I drained him quickly. Completely. Abandoned his lifeless body without another thought.
Moving to the front of the room, I tipped the ruined dresser onto its side and peeled the other dead man from the wall.
So much blood… So thirsty…
I tossed his still-warm body onto the bed and climbed on top of him, wrenching his head back to expose the thick, corded veins of his neck.
I still had the wherewithal to understand I was heading down the path of darkness, but I chased that blackness eagerly, letting it fuel me. Fulfill me. Just as I’d done to his companion, I pierced his flesh and let the blood flow. His was even more bitter, but I was no longer concerned with taste.
I sucked greedily, ignoring the tremble rapidly spreading through my limbs.
A shallow grunting sound filled the room, much like an animal in heat, something wild and undignified. Moments later, with no more than a mild amusement touching my lips, I realized the animal was me.
I was spiraling, losing the last of the humanity I’d done my best to cling to for so many years. It would kill me, this indiscretion. We weren’t made for this much blood at once; the overdose would surely wreck my mind, destroy my body, leave me comatose. Somewhere in the recesses of my mind I knew that, but it wasn’t enough to make me stop.
How did I even get here?
Didn’t matter. There was no point in considering the hows or whys. There was only thirst. Only drink. Only blood.
As I moved on to his wrist in search of a fresher vein, faintly I heard something—sensedsomething that gave me momentary pause. A whisper in my ear? A tingle creeping up my spine? A pinch of anxiety in my chest as if I’d forgotten something important?
I closed my eyes. Inhaled deeply.
Had I been… looking for something? Waiting? For someone? For…
Drink.
Dismissing the feeling, I sucked the dead man’s flesh until my lips were sealed tight against it. Took a deep, dark drink. And let the world spin away from me one last time.
There was an image—no more than a flicker, really. The soft, silky touch of a woman’s hair in my hands, her mouth on mine, the whisper of my name on her breath…
Darius…
I tried to hold onto it. To her.
But she slipped away, and everything around me went as black as the beast inside.
Four
Gray
I forced the magic out through my palms, directing it at the two demons rushing toward me. The fireball exploded on impact, blasting them backward.
Another demon lunged at me from behind, spitting fire. I barely registered the burns, the pain. I retaliated with another fiery pulse that slammed into his chest and sent him reeling.
Their chilling screeches echoed across the otherworldly landscape.
But too quickly, the flames engulfing them died out. Their flesh remained unburnt.
Shit.
Other than buying me some time, my magic wasn’t working on them, but theirs sure as hell worked on me. The skin on my arm was already black and blistering.
It seemed I was weaponless.
A demon struck my back with his whiplike tail, tearing through my shirt and splitting the skin beneath. Another raked his claws along my thigh, but they were holding back now—toying with me. Who knew how long this game would last.
Calling on my earth magic, I envisioned a curtain of rock surrounding me. I pictured it in my mind, willing it to manifest.
