Slicing My Flesh

57

I gripped Acacia's hand hard when I saw severed limbs be thrown up from the fog. Haunting voices then began resounding around the campsite. It was dark, which resulted in demons being sucked into the darkness... only to never return.

Then, other demons were holding their heads screaming. I arched a brow at the blood flowing out of their orifices. Ken squeaked when a demon's head exploded. Nyx gasped at seeing multiple demon's heads pop like a pressurized balloon.

Fireballs began to fall from the sky and strike unsuspecting demons. If that wasn't enough, a force ripped through the campsite and flung demons around the space. What made this even scarier was that we couldn't see Kiki. She was like a spiritual entity raging havoc amongst the enemy.

When most of the demons were dead, I grabbed Acacia's hand and dragged her down the mountain. I ran to the prisoners and unlocked Naomi's restraints. Her eyes widened and she flung her arms around my neck. I felt her tears wet my neck as I hugged her tighter.

"I promised I'd find you." I whispered.

"I never doubted you for a second."

I heard a cough, so I turned to see Acacia glaring at the interaction. What made it even worse was that Nat was mimicking her actions. I awkwardly chuckled and slowly released Naomi. I scratched the back of my neck while my two mates glared at each other. Well, this is awkward. Thankfully, Kiki decided to make herself a physical entity again. Naomi gasped and hugged her cousin.

"Missed you too, Nay." Kiki chuckled.

"I can't believe you came here, RaRa!" Naomi exclaimed. "You vowed to never step foot in this realm."

"Well, I couldn't just leave you here." She gave Naomi a teasing smile. "Plus, this one wouldn't shut up about rescuing you." I blushed when Kiki pointed at me. "Erana also joined." She motioned to the blond.

"Er!" Naomi hugged her friend. "I missed you!"

"How couldn't you?" Erana laughed and hugged her. "Happy you're okay."

"You doing alright, KnickNat?" Kiki smirked at the girl. Nat rolled her eyes, but hugged the girl. "Can't believe you allowed yourself to get captured. You should've put up a fight like Mads and Harls." She laughed while Nat rolled her eyes.

"Not like I didn't." Nat muttered. "It's your fault for not teaching me how to fight." She whined.

"Well, you'll definitely be getting lessons after today."

"Um, guys?" We turned to Ken. "I think we have company." She pointed at a squadron of demons running towards us.

"Don't worry. We can take them!" Erana and Kiki got ready for a fight while the rest of us ran away.

I heard cursing behind me before hearing Erana and Kiki's feet after us. We ran up the mountain and through the cavern. We had to duck in order to avoid the spears. Nyx and Erana halted. They then struck the wall until a boulder fell to obstruct the path. They then resumed running after us. I turned and saw a few demons scaling the boulder.

I yelped when a demon threw a dagger at me. Acacia easily used her sword to strike it away. Naomi then tugged me in a safer direction. I didn't know if we'd ever stop running, but Nat pointed at the barrier in the distance. We're so close, yet so far away.

Erana and Nyx were struggling to battle the demons while chasing after us. I used my magic to push the demons farther from the two. I wasn't able to get rid of them all, but I was able to provide Erana and Nyx with a little more distance. My blood then went cold when I heard the flapping of wings. I noticed everyone tensed up.

I looked behind me and saw a dark figure speeding towards us. Based on the power emanating from the person, I can only assume it to be Lilitu. I saw Acacia visibly frightened, so I made sure to stay behind her in case I needed to protect her. We were close to the barrier, but Lilitu was gaining on us. Kiki used her power over the darkness to try and slow Lilitu down, but that woman was on a mission.

I realized we'd all make it through, so I wasn't paying attention to the direction we were running in. Naomi grabbed my hand and pulled me through the barrier. I then reached out and yanked Acacia with us. It wasn't until we crossed through that I realized there were two realms side by side. Ken's eyes widened right before we got separated from the rest of the group.

"We got separated from everyone!" Naomi and Acacia's eyes widened. We turned to go back through the barrier, but it disappeared.

"Fuck! This is all your fault Naomi!" Acacia shouted at her.

"How is this my fault?!" Naomi was agitated.

"You're the one that pulled Zena into this realm!"

I ignored them and took a look around the place. I felt the jitters looking at the dark forest. The wind howled as it passed through us. I looked at the sky, but the dark clouds masked the moon. It also felt slightly chilly here. I just have a bad feeling about this place.

I walked further ahead and knelt down when I caught the scent of blood. I touched the sticky liquid and brought it to my nose. This was fresh blood, meaning the attacker was probably nearby. I looked on the ground, but couldn't find a paw print. The only thing I saw next to the blood was a footprint.

"Zena!" I turned to see Naomi looking horrified at something in the air.

I followed her line of sight to see a dead person impaled by a branch. I jumped up the tree and sniffed the corpse. I then touched the warm body and sighed. This person was human, meaning that-

"Watch out!" I shouted.

I then flung myself at the person that was about to attack Acacia. I wrapped my hand around the man's throat and pushed him deeper into the ground. He thrashed around, but was no match for my strength. He showed his demon eyes and bared his fangs at me. I responded by darkening my eyes and baring my fangs at him. He immediately submitted to me. I then cracked his neck.

"We're in the vampire realm." I whispered.