Page 34 of Unbinding the Demon
Puffs of misty breath swirled around my dirty, bruised face, appearing like spirits fading into the twinkling obsidian sky. My heart frantically beat in my chest as I laid there, a bedraggled mess, strapped down to the cold stone, awaiting my violent fate at the hands of a psychotic megalomaniac. Each warm tear that trickled down from the corners of my reddened eyes left a cold, wet trail along my skin and dampened the hair near my temples.
Even though I had spent the last few hours somewhat preparing myself for this, now that the time had come, a whirlwind of emotions overwhelmed me. I was terrified. I was in utter emotional ruins. I was furious. I was regretful. But, most of all, I was lonely. I sucked in a shaky breath, yearning for someone who cared about me. Someone to hold my hand and comfort me through my final bleak moments in this world. A hollowing pain constricted my chest as it heaved from all my sobbing and consternation.
My watery gaze stared wistfully up into the glimmering sea of starlight. A plethora of naked, wavering branches and towering white pines framed the night sky. The rustling trees hissed in the blustery wind, making it seem as though the forest itself sang lamentations for my doomed soul.
In a moment of desperation or borderline insanity, I imagined that each scintillating star was reaching down and kissing my face with their gentle rays. I found an imaginary sense of solace within the company of the stars. It was as though they were the spirits of all those who had passed on and were standing nearby to comfort me. I smiled as I envisioned them assuaging all the fear and grief from my forlorn soul like long-lost friends.
My stargazing was interrupted as Father Adelstein approached the altar like a pharisaic reaper cloaked in white. His foggy breath swirled around his face as he loomed over me and pulled the hood from his head. Firelight flickered across his shadowy face, which held an incongruous combination of compassion and bloodlust within his sharp features.
He pulled a long, glossy black dagger from the loose sleeve of his cloak, with a murderous twinkle in his hazel eyes. The gag in my mouth muffled my sudden scream while I thrashed against my tight restraints, causing my skin to burn and my wrists to bleed.
“ Shhh , don’t worry, my dear. Not yet,” he whispered in a soothing tone. His cold, clammy hand brushed my sapphire gem to the side, causing it to become hidden within my messy, sprawled-out hair. My tears began flowing like rivers as he solemnly used the terrifying dagger to cut away at my jacket, shirt, and bra. The iridescent blade sliced through the various materials with soft ripping sounds until the freezing air caressed my bare skin. Goosebumps broke out all over my body. I shivered, and my teeth chattered.
“Now, now, don’t worry, my dear. We are all godly people here. The sins of the flesh tempt us not,” Adelstein sanctimoniously reassured, but his perverted gaze said otherwise. I glared up at him through my teary eyes. “Now, before we begin, I would like to perform the last rites with you in order to save your otherwise damned soul... Especially since you’ve so blatantly copulated in an unholy union.” He raised a brow, displaying his condescension as he spoke.
Is this guy seriously concerned about the fact that I’ve had premarital sex right now?
His slender hand once again ripped the tape from my mouth, leaving a throbbing sting behind. Then he pulled that disgusting cloth back out. I coughed and wheezed from the lack of moisture in my poor, parched mouth, rasping as I took in a strained breath. “Are you for fucking real right now!?” I gasped out, then coughed again. “You’re about to ritualistically murder me on a sacrificial altar, and you seriously plan to perform the last rites!?” I hissed, flabbergasted by this sicko’s priorities.
He sighed in irritation as he ran his hand through his hair. “Look, my dear, I’m trying to save your soul from damnation and hellfire. Have some good sense and cooperate with me here.” His knuckles turned white as his fingertips gripped the edge of the altar in agitation. “We shall begin with the final confession, so please, confess to me your sins.”
The torches crackled around us as the flames grew higher, fueled by a powerful gust of wind. “I’d rather go to Hell.” My voice was hushed but held a lethal bite. I stared up at him with pure hatred burning in my watery eyes.
His jaw clenched, and he leaned his head forward, casting an imposing shadow over my face. “I can see that you’re still under the influence of that hellish beast. All the more reason for you to confess, my dear.” He waved his hand in a circle, urging me to get on with it.
I scoffed. “You’re out of your goddamn mind if you think I’m going to confess to you when you’re literally about to stab my chest open, then rip my heart out and eat it!”
He tsked with an air of arrogance. “You need not worry about that, my dear. That’s not the type of ceremony we will be performing tonight—” He stilled, then narrowed his eyes at me with suspicion. “How do you know about that practice, my dear?” His words were slow and wary.
