Page 10 of Hallow’s Eve

The claws embed deeper into my ankle as I’m dragged against the rugged ground. I try to kick at whatever has me but the hold is too strong and my body is too weak. A scream leaves my lips as my body bounces up and down and rocks embed into my skin. I try to look back but all I see is a dark cloud.

The claws release my ankle and my body is thrown hard, causing me to crash into a tree. I’m gasping for air as the wind is knocked out of me from the impact and I can feel my ribs crack as I land back on the floor.

“Please…Don’t hurt me! I promise I won’t run away again. Please! You can’t do this to me,” I beg profusely as I try to lift myself up.

An unhuman hand grabs me by the neck, lifting me up so my feet hover over the ground. The talons are cold against my skin as it squeezes, cutting off my air supply. My body jerks back as I’m slammed into the tree again. The bark of the tree cracks from the impact and a piece of wood embeds into my shoulder. Pain radiates throughout my body and I’m dangling like a puppet on strings. The smell of sulfur invades my senses, causing acid to form in my throat.

“Now why wouldn’t I cause you a little pain, Witch? It takes the fun out of it. Your little boyfriends can't save you now, Wench.” The creature's raspy voice slithers up my spine.

I try to blink away the dark cloud but the only thing I see are red eyes and curled horns inches from my face. I can’t scream for help. I’m mute, helpless, and barricaded in a nightmare. Everything around me fades and all I see is complete darkness engulfing me whole until nothing else exists.

I’m dying and there’s nothing I can do.

Chapter seven

Cayson

The cold temperature change in the cabin was a concerning sign. The Hellbound were getting ballsy and I didn’t particularly like how close they were getting to our Little Witch. They can’t have her; she belongs to us but that doesn’t mean they won’t try to claim her beautiful soul.

She doesn’t deserve the curse that was placed upon her family. Hell, we didn’t deserve her but that won’t stop us from having her. We’ve waited twenty-one years to claim what was ours but even with the wait, we were willing to let her go. Her family had so much taken from them, and then when her mother killed herself, she lost a mother to raise and love her. Her aunt did a great job taking over the role, but even she couldn’t protect her from the Dark Forest.

Once she turned twenty-one, her scent traveled within the winds and the fear she had was intoxicating. We watched her from afar since we couldn't leave this hellhole. We never got to have a real good look of her breathtaking beauty, until one night.

There were rumors amongst the town of the creatures that inhabited the forest. Not even normies came close. Last year on Hallow’s Eve, Brooklyn went out for once with her friends. She was wearing a slutty Red Riding Hood outfit that complimented her curves. Her perky breasts were on full display as the corset pushed them up, making my mouth water.

Of course, the group of them were drinking and became more interested in what was hiding in the forbidden. The more they drank, the more ballsy they got. Brooklyn was extremely intoxicated as she stumbled in her heels closer to the edge.

“Ohhhh, spooky,” She taunted her friends, waving her fingers around in the air. ”You know, ya’ll are a bunch of pansies. It’s nothing but mist and trees. See, nothing's going to get me.”

She inched her way backwards slowly, giving her friends a show as she giggled and howled in the night. A dark cloud came up behind us, causing the temperature to lower to near freezing. Hellbound were coming and they wanted her soul.

Kallen summoned a gust of wind and shifted it towards Brooklyn, causing her to go flying forward as Bryden and I spun around, diving into the dark cloud to fight them off. We heard a scream leave our Little Witch but we knew that she’d be okay.

“I told you, Brook, you idiot. Let’s get the fuck out of here,” one of her friends yelled as she got up and ran off towards safety.

Since that night, her smell, the way her blonde hair whisked in the wind, and her beautiful complexion took hold of every common sense. We couldn’t ignore the pull we had to her. Her fate lies in our hands and she was destined to be ours. We would have her no matter how dangerous it was.

I shake off the memory as my brothers and I huddle in the small, cramped room of the old-as-fuck cottage. This cottage was a landmark for the Hellbound as they feasted on the souls of the Salem witches. When Brooklyn ran into here to hide from us, we had to cast a barrier around the property to protect her. There’s no doubt that once she stepped foot into the perimeter, it would alert them of her presence and the Hellbound would capture her.

They already knew she was in the forest but we kept close, shielding her from the terrors lurking. The errand we had to run while Bryden accompanied her to the creek was to hunt some of the lurkers down and kill them, leaving one to scurry off to send the rest a warning.

The crack of thunder and the shaking of the house was an indicator that the Hellbound were trying to breach the barrier. They wanted her so badly that they forgot who shielded her. If the Hellbound lost the fear they originally had in our presence, it was going to be a blood bath and that’s the last thing we wanted her to go through. They wanted her blood, her soul, but only we were going to be the ones to spill her blood and consume her. The difference between the Hellhound and us, they wanted to kill her and take her soul to replenish. We wanted to savor, worship, and taste her. We wanted her to feel absolutely divine, the way she makes us feel.

“She’s a liability. Every minute she stays here, the more trouble comes knocking at the door. She’s addicting and I want nothing more to keep her for ourselves, but at what cost?” Kallen’s statement snaps my attention back to the twins who are arguing and pacing around the suffocating room.

I know what he’s thinking, he wants to find a way for her to get through the mist and back to her home under the protection of her aunt. Normally, I would agree with his logical thinking but if the mist lifts for her to go back home before dawn, that means the creatures of the night will follow and cause mayhem. Although it’s enticing to cause a little ruckus, that means it will land at her front door and she’ll be dead before we can get back to her.

“What do you suppose we do then, brother? Put her out of her misery? She finally came around to us. She gave her body to use to ravish. She’s ours. Are you willing to give her up before the sun rises? For what? To keep peace with the underworld? We’re fucked anyways. We might as well enjoy her and stay in this cottage. No one can touch her when the sun comes up.” Bryden’s voice rises over his twins.

The first part of his statement causes a growl to leave my lips. There’s no way in hell she’ll die tonight; not in our hands or theirs. My chest vibrates causing my whole body to shake with rage. Suddenly, I lung forward, wrapping a hand around each of their throats as I slam them against the wall. The splinters from the wood cracks and their obsidian eyes widen at my sudden attack.

“She’s not disposable. I won’t release her just to be killed by those pieces of shit. You idiots think sending her home will be the answer? No, they’ll follow and kill everyone in their wake.” I seethe as my hands squeeze tighter around their throats.

Their hands shoot up, clawing at mine but I’m stronger than the both of them combined. My brothers are far from weak but I have years on them with experience and training, hence why I’m the leader of our trio. I’m the one who got us out of the Hellbound clutches and betrayed the Devil himself. It’s my job to protect them but I won’t hesitate to snap their necks if they even think about ending my Little Witch’s life.

“She’ll go home at dawn without a scratch on her pretty little face. The only ruin she’ll feel is our touch crawling up her skin and the fill she’ll feel with us deep inside her. She’s to be protected at all costs.” I give them another shove and release them, causing them to stumble before catching themselves.

The house suddenly shakes with another crack of thunder and the howling of wolves vibrates through the air. Something isn’t right. I can feel it in my bones and the warning of the howling calls that danger is lurking in the shadows. The same air around us comes to a piercing freeze. My cold blood becomes ice with the realization that she’s no longer in the cottage with us.