Page 43 of Fighting My Demons

“Latham, drop the barrier,” Xavier says, moving around to the side of it.

I am boxed in with someone that looks like he is about to tear me apart. I am not sure what is worse, but the look in his demonic eyes tells me there are worse things than being ripped apart.

Latham’s arms wrap around me, pulling me closer, like a boa restrictor trapping its unsuspecting prey, squeezing the air from its lungs before devouring it whole.

“Latham, you don’t want to hurt her,” Xavier tries talking to him, but his eyes don’t leave my face.

I can't bring myself to look away. Some part of me tells me that if I do, it will all be over. The moment I break eye contact, he will kill me. I hear movement behind me, Blaine's voice reaching me while Xavier tries to talk sense into Latham to let me go.

“He is locked onto your fear, Bella. The same as we were.”

I say nothing, frozen in place. Latham turns his head like he is examining something, almost like he is trying to see me.

“You need to stop fearing him. It makes it worse. Your fear is what he wants to feed on. Bella, you need to calm down. I can't influence you out here, and we aren’t strong enough to take on a demon prince,” Blaine says softly.

Demon prince? What the fuck is that supposed to mean? Like the devil's son? What the fuck does it mean?

My fear heightens at his words, yet I have no idea what Blaine means.

“Think of something else, anything else. Something that doesn't scare you. Something that makes you happy.”

I can’t help the chuckle that leaves my lips at his words. Happy? What the fuck is that? I haven’t been happy since I was a small child, and even that felt like a lifetime ago. Fear has always been in my life like a dark cloud.

Nobody had the father I did, and fear came with our lifestyle. Being chauffeured around as kids by men with guns under their suits. We might have been kids, but we knew what my father was. We knew what these men were for. Our protection. Even then, when we had everything, we feared the unknown.

Latham smiles. His smile is cold and cruel, sadistic.

“What do you fear most, Arabella? What is your greatest fear? I found nothing in your blood. What haunts you?” he asks, and my heart beats faster.

“Don’t listen to him, Bella. You need to ignore him. He likes to play with his food, you give it to him—” Blaine doesn’t finish, but I know it means I’ll be dead.

My head whips to the side angrily. “Was that supposed to not fucking scare me?” I snap at Blaine, when I feel Latham’s tongue roll across the skin of my neck.

Xavier makes a panicked noise. I freeze, holding my breath and feel his nose skim across my throat.

“Your fear is addictive.” He inhales deeply. “I can already imagine how sweet your soul will taste, how sweet your essence will taste as I absorb it.”

His nail runs across my throat, and I cry out. Tears prick my vision as I feel blood run down my throat before feeling his tongue lick it up. He growls softly, annoyed.

“Still nothing. Give it to me, Bella.”

“What?” I stutter.

“Your memories, they are gone. Why can’t I taste them? Why can’t I sift through them?” he asks, turning my face from side to side, looking for a way in to destroy me.

“I don’t know,” I tell him, and I feel my lip quiver.

I would give him whatever he wants if he just let me go. I don’t want to go there. I don’t want to belong to that demon. I don’t want to burn again.

“Latham, please. Please, let me go,” I whisper, and he laughs.

“I will never let you go. You are mine to do as I please with.” He chuckles as his fingers wrap around my throat.

“Latham!” I squeak as his fingers tighten, cutting off my air.

My lips part, and I can’t breathe. His grip is so tight it's crushing my throat. I can vaguely hear Blaine and Xavier hitting the barrier, but the sound grows duller and duller as my ears fill with pulsating blood trying to get through my veins. My eyes feel like they are about to pop.

His grip is so tight, my head feels on the verge of exploding, and my mouth opens, seeking oxygen. I am dying. He is going to strangle me to death.