He had a thick lock of my dark hair clasped between his index finger and thumb, rubbing the hair between his fingers. His stench was horrific. I'd never smelled something so foul. It reminded me of the way the man at the coffee shop smelled, but ever so much worse. His eyes glared at me as he raised his other hand to my face, gingerly touching my lips.
"Why would you leave, when I only just got here?" His voice was so eerie. He was so lanky and pale.
I was frozen in horror as his black eyes stared into mine. He lowered his nose to my lips and sniffed me.
"Aahhh," he said through an exhaled breath of elation.
He acted like he was getting high... on me. His hands moved to be forcefully holding the sides of my cheeks. As fear consumed me, my tears spilled free, ravaging my cheeks with a merciless flow.
His eerie voice spoke in a terrifyingly calm tone. "Don't worry, little witch. This will be over quickly. I promise." He licked his lips as he moved in a step, bringing his mouth closer to mine. "You smell strong. You must have a powerful bloodline. You smell stronger than anyone I've ever had. Mmm. This will be so good."
He glared at me so excitedly as more tears flooded my face. "You'll give me just what I've been needing."
In that next second, I felt my body getting weaker. I felt like the life was literally being sucked out of me. His mouth was close, almost touching mine, but not quite. I looked up at the tops of the trees, focusing all my attention on them as they swayed in the wind, oblivious to the depravity going on below. I didn't want the last thing I ever saw to be this monster draining the life from me.
I couldn't believe I was really going to die, and I didn't even know what he was doing. I grew up in one of the most dangerous places in the world, and I was going to die in one of the safest. The irony of it all made it even more tragic.
Just when I accepted the fact my fate was sealed, I heard something. It was fast, large, and charging toward us. The only thing I could think of was that this guy, or this thing, had a partner who was going to join him in this… whatever it was killing me.
A gust of wind flew by my head and I fell to th
e ground. I coughed hard and then gasped in a breath of air while grabbing my throat. I felt my strength coming back quickly, even though I still felt more brittle than I ever had before. At least I didn't feel like I was dying anymore.
I glanced up to see the lanky blonde man looking around, as if he wondered like I did, what just happened. He spun in circles while screaming into the treetops.
"Where are you?! Show yourself! Fight like a real eternal!"
Eternal?
I had no idea who he was talking to. I never saw anyone. I tried to stand to my feet to run away, but the lanky man turned his attention back to me. Keeping his dark eyes on me, he yelled back into the woods to the mystery presence.
"If you want her for yourself, you'll have to fight me for her! I won't give her up that easily!"
He was back in front of me in a blink again. He grabbed me by my throat and lifted me back to his mouth. I was fighting uselessly, trying ineffectively to pry his hand from my collapsing airway.
Then my same savior whooshed past me again. And just like before, I landed on the ground. I looked around again, but nothing. The lanky man threw off his long jacket.
"Come on! Come on! I can't smell you, but I know you're there! You can't be a witch or a changer, so you must be a bodyguard. You can't possibly defeat me. Run away or show your face, coward!"
What the hell is he talking about?
Every time I thought it couldn't get any crazier... it got crazier.
His yells could have been heard for miles, if there had been anyone else around to hear it. Then I saw a flash. From tree to tree, there was just a blur. Then suddenly, before the lanky man could reach me again, there was a body standing between us.
Every breath I tried to take evaded my grasp when I saw who it was. I recognized the body that stood in front of me, saving me. I'd spent weeks memorizing it from the back. It was Tallis.
He quickly turned to me and pointed behind me while speaking in a forceful, slightly panicked tone. "Get back, Aria!" Then he turned back around as the lanky man charged him.
They began to fight. Well... I think. It was all happening so fast, so it was hard to see. Trees cracked, leaves crunched, and grunts released as the blur of motion went on to further traumatize my widened eyes. I didn't know if I should run or hide, but like the petrified fool I was, I stayed there, staring open-mouthed at the mess of impossibilities.
In less than a blink, Tallis was behind the man, grabbing his arm and throwing him into a tree at least a hundred feet away. Unbidden, a gasp slipped through my lips, and I covered my mouth before it made any other unsanctioned sounds to draw attention my way.
The man stood up and charged Tallis. They were face to face again within seconds. The man grabbed Tallis by the neck and slammed his head into the rock where I had been sitting earlier. A muffled squeak fell out of my covered mouth, but the man was too busy to acknowledge me.
Tallis!
The rock shattered, shocking the crap out of me. Tallis was unscathed.