JWD walked me past my aunt and I pleaded with her, hoping that maybe whatever evil possessed her would snap at my voice.
JWD lifted me high over his head, above the flames.
The fire prickled my skin. My throat was raw and I kicked, trying not to twist. My arm felt as if it were about to fall off. The white-hot pain was making my head swoon.
“Remember to toss her in the center,” Blondie grumbled.
I looked to the fire and gasped. The pain no longer mattered. I didn’t care if I had to carry the pain for hours. I didn’t want to die in that heat! I twisted and JWD almost lost his grip as he held me high.
“Wait!” My aunt bellowed, stopping both of the men.
“Not yet. If you put her in too soon, he won’t come.” The anger in her voice was hypnotizing. “If I hadn’t opened my eyes you two would have botched it!” She sounded furious, I had never heard my aunt like this before.
Blondie grabbed me from JWD, holding me at arm’s length and I swallowed the bile. Grinding his teeth together JWD turned his furious gaze back to my sister. With excellent timing, Neive wriggled from her bonds and stood up, free. She took off at a run.
I howled for Neive to keep running, to find our parents.
Winding a foot back, I kicked with the heel of my bare foot and caught something soft between Blondie’s legs.
He shouted, dropping me.
I fell, stunned. It was Neive’s voice that launched me forward. Gripping my arm I ran after JWD, but my aunt grabbed the back of my t-shirt, dragging me back. “Now!” She shouted. “We cannot open the portal without her! Now!”
I twisted in the grip and swung my good arm for her face. As I clawed at her eyes, a nail caught her eyelid and she let me go. Warm blood smeared my fingertips as I raced into the trees, the high-pitched screams following.
I turned just in time to see JWD, with Neive in his arms, swinging her around like a doll and smiling. The bleeding had started around her mouth again.
Ducking into the trees, I was momentarily forgotten and kept still, afraid to move or breathe.
Neive shouted words that I only heard our father use when he was extremely mad.
“Just have this one!” JWD told Nell. Blondie was still on the ground clutching his groin.
“Then use her. But now!” Aunt Nell commanded.
My eyes caught Neive’s dark ones from the brush. I ducked down to avoid being seen, fear holding me in place. I wanted to save her, but I didn’t know how.
JWD didn’t hesitate, there wasn’t any dramatic suspense, he just threw her into the air as if she weighed as much as a puppy.
She never screamed, but I did, tears streaking my face.
I couldn’t see her. The flames had completely engulfed her body through my tears.
The flames shot high, several feet higher than the woods. Blue sparks crackled upward, twisting as if caught in a vortex.
My voice had alerted JWD and I turned and ran deeper into the trees. The helpless panic propelled me through the forest, ducking and weaving.
Clutching my arm tight to my chest, I never looked back.
* * *
The club slammed into the back of JWD’s head.
The crunch was sickeningly powerful. A spiderweb of cracks split down the center of the skull, but didn’t cave it in. I felt the heated anger in my stomach burst, leaving me weaker when I raised the club to swing again. The club felt as if it had gained fifty pounds.
JWD gargled a shout, his jaw was opened unnaturally wide. Raising an arm for protection, I gloated in satisfaction even when JWD began to form words, his tongue thin and loose, but I heard little before the thunder cut him off. “Jus’ lie…”
The zombie staggered into Aidan who rolled out of the way. The corpse caught a tree before it could he could collapse. Spinning its irregular head towards us, it emitted a growling hiss and repeated in a powerful voice. “Jus’ lie ‘im!” A voice I wouldn’t think a corpse could have. Wouldn’t his voice box have shriveled by now?
I looked to Aidan for help.
Aidan’s eyes were round as he repeated. “Just like him?”
That’s when JWD dove at me.
CHAPTER FORTY
My club punched JWD in the jaw.
His fingers were inches from my face. JWD’s skull snapped backwards and a sour, rotten smell gagged me.