“Fuck you. You’re a sick fucking bastard. And stop calling me ‘my dear.’” I snapped, ignoring his question, then flinched as I tugged on my now painful, bloodied restraints without realizing it.
His jaw clenched, and he huffed through his nose, fanning my already freezing body with his nasty, nasal breath-wind. “No matter, the apostolic pardon will have to do.” He spun around and interrupted the other clergy members, who were casually loafing around and engaged in a conversation about lemon squares. “Let’s begin right away! Everyone get into position!” There was an undertone of panic in his voice as he flailed his arms and took a few steps toward them.
“But Nancy was just about to share her award-winning recipe,” some random guy mentioned, disappointment clear in his voice.
Adelstein threw his hands up in frustration. “Then we’ll exchange recipes in a group email later! But we have to start now! The demon could very well be coming for us as we speak!” He waved his hands frantically, then stormed back over to the altar.
The demon!?... Are you fucking kidding me!?
My eyes grew wide as saucers and shifted around as I tried to wrap my head around what he had just said. First, bloodthirsty zombies suddenly exist. Then a crazed, murderous black magic cult pops up out of the blue. Next, I find out that there’s some otherworldly mysterious abyss, and an invisible magic force field wrapping around this stupid valley!... And now I have to worry about a FUCKING DEMON coming to get us!? What’s next? Will the flying spaghetti monster show up and shoot us all down with laser beams!?
“But, Father, only seven members of the clergy have arrived. Paul and Rhonda were seen by the road twenty minutes ago, but haven’t shown up yet, either. If her blood is to break down the barrier, won’t we need all our members here to help raise the energies?” a random hooded man asked with concern.
Adelstein sighed in exasperation as he turned to face his posse of ninnies. “I have a feeling the others are with God now.” He gestured toward me. “We’ve angered the beast, after all.”
I awkwardly glanced around at everyone, noticing the fear on their faces. The flickering flames and moonlight reflected on their white cloaks, as they all scrambled like a bunch of headless chickens to form a semicircle around the altar. Adelstein swiftly turned back around while pulling his black dagger back out. He used it to draw a cross in the air above me, as he prayed the apostolic pardon, his voice rising with urgency.
I closed my eyes and sucked in a deep breath as I braced myself for my horrific fate. I imagined how they would later abandon my body in a hidden spot within the forest. Spiderwebs and frost would be my burial gown, and the sounds of the wind blowing through the trees would be my dirge. Judging by the chill in the air, the first snow would blanket my corpse as it softly fell, until I slowly disappeared into the frozen forest floor, erased from this earthly existence in a shroud of glimmering white.
I longed to feel happy and at peace during this time, but that just wasn’t the case. I was terrified and grieving. I grieved for both my short, unfortunate life and for the pain that my friends and Ashton would feel once I was gone. I squeezed my eyes shut even tighter, but the tears managed to slip out, anyway. My lower lip trembled as I took in a shaky, anxious breath. The cold stone and frigid air bit harshly into my exposed flesh, but I barely noticed it. All I could feel was the frantic racing of my heart in my chest.
To my surprise, Adelstein abruptly stopped praying. I felt something cold and sharp against my throat. “Auh, auh, auh, I don’t think so. Take another step and she’s dead!” he sneered venomously. My eyes flew open. Adelstein was scowling over at some anathema in the distance as he held the dagger to my throat. Looks of panic and terror appeared on the shadowed faces of the other clergy members.
“Let her go,” a familiar deep voice clipped out, dripping with malice and hatred.
He found me!
My heart leapt for joy and a smile appeared on my face. I snapped my head to the side to see Ashton standing there menacingly, only about eight feet away. Belzar stood faithfully beside him, baring his canine teeth. Ashton’s expression was dark and lethal. He looked downright fierce in the flaming torchlight. Two severed heads dangled eerily by their hair from his large hand. Warm blood slowly dripped from their tattered necks and melted the frost that glazed the leafy ground.
Oh shit... That’s probably Paul and Rhonda .
Belzar began snarling and pacing back and forth, as if he were eager to sink his teeth into Adelstein’s scrawny throat. His eyes reflected in the torchlight, making it seem as if they were glowing with rage. He bristled his fur threateningly, making him look like some sort of ferocious, bloodthirsty hellhound.
