Page 116 of Unbinding the Demon
He snarled with rage. His skeletal abyss arm struck out, and he grabbed my hand. I screamed in agony as he grinned with sadistic delight, crushing my bones as if they were nothing more than mere toothpicks. Snaps and crunches were heard, while pain radiated throughout my hand and down my arm, forcing me to drop my weapon. My skin sizzled and decayed, exposing open wounds along my fingers. The blade fell to the ground beside me, while he lifted his dagger high above his head in a fit of fury, ready to strike.
“You stupid, sniveling little witch!In the name of God,you die now!”He began to thrust the dagger down upon me.
I flinched in terror, but then Adelstein froze mid-strike. He looked as if he were gasping for air, with his mouth repeatedly opening and closing. He wheezed and looked down with fear, his hand trembling as it moved over his stomach. That’s when I noticed the tip of the twin sword poking out through his abdomen, slowly turning him to ash. I furrowed my brows in confusion.
What the hell?
“Not on my watch, bitch,” Lacey said from behind him. She stood triumphantly, with a hostile scowl on her face and the hilt of the sword in her hands.
Despite the bruises and grime, she looked positively radiant. Her tight black curls danced in the wind behind her while she smiled down at me. Tears of relief filled my eyes as I smiled back at her. She pulled the sword out of Adelstein, causing him to fall forward over me with a pained grunt... And then he caught himself with his hand placed firmly on the ground? My eyes warily searched his pained features, as sickening dread and trepidation crept over me.
If he’s dying, then how did he catch himself like that?
His pained expression warped into a malevolent smile, with devious corruption lurking in the depths of his abysmal eyes. The black mist rapidly healed his stomach; then he whipped around and stabbed Lacey in the chest. She cried out in pain, and her blood sprayed all over as he removed the weapon, only to plunge it right back into her.
“No!”I screamed in panic. Tears streamed down my face as I frantically picked up the sword with my good hand and tried to defend her.
One of his smoke tentacles snaked around my neck, searing my skin and debilitating me. His abyssal hand grabbed her by the hair to keep her in place. He stabbed her repeatedly, causing scarlet droplets to splatter across my horrified face as I desperately thrashed and screamed. The iridescent obsidian dagger flashed each time it was removed, only to be thrust right back into her. I could hear the loud snaps of her ribs breaking from the force of the vehement attack.
“I want this to be the last thing you ever see, my dear. Your pathetic best friend dying because she foolishly tried to save a whore like you!” He looked like a bloodthirsty monster, relishing in the gruesome moment.
I gasped for air, as Belzar appeared with a puff of mist and clamped his jaws down on Adelstein’s head, forcing him to release both of us. He snarled and growled as he thrashed Adelstein’s body around like a pitiful little rag doll. Adelstein’s bones loudly cracked, and his white, tattered cloak flapped through the air as he was violently thrown off to the side. Belzar seethed with unrefined feral rage as he growled and pounced after Adelstein again.
“Belzar! Get them out of here, right now! I have to unleash Hellfire!”I barely registered Azathoth yelling to Belzar from somewhere far off in the distance. I was too busy weakly crawling over to Lacey, crying and grimacing through the pain.
She was on her back, with her beautiful face gilded by the warming glow of the firelight. Rivulets of blood trickled from her mouth, soaking her shirt. Luckily, she was still breathing, giving me a glimmer of hope. My heart shattered, feeling raw and exposed. I sobbed uncontrollably as I grasped her limp hand with my good one.
“Lacey, you need to hold on. Azathoth can heal you. You just need to hold on.” I felt Belzar gently bite my leg, and a black mist surrounded my vision. He teleported us through the shadows to one of the mountainside cliffs that overlooked the valley.
The ground beneath us was suddenly rocky and cold, with brittle grass gently poking at our injured bodies. Gone was the crackling of burning remains and harrowing snarls. The wintry wind whistled lamentations through the clanking trees above and rustled through the quiescent leaves on the ground below. Wispy clouds glowed with soft blue halos under the bright lunar rays. They crept across the bejeweled midnight sky, extinguishing the glittering stars like cruel shadows of death disguised as lucent angels.
An expression of both confusion and concern flashed across Lacey’s face as she took in her new surroundings. Then her gaze snapped to me with urgency in her eyes. “William... He’s still alive...” she gasped out while weakly squeezing my hand.
My eyes widened with shock, then I looked back at Belzar. “Belzar, quick! Go get William!” Belzar nodded and then disappeared.
“Gwendolyn...” She smiled at me as tears poured from my eyes. “I want you... to know that I-I’ve always loved you like a sister.” Her trembling hand reached up and lightly rested on my cheek.
My lower lip trembled and hot tears welled in my eyes, temporarily blurring my vision. “You are my sister, Lacey. And I love you so, so much. You mean the whole world to me.” I tried to put my injured hand over hers, but intense pain radiated through it, causing me to grimace and pull it away. “But please, don’t talk like that. Azathoth is going to heal you, and everything is going to be okay.” My voice cracked with sorrow. I was reassuring both of us, not just her, but I wouldn’t admit that to myself.
She smiled again. “Azathoth...” She laughed softly, then coughed up more blood. “Who knew th-that an evil demon of all things w-would be our hero?”
“No, no, you’re the one who stopped Adelstein from killing me and releasing his children into the world. You’re the true hero, Lacey.” A small psychotic laugh escaped my lips. I was becoming numb and in complete denial. “You were so brave. You’ve always been so brave,” I whispered.
“Darrell is-is away,” she tried to gasp as she began to violently shiver. “He’s visiting a school out e-east for criminal ju-justice. Please, t-tell him I lo-love him.” She was still smiling, even as her life was slipping from her.
“You’re going to be okay, Lace, please, please just hold on.” I shimmied out of my hoodie, then laid it over her and gently wrapped my arms around her shaking frame to keep her warm, snuggling as close as I could. “Azathoth is going to heal you. Just hold on.”
The smile remained on her face as the light faded from her eyes, and she became unsettlingly still.
Belzar reappeared with William’s limp form. The dagger remained lodged in his stomach, and he was badly injured, but he was still breathing. He gently placed William’s bedraggled body down beside us. His big, golden, wolf-like eyes looked over us with sadness and pity in their depths, as if he were sorrowful that he hadn’t been a better protector. Then he whimpered and limped over to the edge of the cliff.
His head eclipsed the full moon as he lifted it to the sky and let out the most terrifying, otherworldly howl I had ever heard come from a canine. The mournful sound sliced through the silence like a serenade to sorrow. It sent a bone-chilling shiver crawling up my spine. I was sure only a creature born of The Abyss could conjure something so haunting and harrowing.
I surmised he was signaling to Azathoth that we were all safe because, as soon as he stopped, a blindingly bright fireball formed high in the sky. It burned fiercely against the midnight blue horizon, drowning out the light of the stars and full moon, and reflecting along the bottom of the ever-growing clouds. The entire valley was so brilliantly illuminated by it that it almost looked like daytime. I stared in complete awe at its splendor... and then it dawned on me…
Holy flying frittatas! That’s Azathoth!
My mouth fell agape as he began to rapidly descend to the ground, reminding me of a meteor falling from the heavens. A deafening boom drowned out the sound of the reptilian creature roaring in agony as Azathoth made impact. A massive flaming shockwave ripped across the entire town in a ring of fiery destruction. Buildings combusted as they collapsed, leaving them in demolished, smoldering ruins. Mighty trees crashed to the ground in a fiery blaze. Massive billows of smoke plumed up into the darkening sky, obscuring my view of what was happening down there.
