Page 47 of Origins
I was going to die.
‘No,’my mind screamed at me to move—to fight. I had to dosomething. If I died, then it might attack the others next. They’d never be able to defend themselves against something they couldn’t see.
A feeling stirred within me—I couldn’t let this thing win—and with a strength that I didn’t know I possessed, I finally got to my feet despite the overwhelming pressure in the room. “What do you want?” There had to be something I could do—anything.
The air moved like a current against me—a feeling like silk against skin. And even though I was trying to be brave, I couldn’t stop my whimpering as the sensation brushed down the length of my body in the dark. It reached my feet before it changed—a hand, the telltale sensation of skin, encircled my ankle—gripping me tightly in a bruising hold.
I felt lightheaded with fear, and the hold trailed up my calf, inch-by-inch I screamed and kicked, moving backwards as I tried to get away.
A current changed in the air, but that was the least of my concerns. There were other sounds now, but it was hard to hear anything outside of my panicked crying. A second later, my legs smacked against the edge of the tub, causing me to lose my balance, and I tumbled backwards into the now-glacial water.
The pressure around my leg vanished. And an otherworldly growl echoed through the room. “Tasty.Mine!”
“No,” I huddled in the water—the freezing temperature a better option than the alternative.
The furious roar of the creature ended in a scream. Half-a-second later, I knew why. There was another presence here. A quick light that flashed through the darkness, cutting through the evil like a knife. Driving it away.
An ear-splitting whistle had preceded the light, which left as quickly as it had come. But it had done something—changed the air. Had affected the evil in such a way that it fled in terror.
But what happened, I didn’t know.
With the evil’s retreat, the suffocating chill and darkness vanished. The dim light of the evening flooded the room, overwhelming my deprived senses. I was temporarily blinded as my eyes struggled to adjust.
“Bianca,” multiple male voices called my name. And as the spots faded from my eyes, Julian and Titus had arrived at my side as they hovered over the tub. Someone’s warm hands touched my arms. But I hardly felt it, or cared—my focus was currently torn between Damen and Miles.
Damen wasn’t looking at me at all.
He stood some feet away, wearing a murderous expression. I was grateful it wasn’t directed toward me, but was focused instead on some sort of bird…thing. He reached out toward it, and as it landed on his arm I realized it, too, was a spirit.
I had assumed, by some of the things I had seen, that animals had souls. But it was very rare to see the ghost of one. But—I didn’t know that Damen could see spirits, and the fact that he was conversing with the animal was very odd.
Miles, on the other hand, leaned heavily against the doorway. He was out of breath— and looked pale and sweaty. He watched Damen with a somber look of his own.
What in the world is going on?
Within the span of a blink, the animal vanished. And all that remained was Damen and Miles—exchanging a look between them.
“Wha—” I wanted to ask what had happened, but my voice broke. The screaming had torn my throat raw.
“Wait a moment,” Julian chided. He was kneeling next to me, watching my face. Titus towered behind him, arms crossed and stern. I probably should have been embarrassed at being wrapped in only a towel, but my mind still reeled over previous events.
Besides, there was nothing sexy about the current situation at all. As the shock receded, I felt like a human icicle. Every bruise and ache was back with a vengeance. Then there was my ankle…
It felt raw—bleeding. But the lack of blood in the water indicated that wasn’t the case.
…and the water.
I couldn’t find the door, or a wall, or even the sink. But the bathtub and water had remained. Did it have something to do with Damen’s weird bath salts? I was certain if I hadn’t fallen into the tub then I’d have been in worse shape. For some reason,ithad been unable to touch me in the water.
“She might be in shock. We need to get her downstairs.” Julian’s voice snapped me out of my stupor.
“No…” I tried to speak again, because I had only been thinking to myself. But my denial was lost in the shivers that overtook my body. I hadn’t even realized I was shaking…
I wanted to tell them everything was alright now. I could take care of myself. But I was exhausted and couldn’t find the energy to move.
Julian didn’t respond, but squeezed my arms again before standing. “Titus, bring her,” he said before rushing from the room. Titus took Julian’s place; and for the first time, his large frame reassured rather than frightened me. I knew that we would be around each other if we were supposed to be friends, but I had expected it to take longer to get used to him.
Perhaps I was shell shocked from the trauma, or maybe it was just hard to be scared of a fan ofkawaii.
