I ran out of the house into the night in a drunken zig-zag. If I could get inside the Bronco, I'd be safe long enough to get it started and hopefully drive away to freedom.
I will have to hurry. The demon is bound to come after me. I could hear him continue to inspire his charge over the storm, over the fire paws that were once again in pursuit of me.
"Strip his flesh...grind his bones, devour his marrow!" he shouts.
"With pleasure, master!" I hear Chaos respond.
My keys were in my good hand before I had made it ten feet within my Bronco. The wind having a mind of its own pushes me away, farther and farther from my defense on four wheels. I lean forward into the wind but it was too strong.
A cruel wall of air smacks into me. My body offers no resistance against the blow and I fall to the ground, landing on my back with keys in my hand.
I'm on my back, looking around for Chaos. I see him make a great bound from the porch, a graceful leap that despite the intended purpose of such a supernatural act amazes me. He is airborne and climbing higher. The spectacle is striking, beautiful, powerful. It is the last sight I will see as he reverses his deadly ascent and dives toward me from his perch on high.
The awesome sight of the hellhound descending back to earth is blocked by a silhouette. The broad shouldered figure stands with his back facing me, his stance wide and firm. When I see the long braided pony tail blowing in the wind I come to comprehend that it is Angelos.
Chaos is diving faster now.
Angelos looks over his shoulder at me. I am drawn to the hellhound that is almost upon us.
"You are not alone," Angelos says to me.
His voice is soothing.
There are no words that express the elation that flows through my battered body.
"I've come to bring you light," Angelos says.
"We have to go!" I yell.
"We must finish this," Angelos says.
He turns back in the nick of time to face the fury that is Chaos.
"But— " was the only word that I could muster as I get to my feet and scamper away.
Angelos falls to the ground, pinned by the hellhound where I had been laying only seconds ago. The large black head darts at him like a piston, the muzzle clamping down on wind as he deftly parries the attacks with the palms of his hands. The clanking together of teeth as they miss their target was deafening. My skin crawls as I imagine for a brief moment those same teeth tearing into me.
As if Chaos had read my thoughts, he knocks Angelos aside with a murderous swipe of his front paw and lunges for me, jaws snapping. Angelos rolls back onto his feet and dives at Chaos, striking him full force in his flank. The hellhound rolls along the ground, kicking up dirt in the process.
"It's over," Angelos says, returning to his feet to assume a defensive posture.
Chaos returns to all fours and shakes the dirt from his already filthy coat.
"Seth has followed the rules and won his freedom," Angelos says.
"He will die nevertheless," Chaos says.
"Nevertheless, you will not touch him," Angelos says.
"I will not only touch him," Chaos says, casting his gaze past Angelos to get a good look at me. "I will rip him apart."
"As I said...you will not touch him," Angelos reiterates.
Chaos returns his focus to Angelos.
"Why must you interfere? This worthless bit of a human is not worth you risking my rage...is he?" he asks.
"He is only worthless in your eyes," Angelos said.
"Enough talk," Chaos says. "Last warning...step aside."
"You know I cannot do that," Angelos says.
Chaos shook his head. Saliva drooled from his muzzle. "This hunt has turned out to be a fine one. I am rewarded with feasting on a human and another one of your kind," he says.
"Your foolish pride and appetite have misled you," Angelos says. "You have never even come close to besting me."
"And you have never been strong enough to keep me down," Chaos says.
"It was always mercy that saved you," Angelos says.
"Rest assured that if you require mercy from me you shall not find it," Chaos sneers.
He reared back on his haunches and looks toward the Victorian.
"I'm sure the master shares the same sentiments," he says.
Angelos looks over to the Victorian. He falters, the assuredness drains from his disposition. I follow his gaze and understand the reason behind his change of behavior.
The demon was standing in the doorway. His reddish-orange pigment looked like a reflective vest in the darkness. His torso disappeared into a sea of dark fur on two powerful legs ending in large goat hooves. The abnormal face with ivory horns high on his jutting forehead moved from side to side as he looks for me with eyes sunken into a thick skull.
"Where is Seth?" the demon asks.
His voice is loud and strong and sounds as if there are a thousand different pitches. His mouth is full of gleaming, white teeth. They are the whitest of white that I am afraid will soon be stained with my blood.
YOU ARE READING
"Deacon Ash"
ParanormalSeth is the consummate alcoholic, a slave to his vice, and his family's constant plea for him to kick the habit has fallen on deaf ears. He escapes to his inherited Victorian in the dead town of Blackwood, Mississippi on a three day hiatus to escap...
