The Year of the Salamander - 32. Chapter 32

13:30 PM

Sam woke up around one in the afternoon. He had no idea what time it was, but the sun looked like it was around at least noon. He sat up with a groan, almost hitting his head on that little table. He remembered about it just in time, and performed some strange motion, trying to avoid it. The motion was somewhat successful, so after he sat there for about a half an hour straight, he decided to walk down the road until he hit something that looked like a populated area.

Sam didn’t even look around him; every single thought of his concentrating on the task of ‘Get out of here...! Now!’

He walked outside and shivered involuntarily in the unforgiving chilly wind. He glanced around wildly, and finally, he saw something that resembled a road leading down – just what he needed. He started walking towards that road, and suddenly, his left shoulder blade exploded with heat and mad itching. He groaned and stopped, trying to reach that spot. He pulled his shirt away just a little and turned his head, trying to see what it was that made him feel as if he were bitten by some very angry ants. He saw golden glow on his skin. The glow was emerging from his tattoo.

“What the hell...” Sam muttered, sinking his fingernails into his skin. “Goddammit...” He gritted his teeth and bit his lip, scratching himself furiously.

The itching eased up a little, and Sam started walking towards the road again. The minute he took a single step, however, the itching and burning returned with renewed vigor. He hissed something unintelligible through his teeth, locked his jaw tight, and kept on walking, trying to ignore his shoulder blade, which felt as if it was on fire right now.

“Oh, don’t bother!” someone said seriously behind his back, and he turned around, stopping once again. The flaming itching backed off immediately.

“Don’t bother,” she repeated with a slight nod. “Even if you somehow make it onto the road, you won’t be able to go any farther...”

“Eve?” he said incredulously.

“How are ya, book-buddy?” she gave him a brilliant smile.

“Holy hell,” he muttered. “Desmond was right!”

That statement made her frown.

“Desmond...” she repeated thoughtfully.

“He knew there was something wrong about you,” Sam tried taking another step and hissed through his clenched teeth at the splash of fiery itching on his skin.

“He did, huh?” Eve hemmed. “Even after I specifically told him to forget about every single suspicion he ever had...? Man, he is a tough one,” she sighed. “Oh, well,” she shrugged. “He did his part nevertheless... You both did,” she smiled again. “Oh, stop trying, book-buddy!” she sighed when Sam wouldn’t give up his attempts to get closer to the road. “Seriously, you will only...” Here she frowned, watching Sam getting closer and closer to the road. “Son of a bitch,” she muttered. “What is it with you two...? You are not even related, and yet both of you resist me like nobody did before... Bizarre,” she nodded to herself.

She sighed deeply and clapped her hands. The minute she did that, Sam felt as if he just ran into a brick wall face-first. He came to a dead stop; all his furious efforts to move were ridiculously futile.

“You know,” Eve said with a hint of irritation. “I didn’t expect this to be so complicated. Hell, I even hoped to get some good, old-fashioned roll in the sack out of it... Figured might as well, right? Who the hell was it that you met that one night?” She seemed to be genuinely curious. “I mean, whoever it was, he must be pretty meaningful to you, since you were able to resist a lust spell... Anyway,” she sighed and looked up into the sky. “It’s almost time. Here is what I need you to do,” she looked at him steadily. “Get onto the top floor...” she gestured towards the watchtower. “There is a table there. On the table, you will find a very neat-looking silver dagger. I need you to bathe the blade in your blood... Well,” she shrugged. “Not literally. ‘Bathe’ is just an expression. All you have to do is to prick your finger with it, nothing more. Once the blade tastes your blood, it becomes attuned to you. This is something you must do on your own. Then wait for me there. I will be there shortly, don’t worry,” she flashed him another brilliant smile. “This time, we will succeed, I am sure.”

“Screw you, bitch...” Sam panted, trying to overcome the urge to go towards the watchtower.

“Well,” she hemmed. “I hoped you would, but you didn’t, did you? Now, enough chitchat!” she said sharply. “Start moving!”

He gritted his teeth in the impossible effort to stay put. He felt as if he was being torn apart with his own will and an alien desire to ‘Go-go-go-there!’ Eve let out an exasperated sigh and rolled her eyes when he was able to stop himself from moving.

“Oh, for the love of...” she muttered and raised her hands again for another clap.

Right before she brought her palms together, however, a small sharp rock whistled through the air and hit her right on the temple. She made a strange meowing sound and collapsed onto the ground. The alien desire swayed and disappeared into nothing. Sam looked around with wild eyes.

“Sam!”

He whirled around.

“Desmond?” he muttered, blinking rapidly.

“Yeah, yeah,” Desmond muttered, grabbing Sam’s shoulder. “You okay?”

“I think so...”

“Good,” Desmond nodded. “Get the hell away from here! Run, okay?”

“What about you?” Sam frowned.

“I’ll catch up with you,” Desmond nodded again. “I’m gonna take care of this bitch and I will catch up with you!”

“Eve...” Sam muttered.

“That’s not Eve,” Desmond said quickly. “The real Eve died back in July... Long story, kid,” he shook his head impatiently when Sam opened his mouth, ready to burst into a series of questions. “Just go, okay?”

“Yeah, okay...” Sam threw a quick glance at the unconscious young woman and his eyes widened. “Desmond...!”

Desmond didn’t need him to say anything. The minute he saw Sam’s terrified eyes, he knew that the bitch had to be taken care of right now. He whirled around just before she managed to clap her hands again.

