Page 124 of Mortis

Decades had passed since I had last seen it, but my body remembered it intimately. Terror crashed through me. The Beast roared, demanding blood, demanding vengeance. But for once His fury couldn’t reach me. I couldn’t move. Couldn’t breathe. The cemetery blurred and my knees trembled, then buckled, and I hit the ground.

“Kael?”

Teddy’s voice sounded far away. The night air disappeared, and so did the moon. The grass beneath my claws became cold stone. I wasn’t kneeling in a cemetery. I was back in the crypt. Chained to the floor with darkness surrounding me.

All alone.

Sebastian disappeared, and his father stood in his place. The book was open in his hands. His lips moved through incantations as punishment for my refusal to kill one of his traitors. Pain tore through me and my body convulsed. My claws scraped uselessly against the stone. The iron around my throat tightened.

Tighter.

Tighter.

A hand landed on my shoulder, and I flinched. I expected pain, but instead, soft lips pressed against my cheek. Warmth spread through me, pushing back against the memories threatening to consume me.

“Stay with me, big guy,” a voice whispered in my ear.

A voice I knew.

Loved, even.

A voice I would happily listen to every second of every day. Talking about embalming, anime, his Grandad, and Arlo. Telling me about whatever strange thought had entered his head that morning. Telling me he loved the things about me I had spent decades despising.

Yes, I knew that voice intimately.

Teddy.

“You’re not there anymore, Kael. You’re right here with me. Your Teddy.”

Fingers threaded through mine, and slowly, the darkness began to recede. The dusty crypt faded, and the iron chains disappeared. The locked door ceased to exist, and all that remained was Teddy. Blue eyes behind a pair of glasses. Messy brown hair that apparently needed a trim. Pale skin. Rosy lips. The smell of honey.

I reached out and cupped his cheek, and Teddy smiled. “There you are.”

I could only nod, gazing at him in awe.

My treasure.

He had saved me once again.

A hand landed on my other shoulder, and I turned to find Arlo grinning down at me. “Hey, beastie boy.”

A laugh escaped me, because these two reminded me that I wasn’t alone in the dark. Not anymore. I had a man I loved, and a family who loved me in turn. I had a home where I was safe, a job I enjoyed, and a town I liked exploring.

I had a life.

My life.

And I would not allow Sebastian and his heretics to take it from me.

“Bring the sacrifice!” Sebastian yelled. “We must complete the ritual!”

With a growl, I pushed myself onto my hooves. Red cloaks surrounded the three of us, slowly converging. I squeezed Teddy’s hand once before releasing it, then crouched low, ready to attack. Behind them, I watched Sebastian drag the dagger across his palm. Blood welled immediately, and he dipped the fingers of his other hand into the wound before drawing upon the altar.

A circle intersected by lines. Curved hooks sprouting from either side. A downward-pointing triangle surrounded by the looping marks of an ancient script. I recognised Mammon’s sigil, and when Sebastian drew the final line, the image began to glow. He gasped, and several members of the congregation turned towards it in surprise. Even I stared, because that had never happened before.

“What the fuck is that?” Teddy hissed beside me.

“Oh, shit,” Arlo muttered.