The Saints Have Fallen: Chapter 14

Yuri

I watched as the bodies fell before my wrath and blade. I was and still am the God of War and Illusion after all. They tried to strip my title but couldn’t strip the power that breathed within me. They’ve weakened it, yes, but for the past 200 years, I’ve practiced reclaiming my fainted power. Every death satisfied me, and yet, here I am in the Gallies whilst Centron’s men bow down with their soulless bodies before me and I feel unsettled. Had the snake sorceress done something to me? I felt disoriented. I felt unable to breathe as I am here and yet my mind travels far in a path of restlessness. I felt my brother’s presence near. That was impossible I shrugged the thought out of my mind. Mathias wouldn’t dare step foot in the Otherworld. And yet, his presence grew stronger with each passing minute.

Centron’s army was drawing in, I spun and slit the throat of three at once. The fire begged at the palm of my hands. I was going to enjoy this when suddenly I heard the softest voice call out to me.

That voice.

It couldn’t be.

Was this real?

I turned to face the brittle little human, a near distance away from me, wounded.  Her aura entangled with my brother’s presence now seemed to fade. The girl stood in a soft, gentle, unprotected silence. Two of Centron’s men bolted towards her from behind. I couldn’t let her die.

Swiftly, I grabbed her small wrist and pulled her toward me with my left hand, and set the field around me ablaze with my right. Her warm breaths fluttered against my chest unevenly. Was she dying? She seemed to have lost a lot of blood. How could she even have survived down here? She should have been dead within the first five minutes of entering the Otherworld. Her voice trembled weakly and I looked down at her paling face. There was a familiarity about her I could not yet understand. What is it about her that thugs me so tenderly? There was a soft innocence as she spoke in a whisper and a weak smile towards me in gratitude for my safety. She needed to be more worried about herself than she was about me. What silly humans.

I needed to leave the Gallies. There was only one place I’d discovered in the Otherworld where the human would be safe. Her breaths continued on faintly as I carried her with me. The silver moon above me bled onto Black Swan’s Lake. I knelt beneath the sheltering father tree, leaning against its thick trunk. As I was about to place her down, I realized she had been holding onto my shirt. I’d never held a human this close. They felt so fragile. So vulnerable. I touched the skin of her cheeks. She was a soft creature. Unlike most humans with rough features and souls. Hers was oddly tender. It’s as if a gust of wind could suddenly pass by and carry her away if one’s not careful. Her body was freezing. For the life of me, I do not know nor understand how it is she survived. I made a promise and gave my word to Madam Lasce, I couldn’t break that and now it’s because of this putrefying human girl that landed me in such a tardy situation. 

A small firefly danced before me. Mathias must have sent a fire guide to her aid. I frowned as the winged insect flew away. Slowly, I placed her onto the ground near me. Her eyelids slowly opened as she soaked in her surroundings. I would assume this must have been very strange for her and yet there was a calmness that revolved around her like a shield. The situation irked me. I gave my word to the snake sorceress. I mustn’t forget.

“Yuri,” she spoke faintly as she propped herself up with her elbows, “You’re not dead.”

Why does she keep asking me such a question? What little faith she has in my strength. It’s almost an insult. She looked like a wilting flower. I could feel her energy draining slowly. “I am surprised you are alive,” I answered honestly.

She smiled. “I am too.”

Somehow leaving her behind here didn’t sit well with me. It was a known fact that if I did then she would certainly be dead. And yet, I don’t think that option would be so agreeable with my brother, not that it mattered to me anyway what Mathias agrees and disagrees with. However, the unearthed curiosity that dwelled within me toward this creature prevented me from allowing her to die. At least not right now.   

She stared at me silently as I stood. “You shouldn’t be here.” I frowned and walked a few steps ahead to look into the endless lake.

“Well in my defense, I thought you fell and broke your neck or something.”

“I what?” The absurdity.

 A brief silence lingered through the air. She coughed and tried to stand as I walked back near. Her bones seemed too weak at the moment so she remained in her sitting position. “You’re him, aren’t you?” she suddenly asked. “You’re the Demon-God. I heard the reptile man speaking and then I saw you.”

Reptile man?

 “You’ve seen enough. There is no need to acquire new information.”

“I won’t look at you any different if you are.” She stood and walked towards me when she abruptly stopped in aching pain. Her heart was tightening. Her lungs were collapsing. Her legs wobbled and her knees fell to the grass as she clutched her heart. She needed air. A flush of concern ate into my flesh.

She will die, Yuri.

A voice lingered in my mind.

Did I want her to?

It was the first time I found myself not unbothered. There was still so much I needed to know and understand about this human.

I pulled her closer to me and pressed my lips onto hers.

A flush of shock glossed over her expression as her body relaxed. She was softer than I’d thought her to be initially. Her face was now a strawberry red. I could sense that her breaths were regaining its strength and her body was as well. “Foolish girl,” I muttered as I pulled inches away, feeling the wetness of blood that leaked from her shoulder. “You’re wounded.”

She remained silent.

“Have you lost your ability to speak?”

“I-um-you-”

 I sighed and distanced myself slightly back disappointed, “I was hoping you did.”

“Gee,” she snorted, “How nice.”

“Now try and retain your own body heat.” I scowled, “You don’t want me to have to aid you in that as well.”

She blinked. Her eyes slightly widened and she began rubbing her hands together quite alarmed at my words.

“Good girl. Mortals tend to lose that quite quickly when placed in a foreign environment.”

She stopped and stood. “Is it true? I am not dreaming, am I? You are real? This is all real?”

I turned. “You humans are an absolute joke. You almost died and are asking me such a stupid question.”

“You know,” she walked angrily towards me and pointed a finger in my face, “For a God, you’re a real bitter troll. You don’t need to be rude.”

“Lower your finger or I’ll break it off.”

“Lower your finger or I’ll break it off,” she mocked in a mimicked deep tone of voice and scoffed, “Well golly, thanks for saving me God of the pricks.”

With a sharp exhale, she turned and began walking away.

“Where are you going?”

“Far from you, Sultan Satan.”

A few minutes passed and she walked back as I made myself comfortable under the tree. “Have you finally come to your senses, earth rat?”

“I needed a few minutes to regain the brain cells you smooched out of me, Prince Charmless.”

He chuckled, “You humans think so thinly.”

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