Carnage looked around, a slow smile growing on his face. His eyes met Murder’s and he grinned.
“So, I’ll take that smile as a yes?” Murder asked.
Carnage nodded and walked over to the wall, knocking on the wood, getting a feel for how he could take it apart.
“Do you know where you want to rebuild it?” Murder asked.
Carnage thought about it for a moment, then smiled, nodding, “‘Es!”
“Well, then, let us begin moving it. Shall we begin with the roof? It is made of sheets of tin. It will be easy to remove.”
Standing out on the deck, Carnage waited while Murder used his wings to support himself above the tin roof as he removed the sheets one at a time. He’d hand them off to Carnage, who would then roll them and stand them to the side, and prepare to receive another.
They spent most of the night disassembling the house and moving the harvested building materials to the spot that Carnage had chosen. It was the perfect spot.
Carnage looked around at the stacks of cypress boards, beams, posts and tin, that now filled the area he planned to build Carolena’s house in. He looked up into the trees and did not even flinch when Murder landed beside him, with the final load for the night. Murder followed his line of vision, then slapped Carnage on the shoulder, “It is a good place. It is perfect for her. You have chosen well, my friend.”
Carnage turned to Murder, unable to contain his smile. “Than ‘uu,” he struggled to tell Murder how much he appreciated his generosity.
Murder waited patiently for Carnage to say what he was trying to say,“You are welcome, Carnage. We deserve good things. Both of us. And it is past time for you. If she sees the male you are, do not waste a moment.” He took Carnage by the shoulders, pulling him a bit closer before saying, “Seize your happy, Carnage. With both hands, seize it and do not let go.”
Chapter 9
Carolena finally gave up on Carnage coming back. She rose from the settee, took the oil lamp in hand and went to her bedroom. She set the lamp on her dresser, stripped out of her clothes and climbed under the covers. Her head knew that Enthrall had called out the lies that Destroy had told her, but her heart still wondered why Carnage didn’t come back to check on her. She lay awake for what seemed like hours, awaiting his return, finally drifting off to sleep with thoughts of him prevalent in her mind.
She’d fought sleep for so long that once she did fall asleep, though troubled, she slept deeply. Unaware that in the wee hours of the morning, a very tired, but very satisfied Gargoyle slipped into bed behind her, rested an arm protectively across her waist and fell asleep with a smile on his face, his nose buried in her hair.
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Carnage and Murder had finished working for the night. After thanking Murder again and agreeing to meet tomorrow to pick up where they left off, he went straight back to the stream near his old space and quickly bathed again. Then he hurried to Enthrall’s home. He let himself in and moved quietly to Carolena’s bedroom. He opened the door slowly and peered in. His woman was curled on her side, the quilt grasped in both hands, tucked under her chin. He approached her on tip-toe so as not to wake her; he felt his heart warm as he gazed down at her sleeping. He turned down the flame on the oil lamp she’d left on her dresser and crawled onto the bed behind her. Carolena moved and murmured in her sleep; he curled up behind her rumbling, “Safe,” and she settled right down. Falling back to sleep easily with his arm across her waist and her Gargoyle spooned closely behind her.
