I don’t know what I had expected but it isn’t what’s forming in front of me. I should know better by now. The people here are no longer people, and it appears the animals also seem to follow suit. Everything seems like a torn apart and rearranged version of itself. Instead of the earthly canines that I had thought I had first seen, I’m instead faced with a pack of grotesque creatures. Dark quadrupedal forms present themselves like silent predators through the purple mist. Large black eyes and disfigured faces strike a paralysing fear into me. I can no longer move, even if I want to. Their pupilless eyes condemn me to a prisoner in my own mind, drifting closer and closer. I can see the blood on their coats now and the exposed bones protruding from their paws.
Closer.
One breaks off from the pack. Black drool oozes from the alpha’s mouth as he leads the hunt. If I was crazy enough, I could reach out and touch him. He snarls, his rotten carnivorous teeth and forked tongue emerging from behind his gruffed snout. Its breath is perfumed with the scent of decay. Able to find my remaining nerve, I back up slowly, closer to Xander. I give him a fleeting glance. The boy is worse off than myself. He curls defeated on the ground, arms above his face as he stares pleadingly through them at the monstrous creatures. There’s no one to save us. One wrong move and they will strike.
No sudden movements. No signs of weakness. Just buy some time.
My mind doesn’t see the point but my body differs. As my heel hits something behind me, I know it’s over. I fall back, toppling over Xander with a thud. The black teeth lunge at me, a guttural scream erupting from my mouth.
Silence.
Moments pass and I am pleasantly surprised to feel my heartbeat still thundering in my chest. I peer up through my pieces of fallen hair. The creature’s face is there, inches from mine, unmoving – frozen in time. The scent of death and decomposition finds its way to my nose, causing the digested food pills in my stomach to attempt a speedy reappearance. Cupping my nose, I scuttle back frantically with one palm.
A spear of ice has pierced the creature’s skull and struck the nearby tree, holding it in place. The pack has shared a similarly gruesome fate, a thick dark liquid darting down the blades of ice.
‘Xander, get up.’ William stands composed just a few feet away. The boy finds his feet, although barely. Slowly, we both stagger over to the ice demon.
‘What were those things?’ I say, brushing the snow and smears of black ooze off my jeans. ‘Were they trying to take Xander to hell?’ William stares at me blankly, then turns his attention to Xander.
‘Xander, you had ample time to retreat when I sent the first warning.’
The boy looks away. ‘But Siara was–’
‘You should have left the girl.’
I breathe out the offence with a huff. Gathering my composure, I journey back to what I believe is the general direction of the cottage in silence. No point hanging around here listening to this.
‘I wouldn’t go that way,’ the ice demon says, a lack of emotion clearly evident in his tone. I can’t tell whether he wants me to keep walking or to actually return. I trudge back through the snow.
‘And why is that?’ I hiss. The two demons suddenly stand on edge. Xander’s gaze hits William’s sharply. It’s been weeks now that I’ve been trapped with them; I know them enough now to know it’s not my aggression they’re reacting to. William genuinely couldn’t care less about anything I do. Unless it of course affects him.
‘We’re not alone.’ William reaches forward, an ice spear forming in his grasp. ‘Both of you, do not say or do anything that might give away the location of the barrier.’ He graces me with a glare. ‘They’re here.’ Before I have time to respond, a cold, sly hand wraps around my waist. The hairs on my arms rise at the sensation, a chill running down my spine.
‘Well, well. Don’t we catch on quickly? Quite fearsome indeed,’ a curdling voice whispers on the nape of my neck. A head of long black hair rests on my shoulder intimately. My body cringes, immediately repulsed.
A man with deep purple robes and bright yellow eyes stands beside me. He lifts his head to stare me up and down, a Cheshire grin spreading across his sharp and angular features.
‘A human.’ He snickers. ‘How… interesting.’ His fingers twirl around my hair, reaching it up to his face. He places it against his pointed nose, smelling it. Nausea forms in my stomach. ‘What a smell,’ he teases. ‘Vitality, life, spirit. I’d almost forgotten what it smelt like.’
Xander looks away while William remains unphased. From the looks of it, they’re not going to help me out of this.