“Well, well, well, isn’t it funny how the one blood sacrifice that’s worthy of your unholiness’s acceptance is the one we simply cannot offer you?” Adelstein chuckled like a sinister slimeball, revealing his villainous nature. “We didn’t bait her to this valley with free tuition just to have the likes of you come along and take her from us, after all.” The dagger pressed further against my throat as he leaned forward, goading Ashton. A small trickle of blood streamed down my neck, and a pained hiss escaped my lips.
Fear flashed in Ashton’s eyes as they flickered down to the dagger against my throat and then back up to Adelstein. “Yeah, well, that’s my Buttercup you’re fucking with.” His voice was a low growl, each syllable a deliberate act of aggression. “And I will not let you make her another victim of your pathetic conventicles of aischrolatreia.”
“Ashton, I love you, but you need to run! He controls the zombies! Go, save yourself!” I shouted with tears in my eyes. I wanted him to get out of here and go live a good life, even if I had to die. There were too many cult members for him to take on alone, and who knew where Adelstein’s children were hiding.
Ashton glanced at me and smiled with love in his eyes. “I love you too,” he softly said, then snapped his deadly, steel-cold gaze back to Adelstein. “And don’t worry. I’ll be just fine,” he reassured me as he tossed the two heads to the side. They thumped onto the ground with a grotesque sound and rolled into the bushes, leaving a trail of blood behind them.
Adelstein’s abrupt cackling startled me, his saliva spraying all over my face. “How sweet, the ignorant damsel has come to love the perfidious demon,” he jeered, his expression filled with bitterness. “You know, Azathoth, your plan was far too easy to figure out. Get close to the girl by charming her with your incubus allure and sexual enticements so she’d fall in love with you and perform the unbinding spell. Am I right?” He wore a mocking smirk as Ashton’s jaw clenched.
Azathoth? Like the demon from Aunt Elowynn’s journal? The unbinding spell?
“Um, Ashton, what’s he talking about?” I asked, nearly forgetting that I was half-naked, strapped down to a sacrificial altar with a knife at my throat, and surrounded by a murderous cult of ecclesiastical lunatics.
Adelstein raised a smug brow. “Yes, Ashton , what am I talking about?” he satirized. Ashton remained silent. His murderous gaze was locked on Adelstein with burning hatred. “What’s wrong? Cat got your tongue? Well, if she doesn’t even know your real name, then I’ll bet that she doesn’t know what you are or why you need her blood just as much as I do.” An unforgiving expression darkened his face. “Or that you killed Elowynn.” The sneered words were bitter on his tongue, and hatred filled his buggy eyes.
Yeah, flippin’ right . There’s no way that’s true... right?
At this point, I half-expected some camera crew wearing elaborate camouflage to leap from the woods. Some douchebag, hipster guy would likely follow them wearing a backward snapback, microphone in hand, announcing that this was all some prank reality television show. But that didn’t happen. The only things that came out of the forest were the sounds of the branches rustling in the wind and an old owl hooting nearby. Ashton didn’t deny what Adelstein claimed. His jaw remained clenched, and his gaze stayed lethal.
“No, of course not. Why would you ever tell her that little detail? That would certainly put quite the damper on your little romance scheme, now wouldn’t it?” he snickered. “Although, I must say, I had assumed the affections in your frail dalliance were one-sided. However, the scar on her neck says otherwise.” Adelstein slowly brushed the dagger along my scar. “You killed the woman I loved. Now I’m going to kill the woman you love. Tit for tat.” He quickly raised the dagger over his head and then swung it down to stab me in the heart.
I screamed and flinched as I watched the sharp blade flash above me with a threatening glint. But before Adelstein could bring the dagger down even a few measly inches, Ashton let out a deep, otherworldly growl. Then, in an instant, his fist was clobbering Adelstein in the jaw.
Adelstein went
flying backward several feet. His white cloak flapped through the air until he thudded to the ground, with his dagger clanking onto the rocky terrain beside him. His body laid crumpled up and motionless, with the other clergy members staring at him in shock. Judging by the pure force of the blow, I was certain he was dead as dust.
Good riddance to that arrogant, stab-happy peagoose.
Ashton leaned over me and cupped my face with his warm hand, his touch tender and reassuring. “Are you alright?” Concern and worry filled his voice and face. His hair draped to the side, coiling on the stone beside me. Belzar put his front paws up onto the altar and whined as he nuzzled the top of my head with his wet doggy nose.
I smiled up at him, my hands trembling and my teeth chattering. “Well, I’m much better now that you’re here, and that lunkhead is dead.” His thumb caressed the tears from my cheek as I shivered from the cold.
