I constantly thought about what could happen. What-ifs were my third name. Frequently, I was afraid something would happen to a member of my family, and my brain played various scenarios while my body was locked in fear.
But now it was different because I had Dagon by my side. I didn’t mean that everything was magically gone. The darkness inside me was fused with my being. There was no getting out of it. There was no salvation from the ghosts of the past and the ghosts of the terrifying future my thoughts loved to show me. There was more, of course, but my point was that now we were together in the darkness.
Seeing how Dagon changed drastically this morning broke my heart. I wanted him to know he wasn't alone.
“If we’re going to worry about what is coming, let’s do it together,” I said.
“I’m not scared of what may wait for us there.”
He was telling the truth, but there was something he was holding back. He pecked my lips, and I wanted more, but we had to continue toward the doomed city.
Throughout the road, we held hands and silently supported each other. I didn’t know what to expect when we got there, but I felt anxious beyond my usual anxiety. I was afraid we were headed straight into the wolf’s mouth. All I could do was hold on to Dagon and pray everything would be alright.
Please, let us survive this day.
Chapter twenty-four
Dagon
My senses buzzed with awareness and something I couldn’t wrap my mind around. We arrived at the abandoned town, and it looked like something out of an apocalyptic fantasy movie.
I stopped the car and looked around. It was disturbingly quiet and unnerving.
Some buildings were intact, others were in ruins, and there was so much dirt on the streets. I was wary, straining my eyes, trying to see any movement, but time had frozen in this place. There was something utterly wrong here. I didn’t know why this town was abandoned or why it was in this state, but I could feel something terrible had happened here years ago. It wasn’t a place either of us was supposed to be. I knew this in my bones.
Everything was gray, and even though the sun hadn’t set yet, it didn’t brighten the atmosphere around us. It was like life had forsaken this place. I peered at Di, who was taking in everything around us. He was as disturbed as I was. It wasn't often for me to be troubled by something, but this place was different.
Di looked at me, and I could feel his rising panic. I squeezed his hand and said, “Let’s get out of the car and see if you can sense the object. If you don't sense anything, we leave immediately.” I kissed his hand quickly but before we exited the car, I added, “If something happens, no matter what, you leave it to me and don’t interfere under any circumstances.”
He was about to argue, but I exited the car and jogged to his side, opening his door. When he stepped out, he shivered. Even the air was different here. It was thicker, shimmering with the kind of pressure you would feel high in the mountains. The heaviness loomed over us like a dark cloud, hell-bent on suffocating us.
Everything about this place screamed at my senses to leave. Whatever happened here long ago, the energy lingered. It was soaked into the dilapidated buildings, the soil, hell, even the withered grass.
We looked around, and as I grabbed Di’s hand and was about to tell him to get out of here, I sensed them. My powers were alerting me to their presence. Turning slowly, I saw five demons standing in the middle of the street, not too far away. Di’s sharp inhale and the fear I sensed coming from him only fueled the already blazing fires of my anger.
No one will hurt him.
No one.
“Dagon,” he whispered.
I focused on the demons, afraid to take my eyes off them. They weren’t Soulborns, no. They were Fireborns.
Five of them? Yeah, I didn’t expect that. Not that I was worried. Fireborns and Soulborns working together?Thatwas what surprised me. Motherfuckers.
Turning slightly toward Di, not leaving the fuckers out of my sight, I told him, “No matter what happens, stay behind me.”
One of them stepped forward. He looked Di over like he was assessing produce at a market. "We only want the one of you two who can activate the object. We will leave the other one alone, and no one will get hurt." He smirked. "Can't promise that if you fight us. Not that you'd last long."
“Dagon, I think it’s for the best if…” I growled, cutting him off.
"No."
No way in hell I’d let them have him, only through my dead body and not even then.
I let go of Di's hand and stepped in front of him. I was only one step away, but it felt like miles. The distance of every promise I'd ever made to myself. The distance of every night I'd spent convincing my body to stay still when it wanted to act.
Behind me, Di made a small sound. A question or a protest, I couldn't tell.
