Page 75 of Bound By Blood
A breeze ruffledher hair as it flew over her, and fabric flapped in the air. Theflashlight’s beam did nothing to illuminate whatever was in thestorm drain with them, but its rage, power, and bloodlust pulsatedagainst the concrete walls of the narrow space.
Caro steppedcloser to Saber. Of the two things in this storm drain with her, hewas the lesser of two evils.
“Saber,” a voicehissed from the shadows.
Caro couldn’tquite describe the feeling that passed over her. It was somethingprimeval, ancient, and so instinctive she knew those who firstwalked the earth were the ones who gave birth to it.
That voice was thewhispers in the dark who spoke to children when they were alone. Itwas the boogeyman beneath the bed, the shadows lurking andcoalescing to form strange things in the night.
The voice was allthose things and so much more. It was evil incarnate.
The hair on herbody stood on end, she shivered as goose bumps broke out on herskin, and her bladder nearly loosened.
Without thinking,Caro instinctively sought out Saber’s hand. Her fingers enclosedhis as the scent of brimstone, sulfur, and death enveloped her.Despite that, a steely resolve worked through her as strengthflowed between them.
They were trappedin this drain with a creature straight from Hell—she had no doubtthis thing was a demon—but he helped bolster her confidence, theymight somehow make it out of this alive.
“Saber,” the demonhissed again, sounding like it savored Saber’s name on its hideousmouth.
Saber squeezedCaro’s hand as her fingers entwined with his. It was such a simplegesture, yet holding the hand of another was something he hadn’texperienced since losing his family.
A demon huntedthem. It would tear them limb from limb if given a chance, butsomething about this simple act disconcerted him more than thedemon. He knew the demon and how to fight it. He had no idea whatthis was between them.
However, hewouldn’t let her go; he couldn’t turn her away like that. Her faceshowed no fear, but she was terrified if she’d sought him out.
And she had everyright to be. The thing in this storm drain with them was somethingancient, malevolent, and more deadly than anything she’d everencountered before.
And he wasn’tsurprised it knew his name.
His hand tightenedon the sword as the other briefly caressed Caro’s. No matter whathappened, he’d make sure she got out of here alive.
He should havegiven her Ronan’s phone number to call if they got into trouble. Itwas too late now, but she was smart; she’d figure out a way to getin touch with the Alliance. After this, she would understand shehad to make the rest of those swords.
Another ruffle ofwind alerted him the demon was moving. Saber pulled his hand awayfrom Caro; she couldn’t be a distraction now. He had to remainfocused on this thing if he had any chance of walking out of herewith her.
Honed by millenniaof existence, the demon’s instincts were better than his, and itwas pure evil incarnate, but it didn’t have a stone. And it didn’thave Caro to protect.
“We’ve beenlooking for you.”
The singsong wordsof the creature in its grotesque voice made Caro think ofgraveyards, mummies, and rotten things as its vocal cords soundeddecayed. This thing was death personified, and its wretched soulwas oozing out to permeate the air.
A month ago, herlife was so simple and happy. She’d gone to sleep in her apartment,secure in the knowledge of her parents’ love and content to createnew things tomorrow. She loved what she did. It wasn’t a job; itwas who shewas.
Now, she stood ina storm drain, with a powerful vampire beside her and the GrimReaper stalking them. Another rustle of movement sounded from fartoo close a millisecond before claw-tipped fingers skimmed hercheek.
Caro gasped whenblood beaded from the scratches and slid down her face. This thingwas letting her know it could have sliced her open, but ithadn’t.
This thing playedwith them like a cat tenderizing a mouse before eating it, makingit more terrifying.
“Lovely,” itmurmured.
Caro recoiled whenits voice came from beside her, but nothing was there when sheswung out with her stake. Something flashed through the dim glowbefore vanishing into the shadows again.
Caro’s heartraced, everything in her screamed to run, but there was nowhere forthem to go. This thing would pounce on them long before they madeit to the exit. And she had no idea how far away the exit was; theycould be a hundred feet away or a mile.
When Saber sensedmovement to his right, he swung out. The scent of Caro’s blood onthe air unleashed something primordial inside him. He didn’t wantanything touching her, especially not one of these filthycreatures.
His punchconnected with the demon and staggered it back. Its shock overbeing hit reverberated in the air.
