Page 10 of Secondhand Garagyre

Chapter Twelve

LAITHOG

Mmmmmm.

Thefemale before me smells delectable.Hintsof cinnamon and vanilla float across the air currents.Thescents emanating from her lush body cause my mouth to water with anticipation.Shewill be far tastier than the guttersnipeIjust drained.Mystomach is full.Themale lying on the ground fulfilled my bodily requirement for sustenance, but my bloodlust is a greedy thing.Oncearoused, it’s incredibly difficult to rein back in.

Quitefrankly, why shouldI?

Thislittle human female smells delicious.Herblood would be ambrosial compared to the unpleasantness of the male.Hisblood had been almost gag worthy, butIam starving, and beggars could not be too picky.Heis nothing but a means to an end, food at its basest requirement.

Buther.

Herblood will be like sipping fine wine, andIhave been denied for far too long.Thereasoning behind his death flirted with the edge of my sanity, but the slight breeze causes another tendrilof that enchanting scent up my nose.Ahint of bitterness creeps into the scrumptious aroma emanating from the female.

Fear.

Good.

Sheshould fear me.Herdeath is near, becauseIam going to glut myself on her blood until there is not a drop left in her fragile body.

“Laithog.”

Herhusky voice wraps around my name in an almost indecent caress.No, not a caress as one might address a lover.

Itis a plea.

Aweak, meaningless protest of what is about to befall her.

But.

Wait…

How…?

Howdoes she know my name?

Nohuman has ever known my name…

Thatis to say, not any human alive knows my name.Itis enough to slice through the haze of bloodlust, and my consciousness snaps back into place with a jolt.

Ifreeze.

Horrorand chagrin fill me asIrealize that in my bloodlust-fueled state,Ihave prowled over to her and have caged her in.Mymuch larger body has her completely trapped, and my noseis buried in the crook of her neck.Dualrazor-edged fangs are a hairsbreadth from piercing her paper-thin skin.Thewhimpered utterance of my name is the sole feeble attempt at stopping me.Thankfullyfor us both, it worked.

Iwould have walked into the noon sun to escape my miserable existence hadIdrained the life from her precious body.Mymind would fracture at the loss of not one, but two femalesIcare for.

Snappingmy wings out and down,Ifling myself away from her with a burst of motion.Theair my wings displace creates a small gust that blows her hair off her face.Ifeel the cold ground under my feet as they grapple for purchase in the grass, the razor-sharp talons on the ends of my toes gouge the soil whereIland.

Turningaway from where she remains stationary on the ground,Isnarl viciously at the corpse of the human male.Withthe return of my conscious mind, the memoriesIobtained from the male’s blood surge forth, igniting my ire once again.

Slightrustling behind me announcesPaisley’smovements.Ican feel her as she steps closer to me, her tread shuffling and hesitant. “Thismale, he is one of the ones responsible for the state you are in.Isaw it whenItook his blood.”

Herbreathing pattern changes, almost imperceptibly, as she pauses before replying. “Yes, he and another man are the ones who did the deed, but only at the order of another.”

Snarling,Isnatch the dead male up, take a deep breath, and exhale a stream of black fire, completely engulfing the body held within my grasp.Idon’t stop until the body is nothing more than ashes in the wind.Atentative touch on my back, slightly below where my wing joints tie into my shoulders, alerts me toPaisley’spresence.

Whata bold female to approach me after whatIalmost did to her.Thehumor in her voice takes me by surprise. “Ithink you got him.”Shegiggles out before continuing, “So,Ifeel like we have a lot to talk about, but it’s getting colder the later it gets.Idon’t like to presume, but since you have characteristics of at least two other mythological species,I’mgoing to guess that you also eat solid food.Wouldyou like to come home with me?Ihaven’t had supper, and cooking for one is depressing.Thatis, if there isn’t somewhere else you need to be…?”Theupward lilt at the end of her sentence implies the last bit is also a question.

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