Chapter 31 THE SPELL
He threw the severed part on the dirt in front of the man's face.
"Eat it. Now" Nikolai commanded.
The man’s body racked with violent tremors, his face a mask of snot, tears, and the copper-scented blood that continued to pool beneath him.
He looked up at Nikolai, his eyes wide and pleading, searching for a shred of mercy that didn't exist in the heart of a three-hundred-year-old demon.
"Please..." he whimpered, his voice a pathetic, high-pitched scrape. "I'll leave... I'll go back to Canada... I'll never touch her again... just please, don't make me do this"
Nikolai tucked his hands into his pockets.
"You didn't listen when she begged," Nikolai said,. "You didn't stop when she cried. Why should I grant you a luxury you denied her?"
He stepped closer, the heel of his expensive boot crushing the man’s fingers into the dirt. "Eat it. Or I will skin you alive and feed you to yourself, piece by piece, starting with your tongue so I don't have to hear your filth anymore"
The uncle looked down at the mangled, bloody mass of his own manhood lying in the dirt. The stench was unbearable. Realizing there was no escape, his hand shook as he reached out, his fingers slick with gore.
With a sob that sounded like a wounded animal, he picked up the severed flesh. His breath hitched, his entire body rejecting the act, but the shadow of Nikolai looming over him was a fate far worse.
He closed his eyes, hot tears streaming down his cheeks, and pushed the cold, rubbery tissue into his mouth. The metallic taste of his own blood exploded on his tongue. He began to chew, the sound a sickening, wet squelch that echoed off the cavern walls. He was crying bitterly, his throat tightening with every swallow, forced to consume the very thing he had used to destroy a child's world.
Nikolai watched with a look of cold, satisfied disgust. "Good" he murmured.
He turned to Karina, who was already tracing glowing purple runes into the air with her blackened fingernails.
"He's ready" Nikolai stated.
Karina didn't waste a second. She raised her arms, her fingers clawing at the air as the ancient words spilled from her lips.
"Sanguis pro umbra, vita pro corpore! Exhauri spiritum, liga carnem!"
As the spell reached its peak, her eyes turned a terrifying, milky white. A violent surge of purple energy erupted from the center of the ritual circle.
The uncle, still sobbing and choking on his own flesh, was lifted off the ground as if by invisible wires. He let out one final, muffled shriek before a blinding crimson spark filled the cavern.
When the light faded, the man was gone. Not a bone or a drop of blood remained where he had hovered. In his place, a single, glowing ruby red ring floated in the air, pulsing like a heartbeat.
Karina reached out and snatched the ring from the air. She walked over to the black cat, who was waiting. Without wasting time, she pressed the ring against the cat's forehead.
In seconds, Shadow transformed to a human completely naked.
"As long as you have that ring on you, you can transform whenever you like" Karina said.
Shadow stood up and he looked down at his hands, a grin spreading across his face.
"Finally! Remind me that I owe you a good fuck for this"
Thwack!
Karina’s staff hit him squarely in the center of his chest, knocking the wind out of him.
"That was cruel!" Shadow groaned, clutching his ribs, though the grin didn't leave his face.
Nikolai, who had watched the entire process with detached boredom, pulled out a bundle of black fabric. He threw the clothes at Shadow’s face.
"Wear that," Nikolai commanded. "We’re going to the mall to get you something that doesn't smell like a cave"
Shadow caught the clothes, pulling on the black trousers.
"Finally! My own clothes. No more sitting on the floor licking my paws"
Karina rolled her eyes.
Nikolai turned away from Shadow and stepped toward Karina.
"Are you sure she's not human?" Nikolai asked.
Karina met his gaze. "She’s not. Trust me"
"How come I'm not feeling that aura from her?" Nikolai pressed on. He had lived for three centuries... he knew the scent of every supernatural creature under the moon, yet Anya smelled only of honey.
"I don't know either," Karina said, folding her arms over her chest as she leaned back against the damp stone. "Like I said, you have to find out yourself. There are things buried in her that even she hasn't discovered yet"
Nikolai narrowed his eyes but didn't push further. He gestured for Shadow to follow. The duo walked the dark tunnels of the cave until they landed on the main road, where Nikolai’s black car sat parked.
Shadow slid into the passenger seat. He admired the ring on his finger... the ruby glowed with a dark, satisfied light.
"If Anya isn't human, then what is she?" Shadow asked.
"I don't know either," Nikolai replied, sliding behind the steering wheel. The engine roared to life, a low growl that vibrated through the chassis. "Guess I have to find out myself. It shouldn't be that hard"
Shadow looked out the window at the passing trees. "Your family thinks you did the killings in the woods two nights ago. Won't you clarify that?"
"No" Nikolai said bluntly.
Shadow shrugged, leaning his head back against the leather headrest. "Fair enough. Let them fear the monster they think you are"
"After we leave the mall," Nikolai added, his eyes fixed on the road ahead, "there's somewhere else we are visiting"
Shadow raised his dark eyebrows, his lips curling into a sharp, knowing smirk.
"Is it where I'm thinking?" Shadow asked.
"It's exactly where you're thinking" Nikolai replied, his grip tightening on the leather-wrapped steering wheel.
He reached up, tilting the rearview mirror toward himself. He examined his features... the sharp line of his jaw, the thick dark hair, and those row of perfectly white teeth.
"Cute" he murmured, a self-satisfied smirk playing on his lips.