Dark World (Book I in the Dark World Trilogy) (10 page)

Now closer than she’d ever been to him,
she examined the demon. Her eyes drawn to him. His physique. His
sheer presence left her breath caught in her throat.

He exuded a palpable air of nobility
and honor, yet a quiet vulnerability lurked beneath the surface.
With his jaw clenched and muscular body poised for battle, she
couldn’t help but allow her gaze to linger longer than intended.
Her stare slid over his extraordinary form, noting the multitude of
scars marring his velvety black skin, a patchwork of his many
battles and hardships. She wondered how it would feel to run her
hands along his arms, his shoulders—his back.

It was odd, she considered suddenly.
The first day they’d laid eyes upon one another, there was an
instant hatred. An instinctive distrust and loathing. Except now,
only a day later, her feelings had changed drastically. Something
was different. But what? And how?

Ever since I touched
him…

The low rumbling from the throat of a
wild animal jarred her from her reverie. The creatures edged
nearer, their red eyes closing in around them. From all sides, the
beasts glowered, their identities hidden by the darkness. Kane’s
gaze panned the forest, anticipating an attack. He bared his fangs
and growled at the unseen stalkers, maneuvering his sword in a
figure eight pattern.

The owners of the red eyes emerged from
the shadows and came into focus. Four enormous creatures with
hulking cat-like bodies sauntered towards them. Oddly, their faces
were somewhat human, yet blended with feline features. Their
massive paws padded on the quartz floor, long curved claws clicking
with every step. Heads lowered, their crimson eyes locked onto
their prey. They displayed a mouthful of shark-like teeth, grinning
as they formed a semi-circle around Kane and Fate.

“
Sphinxes,” Kane uttered with a
shaky breath. Four times the size of a male lion, they stood tall
enough to look the seven-foot demon in the eyes. “Even if Deme were
here, we could never take on four sphinxes—even two demons
against
one
sphinx is tricky.”

Hidden beneath the black cloak, Ick
squirmed and whimpered against her. Fate studied the beasts,
wrestling with the building ache in her chest. She held her breath,
struggling to block the overwhelming aroma. Hugging Ick closer, she
tried to hold on. Clinging to a shred of her humanity.

Don’t! Don’t lose
yourself!

Forced to inhale, the scent snaked
behind the mask and wound itself around her instinct. Something
evolved inside her. Something dark—and hungry.

Fate turned and set the tiny gargoyle
down. She reached out and placed a cool hand on Kane’s arm. His
hot, black skin felt like fire on her palm. Startled, his head
turned sharply towards her. His eyes widened.

The lust had won. Pulled into darkness,
an evil had taken over. She forced the words from her salivating
mouth, commanding Kane, “Take off the mask.”

Fate’s aura pulsed black. A dark,
writhing mist churned and snarled around her body. Her eyes, once
bright as stars, had flooded ebony. As though tar had seeped into
the skin around her eyes and invaded her veins, blackness leeched
like a masquerade mask. Kane shuddered at the sight of
her.

For his own safety, he
considered leaving the mask on, but with the wrath of four sphinxes
edging closer, he knew what had to be done. He brought his hand to
her face and cupping the black mask within his palm, he
whispered,
“Demitterre.”

His only hope was that she wouldn’t turn
on him.

Unleashed

A fevered craving swelled within her
chest. An evil awakened. The monster inside her was anxious, giddy
for the taste of death.

She hissed, baring her porcelain fangs.
Her onyx eyes shone with malevolent excitement. With the grace of a
true predator, she crouched into attack position and brandished her
claws. She ran her tongue over her ebony lips, anticipating the
meal to come. With a final taunting grin, she shrieked like a
banshee and sprung. Aiming for the lead sphinx, she dug her nails
into its left shoulder and maneuvered herself onto its back,
straddling him. The sphinx howled in pain. It whipped its head back
and forth, gnashing its razor-sharp teeth.

