A Vampire’s Christmas Flame

Into the Abyss

"I can't lose you. Not like this."

Ravyn's words were rough and forceful, his voice trembling just enough for me to hear. It shot a jolt through me, a mix of panic and something else I named—something that made my pulse race faster than it ought to. Still confused from the agony in my chest, I realized as I collapsed against him that Ravyn was still attempting to keep me safe despite everything, monsters, hunters, and darkness all around us. Though he knew he couldn't.

His hold on me grew stronger, pulling me into his arms as if the world around us was implacing. "Stay with me," he said softly, his face almost here, his breath a harsh whisper across my skin. I wanted to grab for him, act to quell the growing anxiety in my chest, but an extreme sensation of fear seized me.

With a shaky voice, "I'm here." Still, what's happening?What was that figure doing to me?"

Ravyn did not answer right away. Rather, he peered about us as though searching the darkness for something—or someone. Once more, his hold on me grew tighter, and I could feel everything weighing down onto him. Frustrated, he remarked at last, "It's not you, it's me". "They are coming for me... but right now they want you too."

The words seemed to me like smack. Targets for the beasts, hunters, and shadows went beyond Ravyn. Now I was caught in all of this. Though I had no idea what I was signing into, there was no turning back. Not quite anymore.

"Then we fight," I said once again, my voice stronger and more certain than it felt. "We do not run. I will not let them take you—or me."

Ravyn stared at me with ferocious glistening eyes. "You don't understand," he continued, his voice austere. "You have no idea how far this stretches. You think this speaks just of me? Regarding us? "This is older than both of us taken together."

"I don't care," I bit back, the words rushing out before I could control them. "We face it together; if I'm in this, I'm with you."

His gaze softened, but his eyes stayed unbroken in respect and guilt. What to make of it eluded me. "You're too stubborn for your own good," he said, although his voice was nearly kind.

I had no time to work out what that meant. The temperature plummeted once again, the air around us changed suddenly, and the terrible shadows from earlier appeared to slink toward us, swirling with an uncomfortable power.

Ravyn's grip tightened once more, and I felt a shiver rush across my bones.

"Stay close," he whispered, his voice sharp and his eyes penetrating the shadows. "Their work is still under progress."

I battled to control my breathing while my heart kept hammering in my chest. Notwithstanding all, there was something about Ravyn that helped me to feel that we might overcome this. Still, the threat was real, and the air seemed as though it were closing in on us.

We moved fast, but Ravyn was always two steps ahead of me. I could not understand his intuition, his knowledge of the shadows and threats.

All I was was a typical girl trapped in a web more terrible than I could have ever dreamed.

And yet there I was, trying to keep up, my heart in my throat, jogging beside him.

As we rushed into the alley, I glanced at Ravyn's face. His face was austere, his jaw locked, and for a few seconds I saw decades in his eyes. He was running not just something but also himself.

My chest hurt from a clear melancholy and visible grief. Though I wanted to question him and have him go over everything, I knew we lacked the luxury.

We kept on, dodging narrow alleyways and shadowy corners, the sound of our sneakers echoing in the unusual silence of the evening. But the impression of being chased, hunted, was suffocating regardless of how quickly we traveled.

The shadows seemed to be reaching out to grab us and drag us back into the night.

I turned to stare across at Ravyn. "Where are we going?" I asked, just above a whisper.

At first he didn't answer; his eyes strayed to the sides as he guided me ahead. "Someplace safe. Somewhere you won't be specifically targeted."

But I could hear his voice speaking the unspoken words. " Somewhere I could guard you."

Though he didn't say it, I felt it. And I hated it as well. I hated the idea that he thought I was a delicate damsel incapable of handling what was ahead. I had not been powerless. I had no need of saving.

I knew I was in danger, though, when the sound of distant growls and muttering got louder and the night seemed to be pressing in all directions.

My blood froze as a piercing, slashing scream tore through the quiet—an unearthly cry. The aliens approached now. Their screams resounding down the lane and their claws scraping on the ground could be heard.

"Ravyn! I yelled, my chest bursting with terror. "They're right here!"

He did not look at me. His focus was unwavering. He remained ahead of me, accelerating. Keep up. Look forward; do not turn around.

But I couldn't help it. My heart jumping into my throat, I glanced across my shoulder. Faster than a person, a shadow raced at us with red blazing eyes. It was overly rapid. too strong. I couldn't run faster than I could.

"Ravven!" Again I shouted, but he was already here.

Ravyn swirled around, his silver sword slashing over the shadows and gleaming through the air. Though it was insufficient, the beast howled in suffering. More was still to come. They had no constraints at all.

I retreated, terror wide in my eyes. "What are you?" "What do they need from us?"