He smiled with relief and softly laughed with love in his golden, fire-illuminated eyes. “Let’s get you home and warmed up, shall we?”
Dark, maniacal laughter ruined our moment and demanded our attention. Ashton and I both whipped our gazes over to see Adelstein’s decrepit, twiggy frame slowly stand up. A psychotic grin twisted beneath his hood. The firelight flickered ominously over his shadowy, contorted face as his head lifted, revealing blackened eyes with dark veins webbing out around them.
“You pathetic demon! You cannot kill me so easily! Consuming power from The Abyss has made me far stronger than any mortal man could ever be!” His spiteful obsidian eyes revealed the most corrupt, almost alien-looking soul I had ever seen. It was as if The Abyss had swallowed away the last remnants of his humanity, leaving behind an otherworldly shadow hiding within the body of a frail man. Black wispy tendrils began swirling around him, clinging to the frame of his body as they wrapped around his torso and limbs.
Oh shit ...
Warm material was laid across my freezing body, bringing me much-needed relief from the icy wind. I looked down to see that Ashton had draped his jacket over me. He gently cupped my cheek while looking at me with a conflicting expression of both love and trepidation. He then placed a quick but loving kiss on my lips and closed his eyes as if he were savoring the moment. As his eyes reopened and found mine once again, deep sorrow was visible in his golden gaze. “Forgive me, my love,” he whispered, while reluctantly straightening back up. His warm clawed hand slowly withdrew from my cheek... Wait!? His clawed hand!?
My eyes widened wider than they had ever been in my life. My mouth fell agape as my mind fell into a state of stupefaction. I remained stunned stiff as I watched him jump up onto the altar, with his large heavy boots clunking as they stepped over me, and then he leapt off. As he stood imposingly between Adelstein and me, a black mist enveloped his entire body, and within the blink of an eye, he transformed into... a motherfucking demon!?
Holy flippin’ french fries! Ashton is the demon!?
“What the fuck!?” I screeched in utter disbelief, straining my head up like a panicked goose to stare at him in complete shock.
He looked exactly like he would appear in my dreams... except for the fact that he was wearing pants. Twin black horns twisted up from his head, adding extra height to his now nearly seven-foot muscular frame. The massive, spiked, dragon-like wings that jutted from his strong shoulder blades made a single, gentle flap. The wind blew through his long, wisping hair, as his fiery eyes briefly glanced back over at my flabbergasted, hyperventilating face. There was an undertone of diffidence and shame hidden within their infernal depths. It was a strange emotion to see coming from someone so fierce.
His gaze snapped back to Adelstein, who was twirling his dagger in his hands as if to challenge him to attack. “You know, Azathoth, I’m glad I get another chance to stab you. This time, I don’t plan on missing that foul, satanic heart of yours!” he threatened tauntingly.
Ashton’s jaw clenched, and his fists balled until his knuckles turned white. His face darkened, but his only response to Adelstein was a ferocious, demonic roar. He lunged and sprinted toward him, then struck with his deadly claws. Adelstein lifted his forearm to block the blow. One of the smoky tendrils on his arm wrapped around Ashton’s wrist, leaving a stinging red burn behind. Ashton hissed in anger, then elbowed Adelstein in the jaw with such force that blood splattered all around them.
Holy fuck!
Adelstein’s angry shouts and grunts blended with Ashton’s fierce growls and roars. Their brutal fight echoed through the cold forest air. Ashton fought with merciless efficiency, his skill honed to a lethal edge. Adelstein, however, nervously wriggled his tall, thin body. He jumped around like a coward, looking for any cheap shots he could take. The smoky tendrils that wrapped around him seemed to give him some sort of extreme supernatural strength. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have had a snowball’s chance in Hell against Ashton’s beastly form.
The clergy members cowered, some hiding behind trees, as they watched the bloody brawl. Well, all but one, that is. The one named Simon snuck over to me, not taking his eyes off Ashton until he arrived at my side. Flickering shadows danced across his face as he looked at me with his beady, blue eyes. His trembling hands attempted to untie the rope around my tender, bleeding wrist.
“Get the hell away from—” I started to sneer. Then I began screaming in absolute horror.