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Carolena rolled to the middle of the double bed and stretched, moaning pleasurably in the sunlight streaming through her bedroom window. It had been a very, very long time since she’d had such a satisfying sleep. Ending her stretch, she left her arms splayed to each side of the bed, becoming acutely conscious of the fact that she was alone. Carnage was not there. Not that he should have been, but she’d almost expected him to come back to her last night. Maybe he was tired of the struggle he’d been fighting to keep her here, thought better of it, and was now stepping back. The thought made her heart hurt. Huffing, she sat up, threw back the quilt and got about starting her day. Anything to take her mind off her loneliness — perhaps she’d spend the morning with Enthrall. She pulled on her only clothes and made her way to the kitchen, planning to make breakfast for herself and Enthrall. But he’d been there before her. Left on the table was a plate with three biscuits smeared with jam and a cup of strong black, chicory-laced coffee. She knew it was futile, but tried anyway, “Enthrall?!” She waited a moment, and when the expected silence met her call, she took a dish cloth from the kitchen and laid it carefully over the biscuits. She had no desire to eat. She hated this. She’d begun to accept where she was, how she’d live. She’d become attached to Carnage, only now he was pulling away. He was never with her, content to leave her to own devices. She looked around. Sitting on a porch, watching life go by, was not in her nature. She was not going to sit here and wait for him to decide that he had a moment to throw her way. She stood, looked ‘round herself, and marched down the stairs. Adventure, that was what she needed, adventure. And she was not leaving a note. She was a grown woman; she needed no one’s permission to explore her new home, and if they got a little nervous because they couldn’t find her, that was their problem — not hers. Served them right anyway for treating her like an afterthought.
Carolena walked for hours. She wandered this way and that, admiring towering trees and flowers blazing in colors she never dreamed she’d find in nature. She wasn’t even the slightest bit aware of how long she’d been gone until her stomach started growling. She paused, looked back where she came from, and realized that she was lost. She wasn’t exactly sure where she was. Looking up into the sky, peeking through the tall trees, she could tell it was late afternoon. She looked back and forth, now completely unsure of what direction she came from. Her heart rate picked up. She was scared. She chose a direction and started that way hurriedly. The noises she made announcing her presence to all wildlife within a mile of her location. What she didn’t realize was that she was being hunted.
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Carnage arrived back at Enthrall’s home, intent on spending a little time with Carolena. He’d been leaving in the mornings before she woke, and he didn’t feel quite right about that. She needed to know that he was thinking of her. That he was only away from her because he was making things better for her. He remembered that Murder had said that Enthrall liked his female. He didn’t like that, not one bit. It was most of the reason he’d come back to spend the day with her. As he came out of the trees and started across the yard toward where Enthrall sat on the porch, Enthrall stood, looking behind Carnage. Carnage stopped walking, turning to look behind himself, then back at Enthrall.
Enthrall called out, “Where’s Carolena? Did she fall behind?”
Carnage’s face pinched up in confusion, he shrugged, then it hit him. Carolena was not here. Enthrall thought that Carolena was with Carnage, and Carnage thought that Carolena was with Enthrall.
Carnage growled, hurrying across the yard to Enthrall, who was now hurrying across the yard to him.
Enthrall spoke, “Is she not with you?” his voice rising with worry.
Carnage shook his head, no. Then he started running. He ran past Enthrall and straight into Enthrall’s home. He went to Carolena’s room, scenting the air for any trace of a clue he may be able to pick up. Enthrall came in right behind him. “I’ve been home for hours. I assumed that she went with you today. I’ve not seen her all day, Carnage.”
Carnage brushed past him and went to the bathroom, scenting again, then the kitchen. Her scent was everywhere, but nothing fresh. She’d been gone a while. Carnage let out a whine and snarl, rushing outside again, his nose held high, scenting. Searching for her. His stomach lurched, his heart pounded — there were too many things in these swamps that didn’t care if she was his or not. She was dinner, plain and simple. If any of the wildlife that liv
ed here naturally found her, and he was not there to protect her, she’d not survive. She’d be torn apart. He’d annihilate anything that threatened her; he only hoped he was in time. His slightly civilized nature slipped away, revealing the true Carnage. The Gargoyle that didn’t think, the Gargoyle that was ruled by instinct was once again in control. Only this Gargoyle was much more dangerous than he’d ever been before. This Gargoyle was different. This Gargoyle loved. And Lord help the creature, any creature, that threatened that love.
Carnage grunted, snarling intermittently as he followed his nose across the yard. He detected just a hint of the shampoo Carolena used. Yes, there it was, just enough to show him which way she went. He inhaled deeply, no other scent, just hers. She’d wandered off alone. He growled, his chest rumbling deeply. If she was trying to run from him, he was going to find her and bring her back. And he was going to spank her ass when he found her. If he found her. His heart lurched; he had to find her. He wouldn’t accept any less.
