I stop in my tracks as his words reverberate through the space, and it clicks for me. Entity.Zeke’sEntity? I see a flash of red as I realize that this man or creature before me is the responsible party for the girl's death by the Deathweaver. He’s the reason Zeke has been doubting himself all those years. Hell, I almost lost Zeke because of this fucker.
My body starts to vibrate as my lips curl back into a snarl. A sly smile slowly appears across his face, and I desperately wish one of my powers were the ability to shoot lasers out of my eyes.
“Aww, did the mouse’s feelings get hurt?” he mocks, and I lunge at him, arms outstretched and aimed at his corded neck.
He easily side steps me and grabs my arms, spinning us and pinning me up against the wall, one hand trapping my hands above me, and the other wrapping around my throat. But I don’t wait for him to say to relax, I kick out, hitting him in the crotch, and he releases me as I expected.
I don’t know how in the hell my shadowy figure can penetrate his form, but I figure if he can affect me, then I’m able to do the same to him in this plane.
“So you do have some claws on you,” Entity grunts out as he uncurls and regards me.
“Who said I didn’t?” I question him, keeping my hands loose by my sides and remembering what Astaroth taught me. His dark chuckle brings chills to my arms and runs down my spine.
“Oh, I would say your enemies.” He smiles. “You have quite a bit. Did you know that?” he taunts me.
“How about you tell me something I don’t know. Like why I’m here, or what this place is,” a scathing tone falls out of me.
“Fair enough, little mouse,” he states as he circles me again, looking for any weakness as I do the same.
“Welcome to Tzal.” He spreads his arms wide, indicating nothing but the shadows dancing around us.
I make the mistake and take my eyes off of him for a split second, and suddenly I feel my feet leave the floor and the air explode from my lungs as my back slams into a wall. I have no time to cough as my windpipe is cut off from its air supply. My hands claw furiously at the meaty palm and arm that’s suspending me up against the solid wall.
Those dark eyes hold no feelings, no remorse, not even curiosity, as black dots start popping up in my vision. I kick out, trying to hit anything, but he side-steps and pushes his hip against my side, pulling his body out of the danger zone.
Is this the end of me? Is this the way I was supposed to die? I get sucked into a vision and die at the hands of a shadowman? Fuck, this life sucks.
My lungs burn as my body grows heavy, and my vision turns black when I see a flash of bright white. Suddenly, I’m dropped onto the floor and take in gulping breaths. Blinking rapidly, I wonder if I’ve already died because I can’t be seeing what’s playing out before me.
In a flurry of parries and blocks, Knots and Entity are sword-fighting at the speed of mock Jesus. It’s blatantly clear that Entity was playing with me earlier with how fast he’s moving now. I really was a fucking mouse, and he was the ultimate predator.
Time seems to slow down as Knots’ sword highlights Entity’s face enough that I catch a brand or mark on his forehead and a cocky wink he sends me before Knots decapitates him.Was that always there? Is that why the shadows clung to that area, and Icouldn’t see above his eyes? Or did he have control over that for our interaction?Those dark eyes still have their smirk resting in them for a brief second before his body disappears, and Knots replaces the view.
“Rez, are you okay?” he asks, scooping me up, not waiting for an answer.
Resting my head on his shoulder, I take in his warmth and thank the fates I have an angel in my corner.
Coming to this time, I find myself in the living room lying on Knots.
“Hey, there she is. You okay?” Chester asks, holding a very blue-looking Moni. The rest of the group isn’t much better, each in different degrees of worry and distress.
“Um, I think I’m okay,” I tell them truthfully. I honestly don’t know what the fuck happened. Hell, I don’t even remember falling asleep.
“You must have drifted off to sleep,” Knox says, feeling my confusion through our link. “Here.” He passes a blanket to me, which Knots wraps around me as I sit up and thank him. I’m shivering despite the leggings and sweater I’m wearing.
“What happened?” Moni asks. “You were sleeping soundly one minute, and the next you were gasping and turning blue,” she recalls for me as Reaper crawls out of Zeke’s lap and comes over to me.
Pulling him into me, I wrap the blanket around us and instantly melt into our little inferno cuddle bundle.
“I’m not sure. I would have thought I was in another Dreamscape, but this was different. I wasn’t solid like normal when I was looking for Lynx. I was in a shadow world, and I was there with—” I pause and look at Zeke to gauge his reaction. “Your Entity.”
As expected, he freezes up and stares at me.
“What?”
“He was in the shadows and taunting me. Saying I had lots of enemies, and I asked him to tell me who he was and something I didn’t already know. He told me I would know him as Entity, and I was at Tzal, but it doesn’t matter. Knots came to the rescue and killed him,” I tell everyone, smiling at how foolish this all is as I run my fingers through Reaper’s fiery mane.
“His shadow realm,” Knots explains further, “and he’s not dead.”
