Sin Of Greed (Greedy Fox Book 2)

~~ TEN ~~

I shielded my eyes. The white light faded to a soft glow from crystals dotting the cave. It wasn't a very large space but the ceilings were high. I thought I was here alone until I heard footsteps behind me. The hair on the back of my neck rose at the familiar smell and I turned to face Hendrickson. He looked just as shocked as I did to see him, sweaty and bare-chested with his own Ashen staff in hand.

"What are you doing in here?" I questioned, stepping to my left.

He looked back over his shoulder then at me. "I just came from the other chamber."

"That doesn't answer my question," I snapped. My emotions seethed inside me, begging me to give in. I prowled in an ever-closing arc towards him and he watched me cautiously.

The silence grew heavy and I licked my lips, bloodlust rising. Jenna had asked me to play nice and I had said I would.

There's no one else here, whispered a small voice in my mind. He shifted a foot back, angled his body and I heard the soft groan from his staff as he tightened his grip. My eyes flicked to where I'd started then back to him.

But she wasn't here right now.

Our staffs collided with an awful racket. Muscles straining, we grappled for a moment before I drew back and delivered a flurry of slashes. He deflected them, the look of shock on his face a delight to me, before I managed to slip one past his guard and into his side.

He hit the ground at a slide and with a roar, I slashed down towards him. He rolled out of the way in the nick of time. I wrenched the staff from where it'd lodged in the ground and glared at him. He scrambled back to his feet and reset his stance, a large red and purple welt already blossoming on his side. Determination burned in his eyes though, his breathing level.

As expected of a Grand Master Holy Knight.

I took a step towards him before sudden firelight flooded the cavern around us. It flashed a startling blue as it bounced between camouflage sconces on the walls. The last two sconces, the largest of the lot, brought to life the Red Demon growling on the edge of shadows.

I took one look at it and laughed, head canted back, at the utter absurdity. "Really! That's the best she can do?" I sneered at the Red Demon. "You're interrupting. Get lost if you want to live."

"Where would the fun be in that?" My skin prickled at the sound of the voice that haunted my nightmares coming from the Red Demon's mouth and I felt like the floor went out from beneath my feet.

The demon's face split into a grin that yawned wider and wider until the skin rolled back and over its fat, grotesque form.

The cave around us wavered before the battlefield of Liones opened up around us. My heart thundered in my chest as I heard the ghost of screams and power surging over this very field, my own terrified voice in my ears.

"We can't win."

"You should have stayed dead, stupid little fox," crowed the grey demon Hendrickson that had taken the place of the Red Demon.

He looked exactly the same.

A small part of me knew it wasn't real, it was an illusion to help us in our training. But it got drowned out by the emotions barrelling through me. My hand clenched tight to the stick, my breath coming in sharp pants.

No, no, no, this can't be real, this can't be!

The world tilted. I looked down at my hands and clothes, the stick gone, saw my tattered armour and the blood on my hands. Horror rolled through me. The never-ending nightmare, this was it.