Darkness' Embrace Ch. 2 – Exposing Faces
Author's note: Finally I'm getting to update this story. I'll admit this was one I was really excited about doing after I got the feedback from you guys for the last one. I hope that you continue to leave your reviews and tell me what to think. That's how I grow as a writer after all. It's all thanks to you guys that I've come this far as it is and I greatly appreciate all of the help and support you've offered me. Also! While it may not be as exciting as the next chapter of MOAYGH or S&F or SC, I've decided to start my own Nuzlocke Pokemon journey and publish it on . Chances are the chapters will be shorter, and the truth is I'm terrible at drawing, so I won't be publishing a comic form of it. While it's really more for my own benefit, you guys are more than welcome to check it out once I've published it.
-Kiba Elunal
My hands shook nervously as I reached back down and picked up the candle once again. With another flame, my eyes scanned the room to discover that I was in fact not mistaken in my view. My breath caught in my lungs as I turned, finding that every wall as well as both the floor and ceiling were covered in dark circles of black magic. They were made of a deep crimson violet and with just a sniff the answer came quickly: human blood. All around the floor were bones of various humans, the meat picked clean from them. Curiously they all were positioned just so that the largest magic circle of them all was stationed in the center of the room, free of their bones.
Turning to face the door I immediately went to break it down only to find that it had somehow vanished behind me leaving me trapped in this nightmarish prison. "Release me!" I shouted, expecting that Evelynn would be able to hear me from inside. Despite my demands, nothing occurred. I don't know why I felt that would help me. If anything she probably enjoyed my predicament even more. I walked around the room, careful to step around the magic circle. I measured every wall using the length of my staff: twenty lengths by fifteen. At least the room was spacious.
Every step I took caused a small clatter of bones on stone, which is why to my surprise when I kicked a skull a small leather-bound book fell to the ground. I reached down retrieving the small journal and began to flip through the pages. The man seemed to have a similar case to my own, detailing how he had come to the island by rowboat, only to wind up on the beach stripped of his possessions. He claimed the Gods were testing him, though if that were the case his Gods were not the merciful sort. Having managed to stumble around for a while he said he managed to locate the source of the island's corruption, but when I turned the page to find out more, I discovered it had been ripped from the journal.
I knelt down moving aside skeletons as I attempted to locate the missing journal entry, but my actions were interrupted by a strange purple glow from a magic circle on the ceiling. In its center I could see Evelynn's wicked grin. "Good evening Flint. Enjoying your room?" I turned towards her growling angrily.
"I've had enough of your games trickster! Release me at once!"
"And spoil the fun?" She asked with a giggle. "Sorry, I don't think I will…but if you could do me a favor and stand there in the center of the room I'd be really grateful." I folded my arms, not unlike a stubborn child I regret to say.
"Why should I do anything you ask of me at all?" I asked. "You tricked me into thinking you could be trusted only to shove me into a room full of the dead and damned, and now you're asking me to trust you enough to stand in a circle of blood that reeks of black magic? You must be either stupid or crazy."
Her brow wrinkled, obviously I had pushed some button that I shouldn't have. Before long though her expression went back to the normal pouty flirt that she usually wore, and she spoke again. "Well…I would be lying if I were to say you were the first to resist. But that's okay, you just need a bit of incentive." There was a sound of metal grinding on metal and I looked around myself in horror to find the walls slowly closing in. She really was insane! So I had to choose between willingly volunteering myself to her horrors and being crushed to death by her ridiculous trap. "It's a little cliché," she said examining her fingernails in boredom, "but I can't deny its effectiveness." I found myself quickly being pushed by the wall towards the center of the room, bracing my shoulder against it I pushed as hard as I could to no avail. I desperately looked for some solution and upon looking at the sides of the wall I could see a small opening where the gears were grinding together.
In great desperation I took hold of my staff and without a second thought I shoved it hard into the grooves of the wall, causing the cogs to stop with a sickening crunch as my staff jammed them at the price of its usability. The immediate threat gone I turned back to glare at Evelynn to find her smiling. "To be truthful, you're not the first to do that either. Look just go stand in the circle, I promise it's not like it'll kill you or anything. All of these guys in here died because they just starved to death."
