Page 79 of Unbinding the Demon
“You pathetic demon! You cannot kill me so easily! Consuming power from The Abyss has made me far stronger than any mortal man could ever be!” His spiteful obsidian eyes revealed the most corrupt, almost alien-looking soul I had ever seen. It was as if The Abyss had swallowed away the last remnants of his humanity, leaving behind an otherworldly shadow hiding within the body of a frail man. Black wispy tendrils began swirling around him, clinging to the frame of his body as they wrapped around his torso and limbs.
Oh shit...
Warm material was laid across my freezing body, bringing me much-needed relief from the icy wind. I looked down to see that Ashton had draped his jacket over me. He gently cupped my cheek while looking at me with a conflicting expression of both love and trepidation. He then placed a quick but loving kiss on my lips and closed his eyes as if he were savoring the moment. As his eyes reopened and found mine once again, deep sorrow was visible in his golden gaze. “Forgive me, my love,” he whispered, while reluctantly straightening back up. His warm clawed hand slowly withdrew from my cheek...Wait!? His clawed hand!?
My eyes widened wider than they had ever been in my life. My mouth fell agape as my mind fell into a state of stupefaction. I remained stunned stiff as I watched him jump up onto the altar, with his large heavy boots clunking as they stepped over me, and then he leapt off. As he stood imposingly between Adelstein and me, a black mist enveloped his entire body, and within the blink of an eye, he transformed into...a motherfucking demon!?
Holy flippin’ french fries! Ashton is the demon!?
“What the fuck!?”I screeched in utter disbelief, straining my head up like a panicked goose to stare at him in complete shock.
He looked exactly like he would appear in my dreams... except for the fact that he was wearing pants. Twin black horns twisted up from his head, adding extra height to his now nearly seven-foot muscular frame. The massive, spiked, dragon-like wings that jutted from his strong shoulder blades made a single, gentle flap. The wind blew through his long, wisping hair, as his fiery eyes briefly glanced back over at my flabbergasted, hyperventilating face. There was an undertone of diffidence and shame hidden within their infernal depths. It was a strange emotion to see coming from someone so fierce.
His gaze snapped back to Adelstein, who was twirling his dagger in his hands as if to challenge him to attack. “You know, Azathoth, I’m glad I getanotherchance to stab you. This time, I don’t plan on missing that foul, satanic heart of yours!” he threatened tauntingly.
Ashton’s jaw clenched, and his fists balled until his knuckles turned white. His face darkened, but his only response to Adelstein was a ferocious, demonic roar. He lunged and sprinted toward him, then struck with his deadly claws. Adelstein lifted his forearm to block the blow. One of the smoky tendrils on his arm wrapped around Ashton’s wrist, leaving a stinging red burn behind. Ashton hissed in anger, then elbowed Adelstein in the jaw with such force that blood splattered all around them.
Holy fuck!
Adelstein’s angry shouts and grunts blended with Ashton’s fierce growls and roars. Their brutal fight echoed through the cold forest air. Ashton fought with merciless efficiency, his skill honed to a lethal edge. Adelstein, however, nervously wriggled his tall, thin body. He jumped around like a coward, looking for any cheap shots he could take. The smoky tendrils that wrapped around him seemed to give him some sort of extreme supernatural strength. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have had a snowball’s chance in Hell against Ashton’s beastly form.
The clergy members cowered, some hiding behind trees, as they watched the bloody brawl. Well, all but one, that is. The one named Simon snuck over to me, not taking his eyes off Ashton until he arrived at my side. Flickering shadows danced across his face as he looked at me with his beady, blue eyes. His trembling hands attempted to untie the rope around my tender, bleeding wrist.
“Get the hell away from—” I started to sneer. Then I began screaming in absolute horror.
Massive canine jaws full of razor-sharp fangs clamped down on his head with a squelchy crunch and a gush of blood, causing one of his eyeballs to bulge out of the socket. Blood spattered across my face as a huge, black, undead wolf viciously whipped Simon up into the air. Then it slammed his limp body back down against the stone ground, all without releasing his head from its powerful jaws. With a loud, harrowing pop, his flesh tore and his head snapped off with blood spraying everywhere. Sickening crunches resulted as the wolf chewed on the skull a few times, then gobbled the entire thing down.
“Ashton!”My blood froze with terror as I screamed for Ashton at the top of my lungs, panic seizing my soul. He quickly glanced at me, then continued fighting, not even slightly concerned about the giant wolf that stood imposingly over my body.Did he not notice that I’m about to get eaten by a fucking zombie wolf over here!?
Razor-sharp, lethal claws protruded from the huge paws that ominously stepped on either side of my head. Its coarse black fur bristled, and part of its right side lacked flesh, exposing its jagged rib cage. It lowered its ghastly, blood-soaked head while looking right at me with its glowing golden eyes. Tears streamed down my cheeks, and I whimpered in fear as its hot, bloody breath fanned my face.
