Lacrimosa (26 page)

Chapter 35 - Tribulations

Aydan

I escort Lori into the deserted club through the alley. The dark hallway spills onto the main dance floor. The only light comes from the pulsating neon overhead. Music blares from the speakers, a strange mix of gothic rock that shakes the floorboards. Time has no meaning in this club. It seems late. Much too late.

My time is up.

“So, where is she?” Lori asks.

Candles light the old altar at the far end of the dance floor. The scene looks ominous. Lori's eyes widen. She begins to tremble and back away. “Aydan?” Her voice quivers. “What’s going on? Where’s Nesy?” Goosebumps erupt over her pale skin.

“I’m sorry, Lori.”
I didn’t have a choice
. I grab her arm and force her forward. “This is the only way I can save Nesy.” A lone tear slithers down my cheek as the words sputter out.

Lori stiffens against my weak grasp, breaking free. She runs down the hall and pushes against the doors, pounding them until her fists swell. The doors refuse to budge.

She turns back to me, her face contorted with rage. “How could you?”

Smoke coils around her body. Bat-like creatures with black beaks and sharp claws emerge from the smoke. They push her, forcing her toward me. Toward the altar.

Lori’s scream pierces my heart. The demon next to her clamps his clawed hand down on her mouth, nearly breaking her jaw. It nips the air next to her face.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you. My pets go a little crazy when they hear a scream.” Azza steps from the dark recesses next to the altar, his black eyes ablaze. “I don’t know how long I’ll be able to control them.”

He laughs as Lori screams again. The demon digs his claws into her face.

My mind snaps as her cheek bleeds. I swing my arm, colliding with the dark creature. I look at Lori, her eyes filled with the disgust I feel. I wipe the blood from her mouth, whispering “I’m sorry.”

Azza’s voice turns cold, menacing.

Dangerous.

“I told you not to scream,” he says as he slithers next to Lori. He slaps her face and my blood boils. Another trickle of blood runs down the corners of her mouth.

I’ll kill you
, I think, careful not to act.

I walk to Lori and stare into her eyes. With a finger, I catch the blood dripping from the cut on her mouth. I bring it to my lips. The coopery scent fills my senses. I lick the scant blood from my finger.

Azza follows. Grabbing her by her shirt, he dumps her onto the barstool and spins her to him. “I told you I’d be back. It’s time to serve the same fate as your mother. But unlike her, you will not deny me your soul.”

Lori spits in his face and runs.

No! Don’t!
Fissures crack through my heart with each step she takes.

Stupid girl. Don’t fight him. You can’t win.

Azza catches her before she makes it past the dance floor. “So, you want to make this hard, do you? I like hard.”

He throws her across the room. She collides with the marbled edge of the bar, opening a larger gash over her eye. In a flash, he’s over her, pulling her to her feet again.

Too weak to move, too disgusted with myself, I weigh my options.

Rescue Lori

Kill Azza

Kill myself

There’s no way out for me now. For Lori. I’m too weak, too broken. Every choice condemns the one I love. There’s no way to prevent the agony of this night.

Azza squeezes Lori’s jaw. “It’s okay, little Seer. I like a challenge. It makes things so much more...interesting.”

“Stop,” I bellow, unable to watch any more of his sadistic fun. “You don’t need to do this.” I rush to Lori’s side. “I took her blood. Bound myself to my word. I have no choice but to finish this now. You don’t need to torture her.”

Lori glares at me. Her hatred of me filters into my thoughts, mirroring my own. Weakening me.

“Oh, but I think I do. I’m enjoying this far too much to stop.” I feel him pulling on my emotions, tasting every ounce of torment and anguish. “Oh yes,” he whispers. “Much too much.”

Azza wipes the blood from Lori’s face and brings it to his mouth. “It doesn’t have to be like this, Seer. I could make it almost pleasurable for you to die.”

Lori turns away in defiance.