"Not dying is what worries me." I muttered to myself as visions of moving corpses with flesh rotting off the bones assaulted my mind. Despite my words I found myself moving towards the circle. I knew that whatever she did to me would be bad, but it was also my only way out of this stone cage. As I entered the circle I ended up tripping on a skull causing me to crash to the floor hard.
"Are you okay?" She asked. Her voice showed genuine concern much to my surprise.
"Y-yeah. I'm fine." I muttered as I placed my hands down on the circle and slowly stood to my feet. "There…are you happy now?" I asked shortly.
"Very." She purred as the circle began to glow around me. "It'll be nice to have some eternal company…only one person so far has survived the transformation process to become a beast of the night like yours truly." My eye stared up at her as the irises expanded, taking on an icy blue hue.
"Sorry…but you're a little annoying to be with forever." I laughed holding up my hand. My fingernails were covered in the blood I'd managed to scratch off the floor.
"What did you do?!" She shouted in a panic.
"I pretended to trip so you wouldn't notice as I scratched up part of your circle."
"Idiot! That was going to transport you! Now I don't know where you'll end up!" The door suddenly opened as Evelynn ran in, racing towards me. The last thing I saw was her panic stricken face as the crimson light wrapped around me in a swirling cyclone. I braced myself, unsure of what would happen as I felt my spiritual energy being sucked from my body. I gasped as my body began to fall and turning around I found myself heading towards a strange pool of water. Grasping on to a branch I managed to catch myself while falling so that I was just above the pond's surface. I laughed softly at my good fortune. I had narrowly managed falling into the sickly green liquid. I swung carefully to the pool's edge managing to reach dry land where I snapped off the branch. Closing my eyes I began to harness my druidic magic to craft myself a new staff, but unfortunately my luck had run out. My eyes snapped open as I realized that for the first time in a long time the spirits were silent. I could no longer hear their wisdom or feel their embrace. For the first time since I'd landed on the island, I felt the cold chill of the ghostly wind that ran through the trees and as though I were completely alone.
I was helpless in a world where everything was to be considered an enemy, even the air I breathed, and I had no way to fight back or defend myself now. I could hear some crackling coming from a nearby hedge and I immediately stood behind one of the dead trees, praying that I'd be undiscovered. Glancing out from my protective cover I was stunned to see a goliath of a man, glowing like a phantom. His armor shined in the light and he wielded a nasty looking spear, but what really turned my blood to ice was the fact that his lower half was that of a horse. "Hecarim." A ghostly voice wailed from the pools. "Hecarim. Remember who you are Hecarim." As I leaned out further to get a better look I felt a twig snap beneath my foot. I managed to hide just as he turned his head and after a moment I peered back out to see if he had gone. Sure enough nobody was around, it was only me. I didn't know what that eerie green ooze was, but one thing was for sure, I wanted nothing to do with it.
I suddenly felt the rush of wind just above my head, pieces of my dark brown hair falling around me from where they were sliced. The tree behind me slid apart, the great giant glaring at me. He had sliced through the trunk in one swing?! "Intruding mortal!" He bellowed, "You will be freed from your prison of life!" Immediately I tore off away from him, darting this way and that through the trees as he gave chase. Who was this guy? What was he?
Looking over my shoulder I saw him hot on my heels, slicing this way and that as dead trees fell around us. Seeing an overgrown thicket I managed to slide along the muddy floor through a small opening at the bottom, finding myself on a steep slope. Able to regain my balance just enough to hit the field on the other side running, I turned back to see the spectral centaur burst though the underbrush before sliding down after me, a wave of mud and grime fanning behind him like a rooster's tail. With nothing between us but empty grassland he had me at his mercy, and it seemed he didn't have any. "Now you shall join us…all of us…in the land of the dead!" He boomed, his voice so loud that the leaves on the trees rustled. I found myself stepping backwards from him as he advanced on me, spear raised high. I closed my eyes bracing myself for my death, but the blow never came. After a moment I opened my eyes to see Ev kicking the downed centaur with her heels, dark spikes of corrupted stone impaling his chest and forcing him backwards.
Taking the opportunity I turned and began to run vanishing in the trees as quickly as I could to get away from the sadistic denizens of the island. Is this what happened to the clerics? Did they somehow lose all of their power when they reached the corrupted land? My lungs burning I braced myself against one of the phantom trees, gasping for breath as I tried to summon the strength to continue fleeing. I tried once again to draw the spirits to me, but as previously, none came. I slumped down on the forest floor, my body aching. I should just give up, I thought. Submit to a quick death and leave it at that. I frowned at the foreign thoughts in my mind. It was not like me to accept defeat so easily. This cursed place was playing tricks on my head, most likely something in the foul and tainted air.
