Dangerous Diabolical: Book 1 (Iridescent) ✔️

5.2

He rushed right past me, face determined. From above the beat of wings shredded the air and I felt the force of them pushing down as the beast followed after him. He spared a glance backwards to see its wings, the shadow blocking out what remained of the sun. Seeing him stumbling, I clenched my teeth sharply, standing to follow.

The screaming from the valley became louder, and the shadow from above sped past toward it, wings outstretched.

"No!" Leofstan shouted, unable to keep pace. Sliding in the dirt he stumbled his way down. I struggled to keep pace, tripping over bricks and sinking into the mud. Like a man possessed he barrelled his way down.

The flames from the town doubled, the screaming intensified and the air grew thick with smoke until I lost sight of him, shrouded inside of it.

"Leofstan!" I shouted, pushing my way past an overturned barrel. A dark silhouette was running in front, and I ran towards it. From above a giant claw outstretched.

"WATCH..." The loudness of my voice surprised me as it seized the person mid-swoop, jolting them off the ground with a sickening crunch.

I slid to a stop. "...Out," I mumbled the last word, grimacing. Damn.

"Aenor!" Came the recognisable gruff voice further into the smoke. I took a deep breath as I realised that had been someone else. Following the sound of his shout, I travelled further into the smoke, squinting my eyes. A hazy patch ahead drew my attention, the smouldering glow drawing me closer.

It was the remains of where a wooden house would've stood. The thatching was almost burnt away, the timber beams splintered and collapsing under their own weight. A slim figure lay pinned under one of the collapse support beams. My heart skipped a beat. She was pinned, unable to crawl free and whimpering.

My stomach growled.

A small girl appeared, grasping uselessly at the pinned woman's arms, trying to pull her free. The flames licked closely at her mud-soaked cotton shift.

Both of them saw him at once, looking towards the figure bursting from the smoke. The woman began weeping as he threw aside his shield and sword, throwing his arms to grab for anything he could get a purchase on to lift it. It didn't budge.

He let out a long, deep guttural cry. Ugh, fine. I'd eaten a rabbit that looked less sorry for itself.

Meandering over I bent down to lend him a hand, reaching to wrap my arms around the scorching wood. Now I could add a lecture about my strength to the list of council woes.

Only, it didn't work.

I almost toppled over as my hands passed straight through the wood. Jolting back to look at my hands they were unquestionably solid. Leofstan was still trying to hoist up the beam, his skin coated in sooty ash leaving the pinks of his eyes a stark contrast. Not once did he look at me, or the other two humans. As I looked down I realised my feet were completely clear of mud, and as I stepped backwards there wasn't even an indent where I'd stood.

Holy cow I was dead, maybe. How did one decide if they were dead anyway? It wasn't like I was in hell. To be honest, people dying, a village burning, and carnage were my idea of a good time. Watching Leofstan pull with every inch of strength he had, the fire burning deep into his arms made me realise if anything, this was his hell. But what had it got to do with me?

The little girl saw what he was doing and tried to help, attempting to lift helplessly too. She had Leofstan's soft curling brown hair. "Fader!" She cried helplessly, then, a string of words from a language unfamiliar. The pinned woman tried to hold out her arms to him, and he knelt to her, tears rolling from his face leaving dirt-marred trails down his cheeks. She cradled his face gently, as he held her what he could of her.