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Carolena plunged through a grove of trees and found herself almost knee deep in muck and mud. She’d begun to hear howls and yips and they were frightening to say the least. At first they were behind her; then, they seemed to be beside her on both sides. It was almost like they were herding her. Carolena didn’t know if they were wolves, coyotes, or dogs, but they were certainly too close for comfort. She tried to pull her foot out of the muck and just barely managed to get it most of the way out before it sucked her foot back in. Carolena fell forward on her hands and tried to crawl out of the mud. She managed to get a few feet, looking behind herself and back down at her feet as she struggled to pull them one at a time from the muck sucking at her limbs. Carolena heard a soft growl and snapped her head around. Her eyes got huge, and her heart pounded; there in front of her was a large, scruffy-looking canine. She wasn’t sure if it was a wolf or a coyote, but it was big, and it was no more than ten feet from her, watching her, head lowered, snarling. Carolena heard another growl to her right and slowly turned her head that way. There, too, was another, mimicking the stance of the first. Several more deep growls let her know she was surrounded. Carolena realized that they’d been hunting her. She let out a soft sob; she was so stupid! How could she think that she’d be okay by herself wandering around a swamp. The large dog in front of her seemed to be the leader; he gingerly put one paw in the mud and tested it. Luckily, his leg sank into the muck. He growled and snatched it back out. He started pacing the perimeter of the muck Carolena was in, being careful not to step into it. Well, then. He doesn’t like the muck; I’m staying right here, Carolena thought to herself. She sent up a prayer that someone would notice she was missing. Again, she cursed her stupidness, but she did not move. She didn’t want to provoke the pack of wild dogs in any way. Carolena held her position, waiting, praying.
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Carnage rushed through the swamps, splashing through water, sludging through mud, not pausing for more than a moment to scent for his female again. As soon as he pinpointed her direction, he was off again, full speed once more on her trail. Enthrall on his heels, struggling to keep up. Enthrall couldn’t ghost to Carolena. He didn’t know where she was, so he had to trust that Carnage was onto her trail and follow along with him. He’d tried to ask Carnage if he was sure he was on the right trail, but in the state he was in, purely bestial, Carnage only roared at him and continued running. Carnage was growing frustrated; Carolena had been wandering in somewhat of a circle. They kept coming back to the same starting place. Carnage dropped to all fours, scenting the ground — his head popped up, he looked off in a direction that was so thick with foliage it was impossible to see through. Then he was on his feet, forcing his way through the dense overgrowth. Suddenly a scream pierced the air. Carnage froze, and Enthrall’s skin raised in goosebumps. “Carnage, we have to hurry!” Enthrall said, but Carnage was already moving. He was full-out running toward the scream he’d heard. Then he heard another and another and the high-pitched snarling and yipping of the wild dogs that roamed the outskirts of the swamps. They were descendents of domesticated animals, but had never themselves been domesticated. They were vicious. They’d hunt and eat anything they could kill, animal or human alike. It made no difference to them. If it breathed, they’d hunt it. And lately, Enthrall had found kills that they’d made just for fun. They hadn’t even eaten some of the animals they’d brought down. He’d been planning to organize a hunt to kill them before they threatened any of the children of Whispers, but it seems he’d not acted soon enough. If anything happened to Carolena, he’d never forgive himself, he thought, as he ran along behind Carnage, following the screams that had now gone silent.
