My heart dropped into the pit of my stomach when Kade's tension of the shoulders suddenly became noticeable.
His eyes widened and dipped into worry... fear. And his clenched fists tightened.
There was another clap of thunder and a flash of the eerie lightening when the lights flickered quickly and dimmed into a... red glow.
The room filled with the warm and terrifying color and my back hit a wall when I began to lose my balance.
The noise from outside had stopped and I was praying it was because the Freelancers had taken down whatever was out there and were also trying to figure out why the weather had suddenly changed.
But for whatever the reason, the silence didn't really last long. A low, menacing chuckle suddenly oozed from Xur's mouth as his head titled back.
His enormous wings stretched out behind him when he put his hands over his face and laughed louder.
And louder... and then louder.
His laugh became demonic... psychotic. He leaned so far back, I thought he'd break his back or at least fall.
But he didn't and I saw more fear paint Kade's pale face.
"Call him off, Xur!" he yelled ferociously at the gargoyle when his laughter didn't die down.
It didn't take a genius to figure out he was probably referring to Salazar. A knot formed in my stomach when the realization hit. If it were really Salazar, was he coming to take us all out and drain me of my blood for his own twisted purposes? Were we all practically dead?
My throat became dry with fear as my legs almost gave out from beneath me.
Xur's laughter died down slightly but not to the point where it no longer sounded as if he were going completely nuts.
"Call him off? He's my master and you want me to tell him what to do?" he asked, obviously amused by the order. His wings continued to expand and retract in a smooth pattern, casting dancing shadows on the wall, while his laughter finally came to a halt.
"I don't have a death wish like you, you know," he added quietly when the lights flickered again.
When another clap of thunder sounded and a flash of lightening accompanied it, the air in the room suddenly grew thin and it became hard to breathe. I tried my best to suck in deep breaths but my lungs felt as if they were already shriveling up and giving out. It became extremely hot to the point where I was sweating in massive amounts and me and Kade had to find something to lean against.
Xur, being unaffected, started laughing again. That's when I noticed something oozing up from the floor.
Black smoke.
It was only a small amount at first but then the cloud grew bigger and bigger to the point where it covered the whole floor and my feet. I tried to jump up onto a chair but it seemed to be pulling me against the floor. I couldn't walk or even lift a foot.
But soon, it retracted and slithered in lumps across the floor, towards the middle of the room. A small vertical cloud slowly rose from the floor and out of the corner of my eye, I saw Kade beginning to inch closer to me, not taking his gaze off the phenomenon in front of us.
By the time he reached my side, the cloud had risen to the height of a grown man, almost Kade's height, and began taking on the form of an actual body. First, the arms. Then the legs and slowly, the head.
I was completely frozen in horrified silence and almost didn't notice Kade leaning closer to my ear.
"Let me handle this. Don't get involved," he whispered, not bothering to suppress the plea in his voice. I quickly nodded my head obediently even though I had never planned to intervene. If the human shaped cloud in front of me was indeed Salazar, Kade didn't have to worry about me being the hero.
This one was all on him... for now.
After another, nervous fifteen heartbeats, I saw pale flesh form at the fingertips of the cloud's left hand and spread down to its arm. Then over its broad chest, up its right arm, down its torso and legs, and finally...
...up to its face.
My breathing completely stopped when the face of the supposed Salazar was exposed completely, a devilish smirk spread across his face.
Ironically, at first he looked quite human. But when I focused on his face, I noticed a couple of bright, red glowing eyes which flashed over to Xur standing in the corner of the room.
The demon's hair was strangely colored a deep silver with a mix of black, matching well with the old black suit he wore. He looked young, maybe around Maeve's age or a tad younger, and seemed exactly the same height as Kade.
But even though he, too, was quite good-looking (besides the red eyes), I felt no attraction nor interest towards him.
I didn't even want to look at him.
I noticed him carrying a long black cane, which seemed to be only for looks, with the handle-although planted in his hand- appearing to be some kind of creature. With a quick examination, I inferred it was a gargoyle.
I looked back at his face as he continued smiling at Xur, pure excitement flaring in his red eyes.
"Xur," he greeted in a deep, masculine voice. "How well it is to see my head gargoyle again."
Xur got so jittery, I thought he'd fly off the handle. "Master, Salazar," he greeted in return, bowing loyally on one knee with his bat wings fluttering behind him. "You are the one who deserves the acknowledgement. We're very grateful you're back."
