Chapter 40 Samkiel #2
I rested my hand on Miska’s head, offering her the comfort and assurance she needed, but the soothing words I’d intended turned into a low growl of rage.
I’d never truly hated anyone, not even the monsters I’d slain to protect others.
Sure, there had been animosity, but hate or loathing?
No. It seemed that feeling was reserved for the two men who’d just walked out of the back room.
Their mouths were clean, but I could smell the blood on their lips. They had fed recently.
Dianna straightened with a predator’s grace, pushing Miska behind us.
Kaden and Isaiah crashed to a stop, their eyes bleeding to red.
Their lips curled back, fangs extending.
Low growls rumbled from their chests, and Dianna answered with a snarl.
They had made a mistake. They had taken a child from her, rousing all her protective instincts, and she was prepared to make them pay.
I was used to seeing fear in others when they faced me. I knew what it looked like, and I saw it now in their eyes when they looked at me. It was just a flicker and quickly masked by disgust and pure hatred.
“Take Miska somewhere safe,” I said to Dianna.
“No,” she growled.
I’d fight her more on this, but truth be told, I could not fight the three of them. So instead, I chose the battle where she was on my side. I flicked my fingers, and Miska yelped as my power wrapped around her and dragged her toward the door.
“Go. Hide until we find you,” I commanded, my tone not welcoming any argument. We all stood staring at each other, frozen in a weird limbo as Miska ran. The door slammed shut behind her, and at the ringing of the bell, Kaden and Isaiah charged. Isaiah flew at Dianna, and Kaden at me.
People screamed and fled as Kaden barreled into me. We crashed with me on the bottom, breaking one of the tables. My back ached. I was still healing after the encounter with Gathrriel, and Kaden was not an easy opponent, even at my best.
Kaden took advantage of our position and pinned me beneath him.
He pulled back his fist and punched me, leaving my jaw aching and my ears ringing.
He got three solid hits in before I was able to block him.
I caught his fist as it came at me and rose, headbutting him in the face, satisfied to hear the crunch of his nose.
He toppled off me, and I jumped to my feet.
He stood, not bothering to fix his nose. I didn’t have time to process that the blood coming from his nostrils was black. Behind me, I heard Dianna grunt in pain, and my hand flexed. Kaden’s eyes narrowed on my fist, and his face went deathly pale.
I didn’t have my ring to help me summon it, but for some reason, it never mattered when Dianna was around or in danger. Oblivion heeded my call, answering by coiling around my wrist and pooling in my palm before solidifying into a dagger.
Kaden’s throat bobbed, and he trembled, sweat beading on his skin as he looked from it to me.
I’d seen that exact look on the faces of men who pissed themselves before running away from the battlefield.
Isaiah hissed when Dianna landed a hit, and Kaden’s gaze snapped to where they fought.
I watched as protective determination contained his terror, and I realized that he was just like me in some twisted way.
I wouldn’t leave Dianna, and he wouldn’t leave Isaiah.
Kaden moved first. I brought my blade down, but he leaned back, dodging.
My first connected with his ribs, enough force behind the hit to break them.
Kaden hissed and stumbled back, his hand gripping his side.
He straightened and snarled at me, fangs gleaming and talons out, ready to rip into me.
Broken ribs hurt, but I knew Kaden’s strength, and any damage I had inflicted should have healed almost instantly.
But by the way he was angling his body, guarding that side, it seemed I wasn’t the only one with previous wounds. That was his weak spot. Good to know.
His foot struck out, aimed at my midsection.
I blocked and bounced back. He used the momentum to spin, sweeping a kick toward my head.
Kaden’s body was heavy with hard, bulky muscle, but it did not slow him down.
He was fast and hit hard. He broke a leg off the table nearest to him and used it as a spear, sending it sailing.
It sank deep into the wall behind me, and I realized any weapon in his hands would be deadly.
Only an untrained warrior would be so over-confident that they would not see the threat he was.
I had to hand it to him. He avoided my blade with skill and a brutal grace. We came at each other in a savage dance. Some punches and kicks connected, but more missed. Regardless, he managed time and time again to dodge my blade. I needed an in, and when Isaiah screamed, I saw it.
Isaiah yelled, and something small and metal clattered to the floor. Kaden and I turned to see Isaiah wiping at his bleeding brow, and Dianna grinning, blood staining her teeth, lips, and chin. She had ripped his eyebrow piercing out with her teeth.
I didn’t hesitate, and it was far too late by the time Kaden looked at me.
I charged, my blade aimed at his midsection.
He moved to the side. Right where I wanted him.
My other fist shot out, hitting him in the jaw.
He stumbled, and I stepped in, grabbing his other arm and tossing him over my shoulder with enough force to knock the wind out of him.
His eyes widened in horror as my Oblivion dagger slammed down into his chest.
“Let’s not meet again,” I sneered, giving the blade a fatal twist.
Kaden’s mouth gaped, his hands covering mine as if hoping to pull it out and save himself, but it was already too late. His body ruptured into a thousand black particles and floated into the air.
“No!” The scream was bloodcurdling, and I looked up at Isaiah.
He pushed Dianna back, and she stumbled to the side. He charged me with claws extended, stomping forward in a pure, blinding, hateful rage. I stood and flipped Oblivion, ready to end him.
Isaiah drew back his hand, preparing to strike. He growled, but the sound stuttered in his throat. He stumbled to a stop, and his eyes bulged as he clutched at his heart.
I paused, watching him warily.
His panicked eyes held mine, his mouth shaping a word he never managed to utter before he burst into the same obsidian smoke as his brother.
I stared as the ash floated in the air, stunned. What just happened? I hadn’t even touched him. I lowered my blade and turned toward Dianna. She was staring at the spot where Isaiah had just stood, her expression filled with the same confusion I felt.
“What just hap—”
The words caught in my throat as her eyes flared wide and she grabbed at her chest. Then I felt it. The bond connecting our hearts pulled tight and then snapped. Agony flared in Dianna’s eyes, and she reached for me.
“Sami.” Her knees buckled, and before they even hit the ground, her body turned to a fluttering pile of obsidian ash.
It was worse than every fear and dreaded nightmare I’d had.
Memories rose along with the destructive force that lived deep within me.
I had been tortured and faced death. I thought I had known true, unending pain, but there was no word for what I felt watching Dianna die in front of me, feeling the last parts of her leave my very soul.
My heart stuttered in my chest, severe, wrenching agony tearing me apart.
The wind howled, screaming out the anguish I couldn’t voice.
Heat ripped through my veins as my adyin ignited.
People screamed outside as the ocean turned violent, battering the cavern.
The sun fled, day turning to night as something ancient and horrible inside me bared its teeth and snarled awake.
My knees crashed to the floor before the ashes where my soul once stood.
I didn’t notice the world stop.
“What. A. Temper,” a male voice said from behind me, punctuating every word.
I whipped my head around, something in his tone compelling my attention.
He sat a few feet away in one of the chairs, shrouded in a low-cut black tunic, a flared, calf-length jacket, and matching loose pants.
Darkness ebbed off him, acting as a second cloak.
Only it wasn’t just darkness but pure Oblivion, purple specks of light flaring and receding inside the void.
A cold, harsher than any ice, seeped into the room, and I welcomed the numbness it brought.
I had never met him, at least as far as I remembered, but I had absolutely no doubt who he was.
Death.