The Unmaking (The Rayne Whitmore Series Book 1) (7 page)

            Popping up swiftly, Selene
opens her hands once more and begins to speak quickly and quietly. It isn’t quick
enough and I can only watch as the Demon descends on Selene again with the
power of a Mack truck. I hear the crunch of Selene’s body hitting the wall
before my mind registers what I just saw: Selene’s eyes going wide, her arms
bracing herself, and her lips moving before the Demon lands a blow so hard that
it causes Selene to fly into the wall, pieces of wood splintering everywhere.
When I see that Selene is unmoving, I break from my stupor.

            She doesn’t deserve to die
here; this isn’t her fault. My sister died trying to protect me and here I am
simply watching as Selene is dying in front of my eyes, trying to shield me as
well. How could I tell her that I loved her and yet do nothing? If we aren’t
going to make it out of here alive, then I might as well fight for the little
time I had left. I run towards the Demon despite the stench of death it is
carrying, screaming my lungs out for It to stop. I did not want it to take
another step toward Selene who was now struggling to move even an inch.

            “No! You son of a bitch,
you murdered my family, but I won’t let you hurt her too.” I stand my ground
despite the fact that my bowels were threatening to release at any moment. I
stand my ground despite the fact that the floor starts to shake with every slow
step it takes after turning back towards me.

            I try my best to slow my
heart beat, to find some peace in the last seconds of my life. I take one more
look at Selene and my heart is relieved to see her sitting up. She mouths some
words to me, but they take a second to register. By the time they do, the Demon
has closed the gap and slices my left arm from the shoulder to my wrist before
I manage to get out the way.

            I scream in pain as a
burning sensation like nothing I’ve ever felt in my life settles in. The pain
is so overwhelming that I want to rip my own arm off so the pain will stop. I
nearly black out from the pain. Hesitantly, I glance at the damage and see
bone. I can still somehow move my arm, but it wouldn’t do me much good. I know
that I won’t be able to last against something that can slice me open at any
second. Selene’s words hit me again as I do the only thing that I can think of
to save at least her.
‘Buy me time,’
she said. Praying to God that this
works, hoping that the Demon will choose to follow me, the easy prey instead of
Selene who clearly knows how to defend herself. I crash through the second
story window, glass pieces cutting into me, roll off the roof and land on the
hard ground underneath.

            Another scream rips
through me as the thing slams down on my ankle. The crunch itself of broken,
shattered bone is enough to have me dry heaving as my back arches from the
impact and pain. I don’t remain that way for long as It grabs me by my throat,
all three mouths opening at once. I kick and wiggle as much as I can as pools
of tears roll down my eyes. I know I am in danger of passing out at any second
and as I fight, I wonder why it doesn’t just finish the job quickly.

             Then, I stop struggling
and choose to fight the battle another way. If the Demon is going to kill me, I
am going to stare it down for as long as it takes for it to be finished. I will
no longer give this thing the satisfaction of watching me struggle helplessly.
The only thing that is left for me to do is defy it. I just hope Selene understands
my sacrifice and makes it out of here. Alive. Then, I will rejoin my family in
the next life.

            One of its mouths closes
and I feel the Demon’s grip on me loosen, but still, I don’t stop my death
stare. Out of one of the other mouths, a long, jagged tongue snakes out and
slices against my face. I hiss in pain, but don’t stop staring. The Demon
hisses in frustration and shakes me. Then, as if I’m painful to touch, it drops
me to the ground. The gurgling noise that it made earlier becomes louder and
begins to sound painful. Looking between the Demon’s legs, I find that Selene
is standing behind the Demon looking like a vengeful goddess.

            The monster falls to the
ground, body smoking. The stench of death is thick in the air as its flesh
begins to sizzle. I hear Selene taking closer steps to the monster, and
speaking words, at least I think they are words, quickly. Her hair is floating,
the front of her shirt torn, exposing part of her bra, and she is trying to
compensate for a limp. That same spark I saw in her eyes when Damien burned his
hand earlier today is there again and I know, this time, I’m not imagining
things.

            “Taloq Rukem, mocre balim,
jaloq yrvik,” over and over she repeats. Her voice becomes louder and I realize
that it’s because she is standing over me protectively, her back now towards
me. My vision comes and goes and I have to blink repeatedly in order to stop
seeing double. Soon, there are no more screams.

            “Shh,” I can hear her
cooing to me. “Rest now. I will keep you safe.”

             I try to sit up, but the
pain is overwhelming my senses. Dizziness is the least of my worries as the
adrenaline begins to leave my body. It ignites a firestorm of pain unlike
anything I’ve felt before. As my consciousness fades, I make an attempt to call
out to Selene. Then, darkness swallows me.

Chapter Six

           
D
espair, confusion, anger, fear, pain. I feel all of these
at once as I make an attempt to open my eyes, but become afraid of what I might
find when I do.

            “You’re safe Rayne. I
promise. Please, come back to me now.” I can hear the pleading in her voice and
I want to feel sorry for her, but I can’t because, I remember. I’m the one who
just lost everything. For a second I stop breathing. I don’t even remember how
to inhale air into my lungs.

            Still, I choose to open my
eyes and find that even though the only light in the room is from the drawn
curtains, it still takes an effort for my eyes to adjust. Then, I become
thirsty, very thirsty as if I’ve swallowed a gallon of sand. I start to open my
mouth to ask for something, but as if she’s reading my mind, Selene tilts a cup
to my mouth.

            “Here, drink this.”

            I close my eyes again and
take a sip from the cup, only to spit out the bitter tasting liquid, now
knowing the truth of it all, that Selene intends to poison me.