Aidan picked up JWD’s leg. With a violent tug, and bared teeth, Aidan hauled the creature toward the forest fire.
Before JWD could sit up and attack, I slammed the club down onto his head, chest, legs—whatever I could to keep him down. Each blow crumpled the living corpse, twisting it at impossible angles.
The righteous violence no longer coursed through each swing. I was numbed, like I was watching someone else drive each hardened blow. Someone else could do something like that without emotions, not me.
It was like I was on auto. I wasn’t going to give him a moment of hope.
I remembered that crude smirk when he stalked out of the trees with Neive under his arm.
My next strike burst the zombie JWD’s left eye like jelly. I should have felt sick, I should have stopped but I couldn’t. As I lifted the club again and again it seemed to gain weight with each swing. Gravity dealt half of the blows as I followed Aidan to the scorching fire.
It wasn’t until Aidan dropped JWD’s leg that I swung the club away from me and into the brush.
Reaching down, I swatted at the flailing arms. I curled my fist around the tattered jacket, the letters on the sleeve hidden by my palm. With a jerk, I sat him up and peered into the shattered, smiling face. The infamy of his memory seemed silly, almost exaggerated.
Broken and helpless, he resembled what I should have empathized with.
I wish I could tell you that I felt a little remorseful for that final shove, that a part of me regretted it later, but that would be lying. Forgiveness was the furthest thing from my mind. He might have been human once, but he wasn’t much of one any more.
With Aidan’s help, we flung the corpse of JWD into the flames.
Blue sparks snapped and roared to the sky. They were the same hues I’d seen with Neive.
JWD’s final shriek was cut off.
Somehow I’d thought there’d be more satisfaction, but I felt nothing. Dismal is the Demon’s Grave.
The clouds overhead rumbled and I realized Aidan was staring at me. Panting, he reached up and curled his fingers around the clinging severed hand on my arm, Blondie’s hand.
I had to pull away before the fingers snapped loose. Bone scraped skin, but didn’t cut.
Lifting the hand with missing fingers up for me to see, Aidan tossed it into the flames. The flesh flared in repulsive sizzles.
“The door,” I croaked, seeing the black surface shimmer just over the lower flames near the gorge. The fire was approximately four feet, which was small compared to the rest. The grass could only sustain it for so long, and sitting out in the rain, it wasn’t nearly as protected as the body of flames in the trees. There wasn’t a tree and from where I stood there was only one option.
Aidan ran his grimy hands through his hair, slicking it back against his scalp. “Maybe we should walk down ‘til we find where it hasn’t reached.”
“Or,” I offered, “we can run through it.”
Aidan’s face pinched. “You’re joking.”
I shook my head and saw the disbelief on his face. “It’s not at its hottest yet, it’s a new fire, right?”
“Well yes…”
“And we’re not exactly dry,” I said, facing him. The flames reflected off his electric eyes, making them appear almost white.
I pointed to the trees. “Do you really think Damien will make it easy for us if we walk down the forest line?” I knew I should be scared of those flames. They had devoured JWD and Blondie like tinder. The fact that we had made it this far, survived most of the swamp, made me feel invincible somehow. The scrapes, bruises, and gashes were all worth it. Never in
my life had I felt like I conquered something so great. I wasn’t about to let fire stop me.
Reaching over I took Aidan’s hand, gripping his chilled fingers. I didn’t want him to hesitate. “On the count of three.” I watched his face change until his grip tighten, reassured.
He tried to smile, failing. “Ready,” he rumbled in a voice that had been inhaling smoke.
“One.”
We readied our stances.
“Two.”
Aidan raised his free hand to his head, against his hair and I did the same.
“Three!”
Together we took off. Right foot, left foot. Long strides fought every ache we’d endured.
The fire intensified the closer we drew.
Scalding heat ready to peel flesh grew insanely hot and I felt my stride falter. This could be a bad idea.
Aidan tugged my hand and I jumped.
Steam hissed and I breathed out as the feverish heat burned my lungs. I smelled burnt hair before we landed on solid, untouched soil, within the trees.
