Page 20 of Her Demon Mate
“Watch it!” snarls a soz’garoth.
Barging out of the exit, I emerge into the brisk air of the deep, dark red night. The nightlife has only progressed with a flurry of activity buzzing around me. Bright flashing lights and shouting only add to my anger.
At that moment, something awakens inside of me, that old, buried thirst for xaphan blood. The truth is that it was never satisfied, for I never got my hands on the one xaphan responsible for my life unfolding the way it did.
I should be relaxing at home with my mother, but that is something I’ll never get to cherish, thanks to one Zephon Baruchiel. Now that bastard is roaming these streets, somewhere in the heart of Sarziroch.
He’s been right under my nose this whole time?The realization makes my heart rate spike. Timed perfectly with my boost in adrenaline is a sudden clap of thunder, unleashing an unrelenting downpour of rain.
I look ahead, scanning the path up ahead for a sign of the bastard. At that moment, a flash of lightning temporarily brightens the environment, and I see Zephon looking right at me, teasing me by remaining absolutely still.
Fueled by the lust for his blood, I move forward, again pushing through a crowd that only seems to grow in numbers as they push against me.
I’ve got to keep on his tail. If I lose him now then I also lose my chance for revenge!
A hand rests on my dagger, hidden in a sheath wrapped around my upper thigh. Ever since I came here to Sarziroch, I never leave home without it despite leaving my violent past behind me.
Tonight will be its first tasting of blood in too long. I can’t wait to get my hands on the fucker and sew his mouth shut. My mind runs rampant with all sorts of new methods to torture Zephon, all unimaginable by a normal mind, all revolting to a human.
The crowd suddenly seems to grow in numbers, and for a moment, I’m pushed back.
“Shit! Get out of my way!” I yell out.
I swear I see Zephon look back at me once more, unsure if it’s an illusion created by my animalistic mind. He smiles and disappears around a corner. At the same time, a fog drifts in with the wind, shrouding the streets with a blanket of mist.
I shove past everyone, garnering shouts of criticism and beratement, but I don’t give a fuck. I come around the same corner that Zephon did, turning onto a quiet street… Only to find he’s nowhere to be seen.
“Of fucking course,” I grunt, punching the wall nearest to me. “Damn it!”
I continue on down the crowdless road but without the speed of haste, cursing the fact that Zephon slipped clear of his deserved murder again. Thoughts of my mother flash in my head, and I hear her voice speaking to me.
You failed me, Elia.
I can’t deny it, I let her down again. She deserves peace in her death, for her killing to be avenged by disposing of Zephon once and for all.
I’m sure that Sarziroch has its fair share of assassins but this is a responsibility that I have to handle personally. Along with my mother, I also deserve to live the rest of my days in tranquility. As long as Zephon walks the grounds of Aerasak, those days are never going to come.
“I need to think of something, but where do I start? If only –”
My words are cut short, a pair of arms whisking me into an alleyway, I know this is a death trap for those who tread the lonely roads alone, and I want to fight back, but it’s already too late. I’m shoved up against a wall and spun around, a pair of hands immediately sliding up between my legs.
“Oh, baby, you look so good tonight.”
I rear my head back, causing my attacker to grunt in agony as the crack of his nose bounces between the narrow walls of the alleyway. I spin around with clenched fists just as the man looks up at me, a trail of blood pouring from his crooked nose. I stop for a moment, shocked at his identity.
“Tonnolun?” I gasp. “What the fuck are you doing?”
“My nose!” he moans. “You broke it.”
The anger returns to me in the blink of an eye. He always tried to cop a feel at work, never being successful, but for him to go this far in an attempt to satisfy his perverted desires… He has crossed the line, and I’m about to make sure he knows the repercussions.
“You’re not walking out of here on your own two feet,” I snarl.
A look of fear sparks in his eyes as he throws up his palms.
“Look, I’m a little drunk so I –”
No more words leave his mouth because it’s too busy eating a punch. Two of his teeth hurl through the air, bouncing along the concrete ground as I reel my fist back for another blow. This one I unleash to his gut, causing my boss to keel over as the air is snatched from his lungs.