I looked back to the raging firepit where the goat was, but it was not a goat that stood there. I wouldn’t so much call it a human either. The horns remained the same while the thing they were attached to changed entirely. It had skin that looked like the universe personified into a seemingly humanoid shape. Stars and colorful moving nebulas swirled under his skin. Aside from the claw and thrashing tail, the creature was the shape of a man. A very naked man.
My eyes trailed down to his hips, just above the flames and in perfect view was a very… unique looking dick – if I must say. Probably a bit weird to notice that out of everything, but when it was just out and about in my face like that, what was I supposed to do?
“Mina Karim?” his deep voice thundered, rattling my body to the core and oddly warmed me in places I did not expect it to. The sound of voice had a magnetic pull on me, moving me until I was standing before the thrashing flames. The creature tilted his head again as he waited for a response.
I gave a slow nod. The smoke and wind still circled us, picking up speed once I answered. His snake-like tail whipped around me in almost a curious way, as if to inspect me. It twisted and tugged at my wrist, pulling me closer to the creature.
“I have come for the souls offered,” his voice thundered again.
“Souls?” I echoed. I didn’t believe we offered any such thing.
“Souls,” he repeated slowly as he leaned over me. I thought over the ritual I had assumed was a dream. Maybe this was all a dream, too. A very vivid and intense dream.
“You wanted magic. I have come to provide that request. I only need the souls promised,” he urged with a bit more annoyance as if I was the one who was bothering his drunken dream. I looked over to where the girls were lying, but I was still unable to view them through the smoke that twisted around us.
The wind picked up, pulling embers of the fire around.
“Are you a demon or something?” I quizzed.
His lips twitched at a smile, but he continued to glare down at me. He took my right hand in his as he spoke again.
“My sweet. You asked for powers, and I am here to provide them. All I require are the four souls promised,” he repeated in an entrancing tone, pulling me closer. I gasped as he glared at me with inhuman eyes, black with a glowing iris that flickered until the illuminance died down, leaving behind frost blue eyes that chilled my soul. But as frightening as they were, I couldn’t pull myself to look away.
“Do we have a deal?” he purred, pulling me closer until the heat of his odd skin pressed against my chest. A dizzyingly sweet and enticing scent of vanilla spilled over me, dazing my mind and nearly melting me at my feet.
“I can give you whatever you want. All I need is your soul,” he whispered.
I would have loved to blame the alcohol for my weakness, but really, I was just a sucker for a deep voice.
“Deal.” The word slipped from my lips with a low exhale that escaped.
His hand tightened around mine as he pulled back to look over me with a wicked smile. “Wonderful,” he purred, flicking his wrist to initiate the shake and seal the deal. The wind kicked up into a vicious cyclone, thrashing and pulling with such force my feet left the ground. The forceful wind whipped my loose curls about wildly, stinging my face as strands snapped against my cheeks. Between my hair and the smoke, I could see Jaz, Amber, and Mickey twisting around like rag dolls in the air. Blue, glowing substances circled each of them for a moment before breaking free into the creature that held me captive.
An electric charge pulsated through my body, coming to rest in my chest like a thick ball. I could feel it crawling through me until it seeped from the tips of my fingers in a glowing blue plasma. It spun over his arm and dissolved into him, which looked to bring him great delight as a menacing smile spread his lips to display shining fangs. He closed his eyes with a deep, pleasurable inhale, savoring whatever it was he clearly enjoyed about my soul in particular.
“Mina Karim,” he called, “your soul is the sweetest I have tasted in centuries.”
The pain in my hand ignited, spreading up my arm with fury as it scolded and tore at my skin. I pulled back with no luck of his release.
“Great, now let me go!” I ordered frantically.
I struggled to pull my hand free of the…whatever it was, but he held me in a firm grip. The pain continued ripping and tearing its way up my arm in what looked to be deep cracks. I yanked back again, only intensifying the pain. The clear splits that worked their way up my arm began to emit a golden glow that charred the edges of my wounded skin.
An agonized scream broke through my lungs as I tore back at my arm, crying and begging for him to release me, but it was as if his hand was locked in place.
“What did you do?” he bellowed, pulling back against me as he attempted to break free as well. The wind continued to howl and rage around us. Horrid screams echoed through the darkness, growing louder the longer we struggled to break free.
We pushed against each other, desperately trying to release from the pain carving into my arm. I cried out, yanking back once more with success. Our hands released as the wind came to a sudden stop and the smoke cleared just as instantly.
The sudden drop pulled air from my lungs as I gasped out, not realizing how far up we had gone. My eyes remained on him, slowing time as he watched me without care before vanishing.
I sucked in a breath, only to hit the ground and have it knocked out of me once again. I coughed, gasping for air as I climbed to my feet. Dust continued to swirl around and blind me as I tried to find the girls around the fire. I reached out, noticing an odd yellow glow pouring out of gaping cracks in my skin, a wound that devoured my hand and wrist all the way up to my elbow with a searing pain that buckled my knees. Each bone from my fingers to my shoulder felt as if it were breaking one by one, snapping and cracking into place.
I cried out with silent screams as I grappled with the unknown pain on a cold stone floor. The hard chill shocked me up for a moment, long enough to take in what was around me, and it wasn’t that of the calming forest, just a dark and cold chamber that echoed off my gasps and weakened cries of silent screams.
Pain returned to center its rage on my right hand, feeling as if my skin were being pulled from my bones. Pressure began to build in my head, bringing with it a deafening ringing in my ears. I covered either side of my head as the ringing continued to grow and the pressure continued to build.
Another shrill scream ripped through me, weakening my legs to nothing. I fell flat on the ground of familiar dirt. Tears pooled into small mud drops in the dirt as the heat of the fire warmed my now chilled skin. A wave of tranquility washed over me, riding my sore muscles to bring a calming sensation over me. My body grew limp as the pressure subsided and the ringing faded. I watched the dancing flames in the pit as darkness crept around it, stealing it into the night.
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