"Ugh. Finally I found you." I looked up to see Evelynn standing before me hands on her hips. "You can't just go running off like that. If you're not careful you're going to end up as prey."
"Right." I scoffed. "I should just be your prey. That would make things so much easier wouldn't it?" She rolled her eyes.
"Look. I could have let you die just then, even be turned into a drooling mindless ghoul. But like I said before you've caught my interest. I'm not quite done having fun with you yet so I don't intend on letting that happen, but I can't always be there to save your tail." She offered me her hand to help me to my feet. "So come on, let's go back to my house and start this over again."
I slapped her hand away quickly. "I have no interest of going with you anywhere. This is all your fault I'm in this predicament in the first place. You're crazy foul magic removed my primal powers, otherwise I'd be just fine with purifying this place and getting the hell out of here."
Rubbing the back of her hand she kicked my shoulder hard, pinning me with the stiletto heel to the point where it was practically stabbed into my flesh. I held back a cry of pain as she pushed the sharp object further into my shoulder. "Now listen here you idiot. There is no purifying this place. It's not cursed, or haunted, or corrupted. It's fucked up. Period. It's a place screwed over by forces your tiny brain can't even begin to comprehend and there is nothing you can do to fix it. As I see it you have two options, keep looking for something that no longer exists and inevitably die. Or you can come with me and live at least for a few more days until you inevitably die. Your choice." I placed my hand on her ankle trying to pull her shoe from my torso but she just reached down and slapped me across the face. "And watch where you're touching me. From now on you do as I say, when I say it." As my face slowly turned back to her, her eyes began to grow large. "What the hell? What the heck is happening to your eyes?"
My eyes? Oh no. I looked down at my hands to see my fingernails growing sharp and pointed, a sign that I was losing control of my form. With strength I was unaware I possessed I grabbed her leg and shoved her off of me, looking at the wound she had given me. It slowly began to close on its own as I hissed, focusing on the pain to drown out the rapid pounding of my heart. "Get away from me." I groaned as my head began to spin.
"Oh wow! You're a werewolf? Those are quite rare." She said as though I were some sort of animal at a circus. She circled me, observing me carefully but I shook my head waving her away.
"I'm not a werewolf." I growled. "I'm…" a lancing pain raced through my body as my bones shifted, grinding against one another painfully. I fell forward, catching myself just in time to see the dark crimson spots covering my arms. "H-help me!" I screamed but my words came out as a high pitched wailing sound that could send the most dangerous predator on edge. Evelynn tapped her lips with a long finger, as if contemplating what she should do. My eyes darted back and forth as the stench of blood and death filled my nostrils, making me want to vomit. I didn't dare open my mouth though, I knew what would happen if I did.
"Hmmm…I suppose I could help. Would be easier to get you to come with me after all." I looked to her as she crouched down beside me, wrapping her arms around my now fur covered neck. Leaning closer she sank her teeth into my flesh roughly causing another icy wail to come out of my mouth. But within mere moments I found myself unable to see clearly, my vision blurring as I felt my bones starting to shift back where they belonged. I could feel Ev gently patting my head as I started to drift into unconsciousness and despite that I knew she couldn't be trusted, I was grateful to have her there.
When I awoke I found myself once more in the room with the magic circles, the only difference this time being that I was in fact bound to a chair, my wrists attached to the arm rests and my neck firmly fastened to the back. I tested them to find that I was indeed trapped, the solid steel binds unable to be removed without a key. Evelynn stood arms folded staring at me curiously. "Wakey, wakey sleepy head." She cooed playfully as I shook the clouds from my mind.
"What is the meaning of this?!" I demanded straining against the cuffs. "I asked you for help and you tied me to a chair?" She pouted.
"What you're not comfortable? And after I dragged your worthless carcass half way across the island." She tsked. "I helped you…twice now. Which means you owe me two favors. And lucky for you I'll even let you pay up in the form of answers. Let's start with the obvious one: what in the nine hells are you?"
"I'm not telling you anything." I growled just as a painful shock came through the floor running through my body painfully. "Argh! What was that?!"
