Page 7 of The Last Knight

Chapter Four

Achoking mist blanketed everything, thick as wool and impossible to see through. Gnarled branches tore through the fog like skeletal fingers, clawing at her as she ran. The air was laced with something dark; an evil so dense it slithered along her skin, seeping into her pores no matter how fast she moved. Her breath came in ragged bursts, her feet pounding against the earth, each stride a desperate attempt to outrun the malevolent force that chased her.

She’d always been fast. But tonight, it wasn’t enough. The evil was on her, its presence hot and fetid, breathing down her neck like death itself.

Then—a break in the suffocating fog. A clearing. Salvation.

Aubrey sprinted toward it, lungs ablaze, chest heaving, legs screaming in protest. She didn’t care where it led only that it wasn’t here. But just as she reached the edge, a crushing weight seized her shoulder. She stumbled, knees collapsing beneath her.

“Where is it? Where is the key?”

The voice, deep, inhuman, echoed around her. Over and over, the demand twisted through the air like a chant.

She jolted upright in bed, drenched in sweat, lungs still gasping for air.

And then she saw him. A man. Standing at the foot of her bed.

The silent scream rose in her throat. Her mind reeled, caught between nightmare and waking horror, as she struggled to understand:

Was she still dreaming?

“I don’t mean to frighten you,” a familiar deep voice said.

She saw an outline of a tall, muscled man, and blond waves that cascaded to his shoulders, his face shadowed. He shifted and the moonlight fell over him.

Dressed from head to toe in black, with a long overcoat, he looked like something out of an action movie.

It was Gunther, the warrior from the Dark Realm.

“What are you doing here?” Aubrey said, inching backward toward the headboard. She considered screaming for Padriag, but curiosity got the best of her. “Why are you here?”

His ice blue gaze met hers for a long moment, sending chills of awareness through her. She bristled with annoyance at the reaction. Even with the angry scar that ran from his left temple to vanish under the stubble of beard, he was drop-dead gorgeous.

“I require your help.” He stood stock-still almost as if holding his breath. “Will you help me?”

Aubrey narrowed her eyes. “You are the ruler of darkness or something like that. Didn’t you tell me you got Meliot’s powers? So, no. I will not.” For some reason, she didn’t feel the urge to scream out for Padriag. Deep down she knew this wizard would never hurt her.

“Are you not going to ask what I need your help for? Last time we saw each other, you offered.” He lifted a brow in question as if already knowing she was curious to her own detriment.

“You can tell me if you wish, but I won’t do it.” Something she could never resist was the urge to help those in need, hence Oscar.

Oscar.

She turned quickly from side to side, looking for her cat and not seeing him anywhere. The cat slept with her every night, dozing lazily until late morning most days. “What did you do with Oscar?”

Gunther’s expression changed, hardened. The air shifted, almost stilled, and Aubrey understood he was controlling the surroundings. “Who is this Oscar?”

“If you hurt him, I will never speak to you again. Not that you care and not that I want you to ever come back…” She ran out of things to say, unable to think of anything that would threaten the huge man in the least.

When he continued to look at her in question, Aubrey let out a shaky breath. “My cat. Where is he?”

The change in his countenance was immediate. He softened and once again it was as if the air around them went back to normal. Gunther bent, standing back up with Oscar in his right hand. The cat hung like a rag doll, purring loudly, his paws opening and closing, as if kneading dough. The traitorous cat was delighted at the attention.

“I assume this is Oscar.”

Before thinking better of it, Aubrey sprinted from the bed, closed in on Gunther and snatched a startled Oscar from his hand. She turned and placed the cat on the bed. It was then she realized all she wore were a bralette and panties.

Straightening slowly, she turned and lifted her chin. “Please leave my bedroom.” She motioned with her hands toward the window. “Fly away, or whatever it is you do when you disappear.”