The Reaper's Wicked Obsession-Chapter 207: The Stingers

Pffft!

The bizarre sound came behind her. Isadora pivoted to the danger, but it was too late.

Something quick and tiny punctured her neck.

Isadora hissed, grabbing the thing and forcing it out of her skin.

Her hand quivered as she stared at a tiny red needle. "What’s this?"

"Oh no!" Thornfoot panicked, backing away slowly. "Not them!"

"Them?"

The dread in Thornfoot’s eyes was unlike anything she had ever seen.

"Stingers!"

"S-Stinger?"

"Trust me, you don’t want to be involved with them!" Then he paused as a fruition grasped him. ’Dear Alda, it couldn’t be!’

"Thornfoot?"

"T-They don’t just prey randomly on others. We’re marked!"

Suddenly, a group materialized from the trees, wringing out of the bark as if they had been fused within the entire time.

Isadora watched with wide eyes as they crawled out, and in fear, she backed away.

They stood to their full height, clad in blood brown attire and shawls. Judging from the same height and build, they were all males.

They grinned in unison.

She didn’t need her telltale sign to tell her what extreme danger they were in.

"Stay behind me, Thornfoot," she said, unsheathing her twin daggers.

She didn’t know if she could take all five of them; she knew nothing of what they were capable of, but Thornfoot’s fears showed that they might be terrifying foes.

Isadora’s body strained from the fatigue, causing her muscles to be heavy, but that didn’t stop her from holding her ground, refusing to back down, and waiting for any attacks.

However, they made no move, just lingered there, their aura calm but hard to discern. The same feeling when they materialized from the tree.

Strangely, their attention was fixated on her. Their hands moving in looping motion, their fingertips smeared in red paint like blood.

Thornfoot panic increased, but there was a spark of relief flooding his insides. "Merciful Almadra, you’re the one they want."

A chill shot down Isadora’s spine at his declaration. "M-Me?"

"Stingers are known widely for preying on women." He gulped, taking cautious steps backward. "The last thing you want is to be involved with them." He darted his regretful gaze to Isadora. "Forgive me."

In a heartbeat, he spun and sprinted.

"T-Thornfoot!"

"Do not pay him heed, doll."

At the bland, bone-chilling voice, she snapped her gaze back to them. She couldn’t tell which one of them spoke.

"We’ve come for you."

It was almost like they were articulating at the same time. Was that possible?

"You’re our gift."

This time, the one at the center spoke, devouring the distance between them in deliberate, calculative steps.

"We’ve come to take."

Isadora’s expression darkened. ’Take?’ she thought as fury burned within her. She would rather fight to the death than let them take her!

When he got within arm’s reach, she swung her blade with force, but it halted mid-air, almost like an unseen force had stopped her.

But it was her own body turned against her.

Isadora’s lips came apart as a scathing pain, rooted deep within her bones, drove her body to stop functioning.

The sensation of something wriggling beneath her skin sent chills down her spine, goosebumps rose on her skin. When her gaze dropped to her cheek, she saw red veins creeping toward her eyes.

’What’s happening to me?’ she thought, desperate to move—but her body declined—not a single muscle responded to her brain’s command as if it no longer belonged to her.

"Relax, doll. Let it in."

She shifted her gaze back to him, and his hand reached for her and caressed her cheek.

"I promise, you’ll feel good when it’s over."

She tried to speak, but the words choked in her throat and became nothing but a soundless struggle.

The Stinger pulled some strands of her hair behind her normal-shaped ear

"He was right. She’s exquisite, look at those ears."

"Her hair..."

"So long..."

It was hard to tell which spoke; they all shared the same voice.

"Look at that skin."

"It shines under the sunlight."

"I want to see more."

"We want to see more."

Isadora tautened, her breathing ragged and unstable, a raspy, choked sound broke from her throat when she tried to speak. Her body fought internally to move, but it was no use.

Tears slid down her cheeks as her mind surrendered to the sensation working its way to her mind. The veins crept into her eyes and turned them bloody red.

"Don’t be afraid, doll," they said in unison. "We’ll take good care of you."

~♧~

Miles Away

A body fell to the ground, and Kraven loomed over it as he wiped the blood off his steel and sheathed it in his holster strapped behind his back.