“Oh, no you don’t...” he growled and grabbed both of her arms, twisting them behind her back. “Go, Sam!” he grunted, trying to squeeze both of her wrists with one hand. “Goddammit, kid... Go!”

The woman slightly turned her head, and suddenly, her entire body shimmered for a fraction of a second, and then Sam’s mouth hung open when every single feature of hers melted off as if her appearance was nothing but a liquid illusion. Desmond’s eyes flew wide open when he saw who was standing in front of him.

“Tess?!” he said incredulously, without even noticing that his grip on her wrists relaxed immensely.

She flashed him a brilliant smile.

“It’s Leona,” she said in a low voice. “But I see why you would think that...”

She twisted around and pulled her arms free. Before Desmond could even move, she barked something in the alien language and waved her left hand in the air in a sharp, precise gesture. Desmond’s entire body jerked, and then he flew backwards, slamming into the brick wall of the watchtower full speed. He hit the wall with the back of his head so hard that he believed his skull cracked open. Then he saw nothing.

“Desmond!” Sam screamed after watching the man collapse onto the ground, blood running down from his nose.

“Enough!” the redhead turned around and clapped her hands. This time she wasn’t smiling. “I am running out of time! Go!” she ordered, and Sam groaned something with desperate fury when he started walking towards the watchtower, all his efforts to free himself were beyond futile.

He slowly made his way to the door of the tower and wrapped his fingers around the doorknob. The woman stood still, watching him like a hawk.

“Hurry up!” she spat with a frown, and clapped her hands once more.

Sam screamed out when he opened the door and walked inside, moving faster than he did before. The woman let out a small, relieved sigh when she saw him starting to climb the staircase. She looked up into the cloudy sky. She knew that she couldn’t do anything until the sacrifice bathed the blade in his own blood all on his own. She looked at her watch and let out an annoyed ‘tsk!’ She had seventeen minutes until the right hour.

“Hurry up...” she muttered with a tight frown, her foot tapping in the impatient rhythm.

Then, several minutes later, she felt tremors running throughout her entire body. She immediately knew that the blade just received the blood, and she laughed shrilly, relief washing over her in an overwhelming wave.

“Showtime...” she muttered to herself and took a step towards the watchtower.

Just when she moved, she felt movement behind her back and tried turning around. Right before she could do it, however, she was knocked off her feet and flew into the ground face-first. The impact her forehead made with the hard ground was so great that everything around her swirled rather fast and her ears started to ring. She mumbled something and shook her head. Then she was pinned to the ground by something incredibly heavy. She tried to get her arms free, but the second she moved, the weight on her back became even heavier, and then a jaw filled with nightmarishly sharp teeth clanked an inch away from the side of her neck.

“Oh, son of a bitch!” she thought feverishly, immediately recognizing that damn dog. The beast was getting in her way ever since she tapped into Sam’s dreams for the very first time. She hated Akbash dogs; the damn things were ridiculously sensitive to spells of any kind. She thrashed under the dog’s great weight, trying to get at least one hand free. She could scream spells until her throat was raw, but she would achieve nothing if she couldn’t move her hand at the same time as she chanted.

The dog growled loudly, and then one of the paws pressed her even harder into the ground, small rocks, and melting snow blinding her and scratching her face mercilessly. She whispered a hectic chant, trying to at least move a finger, ignoring the fact that those nightmarish teeth were so close to her neck now, she could smell the nauseating breath that escaped the dog’s throat. Finally, she succeeded in moving several of her fingers, and the dog let out a high-pitched yelp. She almost smiled, but the damn dog ignored the pain and sank his teeth into her exposed shoulder, very close to her neck.

She let out a bloodcurdling scream, knowing that she had maybe, five minutes left until the time window shut down. She screamed out several bizarre-sounding words, ignoring the flaming pain in her shoulder, furiously twisting her wrist. The dog yelped, and then the woman was free. She shakily got up on all four, briefly glancing behind her back. The dog lay on the ground, his paws twitching weakly. He tried moving, but all he could do was to lift up his head and helplessly jerk his hips.

“Goddamn dog,” she hissed and raced towards the tower, ignoring the desire to kill the beast right then and there – she had no time for this right now.

She ran upstairs, blood running down her arm in pulsating, throbbing splashes, and when she finally made her way to the top floor, her head was spinning and she felt dizzy. Sam turned his head and looked at her with empty eyes. She grabbed the dagger stained with blood and took a step towards him, chanting softly with great concentration. Pain and rapid loss of blood made her disoriented and lightheaded. Suddenly, Sam blinked very rapidly and took a step back, towards the window.

“Goddammit!” the woman thought furiously without interrupting her chants. “Stay put!”

His face twisted in a tight grimace and his entire body shook.

“Go to hell...” he muttered, and suddenly, he kicked the table at her.

She swayed on her feet and dropped the dagger. Somehow, she managed not to interrupt her chanting. She chanted louder and bent down to pick up the dagger. The minute her gaze left Sam’s face, he felt relatively free, and without thinking twice, he flew onto the windowsill.

“No!” she shrieked when she saw that maneuver. “No! Get down here!”

“See you in hell, book-buddy,” Sam said in a tight voice and took a step out of the window.

She screamed in helpless rage, and then she screamed in pain when her body set ablaze.

“Sam!!” Blair yelled after the twitching body of the redhead turned into a pile of ashes. “Sam!”

He lunged towards the window and looked outside wildly. There was nobody and nothing there. Just dark water splashing below the cliff.