We staggered together and I spun to snag Aidan’s shirt, gripping him to make sure he was real. My heart pounded so hard it made me dizzy. Blinking, I could see the ash tipping my eyelashes. I gave myself a once over, to make sure I wasn’t on fire.
After a long pause, Aidan broke out into delirious laughter. He wrapped me up in his arms with a ferocious, “Whooooo!”
Stunned it took me a second to realize why we were celebrating. We had just walked through fire.
Laughter bubbled up before I even knew I was laughing. I returned the hug, clinging to him as if he might let me go. “The door! Before it disappears!”
Aidan didn’t let me go like I had expected, one arm wrapped around my waist, holding me tight to him. He brushed a hand down my head to the back of my neck as if he couldn’t quite believe I was real.
My mouth pressed to his shoulder, and I felt myself smiling. He leaned his head against the side of mine. He smelled like sweat and smoke, and life. He smelled like safety.
We stood like that for several seconds, the fire crackling and the rain pattering the leaves. It almost felt as if we were in our own world.
I think he whispered, “Thank God,” but I couldn’t be sure when he pulled away.
His limp seemed to have worsened. Keeping one hand around his waist, I ducked under his arm, hoping to support him. He grimaced, but didn’t protest. Easing up to the door, I half expected it to fade from view, but it remained solid, just as Aidan thought it would.
No symbol etched itself in the wood, instead it was a smooth, dark surface reflecting the flames behind us.
Reaching out with one hand Aidan grabbed the doorknob. It was solid in his grasp and he twisted, swinging it inward for us to see a lush, green meadow.
It was sparkling from a recent rainfall. The clouds above were heavy globs, but broke enough to allow strips of moonlight.
Stepping through the threshold we were forced to release each other. We’d traded buckets of chilling rain and adrenaline for a peaceful meadow. I felt relief slowly begin to relax my shoulders.
Aidan nudged me and pointed to our right. A tall, square structure made of crumbling pieces of stone sat entirely out of place.
Pillars stretched to the sky, displaying large stone-carvings that I had never seen in history books. They were odd creatures. One looked similar to a sphinx except it had a bear-like body and a horse’s head. The pillars rolled down the meadow along an overgrown pathway, beckoning us in.
Statues of people stood between the pillared walkway. Most had fallen over, though some were only missing chunks or limbs. Everything had been marred by weather and time. The place looked ancient.
“Should we go check it out?” Aidan asked huskily.
I nodded, unsure what to think. Wasn’t this the end? Shouldn’t we be given some options for our friends? A doorway home? Damien, even?
Cautious, we approached the intimidating structure, taking our time. The bright full moon proved to be an excellent guide. Very few shadows were hidden, though in the meadow, nothing could jump out without giving us a very long head-start. The only place something could hide would be the temple ahead, which naturally was where we were headed.
As I kicked through the tall grass, it tickled my calves and ankles. My already soaked sock and shoe weren’t fazed by the dewy droplets.
“What do you think?” Aidan’s breath tickled my ear.
I shook my head, undecided.
The walls were vertical, unlike a pyramid, though it was as tall as a five story building with no windows.
“You think it’s a trap?” I asked.
Aidan’s wonderment melted, the smile twitching and he squeezed my hand without answering.
My sock landed on something hard and smooth, unlike the soft earth. Looking down I saw the cracked, white pavement, much like the building’s walls. Weeds sprang up between the walkways splits. Slowing our step, we focused on the only opening available. The archway was dimly lit, but I couldn’t see much from the edge of the grounds.
“We finished the Challenges,” Aidan said after a pause, “this can’t be a trap.”
I thought, depending on those rules Damien clings to.
Following the pillared walkway, I could make out the claustrophobic hallway and the torches lining the walls within.
“Looks like we’ve been expected,” Aidan observed in a hushed tone.
