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“RYKER, RUN!” Then I bolted for the door, only to feel myself being grabbed from behind and dragged backward. This was before I was quickly put into a choke hold as he fumbled for something in his jacket, like he needed a weapon or something. I struggled against him, gripping onto his meaty arm and trying to rip it from my neck where I was now struggling to breathe. This was at the same time as Ryker suddenly burst through the door, ripping it open with enough force the whole door went backward and flew off behind where he now stood.
His eyes burned so bright, I thought they had been replaced with flames, like he was staring into the mouth of an inferno. I would have gasped had I the extra breath to lose.
“You’re too late, Greed!” the man snarled at my back when suddenly, I heard a loud whirling sound echoing behind me, as if some kind of machine was firing up and gaining speed. I could almost feel the pulse of it pounding against the air.
“Let. Her. Go!” Ryker said in a voice that surely wasn’t his own! Jesus, it was utterly terrifying, like he had suddenly been possessed or something. Because humans couldn’t produce such a sound… it… it wasn’t possible. But then again, neither was the Demon currently trying to choke me… but that’s where we were.
“The last Scepter piece, Greed, that will be the price, remember that,” he said, pulling me backward and toward the pulsating sound behind. The feel of the waves of air flowing around me were getting stronger and, naturally, it wasn’t a feeling I could fully understand. Almost as if I was suddenly outside and standing with my back to a tree as the wind whipped around me from behind.
Well, whether I could see it or not, it didn’t change the fact that this maniac wanted to kidnap me, and I doubted very much it would be like when Ryker did it. No, I couldn’t see it coming with a hot sexy guy whose main power over me was his toe-curling kisses.
So, I could decide, let myself be taken or fight and, well…
Arthur didn’t raise a coward.
So, this time I gripped him by the wrist, hoping Demon bones broke just the same, and then I bit down hard enough I heard him grunt. It was also enough to allow for his hold to drop so that I could force his arm to bend in a way it had to go unless he wanted me to snap his wrist. Then the second there was a space, I dropped to my knees and rolled out of the way, closer to Ryker, and ignoring the pain. At this Ryker saw his opportunity and launched himself at the massive beast, shouting an order at me to leave,
“EVIE, RUN!” He then ducked and avoided the blow, before delivering one of his own and then kicking him so hard, he fell back into the cubical, quickly followed by a loud ceramic smash. Jesus, how hard did he kick him to cause such damage and how...? The guy was freaking huge!
Water spilled over the floor, gushing out along the tile from the broken toilet. Meanwhile, Ryker was standing there, breathing heavily and looking to where he still expected his enemy to get back up, even after that bone cracking kick to the upper body. Christ, he looked so powerful right now, his white shirt stretched tight around his muscles… a material that was getting stretched tighter with each heavy breath taken. His fists curled tight and ready for more. He looked born to fight. But despite this remarkable sight, it was one made supernatural with the spinning light framing the silhouette of his body with an ominous red glow.
Fuck me, it looked like some kind of magical portal or something. Light swirled around like the monster had opened up a small black hole and on the other side, was a sun glowing like a beacon trying to draw me closer to it.
“Evelyn!” Ryker’s voice snapped me out of my daze. It was enough to get me to tear my wide eyes from the impossible sight.
“Run!” he ordered, but then I saw the flash of silver coming from the stall as magic flew at Ryker and hit him dead square in the chest. The force made him fly back and land in the mirrors over the sinks, shattering them instantly.
I put my arms up as those natural instincts kicked in once more, protecting myself from the shower of glass. Then I watched as the beast walked from the stall, rolling his big shoulder and snarling at Ryker. There was a flash of metal in his hand and I soon realized that this fight just got even more deadly. He was holding a long, wickedly curled blade that looked almost Demonic in nature, with its black handle made from what looked like cooled lava.
I gasped in fright, but it was a sound lizard man ignored as he had set his whole focus on Ryker, who was lying on the ground. As for Ryker, he shook his head and started to get his hands under his body to push himself back up. Suddenly, the monster lifted up his other hand, holding his palm out and tipped it so something could fall before stopping on the chain he had hooked around his thick, scaled fingers. A glowing gem hung there, spinning around and looking as if it was a shard that had been chipped off a much bigger piece of red stone. Ryker’s eyes grew wide in horrified shock before he gasped,
“Impossible!” The monster laughed before he started whispering down at the stone he raised higher to his lips.
“I evoke thee, the lipiš šà, of Empusa!” Then, the second he finished, I sucked in a quick breath as streams of red smoke snaked from the stone, curling around his hand and arm before reaching out like tenacles moving in the air like oil under water. They reached for Ryker, making him scream in pain just as they wrapped around him and held him immobile.
I silently cried out into my palm, pained by the sight of him caught in such a thing. His eyes, however, went straight to me, and he mouthed a single word once more, looking like it took all his strength to do so.
“Run.”
I looked back to the door and then back to him, knowing I had a choice to make, just like I had that night. Just like I had outside of his office when I wanted to save his life, putting my own on the line. Because I knew that, deep down in my heart and soul, I would do it again. I would do it over and over until there was nothing left of myself to give. So, I whispered, somehow knowing he would hear me,
“It’s time to stop running.”
I also knew that I had to do something to give him the time to get back to his feet. So as the Demon got closer and now had his back to me, I slipped off my jacket. Then as he crouched down over him, I knew it was now or never.
I walked slowly over to him, creeping and stepping through the water on the floor, trying not to make too much nose. The monster then raised his dagger hand and told Ryker,
“I have waited a long time for the chance to kill you, Son of Greed.” His dark, Demonic voice spoke of the hatred in his heart, and I steeled myself against the power of it, trying not to give into my fear and just run. I couldn’t just abandon him, not when I loved him. Not when I knew that he wouldn’t do the same. That he wouldn’t have left me.
That he would stay and fight for me.
So, with the monster kneeling closer to him, it put him at just the right height for me to make my move. Which meant the second I was close enough, I quickly threw my jacket over his face and yanked hard at his head, taking him off guard but, more importantly, off balance. He fell backward and both the jewel and blade slipped from his hand, breaking whatever spell it had on Ryker. The red serpents made of smoke evaporated instantly and, with it, their hold on him.
Ryker then wasted no time, as he was on his feet in a second and just as the Demon ripped my jacket from his head, he was now facing who he had called the Son of Greed. Naturally, I didn’t know what that meant, but I think considering who he was about to fight, I could gather as much that it meant that Ryker wasn’t entirely human either.
And speaking of Ryker, he quickly grabbed the Demon by his jacket, yanked him hard into his knee and burst open his face with the impact. The creature groaned in pain, but didn’t have chance for much else as Ryker got him in a head lock. Then he reached out behind him, and I yelped when the fallen blade shot to his hand by magic. I was utterly shocked to see he had this ability, but not as shocked as when seeing what it was he did with it.
“Send my regards to your executioner!” Ryker snarled before stabbing the blade into the monster’s eye, making him howl with pain. Then Ryker used his impressive strength to drag the huge body over to what I assumed was a portal of some kind, looking as if this took him no effort at all.
