Suffocate In Spirit - Shadows of the Night 4

Chapter 51

Hi!

Oh, I heard them, the many complaints about my habit of ending chapters in cliffhangers. I will say this and you must believe me: it's not really on purpose. A chapter must end at some point, so I guess in at least fifty percent it will end up in a cliffhanger anyway. For the rest fifty percent I take the blame. I apologize! :-)

Okay, Alexander suddenly showed up. How and why exactly? Find out! I hope you like this one!
Have a great week.

Lara

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Chapter 51

My breathing was quickened, panicked, loud and wild like the sound of an animal on the run. Like prey.

Forestry green and darkness, sharp angles around me, spinning. Fading to the back of my mind with the first word Alexander spoke. I wasn't ready for this confrontation. I wasn't ready for him, hadn't dared to believe I'd see him again. It was one of the things I'd stowed into that damned black box inside my head.

His hand left my neck and the spot where he touched was suddenly cold.

I turned slowly, nerves tingling and racing with a spike of adrenaline. I raised my eyes and looked at him. One of the many mistakes I made that night.

Clouds moved, and a shaft of moonlight broke through the ring of trees. It spilled over his face and let me see.

Alexander's hands were at his sides, feet parted. He was still, oh so still. That wasn't what frightened me. It was in his eyes. There was some sort of stirring in the blueness that reminded me of terrible, dangerous things swimming in deep, murky waters.

My eyes shied away from Alexander's penetrating gaze, strayed and focused on our surroundings. How was he here? Why was he here? And what to do now?

I closed my eyes. Getting rid of him was the only option I had. I couldn't let him know about the Lumenis, dammit. How in the name of the three great witches did he find me anyway? Could he locate me, despite such a great distance? Or did he guess this would be the first and only place I'd go to?

I opened my eyes, raised them to meet his deadly gaze. No matter what, he couldn't know the truth.

"Do you even have any idea what you did, little witch?" He took a step forward, pushing further into my personal space.

I backed away. Bare, naked instinct. Self-preservation.

How much did he know? I had no time for this, and I wasn't ready for it. I had to warn the Lumenis.

Chances of me outrunning him? Zero.

"I did not think you were such a fool, little witch. You could not even wait until Red Night's Eve was over, could you?"

I stepped back. "It's not like-"

He caught my wrist and I winced. I'd scraped it raw in my fight with the albino. It wasn't the only spot that was bleeding. Only one wound among many I missed after riding dark magic.

"What? It is not like that? Then explain to me what it was like," he said.

I stared back at him. There was nothing I could give him. Nothing that would explain or justify me using the portal. Nothing but the truth.

I killed someone, just like you did.

Was that how it started for him? His first kill as a human or vampire, was it merely an episode in a long fight for survival?