"Be quick."

Logi assembled the Serpent’s clothes from their dead bodies, it took some time before he finished.

"There were four of them," he said. "Thornfoot will make up the number, yes?"

"Eventually," Kraven replied, already walking away, eager to get back to Isadora.

He didn’t have anything to worry about because of his forts protecting her. But he knew her stubbornness. She might try to frustrate him by stepping out of it.

She was angry because he left her behind, but it was for her own good.

"Why did you do it?" Logi asked, walking beside him.

"You’re the smart one."

Logi chuckled. "You can’t blame me for wanting to hear it from you."

"I don’t need to explain myself," he said irritably.

Logi adjusted the heavy bag on his shoulder. "Not to me, but to her. She might get the wrong idea..."

"This is not about sidelining her."

"Hmm... are you sure?"

Kraven halted and faced Logi with heated eyes. "She expels too much aura, using it for simple things like trying to keep up."

The entire time since their journey, he noticed every single one of her struggles.

"It takes a toll on her body. I’ll not have her vulnerable in the face of danger," he added.

"She’s a mannfae, Kraven, she’s vulnerable half the time, but when has that stopped her?"

"I’m not in the mood for your lectures." Kraven continued his walk.

"Isadora’s as resilient as she can be." Logi sighed. "Look, I agree with you, but she’s capable of holding her ground, and what you did shows that you don’t trust her strength."

Kraven halted, his teeth clenching hard. "I know the extent and limits of her strength. Do not question me." He faced Logi. "She’s a feisty little thing who can conquer anything she sets her mind to. But she’s reckless."

"In Alda’s name, I wonder where she got that from." Logi rolled his eyes.

Suddenly, the sound of rustling bushes filled the air.

"Someone’s coming," Logi said, eyes skimming the area.

Raspy breath followed as a person emerged from the covering of trees, ruffled and scared.

"Thornfoot?" Kraven said with narrowed eyes.

"W-We’ve got to run!" He panted, dashing past them.

Kraven grabbed his collar and yanked him back, lifting him off his feet to his eye level. "What the fuck are you doing here Thornfoot? Where’s Isadora?"

He broke into a fit of tears, crying like a child as snot followed too.

Kraven glared with disdain as his grip tightened. "Quit the crying and speak!"

"T-T-T-They took her!" He yelled. "I had no choice, she was marked. They’d have killed me too!"

"What?" Logi said, wide-eyed.

The pressure in the air shifted; it took milliseconds for Thornfoot to discern the hold crushing his throat.

He choked, scratching against Kraven’s hand, but he didn’t even flinch.

"Who. Took. Her?" he growled out each word.

"S-S-S-Stingers."

Kraven’s blood ran cold at his revelation.

"Alda! How on earth did that happen?!" Logi yelled.

"Did you just stand there and let them take her away?!" Kraven seethed to his face, rage burning through his skin.

"I-I-I..." Thornfoot couldn’t get the words right, his throat was on the verge of being destroyed by Kraven’s grip.

Frustrated by his repulsive attempts, Kraven flung him away like paper, his body crashing into the tree bark.

Thornfoot swallowed thickly, his insides felt like they were being squeezed.

Kraven’s chest rose and fell heavily. He tried to think clearly, but he couldn’t.

He’d heard of these Stingers and what they were capable of.

They were an infamous group rarely seen by anyone, but rumors have it they did unspeakable things to their prey.

"Kraven..." Logi began, trying his best to stay on his two feet as Kraven’s aura compressed the air around them.

The birds perched on the trees, dropped to the ground, dead. frёewebnoѵēl.com

Without any more words, Kraven vanished in a weave of shadows. He lurked back to the forts he put up and reappeared in the area.

His thirst spiked from the use of his dark weaves, thrashing away from the depths.

Kraven’s erratic eyes skimmed the area, but Isadora was nowhere to be seen. All traces of her were gone as if she had been erased.

But there was a lingering aura Kraven sensed. The realization gripped him.

They were within the tree the whole time, waiting for the right moment to reveal themselves.

Kraven dropped to his knees and held the twin daggers on the ground, the only thing left of her.

His grip tightened against the steel, blood smearing his hand as a blaring roar tore from his throat.