Chloe hadn’t realized just how big Castle Death was until now. A massive stone wall ran around the perimeter of the castle and was at least twenty feet tall. It was also a good quarter of a mile away and would take her several minutes to run there. And she was so ready to get out of here.
She took off running. Anywhere that was away from the castle and away from the man
that confused the hell out of her. She heard voices and looked up at the castle parapets.
“Damn,” she muttered under her breath.
Atal Warriors lined the parapet above, some watching her with clear eyes. Bows were strapped to their backs and swords hung at their hips.
She didn’t have much time before they tattled. She glared at them before turning around and sprinting to that wall.
She realized her one fatal flaw as she neared the wall. It was at least twenty feet tall.
Mother fuck. She had no magic powers to help her climb that wall. Glancing left and right, she spotted the main gate, a massive metal structure of coiling metal and spikes. Also, it was surrounded by warriors wearing heavy axes and swords across their back.
She looked back at the castle with growing disdain. She’d rather face them then go back there. The guards saw her coming long before her short legs got her there.
“Hi guys,” she said brightly. She tossed them her sweetest coy smile that she hoped melted hearts. One of the warriors stepped forward, his brow furrowing.
“What are you doing out here? You’re not supposed to be here. It’s dangerous.”
“Pfft, what’s so dangerous out here? A little snow and cold. I live for the cold, really.”
Honestly though she was happy she chose to wear the turtleneck this morning. That’s not to say she couldn’t use some earmuffs, gloves, and a heavy winter coat right about now. Her breaths were coming out like puffs of cotton ball clouds.
“Why don’t I escort you back to the castle, Ms. Bellum.” It wasn’t a question. Chloe slapped his hand as he tried to grab her arm.
“Don’t you touch me. Do you know that your commander is my Protector? I am his now.
No man touches me but him.”
The guard paused, unease flitting over his face. Good, Chloe thought. Suffer. Another guard came up to them. This one had short blonde hair and bright blue eyes.
“She’s right. I can smell his scent on her. Don’t touch her. Ms. Bellum, please allow me to escort you back to the castle. It is too cold and dangerous to be out here.” He bowed his head to her.
She lifted her chin and said, “Your commander has given me permission to leave at my will. I promise to be back. I just need a break from this place. I’m sure you understand.” She smiled again and the guards looked back and forth at each other. When they leaned close and started whispering in some language she didn’t recognize, she crossed her arms and glared.
One guard nodded and in her mind she started chanting vic-tor-y. The blonde guard stepped forward and looked apologetically at her.
“Ms. Bellum, I’ll have to send word to Commander Tyrian to verify this before I can allow it.” Chloe glared at him and crossed her arms in disgust. The gate wasn’t that tall, maybe she could climb it. Though those metal spikes on the outside of it looked incredibly sharp and big. What were they for anyways? Impaling giants or T-rexes?
“I’ll just radio this in.” Yeah, whatever.
Chloe walked to the gate and gripped the cold metal in her hands. Never in her life had she felt so enclosed in such an open space. She ignored the voices calling on their radio to her enemy, Tyrian. He was so not her fake boyfriend anymore. But why’d he kiss her? He always seemed so afraid to kiss her but then he did back there, and it’d stolen her breath away.
Damn and she still didn’t know about his wife or child. It shouldn’t bother her, but it did...too much. As she gazed out at the vast scenery of glaringly bright snow-drenched mountains, Chloe, for the first time since being kidnapped, truly missed her family. And her job, which she was certain, was gone now. Not that Carl wouldn’t give her the bartending job back with a few sweet smiles sent his way. Was she manipulative in that way? Just a little. Really, Carl was such a softie.
This whole thing had been like one short joy ride for her. She was learning new things about herself, her body, and about a man that captivated her. Now she was ready to cut the ride short and go home from the carnival.
A strange sound caught her ears, interrupting her thoughts. Chloe squinted out into the empty, snowy wasteland of hills and mountains. Not a town or city in sight. They were clearly in the middle of snowy nowhere. The glare of the sun off the snow threatened to burn her retinas.
“Do you guys get trains out here?”
The guards stopped talking and instantly were at her side. Though neither of them
answered her question, they peered out the gate with intent, alert eyes. Then they both sprung into action at the same time.
The blonde warrior slammed his fist into a brick at the side of the gate. But instead of breaking, the brick slid perfectly into the wall like some sort of button. In a matter of seconds, guards swarmed onto the parapet walls back at the castle, and dozens more came pouring out from all sides of the castle...heading straight for her.
The earth started moving. At first, she thought it was from the warriors running towards them, but then she saw snow flying into the air outside the gate in clouds and she realized it was coming from the ground. The sickening, warning feeling started in her stomach. A little too late stomach, she thought angrily.
Warriors grabbed her, pushing her further and further away from the gate.
“Wait, I want to see. What’s going on?” No one answered her.
A wet, heavy sound like a body being dropped into mud brought her eyes swinging over the heads of the warriors blocking the gate. The sound didn’t stop. Repeatedly it came like some kind of eerie warning. Chloe fought against the warriors trying to pull her away and jumped up and down to get a look. Her stomach bottomed out at what she saw. Holes forming in the ground, arms coming out.
One hole was particularly big, leaving a black cavern of a hole around it. Chloe’s eyes went huge. She recognized that hole. The earth shuddered as if gods shouldered those snowy mountains in the background and were pushing them with brute force. If not for the warrior holding her arms, she would have fallen to the ground.
“KLLOOOOOOOOOOWEEEEEEEEEE!”
Chloe jumped at the long, rumble of her name that was so loud she wouldn’t be surprised if those mountains just had avalanches. The guards started shoving her hard, back towards the castle and she went, straight into the arms of Tyrian.
He set her aside coldly, pushing her into the arms of Rayn. “Take her into the castle. I’ll be there in a minute.”
There was no hesitance. Suddenly her body was tingling from her forehead to her toes, the snow and warriors around her flickered, then disappeared as if by magic. Suddenly, she was standing in Tyrian’s study surrounded by the warmth of the fireplace. Rayn only gave her a brief nod, before he disappeared in that same strange way.
“What the hell was that?” Vampires couldn’t teleport around. They didn’t have that kind of ability. That was a power demons had. Her hands flew to her mouth, stifling a gasp.
The sounds of shouts and screams sent her running to the window. She braced her hands on the cold stone and leaned out. Her jaw fell to the ground at what she saw.
It was her demon, and he wasn’t alone. There were dozens of them, maybe forty, or fifty, attacking the gates and walls with swords and claws. Yet her demon was different, big and half-dead, and towering over them all.