            No, no, that can’t be
right. My mind is foggy and I can’t shake away the clouds of confusion. I love
Selene, she wouldn’t harm me.

           
But the world may have
other plans.
Who said that? I don’t remember.

            Frustration, hatred,
defeat. It all floods my heart.

            “I’m sorry Rayne. I keep
screwing up. I should have told you what it was before you drank it. It is
water laced with a special Brazilian medicinal herb. It will numb your pain,”
Selene explains.

            Which pain will it numb?
Certainly not my missing heart that has left a black hole in its place,
swallowing me. I’m left empty.

            “Just water,” I demand, my
voice raw and raspy, sounding nothing like me.

            Selene nods and leaves the
room. When she comes back she is holding a sealed water bottle in her hand and
makes an effort to show that it has not been tampered with. I drink the whole
bottle and then we both sit quietly, her waiting for me to speak. The clock on
the wall’s ticking sounds like a drum beating against our silence. I observe
the room finally and discover that I am not in the hospital as I first assumed.

            The room is a normal
bedroom, plain and empty of anything but the clock, bed, and a nightstand. I
also see that I am not hooked up to any monitors. Yet, when I look at my left
arm, recalling my injury, the slice down to the bone, I see that it is bandaged
and the pain decides to make itself known all over again. Although, what I’m
feeling now is nothing like the pain from last night. I don’t even want to
think about my ankle which I don’t seem to feel at all. Weird.

            Tears fall freely down my
face and Selene starts to reach for me but stops. Good. I don’t want to be
touched, to be consoled, I just want my life back. Impossible, I know, but it
will take a while for my mind to grasp that my entire world has exploded so
much that there may never be any pieces left to pick up. I don’t even know
where to begin, so many questions go through my mind and they may have answers
that I don’t want to hear.

            Fuck it. What can be worse
than the horror I just witnessed?

            “Is it dead?” I surprise
myself when the question falls out of my mouth. I guess hatred is the first
emotion to rule.

            “I’m sorry Rayne, but I
wasn’t strong enough. That’s why we’re here, in hiding,” Selene answers me
sadly.

            “Hiding?”

            “Yes. We are in a safe
house that Damien arranged. I was able to contact him before the police
arrived. He knew what to do in case something like this happened and he has
bought us your safety.” The answer only creates more questions.

            Angrily, I spit, “What the
hell are you Selene? And what do you mean in case something like this happened?
What do you know? Does this have something to do with what’s going on between
you and Damien? How can I trust you after what I saw you do? What
did I
see you do Selene?” I want to cry but I can’t. I’m afraid and confused and I
have more questions that need to be answered.

            Selene takes a deep breath
and I see that tears are threatening to fall from her green eyes as well.
“Never in a million years did I think I would have to be the one to tell you
this Rayne. I think I know what your father wanted you to know but was afraid
to tell you. I will get to that in a minute, because you’re right, you need to
know what I am.”

            With a sad smile that I
was getting too used to seeing on her face, Selene admits, “I am witch born,
Rayne. Next in line to be high priestess of my people. The magic is my
birthright.”

            I look over at the empty
water bottle, examine the top for tampering, and read the label slowly. Surely,
she found a way to lace it with something. I can tell when I look back at
Selene that she knows I don’t believe her. She continues anyway.

            “There are things Rayne,
that you cannot begin to understand. Accept it and you will be stronger because
of it. You saw that thing and you saw what I did to it. Do not doubt the power
of others simply because it is new to you.” A compelling argument, one that as
of now, I can’t dispute.

            “So if you are, ‘witch
born’, as you say, what does that mean and what was that, thing?”

            “You know what it was. I
can see it in your eyes.” She crosses her arms, determined.

            “Demon. It wasn’t just a
monster, it was a demon,” I say automatically, knowing the truth in my words,
again. Evil. Filth. Destruction.

            “You are correct. And from
what I understand now, it wasn’t just any demon, it was a Devourer. It was
sent, no, summoned there for a purpose, clearly revenge. Devourers feed off of
three things and that is why it has three mouths: flesh, fear, and souls. As
for why it was sent, I will get to that later. I know this is too much to take
in, but believe me; I will help you and protect you now more than ever. Now
that you know what I am, I can do that to the fullest,” Selene assures me even
though I don’t know if I’m ready to believe that.

            “As for what it means to
be witch born is simply as the name suggests. I am not a normal human that
dabbles in magic. We true witches are our own race. We can have children with
normal humans, but the magic may or may not pass on. When true witches have
children with other true witches, our children will always be witch born. I
control the magic inside me and the type of power I specifically possess, I get
from the elements.”

            I rub my forehead as I
process this information and Selene gives me a small smile before continuing.

            “Others may be healers,
necromancers which are those who can speak with or even control the dead, seers
who can see somewhat into the future or even more, or someone simply able to
convene with nature and animals. There are many witch born talents just like
people who can swim really well or jump really high. But, our gift is limited
only to that power we are born with. I will never be a healer for example, but
the fact that my power is elemental means that I am vastly much stronger than
many others.”

             Selene’s voice rises in
excitement as she scoots forward in her chair, brushing some unruly strands of
her silky hair back with her left hand. “This is why I was supposed to be a
high priestess and why my father wanted me to marry Sergio. He too was a witch
and he was an elemental like me. Our type is probably the most common even
though it seems as if we’re special, but the strength comes from how much magic
we can hold, our chakra or chi if you will. I am special because of those
limits. In sports terms, most elementals would be considered sprinters, but I
would be more of a cross country runner,” Selene admits.