He started drinking from my wrist, and his tongue flicked on it. His eyes opened, and they glimmered with red fire. He looked at me and kissed my wrist. Then he sat up slowly. Licking the blood off his lips, he reached out and touched my hair, making a noise of discovery.
Looking at him, the soft glow yellow around him had a line of red streaking through it.
He was staring at me in wonder. "Dianna!"
"Is everything filled with extra color for you too now?"
Dominick's eyelids lowered, "Dianna, you are beautiful."
Blushing, I asked, "So can you see things no one else can see? Do things no one else can do?”
He kept staring.
“Or am I covered in a blue glow or something?"
"No. I can't see anything like an aura." His hand touched my cheek gently. "Dianna. You're so beautiful!" His hand stayed at my cheek, caressing it. "I think I have answers now. Once we save Alec, I'll tell you what I see." He almost smiled as he kissed me.
His lips were warm and hot. I leaned into the kiss.
Dominick kept kissing me, and his tongue pressed into my mouth. His hands started to go for the zipper at my jacket.
I moved away. "No time for love, Dr. Jones." He looked at me with so much passion, I blushed.
I started the minivan back up.
Chapter Forty-One
It didn't take long to approach the outskirts of the small town where the cemetery was. The graves were part of a gated site. I explained the layout as best I could remember it to Dominick.
He kept staring at me and touching my hair.
We parked inside the graveyard by the gates. The wrought iron gates were open.
The snow had let up, and the visibility was better than before.
We got out of the minivan. I had the dagger; Dominick had the sword and letter opener.
Lightning lit up the sky, and I said, "Well, it is do-or-die time, Dominick."
He came over and kissed my cheek. "Dianna, I want to be with you once this is over, but I need you to promise me this. Survive this and save Alec. No matter what. Even if it means I die."
"Fuck that." I moved away and played with the dagger in my hand. "We all live. They roast in hell."
"Promise me."
"Okay," I said.
But no way. I'd die and take the fiends with me, before I let the last two holy knights in the city get killed. I could take damage they couldn't.
We knew about the disc. It wasn’t much, but it was an advantage. I put the dagger and sheath tucked in the back of my boot. It made a tight fit, but I could get the blade out with hamstringing myself.
Dominick went into the graves heading towards the mountains to the west, and I couldn't see him after about ten yards.
Visibility was still an issue due to the densely scattered trees inside the old graveyard, and the storm was also making it hard to see beyond twenty feet.
We had a plan, and hopefully, this newly blessed dagger would carve into the odd flesh of the Shadowed Man.
I walked the opposite way Dominick had gone, towards the headstone where Alec should be.
Dominick was going to circle around and take out any demons on the way. We both figured the demons would have set a trap and that there would be many of them. Especially the ones in suits. They seemed Beleth's preferred minions.
I'd deal with the living nightmare. The Shadowed Man was fearsome on its own. I shivered. Right now, I feared for Alec more than the creature from my past.
Walking with purpose, I called out. "I'm here!" There was no response, so I tried again. "I'm here!" No response as I neared my Mother's resting spot. "Shadowed Man!" My voice seemed swallowed by the pale flakes whirling around.
Thunder rumbled, and the sky lit up as lighting crashed nearby.
I heard the grating voice as it chuckled, "Come to us, Unchild."
Walking the distance to the grave, I saw Alec still chained to the tombstone and a mass of writhing shadows behind him. It was as if in the snow, the Shadowed Man had a hard time keeping his form.
A small man with a dark hair and pale skin stood by the stone with a sneer on his face. His horns were small and looked like the typical depiction of horns on the devil in artwork and cartoons. Except for the horns, he looked human. His irises were the color of dark garnet. He wore a fancy suit and shoes that probably cost more than my monthly bills in the same wine color.
"Over here. Dead Red Girl, do you surrender yourself to Beleth?" The suit was skin tight and showed off his muscles. Small but steely.
"Who are you," I asked.
"Just an old damned soul. Call me Jay." He smiled, and I could feel the charm from it like a living thing.
