Page 57 of Dark Captivation

“I fear nothing.” I wiped the smile from my face as an angry grimace replaced it.

“Clink, clink, the chains call for you, Malek. Calling you to the place you once called home, the home of your unending nightmare. The one place that you can never truly escape.” The creature squeaked and my anger cooled as something I hadn’t felt in years reared its ugly head. Fear.

“What do you know of my nightmares?” I spat, trying to mask how much he had affected me.

This was more than an illusion; Payton was a being of great power. He was able to dip into my memories and use them to color his illusions for maximum effect.

Darkness enveloped my mind as I pondered the chipmunk’s message. My thoughts ventured back to the darkest fortress of my memories. The place so horrid that I barely escaped with my life, my twisted, unending nightmare.

Suffering, pain, loneliness and heat so searing it charred me to my soul. My tormentors’ mocking voices called to me. My anguish was their greatest delight. These were the colors on the canvas of my darkest dreams. My arms hung low, my body trembling as I uncovered what I’d long abandoned.

I screamed out as my blood wet the soil. Payton’s illusion broke apart and I was back in the present.

Payton’ s fangs were so deep into my leg he was close to the bone. He held on tight, like a tick, refusing to let go until he’d drained me of all my blood. Once again he snuck up on me when I was distracted. He was indeed a skilled warrior.

An unfamiliar voice beckoned to me. It said to let Payton take my leg and allow him to rip into me and take my life. Then I would never have to go back, never have to fear the clank of the rusty chains ever again. I would never have to relive that dreadful nightmare again.

I froze, caught in the cage of my own fears, just as Payton had intended. His fangs deepened and my blood flowed like a river.

My pulse thumped so loudly I could hear it. My blood pressure plummeted and I grew dizzy. The larger part of me welcomed the incoming darkness and the permanent peace and freedom from fear that death would bring.

I might have let Payton finish the job if only… if only he’d had been wise enough to keep his mouth shut. But instead, like a fool Payton telepathically said. “A mate bond is sacred. Not even you have the power to break the strings that connect Livienne to me. Nothing you can ever do will keep me from pursuing my mate.”

I saturated my lungs with air, my strength returning with a fiery vengeance.

“Sunny was the one who healed me when I was broken, putting my fractured soul back together like the pieces of a puzzle. I would sooner burn the world to ashes than lose her.” I roared, fisting Payton’s neck and squeezing it with all my strength. He whimpered as a crackling sound forced him to release my leg. Grabbing him by the loose skin along his back I threw him hard against a nearby tree.

He collided with it, making an audible clack before landing on all fours and shaking wildly. He had incredible endurance; a wolf shifter would have succumbed from such a blow. But as a demi-god he was far stronger.

I charged at him and he shuffled about, never staying too long in one spot so as not to get caught again.

An energy blast tore from his mouth shooting for me. At such a close range I hadn’t the time to dodge it completely. It seared my thigh, disintegrating a large patch of my pants before demolishing a series of trees behind me.

He darted behind me, making a quick zig zag almost too fast to see. He then came at my thigh, teeth first. Inches from his target, his jaw gaped wider, showing his tongue.

I swiped my claw, cutting a chunk out of his neck. I must not have gone deep enough to reach the windpipe as he was still standing. Blood stained his fur, soaking the grass beneath his paws.

Still, his eyes burned that determined, toxic green, letting me know that despite his wounds he was far from giving up.

We bulldozed several trees as our monsters wrestled our way through the forest. Bite for bite, scratch for scratch, we ripped chunks from each other in ways that would have decimated weaker beings.

Payton was only half god and I, full. It was a true testament to his tenacity that he was able to last this long against me.

He bit into my shoulder and the pain felt like a thunder bolt had struck me. His jaw unclenched as he pushed off, trying to get enough distance between us before I could retaliate.

I hugged him to me in a move that seemed to both confuse and terrify him. His claws dug into my chest and torso. The pain was blinding but as he was immobile I had the advantage. My claws knifed into his sides, deep enough that they ripped past his flesh and lodged into the muscle.

He howled in agony, thrashing about in a way that said his every instinct told him his life was in mortal danger and he may not survive unless he managed to get away.

My death hug persisted, my claws inching deeper and deeper as all Payton could do was thrash and howl.

“Crying won’t help you now. No one can save you from me. You brought this fate on yourself.”

I could almost see the spirit start to leave Payton’s body as a voice broke into my mind through the telepathic channel.

“My King, Sam is here. He says there’s been an attack at the community center. Lady Sunny and the princess are in danger.” Lucile said, urgency and panic mixing in her voice.

My claws retracted and Payton fell like a bag of potatoes.

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