36. Seth
Chapter thirty-six
Seth
I sprawled across my mattress as the eggs and breakfast cakes hit my stomach, and thanked God that Erin knew how to cook. I chugged the mug of coffee and set the empty cup on my nightstand. I pulled one of the pillows from the side Erin slept on over my face, blocking out the sunrays filtering in through the overhead windows on the far wall of my room.
Why did I install so many damn windows in this place?
I breathed in deeply, relishing the peaches and cucumber that filled my nose. My head was pounding, a jack hammer beat against my eyelids. Erin’s scent made it worth it, the warmth from her being in my bed still remained.
I sat up and dug into my nightstand, eyes squinted as the sunlight cascading along the panes of my bedroom wall once again pummeled my eyes. “Fucking hell.” I hissed, as my fingers finally grasped the emergency Ibuprofen bottle. I popped three and swallowed them down dry. I fought the urge to gag as they crept down my throat. I fell back on the bed, pillow once again hiding me from the death-rays that peaked in.
Erin’s face floated through my mind.
Her brilliant grey-blue eyes lit with laughter, her long brown hair swept into a ponytail, trailing behind her. Her laughter echoing around us in little wisps of gold, encircling her beautifully. They then flowed toward me, gripping my heart, my soul.
Erin’s smile faded and tears took its place. Black rivers flowed from her sockets, dying the whites of her eyes, her pupils disappeared into the darkness.
“Erin!? Erin!” I reached for her shoulders and shook them, needing to bring her back.
Her face hollowed out, cheeks sunk in. Her mouth agape, cracks formed on her skin. The black pits that formed her eyes stared up at me, devoid of the brightness that was there only moments before.
Her voice came out crazed, strained. A bony finger, stripped of its flesh, lifted, pointing at my chest. “You. You did this to me.” A screech escaped her, and she lunged forward, claws extended from her fingertips. I cried out as they pierced my chest and sunk into my heart. Blood spurted from the wound, her claws twisting in further before she yanked them out, taking my still beating heart with them. Flames licked their way through the entirety of my empty chest cavity, the pain forcing me to my knees. Salty tears raked down my face.
“Why?” I begged, metal began coating my tongue.
Her lips spread and her skin cracked further, nearly splitting her face in two. Sharp pointed teeth gleamed, ink dripped from them. She brought my heart to her lips and tore a large chunk of it out, gnashing it between her teeth; her dead eyes continued to look down at me as I withered at her feet.
“Rin, what…what did I do to you?” I sobbed.
The blood from my heart merged with the ink as it dripped down her chin. A maniacal laugh belted through her piercing teeth. Her skin split, exposing the tissue underneath, across her entire body. Her flesh began to melt, her bones with it. My half-eaten heart thumped to the ground. My stomach turned, wisps of gold and grey ripped from me. The pain was unbearable, far worse than my heart having been torn away. An emptiness enveloped me, my body chilled, my vision blurred. It felt as if…as if my soul had been torn from me, shredded to pieces.
I fell forward, head hitting the ground. Numbness overtook me. I dragged my strained vision to the puddle of flesh and bones that had been Erin.
Hovering over her, stood Erebus. He crouched down, his teeth flashed, and his tongue darted out, licking up the pieces of Erin.
His voice broke through the numbness, scratching its way along my bones. “I told you she was delicious, didn’t I, boy?” He retracted his tongue, a large lump of flesh encircled within, and swallowed as he licked his lips.
“Now, it’s your turn.”
I bolted upright, panting, sweat coated my body from head to toe. I threw myself off the bed and ran into the living room, frantically searching for any sign of Erin. Nothing.
I ran to her room, slamming the door open, the doorknob crunched the wall as it hit. Her bed was made, clothes neat, everything was where she’d been keeping it. I steam-rolled my way through the house.
Where the hell is she?
The front door clicked, and I sprinted to the living room. “Erin?” I shouted, throwing any attempt at hiding the panic in my tone out the window.
Josh and Derik stood at the kitchen island, both wide-eyed. Derik arched his eyebrow. “Uh, where’s the fire, dude?”
I panted, hands on my knees. “Have either of you seen or heard from Erin?”
Josh checked his phone, the definition of calm. “Yes, she and Miss Libby are out running errands. Something along the lines of ‘girl time’ as Miss Snow had put it,” his attention moved to me. “Any particular reason as to why you are stampeding through your home like a rampant untrained horse?”
I opened my mouth to respond, and Derik swooped in. “Lover Boy probably got his rocks off in dream land, and wanted the real thing, huh?” He winked at me, and I forced the corners of my mouth upward.
I added a laugh for good measure. Josh rolled his eyes as he returned to his phone, scrolling. Derik eyed me but let it drop.
I slid onto one of the bar stools and nestled my feet behind the barred footrest, elbows leaning on the counter top. “So, what has you two waltzing in here this early in the day?”
Derik slid a mug towards me, it sloshed over the rim as I caught it in my hands. I took a sip, grimacing as the bitter cold brew slid down my throat.
I choked. “There’s no way this practically turned to ice that quickly. Erin made it fresh this morning.”
“Nothing gets past you, does it, Seth?” Derik retorted and grabbed his phone out of the pocket of his bedazzled jeans. He tabbed the screen with his thumb. “It’s three in the afternoon, dude.”
I flipped him off, glaring over the sage green rim. “Explains a lot.”
I didn’t even think I fell asleep. It felt so real.
I rubbed the center of my chest, a slight ache present. Derik quirked an eyebrow at me and I brushed it off, pointing my attention at Josh.
