Never Let You Fall (The Prophecy of Tyalbrook) (6 page)

“Everything good in here?” he questioned, and I instantly noted the tightness in his voice.

Something was wrong - I could feel it at once - and my voice trembled as I walked over to him, trying not to alert Janelle.

“Yeah, I just packed up.” I smiled, and my eyes searched his face, “You ready to go?”

Xander grabbed the duffel bag and quickly slipped it over my head, and then he leaned down to whisper in my ear; all the while pretending to adjust the strap from pulling my hair.

“Something is lurking around here. Do as I say, okay?”

My heart clenched at the thought of those glowing, deep red eyes being so close while Janelle and Rex were there, and I nodded, numbly letting Xander take my hand.

“Janelle, it was nice to meet you,” he spoke quickly. “Unfortunately, we need to run because I forgot that I need to get across town to pick something up from work before six,” he fabricated.

He nudged me towards the living room without letting go of the tight grip on my hand.

We waved our goodbyes to Janelle and then slipped out of the house by the screen door. I yelled over to Rex that I would see him later and heard a grunt answer in confirmation from under the hood of the car.

Xander quickly pulled me away from the house. His eyes constantly scanned the area and his left hand stayed inside his hoodie. I wondered what he had in there, and I prayed that it wasn’t a gun. Those things made me nervous! We came to a large hedge two houses down, and Xander drug me behind it; holding his finger to his lips and telling me to stay quiet.

“Here’s the deal,” he filled me in swiftly. “There are Semvon back there at your house. The farther we go the less I feel them, so I know we haven’t been followed.”

“What? No! We need to go back!” I pleaded. “Will they hurt Rex and Janelle? Please, Xander, let’s go back and get them!”

I started to pull away in order to race back down the sidewalk and get my friends, but Xander’s calm voice stopped me before I could even swivel towards the house.

“Skye, you can’t go back there. They are after you,” he reminded me. “Listen - they aren’t following us, so this is what we’re going to do. You are going to run as fast as you can to Freedom Park. It’s what, a few blocks away?”

I nodded that I understood him thus far, and he continued on with his instructions. “I want you to find the bridge in the park, and then stand in the middle and wait for me. I promise you I will be no more than 20 minutes behind you.”

“What are you going to do?” I asked, trying to mask my worry from him.

He seemed so confident about what he was doing, but I couldn’t help but wonder if he had actually ever
seen
one of these Semvon. They had filled my nightmares for years, and my legs quivered at the very thought of them chasing me.

He smiled and moved his hand to tuck a stray strand of hair behind my ear, which made my breath catch. “I’m going to do my job. I’m going to double back and make sure that Rex and Janelle are alright, and then I’ll make my way to the park right behind you.”

He turned back towards the house and then held his hand up. I saw him stiffen and straighten up, almost as if he were trying to hear something.

“Okay, GO!” he ordered me, waving his hand to shoo me away.

I started to speak, but instead I turned and ran.

I never looked back.

FOUR - RUN

Skye

I ran to the park, following Xander’s directions, and headed for the bridge at the far end from where I was.

My mind was racing and I couldn’t help but question my decision to blindly believe Xander, when just this morning I hadn’t wanted to accept his explanations as truth.

An eerie feeling began to grow in my stomach, and I turned around swiftly to scan the park for anything unusual. The sun had started to make its descent, and recognizing that I was one of the few people left in the park, I quickened my step.

I found myself wishing for the millionth time that I had a cell phone to call Janelle or Rex. I was desperate to see if they were okay. Can’t have a phone if you don’t have the money to pay for it, I chided myself.

I stayed alert as I started down the trail that led to the stone bridge, while my eyes continuously scanned the shadowy forest to my left.

The sound of a branch snapping stopped me in my tracks and I quickly spun around yelling, “Hello?” as I cast my eyes over the area again.

The rustling of leaves startled me, and I took a quick step back from the large group of bushes where the noise had come from.

“Xander?”

A squirrel shot out from underneath the brush and darted across the path, causing me to jump as if the ground were on fire.

“AHHH!”

Clenching my heart, I squeezed my eyes shut to calm myself. Damn Xander for scaring me like that! I hated being scared! I had taken care of myself for so long that I liked to think of myself as strong and tough. Now along came Xander, giving life to the ‘little things that go bump in the night”, and all of a sudden my courage seemed to be lacking.

I thought to myself, ‘You’re crazy’ as doubt started to creep back into my overactive thoughts. How did I know I could even trust him?

As I stepped away from the bushes to turn back onto the trail towards the bridge, I ran headlong into someone.

“Oh my gosh!” I apologized, looking at the man in front of me. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t….” my words trailed off as the handsome man’s face shimmered in front of me; transforming into something non-human and then back again.

It was like seeing one of those hologram cards you got in a cereal box, where you hold it one way and there was a smiling face, but when you turned it the other way, the face was sad. The man who stood before me fluttered between human and monster. I froze, as my eyes took in another slight shimmer, and my breath caught in my throat.

In his human state, he looked like just another suit on his way home from work: handsome, but nothing totally remarkable. He wore a dark business suit and carried a briefcase. Except that he wasn’t - not really.

It was an illusion.

His true side showed a shadow with no real clothing, just a pitch-black figure with a gruesome flat face. Everything about the creature was black and sort of willowy, like smoke, except for its glowing red eyes.

It was the
eyes
that sparked the true terror in me. I had seen those eyes. They were probably the only thing in this world I truly feared anymore. They’d been haunting me all my life, and it was those
eyes
that finally nudged me from my frozen state.

