Charade (Heven and Hell #2)(47)
Author: Cambria Hebert

Come to me.

I felt the power in his voice. It was raw and strong, and before I could think better of it, I was walking forward. I knew I should be frightened, part of me was. The other part of me knew that I was dreaming. People couldn’t get hurt in their dreams, could they? I didn’t think so. I walked on, curious about this place and the pull of the power that summoned me.

As I walked, the world around me changed very little. I came upon a river flowing alongside where I walked; its water was thick and black like oil. And it smelled. It smelled of sulfur and death. I veered away from the water, feeling a little sick, and came upon a valley. Before venturing down, I stopped on the hill and studied the scene below me.

There were demons. Lots of them. Some were fighting with one another, screaming and biting, causing pain where they could. Others were raiding the few shacks that scattered the area. The tiny broken buildings would shudder under the attacks, but none fell down. A few small fires burned around them, but no one seemed to care. I took a step backward, wanting to get away from the horrible scene. Unfortunately, my movement caught their attention.

Every demon below stopped what they were doing and turned toward me. I felt the hatred and excitement from their beady, soulless eyes burn right through my core.

Screw this dream. It was time to wake up. Please, wake up.

Bring her to me, the powerful voice ordered and the demons tripped over themselves to comply. I ran, the sharp shale and rocks stabbing into my feet, but I didn’t care. I just wanted to get away. The demons followed me, all of them much bigger and faster than I, and I was quickly trampled from behind. I didn’t stay down long, though; I was pulled up by various rough hands. I screamed and fought, kicking and scratching when I could, but they were too strong. One demon thought I was funny and began laughing in a high-pitched wheezing noise that hurt my ears. I looked over and immediately regretted it.

He had sharp, pointy teeth that were grotesquely small for his large gums and mouth. His eyes were far apart and tiny, black pin pricks in his head. He stuck out his tongue, which was a long, black thing that seemed to have a mind of its own. When it reared up in my direction, I saw the red eyes and screamed. His tongue wasn’t a tongue; it was a snake. The snake hissed and shot forward. I tried to knock it away, but my hands were pinned and so were my legs as the demons carried me forward.

Do not harm her!

The demons grumbled and moaned, but the snake retreated back into the demon’s mouth and I shut my eyes and prayed. The demons grew quiet, their steps slowed and they dumped me onto the ground. I sprang up, catching them off guard and lashed out with my fist, connecting with something solid. The thing screamed and grabbed me. After watching Sam fight so many times and hearing Gemma’s recent instructions about fighting, I struck out with a solid fist.

It felt like I was pushing my hand through sand.

I pushed harder.

The demon fell to the ground at my feet and did not move.

All the other demons stared at me in shock. I was a little shocked too. I could defend myself! I just killed a demon.

Warm, rich laughter filled my ears. I knew you had it in you.

I shuddered. It was not Sam who congratulated me.

A loud, shrieking sound came from behind and the demons began running, leaving their dead comrade at my feet. What could possibly scare away a demon?

Fear threatened to incapacitate me when a huge dark shape floated through the gray sky. It was so big that if there had been a shining sun, it would have completely blocked out the warm rays. It had a wingspan unmatched in size and I was momentarily reminded of the dinosaur museum we visited in third grade.

Except dinosaurs were extinct.

Right?

Its head was wide and square with a snout that stretched its face, elongating its intimidating looks and turning them to frightening. Thick, pointy teeth in several rows met like knives in the center of its mouth. The teeth were so large that its lips could not cover them even though it appeared to have its mouth closed.

As it lowered itself closer to the ground—and to me—large, vein-filled wings flapped almost lazily but still with enough power to blow my hair into my face, which I pushed away to stare at the creature.

I had been right. Dinosaurs are extinct.

But apparently, dragons existed.

It landed with a thump just feet away.

The dragon had a fat, protruding belly and sharp spines along its back and tail. Horns seemed to rip right out of its head and curve possessively toward the sky. Its eyes were small compared to the rest of its head, but they found me and stared, drilling a hole right through me. As it stared it tilted its head to one side.

I took a step backward and it hissed.

I stumbled and fell. Strong arms wrapped around me from behind.

The dragon swooped forward, hunching over the demon I just killed. It sniffed the body, then looked back up at me. Could it tell I was the one responsible?

Its eyes were gold like Sam’s. They were not nearly as hypnotizing or beautiful and the gold color was not pure, but there was something in them that made me pause.

“Come, little one, The Devourer is not a pet.”

I paid little attention to the man hauling me away, but kept my eyes locked on the dragon. Finally, it snorted and looked down. Its huge jaws opened and I expected it to bite. Instead, a whirring noise filled the air and everything around us began vibrating and pulling forward. My hair whipped forward as did my clothes. The dragon was sucking in air?

“We must go,” the voice said and began to tow me faster. The sucking seemed to have no effect on him.

My last sight before being pulled completely away was a white shape being dragged out of the dead demon and float into the dragon’s mouth. The demon then turned to ash and settled into the blackened earth.

The sucking around me stopped.

The dragon flew away.

I was dragged onto the drawbridge of a very creepy looking castle.

*   *   *

“What do you think?” the man asked, gesturing to the castle.

I was busy studying him. Power radiated from every pore. It was the kind of power that you could get drunk on; it pulled you in and made you want more. I took a step back. He chuckled.

He had hair the color of midnight and lips the color of blood. His skin was pale, like it hadn’t seen the sun in years. Looking at the sky, it probably hadn’t. He wasn’t handsome; his features were too rough for that. His nose was a little crooked and his front tooth was chipped. His frame was large, corded with muscle, but on a closer look, he was not as large as he first appeared. The power he radiated made him look and feel bigger. The one thing that did not radiate around him was an aura. He was without one and I wondered what it meant. His looks were not unpleasant, some might find him appealing, but I was used to seeing a sun-kissed golden boy with steel in his back and love in his heart. I was certain this man did not know about love.