Blood Thirsty

Ch. 5: So, you are Insane

"Breathe," Knox instructed and Anthony actually did take a huge breath.

"I came early because I didn't want Dante to come with me. I brought Nino because I didn't want to go alone, and he paid for the plane."

"Is that all?" Knox crossed his arms.

Anthony half smiled. "Almost killing you was for fun. Trauma bonding keeps couples together."

Knox mirrored that small smile, keeping his eyes dark. "So, you are insane."

"We can make this work. You said it yourself. I can't get out of this agreement, right? Well, neither can you."

Knox's smile dropped. He furrowed his brow as if covering up the fact he laughed at all. "This is no place to have this discussion. Let's go back up to the castle and go from there."

Anthony nodded. "Okay."

"On our own two feet," Knox muttered as he breezed past Anthony, so Anthony smiled again only for himself. Maybe there was a glimmer of hope. He could make any relationship work as long as they had a sense of humor.

Anthony glanced around at the throngs of trees, the expanse of the woods and the monstrous height of the mountains. Knox pointed in some direction, claiming there'd be a road, but after a few painfully quiet minutes, Anthony had the suspicion the prince of the blondes was lost.

"You're sure about this?" Anthony asked, carefully. He didn't want to accuse Knox of anything, especially since they seem to have made up and men were always a little sensitive about knowing directions.

"I've been down that road a thousand times."

Anthony pursed his lips, holding back his tongue, but his tongue did have a mind of its own. He asked, "But how many times have you been in this forest."

"Just be quiet and let me concentrate."

Anthony didn't like the sound of that. He glanced behind his shoulder, searching for himself as he blindly followed Knox for way too long. He opened his ears, tried to recognize the sound of cars, but only the bugs filled the air. Movement caught Anthony's eye as something human shaped walked out from behind a tree.

"Knox!" Anthony smacked Knox's arm and pointed himself towards the person. "There's somebody over there. They might be able to help us."

"That's not possible," Knox said, shortly and grabbed Anthony's wrist, jerking him back. "No one is supposed to be anywhere near the castle." He pulled Anthony, but Anthony pulled back.

"Maybe it's one of your people. We've been gone long enough. I'm sure someone is looking for us. Hey!" Anthony called the person. The stranger twisted around, thankfully grabbed by Anthony's attention.

"Anthony, you don't know that."

Anthony drew back his arm before Knox almost dislocated his arm again. "Well, even if they're not guards, they might be lost too."

As he turned around, the stranger moved quickly, their shape transforming, getting closer made Anthony realize he was closer than he originally thought. The frame was larger than normal. Its arms seemed long, their hands too, and a pair of long bat wings unfurled behind him.

Knox cursed and grabbed a handful of Anthony's suit jacket, yanking him to the side as this stranger, this creature lunged for him. The whiplash of his speed ruffled Anthony's clothes and hair. The creature twisted its head, baring its teeth. The whites of his eyes were flooded with red, his nose scrunched upward like a bat with protruding fangs.

Anthony's eyes widened, the shock taking over. He couldn't scream, couldn't even move. He felt frozen, looking at this thing that shouldn't exist. Blinking, Anthony hoped he could wake up from this nightmare soon.