I was naïve for thinking they’d make it quick and painless without turning it into a sickening game. I should have known better. They’re demons. Nyx is a cruel monster. It was never going to be easy. My mind races with thoughts of how angry Kairos will be once he finds out I’m gone, not only with me, but with Mio too. I shouldn’t have dragged him into this. As I push myself to run faster, thoughts of Ere waiting for me at the club and the possibility that I’ll never see him again so I can explain sends new pangs of guilt eating away at me. All I wanted was to be free. I hope one day they can understand.
Glancing behind me, the three scaly, winged demons are quickly closing in, running on all fours, red eyes glowing with excitement. A scream bursts from my chest, and I push my legs to move faster, knowing deep down it’s useless. They’re huge and strong and so much faster than me. The sunlight taunts me with its rays of light, glinting across their sharp teeth and shining a spotlight on the sickly black substance dripping from them.
These monsters killed my parents. Nyx commanded them to do it and then tried to make me take my own life several times. I want them all dead. I tighten my fingers around Mio’s celestial dagger as a searing rage pushes its way in. It’s not fear that has me wanting to suddenly tear out their throats, but anger over everything they’ve destroyed around me. Even as I take my last breath and say goodbye to humanity, I will not go down without a fight. My parents didn’t deserve what they did to them. Neither did I.
My feet thud against the wobbly wood as I sprint across the dock, the weathered boards creaking and crying out for help that isn’t coming. I’m thankful in a way that no one will be here to watch me bleed out or suffer through hearing my screams of agony. All that’ll be left here for the ones I love are the blood stains and the gentle hum of the fading energy my soul leaves behind before the lake washes it all away.
“You cannot escape. You have nowhere left to go.” The growling is too close now, and I know running any further is useless.
I stop, inhaling deep as I raise my dagger and turn around to face them. A mix of terror and acceptance wash over me, one wanting to send my heart out of control, and the other trying to keep it calm and steady. They tower over me, the black poison leaking off their bodies and splattering on the ground. The weight of their monstrous bodies leaves cracks in the pavement as they continue running full force toward the dock. How Kairos can so easily kill several of these things at once is not something I can fathom.
“Will you take me to Nyx after you kill me?” My voice may tremble, but my hands do not, as I raise the dagger higher.
Dark laughter spills out of their wide, gaping mouths in unison, their pointy teeth on full display. The glow from my weapon illuminates their faces, and they squint their oval eyes as they creep closer to the light.
“The Queen of Darkness is waiting for you already. It is time you join her,” growls the demon in the front, the other two flanking its sides. Their red eyes burn into my soul, branding it with the promise of belonging to her for eternity.
Their spines crack and pop as they step forward, the otherworldly movement of their bodies a thing I’d enjoyed seeing in horror films, but not so much now. Their large heads and pointy ears tower over me as they stop and stare down, constant, quiet growls rumbling in their throats.
“I can’t wait to meet her. We have much to discuss.” I grip my weapon tighter and point it directly at the heart of the hideous monster standing front and center.
They prowl toward me, eyes slanting as they tilt their heads and stare at my blade. “You are useless to her. She only needs your power. Your death will be what hurts the least. She will have eternity to make you suffer.” The words are a quiet, crooning vow, a smooth tone that grates at my skin and sends my stomach spinning. Even through the thick, scaly skin, I can see its lips curve up into a wicked smile.
Darkness guide me. Gods save me. Darkness guide me… shit.
I step back as all three snarling demons advance at once, clawed feet scraping against the wood dock. The first one lunges for my throat, his sharp poison dipped claws burning my skin as it slices it open, a scream shattering from deep in my chest. In one swift movement, I grip the demon’s wrist and it howls in pain as I dig my nails into the thick flesh there, then push past him and run back down the dock. The other two demons stand side by side blocking my path. I drag my dagger across one of the large arms that reach out to grab me. Black blood sprays as I jam the blade into the chest of the one who grips my shoulders, trying to keep me still. I scream as the burn of the venom from its claws eats at my skin. The demon with the celestial dagger embedded in his chest shatters and turns to ash at my feet, the weapon landing on the dock with a victorious clunk.
I laugh, even as slimy, scaly arms grip me from behind and trap me in place. One kill is one less demon to do Nyx’s bidding, and possibly many lives saved from its evil games.
As the venom sets in, my limbs fall weak, I can feel them there, but it’s hard to move. The searing pain rages through my body. Warmth trickles down my cheeks as I try not to scream, the realization that it’s almost over hitting me hard. I refuse to let them watch me suffer, though the venom drags its teeth across every nerve in my body, scorching me from the inside out more and more by the second.
I’ll be thankful when I’m finally dead.
The demon in front of me steps closer, its black blood dripping down its arm from the wound I gifted it. It leans down and nuzzles into my neck. The sound of flesh ripping apart drowns the constant roaring of the waves as it sinks its pointy teeth into my skin. My back arches and I fall to my knees. I can’t breathe. The burn is relentless, a rageful, viscous beast.
Covering the bite mark with my hand, I hiss as the venom clings to my fingers and pushes the poison deeper into my gaping wound. I place my palms flat on the cracked, grainy surface of the dock, my tears dripping helplessly onto my hands. Gods, it burns. It burns worse than any pain I’ve ever known, or any pain I ever imagined could exist. I want it to be done. I want it to be over, this persistent, growing agony that’s burning me alive.
A quick slash of claws across my chest and needlepoints digging into my shoulder send me sprawling backward, blurry eyes on the sky as screams I can no longer contain echo out past the lake and into every realm that exists. Is this the pain my parents felt the night they died? Is this how she made them suffer? It only makes me angrier at Nyx and more desperate to get to her as thoughts of their last moments alive pass through my mind.
“Please,” I sob, unable to move at all any longer, the pain and paralysis growing fiercer by the second. “Please…”
They laugh at my words thinking I’m begging to live, but I’m not. I’m begging for them to let me die.
Letting myself sink into darkness—into nothingness—into the hope of something better after death. Water splashes as I’m shoved off the dock into the lake. My heartbeat slows as pain is replaced by a comforting numbness. I find peace in it. The world around me is a blur and my thoughts slowly fade. It’s better this way. No one will be in danger any longer if my plan succeeds. Maybe this is more of Nyx’s mind games, and she forced this plan into my thoughts. If that’s the case, then I walked right into her trap. Either way, I’m fading into oblivion and I’m okay with it.
I succumb to the darkness. I gladly let it take and take from me, thoughts of Kairos, Olivia, and Hekate slipping, tucking memories of them away in a hidden corner of my mind until it’s safe enough to think of them again. I let all my love for them drown as I drown with it, because I have to. This is only temporary. It’s necessary. I become the darkness. The numbness wraps tight around me, until my last breath escapes. One day this will all be worth it because I’ll be free.
Finally.
Fucking.
Free.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
I Am The Storm
KAIROS
