Lucero
I jolted awake with a gasp painfully constricting my throat.
I rolled over, dry coughing over and over again as if something would eventually come out of my lungs and fresh air would invade.
It took me several moments to calm down, and it wasn’t until my breathing sawed painfully in and out of my chest that I took stock of my situation.
Harsh sunlight pressed down against me, clawing against my skin.
Already I felt my face burn and my nose peel from the heat of it.
My lips felt cracked and dry and in desperate need of water.
With a heavy tongue that I peeled from the roof of my mouth, I swiped it along my bottom lip, but it did little to ease the ache.
My body was sore all over. It made sitting up hard, but I managed to force my aching muscles to comply. I sat up, peering at my surroundings, fear biting holes through my insides.
Everything came back to me with as much force as it had taken that monster to ram into my body. We’d flown up to the sky, a portal of some kind had opened mid-air, and I’d fainted just as he brought us through it.
I jerked my head from side to side, wondering if the monster was there, waiting for me to awaken. But…
There was nothing. Nothing but a vast desert that expanded for miles and miles. A foggy line of heat just along the horizon, sitting on the line where the dark sky met the scorched earth.
I was in some hellish landscape. Fuck, it wouldn’t really surprise me if I was in hell. There was nothing but rocks and dead trees.
No one else.
No humans.
And certainly no monster.
I wasn’t sure if its absence was entirely a good thing or a bad thing. On one end, it felt like a relief to wake up and not be startled by the thing that had taken me. On the other, the unknown was always far more frightening.
Taking in a sharp breath brought pain to my ribs.
Though I loathed to look, I lifted my torn, wrinkled button-up shirt and tank top to inspect the skin underneath.
Mottled bruises were already beginning to show, ugly red and purple marks that spanned across my abdomen and ribs.
Twisting, I saw a brief flash of the same blotchy areas along my back and let out a small curse.
That had surely been from the impact, but it was probably all bruising. At least, nothing felt broken. Just very, very sore. I lowered my shirt once more, unable to look at myself any longer.
I took in steadying breaths, but my hands shook as they went to the camera hanging around my neck.
It was probably silly of me to worry about it right then, but it was one of my most prized possessions, and surveying it eased my anxiety a fraction.
It wasn’t broken, thank god for that. I wasn’t sure how it survived getting rammed by what had felt like solid rock, but I wasn’t going to question my small bit of luck in the face of a shitty situation.
I raised the camera at eye level, looking through the lens at the world surrounding me.
Objectively, the place made for an amazing set-up for inspiration.
I clicked away, taking several pictures, hoping that tapping into my art would distract me from my current situation.
I looked around for any sign of that creature, but was greeted with harsh sunlight, dust, and rocks.
Still, I snapped a few more pictures, zooming in and out until I caught sight of something in the distance.
“What the–?” I squinted. There was a black figure in the distance, coming closer at a rapid pace.
Was that the thing that brought me here?
I held my breath as it came closer and closer still…
Lowering my camera, I screamed as I realized it had closed the distance between us within seconds and was now close enough that I could make out the distorted shape that was its body.
It was a demon. There was no other word I could’ve used to describe it.
Shaped like a salamander, its skin was dark blue, dry, and lizard-like with fat legs and curved claws at the ends.
The thing had thick spikes sticking out of its body like a pincushion, and the tip of each spike dripped a gooey, acid green color.
That shit would either give me super demon salamander powers and turn me into Lizard Girl with acid vision, or fuck me all the fucking way up.
I didn’t want to find out which.
It lunged and I screamed, rolling on the flat top of the rock I’d been laying on and landing on the ground.
My entire body screamed in pain, but I scrambled to a stand and dodged just as the beast made another attempt to grab me.
I ran, circling the giant rock I’d woken up on and the creature scuttled after me.
My eyes darted madly around, desperately searching for something, anything I could use to defend myself with.
There!
A giant rock.
It wasn’t ideal, but…
It lunged and I ducked, barely missing a swipe of its claws. I rolled on the ground, reaching for a rock with both hands and hopped to a stand.
The demon hissed, spitting acid on the ground. It popped and sizzled, burning the earth black.
Fuck.
It came for me once again, but this time I was prepared. The rock bit into my fingers as I swung with all my might, hitting the demon and sending it careening to the side. It squealed its rage and rose up on its hind legs, opening its mouth to show off sharp teeth–
There was a roar that shook the earth. Terrifying and strangely familiar.
I cried out as a figure dropped from the sky, shaking the earth beneath our feet. I nearly lost my battle with balance, jerking side to side.
The demon turned to face the creature that had appeared, hissing in warning.
It was the monster who’d stolen me.
And it was even more terrifying now than he had been before.
In the light, I could make out every detail I’d missed before.
It was as gray as a statue, body littered with cracks and grain and scars.
It stood at six feet, maybe a little less, with a stocky, wide body that was made of pure muscle.
Horns protruded from its forehead, short, though one of them had been cracked in half.
Shaggy black hair curled around his cheeks and stocky neck.
One eye was white, a scar slashed down the center of that side of his face, and the other an inky black.
There was a reddish hue beneath that graying skin.
Wings flared wide at his back, though they boasted scars and holes like a well-worn blanket.
A tail whipped violently back and forth behind him, and there was a leathery loincloth wrapped around his waist, though it was short and fraying and showed everything.
He was monstrous. Big, hulking, scary, and so, so angry.
Black taloned claws curved above his palms. His wings spread out so wide and he bent at his knees, leaned forward, and roared.
The sound was loud enough to make my ears pop.
I stumbled back just as the little demon flung itself at the gargoyle.
It was an attack that seemed to be in vain.
