Page 43 of King of the Damned
Dravon stumbles backward, clutching his arm to his chest. “What have you done to me?! Witch!”
Dravon begins wailing in pain, falling to the ground as his body convulses and contorts unnaturally. His hair falls off, his teeth grow sharper, his eyes recede into his skull until they’re depthless black voids.
When he stops fighting, he rises to his feet as a Griefclaw.
Amatisi hisses and waves her hand towards the door. Dravon–or the creature that has taken over Dravon’s body–races towards its siblings at the door and waits outside of it as the others are.
“He’s too impulsive to lead, and he could not be controlled.”
Kaius scoffs. “Is that what your coven is truly after? Control? You’ve corrupted your purpose.”
“Youcorrupted our purpose!” Amatisi shouts, her demonic voice booming. “You stole away my sister.”
“Yekaterina was the worst of you.”
“And yet you fell in love with her like a fool! Do not blame your wayward heart on her. You knew exactly who she was.”
“You’re right. I was a fool. And I’ve been punished for a thousand years because of it!”
Amatisi shoves the silver dagger into Kaius’ grip. “Then break the curse. Your freedom awaits.”
His throat bobs with uneasy slowness as he turns to look at me. His eyes, vulnerable and sorrowful, gaze into my soul as he steps closer. With his back to Amatisi, she cannot see what I can–his fear. The slight furrow in his brow gives away his intentions. The magical marking on my wrist burns and tingles. He is silently begging me to save myself in whatever form I can. He doesn’t want this to be the end for me, even if it was meant to be.
Amatisi rubs my shoulders, attempting to comfort me while she holds me still from behind, making sure I don’t run when Kaius strikes.
A choked gasp leaves my throat as his fingers tighten around the dagger in his hand and his arms tense–ready to end me and take what he’s always wanted.
Before I fully close my eyes and brace for the inevitable, I notice the gem around Kaius’ neck radiating a dark energy. It knows my life is ending, and it reaches for its master trapped within my soul.
“Eternity forgive me,” Kaius whispers as he leans forward and tenderly kisses my forehead. Amatisi snickers behind me, and I whimper when Kaius raises the dagger. I tighten my eyes shut and hold my breath.
I cry out when I feel a pressure in my chest, but it’s unlike anything I was expecting. It’s not painful at all.
Perhaps it's the knowledge that death will arrive anyway that makes me curious, but I peek and look down, only to find that Kaius’ forearm and hand have gone straight through my chest. Not as he did when he ripped out the hearts of his servants, but as if I’m made of some sort of otherworldly presence. A mist. An illusion.
The marking on my wrist glimmers triumphantly. I don’t know how I’ve managed to save myself, but Kaius doesn’t dwell on it the way I do. I feel his arm tense, and when he pulls it free from my body, Amatisi’s Bloodstone necklace is in his fist. In an instant, the blood rushes to his eyes, forcing them to go black. Some sort of ward wraps around me like a cocoon of safety, and Kaius lets out a roar of fury as he uses both of the Bloodstones in his possession to conjure a red orb of magic.
Amatisi raises her hands to fend off Kaius’ spells, but she’s no match for the power of two Bloodstones. Kaius rips the second stone from his neck, holding one in each fist. Then, he slams his hands into the marble floor, causing it to crack under his fury. In a flurry of black ashes, Amatisi, the other Priestesses, and the Griefclaws vanish, leaving behind only gray smoke where they once stood.
The ward surrounding me fades. Kaius’ eyes return to their normal crimson hue, and he gives me a hollow look–a troubling one–before his eyes roll back into his head and he collapses to the floor.
I lunge for him to try and catch him, barely managing to cup the back of his head.
He feels even colder than usual.
His face and neck are covered in blackish veins that pulsate with an eerie, unsettling red glow. The magic of two Bloodstones must be far out of his capability to wield safely.
I open his tunic to find the markings tracing down, following every vein within him. The damage is deep and far beyond anything I could possibly help with.
I gently rest his head on my lap and try to use what little magic he granted to me to help him heal faster, but it only seems to make the aura emanating from him more volatile.
In a desperate attempt to defy the Priestesses and protect me, he might have suffered irreparable damage, leaving him drained, vulnerable, and weak. I look around desperately. The Priestesses are gone, but I know Amatisi could return at any moment, and she won’t hesitate to finish what they started. I can’t let that happen.
“Kaius?” I whisper. No response.
It’s unnerving, the way the immortals are unnaturally still. He does not have to breathe as I do, but to see him appear truly lifeless and inhuman for the first time is an uncomfortable revelation.
There is nothing I can do for him. He made his choice, and while I can thank him for sparing me, I have an opportunity here to reclaim my life. To return home.
