wasn’t prepared to make that happen.

  The animal inside of me was still beating against me and trying so hard to take the reins but I knew it would do no good. I felt like I was about to burst from the inside out from the pressure, and I could feel it everywhere. In my arms, my legs, my stomach, and my head. Within seconds my heart was aglow and pounding furiously against my ribcage. My veins were like lit highways beneath my skin. I felt like my gift was useless against this, but apparently it knew better than I did. I had to let go of the control I was fighting so hard to keep, and I might as well make it snappy.

  With the decision to let go came the most precious release that I had ever experienced. It was indescribable as the power flooded through me and left no prisoners. Every cell became infused with power and Hellfire, and I could feel it like a wildfire. That was the only way to explain it. A wildfire was spreading through me, and the only way to put it out was to kill this evil thing standing in front of me. It had just literally crawled out of Hellfire so what did I think I could do? I wasn’t even sure. All I knew was that even if I couldn’t do anything, I could hold it off long enough for Gordon and Escara to make a break for it. I didn’t care if something happened to be no matter how much I wanted to get back to Earth, I would sacrifice everything I had to make sure Gordon at least made it out. Then I remembered, he couldn’t do it without me. I was the key, and he couldn’t turn the lock himself.

  I could feel the fire underneath my skin, begging for release. The fire wouldn’t do us any good anyways, so why even bother letting it out if it wasn’t needed. I was at least hoping I wouldn’t.

  The Cherufe stood before me and his eyes were also glowing with the fire flowing beneath his skin. Looked like we had something in common, and I was hoping that was all. Gordon was still holding my hand and practically begging me to run with him. He wanted to get as far away from this thing as quickly as humanly possible. I knew I needed him to back away before he got hurt, but he just wouldn’t let go. Not even to save his own skin. I turned slightly to look him in the eyes, and he froze.

  “Gordon, I’m going to need you to back away, and slowly.” I loosened my grip on his hand and strongly urged him to back away with just a look. He finally began to move away gradually, not taking his eyes off of me as his hand slipped softly out from mine. I felt like I had lost something once his hand was no longer clasped in mine. I wasn’t sure why I felt this way, but I did. It was like I had lost something so important in that moment and I was devastated by it. I only wished I knew the reason. I was beginning to think I didn’t give Gordon enough credit.

  There was something inside of him in that moment that I couldn’t quite put my finger on, and I was so sure it was something I should have sensed before now. Maybe I just wasn’t paying as close of attention as I thought because there was an energy emanating from him that was telling me I was greatly underestimating him. It was pouring out of him and gliding down his skin like a waterfall, and it was like my eyes were seeing him for the first time. A thin white fog was forming right above his skin, and I was betting the sight of the beast was the reason I was even able to see it. I decided I’d ask him about this once I got the chance. Something was up.

  We had more important things to worry about at the moment. I turned back to the Cherufe, and he just stood there. It was like he didn’t know what to do with me, but I had a feeling my own monster knew just what to do with him. He was already made up of Hellfire and brimstone so what else could I possibly do to him?

  The beast had been released, but it was still beating against the confines of my body like the suit of skin and bone was holding it back. I felt like my blood was on fire and it was boiling within my vessels and threatening to work its way. Maybe the beast was trying hard to escape from confinement. I had a feeling that it couldn’t. It was a permanent part of me but I could at least give it some sort of release. I only needed a good reason. The Cherufe had registered that I was there, and growled as soon as he seemed to realize what I was. He smiled an evil and crooked smile. His teeth were coated in a magma-like substance that slid down sharp rock teeth like saliva. It was one of the strangest things I had seen up until then, but I was betting I was going to be seeing a lot more after.

  He then took a step towards me, and my first instinct was to take a few steps back. I ignored it. I was constantly running towards danger instead of away like most. Apparently I didn’t have much of a flight reflex. Once seeing I wouldn’t back down he began to walk towards me, and he walked with purpose. That purpose was to kill. Of course, things here didn’t really seem to have any other purpose. At least not from what I could tell.

