Chapter 40 - Fight To The Death
Vycandor gave me a long, hard, satisfied look as if the display of him throwing his little temper tantrum and ripping off almost all of his clothes, was enough to make me change my mind.
It wasn't.
Instead, it had quite the opposite effect. I enjoyed the show. What didn't seem to register with him was the fact that I'd left my I give a crap in my other outfit. So, basically, he could take off all of his clothes and it still wouldn't affect me.
"Listen to me very carefully, Chaos, because this is going to be the last time I make this offer. After you do what you were born to do and wipe mankind off the face of the earth once and for all, you will come back to the castle where you will be mine. Do you understand?" Flashing his fangs, every word he'd said was edged with anger .
Scary how something so disturbingly beautiful could be so deadly.
It was kind of hard to take him seriously looking like that. His voice, so hostile, made me smile. At first anyway. Right then, I couldn't tell if he was a zombie or a vampire. I decided on the latter.
Narrowing my eyes, I insisted, "I'm not a vampire groupie. I will never use my power to destroy anything, with the exception of you and this castle, that is. And I will also never, ever, ever bow down to you. Do I make myself clear?" My voice mirrored his when I added, "However, there is one thing I will do for you. I promise to do everything in my power to stop you from carrying out your diabolical plans for world domination."
To show him I meant business, my stomach clenched as I uncurled the power, holding it like a loaded weapon. I may not have worked with Serenity to be able to control and manipulate the fire burning deep within my body, but I did manage to be pretty decent at everything else.
Vycandor must have sensed it too, because he stepped back. I was just about to unleash my fury, taking my revenge for what he did to my friends when in a cry of sudden outrage something rumbled deep in his throat. As if caught in a wintry snow storm a strong breeze swept up my long hair, brushing it against my cheeks like an icy caress.
Judging from the smug look on his face, I could tell he was enjoying himself.
My turn.
I reached inside to pull out a sizzling current of energy, and forcefully launched it at him. The blow landed on his center, just below his chest, but above his waist where – cross my fingers – it would hurt the most.
Vycandor staggered backwards without falling. Damn. Standing up, he recovered quickly. Almost too quickly in my book.
"Most impressive," he snarled. He didn't mean it as a compliment. I could tell. Something in his voice surprised me. Gone was the velvety smoothness. In its place was the hollow sound of empty words. Or maybe, just maybe, that's what a monster was supposed to sound like.
"Gee, thanks," I replied. I didn't mean it either.
The edge of violence I saw in his eyes promised he could hurt me even from a distance. I felt his raw power raging just under the surface. Then without any warning at all it erupted out of him, spilling over the dungeon in massive rivulets of freezing energy.
I recoiled in horror as everything about him turned menacing. Well, more menacing than usual. His muscles started to swell. His face screwed into a fierce, bestial scowl. His eyes blazed with hunger. Raising massive arms in the air – fingers tipped with impossibly long claws – he poised them directly at my throat and let out a roar that almost knocked me clean over.
All I could think of to say was, "Oh. My. God!"
I realized too late that I'd been wrong about him. With creepy skin like a zombie, intimidating fangs like a vampire, and the way he morphed into a terrifying beast like a werewolf, he wasn't just a monster – he was a monster mash.
Hulk-mode activated Vycandor now stood over seven feet tall, his enormous body looming over me threateningly. I guess you could say I brought out the beast in him.
He let out another growl that made my teeth rattle. I thought about the tiny gun I held in my shaky hand and suddenly wished I'd brought something bigger. Something much, much bigger.
Unfortunately, I didn't know anything about squirt guns. Right then, all I kept thinking about was what if I shot him and made him mad. What was I supposed to do then when the Holy Water ran out, throw it at him?
For the life of me, I couldn't figure out why Serenity had insisted I bring it. Other than to piss him off. So I tossed the stupid gun aside.
The thought of Vycandor's enormous claws ripping me to shreds – piece by agonizing piece – finally motivated me into action. I took a deep breath to gather my strength, and my wits, feeling burning heat swirling within my body, twisting like a deadly funnel cloud growing larger and larger on its relentless path of destruction.
Sensing my attack his lips drew back in a snarl, before he suddenly catapulted himself in the air and landed only a few feet away as if trying to scare me.
Using the tremendous energy I'd allowed to build up, I hurled the power directly at his chest.
He moved with lightening speed in an attempt to jump out of the way. The power caught him in his side, shoving his body hard against the stone wall. A lucky shot. Not that I was complaining, of course.
"How do you like being on the receiving end for a change?" I yelled. Once on his feet again, I could tell by the way he stood slightly hunched over from the blow that he wasn't used to getting hurt. And by a girl, no less.
Point for me.
I was still celebrating when an invisible bond closed around my neck, wrenching me off my feet. Incredibly, I not only found myself coming face to face with him as he held me up in mid-air, but we were also eye to eye. Nice trick.
Point for him.
Vycandor gave a venomous hiss, completely barring his long fangs. Using only the power behind his eyes the pressure of his mental grip tightened, threatening to completely cut off my oxygen supply. I was too busy trying not to die when what I should've been was scared as hell. Unfortunately for me, I've never been good at multitasking.
A sudden smothered sound forced its way out of my bruised throat. I kicked my legs violently in cycles of panic, but the pressure on my neck only increased.
Unable to release the pent up energy building within, my chest felt like it was on fire. Somehow every time I bucked and kicked like a wild animal trying to escape a hunters clutches, the torch lights mounted to the stone walls flickered and flared out of control – violently shifting the shadows in the dungeon with each terror-filled movement.
It gave me an idea.
Fastening my attention on the flames, searing power breathed through me as I wrapped my thoughts around the blazing energy. Hidden behind Vycandor, I whipped the flames of several torches higher and higher, until finally uniting them directly above the pulpit. The swirling inferno looked like a tornado combined with a volcano to form a massive cloud of fire.
"Any last words before I choke the life out of you?" Vycandor growled. He loosened his grip just enough to allow me to speak.
"Yeah," I croaked, knowing I'd be toast if I didn't do this just right. "Let it burn."