I couldn't tell whether the creature was being genuinely respectful or if he was just trying to be a kiss ass, but either way, Salazar seemed satisfied enough to turn away.
And immediately, his gaze fell on Kade who had stepped in front of me.
"Kayden... you're still alive," he said, his smile fading and his nose wrinkling in disgust.
"Try finding a better army and general next time you want me killed," Kade snapped in reply, backing up to the point where I was pressed between his back and the wall.
I was so confused as to why he was trying to demolish my personal space all of a sudden, but then it hit me.
Salazar hadn't noticed me, yet. Kade was trying to keep me hidden.
And I had a feeling his broad shoulders and torso were capable of such a thing but just to be safe, I hunched up as best as I could and huddle close to him, finding comfort in his body heat.
The tension in his shoulders seemed to relax afterwards, maybe because he was relieved I had caught onto the plan or maybe because he thought he had full control over the situation.
But either way, his relief brought on mine.
"My army is the most powerful army you and anyone else will ever face," Salazar argued, obviously offended by the comment. I heard a scuffling of feet which led to Kade stepping back.
Salazar must've walked closer.
"I honestly don't understand why you think I'm so stupid, Kayden," he quickly said, adding a sarcastic chuckle behind it. "I know you're hiding the girl behind you."
My heart cannonballed into my stomach when the last sentence was said.
"Doesn't matter. You're not getting to her," Kade protested, but by the tone of his voice, he didn't seem all that confident anymore.
It took all I had not to scream like a schoolgirl. I wanted to, and I'm sure it wouldn't have made a difference if I did, but I kept my mouth shut anyway.
"Are you so sure? Step aside, warlock," Salazar ordered, his voice full of total confidence. And when Kade didn't listen, he growled furiously at him. "I said move!"
Suddenly, Kade fell to his knees, crying out in agonizing pain and doubling over with his arms pulled across his stomach. He started coughing in horrible fits and eventually, blood began oozing from his nose and the corners of his mouth. His coughing only caused the blood to splatter all over the floor.
I started shaking and tears formed at the back of my eyes when I bent over to help him in any way I could. But before I could squat all the way down and put a hand on his back, a sharp voice stopped me.
"Don't touch him!" Salazar barked. "Not unless you want the same thing to happen to you."
I was frozen for a few seconds, trying to decide whether he was bluffing or not. But by the look in his red eyes, it didn't seem so.
So I stood up reluctantly, shooting a quick glance at Kade who was still huddled close to the floor and coughing.
"What did you do to him?" I snapped, my teeth scraping against each other.
"Oh... just crushed his lungs and twisted a few other internal organs," Salazar answered causally. "But I'm also the one keeping him alive so if you want it to remain that way, you best not piss me off."
I swallowed hard and clenched my fists, glaring at the demon who had been the reason my grandmother killed herself.
He took a few steps closer to me, his cane suddenly vanishing into mid air. Stepping over Kade like he was just a snag in the carpet, he stood directly in front of me and bent over slightly.
The sadistic smile he suddenly gained made my stomach clench.
"My, my..." he whispered. "You're more beautiful than I was expecting." He brushed a finger under my chin and lifted my gaze to his, seeming to study my features carefully. "Purple eyes?" he questioned to himself. "How odd..."
When I tried to push away, his whole hand grabbed my bottom jaw. "Hm... you're far prettier than your great-grandmother," he mumbled, tilting his head to one side. I tried to look away but my eyes were focused on his red ones. It was almost as if I was hypnotized by the color.
"Maybe I can do something else to you before swiping your blood."
I immediately dropped the trance and shoved at his chest, snarling furiously at him. "You're disgusting!"
He looked almost shocked that had I managed to push him away, but soon recovered and shot his gaze over to where Kade had been.
I glanced over too but... Kade wasn't even there. He was... gone, leaving nothing but the pools of blood he had coughed up.
When I heard a crack of knuckles, I looked back over at Salazar who looked just as shocked and oblivious as me.
But behind him stood... Kade, his eyes narrowed and orange with fury.
He placed a hand on Salazar's shoulder and wrinkled his nose in disgust, a low growl erupting from his throat.
"I'm getting real tired of your shit," he mumbled sinisterly when Salazar didn't bother to turn around.
And suddenly, the darkness of the room engulfing the two of them disappeared when Kade's hand ignited into a cascade of orange and red flames.