Chapter 30
Thirty
V aelor turned to face me. I tried to run, and he lunged and snatched me by the arm.
I will kill them. Each of them, he growled in my mind.
You can’t. The moment you turn on them, you’ll die.
I won’t let them touch you.
You have to.
His eyes narrowed, and his hand on my arm shook. I’d rather die.
No. Do as they say.
Some sacrifices were worth making. Some systems worth breaking. Some moments were worth wagering everything on in the hope that love might survive.
This is the only way, I thought.
He staggered over to the post, dragging me along with him.
With a swipe of his claws, the dead human bound there fell loose and onto the grass.
Even with his wounds and the poison lingering in his system, Valeor was functioning remarkably well.
He grabbed the hanging rope and jerked my hands above my head.
He thrust his thigh between my legs to lift me and hold me still as he tied me to the harsh wood.
The rope was rough, and when he backed up, they pulled on my joints as my feet didn’t touch the ground.
I clenched my teeth against the ache already seeping into my arms and wrists. Gods, this was bad. Fear twisted in my chest, but I fought not to show Vaelor, although he probably could smell it on me anyway.
I held his gaze, wanting to be certain he’d follow through. You have to let them hurt me.
Watching them inflict suffering on you would be worse than death.
Don’t stop them. Trust me.
He released a low rumble but stepped away and faced Throk. “You have overestimated her worth to me. Have at her.”
Throk cocked his massive head to the side, his smile growing vindictive. “You first.”
Vaelor became still. The only movement was the mist swirling at his feet, the breeze ruffling his burgundy hair. “What?”
“I order you to draw her blood.”
Denara— I felt his volatility.
Do it, I commanded . Use my sword.
If you die, you know I will only be seconds away from following you. I won’t hold back.
I tried not to let the fear of that statement cut through me. Together we rise or fall.
He drew the blade at my waist. Together we overcome.
His grip tightened on the hilt of the weapon, and he uttered a snarl as he swiped it forward.
I gasped as the edge sliced into my skin. The cut was along my side, shallow—but blood spilled out through my shirt and the hurt radiated through me.
Gods, forgive me, Vaelor’s anguished thoughts pierced my fog of pain.
I’m fine , I thought despite the pulsing agony. Wipe the blood off on my clothes. Make it appear vindictive.
He grabbed my face and forced me to look at him as he raised his sword. “Fucking human.” He wiped it on my pants, crimson dying into the brown fabric. I hate this.
I know.
Vaelor turned to Throk, dropping my sword into the grass.
The scent of my blood made the demons hunger. Bloodlust filled their ravenous gazes as they watched red trickling down my side. They collectively moved closer.
“Hold,” Throk said to the gathering crowd of demons.
“I realize that all of you wish for a portion of her, and you will get her. But we must do things in order. We go first.” He gestured to him and the two leaders with him.
“But remember, we want this to be slow and thorough.” His eyes glistened. “Make it last.”
The demons growled and hissed, but they allowed Throk and the others to approach.
Throk’s fleshy hands grazed my face, and a chill of apprehension went through me. What was he going to do to me?
“Dear, you smell delectable.” He ran his nose over my skin, then grasped my shirt and tore it open.
He looked me over with a hungry, taunting gaze. “Definitely not a boy,” he laughed as his hand dropped and he shoved a finger into my wound. I arched as the pain in my side ratcheted, a whimper escaping from between my lips.
“Yes, little human, I scent your fear. Do you know what that does to demons?” he growled then leaned in, his teeth clamped onto my right breast, and I screamed as his massive tusk pierced through my sensitive skin, deeper, deeper.
Blood ran over his face. The pain became unbearable, and another scream ripped out of me.
He chuckled and his hands gripped my body as he violently jerked back, taking my flesh with it.
I gasped, tears streaming over my cheeks, the world spinning. He’d bitten a chunk out of me.
Throk stepped away, chewing on my flesh. “Don’t break any bones this early. We don’t want her passing out.” He motioned for his subordinates to come forward.
Fuck, Denara. Fuck, Vaelor’s raging thoughts tore into my mind.
Not… yet…
The first gargoyle underling came next.
He pressed his face into my wounds, sucking my blood, spiking my pain higher. “You taste like a delicacy.”
I sucked in large amounts of breath, struggling despite the agony. He gripped my shoulder. He had no claws, so he pushed all the harder until his thumb punctured the flesh between my shoulder and neck.
“Please, please,” I cried. Gods, I couldn’t take much more. He grinned as he pulled out his hand and licked my blood, motioning for the next demon to come. “Have to leave something for the others.”
Denara, I need to do something, I need…
You can’t… trust… me. This is the only way.