  I had to do something to keep him from getting any closer, and there was only one weapon I had at my disposal. I knew it probably wouldn’t do any good, but I had to do something. I let the energy build within my chest and forced it to flow into my hands. The best way I could describe the feeling was a slight burn and tingle moving from my heart to my palms. I then raised both hands and let the fire go, and it jutted from my hands so forcefully it almost knocked me down. I took a few steps back to keep myself from falling but still stumbled a little. It forced him back a few feet, but then once he regained his composure from the shock he just kept coming. This was all I knew to do, but it wasn’t doing any good. I was beginning to panic and I could feel the same emotion rolling off of Gordon and Escara both. They were afraid of this thing, and so was I. Either that or they didn’t think I could kill it.

  If anything I was going to heat him up to super nova so he’d explode, but then he’d take everything with him. Or did it work that way here? Who knew? I was sure they hadn’t had any super nova explosions down here before. I was more than willing to test the theory. I was hitting him square in the chest but he was still coming. He wasn’t even fazed by the flames and the heat. Why did I expect him to be? He was made of the same stuff so what did I really expect to happen? I could feel the power beginning to drain and I fought the urge to put my hands down and give in. I held them up even though it was taking everything I had to do so. Then I felt the beast flex inside of me and a new rush of energy renewed me so I could keep it going, but he was still coming.

  He then got close enough to grab my wrists and forced my hands to point away from him and out to the sides. I could barely hear Gordon yell my name past the noise of the moving flames. I had let them go at full blast and I was having trouble getting them to stop. The beast was inside of me screaming, and I shouted in release as I felt the flames die. The Cherufe let go of one of my hands and hit me. My head felt like it was about to roll off my shoulders at any moment. I almost fell to the ground but caught myself with one hand. My left knee had twisted painfully and I could feel the excruciating pull on the inside underneath my knee cap.

  He was back at me in a flash and I had barely adjusted to accommodate my knee when he made a move to hit me again. My hand shot up on instinct and grabbed his balled fist and I let the heat build. I was stronger here and had the potential to become even stronger. The heat didn’t seem to faze him no matter how much of it there was. The only ill effect was that it caused me to break out into a sweat, but I think that was more from the effort then the heat.

  I began to squeeze his fist with every bit of strength I had. He began to growl and bay with pain and that’s when I f
elt his hand crumble. His hand became rock and dust in my hand, and I let it run through my fingers as he yowled and fought to recover himself. I was in shock that a creature made of magma and rock could feel any pain, but obviously he could. The Cherufe turned back to me and I could feel the pureness of his anger and rage. He had originally been filled with the urge to maim and kill, but now because I resisted he was fuming. The big bads had a tendency not to like it when you resisted their attempts to kill you, but I also didn’t like someone trying to kill me. So we were even.

  His rage was threatening to envelope and choke me, and I had to fight the urge to gag. It was trying to force its way into my throat and into my lungs. He turned to me, cowering over his injured hand, and his eyes burned into me. All I could see in those eyes was liquid fire swirling towards the center of those bright pits. I almost froze as those eyes bore into me. The beast beat even harder against my rib cage. I could see it in my mind fists balled up and beating against my ribs like prison bars, hands bloody and sore. It was practically screaming.

  He came at me with the stub where his hand used to be, and it reformed in a flurry of magma, stone and smoke as it swung in my direction. I dodged it and he missed me by mere inches. This caused a surge in my power that I couldn’t deny. Hellfire was what my power was made of, and I was sure I could take everything I needed from him. I grabbed his arm and thrust my knee into his stomach, sending him a few steps back, and I took a step forward and lashed out as quickly as my body would allow. I punched him square in the jaw which caused him to stumble backwards. The beast was roaring inside of me. It knew a new source of power was close, and that it needed this energy for my power to grow. This was going to be my salvation. This was going to be the way to stop Lilith from building her vampire army and enslaving the entire world population. It felt wrong though, but I had to do it. This was the key, and I had found it the moment I reached out to the flames.