Ch. 149

Ch. 149
The monster rears back for another strike as I struggle to maintain my footing in the treacherous mud.
In the corner of my eye, I catch glimpses of Perris struggling against the phantoms, his eyes wild with rage, his thrashing body pinned by spectral claws driven deep into his shoulders. The vampire phantoms flicker in and out of visibility as they hold him down, ruthless in their efforts to bully him into complacency.
“Carlisle!” He shouts, more like a battle cry than anything, as he hikes up a knee and slams his boot clear through a phantom’s ribcage.
I want to scream in excitement, but the monster demands my full attention as it launches another barbed tentacle toward my face.
I dive left, narrowly avoiding impalement, but my mud-slick feet slide out from under me. I crash to my knees, the impact jarring my already-bruised shoulder. The monster doesn't waste the advantage. Before I can recover, a whip-like appendage lashes across the clearing and catches me squarely across my upper back. The force lifts me clean off the ground, sending me flying into the gnarled trunk of a twisted tree.
The impact drives the air from my lungs in an explosive gasp. Stars burst across my vision as my head snaps back against rough bark. Pain blossoms outward from my spine, radiating through every nerve ending in a symphony of agony that momentarily whites out all thought. I slide down the trunk, landing in a heap of mud and torn clothing, my body screaming protest at the abuse.
But I can't stay down. Not with that thing still hunting us. Not with Perris still trapped.
I force my eyes open, willing my lungs to expand despite the crushing pain in my ribs. My vision clears just in time to see the monster advancing, its mouth grinding with anticipation of an easier meal. Behind it, Perris watches with livid eyes as the female phantom snarls in his ear, slowly raking her skeletal claws across his face.
"Do you see?" I hear her hiss, her voice carrying across the clearing with unnatural clarity. "Everyone who tries to help you suffers. Everyone you touch is destroyed."
Something shifts in Perris's expression—a flicker of awareness breaking through the haze of pain as he refuses to take his eyes off of me. His red gaze focuses on me as I struggle to push myself upright, my back screaming in protest, blood trickling warm and sticky down my temple. I see something raw and vulnerable crack open behind his usual mask of aristocratic smugness.
"Don’t let them do this to you, Perris," I gasp, using the tree to haul myself to my feet. My legs tremble with the effort, but I force myself to stand straight. "Whatever happened to your mother, it wasn't your fault. Come back to me."
The phantom hisses in rage, her form solidifying as she grabs Perris’s jaw in one hand, trying to force his gaze from mine. “She lies. They all lie,” it hisses. “Lie and die. It’s what you deserve!”
The monster shifts direction, sensing my weakened state, its appendages spreading wide to prevent escape. I need to move —find another weapon —but my body won't respond quickly enough. “Oh, fuck off!”
"You know nothing of the sins staining his soul," the child phantom sneers, circling Perris's head like toxic smoke. "He ran while she burned. Heard his mother’s screams and still he fled."
"Sounds like a shitty situation, but correct me if I’m wrong," I call out, echoing Perris's earlier protest. I take a staggering step forward, ignoring the wave of dizziness that threatens to send me back to my knees. "Running and hiding is what children do, and I doubt even the great Perris Lanore was all that impressive as a kid."
The monster strikes again, a barbed tentacle slashing through the air where my head had been a second before. I drop and roll, crying out as my injured back hits the ground. The movement carries me closer to where Perris lies, bleeding like a faucet, chest heaving, torn to ribbons by his own demons.
And still his eyes are on me.
"Perris!" I scream his name as I scramble back to my feet. "Snap the hell out of it!"
His head jerks up, red eyes meeting mine with startling intensity. The phantom with military regalia flickers slightly, its grip on Perris's arm loosening for just a moment. Perris's eyes widen, the red glow flickering with something like recognition.
The monster lunges again, forcing me to dive sideways, landing hard on my injured shoulder. I bite back a scream, tasting blood where I've bitten my cheek.
""I need you," I gasp, pushing myself up on trembling arms. "Clearly, I can’t do this without you."
The phantoms shriek in unison, their forms wavering like heat mirages as Perris begins to straighten, the muscles in his neck and forearms straining against the phantoms as they concentrate the last of their energy into their corporeal forms to pin Perris down. His hands, once limp at his sides, slowly curl into fists.
"I won’t let you die here, Carlisle," he says, his voice rough with emotion but stronger than before.
I grin, meeting his gaze directly despite the monster closing in behind me. "Promise?”
Something shifts in the air between us, an almost palpable tension that makes the fetid atmosphere around us stand still. The lamprey monster pauses, as if sensing a disturbance in the prey it considers already caught. The phantoms' whispers grow more frantic, more desperate as they dig their fingers deeper into Perris's flesh.
"You belong with your people," the female phantom hisses. "The Houses need their heir. Your father waits, your responsibilities—"
"My responsibilities," Perris interrupts, his voice dropping to a dangerous register I've never heard before. "Mine to choose. Mine to bear."
With a ferocious growl, Perris sits up, then stands. Dark blood pours from him in rivulets, but he doesn’t seem to even notice the numerous gaping wounds covering his face and torso. The aristocratic bones of his face seem to sharpen, his fangs gleaming in the eerie light as his lips pull back in a defiant snarl.
"You don't control me," he growls, the words vibrating with power. "None of you do."
The phantom with military regalia reaches for him with skeletal fingers, but Perris's hand shoots up, catching the spectral wrist in a grip that should be impossible given their insubstantial nature. The phantom's form begins to tear like wet paper where he touches it.
The phantoms shriek in unified rage, but their forms have begun to dissolve, wisping away like smoke in a strong wind. The one with the child's face makes a final, desperate lunge toward Perris, skeletal hands outstretched to reclaim him, but he doesn't even look at it. He simply waves a dismissive hand, and the phantom tears apart, dissolving into the mist from which it formed.
With a final wail of defeat, the remaining phantoms disintegrate, leaving behind nothing but tendrils of mist that curl across the swamp's surface before dissipating completely.
"Get down!" He shouts in warning as the monster lunges toward my unprotected back.