Chapter 6: Wraith

Chapter

Six

WRAITH

B lack blood marks our path.

Dark stains on stone.

Each step takes us deeper.

Down.

Down.

Down.

Ivy's small form presses against my back.

Her legs wrap around my waist.

Arms around my neck.

Her scent fills my nose.

Honeysuckle and light.

Smells like summer.

Like hope.

My sun.

The Knight's blood mingles with her sweetness.

Thick. Oily. Wrong.

All so clear and sharp without my mask.

My face feels exposed.

Need my mask.

Can't stand being seen.

At least she can't look at me while she rides on my back.

But she did look at me.

Touched me.

Kissed me.

My chest tightens at the memory.

Her lips were so soft against my sharp teeth.

Delicate flesh meeting jagged bone and exposed muscle.

I tasted copper on my tongue.

Her blood.

The thought makes bile rise in my throat.

I hurt her.

I will always hurt her.

Just by being what I am.

Monster.

Freak.

Thing .

The tunnels branch and twist.

Water drips from crumbling stone.

Each droplet echoes, marking time as we descend.

Behind us, my pack follows.

Their scents carry tension.

Fear.

Rage.

They're ready for violence.

The Knight is dangerous.

Even wounded, he could kill us all.

Kill Ivy.

I know this.

But Ivy asked us to help him.

Ivy is our goddess.

So we will.

Fresh blood scent hits me.

Close now.

Very close.

My muscles bunch beneath my scarred skin.

Always ready to fight.

To protect.

To destroy.

But Ivy's small hand squeezes my shoulder.

Gentle.

Calming.

No violence.

No more blood.

It goes against every feral impulse branded into my DNA.

Rip.

Tear.

Kill.

But I'll try.

For her.

My beautiful, fierce mate.

My mate who looks at my ravaged face without disgust.

Who smiled at me instead of recoiling in horror.

The Knight's trail leads deeper into shadow.

My vision adjusts easily.

They made my eyes for darkness.

For hunting.

For death.

But I can use these "gifts" for my goddess.

Peace instead of war.

Mercy instead of murder.

The facility shifts above us.

Concrete groans.

Steel screams.

Time runs short.

We need to move faster.

The Knight's blood trail shows he is slowing down.

Staggering.

The puddles grow larger, closer together.

He's weakening.

Dying?

No.

We'll find him.

Save him.

Because she asked us to.

Because she sees something worth saving.

Like she saw in me.

A particularly loud crash from above.

Ivy's arms tighten around my neck.

Her heart races against my back.

She's nervous.

But not because of me.

Never of me.

How is that possible?

I don't deserve her trust.

Her faith.

Her l?—

No.

Can't think about that word.

Not possible.

Too much to hope for.

Focus on the hunt.

On keeping her safe.

On following the Knight's trail into hell itself if I must.

Because she asked.

And I can deny her nothing.

The tunnel opens into a massive chamber.

Blue-green fungi and algae all over.

Ceiling vanishes into darkness above.

Multiple passages branch off like veins in dying flesh.

And there, slumped against the far wall...

The Knight.

His mechanical arm sparks and twitches.

Black blood pools beneath him, spreading across the stone.

Iron rods jut from his massive frame at odd angles.

His mask's blue eye-slits flicker weakly.

He sees us.

A hollow moan echoes from behind the iron mask.

Pain.

Fear.

Resignation.

I know those sounds.

I've made them myself.

Ivy squirms on my back, trying to get down.

I hesitate.

Not safe.

But she pats my shoulder again.

Trust her.

I lower into a crouch, letting her slide off.

My skin feels cold without her warmth pressed against it.

Empty.

She takes a step toward the Knight.

Every instinct screams to grab her.

Shield her.

Hide her.

But I don't move.

I watch.

And I wait.

Ready to tear the world apart if he so much as twitches wrong.

But he doesn't move either.

We all hold our breath as Ivy approaches him.

Hand outstretched to the wild beast.

Our fates balanced on the edge of her mercy.

My muscles coil as Ivy reaches for him.

Her small hand hovers over the Knight's iron mask.

Every instinct screams at me to snatch her back.

But I force myself to stay still.

To trust her.

The Knight's blue eye-slits flare brighter as she touches the cold metal.

A low growl builds in his chest.

But not threatening.

Not like the sounds he made at us.

This is different.

Softer.

Like the sounds I make for her.

My pack shifts behind me.

Their scents carry fear, rage, bloodlust.

Ready to attack if he moves wrong.

But he won't.

I know he won't.

I see myself in him.

Broken.

Ruined.

Monster playing at being man.

But she sees past that.

Past the rage and scars and pain.

Like she sees past mine.

"We need to get him out of here," Ivy says.

Her voice is soft but carries steel beneath.

Whiskey snorts. " How ?"

I snarl at him without thinking.

He backs up a step.

Good.

The Knight's head snaps toward the sound.

But Ivy's hand on his mask keeps him still.

Black blood drips steadily from where we tore out his rods.

He's dying.

Slowly.

I grab one of the thick chains trailing from his back.

Start pulling.

The metal groans as his massive weight shifts.

Thane moves first, taking up another chain.

Then Whiskey and Plague.

Even Valek, still swaying on his feet, grabs a length of iron.

We drag the Knight through the tunnels.

His blood marks our path again.

Black stains on pale stone.

Water drips.

Concrete groans.

Time running out above us.

But we keep moving.

For her.

Up.

Up.

Up.

The Knight's mechanical arm sparks and twitches.

His mask's glow flickers weaker and weaker.

Dying.

But not dead.

Not yet.

Can still save him.

Ivy walks beside his head, one hand still touching his mask.

Speaking soft words I can't hear over the chains and growls.

Thane glances at me.

Again.

Why?

Stop looking at me, brother.

I keep my head down.

Can't stand them seeing.

But Ivy's eyes hold no horror.

Only what looks dangerously like love.

Did she mean what she said?

Does she really love me?

She can't.

But she said it.

And I trust her.

She… loves me.

Ivy loves me.