An Eternity of Dead Sun (An Eternity of Eclipse Novel Book 2) (47 page)

The sound of a blade ripping into flesh broke into the forest.

“Augh!”

Coco relieved herself of the chain and rotated out of their hold. With her wound bleeding profusely, she elbowed the first Demon, twisted the knife out of his grasp, and began slashing at them wildly. She was holding her own, but just like the limits of reality, the numbers were against her. Her skills weren’t enough to overpower the two Demons who appeared to have the same amount of fighting power as her. They fought back hard, and I could see she was struggling.

What are you waiting for?!
my inner self screamed.
Help her! 

“Coco!” Adrenaline spiking my veins, I jarred myself out of my rigid state and staggered towards the incline. Battling past the snowstorm, I tried to climb up the snowy slope, struggling to find traction on the snow to boost myself up. After a mind-numbing battle, I managed to leverage myself onto the top of the incline.

“Coco?!” I screamed in a shrill voice. I slashed my hand around, fighting through the flurry of snow. I struggled to find her—to help her. “Coco?!”

I pricked my ears up in a desperate attempt to detect her whereabouts. The more I tried to listen for Coco and the Demons, the more distant they became. It was like something was muting their voices and pulling them away from me
. . .

Soon, nothing but the mayhem of the storm consumed my senses.

All of a sudden—

Whooooosh!

I was yanked out of my daze when I diverted my attention skyward and saw several plumes of black smoke fly overhead. The entire forest shook from the current of its speed before the black smoke descended down like meteors, just several yards from where I was standing.

Run,
my instincts commanded.
They are here. Run!

“Coco?!” I called out once more.

Again, there was no response.

Faced with a new threat of my own, I knew I couldn’t stay where I was. If I wanted to make it out of this alive, I had to leave Coco behind.

Please be okay,
I hoped in my mind for Coco before I heeded the command of my instincts.

Picking my legs up, I sped through the frigid wind, delved deeper into the shadow of the woods, and ran for dear life.  

Huff . . . Huff!

In the chaotic blizzard, I sprinted without any sense of direction. I ran into snow-covered branches, stumbled over bushes, slammed into trees, and tripped and fell countless times without discrimination. Speed may have been on my side, but coordination eluded me long ago. The only thing that mattered was getting away from whatever was in the forest with me—from whatever that was after me.

“Hahaha . . .”

The fine hairs on the back of my neck stood up when I heard a disembodied chuckle echoing throughout the wilderness, the proximity of the mocking laughter too close for comfort. Anxiety rushing through my nerves, I increased my pace and embarked on what felt like the longest run of my life.

Huff . . . Huff!

With clouds of warm steam filtering from my mouth, I continued to race the wind, hurtling over a fallen tree trunk and feeling my backpack bounce against my back. I was in the midst of ducking underneath a branch when a body came out of nowhere and tackled me with the force of a cannon.

Bam!

“Ahhh!”

Thunk!

I flew into the air and slammed back-first into the tree behind me. My backpack may have cushioned the brunt of the impact, but an outpour of pain ignited within me nonetheless. The hundred-year-old tree felt like steel against the frailty of my back. At the force of the collision, snow collapsed from the tree branches and joined me as I fell back to the ground with a reverberating thud.

“Augh . . .”

I crumpled to the ground and wheezed desperately for air. For the longest time, I couldn’t see or feel anything but pain. Groaning, I buried my head into the snow, hoping to find solace in the prickling ice. Such a gesture did little to abate the pain ripping through my body. I was still trembling when I felt someone tug at my collar, forcefully bringing me to my feet.

I nearly screamed when I came face to face with my next horror: the Red Tie Demon.

“Hello Grace,” he greeted with a hiss that sent tremors pillaging through my terrified soul. “Or should I call you Source? It’s been a while.”

“Thou shall not covet the sun and the moon.”
30
: Demonic Horsemen

“Y – You – ” I choked out, unable to say anything else because I was too stupefied by his sudden appearance.

“Yes, me,” Red Tie replied evenly, his voice throbbing with animosity. “The one you embarrassed, the one you made a fool of the last time we met.”

His sinister grin indicated that he hadn’t gotten over the humiliation Eclipse and I put him through the last time we visited this part of the country. Payback was on the forefront of his mind, and he didn’t find it necessary to be subtle about it.

“You have no idea how long I’ve waited for this moment, you little bitch,” he rasped heatedly. “No one makes a fool out of me and goes away unpunished.” He lifted me up so that we were nose to nose, the dark orbs of his gaze cutting into mine with hatred. The vicious shadow on his tattooed face promised pain. “I am going to make you wish you were never born.”

Without another word, the bloodthirsty Demon used all the demonic strength he had to lift me up like I was a rag doll and hurl me into another tree.

My back rocketed against the tree before I crashed to the ground with violent intensity. This time the fall was less merciful. Instead of landing directly on the snow, my skull smashed against a boulder. The loud impact sang into the forest, opening a gash on the right side of my forehead. The pain was so blinding that I was surprised I hadn’t passed out from the throbbing alone.

