Chapter 35 #2
A fire ignited in Biyu’s hand like second nature. It lit the space around them in hues of violet and flickering scarlet. They waited with bated breath.
Crack.
A shiver of doom slithered up her spine and the fire grew brighter, illuminating further down the road.
“Stay behind me,” Nikator said, voice grim.
She took a few steps behind him and waited. For a stalled moment, nothing happened. And then she saw it.
The jiangshi was more grotesque that any of the illustrations she had seen in the library books.
Its skin was blue, with bulging purple veins around its neck and extremities.
Its eyes were a sharp vermillion. Patches of hair clung to its mostly bald, moldering head, and the torn clothes it wore were completely drenched in the blood of its victims. Skin and sections of flesh hung off its body, revealing bone and tendons.
Its mouth hung open, revealing rows of razored teeth, and a low growl emanated from its throat.
Horror filled every pore in her body and she found it hard to breathe.
Its gaze settled on them.
Nikator exhaled deeply. “It’s coming.”
The jiangshi launched itself at them with impossible speed, its robes fluttering behind it and its clawed hands outstretched. Biyu screamed, stumbling back, and her fire growing even higher and hotter reflexively.
Nikator swung his sword right as the jiangshi met him with a swipe.
The creature ducked and cleaved at his chest, but Nikator parried and kicked the creature’s chest and sent it flying backward.
They both swung at each other—Nikator with his blade and his lightning speed, and the creature with its fangs and claws.
Biyu stood to the side, watching with wide eyes. Blood roared in her ears and each breath came shallower than the next. Her legs were leaden and she staggered backward as the fight intensified.
The creature snapped, growled, and snarled as it lunged at Nikator. In response, he dodged, sidestepped, and slammed his blade against the monster, but the attacks barely fazed it, not even when Nikator drew blackish-purple blood.
The jiangshi sliced its jagged, sharp claws across Nikator’s chest, and scarlet bloomed in response. Nikator jumped back, grimacing, and slashed the monster’s throat. It lurched away before his blade could tear through it.
Biyu stifled a scream as Nikator staggered on his feet, his breaths coming out labored.
“Nikator!” she started.
“Princess, run!”
She remained immobilized on the spot, fear raking sharp talons down her spine. Fleeing was the last thing on her mind, not when Nikator was fighting for his life against the monster.
“Biyu!” he shouted, raising his sword as the creature continued to pummel him with strikes. A split second later, he lost his footing and the monster latched onto his shoulder, digging its teeth into his flesh. A roar tore from Nikator and he stabbed the being, trying to force it off him.
Panic like she had never felt before flared within her.
Biyu moved without thinking. Fire blasted from her hand and slammed straight into the jiangshi’s back. It finally released its hold on Nikator, letting him fall to his knees, blood gushing from the wound. The creature canted its head in her direction, scarlet dripping down from its grotesque mouth.
It screamed—a piercing sound that reverberated down to her bones.
Biyu barely had time to react as it shortened the distance between them and kicked her in the chest. She flew backward and crashed into a house.
The back of her head cracked against a wall and her vision blurred.
Every breath felt like a knife twisting in her lungs.
She blinked, trying to clear her vision.
She had to move, fast. The creature would be on her.
She pushed herself forward and fell on her hands and knees.
Black spots filled her vision. She raised her head in time to see Nikator slash at the jiangshi’s side, drawing its attention away from her.
But he was weakened from the bite. She could tell by the way he swayed on his feet, his bloodless face, and the blood that continued to gush from the gaping wound.
The jiangshi tackled him to the ground and smacked his sword away, where it clattered on the ground several feet away. Nikator continued to struggle as the creature bit onto his forearm.
Terror clawed at her gut. They would die here. They weren’t strong enough against it.
“Biyu, run!” The desperation in his voice broke her from her panic.
She quickly scanned the ground for her fallen blade. She rose up to her feet unsteadily and dove for it. When her fingers wrapped around the unfamiliar hilt, she rushed over to them.
A roar wrenched from deep within her soul as she plunged the dagger straight into the jiangshi’s heart while it tore through Nikator’s forearm with its jagged teeth.
The monster twisted its head in her direction, its red eyes glowing with loathing.
Warm vermillion blood coated its mouth and chin thickly.
Nikator jabbed a short blade into the jiangshi’s heart as well, twisting the blade and shoving the creature off him.
The monster fell, and Nikator carved its dead, black heart from its chest. He flung it far away, his breathing uneven and heavy.
Then, he collapsed on the ground, a shudder rippling over his body.
“Nikator!” Biyu dropped to her knees beside him. Her hands trembled as she scanned him for injuries. He had a horrible bite wound on his shoulder and forearm, and a giant gash on his chest, too.
A pained moan escaped from him and he continued to tremble. He released a string of curses—both foreign and in the Huo tongue.
She pulled him onto her lap, tears streaming down her face. There was so much blood. It coated her hands and left giant stains on her skirt.
“Nikator,” she cried, pushing back his hair with trembling fingers. “What do I do?”
“Medical supplies,” he murmured, and then grunted in pain once more. A shiver raced down him and he hissed between his teeth, “Did we kill it?”
The jiangshi remained unmoving. “I think so?”
“Its body should burn in the sunlight. I cut out its heart, so it should be dead.”
“How should I treat your wounds?”
“Are you injured?” A glaze was beginning to set over his sapphire eyes as he fought for consciousness. Even then, he stared at her intently. A trembling hand slid over her face and body, clinically, as though searching for any wounds.
“I’m fine,” she said with a dismissive head shake. “But what do I do with you? Where are the medical supplies? The horse ran away. Should I—”
“S’long as you’re s-safe,” he murmured, voice slurring. “All that … m-matters.”
“Nikator!” Biyu held onto him tightly. Panic and terror flared within her like a wildfire. “You’re not dying here.”
His eyelids fluttered. “Dying … in your arms—doesn’t—doesn’t seem like a b-bad way to go.”
“Nikator, stop—”
“I love you.”
Her heart stuttered to a stop and she sucked in a breath sharply. Tears welled in her eyes and she couldn’t breathe for a moment. “You’re just saying that because you think—you think this is the end. It’s not. Pull yourself together, Nik. Please.”
“I will always—always love you.” His eyes flew open and he met her gaze levelly. “Always.”
“Nik—”
And then his eyes shut and he lost consciousness.