Page 32 of Demon: Monsterverse
“So let us kill her, Tenebrous—”
“She ismineto kill,” I hissed. The idea of another having their claws on my human was unacceptable.
Elbri sneered. “If you don’t kill her, I will.”
Rage burned through my runes, and then I was in her face with my claws gripping her as I pinned her against the wall.
“She is mine.” Elbri did not move or speak. Desperation forced my next words free. “Is there any way for her to live?”
She clicked her teeth at me.
I took that as my answer and sank my claws into her throat. She struggled until I buried them deep.
“Leave here and do not return.”
She shivered and lowered her gaze from mine. Detracting my talons from her throat, she dropped to the ground. Onyx blood dripped from my claw tips as she slunk away.
She would not return. Elbri was nothing if not a coward.
Her words played in my head. If she would not survive in my atmosphere, how long did she have left? My chest felt like something had smashed into it repeatedly. There had to be a way to keep her with me. I couldn’t lose her.
I quieted, and there was no change to her breathing. There had to be a creature nearby. Elbri would be long gone now, but another monster may have answers.
Without a moment to lose, I rushed from my cave to search for any creature I could encounter. I did not care which type. I raced up the incline, exiting my cave, and toward the trees. Many had to travel past my territory, and this marked the border outside of my area. A squat wart creature waddled near a stream, and I crept close.
It froze, and fear seared my nostrils.
“Do not run.”
Yet, it ran. My sight blurred, and the next moment, I sank my teeth deep into the monster’s throat.
I growled and dropped it.
I must break this cycle. Finding someone to answer my questions became priority but everything ran from me.
There was a place in the eastern land where a community of monsters sold humans. They had to have a way to get the humans to survive. I’d travel that direction. My cave remained well hidden down the incline, and all monsters knew not to enter my territory. My human would be safe until I returned.
Phrases ... words ... sensations arose that I had never experienced. It had been so long since I had been near others. Even the female demoness. Centuries passed before I encountered her, and it was usually in passing since she preferred to roam.
Humans do not survive in this atmosphere for long, but mine had. There had to be a reason.
If finding answers failed, I would move us to the human side of the Rift before she was taken from me.
It may be the only way I could save my human.
EIGHTEEN
BRIDGET
Mine to kill.
I sucked in a breath, sitting up as the words rounded my mind. I would die? The blankets bunched under my fingers as I scrambled to sit up. I blinked groggily. I’d laid still after the conversation I heard, waiting until there was no sound.
My head spun, and I waited a beat, gathering my bearings. I had to feel around to find my shoes and dress, trying to be as quick as possible. Damn him for being the only source of light. Once clothed, I pressed my palms into the cave surface and felt my way down.
Where had he gone after talking about killing me? My throat clogged again and panic crept over me, making me stagnant, but I couldn’t afford to waste time. I needed to run while he wasn’t around ... even though I ached to run to him and beg for him not to kill me.
The musty scent of rock I’d gotten used to filled my nose. It got worse whenever I went the wrong way, toward the pool in the cave. That told me I’d taken the wrong turn earlier. I backtracked and headed the correct way.
