“Stop this, witch,” he warned, his own eyes beginning to glow.
Her body relaxed and she stumbled backwards hitting the wall. She winced, then ran up to him. He sucked in shallow breaths through the invisible binds as he brought forth his own magic. He started chanting the words to break the binds as she picked up one of his swords. She started to lift it but she’d underestimated how heavy demon steel was and dropped it back in the sand before taking off on a sprint.
The last of his spell left him and the binds loosened the magic around him. “Abbigail!” he roared.
He surged to his feet with blazing fury roaring through his veins as he charged after her.
Chapter Six
Water engulfed her. Her mouth filled with it and she swallowed the fresh, cold liquid. The frigid temperature slowed her movements but still she slugged through it and thrust her arms through the water, kicking her legs until her muscles burned. Finally, she saw light above her and shot towards it. She burst to the surface and sucked in a breath of air. Her heart raced and she quickened her movements, paddling swiftly to the surface.
Her feet sank into sand as she stood and, without time to take in her surroundings, she rushed into the forest. It looked strange. The leaves too green, the flowers too pink and red on the buds. Not a tree she’d ever seen before. Aside from the gray and pinkish swirl of the hazy sky above her, the forest looked familiar and she stuck to it, her lungs burning with every breath she took.
She raced through the forest. He had magic skills she’d never witnessed before. Hell, the fact that she’d been able to bind him when she hadn’t used magic in years surprised the hell out of her. She’d just been so mad, so desperate to get away from the demon that some deep-seated magic had come forth.
It didn’t take long for her gait to slow and her muscles to burn. She didn’t run much. In fact, never. Her lungs felt like they were on fire but she couldn’t risk stopping to catch her breath. She could almost feel him right behind her.
The demon was insane. Straight up fell-way-off-the-tree crazy. How did he find her? Why her? Why did his mother curse him? These questions roared in her head with the need for answers.
The forest broke and she stopped, her gaze swinging behind her searching for a dark, deadly man. Maybe his magic wasn’t as good as she thought because he was nowhere in sight. Good, really good. She took in the scene in front of her. The strangeness of it was enough to make her want to stick to the forest but it didn’t seem very big or like the best choice right now. In front of her was rocky, dirt-laden land. Two crumbled stone buildings looking ages old reminded her of an ancient battlefield. What she didn’t find was anything that looked like a city or town and no people.
A sound made her freeze and flatten her back against the tree. She strained, pressing her lips together and breathed as quietly as she could through her nose as she listened. There it was again. The whoosh of leaves being brushed. He was closing in on her!
Without a second thought, she took off on a sprint for the stone building where a small rocky hill led up to it. The incline was too steep to run up so she went on hands and feet and crawled up, kicking up chalky rocks and sending them tumbling down behind her. She winced at the noise she made but continued.
Breathing hard she made it to the top. Her energy waned fast and she found it took her longer to stand up and run for the temple than she wanted. She made it and breathed a sigh of relief as she darted inside. With her back to the cold stone, she tried to collect her wild thoughts. The ceiling of the temple had caved in on one corner, and the inside was empty save for the stone floor.
“Abbigail!” the wild demon roared.
She squeaked then slapped her hand over her mouth to stifle the noise hoping like hell that she wasn’t too late. God he sounded close.
He yelled her name again, this time sounding farther away and off to the left. Her eyes shot wide at her one chance. He’d check in here for sure. Hell, she knew she would if their roles were reversed. She spotted her next goal out of the crooked opening of the temple and saw a fierce mountain in the distance. It looked unused and old. Trees and foliage grew thickly up to the white peak. She didn’t need to go up it; maybe if she could get to the base she could trek around it until she lost him. The forest looked thick enough that she might be able to lose him.
“Abbigail!” His voice came back, closer to the temple.
This was her chance.
She tore out of the opening, her feet slapping against the dirt and rocks. She didn’t turn back to see if he saw her, just kept her eyes on the mountain and mentally calculated the distance. A couple hundred yards at least. The land wasn’t flat but lifted and dipped in waves. Eyes wide, more scared than she’d ever been, even when the demon had come to her house, she let her instincts burst inside her, and flat-out ran.
The mountain came closer and closer, getting bigger as she neared. The heavy, thick tree line surrounding it beckoned her with welcome arms. Something flashed in the trees. She kept running. An animal. A stroke of fear went down her spine but still she ran straight towards it.
A distinct sound came from behind her. Her heartbeat pounded like drums in her ears as she pushed her body harder. He’d spotted her and his heavy steps were coming right after her.
Another flash of movement darted in the forest. She had no clue what kind of wild animals lived in the nether-realm where a variety of demons resided, but none could be as bad as the demon after her. None of them had threatened to kill her mother.
She smiled with joy. Less than fifty yards—nearly there. She’d make it. She heard him calling her name, his heavy steps beating the rocks. After she got a safe way in the forest she’d turn and look back, but not now.
Movement flashed again in the forest. Something shorter than her. That’s all she got to see before it disappeared behind a mass of wide tree trunks. She neared the forest but never got to enter it.
A creature stepped out and she dug her feet into the ground to stop. A scream curled up in her throat but never escaped. Something nasty and very scared uncurled inside her. This thing would kill her without blinking, she just knew it.
It looked like something out of a nightmare. Evil yellow eyes with red spider web veins glared at her. Its bony body looked undernourished with knobby knees, elbows, and knuckles with extra-long fingers sporting a set of black hooded claws worthy of a bear. Surrounding its bony body was a layer of hard looking muscle. Its greenish skin looked leathery and rough to touch. Black claws stuck out sharp looking from its fingertips. The creature peeled its blackish lips back and hissed, bearing rows of sharp pointy yellow teeth.
She’d heard about other demonic creatures in the rift. Evil, horrible ones that feasted off living flesh, whose poison could kill within minutes. Was she staring at one of these creatures?
Abby started walking backwards. Her hammering heart pounded recklessly as the creature took a step towards her and didn’t stop. She wanted to turn and flee but couldn’t give this strange, hairless creature her back. It had green skin and was short probably not even five-feet tall yet its small size didn’t ease any of her fear.
Its jaw snapped open wide like a snake’s mouth detaching its jaw to eat a large prey, then a horrible ear-piercing cry split the air. Abby couldn’t fight her instincts anymore. She turned and ran—straight into the arms of the crazy demon.
“Stay back!” he demanded.
Finally, an order she could comply with. He thrust her away and she toppled backwards landing hard on her butt. Half scooting backwards on her butt, she watched as the demon lifted his arms over his head and unsheathed the two swords from his back.