Massive canine jaws full of razor-sharp fangs clamped down on his head with a squelchy crunch and a gush of blood, causing one of his eyeballs to bulge out of the socket. Blood spattered across my face as a huge, black, undead wolf viciously whipped Simon up into the air. Then it slammed his limp body back down against the stone ground, all without releasing his head from its powerful jaws. With a loud, harrowing pop, his flesh tore and his head snapped off with blood spraying everywhere. Sickening crunches resulted as the wolf chewed on the skull a few times, then gobbled the entire thing down.
“Ashton!” My blood froze with terror as I screamed for Ashton at the top of my lungs, panic seizing my soul. He quickly glanced at me, then continued fighting, not even slightly concerned about the giant wolf that stood imposingly over my body. Did he not notice that I’m about to get eaten by a fucking zombie wolf over here!?
Razor-sharp, lethal claws protruded from the huge paws that ominously stepped on either side of my head. Its coarse black fur bristled, and part of its right side lacked flesh, exposing its jagged rib cage. It lowered its ghastly, blood-soaked head while looking right at me with its glowing golden eyes. Tears streamed down my cheeks, and I whimpered in fear as its hot, bloody breath fanned my face.
But, to my complete and utter surprise, the wolf didn’t maul me. It let out a familiar puppy-dog whine, then licked my teary cheek with affection. “Belzar?” I whispered as a look of both realization and confusion crossed my face.
He straight up nodded his head “yes” in response, then happily nuzzled the side of my face. I stared up at him in befuddlement, and he looked down at me with almost human-like intelligence, similar to the day we first met. His head snapped up, and then he jumped off the altar and began gruesomely massacring the rest of the clergy. Body parts and entrails went flying. Vicious growls and snarls mixed with the terrified screams of those who were meeting their deaths within his harrowing jaws.
I looked back over at the otherworldly scuffle as a thunderous boom crashed over to me. Ashton had slammed Adelstein to the ground, tearing his flesh with his claws and cracking the mountain stone beneath them. Adelstein quickly recovered and flung himself back up using the smoky tendrils around his arms. Rage contorted his deranged face as he struck at Ashton with the dagger, nicking him on the forearm.
Ashton hissed in pain and stumbled back as if he were dizzy. Adelstein preyed on his impaired state and struck at him again. Ashton blocked it, but it sent him flying backward. Pinecones, moss, and dirt flew around his boots as he slid. He nearly fell forward, but used his hand to stay balanced.
Adelstein laughed malevolently. “Face it. Your powers are bound, and my poison is killing you. You’re weak, demon!”
Ashton glanced down at the black wound that was beginning to web over his forearm. He then raised his gaze to Adelstein, his fiery eyes filled with intense, searing hatred. He balled his fists and approached Adelstein with a threatening demeanor. Strength and power radiated off his intimidating demonic form as if he’d finally had enough.
He made like he was going to strike with his claws, but psyched Adelstein out. He vehemently whipped him across the chest, using a sharp horn from the tip of one of his powerful wings instead. Blood sprayed from Adelstein’s brutalized chest as he stumbled back with a pathetic, pained shriek. The wind was knocked out of him, yet he composed himself and held his dagger high above his head. Adelstein lunged at Ashton with a loud venomous screech, thrusting the dagger toward Ashton’s heart in a frantic attempt to strike. With a low growl, Ashton caught his thin wrist. Then, with one ferocious swipe of a clawed hand, he slashed Adelstein deeply across the face.
Adelstein staggered back. Blood dripped down from his horribly marred face in small rivers. He looked around in distress at the bloody, shredded remains of his clergy members scattered about. Their unrecognizable bodies were half-devoured by Belzar, who was now standing protectively beside me. Blood soaked his fur, and he growled maliciously, his yellow eyes glowing.
“You think you’ve won this!?” he sneered at Ashton with a livid expression, then pointed at me. “She’ll never unbind you now that she knows what you are and what you’ve done! You are doomed to die by my hand one way or another!” His blackened eyes looked downright crazy as he shouted. He then reached into his cloak and pulled out a plain black book. “And besides, even if you did convince her to do it, I still have the book!” His twiggy arm waved it high above his head in a taunting manner. He gloated like a deranged maniac, unable to accept defeat.
Adelstein was too busy sniggering at Ashton to notice Belzar snarl and lunge at him. He leapt up and his powerful jaws snapped down over the book, biting Adelstein’s entire forearm off with a loud crunch. Adelstein screamed in pain. His other arm swung around and slashed Belzar across the chest with his obsidian dagger. Belzar stumbled back and whimpered. One of the black smoky tendrils then struck out, cracking like a whip, and sent Belzar flying backward. The stone altar cracked loudly in two beneath me, as Belzar’s body slammed into it. He then limply plopped to the ground and disappeared in a cloud of black mist.
