Page 77 of Dusk Macabre

The second he appeared on the screen, the demons moved. Or rather, what looked like a wave of humidity moved, and I gasped out loud at the visible demonstration of magic. The power in the air shook the bank of computers and just like Kiam had done before he left, I grabbed the frame to try and steady it. Several of the screens fell, cracking against the hard floor.

Kiam hadn’t moved an inch, not that I could tell. The floor rolled under my feet, and I backed away from the display and leaned against the wall.

One of the men pointed at Kiam and then drew his finger through the air, almost like he was tracing a geometric shape. I couldn’t be certain what he was doing because I was trying to keep track of thirty men at the same time, all converging on the single one I cared about.

The layer in the air billowed and then disappeared, and the men ran forward. I wish I could have seen what happened better, but everyone moved so fast it all looked like a blur. Flashes of black, dark gray, and then red. There was so much red. Puddling on the ground, misting through the air. A couple of times, one of the demons’ faces would show up close to the computer screen, with a jaw extended and perfectly white teeth showing. Then the image would suddenly disappear.

Desperately, I searched for Kiam. Too many of the demons wore all black so I couldn’t be positive any of the dark wisps flying past were the man I was looking for. Ruling out the dark gray streaks left me with four or five possible figures that could have been him. The suspense was killing me.

My fingers struck together when I went to shove my hair back over my shoulder. When I looked down, I realized I’d been twirling my hair around my fingers. I disentangled myself and carefully left the cluster of strands on Kiam’s desk. Hopefully, he would come back down here and be able to appreciate the present I’d left him.

I still couldn't single him out from the ongoing chaos, and it was tearing me up inside. Feeling powerless was the worst, not being able to interfere or help him should something happen. What I could have possibly done if I was able to go out there was beyond me. Probably nothing would happen other than I’d get myself annihilated. But still, I wished I could help him.

Finally, when I was about to lose my shit for real, I saw him. There was one demon left, wearing a tattered suit and an arrogant smile. Kiam flexed his fingers, the muscles in his forearms rippling, and he darted forward. Then, he spun around the man and when he stopped, he pulled his polished, black talons free of the man’s back.

The man collapsed on the ground, his head bouncing off a rock, and Kiam held an outstretched palm over the corpse.

Stepping closer to the LCD screens, I scanned the carnage. Blood flowed over the sand like a stream. It poured out of lacerations, dripped from the stumps of missing limbs, and trickled down the side of battered skulls. The scene was nauseating.

Kiam picked his way through the destruction, his fingers stained red as he held a hand over each body before he moved on. Presumably, he was utilizing some sort of magic, but I had no idea what he was doing to the bodies if they were all dead.

I turned away from the desk and tried the door once again. Surprisingly, it was unlocked, and I ran down the hallway, and let myself out the sunken doorway. Kiam had cleverly disguised it to blend right into the landscape and fallen rocks of what was once a fortress or castle. I couldn’t tell which it was, and I never asked.

The first thing that hit me was the stench. Apparently, demons soiled themselves when they died, just like humans. Not only that, but the thick, metallic scent of blood permeated the air to the point I could have sworn I tasted it. My stomach heaved and I lifted the front of my hoodie over the lower half of my face while trying to breathe through my nose.

Kiam spotted me, tilting his head to the side with a little frown. “Why are you out here? Go back inside.”

“No,” I retorted, my voice muffled through the layer of fabric.

His chest heaved, and he gave me side-eye as I carefully picked my way through the ruins. Most of the battle seemed to have taken place in a clearing. I stopped just short of the bodies.

“What are you doing with them?” I asked. The stench was overpowering, and I had to hold my gag reflex in check.

“Come here,” Kiam ordered me.

In an instant, he was in front of me. He grabbed my hand, removing the front of my hoodie from my face and immediately placed his palm over me. The nauseating stench disappeared. “Shit. How convenient. Thank you,” I said.

“You may not want to be here for this,” he warned me.

“For what?” I asked. Kiam looked over the strewn bodies, glanced at me, and thrust his hand out to the side.

A huge pile of logs had materialized in the sand and I gasped. It wasn’t there two seconds ago.

I walked around the stack and stopped when I saw the sharpened ends. “Oh geez, well doesn’t this look familiar.” They were identical to the ones in the trap I’d fallen into.

Kiam smirked at me. “But these will get some use.”

He flipped both of his hands towards the logs, and they formed a circle around the property. “A fence?” I asked. It looked like one, except without the horizontal bars that would keep unwanted guests out.

“Of sorts.” He trudged through the sand, heading back to the bodies. I couldn’t help but notice he’d seemed to tire a bit.

A few more flicks of his wrists and the Kakian demons were impaled on the stakes, the pointed tips bursting through their mouths. Their entrails slid from their insides, and their blood splattered in pools around the bases. It was grotesque, and despite not being able to smell death anymore thanks to Kiam’s magic, I had to swallow bile.

Grabbing Kiam around the middle, I tucked my head against him and squeezed my eyes shut. When I was able, I asked, “What is the point of all that?”

He massaged my back while he spoke. “It makes a statement. Others will be less likely to fuck with me and any more Kakians that come this way will be warned. Don’t forget Leander and Adrian will come calling since their agents failed.”

How could I forget. It would only be a matter of time before they arrived. I’d gotten to know them well enough during my brief stay to know that they wouldn’t waste any time. They had, after all, given me only two days.