God of Death

Chapter 33: Lily

Chapter 33: Lily

Gasping, gasping for air. Each breath drawing in the biting frost from outside. Each breath stabbing me in the chest. Faster, I need to move faster. The drums of my heart could not drown out the sounds of pursuit or that demented laugh. Faster, faster. FASTER! My legs screamed. My heart felt ready to burst. I managed to find another spurt of speed.

Ping! "Aahh!" The scream ripped through me just as the bolt ripped through my leg. The snow stung my burning flesh as I crashed. I could barely draw a breath. My heart thundered in my head, throbbing in tune with my leg.

"Look at what I caught. A slim, little hare." He taunted. His black crossbow flashed in the night light. I tried to get up to flee, but my leg was useless. I tried to crawl, but that was pointless.

Ping! An explosion of agony in my shoulder. A bolt pinned me to the frozen ground.

"Tut, tut, tut." He tsked as he turned me onto my back, tearing the bolt out of the ground. Somehow, I didn't cry out as the bolt shifted through my flesh. "It's impolite to turn your back on someone when they are talking to you. Now, where were we before this little game of chase, my lovely? Oh yes, that's it." He took out his blade, held it aloft before stabbing me under my skirt.

"No!" I tried to pull away, but I had no strength. His grip was too strong.

"Do you feel that, my love?" He whispered in my ear before stabbing me again and again and again. A little piece of me died with each bloody penetration.

~ ~ ~

"NO!!" I screamed, sitting up. The sheets of the bed went flying in my movement. My hair and clothes clung close as a fine sheen of freezing sweat coated my skin. I felt trapped by the thin cloth almost as much as all the closed doors made me feel. A lock of my own wrapped around my neck tangled upon itself, tightening like a noose.

Rain pelted the skylight. Another frigid storm kept me indoors with balcony doors shut tight. The storm hid the comfort of moon and stars from me. The wind rattled the windows and doors in their frames reminding me of these four walls.

Thanatos had threatened to lock the balcony doors or whisk them away completely if I kept them open during the cooler weather. I almost believe him... Well, enough so to suffer through the feeling of the walls threatening to bury me alive, crushing my body under their weight during the trapped nights in order keep my small freedoms during the day. Winter is going to be torturous. Would he keep me indoors during the day for fear that the cold could kill me? I'm going to fight him he even tried.

When my eyes finally opened, a not-so-dark darkness greeted my eyes, a familiar shadow. A nightmare just another nightmare. I chanted as if I trying to convince myself. My heart still raced from the fictional flight. "A nightmare can't hurt you, right Silver?" I whispered to my bed mate as the phantom pains in my shoulder and leg started to fade.

"No, a nightmare can't hurt you, but the lack of sleep will." Thanatos appeared out of the shadows as clear as day. The scent of warm milk wafted over.

"Mrrp." Silver called hopeful for a sip. Her ears perked up out of the droop of sleepiness. Her whiskers twitched with her nose.

"This isn't for you, silly cat." He chuckled as he tried to keep her from stealing her share.

"Murr." But that doesn't mean I can't have some. Her next meow seemed to say. Her ears folded back as she gave the god a glare to be proud of. I certainly was.