He tapped away on his phone, features devoid of emotion. His mouth formed a set line, his eyes bored. I could never figure the guy out. Always quiet, observing. Rarely partaking with our group unless a hunt was involved or intel was needed.
Until recently.
I narrowed my eyes at him.
“Any reason why Erin would text you instead of me?” Envy boiled in the pit of my stomach.
He snapped his smartphone shut as his stone-cold gaze met mine. “Actually, Mr. Draven, it was I who reached out to Miss Snow first. I had sent her a text message alerting my arrival. She simply responded,” judgment shown in his eyes as they swept across my body. “Your jealousy is ill aimed, Seth. And not the best look on you.”
The hair on the back of my neck rose. “Screw off, Josh. Why are you guys here anyway? You never answered me.”
Jackass.
Derik responded first, “I wanted to pop over to dive into some more Demon and ‘Key’ hunting. I found a few things yesterday and wanted to run them by you. Plus, one of the girls texted me to come over. Not too sure about Chronically Cranky over here, though.” Derik jutted his thumb in Josh’s direction.
Josh rolled his eyes at the nickname. “Similar.”
I leaned back in the stool. Arms crossed. “Alright. So, what’ve the two of you got?”
Derik sat in the stool next to me, bringing a bag of chips with him. He dug his phone out of his pocket and sat it in front of me.
“From what I found, it looks like the Demons can’t just maim, procreate, and torture these humans at their whim to screw us all to hell—to an extent—it must be done on the night of the Blood Moon and coincide with The Key being brought forward and unleashed.” He gulped.
Josh whispered, “To truly unleash the chaos and disruption in this world.”
“And the next one is less than a month away.”
“Shit.” Lead hit the pit of my stomach. The vision of Erin overtook me, panic constricted itself around me.
“I texted Miss Snow and Miss Libby. They should return momentarily.” Josh’s voice faintly registered through the cackling as it rang in my ears. I nodded in response, rapidly blinking away the memory of Erin’s molten flesh.
I shoved myself back from the island, knocking over the barstool. “I need to head out for a few. I’ll be back. If they show up before me, make sure to keep everyone here.” I ignored Derik as he shouted after me, asking what had happened.
I headed for my room and pulled out a dagger I kept hidden within a pocket on the underside of my nightstand. I strapped it into the waistband of my sweats, rammed my feet into my running shoes, made my way back down the hall, through the living room, and out the door. Derik and Josh’s eyes burned into my back.
The leaves rustled around me as I crept through the trees. Afternoon had begun to shift into evening as I hunted my prey. I needed the distraction, an outlet for my anger—my fear. And a gym session wasn’t going to cut it.
I needed to kill.
To rid the world of something vile.
My nostrils flared.
The tang of blood filled the air, guiding me forward.
Guttural laughter sounded in the distance. “This one is going to be delectable, brother. I called first dibs.”
I heard a shriek echo further into the woods. The air stilled, as if hearing it as well. As if the forest felt the pain of the victim. A howl skirted through the trees.
The shrieking abruptly stopped.
I picked up my pace, the bitter taste of fear hit my tongue.
I came upon a clearing and ducked behind a wall of shrubbery as I took in the scene before me. Two Demons standing nearly seven feet in height each, had a human strewn and torn in half between them, fingers still twitching as the light dimmed from their eyes. Their throat had been gouged out, torso split from their lower half, entrails hung from their severed body. One Demon’s back was to me, long hair jutted from its spine, elongated, pointed ears sat atop its head, a snarl erupted from its mouth as it bit down on the human’s head, ripping it free. The damned thing had transformed itself into a wolf of nightmares. I fought the bile that rose from my stomach.
The second Demon ripped what little clothing was left strewn across the human’s flesh on their bottom half. A forked tongue stabbed the human’s center, a female. My heart ached. The Demon dove its tongue further within the human, until it erupted to the other side and tore her body in half once again. Anger rippled through me.
The human is already gone.
I gripped my dagger.
I need to wait.
The moment has not come yet.
I watched as the Demons devoured the human’s body. Bit by bit. Until there was nothing left, and their bellies were filled, sated.
Now.
I crept forward, ears trained on the clearing and trees around me, listening for any potential surprises. There was no sign of any other Demons.
I sprinted, using my full Nephilim speed to launch myself forward as I drove my dagger into the wolfed Demon’s back, directly aligned with its empty heart. I drew my blade back and ink spurted out of its wound. It turned swiftly, its body shook with rage, claws flailing, pawed feet tripping over themselves. I quickly stole contact upon its snout, reversing its memory as it collapsed. Black blood gurgled from its center as I leaped onto it, slicing down its core as I propelled myself into the air, landing on the shoulders of the second Demon. I twisted, snapping its neck and lodged my dagger into the side of it.
“Please.” It panted, breath strangled.
I leaped down, landing next to the Demon as it plummeted to the ground, head lolled towards me as ink pooled from its mouth. I crouched down, its eyes darting, fear infiltrated their usual cocky demeanor. I ran the blade of my dagger along its sunken cheekbones as I let out a low laugh, ice laced my voice.
I leaned down to its ear and whispered, “Your survival went out the door the moment you set foot into my territory and threatened the people here.” I sliced the dagger clean through its head, yanking it back as it split in two. Just like the woman they raped and murdered.
I looked to where they had feasted on the innocent life. Nothing but crimson blood and guts laced the ground where she had been. I begged that whatever awaited her, was peaceful and far better than what she had suffered.
I hung my head, arms draped over my knees as I sat, coated in the Demons’ blood. The adrenaline continued to coarse through me. Erin flashed through my mind.
I have to protect her.