RISEN || The Keepers of Astraela #2

5.1 || BOBBI

|| CHAPTER 5.1 ||
|| BOBBI ||

HOPE SWELLED IN BOBBI'S CHEST. Even with a Demon breathing down their necks, the sight of Mystia racing down the alleyway gave her all the confidence she needed for their survival.

"Sage! Get her out of here!" Mystia commanded again.

The horned woman—Sage—rushed forward and snagged Eva by the arm. She towered over all but the man in stature, with thin antlers protruding from her cascade of lavender waves. She gave Bobbi a wink, baby pink eyes sparkling with adventure, before whisking Eva down the alley and around the corner of the clothing store.

Bobbi turned to find the Demon watching them with amusement. Malevolence danced in his grin, highlighted by rows of sharp fangs.

Footsteps crunched in the snow as Mystia appeared at her side, her male companion in tow. They shared a sideways grin.

"Just like old times," Mystia whispered. "You better not be rusty on me."

With a mutual nod, they lunged for the horned fiend. He only laughed and stepped back. Smoke enveloped his body, and before they could reach him, he vanished into the nether.

They screeched to a halt, struggling to keep their footing on the frozen ground. The tall man lowered his razor-sharp sickles, eyes narrowed at the spot where the Demon had been, but Mystia and Bobbi waited with held breath. Automatically, they shifted to stand back to back.

As soon as Bobbi turned, a plume of smoke caught her eye. "Watch out!"

The man turned, but it was too late.

The Demon appeared behind him and wrapped a monstrous, charred hand around his face. Muffled shouts ensued as the man struggled underneath the creature's grasp.

"You think you can hide from us?" the Demon whispered in his ear. "We see through your disguise."

The creature extended the talons on its other hand. Mystia dove with her dagger, but before she could reach the Demon, it slashed a jagged claw across the man's neck. Blood gushed from the wound, and he crumpled to the ground with a gurgling cry.

As he fell, the Demon dodged Mystia's strike. She stumbled and lost her footing on the ice.

Bobbi readied herself for attack, swinging her dice socks in slow, methodical circles. The Corruption lurched inside her. It longed for the blood smattering the ground; it filled her senses with lust so strong that her mouth watered. She tried to swallow her hunger, but it gnawed impatiently, freezing her in place.

Mystia's eyes shifted to her as she picked herself up from the ground. She reared forward with her dagger aimed at the Demon's chest, but she was lost to another cloud of smoke. Instead of tumbling over her own feet, she stopped, and the smoke dissipated to reveal nothing but the Demon's footprints in its wake.

"What the hell was that?"

Bobbi could hardly hear Mystia's voice over the blood rushing in her ears. Blinking, she tried to pull herself from her trance, swallowing hard as Mystia knelt beside her male companion—who was, somehow, alive.

While the man's bleeding had slowed, his blood had turned pitch black. Webs of Corruption crept across the gash to seal it from the inside. Once the bleeding stopped entirely, the tendrils faded to the same pale shade as his neck and melded perfectly with his skin.

"Nox, are you all right?" Mystia patted him on the back.

The man let out a strangled gag before spitting out the last of the blood that had pooled within his throat. He wiped his mouth on the back of his sleeve.