The Fallen King: The Bellum Sisters 4 (paranormal erotic romance)

by Grey, T. A.

  Abby was slow to come out of the trance she was in. When she did she felt no heat at her back but her smile grew and grew at the sight of the fire.

  “I did it! Alrik, I did it!” She jumped and performed a fist pump at her own awesomeness. It almost didn’t seem real. She headed for the fire and felt the real heat of it. She couldn’t stop smiling. She did this. She actually made fire just with her powers.

  Then it dawned on her—a strange feeling. It was like one of those times where you realize that something is off belatedly. In this case, Abby turned around slowly.

  She saw Alrik facing the lake, then as her gaze passed him, and her own eyes widened. Her lips parted and a scream tore from her throat.

  Chapter Fifteen

  “You have got to be kidding me,” Alrik muttered.

  Alrik’s gaze locked on the giant beast lumbering out of the water. The middle of the lake rippled and bubbled like boiling water. With a mighty splash, the water exploded out at once from the rippling circle, raining heavy water droplets around it. A grisly creature started to appear. First a head, a mighty, round glob of flesh the color of sick green and cream mixed together. The flesh looked lopsided and pliable like putty. The creature’s eyes came into view. They were yellow orbs that instantly narrowed on them.

  The creature slowly lifted up to its incredible height. Water cascaded down the jaheera demon’s torso like a waterfall; water churned and swished around the demon’s legs making noise like a boat crashing into waves. It kept lifting itself up until it towered over the lake like a colossal monster.

  It stood as if they’d disturbed it from a deep sleep. However, Alrik knew that water was not deep enough to house such a creature, and he knew just what kind of creature this was. These kinds of creatures did not dwell idly in lakes.

  Abbigail’s terrified scream notified him, and the rest of the rift, that she just saw the jaheera demon too. Alrik planted his hands on his hips and considered things for a moment. Well, he tried to but that woman had a pair of lungs on her like no other. No one could think over that noise. Turning to her, he shushed her. She snapped out of her scream and blinked at him, then her eyes widened and jaw dropped. She looked cute like that, even as she looked at him as if he was crazy.

  “Silence, woman, I’m thinking.”

  “You’re thinking right now? At a time like this! There’s a freaking giant thing coming out of the water like some kind of Cthulhu monster. I really, seriously think it’s about time we got the hell out of here, Alrik!”

  Damn her. He leveled his gaze with her and once more said, “Krishnoe. Silence, please.”

  Her jaw worked side to side but she quieted down and stepped up beside him. When her hands shot out to latch onto his arm, he had to stifle a smile. Her touch made him stand a little taller knowing she needed him, wanted him, to protect her.

  His gaze fell back to the lake. This was curious, indeed.

  A jaheera demon spawning now? They came from a layer in the rift deep below where he and Abbigail stood. A place where no light or goodness shined through. It was where they belonged and stayed. The only times the jaheera parted from their ancient home was for a bigger purpose. There was no question who’d sent this jaheera demon to them now.

  “That’s a jaheera demon. They come from the rift far beneath us,” he informed Abbigail, “but they never come up here. They can’t. They are bound to their rift by ancient shahoulin magic.”

  “Then why’s it up here right now? And why the hell aren’t we running?”

  “The jaheera are said to be quite slow. It’s almost pathetic really. Once in an age they were the largest creatures down here, they consumed all beasts and grew in magical power and strength. However, their power was their downfall. My people, the shahoulin, locked the jaheera in magical cages beneath this rift when they turned to harm us. It would take a mighty power to break one from that cage.”

  “Your mother,” Abby said.

  “Oh, absolutely.” Again, he loved her intelligence. She knew hardly anything of his world yet she caught on quickly.

  “What did you mean when you said they have power? What kind of power?”

  He shrugged. “I’m not sure. I’ve never actually seen one before and I’ve never fought one. It’s said they can cast magic like you and I, that they have old, dark magic. Obviously they are quite physically strong.”

  “Being the size of a small mountain I’d think so.”

