Read Online Roaring Blood (Demon-Hearted Book 2) by Ambrose Ibsen - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Ambrose Ibsen
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to focus on the glowing dome light, but couldn't get my eyes to work. Vision was blurry, doubled, and the pain in my side was getting to be unbearable. My heart was crashing against my ribcage; Gadreel was feeling the full weight of this curse as well.
As soon as the doors were shut, Kubo tore out of the parking lot and headed for Yao's. “Hang in there, Lucy. We're going to see what Mona can do about this,” said Joe from the passenger seat. He reached back and touched my shoulder.
That was the last thing I heard. It was at that moment that I lost consciousness.
***
When next I awoke I got an eyeful of Mona.
A groan left my lips as her withered, stubby hands patted my bare torso. “Oh,” she said, appraising me with beady eyes. “I see you're awake. Quite a lot of trouble you've gotten yourself into this time.”
I stared up at the ceiling. There was a dim light glowing there. My body was drenched in sweat, and I could feel my bare back sticking to the wooden table. The curious sounds and smells of Mona's workshop teased my senses. From afar came the rattling of a cage and the squawking of something like a bird. I heard something bubbling, too. Acrid smoke reached my nostrils, and I began to cough. “What happened?”
From somewhere in the room, Kubo chimed in. “Your ass passed out. That wound just about ruined you. Good thing we got you to Mona when we did, else you might've been a goner.”
I'd only been conscious for a minute or so, but that didn't sound right. “That ain't right. I've got a demon's heart. I can't die .”
Mona loosed a small chuckle and shook her head. The white shock of hair she wore drooped down against her shoulders. “Oh, you certainly can die. A Demon-Heart is difficult to kill, but you aren't immortal.”
Well, color me disappointed. This was just about the most unwelcome news I could imagine. Finding out that I was still technically a mortal-- albeit a super-powered one-- was a downer. A real slap in the face. “Wish I'd known that sooner. I thought I was supposed to be unkillable, goddammit.”
“You're resilient,” explained Mona. “Impervious to most attacks, it's true. Like I said, you're hard to kill, but not invulnerable. And, frankly, there isn't a lot out there that won't die when cut by the Scythe of Thanatos.”
“The Scythe of what?” I sat up on my elbows, catching a glimpse of my side. When last I'd been conscious there'd been a nasty, aggravated wound there. It was gone now, the flesh pristine. Come to think of it, the pain was gone, too. In a silver bowl near the table I spotted something large and black. It was a mass of flesh, covered in small lumps, and it pulsated as though alive. The bowl was half-filled in what I took to be my blood, and I could only guess that this disgusting thing had been pulled out of me. “What the hell is that? ” I asked, positive that I wouldn't care for the answer.
“Oh,” replied the old witch, picking up the bowl. “It's a tumor of a kind. It's a symptom specific to this particular weapon. The Scythe of Thanatos lays a curse on those who are cut by it. That curse manifests physically as a tumor, which shuts down the body's ability to heal. If the initial cut doesn't kill you, the tumor's rapid growth certainly will-- and it'll make sure you can't heal up the wound, all but ensuring your suffering till the end.”
“Rad.” I poked my newly-healed flesh with my finger and then swung my legs around, sitting at the edge of Mona's table. “Well, as usual, I owe you one, Mona. Thanks.”
“It's no problem,” she assured me. “Though, what we really need to be asking ourselves is how someone got ahold of such a weapon in the first place. I don't imagine you met the god of death himself on the battlefield, did you?”
“Nope,” I replied. “It was a necromancer. Guy named... Aga...mammary? Aganonomous...?” I turned to Kubo. “What the hell was his name?”
“Agamemnon,” uttered the chief. “A perp who's
As soon as the doors were shut, Kubo tore out of the parking lot and headed for Yao's. “Hang in there, Lucy. We're going to see what Mona can do about this,” said Joe from the passenger seat. He reached back and touched my shoulder.
That was the last thing I heard. It was at that moment that I lost consciousness.
***
When next I awoke I got an eyeful of Mona.
A groan left my lips as her withered, stubby hands patted my bare torso. “Oh,” she said, appraising me with beady eyes. “I see you're awake. Quite a lot of trouble you've gotten yourself into this time.”
I stared up at the ceiling. There was a dim light glowing there. My body was drenched in sweat, and I could feel my bare back sticking to the wooden table. The curious sounds and smells of Mona's workshop teased my senses. From afar came the rattling of a cage and the squawking of something like a bird. I heard something bubbling, too. Acrid smoke reached my nostrils, and I began to cough. “What happened?”
From somewhere in the room, Kubo chimed in. “Your ass passed out. That wound just about ruined you. Good thing we got you to Mona when we did, else you might've been a goner.”
I'd only been conscious for a minute or so, but that didn't sound right. “That ain't right. I've got a demon's heart. I can't die .”
Mona loosed a small chuckle and shook her head. The white shock of hair she wore drooped down against her shoulders. “Oh, you certainly can die. A Demon-Heart is difficult to kill, but you aren't immortal.”
Well, color me disappointed. This was just about the most unwelcome news I could imagine. Finding out that I was still technically a mortal-- albeit a super-powered one-- was a downer. A real slap in the face. “Wish I'd known that sooner. I thought I was supposed to be unkillable, goddammit.”
“You're resilient,” explained Mona. “Impervious to most attacks, it's true. Like I said, you're hard to kill, but not invulnerable. And, frankly, there isn't a lot out there that won't die when cut by the Scythe of Thanatos.”
“The Scythe of what?” I sat up on my elbows, catching a glimpse of my side. When last I'd been conscious there'd been a nasty, aggravated wound there. It was gone now, the flesh pristine. Come to think of it, the pain was gone, too. In a silver bowl near the table I spotted something large and black. It was a mass of flesh, covered in small lumps, and it pulsated as though alive. The bowl was half-filled in what I took to be my blood, and I could only guess that this disgusting thing had been pulled out of me. “What the hell is that? ” I asked, positive that I wouldn't care for the answer.
“Oh,” replied the old witch, picking up the bowl. “It's a tumor of a kind. It's a symptom specific to this particular weapon. The Scythe of Thanatos lays a curse on those who are cut by it. That curse manifests physically as a tumor, which shuts down the body's ability to heal. If the initial cut doesn't kill you, the tumor's rapid growth certainly will-- and it'll make sure you can't heal up the wound, all but ensuring your suffering till the end.”
“Rad.” I poked my newly-healed flesh with my finger and then swung my legs around, sitting at the edge of Mona's table. “Well, as usual, I owe you one, Mona. Thanks.”
“It's no problem,” she assured me. “Though, what we really need to be asking ourselves is how someone got ahold of such a weapon in the first place. I don't imagine you met the god of death himself on the battlefield, did you?”
“Nope,” I replied. “It was a necromancer. Guy named... Aga...mammary? Aganonomous...?” I turned to Kubo. “What the hell was his name?”
“Agamemnon,” uttered the chief. “A perp who's
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