The Inferno Code

Chapter 12

** Although everyone is fit to imagine their own Malefic, this is my version of Tariq. 

I hit the tunnel wall; my legs not fast enough compared to the beasts found in darkness. My human stamina and speed can never match that of a demon dweller. I know this the second I feel the warmth on my shoulder that flings me to the rock-solid cement.

The brightness, lingering about sixty yards ahead to what would've been my closest of sanctuary, instantly disappears. Arms slam on either side of my shoulders, hitting the wall ferociously that the air vacates my chest as remnants of stone plunge to the floor by my feet.

My arms lift to shield my face from the red fiery eyes that belong to my Malefic, the one I have come to know as Tariq. I brace myself for death, silently hoping that it will be swift and painless as I tightly shut my eyes.

It growls ferociously. "Look at me!"

But I can't. I cannot allow him to command me, so I fight frantically to push away at his chest, pounding in wild abandon and making every attempt to drive him out of my sight.

"Look at me now, Luna!" he demands. "I command it of you!"

I'm forced to obey the second I hear his voice quake through my limbs like currents of blazing electricity. My hands drop in fear as misty eyes of brown travel to meet his riveting gaze that now controls each action I take. Everything about him remains the same except for his torched hands and glowing eyes that are poised before me.

This is not Tariq. Something more sinister has evolved, more demonic to match the tales of our relic chronicles. He is the replica of the images resembling the first demons from hell, and the smell of ash on his body are a warning of what he can easily unleash on a human like me.

Scarlett hands reach for my arms that are crossed over my heaving chest in a protective stance, and I cower deeply into the wall waiting to be burned. Instead, he unwraps my limbs, intertwining my fingers with his to rest on either side of my head. I try twisting away, glancing to where our palms meet as I struggle to escape, but my eyes are held captive by the unexplainable. Flaming fingers have managed to enclose mine, transforming our hands into an illuminated torch.

There is no pain, no fire like sensation emanating through his palm to scorch my own flesh. I hold my breath fixated by the contact, watching the swirling blaze of orange, red, and blue hues prance off our clasped fingers like a vibrant sunset.

How can this be happening? Why doesn't it burn?

"Look at me, Luna," he whispers into my ear.

His breath tickles the hairs that have wrapped themselves around my neck, and I release the air that has been suspended in my lungs. Gasps come in indistinctive tidal waves causing my body to tremble as my thoughts reflect on what he has just done—what he can easily replicate. I imagine my own head in his hands burning. I envision flames of red traveling to my face melting away at my skin.

Very cautiously, my tear stained face meets the ruby stare of my Malefic. "Please don't hurt me. I promise to obey this time. I promise." I plead.

Much like our fingers, the burning embers of his orbs burns like two crimson rose petals before shifting to a pale orange shimmer of an autumn leaf. I regulate my breathing to quiet my racing heart hoping that I can somehow soothe the rhythm of the mark beating erratically on my arm.

"Please. You're frightening me." I mutter.

He leans in closely, forcing me to painfully push my head against the wall and shut my eyes in terror. I feel him linger by the crevice of my neck inhaling my human scent as he outlines my face to the hairline above my eyebrow with his steady breaths. Then a wet trail of heat follows the path of my tear as I sense his tongue slowly lick it off. My eyes squint open trying to configure what is happening while my tortured chest fights for air.