Chapter 14 #2
I chuckled, caught off guard by his words. “Yeah.”
The air shifted, the mage stiffened, his eyes searching for something to the side. I readied my gun again, was it another mage? Perhaps his fellow magic-wielders didn’t feel the same as him.
But then I froze.
Because from the shadows behind the mage, something faster struck.
White hair danced in the air, red glowing eyes.
Malakai.
He slammed the mage against a tree with brutal strength, his weapon nowhere in sight. His head dipped, teeth flashing unnaturally sharp, and before I could blink he sank them deep into the mage’s throat.
The man’s scream cut short, gurgling. Magic flickered out like a candle. The faint black, jagged tattoos that covered Malakai’s neck and arms shifted, no longer looking like tattoos, but veins, turning into a molten red glow, matching his eyes.
Malakai didn’t let go. He drank, devoured, something dark-red swirling around him like thin threads, until the mage fell limp in his grasp.
My gun trembled in my hands as my heart thundered louder than any gunfire.
Malakai lifted his head slowly, blood streaking his mouth, his eyes glowing, inhuman.
Demon.
And for the first time, it wasn’t the mages that terrified me.
It was him.
The world had narrowed to blood.
It dripped from Malakai’s mouth, painting the faintly glowing markings across his neck.
I wanted to believe I’d imagined it all, that my eyes playing tricks on me, that fever still clouded my senses. But when his gaze lifted, locking onto mine, the denial evaporated.
How was it possible? Was he a shapeshifter? How had he infiltrated the Ashen Corps for so long? Was the organization corrupted? There were so many questions brought to the surface, but none of them helped me in this moment.
Was I next? Would he kill me too? Devour me?
Malakai smirked. “There it is, out in the open. What are you going to do, kitten?”
I staggered back a step. “Stay away from me.” My voice was shaking, my movement sloppy because of the trembles.
His head tilted, amused, as if this was another game.
“And here I thought you’d be grateful. I saved you.
” He waved a lousy hand at the corpse of the mage behind him.
His tongue dragged along bloodied lips. “Perhaps I should kill you instead… But you’re not a regular human either, are you?
Do you want to tell me what you are, kitten? ”
Ice ran through my veins. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Oh, I know.” His voice dropped low, dangerous. “Show me. Reveal it.”
“No.” My fingers clenched tighter on the gun. “I am nothing like you.”
His grin widened. “Then prove it.”
He moved faster than anticipated. I accidentally dropped my gun before he was on me, steel flashing as a dagger sang for my ribs. Instinct answered, my own blade snapping up, catching his with a shriek of metal. Sparks flared in the dim light.
We clashed again, and again. He was so fast, I had a hard time keeping up my blocks.
The red in his eyes glowed with amusement, a smirk on his lips as he swung his dagger at me again and again.
He scraped my upper arm, and I hissed in return, swinging a wide kick out for him.
He chuckled, like he was playing with me, a cat playing with its food.
How it filled me with dread, he had been calling me kitten all this time, only to be the predator all along.
His strength was overwhelming, his movements precise, but he wasn’t aiming to kill, his strikes told me as much. He wanted to drag this out, to test me, to play. Each strike forced me harder, faster, the heat of anger burning away fear.
Steel bit across my shoulder. I gasped and lunged, knocking him back against a tree. He twisted, reversed, almost got my throat, but I slammed my boot into his stomach and drove him down.
And suddenly, I had him.
Straddling his chest, my dagger pressed to the hollow of his throat. My arm trembled with the effort to hold it steady.
“This ends here,” I hissed, my eyes locked with his.
But the blade never fell, no matter how much weight I put into it. From his chest, dark red liquid swirled, slithering across the blade, up to the hilt and my hands and held it in place. The dagger refused to descend.
Blood magic? I had never heard of that kind of power before, let alone seen anything like it.
I snarled, fighting against it, hatred spitting from my chest. “You’re a demon, I have to do this!”
“You’re so beautiful,” his voice cut through.
The words, spoken so softly and calm, slammed into me harder than any other words ever had. My breath caught, rage collapsing into something raw, vulnerable. In that falter, my control slipped.
Heat bled from my skin, fire curling unbidden around my fingers where I still gripped the dagger. Orange flames licked the air, wild and undeniable. The warmth comforted me, even if it was pure fire, it refused to burn me.
Malakai’s red eyes flared, victory gleaming in them, along with something else… amazement?
I realised, horrified, that he had won.
I was exposed.
The flames licked higher around my knuckles, wild and betraying. I couldn’t hide it, couldn’t stop it. Now they were out in the open, untamed and defying. But there was something else too… I felt alive, healthier than ever.
