Page 25 of Chaos Demons

Never before in my entire, very long life had I loved anyone. My family was distant, pursuing their own aspects. I respected them, but I didn’t love them. And the women I’d taken to my bed had been a pleasant distraction, a release.

But I’d never before felt anything like what I felt for Ana.

My heart constricted just thinking of her. It was almost physically painful to be away from her. I couldn’t think straight, constantly distracted by thoughts of this amazing woman. And… it was throwing my life into chaos.

I’d spent thousands of years getting my chaos under control. I’d worked hard to become a good man, someone who punished those who caused undue strife. Quelling the chaos in the world helped me control my own.

Between that and the release of my conflict through the underground fights, I’d been in control of myself for centuries.

But now it felt like everything I’d worked so hard to build was crumbling.

My chaos was reeling around me and I needed Ana. I felt at peace when I was with her. She had this strange dual effect on me, rousing my chaos with her intense aspect of sexuality, while at the same time, calming me.

That first time we’d been together, I’d lost control but she’d brought me back. No one, other than her, had ever been able to bring me back from my chaos. And the times we’d been together since, I’d found I didn’t need to hold back. I could let go of my control and ravish her, and my chaos wouldn’t emerge becauseshewas keeping it in check.

But I hadn’t been with her in so long that I was beginning to feel lost and wild, senseless and berserk.

So… when Anubis and I got stuck in traffic trying to cross the Queensboro Bridge, I couldn’t take it anymore. I got out of the car and just began stalking toward Queens with Anubis at my heels.

We didn’t even reach the end of the bridge when screams tore at the night somewhere ahead of us. People ran toward us, panicked and I could feel raw chaos, like a wave, heading our way. I looked at Anubis, and he nodded. He felt something too.

“There are dead up ahead,” he said over the uproar around us. “But I don’t sense any souls.”

We hurried against the flow of charging people until we saw them.

“Fuck me,” I hissed.

They swarmed over cars and people in a wave of bodies. Any person they captured was bitten and drained, their blood flowing out of them.

“Vampires?” I hissed.

“No, they’re mindless, not in control, seeking only to feed, more like zombies.”

“Great, zompires, that sounds like fun,” I said with a huff as my chaos rolled off the undead and strengthened me like nothing I’d felt since the Mongols had swarmed over the world. At least I’d be at the peak of my strife when I fought these nasty things.

“I don’t know how much help I’ll be,” Anubis said, concerned. “My sway is over souls. I have strength as a protector of tombs, to put right the desecrated dead, but… I’ve never facedthismany undead before.”

“Do what you can, I’ll do the rest,” I hissed, finally feeling like I had an outlet for my raging chaos.

My strength was enhanced to the point that I was able to pick up a car — holding it like a giant club — as the zompires drew near. I swatted a dozen of them off the bridge, then crushed another half-dozen with the make-shift weapon. Then I picked up another car and continued the fight.

But things got out of hand far too quickly. More and more zompires swarmed me. The first few were easy to keep away, one super-powered punch destroyed them, but as more came, it became increasingly difficult to even move as they pressed in around me.

I waved my arm killing five of them but even more took their place. They sunk their teeth into me, clawing and drinking. I hardly felt the pain, I was too amped up to notice, but the flowing blood did start to weaken me.

I destroyed dozens — perhaps hundreds — but it wasn’t enough. More came and the next wave seemed even more powerful than the last, nearly as powerful as I was!

Anubis broke through to me, looking pretty rough himself.

“We can’t stop them. We must flee!” he shouted, even as he tackled me, pushing me to the edge of the bridge. From there, the press of the horde pushed us over the side, and we fell into the East River.

As we swam to Roosevelt Island and I thought of my failure, my chaos rose even more. Crawling onto the shore, I couldn’t stop shaking my head.

“What the fuck?” I hissed, furious with myself. “What was that? I couldn’t stop them!” My chaos was near-to-overflowing and I could barely keep it in check.

Anubis sighed heavily. “Those things… they surged your chaos, made you stronger… but your chaos echoed back to them… made them stronger too. I could feel it. The strongeryougot, the strongertheygot, and there were far more of them than you. You’d never have won.” He shook his head slowly. “You can’t fight them, Ramsey, not until you get your chaos under control. You need to be able to use it without radiating it around you. As long as you stay as you are, you’ll only make those abominations stronger.”

“Fuck,” I hissed. He was right. “Fuck!” I slammed my fist down into the rocks, shattering them with my newfound strength. “I need Ana!” I said, feeling desperate.

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