I jumped away from the monster, just as its transparent arms reached out to grasp my shoulders. Turning to run, I found myself face to face with another shadow.

“No!” I cried in denial. “You’re not real - it’s only my imagination - go away!”

The demons growled at me, a sort of snort. I was surprised to see the once-transparent arm solidify, as the first one lifted his hand and stroked my hair.

“No Princess, you’re wrong. We
are
real, and you are coming with us.”

They laughed at me as I shook my head, and then their shadowy limbs grasped my arms and yanked me into the growing darkness of the forest next to us.

Once within the shadows of the woods, the figure to my left let go of my arm. It stepped in front, while the other creature walked behind my back; grabbing both of my arms, like guards walking a prisoner to his cell.

“Where are you taking me?” I screeched, as I tried to fight off the arms that had me locked firmly in place.

The monster was strong, super hero strong! Its breath smelled stale and felt cold as it whispered near my ear, “We are taking you to our master, Princess. Now WALK.”

Its long, thin fingers dug into my upper arms as it propelled me forward roughly. They began to whisper to each other as we walked, but their voices were so deep and gravelly that I could hardly make them out.

As the creatures shoved me forward, I began to tick off all of the ways to get out of this situation. First, I reluctantly admitted to myself that I had to stop with my denial. This situation was
very
real. Second, I had to fight them. That part was proving to be difficult.

I kept trying to yank my arms from the demon’s grip but I only succeeded in hurting myself. Its’ grip was bruising.

Suddenly, a massive wave of heat stirred deep within my chest, creating a surge of courage and strength that overwhelmed me. I kicked my foot out at my attackers and struck the one in front of me, in what I fervently hoped was the back of its knee. The sound that was emitted from the Semvon’s mouth caused my blood to freeze, and its red eyes flared at me.

It struck me across the face so hard, that if it hadn’t been for the demon that held me from behind, I would have fallen to my knees. The taste of salty blood filled my mouth.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”

Relief flooded through me at the sound of Xander’s calm voice. “Sorry I’m late, Skye. Their friends were a bit more trouble than usual back at the house.”

At the thought of these creatures having attacked Janelle and Rex, panic began to flow through me. Unfortunately, my hands were a little full at the moment. My heart began to beat furiously when Xander stepped further into the woods and peeled off his jacket, revealing a dagger strapped to his chest.

“So, who’s first?” he asked; lightly stretching his arms over his head.

His arrogance rolled off of him in waves, and my panic threatened to overtake me as I struggled to get away from my captor once more.

“No! Just run, Xander!” I warned, my eyes flying to his.

He actually winked. Winked, and then laughed at me.

“Nah, I think I’m gonna play with these fellas for a bit.”

Incredulously, I realized that he didn’t seem bothered at all by the two creatures that held me. In fact, he seemed to be playing it off like they were a joke.

I could see that the one I’d kicked had started to morph into something with a larger shape. I couldn’t explain exactly what it looked like, but one minute it was normal size, and the next it seemed to be towering over me. Fear gripped me at the thought of Xander fighting that creature.

“You are so confident, Guardian. Tell me, how did you come to be here?” the demon inquired, as it started to circle Xander.

Xander kept his eyes on his opponent and his hand on his dagger. He replied back sarcastically to the taunt, “I belong here,
Semvon
. But you belong in Hell, and I think I’m going to be the one to send you there. Are you ready?”

The Semvon lunged forward, but Xander was lighter and quicker, and was able to easily jump back and to the side. In the swirl, his dagger narrowly missed the creature as he swung it forward. I watched in horror as Xander and the demon stalked each other in a circle. The Semvon snarled angrily, while Xander continued to look smug and somewhat bored.

It was mesmerizing to watch - his confidence, his strong frame as he hunched down into warrior mode - he was amazing and strong. And oh lord, was he HOT!

Xander’s eyes were locked on his target, and his jaw was clenched tight. Xander had discarded his hoodie, which allowed me to view the strength in his well-defined arms as he swung his dagger at the Semvon continuing to block his advances.

As the two sparred, the Semvon who held me proceeded to drag me away.

“Skye! Tell your friend to be patient and to stay put now, okay?” bellowed Xander, as he noted the distance my captor had put between us.

If I hadn’t been so scared I would have laughed at his humor, but it was taking all I had in that moment not to just pass out. I tried to fight the demon’s grip, but it didn’t even flinch…it was freakishly strong! After struggling a moment to get me to walk, the Semvon wrapped its arms around my waist and simply picked me up. It then somehow
extended
its height so that I was no longer touching the ground with my feet.

“Where are you taking me?” I begged again, kicking and screaming as we went along.

“Home,” it grunted.

“Home? I
am
home! What do you even want with me anyway?”

“Shut up!” it screeched, and squeezed me a bit tighter around my waist.

A few seconds later, an inhuman, vulgar howl sounded behind us. My heart leapt with joy at the thought that Xander may have actually injured his opponent.

My kidnapper growled low in its throat, then put me down and yanked me back against its body; wrapping a hand securely around my neck. Its wide, red eyes searched the area, scanning the grounds as if it expected a visitor.

It raged, “Show yourself, Guardian! I will snap her pretty little neck, boy.”

The forest was eerily quiet. Night had almost fallen, making it hard to see more than a few feet in front of us.

The demon, or ‘Semvon’ as Xander called them, placed its hand on my windpipe and began to squeeze. Tighter and tighter it squeezed, and the longer it waited for Xander to show, the tighter its grip became.