As soon as it reached the gargoyle, he gripped it tightly in his hands, uncaring or unaffected by the acid it dripped.
And he promptly ripped the creature in half.
Blood, bone, and guts splattered along the earth. Bile rose in my throat at the sight, and when the monster tossed the dead demon carelessly, it landed near my feet, causing me to jump back, narrowly missing black blood.
Now that one threat was down, my gaze darted up to meet the new threat of my kidnapper.
He wasn’t paying me any attention though. He was grumbling, the sound like a rockslide, as he flicked black blood off his hands with annoyance.
I took a breath, trying to reign in my fear. He’d killed the demon like it was nothing, while I’d struggled to get away from it. It was proof of our differences in strength.
He could kill me if he wanted to. Easily. And there would be nothing I could do to stop it.
The thought nearly sent me into a spiral. My breath threatened to come out in uneven pants, but I got myself under control, determination steeling me.
I wasn’t going down without a fight.
If he was here to finish off the demon’s job, I would fight back. I wouldn’t make my death an easy thing, that was for certain.
Slowly, I tip-toed forward while he grumbled and kept wiping demon blood off his body.
When I was close to the dead demon, I quickly slipped my button-up shirt off my shoulders, remaining in nothing but a tank top, and wrapped the material around my hand to create a glove.
Slowly and as quietly as I could manage, I reached for one of those spikes, careful and waiting to see if the goo would drip through my shirt and burn my palm.
When it didn’t, I pulled it off, wrapping my fingers around it like a weapon that I hid behind my back.
Perhaps the demon had different types of acid, I wasn’t sure. I only knew it wasn’t burning me, and that the tip was as sharp enough to be used as a weapon. That was good enough.
Gripping it tight in one hand, I used the other to bend and pick up my discarded rock. If I wanted to have a slight chance, I needed to appear weak and pathetic, so I hid the spike in my back pocket, cushioned tightly within my shirt.
The gargoyle’s gaze snapped to mine and I sucked in a breath.
Having the heat of its attention on me felt like I was drowning. Then he stomped in my direction, each footstep creating an earthquake on its own. I held my ground as he approached, bracing my legs… and when he was close, I swung the rock.
It caught him off guard, snapping against his jaw.
For a second, the world stilled. He held his breath. I held mine. He remained frozen, his head to the side, my hand gripping the rock still in the air.
Then slowly, he turned his gaze down to mine, and the hatred I found in his depths was infinite.
I barely breathed. Could barely move. He lifted his hand and swatted the rock out of my own. The slap nearly twisted my wrist, so I let it fall. Then he was reaching for me, picking me up by the back of my tank top and lifting me in the air like an errant puppy.
The material of my tank top rose to my neck, choking me. It also had my tatas–clad in a cheap, white bra–out in the air like I was at a damn nudist beach.
“Let go of me,” I rasped. “The fuck?!”
The gargoyle didn’t reply or pay my chichis any mind. I would have found that offensive in and of itself, but I forced myself to focus. He gave me a look, one I couldn’t interpret when his facial features were so different from my own. Then he was hauling me up and throwing me over his shoulder.
It was like landing on warm cement. The tops of my breasts scraped along the roughness of his back, creating a pain similar to rug burn.
The breath whooshed from my chest when his thick palm slapped down against the back of a single ass cheek and spanned across the tops of my thighs to hold me in place.
I reacted then. Screaming profanities, my hands clawed at his back, scratching against the membranous feel of his scarred wings. His body twitched and he jostled me into compliance a second before he took to flight.
The sensation left me as breathless as the first time, but the tightness in my belly was even worse because I was thrown over his shoulder. Though his grip on the backs of my thighs was tight, it felt like one slip-up and I would go careening to my death.
I scrambled up, pushing against his muscular back, scratching at his wings, only to think better of it when the thought of him dropping me invaded. I tried to keep still, close my eyes against the onslaught of sensation.
I wasn’t sure how long he flew, but it was enough to make me dizzy and nauseous. But I waited until he finally slowed and then the wing beats stopped and his black-clawed feet touched the ground.
I opened my eyes then, gasping for breath as he unceremoniously dumped me onto a burnt patch of grass.
I turned my body last minute before I hit the ground, so I’d fall on my side instead. The imprint of the demon’s spike pressed against my jeans, and I didn’t want him knowing I had it, though he probably knew, considering the way he was groping me back there.
I quickly stood up, bracing my legs again and lifting my hands in a defensive position in front of me.
The gargoyle started at me, the cutting figure of his carved brows rising to his short horns.
“You’re an asshole,” I said, finally speaking to him.
He didn’t reply.
He probably didn’t even speak my language.
He didn’t need to speak my mother tongue to understand pain.
With a yell, I ran forward, kicking a leg up and connecting it to his chest in a karate move that only served to shoot pain up my shin. I took the blow like a champ and karate chopped the monster while I screamed.
“Take that you kidnapper, bastard, creep!” The insults flew from my tongue and so did the blows. “If you try to eat me, I swear to god I’ll–” I slapped him in the chin and he jerked his head away from me.
His anger had mounted, that much was for certain. His mouth opened, those sharp teeth gleaming, and he screamed at me, but his words, if they could even be called that, sounded more like rocks grinding together. Deep, guttural, and foreign.
“I didn’t understand shit you just said.
” I heaved, putting my hands in front of me.
“But I don’t give a flying fuck. Prepare to die, weirdo.
Hiyaahhhh!!!” I shot out at him, ready to deliver my death blow, only for him to roar in a rage and grab my wrist. With a fierce yank, he pulled me up against his chest, so close I tasted the embers on his breath.
So close, I could read the danger in his veins.
So close I heard when he whispered, “That is enough, little feral creature.”