"Why did Beleth target me," the question left my mouth before I meant it to. Damn, I was getting sidetracked due to hunger.
"You belong to the general. A deal struck long ago with your Grandfather." He pressed a sword to Alec's neck. With a smarmy grin, he said, "Now hands up and swear!"
Raising my hands, I said, "What are the words?"
The Shadowed Man was impatient, "Hunger."
Jay winced at the sound of the creature's words, "Yes. You will soon feast." He lowered the sword, resting his hand and weight on it like a cane, the tip in the snow. What he had of lips lifted in that salesman grin, "Come on over, and you can help me unchain this errant knight."
Alec's breath was shallow and too quick.
"Alec. Give him to me so he can get to the hospital. Or is Beleth here to help heal him?"
Alec needed medical attention; his skin was turning pale and blue. I had to keep the creatures focused on me, while Dominick took care of any backup. Then Dominick was going to grab Alec while I fought them. The ultimate distraction.
Hopefully.
My head was light from the blood I'd given Dominick and the lack of real food. Seven pieces of sushi and some jerky weren’t near enough. My stomach rumbled. Being near the Shadowed Man had me on the edge of a panic attack.
Jay said, "The General is coming. Swear an oath, or I can't trust you, Red."
"My Grandfather would never strike a deal with the fallen," I said. He had lost faith in men, and a church, not God.
He shook his head. "You are promised to the general."
"Why do you think so?" I wanted to know. "I'm okay to look at, but far from the beauty of a model. Surely there are others out there who would want what he has to offer? Why me?"
He held his gut laughing in a burst, "What? You think the contemporary ideal of human beauty in this part of the world applies to angels." Shaking his head while smiling, "Beleth has been around before the dawn of man. He told me once power is beauty." He shrugged, "Beleth said your gramps Pharz promised you to him. You are the general's property."
The Shadowed Man screeched, "I feed!" Every part of it moved from resting in the dark, unfolding and writhing in its hunger.
I started to tense up. Preparing to fight. The last fight.
Jay said, "Go off and feed. These two are off limits. We need them for the ritual."
The Shadowed Man faded, and I bit my cheek. I pleaded silently, Please God, let Dominick be safe.
"Keep your hands up and come over here slowly. You can help me unchain him."
I started to walk over to the headstone.
Grabbing Alec's hair, his neck was exposed to the blade Jay held. "Careful now, Red. The general said you are quite the fighter and I don't fancy getting my new dancing shoes dirty."
Trying to stay calm, I crouched down. It was good cover for grabbing the knife out of my boot.
"If I come to you, you will help me heal Alec, and let him go free?"
Jay kept smiling and said, "Of course."
A far off noise of a shrieking scream howled through the storm accompanied by a male howl of terror. The Shadowed Man had found someone. One of the henchmen or perhaps Dominick. The noises stopped. Jay nicked Alec's throat, and a tiny droplet of red hit the edge, sliding down at an angle to fall off the blade.
> I had to try once more to lure him away from Alec before the Shadowed Man returned.
My body started to shake as the temperature dropped. I got to one knee. The shock of the icy cold went up my leg. Remembering the time in the car with Dominick, when time seemed to slow, my fears stilled.
I lifted my face up to the wind and snowfall.
The storm slowed. Snowflakes fell but at a snail's pace. Everything was still drenched in over-saturated colors. I burst forward in a running lunge.
Snowflakes were held in place as I pushed through them and neared Alec.
Jay's movements were slower than mine, but still, his eyes narrowed as he drew the sword deeply across Alec's throat as it took two leaps to reach them.
Blood poured onto me, as I pulled the blade away with my hands. The parting skin on Alec’s neck seemed too long to survive.
The red from my eyes reflected on the blade. The burning glow blazed on Jay's sword as I knocked it downward with the dagger. At the same moment, with my other hand, I grabbed onto its hilt and pulled it out of his grasp. It slashed his hand that tried to hold onto it and flew, landing impaled in an old tree trunk.
