Angel of Fire - the Breath of Immortality - Book One #Wattys2014

The Smell of Death

Chapter 34 - The Smell of Death

“You’re lying!” I yelled, refusing to see the truth written all over her face. I held my hands up in front of her and insisted, “I’m fine.” Tears filling my eyes, I tried to ignore my skin that was now tinged with green. “See? I’m healing myself!”

Gripped by the mother of all panic attacks, I started shaking from head to toe as my chest tightened, making it hard to breathe. Right then hyperventilating was the least of my concerns.

Serenity shook her head solemnly. “Soon you won't be able to heal the damage caused by the poison.”

My mind refused to accept it.

“I can’t be dying,” I choked. Even as I said the words, I knew Serenity was right. What had happened to Carmen and the others would also happen to me, turning me into a living dead girl. “No!” I screamed. Launching off the couch, I stood up so fast that I tripped over the table in front of me. This time Serenity couldn't catch me before I fell. I didn’t even have time to put out my hands to brace for impact before smacking my head on the raised brick hearth surrounding the fireplace.

Pain ripped through my entire body. However, looking on the bright side, at least I'd calmed down.

That’s one way to stop a panic attack.

Sitting up I tenderly touched where I'd hit the side of my head, expecting to feel a huge goose egg. Instead I pressed my fingers around where the lump should have been, but all I felt was a hole deep enough to stick four fingers in. It felt…spongy.

“Chaos stop!” Serenity yelled.

I jerked my hand away so suddenly that it caused blood to spatter the wall beside me. “Sorry.”

When she didn’t say anything, I glanced at her to see what was wrong. She wasn’t looking at my head. She was looking at my hand.

I followed her terror filled eyes and realized I was holding onto something thick and covered in blood. My stomach did a flip-flop when I realized the mass was a torn piece of my scalp. It even had long red strands of hair hanging grotesquely off it.

“Sick!” I screamed. Without thinking, I launched the piece of gore. It landed on the wall beside me with a splat, making a wet sound as it slid to the floor – leaving behind a bloody trail.

Serenity ran to get a towel and pressed it against my head.

I grabbed her arm as a fresh wave of panic hit me. “This can’t be happening. What am I going to do?”

“Don’t worry, I have a plan.” She smiled reassuringly, carefully brushing aside a piece of blood soaked hair to peek under the towel. “I don’t believe it,” she gasped. “The bleeding has stopped. I've never seen anything like this before. Do you know what this means?”

I gave her a blank look.

“It means you're practically invincible.”

“Really?” I reached up to touch my head again, surprised that it no longer felt spongy.

“And you know what else?”

“No,” I replied, voice hesitant.

“It means you have to be more careful.” Standing up, she reached down to help me to my feet.

I could hardly believe it. Not only was the pain gone, I wasn’t even the slightest bit dizzy. “Guess it’s a good thing I wasn’t chewing gum then, huh?.”

Serenity gave me an odd look.

I laughed. “Inside joke. Never mind.”

She smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “Do you want the good news, or the bad news?”

I heaved a sigh. “What's the point when I'm going to die anyway.”

Choosing to ignore me, she announced, “The good news is there's still time to prepare you for battle. The bad news is we're running out of time.”

“Then let's not waste it,” I urged, filled with sudden determination. After all, my friends needed me to be strong. “What do I need to do?”

I watched her expression darken. “You need more power.” Before I had a chance to respond, she snapped her fingers. “I've got it. But first you need to get cleaned up. You smell like death.”