Free Web NovelChapter 16: The Shadow at My Back
The frozen wind of the demon mountains howled through the spruce, skeletal trees, biting sharply against Carmilla’s face. She didn’t mind the cold, her pureblood vampire heritage made her naturally resistant to the freezing temperatures, and it fondly reminded her of her homeland, but she was thoroughly sick of wandering through the endless snow.
Holding up a glowing, purple-tinted mana crystal, Carmilla watched the faint magical vapor drift toward the northwest section of the mountains.
"The dungeon’s mana leakage is getting stronger," she muttered to herself, her sharp purple eyes scanning the treacherous terrain ahead. "If I maintain this pace, I should reach the secondary rift by tomorrow evening."
She let out a tired, heavy sigh, looking down at her boots. Her feet had become terribly sore after hours of walking through this unforgiving, snow-packed environment.
"My, my... so serious, Princess. You’ll give yourself wrinkles if you keep scowling at the scenery like that."
Carmilla’s entire body went rigid with instant annoyance.
Before she could even turn around, a sudden, heavy warmth pressed against her back. Malakai had materialized out of the shadows with an unnatural, terrifying silence. He loomed over her short but voluptuous frame, his chest practically brushing against her shoulder blades.
Carmilla didn’t even have time to snap at him before she felt something warm, wet, and utterly shameless swipe up the column of her neck.
’Slither.’
Malakai’s tongue traced a slow, teasing line over her sensitive skin, tasting the cold frost melting on her collarbone.
"Ah! What the—! Malakai, unhand me!" Carmilla shrieked.
Her cold, regal pride shattered instantly as her face exploded into a vibrant, flustered crimson. She whipped her body around, her arrow-tipped tail lashing out aggressively as she shoved his heavy chest away.
Malakai didn’t even flinch. He just caught her wrist effortlessly in his massive hand, holding it just a second too long. A thoroughly mischievous, lazy smirk plastered his stupidly handsome face as his slitted golden eyes locked onto hers. He slowly licked his lips, looking incredibly amused by her explosive reaction.
"Now, now, no need to be so violent," Malakai purred smoothly, his voice a low, dripping drawl. He leaned his tall frame down until his pale white hair brushed against her forehead. "I was merely cleaning the snow off your neck. A loyal companion should look after his master’s hygiene, shouldn’t he?"
"I am ’not’ your master, you overgrown stray! And keep your disgusting tongue inside your mouth!" Carmilla snapped, wrenching her wrist out of his grip and furiously wiping her neck with her sleeve. Her heart was beating entirely too fast, and it irritated her to no end that he knew it.
Malakai merely chuckled, folding his arms as he watched her flustered attempts to regain her composure. His golden eyes narrowed with a sudden, calculating glint.
"You know, it really begs the question, Carmilla," he murmured, his playful tone dropping just a fraction into something more probing. "Why on earth is a proud, high-and-mighty pureblood vampire digging through the dirt for a hidden dungeon in the middle of nowhere? What exactly are you looking for so badly?"
Carmilla stiffened, her expression instantly turning icy to mask her thoughts. She turned her back to him, lifting her chin with stubborn pride.
"That is none of your business, demon," she stated vaguely, stepping forward to continue her trek through the thick snow. "Just keep your eyes open and make sure nothing ambushes us."
Watching her retreating figure, Malakai’s smirk returned, dark and deeply intrigued. "As you wish... Princess."
Carmilla and her unwanted, "loyal" dog continued through the frozen forest, successfully avoiding most of the dangerous monsters that dwelled within. It was usually quite easy for them to bypass fights since Malakai’s demonic senses alerted him to every single living thing within a very large radius. However, every now and then, he would intentionally neglect to tell Carmilla that a threat was approaching. This forced her to slow down and fight it. Though she defeated the monsters with relative ease, she was naturally furious that the idiot was making her waste precious time.
"Man..." Malakai let out an exaggerated, theatrical sigh. "I am ’so’ tired. So much walking, the constant danger of monsters..."
Carmilla stopped and whipped around, looking at him with deep suspicion. "Don’t even try your little spiel with me again. I already told you that I am not going to enter into any contracts with you, so drop it."
"Really?" he asked, his grin widening from ear to ear.
"Yes," Carmilla said sternly.
"A shame, indeed."
"A shame?! We could have been at the dungeon entrance already, and my—" Carmilla caught herself before mentioning her sore feet, folding her arms tightly over her chest as she glared at him. "You refuse to tell me where it is."
"True," he said smoothly, stepping closer. "But what’s the fun in that? And plus, it benefits me in absolutely no way to help you... unless..."
Malakai chuckled, his tail rising slowly from behind his back. Carmilla froze, her heart instantly racing as the sharp tip of his tail glided upward, stopping right below her chin. She braced herself, fully expecting him to use it to cock her head up so she would be forced to look into his eyes.
Instead, it just hovered there, wagging slightly in mid-air.
"Expecting something, Princess?" Malakai teased.
Thoroughly flustered at having her thoughts read, Carmilla snapped her head up to look at the annoying demon, who was practically beaming with satisfaction.
"You—! Tch. ’Unless’ nothing!" she snapped, using her own arrow-tipped tail to viciously swat his down. "It’s not happening."
"Now let’s move, I don’t have time for your childish games." She turned around as fast as she could, desperate to hide the dark blush burning on her cheeks.
Malakai followed closely behind her, a triumphant, wicked smile plastered across his face.
"Slow down now, my little lady. You might hurt yourself," Malakai chuckled, his voice echoing in her ears.
"..."
"No answer? How mean," he said in a low, purring tone.
After another long, grueling walk through the thick brush, the two finally came to a stop at the edge of a high hill overlooking the valley that led directly to the dungeon.
Spreading out below them was a fortified Holy Order encampment. Carmilla instantly lowered her frame into the snow, using the treeline to conceal her voluptuous figure.
"It’s a Holy Order camp. Great. Just another problem for me," Carmilla grumbled. She turned her head slowly, her sharp purple eyes locking onto the demon beside her.
Malakai merely leaned in, invading her space as usual. "If you keep staring at me like that, I might actually start blushing," he whispered.
Being dead serious, Carmilla reached out, grabbed Malakai firmly by his dark collar, and yanked his massive frame down until they were face-to-face.
"Malakai."
"Yes, my little master?"
"Do ’not’ alert the entire camp. We are going to sneak through it quietly. Got it?"
Malakai merely chuckled softly. Before she could react, he leaned his head a fraction of an inch closer and swiped his tongue right across her cheek.
"I’ll behave, okay? Now stop stressing and let’s go."
"Wha—! You—! Why can’t you take things seriously for once?!" Carmilla hissed, frantically wiping her cheek as he lazily stood back up
