Page 59 of To Dwell in Shadows
Sam wiped the sweat from his forehead and braced for the next assault. He noticed demons beginning to avoid him now, perhaps realizing he wasn’t such an easy target. Crimson bursts of light and waves of heat, typical of defensive magick, soared past him. He scanned the stadium, searching for contenders who rose above the rest, until his gaze landed on Drath. The demon’s tattered robes flapped as his spidery arms jabbed at those around him.
Sam smiled.
Vengeance.
He charged toward the demon, plowing through lesser adversaries without slowing. With a burst of ferocity, he slammed into Drath, tackling him to the ground. In one swift motion, Sam wrenched all of the demon’s limbs together and pinned him beneath his weight.
“You dared to torment my mate?” Sam seethed.
Drath struggled uselessly. “What of it?” he spat.
Sam tightened his grip, pulling the demon’s limbs until he gasped in pain. “Why would you disrespect her in such a way?”
Drath's eyes gleamed like glowing pinpricks deep within his face. They locked with Sam’s, and he said, “She… she was alluring. Irresistible.”
Red flashed across Sam’s vision. He drove his knee into Drath's stomach. “That was the wrong thing to say.”
“Was it?” Drath coughed, grinning. “How telling. What do you have to fear from others being tempted by her charms?”
“She is under my protection.”
Drath’s painted lips curved into a smile. “Do you fear she would leave you for another? Perhaps… one morehuman?”
Sam’s fury surged.. Losing Selene that first time, when Zaybris took her, had left him terrified of it happening again. The months they’d spent apart were filled with tortured days and sleepless nights. Feeling as though he had failed her. Wanting to simultaneously destroy everything in his path and crawl into a hole to die.
It was like tiny thorns were piercing his mind as he relived those memories. Sharp, biting, and precise.
He realized he was being baited.
“Get out of my head,” Sam snarled.
Drath’s voice turned silky. “Perhaps I could take Selene as my human bride. She must grow weary of your long absences… serving the kingdom?—”
Sam punched Drath in the face, breaking his nose. Black, sticky blood instantly coated his hand. The demon’s chuckle came out as a wheeze. “I may not have your physical strength, but I could easily drive you to madness.”
“I’m afraid not.”
“Then kill me,” Drath hissed. “You could do it. Deliver a lethal blow I could not survive. You’ve done it so many times, haven’t you? To ones more innocent than I… ”
Unbidden, the faces of the Aurelians Sam had killed flooded his mind. First in a blur, then one by one, vivid and slow. Each face burned with fear, twisted in pain. Their eyes haunted him, staring through time, accusing and unrelenting. Again and again, they came—until Sam gasped, his breath stolen by the weight of his guilt.
“Stop… ” Sam protested weakly.
“Never,” Drath hissed.
Sam knew he was feeding Drath with his torment, but it was difficult to break free of his influence. His hold on the demon’s limbs faltered, just enough for Drath to slip one spidery arm free.
With a sickening ease, Drath reached up and tapped Sam’s forehead. Instantly, the guilt and anguish surged—tripling in weight.
Sam rolled off him, hitting the ground hard. Drath followed, his limbs slithering over Sam’s body to intensify his cruel power, tapping him in a rhythm that seemed almost gleeful. Sam tried to buck him off but failed.
Then the demon leaned in close, breath hot and rancid, to whisper, “I told you I could evoke madness.”
Sam tried to turn his face away when, suddenly, someoneappeared behind Drath. Before he could blink, a hatchet sank into the demon’s skull with athunk.
Drath’s head snapped back as the attacker wrenched the handle with brutal force. The demon let out a shriek. Instantly, the images invading Sam’s mind vanished.
Gripping the embedded hatchet, the mysterious figure drove Drath facedown to the ground, where he stayed, writhing in pain.
