Page 24 of Palingenesis

Dipping into his psyche when he cannot resist me is proving to be far grander than I ever imagined.

It seems as if his memories aren’t as peaceful as I had guessed, the human having left him as an offering to me being so much more than an acquaintance to my new prey.

They had been lovers.

Shameful that this one was left as he was. His spirits are too entertaining. Enticing.

The fight in him makes me salivate.

“Let me have all of you.”

He doesn’t speak, except for his hands fluttering in front of him in response to his own thoughts. Shaking with pain and fear I can taste.

It is rich and sweet, decadent on my tongue.

Probing his mind, I search for his answer only to find that … his hands are the answer. The secret language he’s been using is more than just a ruse with his new acquaintance. It is his preferred way of communicating with others, though he does not choose this for their benefit.

And he is desperate.

To be broken open. Allowed.

Bleed out the old in place of what could come anew.

Even if that means in another life.

I cannot see this life that he yearns for, the hopes that he barely believes himself, but I can taste its flavor on my tongue.

And it is just as rich as his fears.

I suppose I cannot be the only one in existence to be cursed to repeat the cycles of life, unending until the precipice of its heft is met or destroyed.

So why does he run?

From the recesses of his mind and from me, he sprints the opposite way, refusing to embrace the darkness that awaits him despite its long reach. Its fingers curl toward him at each step.

Claws that would sink in and relieve him of the pressure building inside his human mind, surely set to explode should he not.

“Tsk. Tsk.”

If only he knew that his own mind is what makes his journey so difficult. His imagination is the reason for his lack of direction, the paranoia boiling below his skin nothing but a distraction from seeing the path out.

All of it eases the edges of my own like a salve. Befitting and salivating, I relish in it. Bask in the density of the moment with a hard shaft and chilled skin, the feel of his memories and dreams coating my being.

“This is just the first course in our meal, human,” I mutter as he takes another turn, feet slipping. “And I cannot wait to sink my talons into you.”

I will get this prey to accept me, if it is the last thing that I do.

Chapter 14

Shannon

Never ending hallways spiderweb their way through this place, leading to nothing but dead ends and locked doors.

It feels like it stretches for miles, the way I got here long lost to my disoriented senses. Still, I drag my busted body one limp at a time. My left ankle might be broken, dragging behind me with each advancement that just sends me deeper and deeper into the unknown darkness.

Though my sight has somewhat adjusted, it’s still just too fucking dark, like there’s a blackened fog covering the carpet that mutes each of my stumbling steps.

And I continue to throw myself forward. Searching walls by touch, grasping at anything that resembles knobs or handles, desperation clawing at my throat.