  All too quickly, the demon finished rising to its massive height. It looked so tall that if it reached its arm up it’d touch the hazy clouds above. The demon’s torso and head showed while the rest still stood below the water line. Water lapped at its disgusting body and Alrik could just make out greenish hue swirling in the water around the demon as its toxic skin contaminated the lake.

  Alrik hadn’t been alarmed at first. The demon was some distance away, and besides, they were slow. They had to be for such big beasts, but he quickly learned he was wrong, very wrong.

  The demon opened its jagged mouth and let out a horrendous, ear-piercing bellow that shook the trees and jolted the earth with a rumbling quake. He and Abbigail turned away at the sound. She punched her hands over her ears. The awful noise tried to puncture his eardrums.

  Then the demon started moving towards him. One stocky limb lifted above the surface, kicked forward then drove through the water with loud booming steps that sloshed the water like a hurricane.

  Alrik took a step back, his arm swiping at Abbigail’s and pushed her behind him. He’d been wrong. It didn’t move slowly at all. The beast moved its massive body fluidly. In what must have been two or three steps it arrived at the lake’s shore.

  “Dear God,” Abby gasped. Her fists squeezed his arm in warning.

  Alrik agreed. Just as he latched onto her hand and prepared to run, the demon opened its mouth and from between ragged, yellowed teeth spewed noxious green spittle. The wet spray was accompanied by a bellow of sound that spewed the green substance against the trees and ground.

  Alrik had only a moment to see the green spittle sizzle and smoke against what it touched, before he grabbed Abbigail and ran for it.

  They sprinted hard up the slope. Again, from behind them, he heard the bellow and the wet spewing sounds of the demon’s toxic spit falling on the forest around them. Water sloshed as the demon came on shore. The odor of burning trees and grass mixed with something he didn’t recognize, but his instincts told him not to let the green spit touch him.

  Just ahead of them trees bowed as the green liquid touched them. They withered down as if acid had been poured on them until nothing was left but a stump of a tree popping and sizzling up in smoke.

  “We got to move!” Alrik roared, for the first time since seeing the jaheera feeling real panic.

  “I knew I was right,” Abbigail sputtered.

  Trees crashed to the ground in front of them. They raced and weaved through them, jumping over boulders and sliding down rocky slopes.

  “Don’t touch it!” he yelled, jumping over a fallen branch with smoking green leaves.

  “You don’t have to tell me that!” she yelled right back.

  That’s his girl.

  Heavy, pounding footsteps came at them like cracks of thunder. The ground shook with each booming strike. The demon was following them, crashing through the forest like a wrecking ball. Horrible sounds followed them—the sounds of trees slamming to the forest floor, groaning at their death.

  All he needed was a good place to slip into and hide for a few seconds, then he could stow Abbigail away and fight the demon. His heart raced nearing panic levels. He’d been wrong, too cocky.

  If they were still kids, his brother would have slapped him upside his head for not being more cautious. Oh well, what was done was done. Now he had to protect her. He refused to let the thought of failure even enter his mind. No way will he let anything happen to her.

  He’d die first.

  A long valley lay before them filled with bright
yellow grass waist tall. In the distance, deep in the south, he could just make out a tendril of smoke in the air. It was so far away it could just be his eyes playing with him, or maybe it was just a tree swaying in the wind. Whether the smoke bode well or not for them, he charged towards it with every ounce of strength inside him. Even if he had to pull her along, he’d get them to safety.

  “You’re doing great,” he called to Abbigail. It might be a strange time for it, but he was so proud of her. The woman had a lot of fight in her.

  Suddenly, the ground shuddered beneath them. They had to stop or else be thrown to the ground as the earth swayed beneath their feet. Abby slammed into his back. They wobbled side to side as the ground shook with a jerking, quaking action as if it was trying to bubble up beneath their feet.

  “What’s going on?” Abby asked. He didn’t like the fear in her voice.

