Page 92 of Greed

Standing, she took a step back as the dark smoke-like substance swirled and grew taller. She took a few more steps back, and her heart hammered in her chest as the thing that was clearly not a child continued to reform. The bones snapped and made a crunching noise that churned her stomach. She blinked a number of times as she tried to make out what the thing was as it took on a new shape.

She swallowed the bile in the back of her throat as the smell of sulfur hit her in the face. She took a step back and then another. Her eyes transfixed on the shadowy yet hideous creature. The blood-red eyes flashed and then glowed in the dark as the creature reached its full height and stared down at her. It stretched and rolled its large shoulders.

“Time to die,” it hissed, those red eyes fixed on her.

Minetta spun on her heel and managed to get a few sprinting strides in when the darkness around her came alive like a living, breathing thing, the shadows peeled away from the walls and descended upon her. She looked up at the ceiling of dark, and the coolness turned to a bitter cold as it washed over her body.

A shadow wall sprouted out of the pavement and blocked her exit. She skidded to a halt, little pebbles of asphalt rolling in all directions. Losing her footing on the small marble-like objects, she landed hard on her ass and yelled out at the hard impact. She could no longer see the street or the hospital’s parking lot. It was as if the night sky had consumed her.

She looked over her shoulder, and the creature’s long tongue hung from the wide gaping mouth. It would’ve looked like it was smiling if it wasn’t for the multiple rows of jagged teeth. The asphalt beneath her began to shift like a whirlpool, her hands sunk into the dark substance, and she screamed at the top of her lungs. She managed to get onto her knees and wished she wasn’t wearing a dress. She kept stumbling and getting the material stuck under her feet as she tried to get up off the spinning ground that was threatening to suck her in.

She clawed at the pavement but kept falling to her side at the whirling sensation that was like a crazy floor in a carnival funhouse. Getting on all fours, she lunged forward, but her hands slipped out from under her when she landed, and she smacked her head off the ground.

“Riker,” she screamed at the top of her lungs as hysteria clawed at her mind.

She sucked in a breath to scream again when a tendril of the black slinked around her throat, choking off all air to her lungs. She clawed at the shadowy arm, but her fingers slipped right through. Unable to get a grip and unable to breathe, cold terror seized her.

“You must die human,” the creature hissed once more.

It jerked her to her feet by her neck until just her toes touched the ground. Minetta opened her mouth to try and draw in a breath, but pain exploded behind her eyes as her chest burned from the lack of oxygen. She was dying, she thought, as she struggled in the immensely strong grasp of the demon, black dots flickering in front of her eyes dimmed her vision.

All she could think of was Riker and what he would think when she was gone. She slumped in the demon’s grasp, her limbs giving up the fight as a hot tear trailed down her cheek.

“Let her go.” It was Riker. She’d know that deep voice anywhere. The rumble of his anger filled the space, but hope exploded in her chest.

“No, Mammon, she must die.”

She managed to suck in a ragged breath as the demon changed position, but the hope was short-lived as the demon leaped into the air and did a nose dive for the swirling pavement. She had no doubt where it planned to take her. For just a moment, it was if she was staring through a window into another world. One where everything was dark with vibrant streaks of red and then a shot of light that could have passed as a small atomic bomb exploded in the alley.

She was instantly blind, and she yelped as she hit the ground hard, her knees and hands screaming in pain. The demon screeched an ear-splitting sound, and she covered her ears. Something heavy crashed near her, and instinct alone had her rolling away. She knew her eyes were open, but everything was just a bright white light.

“Leave this place, now,” Riker’s voice was so commanding.

“I cannot, Lord Mammon. She must come with me.”

Something grabbed her ankle, and she screamed as she was jerked hard, her stomach scraping along the ground. Her fingers dug into the blacktop, but it felt like she was being dragged over the edge of a cliff. She reached out and searched for anything to hang onto but came up with nothing. Using all of her strength, she pushed up with her arms and pulled her legs toward her. It was like she was caught in a strange tug-o-war. The demon screeched loud again, and she was hit with something wet that she could only assume was blood but didn’t want to know.

She cried out as the tendril that had let go of her neck was suddenly back and squeezing, blocking off her air supply once more.

A loud roar that was not the demon sounded right beside her, along with another flash of the blinding light and a thunderous boom. The stronghold it had on her ankles and neck slipped and gave her just enough room to take a breath and pull her legs away. Another deafening shriek turned into a wail and could only come from a creature in pain as the tendril around her neck let go. Rolling onto her ass, she pushed herself away from the noise with her hands and feet until her back slammed into the brick wall.

Minetta covered her head and closed her eyes, but it didn’t stop the steady stream of tears that ran down her cheeks and dripped onto her chest. She was shaking and jumped as the terrifying noises lessened and finally disappeared, the sound of her panting the only sound she heard.

“Shhh, it’s okay, I’ve got you.” Riker wrapped his arms around her, and she wrapped her arms around his neck clung to him. She never wanted to let go. It seemed like the only time she was safe anymore was when he was with her. She could feel the softness of the immense wings on his back, and she stroked the butter-soft feathers, the action calming her fear. “Come on. I’m taking you to my place for the night. Hang on.”

“Wha…Ahhhh,” she yelled as Riker pushed off the ground, and in a powerful rush, she could feel them rising into the air.

She yelped as the woosh of the powerful wings propelled them forward. Slowly the white cleared from her eyes, and then wished she’d left her eyes closed.

“Oh shit,” she squealed and gripped his neck tighter as they soared above the city. She wrapped her legs around his waist and felt like a little spider monkey as she hung on for dear life. “Oh my, oh my, oh my,” she said, her voice hoarse.

Riker laughed, the rich sound vibrating against her chest. “You are the cutest thing I’ve ever seen, even when you’re trying to choke the life out of me.”

“I’m sorry, but you don’t tend to wake up thinking today is the day I’m going to fly like a bird.” Minetta coughed and knew her throat was going to be sore for days.

“I keep telling you—you’re my little bird, my raven-haired beauty of hope.” Riker pulled up and hovered over the tallest building. She dared to lean back enough to look into his brightly glowing eyes making her heart race as she stared into their depths. “Are you okay,” he asked, kissing her forehead and then glaring at the mark that she knew without looking was on her neck.

“Yeah, I’m bruised, but it’s nothing a fashionable turtleneck can’t fix.” His fingers touched her throat, his eyes glowing a little brighter.