Page 56 of Dark Captivation

“Then you must have deceived her into going with you. What else would anyone expect from the King of Lies?” Blake barked like the mutt he was.

“I have seen and heard enough of this nonsense. You are the deceivers, and you will never see nor harm her again.” My cheek wrinkled into a smile as I felt the dark power swell within me.

My dark beast roared awake and bubbled up to the forefront of my being. His powerful essence merged with mine, feeding me his immense power and his savage blood lust.

“Paul, Logan, Lucile, transform yourselves.” I grunted as the bones in my spine expanded. “Lucile, you and Paul take the shiny one. Logan, you handle the one with the patch of white on his hind leg. I’ll take the Dominant. The one they call ‘Payton’.”

“Yes my King!” they answered before initiating their shifts to full demon beast form.

I did the same and a thick gray fur sprung up all over me. My skull elongated to form a beastly snout with three rows of shark-like teeth. My seven feet grew to ten as my claws grew long enough to drape my thighs like curtains.

This was the power of the ancient demon class, to be able to shift into a beast compatible for great and magnificent power, but also terrible carnage and destruction. Paul, Logan and Lucile’s demon forms were similar to mine except their fur was a lighter gray and none of them came close to matching my size. Still, they were more than strong enough for the task.

While in the demon beast form, my men and I stood upright. The demi-god beast form on the other hand saw them standing on all fours. Though we were different beings entirely, our sizes weren’t entirely dissimilar. Mine was the largest beast here but Logan and Payton were about the same size, as was Lucile and Blake. Chasten was the smallest, but only by a small margin.

Blake rammed Paul with his side, shoving him back several feet. Lucile ran to his aid and dirt went flying as the three of them locked in bloody battle.

Chasten waited, not making a move until Logan charged at him. I’d thought that a sign of weakness, but I was quickly proven wrong as Chasten darted away from Logan's claws and burrowed his fangs deep into Logan’s thigh.

The demi-gods moved like lightning, proving themselves to be better fighters than I thought.

A massive orb of white-hot energy jettisoned toward my head. I jolted back narrowly, missing the deadly blast. Payton, clearly done with negotiating, puffed out his chest as another blast built up inside him.

“Now you’re talking!” I roared, smiling so hard that you could see all three rows of my teeth. Intoxicating adrenaline pumped through my veins, invigorating me. This was the first decent fight I’d had in ages, a glorious clash of monsters. I was going to enjoy this.

My heart thudded in my chest as I took off for Payton.

A second blinding white blast blew free of his jaw and I traced out of his path at speeds only possible from a demon. The ground shook as I continued racing for Payton.

He paused for a second, his snout bobbing left and right as he considered what to do. He seemed to consider if he should blast me again or take cover in the trees until he could come up with another plan. Choosing the latter, he turned tail and tore into the foliage.

Bad idea. His energy blasts were the only vital power he had over me. Demi-Gods were fast but demons were faster. They were strong, but I was stronger. I pursued Payton up a slight incline, my heavy weight making my feet sink a few inches into the soil with every step.

I flashed the leafy branches out of my way as I followed Payton’s musky scent.

Where was he? I grew frustrated. He couldn’t have gotten that far. I rammed my fist into the pine tree on my left and a fierce rattling sound ensued. Next thing I knew, I was covered in a blanket of scorpions that had fallen from out of the upper branches.

What the hell? Of all the trees that could have been infested with scorpions, why this one? I flashed them off my shoulders as quickly as I could, but their angry stings sent a fiery pain stabbing through my shoulders.

Just then, I remembered something important. Demi-Gods had another power I hadn’t factored in. They possessed illusionary magic. They could make me see things that weren’t real, tricking and distracting me with an illusion.

The scorpions vanished in the blink of an eye and a set of sharp claws dug across my back in a furious and perfectly timed strike.

Damn, it was only an illusion. My vision was spotted with my blood; I turned around to look for my attacker. Empty forest gazed back at me.

“Where are you, Payton? Is this how demi-gods fight? From the shadows like cowards?” I roared at the silence.

“I learned it from a famous king. Fighting from the shadows is his specialty.” Payton telepathically, replied from somewhere unseen. I bellowed a laugh realizing he was talking about me.

The wound on my back hurt but it wasn’t deep enough to seriously harm me, only slow me a little.

I waded through a few more trees following his scent. I drew to a stop as a small brown chipmunk stood perched on a branch directly in front of my face. Our eyes met and it spat out an acorn, holding it in its paws.

“Come now, Payton. Is this really the best illusion you’ve got?” I laughed, flying my arms over my head.

The chipmunk was so cute it made the wound on my back hurt less.

The rodent dropped the acorn, his eyes honing eerily in on me. “I know your fears, Malek.” The chipmunk said in a squeaky yet deathly serious tone.

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