Dark Descent: The Arondight Codex - Book One R Nicole (general ebook reader .txt) 📖

purple as it snapped into shape. Links unfurled and scales clicked together in a shower of purple sparks.

“What the…” I whispered, almost dropping the sword on the ground. It was as long as my arm!

“Purples!” Wilder shouted, scrambling backwards.

The creature’s mouth widened, saliva dripping from its teeth as it darted after Wilder. It leapt and Wilder rolled to the side, the creature’s claws cracking the flagstone where he’d been a moment before.

If it got Wilder, then I was next. In a situation like this, there was only one thing I had the sense to do. Yeah, that run headfirst into danger thing. Again.

I grasped the sword and rushed forward with a cry. The demon spun, making a horrid clicking sound and launched towards me. It galloped, its limbs twisting and rolling in its haste to tear apart some tasty human flesh. I let out a squeak, then swiped the blade at it. It dodged and I twisted before it raised its claws.

I swung the sword back in a swift arc, and by some miracle, the steel sliced through the creature’s arm. I didn’t even feel the moment when it cut, but purple sparks lit up the street as the blade severed flesh and bone. The demon screamed, then went for broke. I ducked low, its hind leg kicking me in the back of the head as it tumbled over me, and I fell to the ground.

Wilder was in front of the demon, sinking his knife into its shoulder.

“Purples!” he cried, his hand outstretched, but I only had eyes for the thing that was trying its best to eat my soul.

I pushed to my feet, my arse throbbing, and I raised the sword. With a cry, I plunged it into the demon’s back, aiming for the place I supposed its heart might’ve been—if it had one. The creature screeched, its head reared back, then it burst into a fireball that emitted a stench so foul it almost made me retch.

Stumbling back a step, I gasped as the flames dissipated and I realised there was nothing left of the demon. The whole thing had just disintegrated in a whoosh, leaving a weird scorch mark on the ground.

“Are you all right?” Wilder asked.

“No!” I rubbed the back of my head, my breath still evading capture. “What was that thing?”

“A lesser demon.”

“There’s more than one kind?” I wiped my forehead with the back of my hand, my skin all clammy despite the icy chill in the air.

“The plot thickens,” he drawled, putting his knife back into his boot. “You shouldn’t have run, you know.”

I let out a frustrated cry and squashed down the urge to skewer him, too.

“The blade shouldn’t have worked either,” Wilder added, taking it from me. The moment he touched it, it recoiled, disappearing into the hilt.

“Why not? It’s just a sword.” That clicked into shape like a Transformer with an angle grinder.

“It’s not just a sword. It’s an arondight blade.”

“Aron-what?” I scratched my head, glancing to where the creature had been a moment before. Was it just me, or was the scorch mark beginning to fade, too?

“Arondight blades are forged with the power to slay demons,” he explained. “Arondight was the blade given to… Ah, forget it.”

“Wilder,” I said, my voice shaking, “you can’t…”

“I can’t what?”

“That just happened,” I exclaimed, pointing to the concrete. “You can’t brush me off anymore.”

He raised an eyebrow. “I assumed you didn’t care after your acrobatic manoeuvre on the tube.”

But he’d cared enough to follow me. Why was that?

“This has nothing to do with my meds, does it?” I asked, burrowing into my jacket as I started to tremble. “I’m not tripping or having a psychotic break. This is real, right? You’re real?”

“Last time I checked.” He snorted and slid the bladeless handle thingy into a pocket on the inside of his jacket. “I’ve never seen anyone leap a barrier at a tube station like that.”

“Wilder.”

“What? You were the one who ran. My work here is done.” He turned and went to stalk away, but I grasped his arm and wrenched him back.

“I’m not going to run away again. Like it or not, this is a problem.” I gestured wildly to myself, him, and the empty spot where the demon had been. “The second time in as many days, FYI. A little clarity wouldn’t go astray.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure you’re not on an acid trip, Purples? It would be easier to up the med dosage than to embark on an annoyingly violet-tinted odyssey.”

“Wilder!”

“Fine. Let’s walk.” He sighed and gestured for me to follow him. “We need to clear out anyway.”

I was forced to trot to catch up to him, but easily fell into step this time. The street was empty apart from a few empty night busses that rolled by.

“We call ourselves Naturals,” Wilder said as we passed a row of clothing shops.

“Naturals?” I asked, my stomach doing a little flip. “There’s nothing natural about any of this.”

Wilder narrowed his eyes. “To you, maybe.”

“That… spider demon thing back there… He was on the train with us, wasn’t he?”

“It,” Wilder corrected. “And yes. You provoked it.”

“Excuse me?”

“It would’ve left us alone if you’d stayed put. It knew what I was.”

I stopped in front of a H&M and leaned against the wall, my chest constricting. Monsters, invisible people, funky swords that shot out sparks, hot guys stalking people—it was too much. This couldn’t be real, which meant I was losing my mind. After all these years dealing with the loss of my parents, acting out, going to shrinks, self-medicating, and dealing with depression, I was finally at my wits’ end. I mean, I spaced out a little from time to time, but never like this. One second, I was okay with all this, and the next… Something was definitely wrong.

“Purples,” Wilder said, grasping my shoulders.

“I can’t… I can’t…”

“Breathe, okay? I don’t want you throwing up on my boots.”

“Scarlett,” I wheezed, realising he’d never wanted to know who I was. “My name is Scarlett.”

“Red and