"I figured this would be the case. You've got a little spell on you right now. All you've got to do is answer two questions truthfully and the shocks stop coming whenever you talk. Lie to me or dodge the question and the shocks will slowly start to get worse."
"You're out of your damned mind." I muttered as I glared at her. "Fine. I'm not a human…not completely. Deep in the Plague Jungles there is a labyrinth…at the center of it is…well to be honest, I couldn't tell you what it was. The truth is I'm part animal…as you may have suspected. I once was a pet of an exotic animal collector before I managed to escape. I killed three dozen men, women, and children before I managed to escape Demacia and make my way to labyrinth. Something had called me there, something pure and magical despite the chaos that lay there. When I got to the center I passed out and woke up as you see me now. I'm not able to access my form at will, and if I do I lose my cognitive abilities that I gained. I don't want to hurt anyone else…and when I turn it becomes harder and harder to turn back. Satisfied?"
"Not completely. You never said what sort of animal you are." She smirked as she walked around the chair before leaning against the back and tussling my hair. "Who knows? If you're my style, maybe I'll keep you around as my pet."
"Shut up! I'd rather die first before letting someone put another collar on me." I growled angrily as another shock arced through my muscles causing me to cringe. I took a deep breath and sighed. "I'm a Krenshar." I muttered. She smiled and sat on my lap.
"Now let's pretend for a moment," she said gently as she ran a finger along my cheek, "that I'm not a well-educated person. Explain to me what exactly a Krenshar is." I looked up into her golden eyes before pulling away from her touch.
"A Krenshar is sort of like a mix between a lion and a hyena. We travel in packs and those of us with blood red spots…like me…are meant to be guardians of the prides we travel in. The only thing that you need to know is that our skin on our faces is very flexible. If threatened we peel our skin back revealing the bones and muscles of our skull. When we do that, a pheromone is released that causes an animal's fight or flight mechanism to kick in…but if the animal chooses to fight…or if it is prey…we're able to emit a piercing roar that can temporarily flood their mind with enough pheromones to paralyze them with fear." Evelynn beamed and clapped her hands excitedly.
"That sounds so awesome!" She said, her eyes sparkling. "Oh, you'd make the most absolutely perfect pet in the world, no wonder that collector decided to keep you for themselves." She wrapped her arms tightly around my neck despite that I tried to pull away.
"You couldn't be more wrong." I whispered, causing her to pull back.
"Oh? But you wouldn't hurt little old me would you? After everything we've been through, after all the times I've saved you, you should be begging to be my pet."
"Maybe you didn't get the memo, but the last person who tried to own me died. I killed them…to be specific I ripped out her jugular before going on a murderous frenzy where I killed her visiting children by snapping their little necks and destroying her entire staff."
"Wow, you're much tougher than I thought."
"Joke all you like, it's not a part of my life I like to dwell on. I don't want to be that beast, not now, not ever. I gave up that life a long time ago and at the first chance I got I decided I'd leave all of it behind. I became a druid to help me control my primal urges, and up until now it's been just fine. So thank you Ev, thank you so very much for stripping me of my powers and making my life a living hell." She shook her finger before giving a playful wink.
"Now, now. Don't be so dramatic. I can empathize well, the feeling of warm blood dripping from your jaws…it's like no other. You're not alone in the world, you've got a friend right here." As she said that she gently put her finger on my nose. "And now that I know of your 'plight', how could I ever be expected to simply sit by and do nothing."
"Because you're cold and heartless?" I retorted sarcastically.
"Now that's just hurtful. Even after I saved you from that mean old Hecarim. Such manners." She pouted cutely and slid out of my lap taking a few paces away before turning on her heels to smirk at me with a soft chuckle. "So, what to do with you, my little Krenshaw. I've got you trapped in a chair with nowhere to go. I have the feeling if I let you out you'll just run away again, can't have you doing that. You'll just attract all sorts of unwanted attention. Maybe I could leave you hear, come in and nibble on you every now and then until Stockholm syndrome sets in."
"Unless Lima syndrome sets in first." I shot back once more testing my bonds.
"Lima syndrome?"
"Yeah. You know…opposite of Stockholm. It's when the captors become sympathetic towards their hostages. Just let me out of the stupid chair." I began squirming more before Ev came closer and crouched so she was at eye level with me.
"It's astounding…really it is." She whispered as she stared deep into my eyes.