I sucked in a sharp, excruciating breath as I felt the flesh on my forehead rip apart. Blood spurted out like a fountain, polluting the white snow beneath me. However much the rest of my body was aching from the second collision, none of it held a candle to the pain that wreaked havoc in my skull. It felt like my head had been cracked open.

“Not so tough without that boyfriend of yours, are you?” Red Tie taunted, relishing in the fact that I was completely at his mercy.

“He’s near,” I lied, sucking in another agonized breath.

I moved to sit upright, feeling woozy as blood slid down my face and continued to drip onto the snow. It probably wasn’t the best idea to sit up right after the assault, but I didn’t care. I refused to lie facedown on the ground like a fallen animal that had been conquered.

“Do not lie, Grace,” he warned me airily, flicking his right index finger in disapproval. “I saw him and some other kid fighting for their lives outside these woods. We both know he’s not even close to being near.”

“Fighting for their lives?” My heart pounded in unexpected alarm. I had only left them a second ago. How could Eclipse and Phix be in danger already? How could they be fighting for their lives when they were supposed to be busy
taking
lives?

“I’m afraid your knight-in-shining-armor is not going to be able to save you today.” Red Tie smirked, drawing his gaze upwards to the dark sky that brewed with a foreboding storm. “Very powerful magic has been evoked to protect you. I’ve never seen the skies this dark. It’s hard to believe that it’s the middle of the afternoon right now.”

Though his tone was impressed, he was also immensely amused. He averted his eyes back to me, his expression one of pure mockery.

“It seems that your Demon is only interested in saving you, not your boyfriend. If your Demon had his best interest at heart, then he would’ve cut the kid more of a break instead of leaving him at the mercy of my brothers and sisters. In any case . . .” He laughed in a low, dark rumble, the murderous sheen in his eyes glowing with sick excitement. “I’m glad to be the one who found you. You know, considering that we have unfinished business. It’s a bit poetic, don’t you think?”

“You think you’re going to be the one to catch the Source?” I scoffed, my eyes shooting daggers into him. I tilted my head, wondering why he was being so haughty when I knew he had a superior. If this Demon was near, then I suspected the Masked Demon couldn’t be far behind. “Where’s that masked leader of yours?”

“He’s on his way,” he imparted. “He was on a very important trip, but once we caught wind that you decided to return to this part of the country, we dropped everything to come and greet you.” He slanted his head, guffawing disbelievingly. “Being the infamous six-year-old murderer was already impressive to have on your résumé, but now that we’ve learned you’re a Source as well, there’s no way we’re letting you go. You may have gotten the best of us last time, but this is a new day and it seems that luck is on my side.”

Another malicious smile marked his lips. “We were ordered to bring you back alive, but I’m sure my superiors won’t mind a couple of bruises on you—or gashes for that matter.”

He advanced towards me, cracking his knuckles in anticipation.

“Now take a deep breath, Source, because the fun isn’t over yet. It’s only beginning. And once I’m done taking care of you, I’m going to rip that bastard boyfriend of yours limb by limb.”

A swarm of rage entered me.

“We’ll see about that,” I furiously grounded out, clenching my fists.

Despite his obvious physical advantage over me, I would be damned if I allowed anyone to beat me—or threaten Eclipse’s welfare—without putting up some sort of fight. I’d rather die on my feet than live on my knees. With that resolve in mind, I allowed the wrath brewing inside me to act as my adrenaline. Locking eyes on him like a hawk, I sprang up and charged at full throttle, rallying all the strength I had before ramming into him without mercy.

“Arrgh! Fuck!” he screamed when his back collided with the tree behind us. As he crumpled down from the unexpected attack, I picked up a rock from beneath the snow and slammed it on the side of his head.

Thunk!

Another loud string of obscenities blasted from his lips. He fell to the ground, blood pouring from the newly created gash on his head. As a final insurance to ensure my escape, I kicked him in the stomach with brutal force and thrust the rock at the back of his bald head before scrambling away.

“Graceeeeeeee . . .” I heard him call out from behind me, his body hunched over in the distance.

Hilarity lurked behind his voice, and an unsettling thought came over me. Though I dreaded this as a possibility, I couldn’t help but think that he was too happy with my “escape.” As crazy as it sounded, it felt like he wanted me to run. His next words confirmed that my speculation was spot on.

“You should’ve come with me. I would’ve gone easier on you than
them
. . .”

His jeers caused a chasm of terror to erupt in my gut.

Them?

The blood spilling out of my wound seemed to have boiled at the warning.
Them?
I shook my head.
No. There’s no one else. He’s lying. He’s just trying to scare me.
Despite assuring this to myself, I kept running faster. I attempted to block him out, to keep him from planting seeds of paranoia in my head. I was fast, but not fast enough to escape the last of his chilling words.