  Up ahead, the ground split open in a nasty snarl and a loud hiss. The earth parted to reveal an open lip in the field. A black, cavernous slit formed in the massive crack in the ground, and in a rush, it split from one side of the field to the other, completely blocking their way.

  “The jaheera is conjuring up magic.” It split the field completely in half, blocking their only real exist.

  “Is the fissure real?”

  Alrik couldn’t be sure. “It could be an illusion or it could be very real.” He glanced back behind them and saw that at the very least they had put some distance between them and the demon. Alrik grabbed her hand again and headed for the crack.

  The first thing he noticed was the grisly smell…like rotting flesh that had been sitting in stagnant water. A gag rolled up in his throat that he barely managed to control. Abbigail wasn’t so lucky. She turned around and her body wretched up the contents of her stomach. Her hand squeezed his hard and he returned the gesture to offer his support.

  He was close enough now to see that the crack was real. Either that or a really good illusion. Still, he had to be sure. Quickly picking up a small rock, he threw it. If it was an illusion it might stop in midair as if hitting a wall or it might land on top of the black crack as if it was a solid surface. If it were real, it would fall into the crack.

  He slung the rock and watched it. Abby stood up, wiping her mouth on the sleeve of her shoulder. His poor woman looked pale and perspiration covered her forehead. God damn, he needed to get her out of here.

  He was so busy watching her that he didn’t see what happened to the rock. Abby squeezed his hand, her expression turning into one of panic.

  “It’s real. It went into the chasm!”

  Thundering steps boomed closer. “Come on!” Alrik grabbed her hand and started to run, but Abby didn’t move with him.

  She stood there, shaking her head.

  “Don’t give up on me. We can beat this!”

  She laughed and looked at the miles of expanse the crack had sundered, then back at the giant beast barreling towards them. “There’s nowhere for us to go. We have to do something.”

  Alrik twitched. He didn’t like this. He didn’t have any time to think! “Fine, you start running east. I’ll hold the demon at bay.”

  She cocked her head, fear gripping her beautiful eyes. He hated the look. Nothing would make him happier than to wipe it away forever. “What do you mean? We can’t separate now. We’re stronger together.”

  With a flourishing move, he pulled his swords out from his sheath and twirled them once. “I’m going to kill it.”

  “But you’re the size of a small bush compared to that thing! You can’t just expect to stab it and beat it.”

  Alrik shook inside. He could feel his temperature drop as anger rose. No, not now.

  His eyes squeezed shut. He tried sucking in quick breaths but it was useless. She was royally pissing me off. Not with her life on the line.

  His eyes shot open and when he leveled his gaze on hers, she took a fearful step back. “Your eyes are doing that thing again...”

  “For once you are going to do what I tell you to do. Run east. Find a place to hide and stay there. I’ll come for you.” His voice was a distorted growl. It wasn’t just anger coursing through him but fear, fear for her life.

  “And if you don’t?” she asked softly.

  His hands tightened over the sword handles. The icy anger felt so good that he shivered, embracing it even as he knew what it’d do to him. “I said I’ll come for you,” he said clear and hard. She flinched at his tone, a flash of pain swept over her eyes. He hated it. He hated that he caused her to hurt, yet that hate only morphed inside him like shapeshifting animal, turning into vile, ugly anger. “Get out of here now.” His arms shook with the need to lash out and hit something, to feel the spray of blood on his face, and the crushing of bones beneath his fists.

  He didn’t know if he could control himself or if he could keep himself from lashing out at her if she said or did the wrong thing in those tense moments. Not now, not when the rage gripped him in its bitter hold. He didn’t know what he’d do if he hurt her. Not when he was so close to finally getting what he wanted.

  “Go now!” he yelled.

  She jumped at his yell, swallowed hard, and then took off running along the heading east. Alrik whipped the blades in his hands, loosening his wrists as he squared off against the demon. He had an advantage now—a boiling mass of rage itching to be let out. And, he couldn’t wait to feel the rush.

