Page 167 of Eldritch
Zevander paced, muttering to himself, and spun around, his dagger outstretched. “Where are you? I can hear you whispering, you wretched cunt!”
Heart pounding in my throat, I inched deeper into the room. “Zevander, is everything okay?”
Still, he didn’t answer, but continued searching the room for whatever invisible thing seemed to be taunting him.
Outside the window, a guttural snarl uncoiled in Raivox’s throat and a white mist blasted against the window as he let out a grunt.
“Easy, Raivox,” I whispered, raising my hand to settle him.
The deep croaking and snarling didn’t cease as he visually stalked Zevander, perhaps sensing something I couldn’t.
I needed to break Zevander of whatever spell he was under, or he’d end up like one of those silver statues Raivox had crafted out of the spiders.
“Zevander!” I shouted, wincing at the rough tone of my voice, and at last, he spun around.
His pupils widened like inkblots on parchment, swallowing his irises.
Raivox’s snarling heightened to a warning growl, the scrape of claws against stone like shifting armor and grinding on my rattled nerves.
I let my gaze shift to the Corvugon only long enough to shake my head.Please, I silently mouthed, in hopes he’d understand. Raivox hissed and struck his beak against the window, taunting Zevander away from me.
Eyes like a void, Zevander ignored the threat at his back and stalked toward me.
The knife in his hand only stoked my fear, and I slowly back myself away. “Zevander, please. Raivox is watching your every step.” My attention flickered between the two, and I caught a lash of that silver flame strike the air through the window pane.
“I did not willingly give you my seed.” Zevander bared his teeth like a rabid animal. “You took from me. You took everything from me!” He charged toward me, and his palm caught my throat at the same time the wall crashed into my spine.
I winced as the pain spiraled up into my sinuses.
An ear-splitting roar shattered the window across the room, and still, Zevander didn’t so much as flinch at the clamor. Not even when a sharp breeze snuffed the hearth’s fire, nor when Raivox swiped his massive claw into the room, still too far away to reach the two of us. Pressure at my throat tightened, and through an explosion of stars, I watched stones bust away from the wall, as Raivox fought to get inside.
The black veins across Zevander’s face had darkened, and the tendrils had crawled into the corner of his eye, devouring some of the sclera there. He released my throat, quickly replacing his hand with the blade.
A flicker of silver lashed through the window, not long enough to reach Zevander, but I knew better. I knew that flame would strike true, if the Corvugon intended.
“Raivox, no!” I managed to scream through a hacking cough. “No!”
As if he could sense my urgency, the Corvugon let out a hiss and settled onto whatever perch he’d found outside the window. Watching. Waiting.
Zevander lifted the blade, tipping my chin up, and again, I could hear the low rumble of Raivox growling through the walls.
Tears welled in my eyes as I stared back at a face that I didn’t recognize.
Grief and rage battled in a tightly woven mask that hid the man I knew. Whatever Zevander was staring at, it wasn’t me. No, he looked beyond me, to whatever demons clawed at his thoughts.
“Zevander,” I whispered, and a tear trickled down my cheek. “My protector.”
His pupils shrank and swelled, his muscles trembling with a wild rage as he held me pinned to the wall.
“I’m Maevyth. Not the one who hurt you.” I dared to raise a trembling hand, pressing my palm to his cheek.
A second of clarity flickered in his eyes, and he winced, his hand faltering. The edge of the blade scraped over my skin with the movement, and I sucked in a breath, stilling myself. I swallowed back the emotions rising to my throat. “You’re not there. You’re safe. With me. Come back to me.”
His eyes held a shine, and he clenched his teeth. “You’re lying. You’re aliar.This is another one of your tricks.”
“I’m not a liar. I’m the one who loves you.” Had I not been treading a fine thread of death, it might’ve surprised me how easily those words rolled off my tongue. Hand still shaking, I stroked a thumb across his cheek. “I love you. Come back to me.”
His pupils shrank again, slowly unveiling those familiar eyes. He stared a moment longer, then breached whatever surface had held him under, sucking in a sharp breath.
