Page 55 of Wicked Thirst
The door slammed shut between us and I heard the distinct click of a lock. I reached for the knob and gave it a twist. Nothing happened. I pulled at the door. It didn’t budge. I knocked on the door. The room went dark, and I was left in total blackness. I spun around, listening to the blood rush in my ears.
“Umm, hello? You know, maybe I don’t think this is a good idea.”
A low growl rumbled from within the walls. I spun again. I am not alone. “Marius, I don’t want to do this. Okay? I-I don’t think this is meant to be.”
But the door didn’t open, and I knew he was standing outside the window watching. I felt hot breath on the back of my neck. Goosebumps rose over my skin. I whirled around and I was met with two glowing amber eyes. They looked like a wild animal’s eyes reflecting in the night. I tried to move but I froze, my fear holding me hostage. I opened my mouth to scream. and a large hand wrapped around my face and covered my jaw. The fingers wrapped around the back of my head and pulled at my hair.
It lifted me off the ground. I swung my dangling feet through the air, desperate and confused. Suddenly, it slammed me down. My skull cracked back against the floor and black dots swarmed my vision. I tried to clear my mind, but it was slow coming. Warmth spread across the back of my head and flowed over my neck and shoulders. The smell of my own blood hit my nose, and I found the strength to struggle against the thing pinning me down. I swung my arms out and kicked my legs again, but again I connected with nothing. The hand over my mouth was like a solid vise, but its body was formless. It was like kicking at air.
Black and gray smoke filled the room in a spiraling funnel. It twisted and moved like a snake coiling in all different directions. The lights above flashed back on, blinking at me, then they turned to flicker like a strobe light. Panic and fear rushed through my body. I didn’t want this. Whateverthiswas, my whole body screamed that it was wrong. The smoke hovered over my face, and for a moment a face appeared in it. It opened its mouth and long shark-like fangs descended. Drool stuck to both the upper and lower teeth, and a whimper, muffled by the thing’s hand over my mouth, escaped my lips.
It snapped forward and the mouth of the smoke covered my face completely. The hand moved away, and I sucked in a sharp breath. Blackness swarmed my vision, and I felt it shove its way down my throat and into my body. I choked on the sulfuric taste and my lungs seized. My back bowed as pain exploded through my limbs. Every cell in my body exploded, and it felt like they were reforming anew. Fire and ice raged in a war inside me. Sweat and shivers racked me from the inside out. Moments turned to days that felt like years and went back to seconds again. I was lost, gone in this cloud of gray and black smoke. I wanted to scream for help, but I knew there would be no answer.
Slowly, ever so slowly, my will to fight, to survive, slipped away. My body stilled and I lay there letting this happen to me. It was a violation of the deepest kind. My soul, my life, my memories all fell to the back of my mind where they were locked away until they were nothing but lost in the dark, smoky fog. I was nothing, my cells burned to nothing. My life was nothing.
It slowly withdrew with a growl, and I didn’t move. The smoke left my body a shell of itself, and the pain of fire and ice remained in my veins. I dared not move, yet my breaths began once more, and I felt the cool, damp air run down my throat. Slime covered my face and limbs. Sulfur clung to my hair and arms. Still, I had to remain so still in the hopes that if I didn’t move, I wouldn’t feel anymore.
The door clicked open, and the hiss of fresh air filled the room. Still, I couldn’t move. Marius knelt beside me and pinched my chin, forcing my eyes toward him. “Who are you?”
I thought. I scanned my memories for a hint of who or what I might be. There was nothing. My mind only showed me hazy images that were not clear. My brow furrowed, and I swallowed, searching for the words. It felt like razor blades in my throat, and I tried to swallow again.
He pinched my chin harder. “Who. Are. You?”
But there was nothing left of what I used to be. There was only this, only right now. I cleared my throat. “I am no one.”
He shoved my head back, releasing my chin. “Welcome to the new Night Spawn.”
He didn’t meet my eye, he just rose to his feet and started for the door while calling over his shoulder, “We’ll see if you’re worth anything to me. Now get up.”
Get up? I didn’t know if I could. The pain remained so acute it hurt to breathe. Who was I? What was I? Deep down, I knew that whatever I’d been before no longer existed, and I truly was no one.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
PIPER
We ran through the portal and ended up in the courtyard of Evermore Academy. I hunched over and sucked in deep, heaving breaths as we stood next to the fountain. The silence of the courtyard was so different than the chaos of being in that field only moments ago. In England the sun was just rising, but back in New York it was already midday. Though it was winter, it was a perfectly clear day with the sun shining down on us. Still, it was chilly, and my breath fogged as my chest heaved with nerves.
“Did that just happen?” I spun around and looked at the others. “I mean, did we really just fight off . . . demons?”
“I don’t think it’s something we should mention or be proud of.” Beckett glanced toward the sky, looking more paranoid by the second. The bottom half of his shirt was ripped, and I could see deep scratches over his torso. Demon slime clung to his dark jeans, making them darker and shiny in some spots.
My eyes automatically darted upwards to follow his gaze. “I wasn’t feeling either of those things. I’m just kind of shocked. Never in a million years did I think demons existed.”
“I mean, I knew everything existed, but If I’m being honest, I am shocked too.” Astrid hunched over and rubbed at her leg where the demon had wrapped its tentacles around her and flung her around. “And sore.”
“None of you are built for that kind of battle, especially not with hell demons.” Kylian let his gaze roam over us as he shook his head. He ran his hand over his hair, and when he pulled his hand away, slime coated his fingers. He flicked it down toward the ground, leaving a wet wad right next to the fountain. “We’re not even supposed to know they exist, let alone fight them. The Fallen won’t be pleased.”
“Maybe they won’t know it was us?” I said while trying to keep as calm as possible. But as the question left my mouth, even I found it hard to believe that they wouldn’t know it was us. These were actual fallen angels. They’d been here for thousands of years. How could they not know . . . everything?
Logan scoffed as he rubbed at the back of his head. Dried blood had gathered where he’d hit it against the tree. “Not a chance.”
“So, how much trouble are we in, do you think?” As if on cue, shadows of giant wings blocked out the sun and ran across the courtyard. I tipped my head back only to see them circling and swooping over us like crows circling a dead carcass. “It can’t be. We just left there.”
Kylian gave a humorless chuckle and pointed at me with the tip of his sword. “We got here that fast . . . You don’t think they can? They’re the Fallen. The world is their oyster.”
Logan gave a low, slow whistle. “We are so screwed.”
Astrid held her palm up and a paper with scrolling writing appeared there. She wrapped her fingers around it, and it burst into flames. She let the ashes fall to the ground without saying a word.
