Branded (An Otherworlders Series Novel Book 1)
Page 26
“NOOOO!” Draven screamed as he wrestled with Gorgon, trying to break free and get to Aliyah. The demon held on to him, preventing him from reaching her, from protecting her.
Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain in his side and heard Aliyah cry out. He looked down to see Gorgon had taken the opportunity whilst he was focused on Aliyah to stab him with a diamond dagger. Draven bellowed out in pain and fell to one knee. It wouldn’t kill him but it wouldn’t heal quickly either.
His vision turned splotchy from the pain; he felt the agony seep through his veins. Aliyah. He had to stay strong for her. He rose to his feet and limped over to her side, noting that she hadn’t moved even a little since she had cried out. Her eyes were glazed. He assumed she was in shock at seeing him stabbed and thinking he was not going to recover.
Gorgon’s mouth kicked up at the sides and fixed into a sinister, full-toothed smile on his face, pulling at his scar. “You put everyone you care about in danger. What did you actually expect? That we would give you her parents? Speaking of—John, Jill, come out here.”
John and Jill walked out. Draven swallowed the bile rising up in his throat. The blood orange rim circling their eyes was prominent. They were now under his control.
He pushed Aliyah behind him. Focusing on his energy, he allowed a sliver of darkness to seep in. Perplexed, he eyed her parents. The only way they could be manipulated, to be locked in this trance and become a demon lackey, was if they possessed some evil within their souls. His heart chipped, shattering a little, knowing he would have to tell his girl that her parents were no longer the people she loved.
“You fucking bag of rotting flesh! You think you have leverage now?” Draven spat.
They didn’t have time to argue. They needed to get out of there because he knew the spell was coming to a close.
Draven knew they weren’t going to allow him to leave with Aliyah. They were going to throw everything they could at him to prevent losing her again. Whatever they needed her for, they would have to kill him before they got their disgusting claws on his Snowflake.
Holding his side, he pushed her back slowly, training his eyes on the four pairs watching him. She gave no resistance, made no attempt to fight him and get to her parents. This was not how it was meant to be! he scolded himself.
“Uh uh. No you don’t, son!” Efah enunciated the word son like sickly sweet honey dripping from her lips. “We are not done here!”
“For now, yes we are!”
Gorgon charged at him. He didn’t get far as Jadis stepped out of the shadows, throwing him against the warehouse walls with her magic.
“Move! Now!” Jadis’s voice shook slightly.
“The big bad slutty witch. It’s been too long,” Efah cooed. “Jada!”
No, no, no! This can’t be happening. Fuck!
Jada strolled out of the warehouse. Her once vibrant pink hair looked washed out, like she did. Gwent was behind her, placing a hand on her shoulder as if to steady her.
Draven realised immediately that Jada was siphoning magic from Gwent, just like she had from Jadis. She pulled her arms back and formed a glowing red ball with her hands then hurled it at Jadis.
Everything moved in slow motion in that moment. Even the ball of magic floated like it was rolling in molasses. Dolph’s lycanthropic survival instincts kicked in and he lunged toward Jadis, shifting mid-air into his wolf form and taking the brunt of the magic. He yelped before falling to the floor. Jadis’s eyes bulged wide and tears started streaming down her face. Her heart wrenching scream filled the air as she hurled a bronze ball of energy toward Jada and Gwent, causing them to crash into each other and knocking them unconscious.
Draven felt completely hopeless watching his best friend bleed out, all the while knowing he couldn’t leave Aliyah’s side. They would be waiting for such an opportunity and she wasn’t something he was willing to risk.
Efah screeched, “We’re doing this my way now!”
Like a blur she ran toward Draven. There was nowhere for him to go. He had to stay there for Aliyah. He tried to brace himself for the attack but the pain to his side reminded him that he was injured.
“I’m going to kill you, son. Like I should have done two hundred years ago!” Her voice was so different from what it used to be, taking on a feral notch.
