Page 45 of Unbinding the Demon
The three of us journeyed down a long, winding corridor. It was exceptionally dark, but I could hear the skittering of those gigantic spiders on the crumbling stone walls. The sound of them made me thankful that Azathoth was still holding me. I was never one to feel arachnophobic, but where's a goddamn flamethrower when you need one?
While trying to take my mind off the revolting gut suckers velcroed to the walls, my meddlesome thoughts drifted back to the incubus thing. I glanced up at Azathoth and softly cleared my throat. “ Ehem ... So, um, I was just wondering about your heritage...” He shot me a curious look. “If dracrulians are violent warrior demons, then what exactly are incubus demons?” My voice timidly died off, and my mouth fell agape as we entered a massive, arena-like chamber.
Stone colonnades stood guard throughout the chamber, soaring to the rounded ceiling. The expansive floor was a patchwork of cracked stone. Small, loose pieces were scattered all around like remnants of past battles. The space was all but deserted, save for the few broken colonnades... and the stirring vovin.
With a shuddering, sickly groan, the colossal beast stirred, its decaying black scales rippling across tattered its flesh. It arose from what looked like a deathly slumber, filling the room with an ominous presence. From a single body, three fearsome dragon-like heads came forth, all appearing decrepit and insane. Each head was crowned with sharp, formidable horns that exuded power and menace. All three glanced around on their own accord, proving that each one was an individual. Horrendous low growls and hisses echoed across the chamber, as cold, lifeless black eyes malevolently honed in on us.
Yikes ...
Huge curved claws designed to lacerate even the mightiest of foes scraped against the ground, while the vovin pushed itself up. Black, spiky, and tattered wings, much like Azathoth’s own, sprawled out behind it. Its long serpentine tail wiped to the side, cracking a colonnade in two with a monstrous boom. A petrifying, alien screech rang from the central head. It shook the chamber walls and caused dust and small stones to rain down from the disintegrating ceiling.
Oh, shit... That’s a zombie dragon!
“Oh fuck. He’s a tri-head? The Gods of Hell really didn’t skimp on size when they chose this bloke, either,” Azathoth muttered while placing me down. “Alright, this shouldn’t take too long. Just stay back and hide behind the colonnades. And whatever you do, do not let the vovin see you,” he stated sternly, leaving no room for argument. “I love you.” His lips surprise-attacked mine with a quick but passionate kiss, leaving me breathless as he pulled away. “Oh, and um, by the way, incubi are sex demons.” With a cocky grin and flirtatious finger gun snap and point, he flew off towards the enraged vovin.
A fucking sex demon!?
“What!?” I squawked, then called after him while shaking my fist. “You sly son of a bitch!”
My arm froze mid-shake, and my eyes cautiously shifted over to Valarendrik. A deep, abyssal growl was rumbling within the hollow cavity of his chest. His claws had lengthened, and his long hair was eerily wisping on its own, turning into a black, shadowy mist along the ends. Bloodlust gleamed in his black and red eyes, and a murderous grin twisted across his face. He zipped past me at an unnatural speed, with both swords pointed down and dust kicking up beneath his swift and agile feet.
Holy shit ...
The vovin let out a haunting, abyssal, dinosaur-like cry that sent a shiver up my spine. I scurried behind a colonnade, just as Azathoth had instructed me to do, and peeked out at the fight. One of the ghastly undead heads snapped its jaws viciously up at Azathoth, who was hovering above it. While another released a harrowing hiss of black flames at Valarendrik. The prince dodged them like a shadowy ninja with effortless skill, black mist swirling all around him. The beast rampaged, stomping and shrieking with fierce determination. It lunged at the two otherworldly men like a whirlwind of primal power. It was akin to a raging bull, wild and unstoppable, driven by the madness of abyssal corruption.
Azathoth dove, spinning his wings in a circle like the blades of a blender, slicing into the base of one of its side skulls. The center head growled and tried to chomp down on him, but he jumped out of the way just in time. Heavy muscular flesh and scales rippled as the vovin’s growling center head accidentally bit down on the side of another head’s neck. The victimized head roared in agony as colossal fangs sank into its throat and violently tore away a huge chunk of its flesh. Valarendrik expertly leapt over its tail as it whipped at him. Then he bounced off it and slashed up with his twin blades, severing the injured head with black blood spraying everywhere.
Yes! Gottem!
I inwardly cheered as the first massive head fell to the stony ground with a morbid thud. Its heavy stump neck lifelessly flopped down beside it, causing a cloud of dust to puff up all around. Black blood oozed out and flooded over the crumbling floor. The guys then continued to fight the remaining two heads, and it seemed like this fight would be over soon.
