Dark Requiem [malexmale]

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Nineteen

Panic and rage clouded not only myself, but the beast as well. The world was a high definition red scale of nightmares. No distinct features for the creatures, however. Only the intense scent of their fear, their blood, their corrupt souls. The sounds of the volcanoes exploding were ten times louder now than they had been earlier.

The beast roared at the noise, my hands flying up to clamp over my ears as I lost my footing over the rough terrain outside. I wasn't sure how I got out of the underground tunnels, and there was still one remaining creature down below, alive and kicking, but it clearly had enough brains to stay the fuck out of my way. Unlike the beasts on the surface.

Every so often, a stupid creature would launch itself at me and it took nothing more than a swat with my hand to sent them flying, bones breaking and blood spraying. A group of creatures had come at me from all angles at some point, and it was only a matter of who was I going to devour first, and in the end, all of them had lost their corporeal forms and became my meal.

And fuck, goddamn, my stomach hurt so much. It was filled to exploding with various creatures, and I think that was what finally slowed the beast down. However, he refused to leave, refused to take a back seat. He was scared. His fear was rancid around me, like being trapped at the bottom of a carton of spoiled milk. He would stop only to scream, even though his soul wept, because he physically could not cry.

And his panic fueled my own.

Where was Michael? All I remembered was holding him in my arms, his back soaked in blood, his screams as Hades healed him... and Hades. What had happened to Hades? Had I killed him? Or was that Diablo? I had no idea what was scarier.

Michael! Where is he?! The beast's emotions overrode my own. I couldn't gather up enough strength to turn back and find Hades, or Diablo. The beast had a one track mind and he wouldn't stop until he had Michael.

Michael... Michael, where are you?

Panting hard, I stumbled over to a crater, tripped and nearly face planted in a pool of lava. I was disoriented, nauseous from the spinning and churning of the world around me. Something was wrong... I'd hit a vortex. There was no other explanation for why I felt like this trek to the castle was taking forever. I wanted to teleport, but the beast refused.

Let me destroy everything! I have to kill everyone and everything! Where is my Michael? Where is my rabbit? It was my thoughts, my feelings sure, but it was the beast that was revved up. The beast that screamed and wailed and smashed apart everything within sight. I'd lost count how many creatures had been mowed down, devoured, destroyed. How many trees uprooted and thrown. New craters punched into the rocky ground.

My knuckles were bloodied. My face, arms, and back were bruised, and my wings fluttered on their own, the adrenaline from the beast making them restless. I felt cuts and gashes burning from sweat and dirt and grime, but the beast didn't care. The beast felt nothing, but pure hysteria.

Another roar erupted from my throat, my head tossed back as I stared up at a brilliant red sky. A streak of pink lightning streaked across the sky, and the beast held still for a moment, gazing up at the lightning, head cocking slowly, curiously.

Yes, it was very pretty. Very pale pink. Very powerful. It lit the sky up briefly before fading, and the sound it made as the electricity cracked was enough to make goosebumps rise on my skin.

I took a deep breath, inhaling smoke and dust through my nose, making my nostrils tingle. I shook my head and shook off the burns of the attacks from other creatures and kept moving, breathing raggedly as I once again resumed my search for Michael.