by Anthology
She put her hand down and caught her balance, then remembered the nightmare behind her. She turned and saw him at the other end of her bed. All he had to do was come around it and grab her. But if he did, she could lunge across the bed and run like hell. The door was closed and locked. She could unlock it, but that would take time. Time he wouldn’t give her.
"Please…whatever you want, I'll give it to you. I don't have much money but you can have it. All of it! Credit cards too, all of them."
The leather fisted maniac shook his head and grinned again. He opened his mouth, but instead of talking, he licked his lips. With a long, thick tongue.
Selena's mouth dropped but nothing came out. No words and screams. She couldn't think. Wings. Claws. Sharpened teeth. And now a tongue that would make a lesbian blush? It was impossible. She wasn't much of a religious person— she'd never had anything in her life to give her a reason to believe. Never, until now.
"Are you…Satan?"
He hissed at her. It wasn't a cat's angry hiss, he was laughing.
Selena's eyes narrowed. She started to speak when the window was hit again. She jumped and shot the window a look. The cracks spread wider. It wouldn't take much more and they'd be in. Or she'd be out, although a seventeen story drop to the ground would probably hurt less than whatever gator-face had in store for her.
She focused on him and then glanced at the bed. Could she make it? He had arms long enough to reach the ground floor. She tensed and moved a little further away from him along the edge of the bed.
The man took a step forward. Selena tensed and saw his elbows spread wide. He was ready. A shadow outside the window grew darker and larger as it approached for a third time. She glanced at the bed and began to shift her weight when the door to the hotel room burst apart and showered the room with chunks and splinters of wood. The lights in the room exploded, plunging it into darkness aside from the light streaming in from the hallway.
Selena opened her mouth but the scream died in her throat. Another man stood outlined in the doorway. The man coming for her cringed and turned around. Long wooden splinters were stuck in his back and arms. The window shook in its frame, buffeted by the wings of the creature outside that reversed his course.
The man in the door way stepped forward and thrust his hands ahead. A sound that wasn't like anything she'd ever heard roared out of his mouth and caught the snake-man full on. He flew back from the power, his feet leaving the ground as his shoulders and chest were hurled through the air. He hit the cracked window full force, adding the sound of shattering glass to the chaos.
The snake-man slammed into the flying creature outside, driving the fragments of glass that had struck him in deeper. They dropped, whatever impossible magic giving them life not protecting them from gravity. The second flying nightmare spiraled away, dropping fast and struggling against the glass that cut and pierced him.
Selena stood still for a moment and then glanced down at herself. Her right arm had a pencil sized splinter sticking out of it and her leg had scratches that dripped blood down her thigh. She looked back up at the man in the doorway. He'd moved forward and was coming towards her. He reached out, exposing a hand covered in charcoal colored leather and tipped with long black talons.
6
"S— stay back!" Selena stuttered. She turned and looked at the window as a breeze swirled through it.
The man growled something in a deep voice that Selena didn't understand. He pulled his hand back and clutched it against his belly. He turned, staring at the open doorway, and then spun back around to face her. "Selena, please, it isn't safe her. You must come with me."
Selena gasped. Her eyes were adjusting to the darkness but she couldn't make out his face with the light behind him. Still, when he'd turned she'd caught a glimpse. Those glimpses and his voice… it was Krenn. He'd come back for her. And, somehow, saved her.
"Your hand…"
He looked down at his hands and held them out so she could see them. Wisps of dark hair emerged from his cuffs and sprinkled the back of his hands. Beneath that he had a healthy tanned skin and perfectly human sized hands. His fingernails were manicured and perfect, with no sign of the dark, vicious talons she'd seen on the other man. Or on him… or had she been in shock and just imagined it? That had to be it, right? A person couldn't change like that.
"Krenn?" she asked.
"Yes."
"What…what happened?" she turned and looked at the empty window. "How did— did you shoot him? It don't—"
"I can explain later," he said. "Pease, Miss Judge, it seems I've put you in terrible danger. We can stay here while I apologize over and over, or we can get out of here before more of them come."
"More? Who— what are they?"
"That's a long discussion that you're not ready for, I'm afraid." He reached out again, "Please, if you'll come with me?"
Selena glanced around again and then looked down at herself. She reached across her body with trembling fingers and grabbed onto the shrapnel in her arm. She tugged on it and whimpered at the pain in her arm. She squeezed harder and yanked, pulling the splinter out and then staring at the dark stain of her blood on the half inch or so that had been stuck into her arm. She whimpered again as her arm started throbbing.
"Selena!" he snapped.
She jerked her head up to him. Her teeth were chattering and she was breathing fast. Too fast. She was hyperventilating. Was she going to pass out?
"I—"
He spat something in that strange language again. His tone made it all but obvious he was cursing. Krenn switched back to English and stepped around the bed. Selena jerked back out of reflex, causing him to stop and offer his hand again. "Please, Selena. I want to help you. Let me make up the harm I've caused. None of this is your fault, it's mine. Let me make it right."