But, to my complete and utter surprise, the wolf didn’t maul me. It let out a familiar puppy-dog whine, then licked my teary cheek with affection.“Belzar?”I whispered as a look of both realization and confusion crossed my face.
He straight up nodded his head“yes”in response, then happily nuzzled the side of my face. I stared up at him in befuddlement, and he looked down at me with almost human-like intelligence, similar to the day we first met. His head snapped up, and then he jumped off the altar and began gruesomely massacring the rest of the clergy. Body parts and entrails went flying. Vicious growls and snarls mixed with the terrified screams of those who were meeting their deaths within his harrowing jaws.
I looked back over at the otherworldly scuffle as a thunderous boom crashed over to me. Ashton had slammed Adelstein to the ground, tearing his flesh with his claws and cracking the mountain stone beneath them. Adelstein quickly recovered and flung himself back up using the smoky tendrils around his arms. Rage contorted his deranged face as he struck at Ashton with the dagger, nicking him on the forearm.
Ashton hissed in pain and stumbled back as if he were dizzy. Adelstein preyed on his impaired state and struck at him again. Ashton blocked it, but it sent him flying backward. Pinecones, moss, and dirt flew around his boots as he slid. He nearly fell forward, but used his hand to stay balanced.
Adelstein laughed malevolently. “Face it. Your powers are bound, and my poison is killing you. You’re weak, demon!”
Ashton glanced down at the black wound that was beginning to web over his forearm. He then raised his gaze to Adelstein, his fiery eyes filled with intense, searing hatred. He balled his fists and approached Adelstein with a threatening demeanor. Strength and power radiated off his intimidating demonic form as if he’d finally had enough.
He made like he was going to strike with his claws, but psyched Adelstein out. He vehemently whipped him across the chest, using a sharp horn from the tip of one of his powerful wings instead. Blood sprayed from Adelstein’s brutalized chest as he stumbled back with a pathetic, pained shriek. The wind was knocked out of him, yet he composed himself and held his dagger high above his head. Adelstein lunged at Ashton with a loud venomous screech, thrusting the dagger toward Ashton’s heart in a frantic attempt to strike. With a low growl, Ashton caught his thin wrist. Then, with one ferocious swipe of a clawed hand, he slashed Adelstein deeply across the face.
Adelstein staggered back. Blood dripped down from his horribly marred face in small rivers. He looked around in distress at the bloody, shredded remains of his clergy members scattered about. Their unrecognizable bodies were half-devoured by Belzar, who was now standing protectively beside me. Blood soaked his fur, and he growled maliciously, his yellow eyes glowing.
“You think you’ve won this!?” he sneered at Ashton with a livid expression, then pointed at me. “She’ll never unbind you now that she knows what you are and what you’ve done! You are doomed to die bymyhand one way or another!” His blackened eyes looked downright crazy as he shouted. He then reached into his cloak and pulled out a plain black book. “And besides, even if you did convince her to do it, I still have the book!” His twiggy arm waved it high above his head in a taunting manner. He gloated like a deranged maniac, unable to accept defeat.
Adelstein was too busy sniggering at Ashton to notice Belzar snarl and lunge at him. He leapt up and his powerful jaws snapped down over the book, biting Adelstein’s entire forearm off with a loud crunch. Adelstein screamed in pain. His other arm swung around and slashed Belzar across the chest with his obsidian dagger. Belzar stumbled back and whimpered. One of the black smoky tendrils then struck out, cracking like a whip, and sent Belzar flying backward. The stone altar cracked loudly in two beneath me, as Belzar’s body slammed into it. He then limply plopped to the ground and disappeared in a cloud of black mist.
“Belzar!” I screamed, my heart racing, with tears falling from my eyes. I strained to look over the edge of the cracked stone for any sign of him, but he was gone.
Adelstein’s jaw dropped in disbelief. Belzar had just vanished with the book. Ashton wasted literally no time at all attacking him again, because to my absolute shock, he teleported right in front of him. He looked like a feral beast as he snarled with a burning hatred in his glowing ember-like eyes. His clawed hand clasped Adelstein’s good arm, which held the dagger, causing it to fall and clank on the ground. Then, with an insanely deep, predatory growl, his powerful fanged jaws clamped down on Adelstein’s scrawny throat.
It wasn’t the same type of bite he’d bitten me with. This was meant to kill. Adelstein looked like a pathetic little chicken in the jaws of a hungry fox. Crunching sounds came from his neck as Ashton’s fangs sank deeper. Blood streamed down his marred throat, trickling down to the ground. The fear of death was evident in his buggy, blackened eyes, as he desperately gasped for air.
Even though I had been strapped down the entire time, rendering me just about as useful as a wet paper towel in the background, I still smiled triumphantly at the sight. However, a chorus of rustling leaves, snapping twigs, snarls, and groans approaching with increasing intensity wiped the smile right off my face.
