1. Willow #3
I slump to the forest floor in a limp heap, my vision blurred and a splitting pain at the back of my skull. I reach up with a shaking hand, touching the sensitive area, and my fingers come away coated in my blood.
“Shit…” I blink slowly, willing the world to stop spinning as I’m hit with a wave of nausea.
There’s a pulse of light, and a dark, swirling portal opens up in the middle of the clearing.
I gaze inside, and it’s like looking into the mouth of a black hole—no light, no matter, just a horrible, endless chasm of nothingness.
The sounds of the forest die, and the air around the perimeter of the portal begins to shimmer and quake.
Then a capybara steps out.
It’s not just any regular capybara, either. It’s pink. Oh, and it has a weird glowing rune shining beneath the fur on its neck. Because of course it does.
The capybara snuffles around on the ground for a bit, unaware of my presence. I can do nothing but sit there staring, waiting for it to vanish in a puff of smoke.
I’m not sure what the creature is doing in the forest in the middle of fall, or why on earth it would be stepping though that weird portal. On the bright side, the sight is so shocking that I completely forget about my relationship woes.
I must be hallucinating. It’s the only logical explanation. That, or my brain is broken from all the emotional turmoil I’ve been through.
I push against the ground, gritting my teeth as another wave of vertigo hits. That portal is still there, pulsing with its dark, ominous energy. It almost feels like the air is thinner now—like that thing is sucking the life from the atmosphere.
Dangerous.
That word echoes in my mind as I stare at the swirling mass. I’m both drawn to it and repulsed at the same time, and I’m not sure what to make of that. All I know is I have to get away from it.
I’m halfway to a stand when the border begins shimmering again, and another creature emerges from the dark.
My spine snaps straight, every hair on my body standing on end as I take in the massive, winged outline of the monster.
It stands well over seven feet tall, with two short, thick horns protruding from its head.
They curve back and inward, the pointed tips reaching toward each other, trying and failing to embrace.
Its bone structure is that of a human, but the being is at least twice the size of any man, with bunches of corded muscle covering its legs, torso, and arms, twitching with each tiny movement the beast makes.
It’s dressed in an armored suit that clings to his body like it was poured on, colored pale silver and glowing faintly from within.
A pair of magenta-colored wings flutter softly at its back, just as enticing as they are deadly-looking, and a part of me longs to reach out and brush my fingertips over the velvety flesh.
But its face… It’s beautiful. Sculpted cheekbones, a jaw cut from stone, and a set of full, kissable lips. If the creature looked any more human, I might even say he was handsome.
Demon, my mind whispers. Danger.
I’ve read enough fantasy books to recognize it as a creature from hell, but never in my wildest fantasies did I believe they were real.
Sure, there were stories, old wives’ tales about monsters that lurked in the forests after dark—but I thought they were only told to keep children from staying out all hours of the night.
Demons aren’t supposed to actually exist.
“This isn’t real,” I whisper, closing my eyes tight. “You hit your head, Willow. This is all some messed up hallucination…”
I take a step back, cringing as my back presses into a tree trunk. “Not real… not real…”
But when I open my eyes, the demon is still there. And now it’s closer.
The monster sticks its nose in the air, sniffing. Then its glowing pink eyes lock onto mine, the intensity in them making my heart skip a beat.
“Mate.”
Huh?
I’m about to turn around and make a break for it when the demon lunges, moving faster than should be physically possible.
“Stay back, foul beast!” I make a cross with my fingers, shoving it toward the creature with the bravest expression I can muster.
He pauses mid-roar, tilting his head to the side, those strange glowing eyes blinking rapidly. A high-pitched whine breaks the silence, and I wince, fighting the urge to cover my ears.
“The uh… the power of Christ compels thee!” I conjure up every memory I have of horror movies that deal with creatures of hell, hoping the tales hold some truth and will help me. “Back! Back to whence you came!”
The demon crawls forward on all fours, stopping directly in front of me. It’s so massive that it towers over me even while in a crouch, and I have to jut my chin up to see its face.
Its eyes glow as it reaches out a clawed hand, meaning to touch me. “Mine,” it says. “Mine.”
“I’m going to be sick,” I whisper, shutting my eyes tight against the terrifying sight. “Please, please be a dream…”
I open my eyes, and the demon is gone.
Then a pair of arms wrap around my waist, and I’m flying forward through the air, barreling toward that strange portal.
The world shifts. My vision splinters. Everything goes dark.