Page 8 of Darkness Colliding
Chapter Five
Carcass Creatures
Cameron
A Carcass Creature. Yeah, that’s what I wanted to hear.
Is everything here just total shit?
I can only hope we get to Vi’s sister before she actually enters the Core. I only ever hope I have to enter the Core when I’m dead and gone.
I mean, sure I want to go to … a better place. Really anything has to be better than this, right? But I hope my soul rests somewhere nice. A vacation of sorts; a tropical paradise where it never rains and everyone gets free drinks, but, let’s face it, it’s not likely. I’m not the most honorable person on the planet or even in the Underworld.
I steal. I used to steal to help my grandmother with her expenses, but, as time went on, it just became a habit. I lie. I liea lot. I lie so much I can’t even look Vi in the eye lately. If I do, she’ll know. She’ll know what I haven’t been telling her.
And as much as I originally thought I wouldn’t care about what the Princess of Fallen thought of me, I do. I care so damn much it hurts.
The feeling in my chest tightens to an unbearable pain. It’s like the bond from my heart to hers is pulling at me. It distracts me.
Until the earth rips apart right under my feet. My palm wraps around her hip and Violence’s chest melds against mine. The warmth of her curves against my body seems to fuel the fire of my power. My palm rises as a beast with more bones than flesh leaps from the hole that’s sinking just a few feet from us.
Violence’s power shakes to life. I feel it twirl in the air, pressing at nature itself, but the animal seems to sense her. Its paws are massive, clawing at the soft ground as it climbs up from the literal bowels of hell to stand before her. I stare up at it as it stares down at us, its head tilts this way and that. Its sightless. No eyes fill the sockets of the thing’s head. Worn spots along it’s body reveal the white bone and dry flesh beneath its leathery fur.
A humming noise like a cat reverberates through it and into the air. It’s a terrifyingly enormous sight to see.
And yet, it doesn’t attack. There’s no tension within its body. It seems almost confused by our presence.
Nollix takes a step closer, his palm outstretched. More and more of the Carcass Creatures start to crawl from the hole in the ground, leaving behind wide claw marks within the earth as they come up.
Tantra and the other three men stand watching as Nollix starts to push his palm along the twelve-foot beast’s tattered snout. It towers over us. Despite its height, it has the shape of a jaguar, but the majestic beauty has long faded away.
The smooth span of Violence’s stomach skims against my fingertips as she steps out of my embrace. She glances to Nollix before slowly raising her hand. The creature’s attention falls to her and my lips part as it lowers its head submissively, allowing her small fingers to stroke along the side of its face.
They’re … tame.
“You want to ride Allen or Allie?” Tantra tilts her head, looking around the massive treelike leg of the beast to see Violence.
Allen or Allie. They gave beasts from the Underworld human names. That’s … unsettling.
“Rark and Sev always like the bigger beasts.” She nods to the two Demons who are already climbing up on the two largest Carcass Creatures.
Rark and Sev, now those are Underworld beast names. Not that I’ll be mentioning that to my new Demon friends.
“Take Allie, she’s the gentlest. She’ll be sweet to you.” Tantra’s words hum into a low tone as she slowly walks toward Violence. There’s a sway in her hips that I hadn’t noticed before. My brows lower as her palm starts to push along the beast’s fur near Vi’s hand. Her fingers are too close and skim lightly against my friend’s wrist.
Is she … flirting with her?
Shit, she’s flirting with her.
Linkin takes a step closer, pushing himself between the two women until Tantra lowers her hand. It’s like he doesn’t like someone lingering that close to what’s ours.
I mean, his.
I roll my eyes at my stupid thoughts.
“I’ll ride with Vi on whichever one is Allie.”
“Obviously this one is Allie. Can you not tell a female from a male, my love?” Tantra tips her head up in a daring way to Link. They’re standing close and she has to look straight up to meet his hard gaze. “And Allie never allows a new person to guide her. I’ll take Violence on Allie. She likes me.”
