“ What in the hell are you …” My words hung unfinished as an unseen force pushed me up and away from my prey . Kenryū , my sword , flew from my hand spinning away into uselessness as I sailed backward through empty space . Slamming into the opposite wall , I whipped my head left looking for my new nemesis . I heard the footsteps , but my attacker visually eluded me . I was pinned to the wall by the force of him , but I could not locate him .
Unexpectedly , a voice in my right ear whispered , “ I ’ m right here .”
I snapped my head back around , to see the man I most hated standing in front of me . My tormentor . My adversary . My creator .
“ Lazarius .”
I was lifted off my feet and carried backward into the alley , as if I weighed next to nothing , but my abductor could not have been very heavy himself . He was not much taller than I , and could not have weighed more than 150 pounds , for I could feel his body pressed against my back as he had me clasped to him – like a mother who had just been reunited with her lost child . From what I could tell , he was lithe , not very muscular . It amazed me to think he could handle me so , without the slightest effort .
It was , however , the coldness of his hand and the essence emanating from him that sent my mind whirling . It was unlike anything I had ever imagined ; evil and lust and dominance all woven together in one unknowable creature . I could feel the darkness
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