Page 29 of Shadow & Stars
Some minutes later, as we cut across a flat section of the desert, the digital heavens opened. Rain fell in heavy sheets, quickly flooding the flat land up to my ankles.
Shit.
Water streamed down the dune before us, a vicious wind tearing across the desert.
“Keep going!” Xavier called over the wailing wind.
Two figures burst out of the sand. Humanoid, covered in sandy-yellow lizard skin. Naked, dicks swinging in the gale. Their hands and feet were webbed, the tips spiky. Five eyes lined each forehead, no sign of any nose, mouths shaped like a rose.
They skied together down the sand, leaping through the air before they met the water. I jumped into action, taking a flying kick at the one closest to me and hit him square in the chest. He crashed into the water, flailing like a fish. On my left, I saw flashes of Xavier taking on the other, Darcy lingering on the sidelines.
The one I’d kicked was back on his feet, hissing like a cat. I rushed him, kicking him in the face. He went down silently, but sat up seconds later, ready for more.
Rage flared in my chest. Damn him. Why didn’t he just stay the fuck down?
“I’ll peel the skin from your body, human.” He spat blood at me. “I’ll?—”
Pissed off to the highest degree, I cut off his attempts at monologuing and punched him in his fourth eye, then grabbed him by the head. He tried fighting me off, but I snapped his neck.
Bingo. Nice and dead.
I glanced over to see Xavier kill his assailant.
My dead demon sat back up again, covered in glitter this time. He frowned down at himself as his neck clicked back into place—albeit on the crooked side.
“Sparkles?” he said, then looked up at me. “How can I serve you, human master?”
Oh. My. God. What was happening?
“A new solider,” Margarite said, coming to my side. “He can aid you while I count the hours. I’m so happy for you, Shadow.”
The demon got to his feet. “Please tell me how I can serve you.”
I looked to my bestie and my lover, aghast not a good enough word to articulate my confusion.
“What did you do?” Darcy questioned.
“I…” I didn’t have an answer.
Butterfly brushed past me, going to inspect the glittering demon. “Death by Roman makes you a servant, it seems.”
Huh? “But the shadowy demon didn’t get up…”
“Maybe it works differently if you kill directly verses a consequence of wishing.”
My headache threatened to return. This was too much to process.
The pixels in the sky became a blinding white. I covered my eyes, thunder following like a bomb. It shook the ground, the water thrashing around my ankles.
“Xavier!” I cried, the light far too bright for me to uncover my peepers.
A hand locked around my arm. “I’m here.”
“What’s going on?”
“We’re not staying to find out. Come on.” He tugged me gently.
“Can you see?”
