Smokescreen: A Collection of Vignettes

Chapter 40

Sakura couldn't scream. She slowly retreated backwards but the revenant followed. Her back hit the wall. This wasn't Smoke. He had been dead for twenty seven years. This was a demon. The gray eyes that she had known were an eerie, reddish-orange color, reflecting the Netherrealm. She could smell the brimstone and blood on him. His skin was pale and cracked. No. It wasn't her former lover at all. This was an Enenra. It had been years since she had last seen one. Most of the smoke demons weren't malevolent, but this one was under the power of the Netherrealm. She sighed. Why did Smoke keep that from her? Was her romance with him a lie?

"Your death was a lie." The revenant said.

"Huh?"

The demon grabbed her face and forced her to look at him. The young woman shivered at his cold hands. She knew what he was referring to. She had faked her own death just so she could return to the moon and to escape the sorcerers' attempt at stealing her soul. She had wanted to open a portal between her realm and Earthrealm so it could be a place to escape to for her friends.

"I saw you die and yet you live. You still look as you did twenty-seven years ago. Explain."

Sakura forced her courage to the forefront. He didn't know about her heritage. It was her mystical heritage that kept her young.

"That is none of your concern."

"It is." The revenant growled. "It is my concern when it comes to you, moonbeam."

That was the nickname Smoke had given her when he had been alive. She had always been fond of the moon, and he had noticed. She had been planning to tell him about her secret realm and her plans to open a portal between both realms before he died. The demon pressed his body up against her, pinning her to the wall.

"Do you know how long I've mourned you?"

He mourned her? Was her Smoke still in there somewhere? The thought he could still express that thought was surprising. He was supposed to be a soulless husk. The revenant removed his mask. While his face was the face that Sakura remembered, it was marred with evil and corruption. Considering the position they both stood at, he could easily kill her if he wanted to. Her breath hitched when he suddenly kissed her.

Gods, how she missed his kisses. It didn't matter if he was dead. While none of them were this passionate and desperate, she had missed having his lips on hers. There had been times where they had come close to giving themselves over to each other, but they were always interrupted. It hadn't meant to be.

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The revenant pinned her wrists to the wall as he took from her. He needed more of her. He needed her sweetness upon his tongue. Ever since he had been told that Sakura had been alive the entire time, and saw proof, he had been thinking of ways to get her alone. Quan Chi had promised Sakura as his reward if they successfully conquered Earthrealm. The Enenra was no fool, however. The sorcerer was a master of deception. His words couldn't be taken at full value. It didn't matter, though. He had her here in his grasp once more. He could take her body and soul to the sorcerer and have her reanimated as a revenant, too. Whatever secrets she held would be discovered as well.

He pulled away from Sakura. Her lovely amethyst eyes gazed at him with shock and longing. The revenant still wanted more. He wanted to corrupt her and her beautiful soul. He wanted to make her his.

"Mine."

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"Oh!"

Sakura felt flushed as he ground against her. She knew that she shouldn't allow this. She needed to call for help. One of the members of the Special Forces team was just nearby. Yet, she couldn't bring herself to do it. There was still good in the revenant. She sensed it. She could use her moon magic to save him!

And yet...

He had awakened something dark and primal inside her. It clawed at her to get out. Her body wanted to respond to his desire. Instead, she tried to summon her magic. She felt it running through her veins, light and warm. As it came to her fingertips, the revenant suddenly slammed into her, making her lose concentration.

"Come back to me, Sakura."

Sakura could no longer resist and rolled her hips against her former lover. The revenant lifted her up and her legs wrapped around his waist. The twenty-seven years of longing and grieving Smoke proved too much.

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The next morning, Sonya and Johnny went looking for Sakura. She had missed her physical training and she had missed her briefing with them. They had both found it odd and worrisome. She had never done that before. They had searched the entire base high and low. No one had seen her. Cassie went off with Jaqui to search the area.

"Where could she be?"

They finally came to her room. They knocked at first. No response. They tried opening the door and calling out to her. Locked and still no response. Something was clearly wrong with this picture. Johnny finally broke the door down after a few tries. As the two went inside, they noticed there were signs of a potential struggle, but it was the whiff of smoke and brimstone that gave it away to what had happened.

"Shit."