Bloody Curse | Book Two of Blood Trilogy

Chapter 24

Caleb

I awoke with Jill's face buried deep into the nape of my neck. Her breathing was steady and I could feel it against my exposed skin. Our little nut wiggled and kicked when my hand placed against Jill's tight skin. 

I closed my eyes and felt around even more. I could hear the baby's heart beating and the blood pumping from my wife to my child. The life growing inside her was close to being a part of this world, I could hardly wait. My heart beat to the same rhythm as the two laying in front of me. 

Jill groaned then turned her back to me with her limbs widely spread. I kissed her on the exposed shoulder and slid out of bed without any noise. My feet padded against the cool tile as I tiptoed to the bathroom. I got ready in swift motions and walked out the bedroom after placing a small kiss on Jill's forehead. 

A guard was marching down the hallway and I was about to pass him with a nod when he caught me by the bicep. I glanced at him for a while with my eyebrows furrowed. I knew I've seen his face somewhere but I couldn't pinpoint where. 

"Sir, there's an issue in the guard room." He noted urgently with a deadly whisper. I took a small step back and nodded at his remark. Whatever it was, it seemed suspicious but I led the way to the training room, away from my bedroom so Jill could be guarded from any danger. 

My senses were on high as we neared the room. His footsteps still echoed behind me, but something wasn't right. I reached for the knob but didn't quite turn it. I glanced over my shoulder and was charged into the dim room with full force. Hands strangled my neck and only grew tighter the more I struggled. 

Pungent scents filled my nose and the clicking sound drove me insane. I yelled then used all my energy to shove this "man" off of me. I stood straight and circled the creature. How was it possible for a Shadow to consume a human form? 

The figure below me was gasping for each breath while writhing in place. I stood still with a glare that demanded answers or even clues. How could a creature possess human qualities? 

I kneeled down to the Shadow and grabbed it by the neck. My strength lifted it until the feet couldn't touch the floor. The longer I stared at it, the more the resemblance came back until it hit me. This guard was the one who was murdered by the wall on the same night the former queen passed and the same evening when Zayden was kidnapped. The fact that human bodies could be brought back to life and possessed by Shadow figures was definitely a new concept. 

I opened my mouth to demand where Zayden's location was, but something overcame me. I let go of my grasp around its neck as my fingers burned but when I looked down at them, there were no burn marks. I stuttered then stumbled back towards the door. My gaze was glued on it's sly smirk. 

Gripping my temples with my hands, I squeezed until my mind felt numb. The clicking noises intensified and I shouted for somebody to here me, but there wasn't a scheduled meeting in here until later. 

"Get out!" I shouted. I could hear whispering and clicking deep inside my brain but there was no way to rid of it. It was too late. I knew the Shadow had fed my brain. My actions were different from my thoughts. 

The torture of noises and hallucinations were over. It was as if I was sane the entire time. When I looked up from the ground to the previous location of the Shadow, he was gone. The guard that had died was gone. 

Something inside of me felt powerful yet powerless. My own thoughts were overlapped by the simple idea of destruction. I was not myself and I knew it, but that did not stop me from walking out the training room and strolling closer to my bedroom doors.

No. My mind screamed but my hands were already reaching for the doorknob. I knew that Jill would be resting, but I wanted to destroy. I felt compelled to harm.