Into the Dark

Chapter 11

Shit.

Seeming to forget about his broken arm, he jumped towards me and tackled me to the ground. His knees dug into my sides which sucked the air out of my lungs, and his head lunged forward, mouth wide and drooling. I jerked my head to the left and felt a whoosh of air hit me as his attack failed and his teeth sunk into the floor. He immediately shot a glare at me from the corner of his eye and screeched, even though his mouth was practically stuck to the floor.

I did my best to wriggle free from underneath him and scrambled away, finally taking the time to place a hand over my wounds. It only burned to do so, so I just let it bleed and found another chair to beat the gargoyle with.

He was tugging furiously to get his mouth free but lucky for me, he didn't seem to be succeeding. I quickly lifted the wooden chair over my head and slammed it against his back... hard. He fell motionless for a mere two seconds before finally snatching his teeth from the floor in one great jerk and spinning around to face me.

Another loud, deafening screech.

The chair I used was broken into pieces now and the rest were on the other side of the table, a good few feet away. When I glanced over at them, Xur caught onto my plan and tried to grab me again. I jumped onto the conference table just in time and attempted to slide across.

But somehow... he managed to grab onto my ankle and pull me back, digging his claws into my calf and making me scream out in pain. I shot a desperate glance in Kade's direction, his face and clothes covered in blood. He was dodging lightening speed punches from Salazar; so fast, it was almost a blur. He was obviously too focused on his fight to offer any assistance in my corner of the ring. So for now, I was on my own.

And right now, I was screwed.

I helplessly kicked at Xur's hand while he ripped the bottoms of my jeans and clawed higher up my leg. The pain was so extreme... so unbearable that I began to cry; the one with no tears but instead, with endless yells. His eyes gained a sadistic look which only made the situation worse.

With his other arm lying limp by his side, he opened his mouth and moved it closer to my bleeding leg, drool oozing between his sharp teeth. I knew for a fact I was going to lose this battle and closed my eyes to prepare for the pain... to accept my fate.

But after a few heartbeats, nothing happened.

My eyes popped back open when a enormous growl added to the sound of things breaking, men yelling, and a girl crying out in pain.

Something large and furry tackled Xur to the floor, his claws nearly pulling my skin with them. I watched as whatever tackled him unleashed a fury of claws and bites at his face and chest. My vision was blurry from blood loss, but I managed to make out snarling teeth, ears, a snout, and a large, sweeping tail.

A wolf?

It growled and barked harshly.

Yeah, a wolf.

I pushed myself farther down the table and away from the scene, watching as the abnormally large creature attacked and ripped into Xur's leathery flesh. Xur was screeching in pain and lashing out furiously with his good arm, barely succeeding at landing any blows.

Large, buffed muscles shifted under thick and sleek brown fur, mixed beautifully with midnight black on the wolf. It and Xur were nearly the same size, Xur taller but the wolf thicker. It was strong, extremely strong, with teeth almost as long and sharp as Xur's, and paws that could cover my face completely.

It ripped into Xur like he was merely a chew toy.

I shifted to one side to get a good look at the wolf's gracious face, noticing it's pair of bright amber eyes, just like the gargoyle it was mercilessly shredding.

Suddenly, recognition hit me... Odis?

Before I could process the thought any further, Xur bellowed louder and the two of them were engulfed in thick black smoke. When it cleared, the wolf was the only one there, seeming just as confused as I was.

I looked back over at Kade who was now the one swinging blurred punches mixed with swirling red and orange flames. But he slowed to a stop when the same black smoke enveloped Salazar and Houdini-ed him out of the room, just like Xur. Kade's jaws clenched and he punched the wall angrily.

"You coward!" he shouted to the top of his lungs, making me flinch slightly. The flames around his fists eased off into a faint blue and slowly disappeared, almost like a dying match, and he immediately turned towards me.

The wolf, now clam and gentle-like, quickly stepped out the way when Kade walked briskly over to me and examined my leg carefully.

"Odis! Go find Maeve and tell her to scrounge up some medical supplies. And hurry!" he directed sternly. Without having to say it twice, the wolf ran out of the room, confirming my suspicion of it being Odis.

I hadn't noticed until now that tears were streaming down my cheeks and burning the gashes badly. They, along with the blood loss, were making it hard to see and I was growing extremely exhausted. My leg felt as if it would fall off any second and I was sniffling like a child; like Lily when she didn't get the toy she wanted at the store.

Kade's eyes, crystal blue again, met mine and flashed a whole wave of sympathy. He slipped a muscular arm under the bend of legs and another around my upper torso, lifting me off the table bridal style. I instinctively linked my arms around his neck and watched more blood ooze from my calf and felt it trickle down my cheeks, along with more tears.

Stop crying you big baby.

But no matter how hard I tried, the tears kept coming. I had never been in so much physical pain before.

"Shh... it's okay," he whispered against my ear as he hurried out the door and into the front of the bar. Thankfully, no one was dead on the floor but I didn't see any gargoyles either. I was too weak to question what happened so for now, I let it be. But based on recent events, the black smoke might've taken them too.

None of the Freelancers seemed badly injured. They each had a few cuts and light bruises but nothing life threatening; no deep gashes like mine. I let out a shaky sigh of relief.

Good, they were okay. That's what's important.

A few, almost all of them, gave me those concerned looks that I didn't want right now... or ever. I tried to look away but it was hard not to stare back.

"Oh my...," an older woman with dark hair, dusted with grey, and pale blue eyes whispered as she brought her hand to her mouth in shock. When Kade hurried to the other side of the bar with me in his arms, she followed in a brisk walk.

I started breathing heavily and hissing through my teeth when the tears were fighting to continue pouring. But I didn't want to seem too weak so I did my best to prevent that from happening as we entered through another door at the other end of the bar.

Past it was some sort of lounge, consisting of a faded red couch, a dark wood coffee table, and a lighter wood floor. A couple of red chairs, matching the couch, were placed symmetrically on the other side of the table, and there was a beautiful chandelier hanging from the ceiling in the middle of it all.

Kade gently laid me down on the couch where I took notice to Maeve rummaging through a large medical box on a table in the corner of the room. She stopped what she was doing to turn to us and froze when she saw me, her eyes widening. Quickly, she turned back to the box and rummaged faster.

Odis soon appeared out of nowhere, back in human form, and watched me with soft eyes from across the room.

I wanted to say, "Guys, calm down. It's not that serious. I'll be alright." But my words never came out.

Instead, the room just faded into darkness.