Two more beasts lunged at her, but the
last turned its attention to Kane. She watched it saunter away,
tail flicking with gleeful eagerness, teeth glinting in its open
mouth. The sphinxes swatted her with their enormous paws. She
veered and dodged their attempts with unfathomable
speed.

Tossing a concerned glance in Kane’s
direction, she sensed she had to stop toying with the monstrous
creatures and end this quickly. She reached around the sphinx she
was mounted on and drove her lance-like claws into the soft
curvature of its neck. Upon severing the jugular, blood sprayed
onto the hot, dry ground. The mighty creature slumped forward and
then fell onto its side with a resounding thud, its lifeblood
trickling away.

The two sphinxes advanced, fury raging
behind their ruby eyes.

Fate positioned herself on the back of
the fallen sphinx and, with one forceful leap, propelled to the top
of an angled crystal shard. The creatures roared and slashed at the
base of the hexagonal trunk. Perched like a cat atop the icy tree,
she sneered at her adversaries, her eyes like polished obsidian,
narrowed and mocking.

In the midst of her teasing, however,
her limbs weakened and she nearly lost her hold on the branch.
Lethargy invaded her muscles. Her mind swam in several directions.
Dizzy, she leaned against the crystal stalk and hoped it would pass
quickly.

What’s wrong with
me?

She forced her head to turn Kane’s way,
helpless as she watched him struggle to stay alive.

His stance low and centered, heart
hammering against his ribcage, Kane glowered at the oncoming beast.
The sphinx lowered its torso, tail flicking like a kitten ready to
pounce on a mouse, humanoid face grinning atop its feline form. For
a moment, time froze, neither making the first move. Then a flash
of excitement crossed the beast’s eyes, his pupils
enlarging.

Here we go,
Kane thought, summoning strength
as he gripped his sword tighter.

With one mighty pounce, the sphinx
launched its thousand pound body at Kane. The demon leaned far to
the right, narrowly missing being raked across the face with an
enormous paw. Kane cast a fleeting look to Fate sitting high upon a
ruinous shard. As she fended off two sphinxes, he suddenly found
himself concerned about the outcome. Before now, the death of a
shade would be rejoiced. But now, he wasn’t sure he’d feel that
way.

The sphinx sprung, his jaw snapping
shut near Kane’s leg, but he evaded by lunging hard to the
left.

Pay attention,
Kane!

Furious, the large cat spun around,
eyes burning like embers. Saliva dangled from its canines, dotting
the ground with damp circles. Ears folded back, the feral creature
sprang forth. Kane’s heart raced as the world moved in slow motion.
He raised his blade to greet the soft underbelly of the beast, but
was ambushed by another sphinx batting him across the torso. His
sword clattered as it hit the ground. The first sphinx landed atop
Kane with a thud, knocking the wind out of him. His lungs begging
for air, he felt around for his sword and came up empty-handed.
Flat on his back and helpless, the demon looked up to see the
sphinx’s mouth open—targeting his head.

Kane!

From her roost atop the crystal tree,
she watched as two sphinxes focused on Kane. A single sphinx clawed
the icy bark of the shard Fate sat on, waiting for her to come
down.

I have to help
him.

She stood, balancing on the sleek
crystal stalk, then slid down the shaft. As she picked up speed,
she positioned her hands ahead of her, aiming for the creature’s
face. Ready for her, the sphinx roared, flashing his teeth and
opening his mouth wide. His eyes narrowed with a dark intellect as
she moved closer. Within a few feet of his gaping maw, Fate pushed
off the crystal and thrust herself into the space above. She
flipped mid-air, landing like an agile feline behind him. Rapidly
driving her claws into his back, she stabbed him over and over
until he fell.

As she turned to help Kane, however,
she was again overcome with fatigue. Fate staggered and fell to her
knees. She could not even muster the strength to crawl to
him.

What’s wrong with
me?

