Bloodied Paws [BP Book 1]

By the Candellight

[3rd]

A flash of lightning outside brightened the room for a split second, illuminating the space in bright white before plunging it back into almost total darkness.

A storm had been on the rise for the past hour or so. The rain would most likely start pretty soon. For now, the thunder rolled and the lightning split the sky.

At the flash of light, the TV, which had been on, flickered and switched to a dark screen. Grace frowned, grabbing the remote and making an attempt to restart it, only for her attempts to be in vain.

"Dang it," Grace said, looking at the lamp in the corner, which was also now out unlike it was previously. "Power's out."

"Hey, it was bound to happen," Addie said, putting down the white controller in her hand. "With this weather, I'm surprised the power lasted as long as it did."

Grace also placed her controller on the TV stand. The two had been playing a bit of Minecraft when the power blacked out. She glanced around the room, thinking of what they could now do to pass the time along. An idea sparked in her mind. "Hey, how about we tell ghost stories? I have some candles we can use."

Addie smiled. "Sure! I love ghost stories!"

Grace grinned and ran out the door to her room, careful going down the stairs so as to not fall in the darkness. She took out her phone and clicked the button on the screen with a flashlight icon, which then illuminated the space in front of her by the back of the device. After a few turns in the hall, she found the closet she searched for and opened it. She searched the various shelves in the closet and finally grasped her hand around a cylindrical, wax-textured shape that she then pulled out. Knowing this was what she was looking for, she turned back around and ran back up the stairs to the room where Addie was waiting.

Grace entered, pulling a box of matches she had also stuck in her pocket out and placing the candle on a table in the corner. The candle was cherry red, new, sides still smooth and wick still white. Addie walked over, sitting cross-legged across from Grace at the short table. Grace struck a match, the flame sparking before flickering alight. She put the flame to the wick and soon the corner was alight with a warm, spooky glow. Just the feel they were hoping for.

"Alright," Grace said, sitting down and setting the matches aside. A drop of wax slid down the candle's side. "Wanna go first?"

She stared at Addie for a moment. Her smile faltered. Addie's stormy, blue-grey eyes were transfixed on the flame of the candle, pupils seeming to be dilated with the flicker of the light. Her expression was without emotion, dispassionate.

"Ha ha, very funny, you're so scary," Grace said with a small laugh, "Now come on."

Addie didn't reply. In her eyes, it was almost as if two sides were arguing, her gaze fighting between anger and confusion and simply... nothing.

"Um... Addie?" Grace said, her grin slowly melting away to a more serious, worried expression. "Addie, are you okay?"

Still silence. Addie didn't utter a word.

"Addie, seriously, please stop," Slight panic edged Grace's tone. What was happening? Is she about to pass out? Was this some kind of mental thing she didn't know about, triggered by the candle? "You're scaring me."

The candlelight flickered, plunging the room into total darkness before flaring back to life.

And standing there... was definitely not Addie.

Long, black tentacles with sharp, pointed ends were poised, sprouted from her back and threatened to impale Grace on the spot. Her fingers were tipped with sharp claws, black slime creeping up her forearms and staining the sleeves of her bright red blazer the color of tar. From her brown hair two maroon-furred wolf ears stuck out, pointed up as if showing dominance. A wolf tail of the same color curled around her feet. A gash in her chest revealed teeth like daggers in a second mouth, a black tongue with a point like the tip of a snake's tail visible inside. Her pupils were glowing red slits, staring down at Grace over the pitch black of her sclera. Her mouth was curled into a grin, teeth sharpened abnormally.

Grace gasped, eyes wide. She looked the creature standing where her friend once stood up and down, finding herself backing away in fear. Thunder flashed outside, thunder rolling that almost masked the guttural growl that seemed to be made by not-Addie. The flash of the lightning outlined the tentacles that she now bore on her back with bright, cold light.

"What the..." Grace said without thinking, unable to say more after she trailed off.

Not-Addie tilted her head. She looked down at her clawed hands, her smile spine chilling as she once again made eye contact with Grace. When she spoke her voice echoed within itself, demonic, almost, and was accompanied by a canid grow that caused her words to have the effect of a snarl.

"Guess who's back..."

Grace let out a cry without meaning to, unable to recognize this... this monster that stood in Addie's place.

"Who are you?!" Grace said. She tried to sound demanding, but all she achieved was sounding terrified, pitiful. "What happened to Addie?!"

The monster looked down at Grace, her sharp-toothed smile never ceasing. One wolf ear flicked. "Oh, Addie? I'm afraid you can't speak with her right now. She's a bit..." Not-Addie thought for a moment. "Occupied, let's say. Now as for who I am..."

At that she paused again, tilting her head. Her gaze was malicious, but deep in the depths of thought. Did she not remember her name? Or was she debating on answering the question?

Finally she returned her eyes to Grace.

"You can just call me... Inferno."

A tentacle shot forward, wrapping itself around Grace's neck in one fluid motion. Another wrapped around her torso, the two lifting her into the air until she was eye-level with "Inferno."

And suddenly a crack rang out as the tentacles tightened. Grace inhaled sharply before her breath remained still, blue eyes glazed over and sightless.

Her body made a thump against the wooden ground as Inferno let her fall from her tentacles' grasp. Her head twisted to the side simply because of the pull of gravity, an angle that no neck but an owl's should be able to achieve naturally. Inferno's gaze remained on the corpse for a moment more before she turned back to the candle.

Snarling like an animal, she knocked it over, the flame being brought to the ground. The wooden planks below blackened as the heat transferred, yellow, white, and nearly translucent blue blossoming from the area with the closest proximity to the burning wick. Inferno stared at the blooming flames before turning around, calmly walking out the door.

She was gone before smoke escaped the open windows.

-

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