The second gargoyle subordinate approached. Tears rolled down my cheeks. I wasn’t sure if I had the strength to make it through this one. My heart beat so hard I thought it would burst from my chest, fear spiking almost as high as my pain.
A sadistic grin was on the last demon’s face as he came near, wings spread, the cracks on his skin giving him a shattered glass look.
His hands ran over my bloodied side, his fingers looped into my pants.
His smirk widened, and he tore my pants off my body.
Pain sparked through my wounds as I swung wildly on my pole.
He didn’t stop my swinging, just watched as I hung and bit back my sobs in an attempt not to alarm Vaelor.
He dropped to his knees, his hands coming to my hips and ran his tongue over my inner thigh.
I trembled. “I know better than to soil myself with a human, but trust me, the others have no such scruples.” And with that he bit into my upper leg, his teeth sinking deep, and scream after scream ran out of me as he tore my flesh away.
They were eating me alive.
Denara— Vaelor’s agony sounded in my mind. His hands were clenched, and he looked ready to let loose.
Almost… there… Gods, page ten better not fail me.
I heard a low growl from him.
The gargoyle rose. He grasped my skin from his mouth and held it above his head. “It’s your turn, brothers.”
The words I needed came to me in my desperation. The words I had memorized and carried with me seeped through the pain. I began to chant, the lines flowing from my lips.
My hedge witch spellbook said that our magic lived in our very blood.
Throk’s smile slid from his face.
My blood that covered all three demons hissed, then bubbled. One gargoyle let out a startled gasp as my blood heated and boiled.
It burned straight into their flesh.
All three demons screamed.
The blood spread fast, growing and infecting different parts of their bodies.
I finished the ending line of the chant. And then watched. I thought it was going to be horrible… but didn’t expect it to be so effective.
Throk’s companions collapsed in screams of agony, spasming and contorting. The blood burned into them, sinking deep under their skin. Their flesh falling away in blood-covered globs.
“Make it stop,” Throk begged. “Please.”
My blood continued to burn and spread. Charred flesh reached my nostrils.
“You want it to stop?” I called to them. “Then unbind me.”
“Yes, yes,” Throk said. The tissue on his face was black, and the blood had burned completely through his flesh at some points, revealing bone.
He motioned to Vaelor, who stepped up and, using his sword, cut me loose. I staggered forward, my wounds making my steps uncertain. Vaelor reached out and caught my arm, bracing me. When I looked up into his eyes, I saw the relief and surprise there—and perhaps a little bit of fear.
Was I a monster? But this was the only way to protect Mother and Gerand and all the peaceful towns of Misophae that didn’t deserve to be destroyed.
I glanced at Creedan, who stood to the side. His eyes were wide, wings half spread, the horror evident on his face.
Once I got my feet under me, I took a painful step away from Vaelor and faced Throk. “Strike down the other two and dispose of their spirits.”
It was a mercy, really. They were in such pain and agony. One had his hand eaten down to nothing. The other was coughing up his own blood.
Throk’s hands shook, and he whimpered as he unsheathed his sword. His jaw was nearly destroyed. He turned and struck off the heads of the two leaders. Their spirits rose from their bodies, and Throk also cut them down.
Then he dropped to his knees as the blood ate away at his hair and flesh of his head, and then the bone started to fall away, slowly melting and turning to ash.
I fought past the pain that threatened to overcome me and locked my knees to keep myself standing. “Name Vaelor the leader of the entire Spiritu Malignos army, and your successor.”
Throk fell on hands and knees, his body shaking.
The blood had traveled down to his throat and up to his eyes, where they bulged unnaturally, his own blood running out of them and a horrible hissing sound had him screaming.
What was left of his lips trembled as he somehow forced out, “I name him… the leader of the armies…” He released another scream, his hands gripping his throat which was being burned away.
“ … and my successor. Now, please… make it stop.”
I walked up to him with the sword in my grasp. Every movement hurt from the pain they had inflicted on my body, and the blood draining from my wounds made me light-headed.
“I cannot stop it,” I said to him. If I called back the power, it would claim my own life. “But I can relieve your suffering.”
“I… I beg you… end me.”
I lifted the sword and something like relief showed in Throk’s gaze. ”Please…” he rasped.
“Give Vaelor permission to dispatch your spirit.”
“I give permission. You may… end… my spirit.”
My grip tightened on my weapon. My blood glistened on the blade, red and glowing and burning. I brought it down on Throk’s neck.
His head fell to the dais. His body collapsed onto the wood. A moment later a spirit rose out, and Vaelor grasped the sword from my hands. It glowed blue as he struck into Throk’s spirit.
The ghostly visage dissipated into the sunlight.