She rested her porcelain cheek upon the
cool, quartz ground. Drained, she glimpsed the dying sphinx only a
few feet away—and suddenly knew what she needed.

Fate forced her lethargic body forward,
digging her nails into the quartz and dragging herself slowly
toward the ailing beast.

Almost there…

With every fragile exhale, the
sphinx’s slow, hot breath blew her white hair back. He lay on his
side, his faded red eyes watching with weakened interest as she
slid a pale hand over his chest. While running her fingers through
the tawny fur, an impulse overwhelmed her. She’d never done this
before, but somehow, she knew what to do. She placed her hand over
his heart, and fought to stay conscious, whispering,
“
Animus.”

The sphinx whimpered, and shortly
thereafter—screamed. Beneath his russet coat, his chest cavity
throbbed. It heaved harder and faster as if his imprisoned heart
was pounding to be freed from its skeletal cage. With the beast’s
final breath, the skin split open. Flesh and bone parted to form a
bloody fissure. Amidst the gore, a glow glistened, small at first
and then grew in radiance. An illuminated orb emerged, pulsating
with iridescent white and blue flames, then glided into Fate’s
waiting hands. She brought the creation close to her face, shut her
eyes and inhaled. As it entered through her nose and mouth,
sapphire wisps slid down her throat and nourished her
body.

Her eyes, transformed onyx by the
hunger, softened back to glowing white. Recharged, her body felt
sleek and powerful.

She stood, her eyes lowering to the
beast in which she’d just consumed. Disgust writhed
within.

What have I
become?

Kane fought against the crushing
weight, struggling with every last ounce of strength to keep the
beast from wrapping its lips around his head and squashing it like
a berry.

Deme! Where the hell are
you?!

For one terrible moment, Kane
considered that the sphinxes may have already crossed paths with
his tracker and killed her. He could not entertain any amount of
sorrow for long. With strands of drool wetting his face, he could
do nothing but watch as the sphinx lowered his head to take a
bite.

The demon shut his eyes and prepared to
go down like a warrior—brave and honorable.

It was in that last moment, when Kane
felt his heart rise into his throat, that the beast let out an
agonizing howl and jumped off. Kane frowned as he watched the beast
thrash violently. Finally, he smiled when he recognized his
rescuer. He searched for his sword so he could lend a
hand.

Kane fought back laughter as he watched
little Ick poke the sphinx in the eyes. The tiny white gargoyle
shrieked, clinging with all his might to the sphinx’s face while
the beast bucked and rammed its head into the crystal tree
trunks.

“
I’m here, Ick,” Kane called
to him and raised his sword, thrusting it forward, piercing the
suffering sphinx between the shoulder blades. Ick jumped down,
scampered away and hid quivering in a broken geode. The blind and
wounded beast staggered through the trees, wailing as it retreated
into the darkness. The last sphinx followed suit, apparently
unwilling to tangle with the duo.

Kane smiled, basking in the glory of
victory. He scanned the area for Fate, hoping she was unhurt. While
he breathed a deep sigh of relief when he finally spotted her, his
brow immediately furrowed.

Knelt before the pond, weeping as she
gazed at her reflection, she uttered, “I used to be human, but
now…I’m a monster.”

Damned

Kane surveyed the carnage Fate had left
in her wake. He was shocked she’d been able to perform so
efficiently.

I shouldn’t be
surprised.
He
shrugged.
She’s born to kill.

The now soulless body of the sphinx lay
motionless on its side with a gaping hole in its chest.

It will be transforming
soon.

The metamorphosis of a living,
breathing creature to that of the undead had always saddened him.
Once a shade consumed a soul, the victim was forever damned to
wander Dark World as a shadow. Trapped in a dimension of
non-existence, they couldn’t be released from their misery until
the shade that had stolen their soul was found—and killed. Only
then could the ghostly prisoner be reunited with its soul and
liberated from limbo.

Only then can Seren be
free.
Kane’s
eyes darkened.
If only I knew the one who killed her.