Soul Ties

Chapter 36: A Made Believer

Ogmellos rubs his thumb over my chin, probably wiping the blood off my face. I look up at him expecting him to say something and take the knife away, but he doesn't. He doesn't even reach for it.

Instead, he stands and pivots, scanning the charred forest around us. Half of me wants to drop the knife and never pick it up again. Clearly there's some unwanted rage that I need to work through. But when I get up and move away from the carcass laid at my feet, I grip the knife firmly.

There was something I felt back there when I was thrusting that dagger into that body repeatedly. Something powerful. A part of me felt satisfied, like I knew I had it in me to do something that violent. Until that moment, I wasn't sure I would've been able to go through with the plan. Now I felt something shift inside me. Something dangerous.

"There's another one heading this way. It must've heard the screams," Ogmellos observes, staring off into the distance. I try to see what he's looking at, but the smog is too thick for my eyes. He turns to me and I lift up my hand, expecting to hand the blade over. Ogmellos doesn't take it.

"It's your turn to kill one," he tells me. He must see the shock on my face because the corner of his mouth goes up. "I've seen what you can do. And I'll be right here in case something happens."

"I can't kill one of those things. I froze last time, remember?" I shove the bloodied knife in his direction but he grabs my shoulders, completely ignoring my hands.

"What's the strongest part of your body?"

"My tail," I answer without hesitation. He nods and peers over his shoulder again. I still can't see what he's looking at, but I hear something in the distance. Footsteps?

"And I know you can run." His eyes shift back and forth looking at mine and I notice there's no fear behind them. They look filled with amusement. Almost like this is a game to him. I grab his wrist and shake my head firmly. "Whatever you do don't let the tongue grab you."

"What about you? Don't you need this to defend yourself?"

He sucks in his bottom lip, trying to hold in his laugh. "You need it more than I do. Plus, I've been doing this longer than you have. Don't worry about me."

If I was being honest, I was more worried for myself than I was for Ogmellos. Especially when another one of those creatures finally appears between the trees. I still can't get over how tall it was and also how disgusting its eyes looked. Each one was transfixed on where Ogmellos and I stood.

Just like the one before, it crouches down into itself, its legs now almost disappearing under its body. I clutch the knife in my hand and shift my stance so I'm now facing it head on. I step my left foot back, my knees bracing themselves in case I have to run. Ogmellos stands in front of me with his shoulders back and his hand on the floor. He looks like he might make a break for it too.

There we stood, the monster glaring at us preparing itself to attack, and us on the opposite side waiting for it to make a move. My palms are sweating, my heart throbbing in my chest and my stomach in knots. I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to fight this thing off or freeze like I had done before. I didn't have much time to figure it out.

The creature opens its mouth, letting out that ear splitting screech, its tongue lashing and extending out in front of it.

"Go!" Ogmellos yells before sprinting straight at it. Fighting everything in my body telling me to run the opposite direction, I follow Ogmellos forward. His thick legs were pumping and pushing himself so quickly it surprises me. I didn't even know he could move that fast, especially with all the weight he had to carry. But the way he ran made him look light and effortless.