She covered the sore in her arm with her hand and squeezed it, both to try and make it feel better and because it helped her to hold her arm across her chest. She bit her lip and nodded. "O— okay."
He smiled and took the hand on her injured arm. She gasped at the warmth in his hand. It spread up her arm and into her, calming her and settling her nerves. She even managed a deep breath that she let out in a shudder.
"Better?" he asked.
"What… what did you do?"
He shook his head. "Later. For now, we need to go."
"But my things! And the room… the hotel will—"
"I'll take care of all of that, don't worry."
"You're some kind of billionaire, aren't you?"
He smiled. "Don't worry about that right now. Please?"
She nodded and started to let him lead her away. She stopped. "Clothes! I can't go out like this, I sleep in these."
He frowned. "We'll have to fix that."
She frowned. "Fix it?"
He waved his hand. "Don't worry, another topic for later, if you choose. For now, we don't have time."
"My feet are bare!"
He glanced down and nodded. "All right, grab your shoes. No heels, please."
She twisted to where her suitcase was. On the floor, under the dresser, were her heels, a pair of sandals, and the sneakers she'd worn on the plane. She grabbed them and shoved her feet in without bothering to tie them.
"Good, let's go."
She shook her head. "I can't. I'm not even wearing a bra!"
The sound of sirens on the street below drifted up through the broken window. From the open doorway they heard people shouting, telling others to get back.
"I'm sorry, but it's not that important," Krenn said. He grabbed her hand again. Instead of warmth and comfort, his grip felt like steel. She cried out as he pulled her after him and stepped into the doorway.
Two men wearing security uniforms were walking down the hallway towards them. One waved and cried out, "Stop right there!"
"Turn away," Krenn hissed to Selena before he turned towards the guards.
She did as he asked and heard a low pitched whoosh of air. It
made her think of gasoline being dumped on a fire and having a match tossed into it. She looked back as she caught the first smell of smoke tickling her nose. There were no flames she could see, but the hallway was filling with smoke.
"Let's go!" Krenn said and tugged on her hand to add action to words.
She stumbled after him, at a loss to even understand what was happening. He led her down the hallway and out the billowing smoke until they reached the stairwell. He pulled her in and shut the door behind them.
"Don't look," he warned again before he huddled over the latch.
Selena frowned and this time tried to do exactly what he warned her against. His crouched body hid whatever he was doing, but she caught the flash of reddish light as it splashed against the door and wall near him. He stepped away, revealing a red glowing latch that darkened as it cooled before her eyes.
"That will hold them," he said. He turned and reached for her hand again. "We need to move."
Selena pulled her hand back and hesitated. "How did you do that?"
Krenn sighed and turned to face her directly. "I promise to explain everything to you, but not yet. You will see and learn much as we go, things you can't even imagine. I wanted to bring you in slowly, but circumstances beyond my control have expedited this."
"Expedited?" She shook her head. "What the hell is going on? Why are people trying to kill me?"
"They're not trying to kill you, specifically. They're trying to keep you away from me. Killing you is just the easiest way to do that."
"What the fu—"
"Please, Miss Judge, I have associates positioned and ready to help us, but they can't help if we don't reach them."
She stomped her foot on the floor. "No! Not until you say something that makes sense!"
His dark eyes bored into her and made her feel like he was looking into her soul. She trembled and wanted to look away. It would be better to turn away. To run and hide. To let things pass and then start over. She was an expert at avoiding confrontations. Life was easier and safer if she stayed out of the spotlights.
Selena jerked her chin up. "No," she stated.
He frowned. "No?"
"I'm not going to run away again."
His frown melted away and was replaced with a smile. "That's exactly what I wanted to hear."
"Good. Now it's my turn, tell me something I want to hear."
His brow furrowed, but he nodded. "Very well. There are certain rules and obligations I have in my, shall we say, organization. Obtaining someone such as yourself to assist me by a certain time is one of those requirements. That time is near and, much to my chagrin, I've only recently started looking. It always seemed so far away I overlooked the importance of it. Now I have only until the new year."
Selena nodded. "Procrastination I get. So what happens if you don't find a person for this position?"
"I will lose everything."
"Ouch. That seems…harsh?"
He shrugged. "Perhaps, but I live and breathe amongst harsh conditions."
"So you find me and figure I'm good enough to save your hide?"
He shook his head and reached out to take her hand again. "Miss Judge— Selena— let me be perfectly clear. You have no way of knowing or appreciating what I'm about to say, but it is my hope that over time you will come to realize what I say now is true. Had I looked for you in the past it would have been a waste. I wouldn't have found you. You weren't ready. Nor was there anyone else that would meet my needs."
"How can you— oh, is this the point I can't understand?"
He smiled. "It is. I don't mean to sound patronizing, it's just that you're dealing with things beyond anything you've ever known before."
She nodded. "I saw men, or at least they looked like men, flying outside the window of my seventeenth story hotel room. That's not the kind of thing I'm used to seeing."
"Will you come with me now?"
"Your ass is kind of on the line then, isn't it? You need me?"
