Chapter 21: Wendigo

In the end, I wasn’t able to fall asleep with Zophie. I was simply too used to sleeping during the day and being awake at night. My sleep schedule had shifted somewhat with Zophie coming at breakfast, but not enough for me to fall asleep now.

Regardless, I had a plan for tonight. I waited until Zophie was completely asleep— to the point where I could move her limp body off of me without disturbing her.

As I sat out of bed, I paid extra attention to not unnecessarily move the bed. Equally quietly, I made sure to carefully open and close the door behind me. If I woke her, I knew she wouldn’t let me leave, or she’d demand to come with me.

Though the heart of my domain remained strong, I created an extra layer of protection. Breaking through the shadowy barrier should be impossible for Wendigo, if he somehow bypassed me.

The air outside my apartment smelled fresh, and the moon hung high overhead. Even the mortals’ bright machines couldn’t ruin the beautiful night. The shadows fell all around me, eager to be used. Though I’d have to pace myself, I was strained enough as is. Relaxing earlier had helped, but I wasn’t anywhere close to my best.

It would be more than enough to deal with Wendigo, weak and foul as he was.

Taking in another deep inhale, I searched for the tell-tale scent of rot. As I’d suspected, it drifted in the wind, the tale of thousands of sins drifting along with it.

I summoned my wings; I’d need them for the extra power they granted me. Then I closed my eyes and took three slow breaths. With each inhale, the shadows around me grew, settling down again on the exhale.

My wings launched me forward, floating only an inch off the ground. The shadows carried me forward, and my wings beat in time with them. The buildings blurred past me, and the humans ignored me even when I passed right through them.

I found him in an alley. Wendigo noticed me coming, his head turning sharply in my direction. Despite sensing me, his eyes darted every which way, not able to see me through my shadows until it was too late.

My shoulder collided directly into his torso, his body bending from the force of it, only to be launched away when momentum caught up to him. As I stepped onto the concrete, I had to roll my shoulder after the impact; his torso had been so hard that I knew I’d have a bruise later.

Wendigo crashed so hard against the side of the alley that he smashed through bricks. Dust rose into the air, but he quickly snarled, sounding more like a wolf than a man. “Asmo, you bleed for her— how pathetic!” he howled.

“Who I bleed for won’t matter to a dead man,” I shot back, pulling the shadows in toward me. I had to strain myself to do so, and I knew I needed to end this fight quickly— before exhaustion took hold.

Wendigo ran through the lingering dust, his grotesque, inverted knees giving him uncanny speed. The claws on his toes dug into the concrete, scraping it for leverage.

I braced. If he wanted to run right into me, all the better. He tried to slam into me, much like I’d done to him a moment ago. My shadows were waiting for him, a long spike stabbing out just as he got close.

He impaled himself right through the stomach, and dark red blood oozed out of him. Regardless, like a wild animal, he continued to try and throw himself at me. The shadow spike was wider near its base, so the most he managed to accomplish was injuring himself further as he slowly worked his way up the spike.

His eyes glowed red in the full moon, his face the only part of him not shape-shifted into wiry muscle or jagged limbs. “Asmo,” he rasped, clawing at the spike he was stuck on.

“You knew how much stronger I am than you. What was the point of this?” I asked him pointedly, confident that he was stuck, at least for now.

“Michael invited me; said that your territory was up for grabs.” He smirked, blood staining his teeth. “Looks like he might be right. You won’t have time to protect your land if you have to babysit a mortal.”

Then he leapt backward, his body pulling off the shadow spike with a wet sound. I watched as the muscles of his abdomen began to knit themselves back together.

He laughed then. “I’m immortal! Tear my flesh apart, but it will be pointless!”

I scoffed at him. He spoke as if I hadn’t been the end of many immortals. Not to mention my own heritage. Further words here would be useless.

Big attacks with my shadows would fail, tired as I was. So, I kept to the basics. My shadows concentrated around my hands, and I charged forward with a flap of my wings again.

We collided inelegantly, clawing at each other. My first strike ripped out his throat, and his counterattack would have taken off my arm had I not blocked with a wing.

Our battle devolved into savagery, each swing of my arms rending flesh from his body, only for his skin to reform. I took his blows upon my wings, interposing them as a shield. Feathers flew through the air, dark plumage tearing out of me with each strike. When a wing couldn’t block in time, I took his blows upon my arms. Despite being covered in shadows, I could feel bruises piling up upon them, the bones creaking dangerously.

Blood flew everywhere, and not all of it was his. Some of his attacks slipped past my guard, leaving scratches across my body. My attacks weren’t pointless, either. Each time I tore flesh from him, his body healed thinner with less material to work from. His cheeks began to fall gaunt, his dense muscles soon becoming cord-like and thin.

His strength didn’t wane in the slightest; each blow felt more savage than the last. I could feel my spiritual essence draining dangerously. I barely had enough to maintain the claws and shielding across my arms.

We clashed again. My claws aimed for his throat in a slash to the right, but he pulled his head away. He pushed in while I was overextended, crouching low and committing to an attack on my stomach. When he drew in close, I slammed my knee into his nose, blood spurting out. He hadn’t expected that, lost in a frenzy as he was, and he was dazed for a crucial second.

I brought my claws back in, swinging from the other side. His head parted from his shoulders, my shadows slicing through his neck cleanly. His body collapsed instantly, but the manic red glow in his eyes remained.

In a final feat of supernatural strength, before his head could finish falling, he clamped down on my arm with his teeth. His jaw flexed, and the shadows around my forearm broke into wisps. His teeth dug into my arm, but failed to break my arm.

I had to pry him off with my other hand, grimacing as his teeth pulled away from my flesh. With the last embers of his life, he grinned at me one last time, showing off the blood between his teeth.

The pain only hit me after I’d dropped his head unceremoniously to the ground. My left arm hung limply at my side, and the shadows no longer obeyed my will. He’d broken the last of my hold over them, my spiritual essence drained utterly.

My mind instantly drifted to Zophie, thinking about how worried she’d be to see another wound on me. Though it wouldn’t be as fast as Wendigo, the wound would heal in a few hours, I knew.

I turned around to leave the alley. I’d have to walk all the way home, something I didn’t look forward to. At least most mortals were off the streets this late into the night.

As I turned the corner to the main road, I stopped in my tracks. My heart dropped, and my stomach clenched as dread pooled in my gut.

“Ah, Asmo! We were just looking for you.”

I made to run forward, wounds and lack of spiritual essence be damned.

“Ah-ah,” Michael chastised calmly, his finger right on Zophie’s jugular. “You’ll wake her up.”