Page 136 of A Drop of Anguish
Thompson doesn’t second-guess my decision; he just rushes past me and pulls Janet with him. “Candice?” Janet says.. Lola lands on her shoulder.
Thompson whispers something to them both, and then they begin scaling the stone wall.
The demon bares his teeth in our direction. An inhuman rumble rips from his chest, slow and menacing. He stalks forward, his piercing focus cast up to my friends.
I shift to the left.
The demon’s eyes dart to me and narrow. I’m a few feet up on the stone boulders, so I have to look down to figure out where to head. It’s not as simple as stepping away. I could fall if I’m not careful.
I can’t spare a long enough glance to watch their climb, but I can see Lola’s purple wings fluttering up and up from the corner of my eyes.
“Jarron?” The demon hasn’t charged yet, so I take that as a good sign. I at least need to stall long enough for my friends to escape. After that—after that, I’ll live or die and be content with it.
The demon’s taloned fingers flex, and he crouches. Usually, there is an endless eternity in those depths, but now it’s barren. He’s not him. He’s not even the demon who calls me his bright one.
He is something else entirely.
The demon’s gaze darts up to my friends, only a few feet above me, and releases a shrieking roar. Janet whimpers.
I press my hand over my mouth and try to hold back one of my own, then I act.
Quickly, I find a smaller stone below me, and I jump without thought, barely landing on my hands and feet.
The monster roars. I stumble awkwardly to my feet, hop to another stone, and then onto flat ground and sprint for my life. I nearly make it to the cavern wall when dark wings flash in front of me.
I jerk to a stop. My eyes are pressed closed, and I can’t bring myself to open them.
I feel the hot breath on my neck. A rumbling clicking sound sends a jolt of fear through me.
This is Jarron, I remind myself. The Jarron who cares about me. The Jarron who maybe even loves me. My Jarron, who would never hurt me.
I’ve faced this monster hidden inside of him several times now. Once, he hurt my sister. Another, he saved my life.
I know which one I’m facing right now, but even so, that fear is not helpful. This time, I know deep inside this being cares about me.
A rumble comes from his throat, closer to that purr I’ve heard from him a few times but more menacing. I’m not sure what to make of that sound.
I open my eyes to find his face inches from mine, slowly examining my face and body. My heart throbs.
My breathing is labored, but I manage to force air in and out of my lungs. “Jarron?” I whisper.
He responds with more of that clicking growl. His nose wrinkles. His gaze darts over his shoulder to where Thompson, Janet, and Lola are precariously hanging just a dozen feet below their escape tunnel.
Jarron growls again. This time, there is a stark difference between this one and the last. I wave my fingers, and his attention whips back to me. He snaps his jaw, sharp fangs inches from my face.
I whimper and take a slow step back.
Forget them,I secretly beg him.Let them get out. Let them get out, and then…
—what then? Even if this demon doesn’t kill me on a whim, how do we get out of here? I need his mind back to normal.
As of right now, my sister is trapped in jinn form. Mr. Vandozer is here somewhere with another ten supernaturals, eager to force me into the games.
Jarron’s long, taloned finger slowly lifts toward me. Running would be bad, but is this worse? I don’t know.
He rumbles again, then he stalks forward, each step thudding on the stone ground. His head lowers, his knees bent. He’s ready to chase if I flee.
My breaths become even more labored until my vision is peppered with black. This is bad. I need to calm down or I’ll end up passing out.
