Obsession

Chapter 34

Thirty-Four

G rayson's plans finally came to a head, leading to a tense confrontation. His actions echoed through the mansion, the smell of fear and blood thick in the air.

As Callum and Ren burst from the passageway into a larger chamber of the mansion, Grayson swooped in to haul Ren’s battered body up from where Callum had dropped her to seal the secret passageway behind them.

“Ouch. Put me down.”

She fought Grayson’s attempts to carry her off. Though he was too strong for her in every way, she still tried.

“You are mine. Trust me when I say you don’t want to be down there when they break through that door.” Grayson said plainly.

“What have you done?” Ren questioned.

Grayson’s cold touch was a sharp reminder of the danger Ren was in, the tangible threat of his power sending a chill down her spine.

Callum made a quick attempt to throw his body weight into the door to slam it shut, but the pack was too close.

“I need help sealing this off!” Callum shouted.

Several arms shot through the narrow gap before the door could seal them back behind the walls. They howled in pain and rage as they pushed through each other, leaking through the crack like puss oozing from an infected wound.

“There’s too many of them. I can’t hold them off.” His words were falling on deaf ears.

A dozen or so slipped through before Bastian arrived, stirred by the sound of the commotion, and slammed into the door with the full force of his charge.

“Push now!” Bastian told Callum.

He leapt with so much ferocity, that the frail arms snapped like dried twigs. Mangled and broken bones, black blood, and leathery skin covered the floor in front of the book shelf covered door.

Callum severed several arms with the heavy brass sculpture that sat on the shelf next to him, as Bastian sealed the door with one more full body push. They both turned to the remnants of the swarm that had slipped through and let out a combined primal roar.

“Just like old times, eh brother?” Bastian asked.

“Just like old times.” Callum confirmed.

The pack of rogues shrieked and swarmed toward the pair. Their concentration on self preservation rather than anything else they chose to fight side by side and put aside any petty differences they had.

While Bastian took long breaths and focussed his energy. Callum hissed loudly. Both were as prepared for combat as they could be at that moment. Each one looked larger than they should be, their muscled bodies were ripped and pumped up.

Bastian caught two as they charged directly at him.

“Not going anywhere.” Bastian captured one in each hand and smashed their heads together so hard they exploded into a garbled mess of fractured skull and brains. The dark blood and sinewy mess coated him and the surrounding furnishings in the room.

He stopped a third with his foot going directly into his midsection. His leg exploded through the spine of the starved and pale creature. Gore and guts hung from the fabric of his pants as the remnants of the formerly moving creature flopped with a wet splat to the ground.

He flung the headless corpses at two others who charged him and bit the shoulder of yet another.

Bastian tore the mutated creature’s arm off and began swinging with such savage blows that the bones in the mangled attacker nearly disintegrated from the force.

Callum lunged forward standing tall and clawed with all of his might. The force of his unearthly power left deep black tears in the flesh of the creatures. He grasped the throat of one of the grotesque beings with his non-dominant hand and squeezed while he pushed away with his other hand. The throat ripped out of the mindless mutant and took with it what remained of its tongue and trachea. Blood sprayed in all directions like a park’s water fountain.

One of the creatures slipped around behind Callum. Its mandible spread open sideways while a tongue-like appendage with a circular orifice covered in rows of jagged teeth protruded and latched to Callum’s leg.

The creature’s strange protrusion began pumping as it sucked blood out like a leech. As Callum turned to slap it away, the thing’s jaw snapped shut like a bear trap, hard enough to snap Callum’s leg. He hissed and screamed in pain, unable to return the attack. Some kind of toxin was stealing his ability to heal while it fed on him.

“Help me.” He cried out to Bastian. HIs hand was in the air as if he was reaching for him.

Bastian had his hands full, literally with two more of the starved creatures that were still making advances on them.

“I will kill every last one of you bastards!” Bastian gritted out through his clenched teeth.

Ren gasped as she watched the last two creatures whirling to attack Callum while he waited for his healing to slowly knit the mangled bone back together.

Grayson stood stock still holding Ren close to his chest, and covered her mouth with his large hand to prevent her from drawing any more attention in their direction.

Her screams were muffled behind Grayson’s strong grip, no one and nothing looked in their direction. Just as Grayson intended.

The moment slowed to a blur, as fear gripped her heart and squeezed. The wicked paced and rhythmic thud in her chest ached to her very bones with terror.