"What is?" I asked.
"You're bound up…in a chair…facing certain doom, and rather than beg for your life or submit to your captor you choose to make wisecracks and be smart-alecky. You must be either courageous, idiotic, or just cocky. In any case, it's impressive. Most humans would have given up by now…but then again you're not human."
I rolled my eyes. "See…like I said. Lima syndrome." She shook her head. I knew I was just further proving her point, but at this point I didn't care. I had managed to dislocate some of the bones in my right hand, one more joint and I'd be able to slip out. I was lucky I could keep a straight face in pain. She hadn't even noticed yet. "Alright…I'll bite. I'll ask the question you've been giddy to hear: What do I have to do to get you to let me out of these bonds?"
She smiled coming closer. Yes…just a little more… "That's an easy one. Servitude. Pledge your servitude to me, and I'll let you out of the chair. I promise I'll take good care of you. Keep you fed and watered, maybe even pet you every now and then. But you'll have to be a good little kitty cat or else…" I interrupted her sentence when my hand slipped from the cuff allowing me to quickly reach and grab her by the neck. My hand now free, my bones cracked as they came back into their sockets.
"Or here's a thought." I countered. "You let me out of this chair or I crush your windpipe." She smiled as she just stood there my palm on her throat.
"I don't think you'll do it." She purred as she placed her hand softly on my arm. Using her two fingers she slowly walked them up my arm towards my face which was staring intently at her. "In fact, I know you won't do it."
"Try me."
"I already am." She said softly as her fingers reached my shoulder. She gently drug the sharp points along my chest, leaving behind a fiery sensation where she had made contact. I found my grip on her weakening as my vision began to blur.
"You…drugged me?" She laughed.
"Not at all. This is all you I'm afraid. I just happen to know how to get what I want from a man." She purred as my arm dropped into my lap. What had this woman done to me? I sniffed the air…there was the scent of blood, as expected, but something else…perfume?
"Liar." I muttered. "You're putting something…in the air." I slurred.
"Like you, I also know a thing or two about pheromones. Now just relax, breathe deeply. You'll come to enjoy the feeling of it soon." I tried to hold my breath, to keep from inhaling the intoxicating scent but with every second my head felt as if it were full of cotton balls. My hand immediately went for my other cuff, desperately trying to unhinge the lock. I was shocked when I managed to get it open after a few moments. As I began to pull at the collar I noticed Ev was just sitting there, legs crossed and smiling. "That's right…struggle all you like. It'll make the win that much more satisfying."
With a desperate tug the neck brace came apart granting me the freedom I desired. I ran towards the door, stumbling over myself as I tried to keep my balance. Still Ev just watched curiously. Why wasn't she moving? She wouldn't just let me go. There was some sort of trap beyond the door. Something was wrong, I knew it. I had to…had to reach her. Shut whatever insane trick she was using off. Make her shut it off. Even if I had to beat her senseless for it. I turned back to face her and a strange smirk played across her face as I stumbled back towards her. I grabbed her by her choker pulling her face closer to mine with a growl.
"Disable…the…trap." I slurred, getting more dazed with every second. She chuckled and gently reached up to touch my cheek. I barely felt it, my skin had become incredibly numb. As I started to lose consciousness she smiled and placed a kiss on my forehead. My legs crumpled beneath me and I fell to the floor in a heap.
"I don't know what trap you're talking about. The door was open. All you had to do was walk out…yet just as I predicted, you came crawling back to me anyway. Sleep well, when you wake up you're going to be put through the paces. If you're going to be my pet you'd better know a few tricks."
"I'm…not your pet…" I muttered weakly as my eyes began to close, my body succumbing to the intoxicating scent she wore.
"Of course not." She cooed. I knew she was just humoring me, but even still her words were oddly comforting.
Ev smiled at the now unconscious Krenshar, as she'd just been informed, that laid on the floor of her magic room. This had been a lot of fun, he had more than enough spirit to last her for ages of fun, and she knew that things would only get better once she put him in the "Playroom". With a surprising amount of strength she grabbed the man and hoisted him on to her back. As she began to carry him down the stairs in the manor she was careful to avoid bumping him against one of the will-o-wisps. Just as she turned to head towards the next surprise she had in store for him a knock came from the door. She let out a soft sigh and gently set her new toy down before returning to the front door of the manor. "I swear…" she muttered, "if this is Elise coming to bitch about losing him I'm going to kick her pretty little teeth in."