  Alrik let out a battle cry worthy of waking the gods. The demon slowed its thundering steps at the sound as if nervous for the first time. Then he charged forward, blades pointed behind him, ready to whip, slash, gouge, and cut.

  The demon stopped at once, its great head turning east to track Abbigail. Alrik saw black. She was his and nothing would touch her. His vision shifted, distorted, and then changed so he only saw in blacks and greys. Around the demon became a foggy grey color like a stormy day while the demon stood out in stark, oily black.

  Yes, his rage screamed inside him. Yes! Kill, hurt, maim!

  With his rage out and free, his heart pounded violently. His mind was freer than it’d ever been. No thoughts of consequences, logic, or worry bothered him. All he needed, all he wanted, was to shed blood. He took the curse his mother had placed on him and embraced it with open arms.

  Swirling smoke billowed out from the demon as if a fire surrounded it. Alrik knew what it was—a spell being cast. He could see it through the curse’s eye. Before it could finish the spell, Alrik sprinted past the demon’s leg, slashing with both blades.

  In a quick burst he chanted, “Kahlab’du shtow zhenyul garrab’deen fuh!”

  His spell created more smoke but only grey smoke compared to the demon’s black. The demon’s spell stopped as Alrik’s spell blocked the demons from finishing.

  Blood surged through Alrik’s veins. The rush was better than the best sex, the best anything in the world. He sidestepped then jumped and rolled out of the way as the demon lifted one mighty foot and stomped it into the ground leaving a large cavernous dip where his foot hit. The slam on the ground jerked Alrik from his feet sending him tumbling to the ground before he could get in an attack.

  But he leapt back up, then raced along the demon’s other ankle, at the back of it he slashed his swords in a non-stop X pattern, crisscrossing and cutting skin into little chunks that plopped to the ground. Dark green blood, black and inky in his vision dripped to the ground with a sizzling hiss.

  The demon let out a horrendous cry as its leg gave out. It went crashing down to one knee. Then its great arms swung around and around, trying desperately to catch Alrik. Alrik ran and ducked, rolling under the sweeping appendages but he couldn’t escape them all and one slammed into him like battering ram. His swords fell from his hands as he went soaring through the air.

  He landed hard on his back to the sound of cracking bones in his shoulder. At once pain flared on the left side of his body, but the rage inside him tampered it down so he barely noticed it. He started to get up but his leg wasn’t acti
ng right. He tried to put pressure on it but it only jolted forward, not letting him stand. He wobbled as he braced himself on one foot.

  The demon shrieked again.

  Then he heard soft footsteps coming from behind him.

  Fear gripped him deep in his gut. His head spun around and he watched Abbigail charging towards him with the look of a mighty, determined warrior on her face. Her hands were outstretched. Even in his rage, he saw the bright orange glow of magic bursting from her fingertips as if it couldn’t be contained. The bolts shot straight for the demon.

  “You will not hurt him!”

  He jerked at her words. That couldn’t be what she said. That’d mean she somehow cared for him. She didn’t. He’d stolen her, planned to use her to his own means, to her own death. An imminent death she still knew nothing about. No way did she come back for him. His heart cracked in his chest. A real physical ache that made him want to bellow his pain for the world to hear.

  The demon started falling. Flesh charred along its entire upper body that released a disgusting, stomach-churning smell. Even if he couldn’t move he had to help her. Alrik dropped to his knees, ready to cast his own lethal spell when he froze.

  Time slowed for long, endless seconds, and all he could do was watch.

  The demon opened its mouth and let out a roaring bellow—green, goopy spittle sprayed from it like from a hose. Alrik couldn’t run, he couldn’t hide, he was too close...and so was Abbigail.

  With a power from somewhere deep inside him, from desperateness, he used the strength in his good leg to jump up and catch Abbigail. She grunted as he slammed her to the ground, covering every inch of her body with his.

  The acid spittle landed on his back and legs like fiery poison. He shouted brief and hard as his body started jerking from tiny convulsions as the noxious spray ate through his clothing as if it was nothing and burned into his skin.