Page 60 of Of Night and Blood: Special Edition

The creature froze, trying to decipher the new path its mind was taking it on. As if arguing with the thoughts I attempted to portray as its own. I tensed when I heard it make the decision to turn around, to leave us be.

Poised to go the opposite way, the beast halted. I knew it was aware of my prodding when I felt its glee as it faced us once more, heard its thoughts of violence and excitement. Then it spoke, not aloud, but within its mind. A voice of nightmares, like metal scraping glass.

Ah, The Manipulator. Tales of you span realms, worlds even. Feared by many, loved by none.

I shuddered, bile rising up my throat. The insult slamming into my heart. My soul. I frantically searched the tree line, catching Bellamy’s attention.

The female who has a family that seeks to control her, use her. Did you know your queen puts hemlock in your food? Such a silly, pathetic being you are. So trusting. So naïve.

My breath hitched. Was it insinuating that Mia was poisoning my food? How would it know that? I shook my head, focusing on my body, my physical being. A metallic taste in my mouth startled me. I had bit through my lip, blood soaking my tongue.

Even worse, the prince at your side hides much from you. A liar, a murderer, a vengeful soul he is. Yet perhaps the only being in existence who does not fear you. Apart from the one who seeks you above all else, that is.

I tugged on the reins, urging Frost to stop with the ropes and my own power. I gasped for air, feeling how confident the creature was with its statements, an all-knowing presence that made me want to rip off my skin from the itch of its magic.

Bellamy noticed us halt, doing the same with Lucifer. His face did not betray his thoughts, though his eyes showed the concern he felt.

I latched on once more, urging my power to simply shatter the mind of the evil veiled by the trees. Laughter could be heard, echoing across the forest, baleful and unsettling. Whatever it was closed in on us, quickly. The others eyed me, as if they had suddenly realized what I was doing.

Ah yes, your tricks do not work quite the same on our minds. Oh, how that god will weep. Her Gift, the promised doom, dead before your destiny could be fulfilled. A tragedy. And I do so love tragedies.

That horror-inducing chuckle sounded again, no more than a hundred feet away now, but in a different direction. It was circling us, a predator taunting its prey, enjoying the game. Noe gasped as the creature spoke out loud, addressing us all this time.

“I will tear you all apart, limb by limb. I will suck the meat from your bones and savor the taste of your blood on my teeth. You, Manipulator, I will save for last—my grandest prize. I will make you watch as I eat them. I will make you watch as your future dies before you,” it said, a promise and a threat. Joy, it felt so much joy at the idea of our demise.

“Afriktor,” Henry rasped, his green eyes wide in fear.

Bellamy’s entire body lit, black flames licking at the air around him as he steered Lucifer in front of me. I noted that this time, his clothes did not burn away, nor did they touch or frighten the horse.

Henry and Winona urged their horses forward from behind me, their bodies glowing as brightly as the moon and stars above us. The two of them were on either side of Frost and I, Noe—bathed in darkness—holding the rear.

Cyprus, Lian, and Ranbir spread out, a second line of defense in case the beast was not alone.

Protecting me. They were protecting me.

As if it had been awaiting my discovery, patiently allowing me to build up hope, the afriktor walked out of the trees.

Taller than any fae or demon, the afriktor towered above us, its smile showing yellow teeth as sharp as a blade. With the demon light coming off of Winona and Henry, I could see that its wrinkled skin was the dusty red of a lunar eclipse. An omen.

Talons the length of my forearm clicked together, the afriktor’s leathery wings flapping in time with my breaths. Henry had been attacked by this? And lived?

I did not dare look back at him, though I was sure the demon was living in both the past and present as he stared into the all-white eyes of the creature before us.

“Stella save us,” Cyprus whispered. Another laugh sounded from the afriktor.

“She learned her lesson the first time she aided the Blessed, named you such. You were a waste of her time, a stain on—” before the creature could finish, Bellamy attacked. Black flame shot into the chest of the afriktor, sending it flying back.

An ear-splitting screech rang through the forest.

Utter silence replaced all sound. I held my breath, afraid that even a soft exhale would unleash the darkness upon us. Bellamy waved a hand, a click coming from between his teeth. All eight horses shot forward, pushed on by a phantom wind that smelled of spring and flowers. Lian.

I nearly fell off Frost as she sprang through the woods, dodging trees and far outrunning the others. I held on with all of my strength, begging anyone or anything that would listen to keep me upright.

And then the thrashing came. Not from hooves, but feet. An avalanche of pounding steps and beating wings.

“Foolish prince. You think I would not share a prize such as this? We are all eager to taste the coveted one,” it said, hidden from view once more, likely keeping time with us, maintaining our speed with glee at the chase.

Asher.

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