Malakai’s eyes glowed, red as blood, drinking in every flicker. He didn’t flinch, didn’t recoil like any normal man should. He leaned into it, hungry.
Because he was no normal man, I had to remind myself.
Slowly, he pushed himself upright, forcing me back until I sat frozen on his lap in the dirt. His bloodied mouth curved, too sharp to be human.
I should’ve moved, I should’ve driven the dagger down. But my hands shook violently, fighting to even keep the blade at his throat, the fire sputtering with each ragged breath. Fear gnawed at me, fear of him, fear of myself, fear of anyone seeing.
The fire dissipated.
“No,” he whispered, low and coaxing. “Don’t choke it out. Let it consume you. You’ll see, it feels better when you stop fighting.”
His words slid through me like smoke, dangerous and soft, curling where they didn’t belong. A shiver tore down my spine, because for one desperate, fleeting second, I wanted to believe him.
My breath hitched. The fire flickered again, then vanished into nothing, leaving only smoke curling from my palms. The red thin thread still lingered around the dagger and my hands, keeping me in place. I tried letting go of the hilt, but it was useless. My eyes darted from the steel to his eyes.
“Ethalyn!” Lionel’s voice cut through the trees, frantic, calling for me at a distance. My head snapped up.
The others, they were close. They couldn’t see me like this. Not like this.
Panic surged, stronger than fire. I turned back to Malakai, shaking. “They can’t know—”
“Shhh.” He pressed a finger to his lips, crimson still smeared across them. “It’ll be our little secret, kitten.”
Suddenly, before my eyes, the blood that drenched him began to fade. It steamed, turning into red ash, vanishing into the mountain air. His markings dulled, faint black once more and his eyes dimmed, regular red where a moment ago they’d glowed like embers.
To anyone else, he’d look exactly the same as before. Human, untouched.
Only I would know the truth.
For a long, breathless moment, it was only him and me. Our gazes locked like blades drawn in silence.
I wanted to scream, to point and tell the others what he was.
A demon. A monster.
But the words stuck like ash in my throat, because if I did, he’d spit mine out too.
Fire mage. A traitor.
The knowledge hung between us like a blade balanced on its edge. Neither of us blinked.
“Ethalyn!” Lionel was closer now.
Malakai moved, the magic between us ended and he snagged the blade out from my hands, making me jolt in reaction. His hand clutched around the back of my head as he pulled me towards him. The other arm raised, a firm grip around his gun.
“You’re not going to—” I began, fear taking over.
“No.”
Branches snapped as. Lionel burst through the tree line, Eve following close behind. His rifle was raised, eyes wide with fear. When they landed on me, lying against Malakai’s shoulder relief crashed across his face. He dropped to my side in an instant, hands sweeping over me, searching for wounds.
“Are you hurt? Tell me you’re not hurt.”
“We’re okay, we thought you were a mage,” Malakai answered, as he let out a pretended breath of relief.
“I’m fine,” I managed, though my voice trembled, pushing away from Malakai.
Malakai’s chuckle rolled lazily in front of me. “She’s more than fine. You should’ve seen her. The two of us are the perfect team, took down the last mage together like it was nothing.”
My throat tightened. Team. The word was a chain, locking me into his lie.
Lionel’s jaw clenched, his eyes flicking from Malakai back to me, suspicion shadowing the relief. But he didn’t push. He only helped me to my feet, keeping close and steady, protective.
“You scared me to death when you fell,” he half-lectured, half-sighed. Lionel’s arm swept around me, hugging me tightly against him. My hands were still trembling, as I gripped his jacket, holding on tightly as if I’d fall into a bottomless hole if my hands slipped.
Malakai rose to his feet, brushing off the dirt. “How are the others?”
Silence stretched between them, I had to break away slightly to get a view of Lionel’s face. “Nate.” I breathed out, memories of the battle flashing before my eyes.
“It’s… complicated,” Lionel answered, his face tense.
“Is he okay?” I asked, looking behind him I saw Eve, awkwardly waiting with her rifle in her hand.
The silence stretched, Lionel lowered his eyes to me again.
“Is Nate okay?” I repeated, raising my voice, finding new strength in it.
“Ethalyn,” Lionel began, before he pressed his lips together.
“It’s a simple question, is he okay!?” I shouted, my hands gripping the collar of Lionel’s shirt. He averted his gaze, pain filling his facial features.
“No…” I breathed, my hands slipping. “Mey.” I pushed out from the safety of his arms and began walking. I didn’t even glance at Eve, but she silently followed right on my heel.