Page 26 of How Does It Feel?

“They-they’re beautiful,” I murmured, likely too soft to be heard.

The giant creature watched me with obvious surprise as his brows creased deeply. He glanced at my face before looking at the whispers of smoke that danced upon my hand. A shudder seemed to rack his body before he roughly shoved me away.

He tilted his head up and squinted to see me beneath heavy lashes, and then he spit on me.

The hot wet blob slowly slid down my dirt-covered cheek. I screamed in surprise, but before I could wipe it off, he grabbed me again. The pain of his grip nearly buckled my knees as I cried out.

The monster slowly raked his empty blue eyes over me; my dress had pulled up to expose the last bit of my rear. His horrible gaze seemed to hover over my skin before a scream ripped from me.

Smokey talons had formed at the end of his wings like a dagger and pressed sharply into my shoulders. Warm trickles of blood dripped down my arm as he squeezed tighter.

I was fucked.

Chapter 8

Kill It or Keep It

Callie

In my worst nightmares, I would have been unable to imagine the feelings of pure fear rippling through me as the wretched creature dug the smoke talons of his wings deeper into my flesh. The darkness of the night muddied my view, allowing me barely more than a moonlit view of the horrible creatures surrounding me.

I couldn’t see far in the darkness, but it looked as if I were in the very same spot in the forest. How was that possible? When I had stepped into the circle of destroying angel mushrooms, it was as if I had fallen somewhere? The spot in the forest may have looked similar, but everything about it felt off. It felt horrible and terrifying. Dense trees collected around the opening where we stood. What was happening?

Hundreds of dark, ominous bodies surrounded us. I’m certain there were more, but I could only see so far in the darkness.

It—for he was like no man—towered over me, easily six foot five or more. He wore armor similar to the others, save for the helmet. His pale face was smudged with dark dirt that seemed misplaced against his pale, porcelain skin. His gaze seemed to shine brighter under the moon, almost producing a silvery glow. He was no man. His shoulders seemed far too expansive to ever be considered one. Even through the countless layers of black leather and armor, his body was mesomorphic. Powerfully built to destroy anything he saw fit as a predator. It, without effort, produced an overwhelmingly intimidating effect.

I cried out as his menacing wings pressed deeper into my flesh.

“Kill it. Now.” His voice was low and spine-chillingly soft.

He didn’t even need to raise his voice to command an entire fleet of soldiers.

I couldn’t speak, couldn’t think. The searing pain in my shoulders owned only a fraction of my panic as the nightmarish scene played out before my eyes.

The man continued to stare down at me as he released his hold from my shoulder.

All of a sudden, forceful pressure stung tightly around my throat as I choked and wheezed in an effort to regain my breath.

I hadn’t even realized I had attempted to flee. My body had moved on autopilot in a last attempt to escape before the creature grabbed my throat, keeping me in place. My fingers tried desperately to claw his hand free, but it was no use. He was too strong.

All at once, I felt the cold metal slide inch by inch into my back, sharp and cold. Every muscle in my body went rigid and stiff, horror-struck at the sight as the skin of my stomach stretched. The pointed tip ripped through the skin of my abdomen.

Only once I felt the raw, grating friction of the sword withdrawing and the hard dirt grinding into my knees did I realize he had released his grip from my throat and stabbed me straight through my abdomen.

I looked down, shocked at the gruesome wound on my stomach, still not quite registering what had happened.

Deep, dark burgundy blood cascaded down my body as I grabbed at the gushing wound in complete dismay.

My jaw slackened. I had no remaining conviction available to close it. How could this happen to me? I was a good person. I did everything a good person did. I was good! Good guys always triumphed, always prevailed while the bad guy—the villain—without exception failed.

I stared up in disbelief. The villain had held my throat while one of his men had stabbed me clean through the middle.

How could this have happened?

My face began to tingle with tiny pinpricks as the blood slowly drained from my face. No one could survive a wound like this. I was going to die.

The winged villain took a step forward, stopping once he hovered over my kneeling frame. His icy blue eyes took in the scene with a look of pure satisfaction—enjoyment even.