Page 2 of Unbinding the Demon
His brows furrowed with concern while the wolf salivated at the sight of her, hungrily licking its lips. The demon shook his head and held up a hand, saying something to discourage the wolf from having her as a meal. The wolf’s ears flattened back with a little disappointed whine, but he did as the demon asked and let her be. Floorboards creaked under the demon’s weight as he stalked over and crouched in front of her. Emerald green clashed with fiery gold as their eyes locked onto one another. Fear and pain filled hers, while curiosity and concern filled his.
“A-Azathoth?”she sputtered his name, her hands trembling as they reached weakly toward him.“Please, h-help me.”
He frowned, wishing he could understand the language she spoke. He murmured something to her in his own tongue, then took her hand with a soft grip and closed his eyes. Reaching into his soul for the power that he had lost long ago, he willed it to heal this benevolent woman who had shown great courage by setting him free. A smile danced across his lips, and his wings folded in closer to his back. Then his glowing eyes reopened and peered down at her once more.
Another frown fell upon his face.
He stared, helpless and confused, as her life continued to fade away. Feeling his heart squeeze with panic, he willed his power to heal her once more. Yet the light died in those beautiful green eyes, and her last breath was taken from quivering lungs. Her life slipped into the icy grip of death’s unsympathetic hands, dragging her down into everlasting slumber.
A crippling sense of dread enveloped him as her hand slipped limply from his large clawed grip. He trembled as he reached out to caress her cold cheek, the realization dawning on him that he had made a grave mistake by accidentally killing her. She had not gotten a chance to finish saying the final words of the unbinding spell.
Her blood had awakened the magic, so only her bloodline could finish it. Now that she was dead and unable to complete the process, he couldn’t regain his powers that were so long ago stolen from him and return to Hell. He may have finally been freed from the abyss, but he was still bound.
1. The Library
-Five Years Later-
“Anthro... podermic... bibliopegy,”I mumbled to myself as I ran my pale fingers over the tattered brown spine of a dusty manuscript. The book was tucked away among a plethora of other weathered and neglected volumes, hidden on the shelves of the library’s unfrequented right wing.
“Finally!” I whispered in excitement upon finding a book covering the topic I needed. The other books eagerly filled the space after I wrangled it off the shelf, making it appear as if it had never been there at all. I popped open the yellowed pages, giving it a quick peek.
While glancing over the morbid details, a chill crept up my spine. A strange feeling arose within me, one which indicated that I wasn’t alone. It felt as though an eerie presence had entered the room. The hairs on my arms rose to attention, and my heart rate sped up. The book closed with a soft thump while I warily turned around to take in the dim aisle. No one was there except a spindly little spider chilling on a cobweb in the corner. Yet it felt as though someone was watching me.
Weird.
My emerald green eyes shifted around while I pushed a strand of my long chestnut hair behind my ear. The feeling lingered, so I decided it was about time to peace the flip out of this spooky place. Aged floorboards groaned beneath the threadbare carpeting as I made my way out of the right wing.
The atmosphere changed from soul-suckingly sinister to warm and welcoming the moment I was back in the main room. Rays of golden afternoon sun poured through large windows, outlined by decorative wooden panes. They exquisitely gilded the archaic aesthetics of the place, setting it alight with an ethereal glow.
The outer architecture of the library was beautifully constructed using large stones and had been inspired by the Castello di Miramare in Italy. On the inside, it was lined with finely carved dark oak and cedar detailing the archways, railings, and stairwells. Elegant paintings adorned the cathedral ceilings, and the smell of old books and cedar permeated the air. It was beautiful, the kind of place I normally couldn't get enough of, yet I had hoped to avoid it because of the painful memories it brought to the surface.
My hand glided along the railing as I peered down at the maze of bookshelves and the empty checkout desk on the lower level. I then plopped myself back down at one of the large wooden tables, dropping the heavy book on top of my pile of notes. The early autumn sun had begun to hang low over the horizon, casting its evening light over the side of my face. I stared out the window to enjoy the view before packing up my things. There was a winding stream, with a small man-made waterfall cascading over a few flat rocks. A variety of trees cast dancing patches of shade over the sparkling water, stretching their webs of branches up into the skyline with just the faintest hint of autumn colors kissing their leaves. I loved autumn and always got excited to see the first signs of it.
While I was off in la-la-land, an enormous figure swiftly slipped into the seat across from me. Their looming silhouette eclipsed the rays of light, casting a cold shadow over my face that felt more like a foreboding premonition. I glanced over, and my heart did a flip in my chest, causing me to nearly fall right out of my goddamn chair.
Holy smokes!
Seated before me was the most handsome man I had ever laid eyes upon in all of my pathetic and miserable life. Raven-black hair flowed around his masculine, downright ethereal face and cascaded halfway down the length of his torso. His jawline was sharp enough to slice me right in two and dusted with the perfect amount of stubble. Just below that jawline was a demonic skull tattoo covering his neck, but I couldn’t see the entire thing. Everything he wore on his large muscular frame, from his jacket down to his boots, was solid black. He was super tall, too. He appeared like the kind of guy who was a bit rough around the edges. Like one who’d spent several years riding around on a souped-up motorcycle, living a life of crime before coming back here to straighten out his nefarious ways. But hell, I didn’t care. He was hot!
What truly mesmerized me were his eyes, though. They glittered a beautiful amber-gold color, mirroring the golden rays of late sun shining behind him, with irises ringed in black. They were the most gorgeous eyes I had ever gazed upon. And they were scrutinizing me with such intensity that it felt as if they could have burned an actual hole through my skull.
I quickly averted my ogling gaze by looking back down at my papers, thinking that this could finally be the moment of my dreams when some ridiculously sexy stranger comes and swoops me away to my happily ever after. It probably wasn’t polite that I was pretending to ignore him, but he was just way too attractive to even look at. My heart pounded in my chest and butterflies danced in my stomach as I wondered what he was going to do. He must have chosen to sit here because of me, given the abundance of empty tables around.
“Ehem.“ He covered his mouth as if he were coughing, trying to get my attention. The back of his hand was tattooed with a hellish landscape, with fog and Satanic symbols seeping down his fingers to twist over his knuckles. His eyes raced across my face as if searching intently for something.
Holy shit... he actually wants to talk to me?
A slight smile tugged at the corner of his lips while I peeked up at him, trying not to appear as flustered as I felt. “Nice weather we’re having, wouldn’t you say?” He seductively leaned back and gestured to the window I had been staring out.
It didn’t matter that he was trying to strike up a conversation with the most basic-ass topic imaginable; my thighs still clenched together at the sound of his deep, sexier-than-sin voice. Those golden eyes of his suggestively swept up and down my body, a sly smirk blooming across his face. I opened my mouth to speak, only to find that I couldn’t remember how to verbally communicate with another living being.
“It seems like a shame that you’re stuck in here, studying all by yourself,” he tsked while glancing down at my papers, raking his gaze over them more boldly than what could be considered normal.
“Yeah, I, um, have a paper due next Monday,” I managed to stammer. My cheeks flushed with a deep hue as my mind scrambled for something better to add to this pathetic excuse of a conversation—I came up with nothing.
“Well...” He grabbed one of my papers and yanked it up to his face. “Gwendolyn, what exactly are you writing about?” His eyes stayed glued to my assignment, darting around the paper while he spoke. It was as if he were desperately seeking the answer to some unknown question on which his very life depended.
Okay... This is odd. Did he really just get my name from my paper instead of asking me for it?
