Breaking the Ice (Book 1)

Chapter Twenty-Nine

LUNA

Luna gaped in horror. Realization that a gargantuan tree loomed over them eerily. Its branches clutched possessively onto the walls of the cave. The grass luminated a celeste blue in the darkness. As she approached, she noticed that corpses were woven into the tree's bark. Some of their mouths were twisted grotesquely in a silent scream. Goose flesh pimpled her arms. Her heartbeat echoed in her ears in a rhythm that screamed panic.

In front of her, Zodiac's multi-colored eyes were wide and wild, his pupils dilated into miniscule orbs. He slowly peeled off his mask. The first time she caught a glimpse of his face. Lines of charcoal tattoo ink smeared his pale cheeks, two strokes on each side of his face. Another line trailed down his bottom lip—which had a snake bite piercing—to his cherry chin. The tips of fangs peeked out from beneath his lips. He could've been handsome if he didn't look mad at the moment. A silver piercing overlapped one of his threaded dark brows.

A groan filled the dreadful atmosphere, the echo bounced off the cave walls. Luna could have sworn it was the tree...or the corpses.

"What is this place?" She dared to say, hoping it would break the eerie silence. Zodiac whirled around to her, a film over his eyes, making them both look pale. His lips curled upward smugly.

"Where you will take your last breath." He growled in a voice that didn't suit him well. There was more of a rasp to it, it sounded like a chorus of voices through one mouth. A chill slithered down her spine, like a snake's forked tongue tickling down her back. Her gaze shifted to her bindings, then the belt they were attached to. She tugged, a grunt escaped from her captor—who she realized was not the mute assassin she'd become accustomed to.

Someone or something was possessing him. Not even a murderous demon deserved to have their mind invaded and their body controlled like a puppet. All she had to find out was who was pulling his strings.

"What do you want from me?"

"Your soul—yes—your soul. Give it to me! Give me your flesh and bones and light." His fingers twitched disobediently, trying to fight the entity possessing him. But his mask of composure hid the struggling beneath.

Luna bit the inside of her cheek, planning her escape. Zodiac's vacuous eyes were cold and calculating. Seeing how this villain came off as arrogant, Luna decided to stall and wait for him to let down his guard.

"Who are you? Why do you want my soul?"

Possessed Zodiac sneered maliciously, revealing glistening white fangs—and being more terrifying than thought possible. "The tree," he rasped. "The tree is to feast on you next." Luna gazed toward the tree incredulously. The plant looked to be on the verge of death. But it gave off a sinister vibe, proving that this was not an ordinary tree. Before she could further interrogate, the branches of the tree began to crackle and snap.

Luna looked up in horror as the tree grew bigger, fuller. Flowers bloomed along the branches all of a sudden. They draped down the plant in glowing rays of red shades. Despite the beauty of it, the transformation made Luna even more uneasy. But it seemed familiar all the same. A sweet aroma filled the air, one that made the atmosphere taste of ripe langos and candied zoulnuts.

Against her wishes, her feet began to move closer, admiring the false tranquility the ancient plant provided. Her mind grew blank as her fingers brushed against the rigid tree trunk.

And before she knew it, vines coiled around her ankles, pulling herself closer to the tree to become one with it....