“Belzar!” I screamed, my heart racing, with tears falling from my eyes. I strained to look over the edge of the cracked stone for any sign of him, but he was gone.
Adelstein’s jaw dropped in disbelief. Belzar had just vanished with the book. Ashton wasted literally no time at all attacking him again, because to my absolute shock, he teleported right in front of him. He looked like a feral beast as he snarled with a burning hatred in his glowing ember-like eyes. His clawed hand clasped Adelstein’s good arm, which held the dagger, causing it to fall and clank on the ground. Then, with an insanely deep, predatory growl, his powerful fanged jaws clamped down on Adelstein’s scrawny throat.
It wasn’t the same type of bite he’d bitten me with. This was meant to kill. Adelstein looked like a pathetic little chicken in the jaws of a hungry fox. Crunching sounds came from his neck as Ashton’s fangs sank deeper. Blood streamed down his marred throat, trickling down to the ground. The fear of death was evident in his buggy, blackened eyes, as he desperately gasped for air.
Even though I had been strapped down the entire time, rendering me just about as useful as a wet paper towel in the background, I still smiled triumphantly at the sight. However, a chorus of rustling leaves, snapping twigs, snarls, and groans approaching with increasing intensity wiped the smile right off my face.
I whipped my gaze over to the treeline. At least one hundred of Adelstein’s children were sprinting through the forest, straight toward me. “Ashton!” I screamed in absolute terror while I fought against my restraints with all my strength.
Ashton’s glowing eyes snapped up to me, then widened in fear. Blood sprayed into the air as he tore the flesh from Adelstein’s throat. Then he vanished into a cloud of black mist, leaving Adelstein to collapse and thud weakly to the ground in a crumpled heap.
He reappeared above me in a flash, using his claws to tear through the ropes that bound my feet and wrists. His hands latched onto my body, and a black mist swirled around us. Then it disappeared. “What the fuck?” he muttered under his breath, with a brief look of confusion. Realizing there was no time to waste, he frantically swooped me up into his monstrous embrace, then jumped off the altar and into the air. I let out a blood-curdling scream as the stone below us cracked into pieces from the powerful force of his foot kicking off. I held his neck in a death grip as his mighty wings flapped with a powerful whoosh, sending a bunch of dead leaves swirling around us. We just barely made it out in time to avoid the horde of zombies swarming the altar like a pack of rabid hyenas.
Snarling came from right below me, and I looked down in panic, finding that one of them had latched onto Ashton’s leg. His eerie black eyes stared up at me as his gnarled hand reached for my foot. Ashton kicked it off, causing it to hiss and fall. The others ripped it to shreds in a grotesque display of blackened blood and entrails once it hit the ground.
Spiked obsidian wings swooshed around us as they powerfully flapped in the frosty night air. The zombies were jumping up in a sickening frenzy, screeching and snapping their sickly jaws below. As we hovered above the bloody massacre, Adelstein stumbled to his feet. Black smoke swirled like fluttering ribbons around him, seeming to cauterize his wounds. His cloak hung off him in bloody tatters, and his maimed face glared up at us with venomous hatred.
“This isn’t over, Azathoth! You will die, and then I will kill the girl! Mark my words!” Adelstein shouted, shaking his one remaining fist at us in a fit of rage.
Ashton’s grip tightened around me as he glared bitterly down at Adelstein. His gaze then shifted to my terrified one, and a gentle smile appeared on his face. “You’re safe now. I’ve got you,” he reassured me with tenderness and pressed his lips to the top of my head.
Even though I’d seen him like this many times before in my dreams, his sudden real-life demonic appearance still daunted me. I didn’t know if I should hold on to Ashton or try to squirm away from the menacing demon clutching me. But, considering how far up off the ground we were and what was below us, I chose the former.
“What about Belzar?” My soft voice was just a whisper in the wind as tears brimmed in my eyes.
Ashton smiled at me again. “Don’t worry, it takes a lot more than that to kill an abyss wolf.”
Black smoke swirled around us, then disappeared, and once again Ashton frowned in confusion. His wings then flapped faster as he flew us up even higher into the frigid night sky. My arms tightened around him in a fearful grip as he glided away with me wrapped tightly in his warm, demonic embrace, soaring over the glittering frost-kissed forest below.