My heel lands firmly on the ends of the man’s toes with all the force my adrenaline filled muscles can exert. He releases his grip around me in surprise, allowing time for my feet to stumble one after the other in an attempt to create some distance. My wrist is wretched back and his hand grabs hold of my jaw tightly, red eyes shining into mine. I try to squirm out of the demon’s grip but it tightens. I yell out in frustration.
‘Feisty, I like that. You’ve gotten yourself an interesting pet.’ His eyes search William’s face, looking for weakness. I’m just being used as leverage. I spit at the demon, most of it landing on his robes. He looks down at it somehow amused. ‘Cute. Although, I may have to correct some of her more undisciplined behaviours.’
Xander shifts uncomfortably, a hand raising to tug William’s sleeve. The ice demon pulls his arm away.
‘So those creatures were with you. I should have known. You can let her go, the girl means nothing to me,’ William replies coolly. ‘This setup is just another one of the she-creature’s whims. You know how it is, Hex.’ This causes the demon to raise an eyebrow; he’s intrigued. I’d like to think William is bluffing but I’m not counting on it.
‘If that’s the case, you won’t mind me, your old acquaintance, nay friend, taking her off your…’ The psychotic demon laughs, his forked tongue licking my cheek. ‘Plate?’
There’s a tense silence. ‘I’m afraid that can’t happen either.’ William’s curt response strikes a chord with the unnerving stranger. The demons exchange a prolonged stare.
‘Come on, friend, no need for that,’ Hex coos slyly, releasing my jaw and walking us closer to my companions. ‘What’s your price? I’m in need of another pick-me-up and this one’s soul would go down divine. Don’t take the high ground now, I mean after all the things you’ve done…’
William seems to ponder this for a moment. I swallow hard, anticipating the worst. It appears I’m not the only one; Xander is quick to make a small whimpered protest. The ice demon brushes him aside once more.
‘I’ve decided,’ William concludes. ‘There is nothing you could offer me that I want. More importantly, I do not have the time or patience to craft elaborate stories to fool that horrid snakewoman as to the happenstance of the mortal’s demise. Quite frankly, it seems like a lot of work that I’m not particularly inclined to invest in. In this case, it appears the cure would be worse than the disease.’
Normally I would be offended by the notion of being called a disease, but if it’s the price I pay for not being sold off as a sacrificial piece of meat, or in this case, soul, I’ll gladly accept the insult. Hex, on the other hand, is less than impressed. His teeth grit behind his menacing grin. It’s clear he’s used to getting what he wants.
‘Well, that’s a shame,’ he breathes, an unstable tension rising in the air. Hex’s grip loosens until eventually he has lost interest and is walking closer to his new target. Steadying my breathing, my feet inconspicuously shuffle their way closer to Xander. He watches me from the corner of his red eyes as the other demons face each other, hostility brewing. I have a comfortable amount of distance now. I could either make a break for it and run towards Xander or I could instead rely on my memory and hope the winter cottage and its barrier are still where they’re supposed to be.
Hex releases a long breath of air, though I know he doesn’t breathe. ‘If I’m honest, which I rarely am, the request was more a courtesy.’ His yellow eyes of amber flick over to me, stunning and terrifying. Mesmerised in a sweet horror, I watch as they darken to a deep ruby. His words slide out smoothly.
‘Was that enough time for you, lovely, to get some distance between us?’
My heart drops.
‘Hex,’ William warns, his tone a low growl. Hex takes a step forward, ignoring him.
My shoes fumble clumsily against the snow as I try to race back to the cottage. Xander yells, but the words glide past my ears, the fear and adrenaline consuming my mind. It was the wrong choice. I have made the wrong choice. There is no time to turn back.
The cold wind stings against my flushed face, my breath staggered and uneven as I run. There’s no way I’m going to make it. Even though I know this much, my legs try anyway, tiring quickly in the abundant snow. I grit my teeth, willing my body through it.
My breath catches as a weightlessness consumes me, flinging me backwards to the ground. A shooting pain envelops my scalp. I reach for his grip and try to pry my curls from his fierce hands. Instead, he pulls tighter, raising me from the snow.
Xander appears in seconds, launching himself onto Hex’s other arm, attached by his teeth. Hex cries out in disgust and as he flings Xander off violently, I seize the opportunity. Yanking back my hair, it slips from his fingers. Pulling free from the demon’s grip, I stumble over to Xander’s side. He rises groggily. Thank God.