He hesitated and then nodded. "I do. I could choose another and satisfy the requirements, but it would be a poor decision for me to live with the rest of my life. I would regret it."
"That's almost sweet," Selena admitted. "Now what did you mean about fixing something earlier? You don't like my PJs?"
He sighed. "No, a body's natural state is without clothing. Clothing is only necessary for protection or social acceptance."
Selena stared at him and shook her head. "Wow. Just like that we're back to creepy."
He chuckled. "I will answer any and all of your questions, but perhaps you should think more carefully about what you want to know?"
"You will? Really, you're not just telling me that?"
"I will," he said in a solemn voice. "Now is not the time though."
Selena glanced at the fused door latch behind her. Somebody, or maybe something, pushed against it. The door held, but a second bang announced more serious measures were being taken.
She turned back to Krenn and nodded. "If I go with you, does that mean I'm accepting your offer too?"
He tilted his head. "No, I suppose it does not."
She nodded and moved to the top step of the staircase that led down. "All right, then you get to be my knight in shining armor for a little while longer."
He grinned. "Excellent! But you're going the wrong way."
"The wrong— you want to go up? How far?"
"The roof, that's where my associates are waiting for us."
"The roof?" she repeated. "What are we going to do there?"
"You'll see," he answered as a heavier thud against the door was accompanied by the sound of steel cracking. He moved and gestured for her to head up the staircase ahead of him.
"Okay, whatever," she said and stepped in front of him and started up the stairs. "Just keep me away from those freaks."
7
Twenty flights of steps later Selena's chest was on fire even worse than her calves and thighs. She sagged against the wall next to the door at the top of the stair well and started to slide down. Krenn caught her arm and pulled her up. The bastard wasn't even breathing hard.
"No resting yet," he said as he slipped an arm under hers and helped her stand.
"You. Suck," she panted. Her legs quivered as she tried to make them work. Hot yoga and sit ups were no preparation for what they were doing. Maybe training for a marathon would have helped, but she hated jogging.
"We're almost there, come on Selena," he urged her. "They're not far behind us."
Her chest and throat hurt too much to speak. She nodded instead and used his arm and chest to pull herself back up. She felt the strength in his arm and chest. He was solid. Hard. Like a rock wall complete with ridges but no sharp edges.
There was more to him than just his physique. Being this close to him calmed her. Her aches faded and her breathing slowed. For some crazy reason she felt safe next to him. A few hours ago she'd been convinced he wanted to cut her into pieces, now she wanted to cuddle?
"Let's go," she mumbled.
He smiled and leaned over to grab the handle on the door. He twisted it and pulled, opening it and breaking the contacts that made an alarm light flash overhead. He glanced up and then looked at her. "Hurry."
Selena heard the heavy footsteps on the stairs below them. One flight, two? They were getting closer. She ducked under Krenn's arm and pushed herself out onto the roof of the tower. The cold desert night wind whipped at her, sucking her breath away and blowing her hair in her face.
She wiped her face, pushing her hair away so she could see. The roof was dark compared to the stairwell. Only the stars lit it up at night, though she could see the light pollution from the city below all around the tower. She staggered away from the doorway to let Krenn out and turned, looking for whatever surprise he had in mind.
What she saw was not what she expected. Figures crouched around the edge of the roof. Human enough figures, except for the wings that stretched out from the backs. They were the same creature
s that had tried to smash her window in.
"Krenn!" she squealed while trying to back up.
Hard hands grabbed her, one on her arm and the other on her shoulder. She froze when she realized she was held tight. Her heart leapt into her throat again, giving her aching muscles a surge of adrenaline based strength. She twisted, not breaking free of the iron grip but pulling enough to see that it was Krenn that held her.
"Let go!" she hissed. "There are more of those…those things up here!"
"I know," he said. "These work for me."
"They— they what?"
Krenn ignored her for a moment and let go with one hand. He waved the hand in the air and then pointed at the door behind him. Two of four winged bird-men jogged across the roof. Selena tried to break free of Krenn's grip so she could run away from them but they ignored her. They also came close enough that she made out a few details. Details like the dark washed jeans they wore and their bare chests. Bare and, if their silhouettes meant anything, heavily muscled. Except one of them looked different. Instead of slabs of meat where pectoral muscles should be she had athletic rounded breasts.
She twisted enough to look at Krenn again. He reached into his jacket and pulled out his cell phone. Instead of making a call he pressed his finger against the screen, activating some app. Satisfied with whatever he'd done, he tucked it back into his pocket and grabbed Selena's hand so he could release her arm with the other.
"Back away," he warned her.
She stumbled with him, her legs barely able to lift and straighten in time to take the next step. She twisted and looked back over her shoulder, wondering what, exactly, they were backing up from.
The stairwell door went flying into the night sky and was chased out by a gout of flames. One of the Krenn's winged henchman spun out of the way but the male henchman was hit in the shoulder and arm by the flying door. He whipped around and had to put a hand and wing down to keep himself from falling. Blood ran down his arm and chest from a jagged rip in in his shoulder
