Page 49 of King of the Unsightly

Kaschel gripped my chin tighter and rubbed his thumb gently over my bottom lip. He inclined his head closer to mine until our lips were parallel for the second time tonight.

I couldn’t break away from his intensity as he kept my chin in place.

I felt like a mouse trapped by a hungry lion, prowling, waiting for the right moment to pounce.

I swallowed, hard.

I couldn’t think as the man before me smiled so devilishly my whole body wanted to cave in.

Kaschel dropped my chin and leaned back. “So, you were looking at me with desire and not the food,” he chuckledwith such a haughty tone that anything I felt two seconds ago vanished.

“I-I wasn’t.” Damn it. That wasn’t convincing at all.

What the fuck, Addy? Get your shit together. Stop getting distracted by his looks.

He had nothing else going for him.

A thunderous explosion rattled the floor beneath us and an inhuman screech followed. The glasses on the bar dropped and shattered into hundreds of shards of glass as the reverberating clangor made the world mute.

A Sacrifice

The thundering footfalls rang closer until Levisus came huffing out from the hallway. He leaned a hand on the wall wearing a dark cloak and what looked almost like nursing scrubs.

Levisus glanced at Kaschel with a tinge of gravity in his voice. “I need more time but I—”

“Enough. I’ll handle it, but you better hurry. When one comes, they all follow.” Kaschel stalked over to the door. His muscular back tensed up. He shook out one hand and put the other on his sheath, but before he opened the door, he glimpsed back at me. “Stay here and don’t come out.”

I jerked to my feet, ignoring his request. “I need to get Gren first.”

Kaschel couldn’t talk me out of it. No one could.

I couldn’t leave Gren out there by himself. I would never forgive myself.

The few people I cared about always seemed to ... No. I wasn’t going to entertain a thought like that. I sure as hell wouldn’t let another one I cared about slip through my fingers.

My cowardice couldn’t stop me. I could retrieve Gren without falling to my knees in fear. Even if my anxiety returned the second I caught a glimpse of the creature, I just needed to call for Gren and tell him to come hide inside. Easy, peasy.

Kaschel groaned and he rubbed his temple. “Fuck. Fine but you can’t waver. You grab him and you get the hell out of there.”

I walked behind him, but my movement came in short spurts as my legs wobbled and threatened to give out the closer I got to our impending doom.

Kaschel grumbled at my weak attempt to get to the door. I wondered if I put a face next to the bloodcurdling screech, would I be even more terrified?

I shook my head and disregarded the cluttered mess of tension filtering through my mind and kept my focus on the door in front of us.

I gulped when Kaschel pushed it open, and Gren flapped toward us.

A beast emerged from the forest and my eyes widened in horror.

It had to be about ten feet tall with a body warped by shadows as its elongated arms with claws the size of blades dragged behind it. A disturbing smile distorted its face. Something I believed only nightmares could conjure as its crooked jaw hung loose like an unspun thread.

The beast spotted Kaschel and its mouth broadened. Its jaw cracked as it snapped together and then apart. Even its ghastly fanged teeth couldn’t be concealed. They hooked outward like elephant tusks as drool poured out of its malformed mouth.

The beast shrieked again, and I almost pissed myself. Its body trudged forward, compelling the ground to tremble beneath our feet. Or maybe only my body trembled; I honestly couldn’t tell.

The beast’s neck craned, and another snap echoed throughout the forest. “Kaschel, you were warned, yet here you are. I can’t say I’m disappointed.” The beast’s slimy voice slithered through the air, taunting my ears. “Imprisoning someone like you would earn me a hefty reward. I mean, just think of all the ones you threw in the Scáths who would be overjoyed to hear of your return.”

Kaschel exuded so much energy and wrath it took me back as he stepped forward, unfazed by the beast’s threat. “You know, I was going to pardon the others once I regained my throne, but you eradicated any chance of that. Now, I’m feeling quite bloodthirsty.”

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