Ravyn said slowly, his eyes concentrated on the next creature to approach. "They want me," he said coolly among the frenzy. "They want you, too, now that you are with me. Now you are a part of this.

My breath stopped right in my throat. Part of this? What the devil did that entail?

Desperate, I got in touch with him. "I'm not sure what's chasing Ravyn. I'm not about to depart. not now. "Never never."

He stared back at me with an incomprehensible look. Then, without saying anything more, he pulled me forward, his hand gripping mine as we dashed more into the shadows.

The earth underfoot started to move right away. The ground rocked with a roar louder than anything I had ever heard. As I stopped completely, my heart thrashed against my ribs.

"How weird was that?" I gasped and looked up at Ravyn, but his eyes were black.

"That," he replied, his voice weighed with dread, "is far worse than the hunters."

The air about us shimmered before I could reply. We were no more in the lane as the shadows seemed to crush in on themselves.

We were elsewhere, far darker.

Paralysed, my chest rising and falling with every terrified breath, I tried to process what had just happened.

I was someplace else completely, the world around me moving in incomprehensible directions.

The city had disappeared, to be replaced by a black, icy woodland. Rising above us, the trees had claws-like twisted branches.

There was a terrible weight to the air.

When I looked at Ravyn, he was not staring back at me. He fixed all of his focus on something far off that I cannot see.

My voice was almost audible, "What is this place?" I said.

"This is where they find me," he said softly, his voice tinged with loss and something else that tore at my heart. "I'm supposed to die here."

I heard a low growl, deep and guttural, coming from beyond the woods before I could inquire what he meant. My pulse pounding, I spun quickly as the sounds got louder. Something nonhuman was approaching us.

Ravyn arrived in front of me with a stiffened body. His eyes flashed silver as he gripped the sword harder.

"We have little time," he muttered. "Stay behind me whatever happens next. "Do You understand?"

I nodded, my voice scratchy, but my eyes locked on his. Though the fear persisted, there was something else—something greater than panic.

Something helped me realize I will not allow this dream to separate us.

Out of the trees suddenly a large, towering beast materialized with red-flashing eyes and lips. Its body was covered with thick, matted hair and it was far larger than anything I had ever seen.

The shadows then changed once more, like though the woodland were alive. From the shadows twelve additional species surfaced, encircling us in a smaller circle.

Ravyn's voice was low and tinged with anxiety, yet I felt a slowness.

"We're not going to make it," he said, and everything went black after the first monster arrived.

And there was stillness all of a sudden.

Everything seemed to slow down as the beast surged at us with its enormous claws tearing through the air.

My breath constricted, my heart raced in my ears, and all I could do was gaze as the enormous beast neared, its crimson eyes ablaze with a hunger that sent chills down my spine.

Ravyn moved before it could reach us though. Faster than any human could, he intercepted the beast with his silver blade glittering in the weak light slashing with terrifying accuracy.

Ravyn pushed the blade deeper, his hands solid but his face contorted in agony as the beast howled in misery and staggered back.

'Run!' Ravyn said, his voice firm and exact. His eyes flicked to mine, but they were full with something I cannot name—fear, wrath, or remorse. "Suddenly, go!"

Every part of me screamed to remain, to assist, but the raw, desperate expression in his eyes made me step back then another. The beast moved to position itself for another attack, and its roar resounded over the jungle.

Footsteps shattered the air, and the roaring got louder as more animals came out from the shadows. My blood became cold.

"Ravyn, please—" I said but the words died on my lips as another roar came behind me.

My pulse thumping in my chest, I spun around and saw the ground shaking under me and the trees moving.

The shadows themselves seemed to come alive, spinning like a black cyclone about us and squeezing in on all sides.

"We're surrounded," Ravyn said, his voice rougher than ever. His eyes turned to mine, his desperation on show more than it had ever been. "You must leave now."

"No," I said, my voice steady even though my throat was seized with dread. "I won't depart you."

Closer this time, a low growl emanated from behind me and I turned to see the darkly shadowfell monsters advancing, their eyes blazing like coals in the night. The animals were circling, their fangs shining, their aims clear-cut. They were on their kill closing in.

Ravyn's battle, his body shifting between trying to guard me and fight against the creatures, was obvious. We were not going to make it; the strain in the air was intolerable. Not like this.

"Explore away from her!" Ravyn yelled, his voice bursting with unadulterated emotion. Still, something else shifted in the woods as soon as the words came out.

Fresh arrival.

This one comes in deeper tones. more strong.

Approaching from behind shadows, a person emerged with odd light gleaming in its eyes. "You're not in charge here, Ravyn," the elderly, frigid voice stated. Then she... The figure's gaze turned to mine, and the blackness got darker. "She's my."

The earth under us trembled violently before I could reply, and a sharp scream drowned out everything in the evening.