Alec fell, as Jay's boot hit me in the face. Bones cracked as I fell through the air. Landing into a gravestone, it split in twain as I fought to breathe.
I'd messed up. Jay was almost as strong as Beleth. Standing up, my right leg gave out.
Jay was on me, hitting me with a hard ax kick. As I fell, he was a blur and kicked me over and over. I moved to grab his leg, and he punched me in the throat. The pain was relentless, and I screamed over and over. My organs felt like mush.
"If you won't come nicely. We can do it the hard way." He spit in the direction of Alec, "All for that pathetic human!" He grabbed my broken neck, and said, "The general will heal you when he gets here. You'll be witness to the resurrection."
I felt vertebra snap together and feeling returned to my hands. My left hand held something cold. Bones in my arm started to crack back into place. I couldn't feel my legs.
"I'm not like the other's you've faced, Dianna. I have been around a long time." He shook his head, “It’s best to give in to the general. He has a long memory, and never let’s go of an insult.”
My fingers felt metal underneath them. It hummed and vibrated. I closed my fingers around it as the blade cut into them.
I slammed the dagger into the side of his throat and used it to pull him in. I bit his cheek. The flesh tasted like vanilla, and I almost swallowed it in reflex. I spit it out.
Jay lifted me and tossed me into the gravestone next to my Mother's. My arm fell away. The dagger stayed in his neck.
I leaned against my brother's grave as my wounds knit. My vision returned to the new normal.
Jay pulled the dagger out of his neck. His hands were smoking and burning as he touched the dagger. Blood poured out of the wound. Roaring at me, he grabbed my head, my hands grabbed his arm.
Using his momentum, I pulled him towards me. Gravity did its job, and as he fell on me, I bit his throat. I tore out a piece of it before he pushed leaping away. He hit my gut with an elbow, and I accidentally swallowed the piece of flesh.
Shrieking in rage, a dark red fire started at the bite on his neck and spread out covering his entire being. He jumped away, moving much slower.
I rolled to grab the dagger. My lower body only had one side working well. The left side seemed to be repairing itself still, but I screamed as the regeneration burst into overdrive. Every injury mending with each second. It hurt beyond anything I'd experienced.
Jay landed on my back, as my hand touched the leather hilt.
I was pushed into the snow and blood poured out of me. Gracefully leaping off me, Jay stood to the side.
"You bitch. But don't worry. The general will heal us." He laughed, and I saw his wounds were no longer on fire.
The piece of him inside me burned. My body started to crack as bones, veins, and flesh repaired in the span of seconds.
Shouting out in pain I tried to reply. But gurgles came out. Whatever magic healed my wounds was super-fueled by his flesh. I closed my eyes concentrating. Lying still as if I passed out. I needed to end this, and get Alec help.
As the bones and my cuts mended, I focused on my next attack.
Jay lifted me from the ground. "Once our King is here, you will understand, Dianna."
We were walking. He knelt down, and I knew it was for the disc. I thought about what Dominick had said he needed for his prayer. A holy object. My cross was still around my neck.
It had been my Mother's confirmation necklace. It was a link to the love I had for my family that was gone. Nothing was holier than love.
As Jay picked up the baggie, I grabbed my cross, the slender chain broke. I shoved the now glowing cross as hard as I could into his right eye. It embedded inside his eye deeply. He fell to his knees as I grabbed the bag and burst away to get the dagger.
The speed wasn't what it had been. As I picked up the dagger, Jay screamed.
The side where the cross was in his eye was on fire. The fire was blue in some parts, but white in others. His flesh burned away, as his skull melted from the heat. As his form fell onto the snow-covered ground, it continued to burn.
Holding the dagger and bag, I ran to Alec. He was so still. Frantic, I felt for a pulse.
Dominick arrived. He was covered in blood and gore. As Dominick approached his little brother, tears fell from his eyes. He made an odd choked noise and kneeled down next to his brother's body. He held Alec on his lap to his chest and cried out. His pain seemed to echo in the hollow place as he rocked Alec.