Azza grabs her chin and forces her to look at him. “What? You don’t like this face?” Candlelight reflects off his skeletal frame, bathing him in a hideous glow. Terror reflects in Lori’s eyes as a smile curls Azza’s lips. He changes into the image of his human host. Black hair, hard jaw, pale skin. Only the markings down his neck and the inhuman, empty eyes remain.

The Beast pushes me forward. Begs me to finish her off now. I turn away, unable to stomach the image of Azza tasting Lori’s soul. The image of what I must do.

Lori’s muffled screams feed the Beast as I fight the urge to rip Azza to shreds and take Lori’s soul for myself.

Azza releases a feral growl. I turn, surprised. Lori has clawed his face, leaving a bloody trail of scratches deep in his skin.

“You will pay for that one, Seer.” Azza slams her against the post, knocking her head against the marble. She slumps to the ground, bleeding and unconscious.

The metallic scent of her blood beckons the dark creatures lurking in the shadows. They swarm around her body, consumed with their need to feed.

Her scent pulls on me as well. I strain against it, too weak to ignore the siren call of her soul. My hunger rips through me as I stare at her still unconscious body on the floor.

Azza holds the creatures back, a smile glinting in his eyes. “Are you ready to drink her soul?”

I tremble, unable to withstand the Beast. My legs move on their own toward her. My throats constricts. There is only one thing can quench the building thirst. Her soul.

I walk into the alley as the sounds of the dark creatures feasting on Lori’s emotions, her suffering, fills my ears. My need for the Seer consumes my thoughts.

My body.

My soul.

Chapter 36 – Forsaken Love

Nesy

I run towards the club, determined to save Lori. Kill Aydan. End this nightmare. The sun drops below the canopy of the buildings.

Too fast
. Everything is happening too fast.

I want more time with Aydan. I need to make sure he’s really a monster. My heart knows he can’t be. Conflict paralyzes the whole of me. I don’t want to kill Aydan, but he leaves me no choice. I must protect Lori. I must prevent the bond from taking place.

I must be the Sentinal I was trained to be, no matter the cost.

My heart seizes with every step. I can’t breathe, can’t think. I’m locked in turmoil as the truth—my truth—coils around me. I must kill Aydan.

And his death…

Will kill me.

My pace quickens. I push aside the feelings suffocating me. Mikayel’s voice enters my thoughts.
Get this done, Sentinal. Now.
I cling to his words, letting them remind me of my true duty.

One: Pierce Aydan’s heart.

Two: Cast him to the Abyss

Three : Take Lori and run.

Every move is choreographed to perfection in my mind. No hesitation. No opportunities for Azzaziel to interfere. No mistakes.

Not this time.

I slow to a walk as sweat streams down my brow. I’m ready. Reaching over my shoulder, I finger the sword hidden in its sheath. I long to feel its weight in my hand and breathe in its power.

Wielding a sword is second nature to me. Ever since Mikayel taught me how to use it, I’ve needed its power. Craved it the way this body craves air. And yet, today, the hilt of my sword feels foreign. There is no strength in it. No security.

Today it means nothing but death.

His
death.

Only a few more blocks to go. I create a mental map of the club and begin to run again, desperate to save my sister.

Stop!
Lori’s voice rings through my mind. Burning sensations, mixed with the tearing of flesh from bone, spring to life in my thoughts. They consume me, searing my soul.

I stop running. My body buckles with pain. A sea of people swarm around me, almost trampling me. I can’t move. And the nightmare unfolds in front of me.

Lori’s living nightmare.

Something, someone, lifts Lori from the floor. Her lip is open and bleeding. She’s barely conscious.

Azzaziel stands inches from her face. “Are you done fighting me yet?”

“Never,” Lori says, her voice nothing more than a whisper.

“Then you leave me no choice.” He rips his demonic hand across her flesh, opening new wounds.

The demons and other dark creatures crowd around him. Waiting. Azzaziel turns to the UnHoly standing guard at the doors.