Chapter 30
Mariah's temples throbbed. She didn't want to look, but curiosity drove her to peek at... whatever it was.
A black creature rose in front of them, not quite walking, not quite floating. It had mass but appeared cloudlike. Snow in its path melted in evaporating clouds of acrid sulfur, burning her nose. Even in the overcast daylight, two red dots, like cigarette butts, glowed brightly from the upper part of the thing.
"My head is going to fucking explode. Shit." Vaughn gritted out the words through his clenched teeth. "I was about to mention that my family is being stalked by whatever the hell this thing is." He fought to keep his whinnying horse under him.
Her own mare wrenched its head back and rolled the one visible eye.
Mariah couldn't stop staring at the creature approaching them. It didn't so much approach as consume more light and space as it grew.
"The time is near." The hot rumble of the voice made the ground tremble right along with Mariah's insides. "The Great One is coming on the day of darkness. The legacy will come to me. Willingly. Soon." A slither of burnt sulfur sliced the air in front of her, and she breathed into the sleeve of her jacket to escape the stench.
With her heart rat-a-tatting a frantic snare rhythm, she clutched the pommel of the saddle. The horse tensed beneath her.Oh, no.
"Might need to take a rain check on the day of darkness and all." Vaughn moved his horse to bump hers toward the ranch house. Her skittish mare didn't do anything except paw at the snow-covered ground and lay its ears flat.
Black, thick smoke stretched out toward them as the creature rumbled, "The legacy will end with you and your family. And I will have my final revenge. You will become the foundation for the new beginning of my reign upon the Earth. And anyone who stands in my way will be destroyed. Anyone the legacy cares for will be destroyed."
What the heck was 'the legacy?' Why was this thing targeting Vaughn's family? Nothing made sense.
And, yes, she would gladly not stand in its way, if only her panicked horse would cooperate.
A sliver of smoke lashed out, fingerlike, and Mariah flinched away. The tendril seared the back of her horse, bringing with it a sharp sizzle and the stench of burnt flesh. The animal kicked and reared.
No matter how hard she gripped the pommel, she was helpless to stop the arc as sky and ground whirled and blended. She came off the back of the horse, hitting the ground in a heap. Pain lanced through her skull. From her sideways, ground-level, head-spinning location, she watched as Vaughn faced the thing from the back of his own horse, opening his arms like he wanted to give the creature a big, friendly bear hug.
"Get away from her." Vaughn's voice boomed across the field. A weird vacuum sensation pulled air and warmth toward him.
Then, in a pressurized snap, a sensation of threat flew out from him and flung her back several feet. She rolled over the ground, collecting mud and snow on her clothes. Vaughn's dark, lethal glance over his shoulder iced her blood.
He turned back to the creature. "Want more, you bastard?"
What kind of man challenged something like this creature? All Mariah wanted was to recover her y-axis enough to stand up and run the heck away from here.
But, sure enough, another rubbery blast of sheer terror exploded out from him, pushing her away again. What in the world? Was Vaughn truly creating an energy wave? How was that even possible?
The thing reared back and howled, becoming smaller in size. Or moving away. Hard to tell. She didn't care, as long as it left them alone.
"Soon," it howled, receding into the tree line. "Not now, but soon you will all be mine."
"Got it. Penciled in on my day planner," Vaughn growled. "Now go screw yourself."
Finally, the nasty creature faded into the forest.
Vaughn spun his horse around. The tight darkness of his expression relaxed, and his brows furrowed beneath his hat. "Mariah? Sweetheart?" he called. "Are you okay?"
She groaned and pressed her hands flat on the ground, working her way up to all fours and then getting shakily to her feet. The knees of her jeans were damp with the snow and mud ground into the fabric. She didn't care how bad she looked. She just wanted to leave this place. Maybe leave the ranch, too, and go far away. She hadn't signed on for this kind of danger when she considered a future with Vaughn.
Stark, white lines bracketed his eyes. "Grab my hand. Now." He reached out and leaned down, moving his foot from the stirrup so she could step up. He swung her up behind him. "Hold on tight."
Didn't have to tell her twice.
* * *
Vaughn kicked his horse into a full, terror-fueled run back to the ranch, the mare following. Mariah clung to him with a strong grip as his power sparked and flew out from him in waves. Her arms clenched around his midsection and her face that was pressed into his back reassured him. Calmed him.
Somewhat.