Rooted in place, anticipating the slash of her long nails against his flesh, he recoiled in his memory. Images invaded his mind and he felt like he was a child again. Reverie coddled him, blanketing and threatening to drag him under. His mother hadn’t always been so evil. There was a time when she had shown him affection, love and kindness. That hadn’t lasted long.
A piercing scream jolted him from his memory: Aliyah.
He shook his head to clear it and watched as she shot golden light from her hand. She was protecting him as much as he’d sheltered her from their enemies.
The light smashed into the demon and his mother. Efah’s scream turned into a wail and Gorgon cried out in surprise. Both flew back and collapsed to the ground near Jada and Gwent, unconscious. With the four of them out, Jill and John were left sneering at them but unable to move.
Draven draped his arm around Aliyah, holding her tight.
“Mum? Dad?”
“They’re not in there anymore, baby, or at least not the parents you once loved.” Draven knew the only reason John and Jill hadn’t lashed out was because Gorgon and Efah were currently indisposed.
“What do you mean? Draven? They need our help!”
“We can’t help them right now! They’re controlled by the demons.” He saw movement where the four lay and knew it was time to leave. “We need to get out of here and get Dolph somewhere safe, now! He’s bleeding out!”
A howl caused his neck to snap to the side. Laney ran up to Dolph, sniffing and nudging him with her wet nose. Jadis was still crouched beside him trying to heal him. By the dire look on her face it didn’t look as if her magic was working.
Echoing his words, Jadis said, “We need to go now, Draven. I don’t have enough magic to heal him. Please, we need to leave. I can’t lose him.” Tears pooled in the corner of her eyes.
The sound of tires screeching demanded their attention. Looking over his shoulder, he saw Dany hang his head out of the window and yell at them. Draven wanted to be angry at him and reprimand him for how stupid he was for coming here. Instead, he was relieved to see the damn kid.
“Get the fuck in! Wait! Two wolves?” Dany hesitated as Laney growled at him.
Aliyah hesitated, watching her parents through shimmering eyes.
Draven tugged on her arm and pointed to the car before hissing from the pain as he knelt down and picked Dolph up.
Gravel crackled under their feet as he and the others approached the vehicle. “Laney will need to sit with you, Snowflake. Ok?”
“I don’t care. Just get me the hell out of here.”
Draven wanted to hold her and mitigate her fears. He hated the fact that he couldn’t. At least not yet.
Ducking his head, Draven sat in the back seat with Jadis, laying Dolph over their legs. Dany gunned the car once the doors were shut, spitting gravel into the air like bullets before the tires grabbed traction. He applied pressure to Dolph’s wound with one hand while holding his side with the other. Blood oozed through his fingers.
Draven looked over his shoulder, taking one last glance at the war he’d just left behind. Two sets of red slits penetrated through the aphotic night. Efah and Gorgon.
Those red eyes promised retribution, affliction, but most of all, it was a silent warning to Draven. They would never stop hunting Aliyah, and this vendetta against him wouldn’t cease until Efah sent him to the gates of purgatory.
And although the night was shrouded in poignant despondency, Draven couldn’t help the smile that formed on his face.
Bring it.
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About the Author
Lena Moore
Lena lives in Melbourne, Australia with
her husband and two sons. She spends most of her time being a stay-at-home mama, and when not chasing them and doing mama things, she writes, with her husband fully supporting her.
She has been writing since she was 13-years-old and focused mainly on poetry until her Instagram page prompted her to finish her book.
Lena is a metal head when it comes to music and has her qualification in counselling. She loves long romantic walks to the tattoo shop, yoga, reading and writing.
“I try and focus my writing on deep, dark and all things taboo, because, hey, we all have a little darkness lurking.”
Thank you for reading Branded. I really hope you enjoyed Draven and Aliyah’s story so far. There’s a lot more to come. If you wouldn’t mind, I ask you to please take the time and leave an honest review. Your reviews mean the world to indie authors like myself, and they matter.