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Carolena had shifted in the muck, her hands and arms had gone numb, her knees aching to her bones where they were submerged in the wet, cold mud. Her movements caused the dog on her left to dart forward and try to bite her. She’d screamed and thrown herself backward away from its jaws, and fortunately the mud had made the dog return to the edge of the pit she’d been trapped in. When she’d thrown herself backward, it’d been too close to one of the new dogs that had joined them. She was now surrounded by five of them. The new dog had darted forward and nipped her upper arm before she could pull away and back into the center of the mud pit, where she now sat sobbing. Her muddy hand wrapped around her upper arm, blood seeping through her fingers as the dogs circled the pit, growing tired of waiting, yipping back and forth to each other. The dog that had nipped her arm put his paw into the mud and tested it. It didn’t seem to mind the mud as much as the others. The dog placed another paw into the mud and seemingly satisfied that it wasn’t too deep, stepped fully into it, never once taking his eyes from Carolena. The dog on her right, encouraged by his pack mate entering the mud, just jumped into the mud, all in without hesitation. That dog waded through the muck and pounced at Carolena who had struggled to her feet. It grabbed her clothing and was doing its best to drag her back down to their level. The dog to her left had also started toward her, causing her to try to shuffle backward away from it, while trying to free herself from the dog hanging onto her shirt sleeve. The leader of their pack had circled the pit and was now testing the mud, so it, too, could enter. She was screaming and sobbing, trying her best to stay upright, but the shaking and pulling of the dog on her left arm was too much, and now its teeth had reattached and were piercing her skin; it had her by the wrist. The dog tugged one more time, a strong, full-body tug, and she tilted forward, her head and neck thrown back, trying to keep from falling face first into the mud, leaving her throat a perfect target for the leader who had launched himself directly at her. This was it; she was going to die, mauled by wild dogs. She closed her eyes and lifted her free hand to try to keep the dog away from her throat and face, bracing herself for the impact — that never came.
Carnage burst through the trees and saw his Carolena, surrounded by a pack of wild dogs, one hanging onto her hand, another in the mud on the way toward her, and yet another just about to launch itself at her throat. He did not think. He launched his own body right between Carolena and the dog that had just left the bank of the mud pit. He timed it just right; he caught the dog in his hands just before it made contact with Carolena’s throat. He let out a mighty roar, snarling and ripping the dog apart with his bare hands — claws sinking into its fur, blood spurting, both snarling.
Enthrall plunged into the pit, wrapping his own hands around the neck of the dog that held Carolena’s arm in its teeth. He roared his own battle cry as he slowly squeezed the life out of it. Carolena sank to her knees in the mud, sobbing, in shock, unsure of what was happening other than Carnage and Enthrall had found her.
Carolena watched as a Carnage she didn’t recognize ripped the dog limb from limb, tossing pieces of it here and there as he easily rose from the muck and went after the next dog. Excited by the blood being tossed around, the dogs, rather than run, had begun to devour the pieces of their pack mates as the
y were tossed haphazardly to and fro. Carnage was in a battle frenzy, all thought gone, only instinct, emotion, passion, ruled him now. Mindlessly he moved from one dog to the next, roaring, viciously tearing them apart, the only image in his mind that of Carolena surrounded by them, one of them with his teeth tearing her flesh, another moving through the air toward her throat, and he’d snarl anew, attacking already dead pieces of animal.
Enthrall had moved to Carolena immediately after killing the dog that had attacked her first. He’d helped her out of the mud and sat with her on the ground, trying to calm her shivers, soothing her, but even he could not look away from the beast that was Carnage.
“Can’t we stop him?” Carolena asked Enthrall through tears.
Enthrall shook his head, “No. This is what I was trying to tell you. He is volatile; he acts on emotion. You were threatened; he’s taking out every single thing he sees as a threat. Only then will his beast be satisfied.”
Just as Carnage dispatched the last dog, Destroy descended into the middle of the chaos, the sounds having drawn his attention. Carnage still breathing heavily, roaring, beating his own chest, looking about for something else to kill, seized on Destroy. His face turned even more brutal, and he started toward Destroy, who at least had the sense to realize that this was not a good thing.
“Carnage,” Destroy said.
But Carnage was too far gone, and just kept stalking toward Destroy.
Carnage Page 8