I nodded stiffly. Questions began to plague my good mood as we slipped beneath the stone archway and into the narrow hallway. It was cramped within, easily a trap. Our footsteps announced our presence. The farther we ventured, the more I expected something to go wrong. The flickering torchlight flung our shadows around like baited fish.
After what felt like fifteen minutes—though it was probably much shorter—we could make out a shimmering, black door. It was crudely out of place in the ancient ruins.
Reaching the door, I glanced over my shoulder to ensure we were alone. Aidan followed my stare before reaching out to grab the brass knob. Before his fingertips could graze it, the door voluntarily creaked inward.
Freezing, we watched as the circular room ignited with the same wall torches as the hallway. An ominous stone table lay in the center of the empty space.
Aidan took the lead, his hand not leaving mine as we slipped inside. The table was the only piece of furniture. On the stone slab was a beautiful, jagged crystal that glowed with a pale, pink light. I stopped within a foot of the doorway, ready to run back the way we came. Aidan stretched our arms as if my hand were a leash and we both watched the glow of the crystal flicker and fade like a struggling lightbulb.
“What now?” Aidan’s whisper bounced off the walls.
“I think that this is it,” I tilted my head back, looking up at the domed ceiling above.
“What do you mean?” Aidan asked. “Shouldn’t there be a door leading us to everyone else?”
“I mean that we might have to do something else to get home.”
“Correct,” the voice low, it resonated a vibration, nailing my feet to the floor. “I think it’s time we all had a chat.”
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
Damien was uncomfortably close.
My shoulder brushed against his chest and I stepped back, colliding with Aidan.
Damien’s lean figure lounged against the doorframe, barring our escape.
Aidan pulled me closer, centering us between the door and the stone table.
Damien’s obsidian gaze narrowed as he stepped inside and slammed the black door shut with a jerk of his arm, never removing his gaze.
The ear-splitting slam made me jump.
Wearing only black, Damien crossed his arms over a well-defined chest. His clothes clung in all the right places. In our world, women would be tripping all over themselves. Hell, so would I, which made me wonder if this was what he really looked like or if it was another illusion.
Aidan broke the uncomfortable silence first. �
�So, then talk. We’ve won and are ready to take our friends and go home.” His voice didn’t waver and I was glad he decided to confront the demon.
Leaning against the closed door as if we were casual friends, Damien’s predatory eyes glistened. I couldn’t decide whether it was amusement, excitement or anger. “You disappoint me, Birket,” he said the name as if it were poisoned. “You had a golden opportunity.”
I glanced at Aidan, but his pale gaze was combating Damien’s, unafraid. I had to give him points for that, I could barely hold the demon’s gaze without wanting to fidget.
With a dismissive wave of his hand, Damien said, “find the doorway and you can go home.”
I swallowed hard before venturing the one question I dreaded to ask. “What about the rest?”
Damien tilted his head. “The rest?”
“Yes.” My free hand twisted at my camisole and I kept my expression from twitching while inside, bombs were going off.
“Our friends. We won the Challenge, didn’t we?”
I could have been mistaken, but I could have sworn the muscles in his arms twitched and his body stiffened though his expression remained neutral. “You certainly did and you can go home. They didn’t, they’re mine now.”
Anger seeping between Aidan’s teeth. “You told me that I could have them back if I won.” It wasn’t posed as a question. We both knew what Damien meant.
“Yes, if you stood up to our agreement and handed her over,” Damien arched a straight eyebrow as if daring Aidan to Challenge him. “Then you would have.” I opened my mouth to argue but Aidan beat me to the punch.
“That isn’t fair! I won, so it should stand either way.” Aidan stepped in front of me.
Damien sighed, exasperated, and rolled his eyes heavenward, before answering. “Nothing is fair.” Despite his apathetic answer, he looked to me pointedly and something heated flashed in those dark eyes.
I couldn’t help but think of our friends trapped here with him. I licked my lips; my voice was softer than I would have liked. “Were those men real? The ones who kidnapped me?”
The Demon's Grave Page 31