THE LORD AND HIS RAVEN

The devil

I squirmed underneath his gaze. My skin flushed and I tried to look away but for a strange reason, I couldn’t pull my gaze away from those eyes. He was definitely not what I thought he was. Not with those grey eyes or structured nose and chin. And here I thought Logan was handsome. This man was dressed in a plain black shirt and pants and a black robe that stopped below his knees and covered his neck. Yet, he looked like a god fell from the sky. He looked divine in his very form and making. And for what looked like forever, I could not look away from those lovely eyes as they held mine.

Not till he forced his gaze away from mine and started walking. Only then, did I realise that I had been holding my breath. He walked past me and for a slight moment, I thought I felt a woosh of cold air come from him. My heart melted in my chest. Even the way he walked spoke of power, strength, confidence, regality and the very essence of perfection. Yet danger swoon around him.

“Ladies….” A voice cut through the air, pulling me out of my thoughts and back to my present predicament. Fortunately, he had not taken a seat by the left, which indicated that he was not one of the men who were participating in buying us. But he had neither taken a seat at the crowd as well. Where he sat was furthest away even. From anyone and anything.

“Take off your mask…” the voice pulled me out of my thoughts again. My heart skipped and I quickly looked around. One after the other, the ladies before me started taking off their masks. And the cheering and whistling returned with a lot more enthusiasm. This went on and louder with each lady that revealed her face, till it finally got to my turn. I swallowed hard, trying not to panic, but everything was screaming at me now. Nothing good had come out of anything that pertained to these people. I could feel it right at the back of my tongue, the very taste of something bad about to unfold.

“Take off your mask, Raven…” Phineas roared and a tremble ran down my spine. The

cheering died down now and everyone was looking and waiting. I swallowed again, seeing as I had no choice. Slowly and nervously, I undid my mask and took it off my face, while keeping my eyes shut.

Gasps filled the air, just as I had expected.

“It’s true…” Murmurs came.

“But she died. He killed her.”

“Is she truly a spy? She should have been killed immediately…”

Their whispering rose. Then it suddenly became quiet. Too quiet and the only sound that grazed my ears were footsteps, confident, powerful, overwhelming, angry footsteps.

I opened my eyes, only to find the cloak figure walking towards me. The girls around me instantly moved away and a certain dread ran down the pit of my stomach and tied itself into a knot.

I took a step back, panic and fear overwhelming me in waves and trembles, every part of me shook. His eyes. His grey beautiful eyes suddenly looked icy blue. And the air, the air was turning chilly, like there was a heavy snow downpour. But his eyes didn’t leave me and the closer he came, the more I smelt death. The more I felt him grazing my skin with its cold chill, the more I felt him wrap his hands around my neck.

Till he stopped in front of me. His presence was overwhelming. There was a certain pressure in the air. It threatened to knock me down to my knees.

Swiftly, he grabbed my neck, closing his hand around it so quickly, so easily, then he pulled me close till I stood on my toe tips that my lips were mere inches away from his lips. His breath fanned my face and his scent coated my skin. Up close, he looked divine. In a sinful way. His eyes, the bridge in his nose, the fairness of his skin, the shape of his lips. He was perfection. And he was killing me.

“It’s you.” His voice thundered dimly. My heart flipped and dropped to the pit of my stomach in heavy, musical delight. Then he pulled me closer, his lips right there, almost touching mine. There was something in his eyes now, something dark, yet warm. Something that made my skin churn in a light buzz, yet set me ablaze till everything hurt. He lifted his hand to the side of my face and gently caressed my skin with his cold hands. A tremble ran through me and my legs turned jelly underneath me. Right before his eyes turned red. And His hold around my neck tightened as he lifted me off the ground, taking the look of the devil himself. I thought I had seen death, looked it right in the eye. No, this was death. He wanted to hurt me. Not just once, but over and over and over again.

“I will enjoy ripping your heart from your chest while you scream.” He growled. My vision darkened for a second and I tried to gasp for air, but his hold was strong. He didn’t want to choke me to my death. He was going to snap my neck.

“Ender….” A growl followed right before something sped past me and I fell to the floor with a bang. I coughed, finding it hard to breathe or swallow. My neck hurt and I wrapped my hand around it, only to feel a strange coldness around it.

“Up…” someone pulled me up, bringing me back. I turned to find Logan holding the man called Ender against the wall and everywhere in chaos.

“Come on…” Ren took my hand, but almost immediately, the guard on black armour stepped in front of us. I took a step back, only to find Phineas standing in front of me almost immediately. He let out a challenging growl and cold ran down my spine.

Ren held me tightly, pulling me even closer to him. Guards immediately slammed through the door and men and women suddenly stood up in a weird stance. So quickly, the air became thick and hard to breathe in and eyes glowed in familiar strange colours. Red, the colour of the wolf. And they were all ready for a blood bath.

“They are all beasts….” That thought had my knees buckling as I almost collapsed. Someone grabbed my waist and Phineas turned to me.

“Did I give you too much credit?” He growled at me.

“Logan….” A more terrifying voice boomed into the air and everyone stilled at the voice of the king.

Prince Logan didn’t move away from Ender and when I thought he would just kill the man on black, he stepped away and turned to me. His eyes, just a similar shade of red.

“Ender….” The king called out and everyone turned to him. They all looked ready to fight, but they were frightened. I could tell from the distance they all gave him.

Logan started towards me and didn’t stop till he was in front of me. His raging eyes cleared to reveal those bright amber and he took a deep breath. He took my hands and immediately turned to the entrance.

“Logan….” Ender suddenly roared and a chilly wind coated me instantly. Logan paused and turned to him. He started towards us. Guards who were supposed to stop him from moving gave way frightfully and Logan pushed me behind his back.

“I should have known this was the game you were playing from the beginning…” He stopped in front of us. And with the both of them so close, it seemed I was watching two lions come head-to-head.

He smirked and my stomach dropped to the floor. It made my legs wobble. He turned to me and his eyes flashed blue, then red. A sudden pressure hit the air, slamming me down to my knees almost immediately.

“She is human…” he smiled and bent down till he was right at my eye level. I raised my gaze to meet his and they were back to grey again.

“Run….” My very core screamed.

“YOU. ARE. IRREVOCABLY. MINE.” He growled.