The Terror Gaze: Book 2 of The Mortal Guard Series

Chapter 11 - Boris: King of the Mountain

Chapter 11 - Boris: "King of the Mountain"

Boris awoke to the same eyes that he had never seen in person, but had been acquainted with thanks to the wooden fox puppet Absalom had introduced him to.

He jolted and tried getting up, but his shoulders were pushed down against the bed by the fox that was on top of him.

"You're not going anywhere," the animal said, keeping his gaze. "Don't even try it."

Boris swallowed. "H-how long have you been there?"

The red fox simply blinked. "Two hours."

That made the otter's heart drop. Then, he gasped. "Oh my god, oh my god, I killed Leah. OH GOD! I—"

The man held firm. "QUIET!"

"BUT I—" Boris continued to thrash about.

"SHUT IT AND CALM DOWN!" the figure hissed.

"I CAN'T! I CAN'T!" Boris yelled as tears streamed from the corners of his eyes. "I'M—" A large paw was clamped over his mouth then, pushing his head back into the bed.

"I am going to hold this here until you relax," the animal told him, not budging an inch.

Boris mumbled futilely into his palm, panting against it as he continued to panic. It took him a good while to come down, but eventually, his breathing slowed and he blinked slowly.

The fox nodded, pulling his hand away carefully. "There we go."

"Who are you?" Boris asked though he was certain he already knew. He regretted that his voice came out shakily.

"My name is King," the animal told him. "You're safe."

"How did I get here?"

"You came through the mirror while I was using it. Crashed right into me and blacked out after. Are you alright?"

Boris's eyes moved back and forth between King's. "What?"

"Physically. Are you okay?"

"My head kinda hurts . . . " Boris muttered. He jolted again. "OH MY GODS, ABSALOM IS BACK. HE—"

"Relax!" King almost yelled. "Absalom jumped back into me. You're fine as of now."

"Jumped back?" the otter queried.

"Do you know how he has been gone these last months? Well, he's been hiding inside me. I only tell you this so you understand that he isn't gone and probably never will be."

Boris felt despair pour over him like acid rain. "No . . . I was free . . . Normal. It can't be true. The ritual—"

"Was almost successful. In fact, it might have worked if Absalom didn't have me to fall back on," King explained. "We are lucky."

"Lucky?! Are you insane?!"

"I don't need to explain myself to you," King told him, finally getting off of his body and moving back on the mattress. It was now that Boris realized the animal was only wearing a pair of navy blue underwear.

"Why aren't you wearing any clothes?" The animal ventured, slowly sitting up.

"They're restrictive," King answered. "It's my home and I can do whatever I want."

"I suppose . . . " Boris looked around then, seeing that the room had been set up as a living space, a single glowing lamp lighting the area up. A few golden-framed pictures of things he didn't understand hung on the walls, and a desk full of crumpled papers sat in the corner of the room. The walls were painted a beige color, warm and inviting. "Where are we, anyway?"