Shivers wracked my body as I zipped up my battered jacket. As I started to cut my wrist to try and heal Alec, a tendril caressed my leg and lifted me into the air.
I was face to face with the Shadowed Man who seemed even larger than before.
"Dead Red Girl, funny." Its laugh scrapped against my skull. "Melting." It held me upside down, dangling in the air. He shook me until my teeth rattled, "Join and feast."
I shoved the dagger into its tentacles. The small blade sliced through them like they were nothing. I was no longer held upside down.
As I landed on the snow, I saw two glowing chartreuse points. Kian.
He was crouched on a headstone, watching.
"Help Alec," I shouted, standing to dodge the inky smoke tentacles.
Saying nothing, he shook his head.
"Then help me!"
"I told you what you need to do, Dianna," he said.
Kian sat crouched on the headstone, watching everything happen. How long had he been there? Had he watched Alec die? Kian wasn't saying anything more.
However, even fifteen feet away, I felt a pull towards him. With Alec lying immobile and Dominick grief struck, I still wanted to go to Kian. Just being near him made me long to see him smile, and make him happy.
It pissed me off.
The creature moved through the shadows of the poorly lit cemetery like smoke. It seemed to prefer areas where trees blocked the path of the storm. The Shadowed Man was dodging rather than attacking. The dagger was small, but even the nightmare was cautious of it
Darkness exploded from the shadow next to me. The creature glided towards me, as tentacles wrapped around my middle.
"I take you to general." It smiled, as I struggled.
My hands were trapped, twisted in front of me. I could see the dagger, but not use it.
It lifted me and held me. It looked over at Dominick crying over Alec. Its dark gray tongue licked over its gore-coated yellow teeth. "Feast."
It moved towards them, and I screamed, "Dominick!"
The glow of the small dagger faded.
Dominick rocked Alec in his arms, and I knew he was lost. I would not watch as more friends sated this beast's hunger.
I bit down on the slimy band holding me. The Shadowed Man stopped, crying out. The grip loosened, so I continued to tear at the flesh with my teeth while cutting with the dagger
in a downward arc.
Hitting its flesh the dagger bounced off as useless as a bullet.
"You will feast no more!" Red smeared across my vision.
The dagger fell from my hands as I grabbed at a tentacle. Blackened blood oozed as the appendage was rent apart.
A crooked arm hit me, and I bit down on its inky flesh. It shook me, and I swallowed the piece of tainted flesh as I fell to the ground. I gagged but got up.
Using all my strength, I leaped onto the mass, aiming for its chest. I hit it in its stomach area. My hands tore into it as I struggled to find a foothold.
Shrieking, the Shadowed Man pulled at me. Its large jaw biting into my shoulder before its tendrils flung me beside Dominick.
Dominick was holding Alec; not responding to anything. Not looking at me as he whispered in Czech to his beloved brother.
I remembered holding my Grandfather's hand in the hospital as his breath faded. The grief of loss was enormous. Knowing that you were alone. That you had no one. No one alive was related to you. Your loved ones were gone. Your family dead.
I knew Dominick's grief. The rage and fury that sorrow invoked flipped a switch.
An odd scream tore from my throat like a beast's roar. The Shadowed Man paused.
I ran at the nightmare. I sprang on its back as it turned to run. I had to destroy this abomination! It had to die! Ripping and grabbing, I pulled apart and shredded the tendrils with my hands. It reached for me as I attacked with deadly speed and precision.
In desperation, it smashed us into the snow.
I would not let this creature live to harm another. I bit its back as its body landed on me. I swallowed the flesh and felt the power of it enter me. On its back, I kept biting, while it kept trying to smash me into trees and tombstones to get me off.
Ooze poured onto me, making it hard breath and keep my grip. It had to be destroyed! I went into the hole I was making, biting the tender innards. Feeding the hunger.
Inside was a mass of organs colored in a red-violet light. It tried to shake me out and off. It pulled at my legs as I ripped and bit at its insides. All of its appendages reached to get me out of the hole.
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