With my hand pressed against the cool stone of the cannonade, I leaned forward to eagerly watched. I found myself enthralled by the unique spectacle. It wasn’t every day that a demon and an undead abyss prince joined forces to vanquish some menacing zombie dragon. The scene unfolding felt more like a page torn from a mythical saga rather than real life.
An unsettling shiver slithered up my spine as a soft skittering noise and a sickly hiss came from behind me. My eyes widened as I fearfully glanced over my shoulder at the source of the alarming sound. To my absolute horror, one of those huge undead spiders was, in fact, right behind me. It bared its grotesque, gnarled fangs and raised two front legs in an attack position.
Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!
With trembling hands, I grabbed the abyssal blades Valarendrik had gifted me, pulling them out of the holster wrapped around my waist. The spider took a lightning-fast intimidation step toward me, causing me to stumble back with a terrified yelp. My hands trembled as I fearfully pointed my weapons up toward it. I knew I had to stab the damn thing and get it over with, but I froze in fear and uncertainty. I had never actually killed something before. I was always a firm believer in the trap-and-release method when it came to pesky bugs in my house. So this was way out of my comfort zone for more reasons other than the fact that I was literally being attacked by a giant fucking abyss spider!
It lunged at me, its fangs glistening like tiny daggers. Heart racing, I stumbled back, escaping the refuge of the colonnades. The heinous thing lunged again, sending me toppling to the ground. I screamed, a terrified sound escaping my lips. In a desperate attempt to defend myself, I thrust both swords forward, impaling it right in the cephalothorax as we tumbled over.
Putrid saliva oozed down its wiggling fangs and onto my horrified face. Its sharp, spindly legs twitched and grasped at me, becoming weaker with every effort. I yelled as I rolled us over in a pathetic flailing scuffle, then I began stabbing the dreadful thing repeatedly like a frantic madwoman. “Die! Die, you stupid thing!” Black blood squirted all over as it hissed and writhed in agony. It then stilled, with its legs abruptly plopping to the ground around us.
“I did it!” I laughed maniacally to myself like a nutty fruitcake. I gave its crumpled corpse a solid thwack with my satchel, just for good measure. “Take that, fucker!”
However, my psychotic cackling came to a sudden halt as a thunderous, otherworldly roar bellowed overhead. I shot a panicked glance upward, and terror danced in my eyes. One of the vovin’s monstrous heads loomed like a dark shadow above me. Its colossal jaws gaped wide, revealing a horror show within. Thick strings of drool webbed and dripped between razor-sharp teeth, glistening ominously as it snarled.
My blood froze, and my breathing went into overdrive. A panicked, blood-curdling scream left my lips of its own accord as black flames spewed out from its gaping maw. High above, Azathoth’s fiery gaze sliced through the air, landing on me. His face drained of color, painted with sheer horror and panic. It was clear he wouldn't reach me in time.
This is what I get for accepting free college tuition ... a violent, flaming death caused by an undead dragon in The Abyss .
I flinched, bracing myself for my fiery departure as the black flames poured down upon me. In that fleeting moment right before impact, Azathoth materialized from thin air, swirling in a cloud of obsidian mist as he grabbed hold of me. He spread his massive, seemingly unbreakable wings, creating a shield against the flames. As the torrent of dark fire continued, he held his ground with an unwavering stance. Pain twisted his handsome features as he clung to me tightly with fierce determination.
Valarendrik lunged at the attacking vovin’s head, driving one of his swords into the side of its throat with a heavy blow. As he flipped it over, he artfully navigated around its massive, scaly nape, his blade slicing along the entire circumference of its neck in one graceful swoop. In a gruesome finale, he decapitated the creature, causing a shower of rancid black blood to erupt in a horrific display. He then flipped back down with the elegance of a dancer, landing with poise beside the freshly severed head, his shadows swirling around him.
Azathoth swooped me up in a hurry, kicking the bedraggled spider corpse off to the side, and speedily stuffed me back behind a colonnade. “We’re almost done. Just stay right there.” He held up his hands as though he were afraid I might run out again, then rushed back to the battle.
I tried to calm my frantic breathing and trembling hands as I watched him fly high into the air. He dove down and grabbed the last vovin by its jagged horns, using all his strength to yank its head back. Valarendrik simultaneously jumped up and cross-slashed halfway through its exposed throat. Bones popped and buckets of blood rained down as Azathoth landed on its back, then powerfully ripped the rest of the head off, using both his demonic strength and the momentum from his aerial dive. Azathoth hurled the decapitated head against the wall, cracking it, then it lifelessly plopped to the floor in a bloody heap.
Valarendrik effortlessly flipped back down, once again landing with agile elegance, and Azathoth... stumbled?
My heart pounded in my chest as I stumbled back down to the ground. The lethal poison felt like battery acid in my veins, burning worse than ever before. I could feel its scathing web expeditiously spreading, weakening my body at an alarming rate.