“My Creators,” his laughing voice clarified in the distance. The blizzard I was in grew worse, almost in anticipation of what was to come. “You should be honored that they have personally made an appearance for you. They have been
dying
to meet you, Grace . . .”

I was still desperate to believe that he was lying to me when I suddenly felt the ground quake.

Boom! Boom!

Boom! Boom!

A bombardment of heavy footfalls blasted around me. Judging from the tremors spiking through the foundations of the earth, the deafening force didn’t sound like normal footsteps. It sounded like the hooves of unearthly powerful animals.

Boom! Boom!

Boom! Boom!

The upsurge of shivers that infested my body told me everything I needed to know: a new evil had befallen me, and this was one that I did not want to meet.

Boom! Boom!

Boom! Boom!

Shit! Shit!
I chanted, realizing that I was truly on my own. There was no one to protect or watch over me. It was just me against them, and if the excessive shaking of the ground was any indication, then I knew I was in a world of trouble.

Boom! Boom!

Boom! Boom!

With quivers wracking over me, I pivoted around in an attempt to make out who was chasing after me. I couldn’t see anything in the blinding darkness, but I couldn’t stop looking. Above me, lightning continued to streak across the sky at thirty second intervals, acting as my only source of light. I did my best to focus on where the sound was originating from, but my senses felt jumbled. I continued to run, still wildly surveying the vicinity when, from the corner of my eye, I spotted several black silhouettes appear and disappear through the canopy of trees.

I expelled a terrified gasp once I discovered that the sinister shadows chasing after me were now mere yards away.

Fighting against the iciness that infiltrated my bloodstream, I picked up the pace and sprinted through the woods like prey in the night. My wounded head throbbed and I could feel the wooziness overtake me, but my survival instincts kept me running.

Boom! Boom!

Akin to skilled hunters moving in on their prey, the earthshaking footfalls drew closer and closer.

Then finally—

Boom! Boom!

Something whizzed past me, just a couple feet away from my ear. I turned on instinct and came face to face with a black horse that had crimson red eyes, teeth as sharp as the blade of a knife, and flaring nostrils that had remnants of steam billowing out of it.

I resisted the impulse to scream even though it was one of the most frightening sights I had ever seen.

Equally as terrifying, if not more, was the cloaked figure on that horse.

Although I couldn’t make out a face in the thick shadows, I knew that the figure was looking directly at me.

When he laughed, the already cold temperature dipped several more degrees.

Oh God! Oh God!

Shaking like a leaf, I stumbled away from that horseman and skirted around several trees in an attempt to lose him. While wiping the blood and snow from my pale face, I thrashed my head around. To my dismay, I discovered that several Demonic Horsemen had surrounded me.

Five to be exact.

My chest tightened violently because, even when I didn’t know anything about the biblical world, I knew that I had truly become prey to some of the most savage predators in creation.

“Let’s see how fast you can run, Source,” the demonic voices finally hissed all around me, making me realize that all along, they hadn’t been chasing me. They had been taunting me—warming me up. Now that they had embedded enough fear into me, they were ready to challenge me mercilessly.

“Ahhhh!”

When they advanced on me all at once, their black gloved hands reaching out for me through the falling snow, I knew that warm-ups were officially over and that the real chase with these Demons was about to commence.

A bone-chilling laugh resonated from each of the Demons before one unifying voice emitted from them, terrorizing every ounce of my being and jumpstarting one of the most terrifying pursuits of my life.

“Let it begin . . .”

Their hands came at me, just a whisper away from my head, and I dove out of range, rolling down a snowy slope before springing back onto my feet. I swiveled around the trees, leaping out of the way as the horses came close to me. The one good thing about the forest was that I was able to escape into the little nooks and crannies that the horses couldn’t fit into. Through pure luck, I was able to swoop into an opening in the trees and garner some distance.

Swinging my arms like pendulums, I surfaced from the forest and jumped into a clearing that had been submerged by snow. Aware that I no longer had the woods as my fortress, I picked up the pace, fighting wind and snow to put more distance between me and the Demonic Horsemen.

Boom! Boom!

Soon after, the five horsemen materialized out of the shadows of the woods. In a synchronized manner, they trailed after me, their horses whinnying with impatience. They ran in a v-formation behind me, approximately two hundred yards away. They were far off, but they were gaining momentum each time their horses took an advancing gallop.

“Ahhhh!”

To my right, one of the horsemen caught up with me. His demonic horse bent down to take a bite out of my arm.

Fortunately, I was able to duck in time, only allowing the horse to rip a piece of my jacket off. With a scrap of my jacket hanging from his horse’s hungry mouth, the horseman raced past me, bringing his horse to a halt before redirecting it back to me.

By now, all the horsemen had caught up with me.

My instincts going into overdrive, I zigzagged from one corner to the other, battling to avoid being caught by the demonic riders who were reaching out for me. They were quick, but they didn’t have my dexterity. Every time they reached for me, I would tumble underneath one horse, sweep around the other, and scramble away until I was running ahead of them in the open fields, regaining my lead.