She was shocked however to find, not the Spider Queen at her doorstep, but a tall man in a dark purple coat and cowboy hat. "Oh…it's you…" she stated coldly. "What do you want? Didn't I tell you not to come here?" The man took off his hat and held it in both of his hands, twisting it and turning it nervously.
"Look Ev…I been ponderin' it fer a while now, and…please…I'd really like another chance. I dun know what I did to right upset you so, but I promise I'll do whatever you like. I swear it." She looked at him sternly, the man reeked of booze and it almost looked like he'd been crying. The sight tickled her so much that she couldn't stifle the laughter that came from her lips.
"You didn't upset me moron…that's not the reason I told you to take a hike. As for my answer, No. Not a chance." She laughed again before going to slam the door in his shocked face. His hand shot out quickly holding it open.
"N-now hold on a sec' there pardner." He growled. "Where do you get off being as uppity as a rattlesnake in a can of baked beans? I was good to you! I did everythang you asked of me. Hells, you humiliated me in public and you're a gosh darn narcissistic bitch. But damn if you aren't the prettiest lil' lady I've ever been smitten with and I ain't willin' to let you just drop me as though I was a hot slab of beef."
Her eyes narrowed on him. "Smitten with? Ha! You actually thought I cared…about you? Don't flatter yourself. You were just for entertainment, something to pass the time. You want to know why I dropped you? Because you are so…unbelievably…boring! As if I could ever be 'smitten with' you. Funny joke though. Good bye." She went to slam the door again, but once more his boot found its way between the frames keeping it open.
"Uh-huh…I'ma pretend those foul wurds didn't jus' come outta that pretty mouth of yours. And who's that feller you got propped up ova there?" He gestured with his head but hers didn't turn an inch. She knew who he was referring to and she didn't care.
"The new and improved entertainment." She growled with an icy tone. With that she kicked his boot from the door and slammed it shut in his face, this time locking the door in place successfully. She pressed her back against the door as she heard a stream of curses coming from the other side of the door. Her lips curled into an impish grin. "Smitten with…" she muttered before laughing at the thought. She walked over to her new 'pet' picking him up and carrying him further into the dungeon. She knew that her ex-lover wouldn't give up…in fact she was practically counting on his stubbornness. But that would come later, for now she had some plans to make and some games to play.
I came to, unsure of how much time had passed. I gripped my head as my skull throbbed painfully, my heart pounding hard in my chest. My eyes glanced around me, I was in a room that was completely bare and empty. It almost looked like a ball room with its polished hard wood floors and I was shocked to see that my ankle was in fact chained to the ground. Not far away was what looked like a hatchet, but that was not of my concern at the moment. What bothered me was that Ev was nowhere to be found. I couldn't explain it, but something in the back of my mind was urging me to find her; to locate her and to seek her out. I sniffed the air, getting a faint whiff of the same perfume from before, but nowhere near as potent as to knock me out. I heard a crackling sound as a monitor rose up from the corner of the room, coming to life to show the image of a disturbingly spooky puppet. "I'd like to play a game…" it said as the image zoomed out to show Evelynn grinning before tossing the puppet aside. "Just kidding." She laughed, "But seriously, I'm bored. Your job will be to entertain me. So I give you this challenge. Come and find me, if you can." I looked around before staring at the screen.
"You do realize you chained me to the floor don't you? I don't suppose you've got a key around here to let me out." She slapped her forehead, feigning as though she'd made a huge mistake.
"Ohhhhh that's what I forgot." She slowly undid the top of her corset revealing the glittering bronze key around her neck. "I should probably deliver this to you. You'll need it to get out. I'll send it with some of my…servants…I trust you'll come and find me once you get it?" My body was compelled to say yes, but I wasn't going to submit that easily. Before I could shoot her down she simply cut me off. "Oh. And by the way? The room you're in will be filling up with some of my special perfume, since I know how much you like it. You've got five minutes. Best of luck!" She blew a kiss towards me as the screen lowered back into the floor. Four hidden panels on the wall slid open as vents in the ceiling began to pump in the intoxicating scent. In the shadows of the passage ways that were opened I couldn't see anything, just glowing red eyes surrounded by the darkness' embrace.
To be continued…