Valarendrik was quick to notice my weakness. “Are you alright, Azathoth?” he questioned with growing concern while retracting his claws back to their usual length.
“Well, the fucking poison in my arm is spreading rampantly because I traversed the shadows. So no, not really.” Quick as I could manage, I grabbed the vovin’s center stump neck and flew up, lifting its heavy weight to reveal its chest. “The axe should be hidden inside its heart. I need you to cut it out for me.” I bit back a hiss of excruciating pain. My wings were stronger than diamonds, but that vovin had managed to singe them raw in my weakened state.
Hollowing denial numbed my mouldering soul from the grim reality I now faced. My time was unexpectedly cut very short. Somewhere in the back of my frenzied mind, I knew I shouldn’t have still bothered with the axe. I didn’t have time. But I was in a state of stubborn negation and determined to complete my task.
Valarendrik sliced the thick, scaly hide of its chest open without any hesitation. With every painful flap of my wings, sweat trickled down my brow and agony laced my body. Meanwhile, he toiled away, excavating the axe from the squishy, repugnant organ with determination. Gwendolyn’s small, disheveled frame approached with careful steps, silently watching with widened eyes. Love bloomed in my heart as I gazed down at her... and then a wave of sudden panic crashed over me.
Fuck! I have to get unbound immediately!
“I’ve got it,” he announced just in time as he pulled out the blackened, blood-covered weapon.
With both relief and hysteria, I released the neck and ungracefully fluttered back down. “Gwendolyn, get the book out. We’re leaving right now!” I tried not to let the panic seep into my voice, but it was there.
Valarendrik’s messy hair draped forward, while he slightly bowed and handed me the slimy axe. The intricately forged weapon glistened with demonic grandeur, as my now veiny, clawed hand swiftly seized it. “Will you ever return after this?” he asked, his eyes betraying his struggle to conceal his sorrow and worry.
My breath hitched. I knew he was terribly lonesome here in this vast land of sorrow and decay, and I was his only source of companionship other than Sagacor. He was a rare soul, too emotionally evolved and brilliantly bright for a world shrouded in perpetual darkness. Yet his curse of being born to undying death unfortunately chained him here. I frowned as I glanced at the lethal black veins growing over my arm, genuinely unsure if I’d live to return.
I latched my hand onto his forearm in a show of brotherly affection, realizing that this might be our final goodbye. His corpse-like hand gripped my forearm in return as my luminescent, golden gaze met his darkened, ruby one. “Valarendrik, you are very dear to me, and I consider our friendship invaluable. I owe you a great deal for all that you’ve saved me from. I promise that if I survive this, I will return. If not, then I wish you only the best, and thank you for being my friend.” My heart ached, wishing I had time to say more.
He smiled at me, his eyes shining with kindness and sorrow. “Then leave now and do what you must to survive, my friend.” He glanced over at Gwendolyn, who had spilled the contents of the bag onto the ground in her urgent search for the book. I could feel her eyes shifting back and forth to the black veins spreading in my arm. Panic and guilt marred her delicate face as she realized what was happening. “She is a good female for you. Take care of her and give her my farewell until we meet again.” We squeezed our hands with brotherly love, then released our grips on one another.
“Azathoth?” she whispered fearfully, with tears brimming in her eyes. Her hands trembled as she offered me the book, almost dropping it on the ground.
My arm was almost half black now, and the web was stretching up to the side of my face. “Don’t worry, Buttercup.” I tried to sound comforting. “I just need to be unbound. Valarendrik says goodbye. Now, let’s leave!” I swiped the book from her shaking hands and began frantically flipping to the page needed to return.
She surged forward and wrapped her arms around Valarendrik’s tall undead frame in a speedy hug, stunning him completely stupid. “Goodbye, Valarendrik,” she muttered with haste, then returned to my side just as I found the right page. His widened eyes shifted around in shocked confusion. If I wasn’t internally freaking the fuck out, I would have laughed. That was likely the first time he’d ever been hugged.
“Goodbye, my friend.” I nodded to him with a smile.
Gripping Gwendolyn close, I speedily uttered the spell to traverse worlds, sounding like one of those voice overs mentioning all the awful side effects in a medication commercial. Black fog engulfed us like a suffocating cloud of death as we dropped into what felt like a rapidly swirling portal. I closed my eyes and held her tight, cherishing the feeling of her body pressed against mine. My heart raced as the icy hand of fear gripped my soul.
When Gwendolyn had agreed to perform the unbinding spell, I was foolishly hopeful and certain that I would actually survive this madness. That the poison wouldn’t kill me. That I’d live to see my family and my homeland again. That I had a good chance of making her my beloved bride and starting a family of our own. But now, with one fatal mishap, things had just taken a very grim turn, and I was suddenly certain of something else...
I am most likely going to die.