Chapter 3: Sparks and Shadows

Lily’s POV

The raw power of his voice sent a shockwave directly through my core, but the sheer terror of his words snapped me back to reality. 

He was claiming me. He was acting like a total animal. I gathered every single ounce of physical strength inside my body and pushed against his solid chest with a frantic scream.

The sudden explosion of energy caught him completely off guard. His heavy hands slipped from my waist, and he stumbled back two full steps into the shadows of the storage room. 

His chest was heaving up and down, and his eyes were blinking rapidly as if he were trying to wake up from a deep, hypnotic dream. The glowing golden color slowly began to melt away from his eyes, leaving behind his familiar dark brown gaze, which was now filled with total confusion and white hot anger.

"Do not you ever dare touch me like that ever again!" I shouted at the top of my lungs, my voice cracking with a mixture of fear and pure adrenaline.

I did not wait for him to respond. I spun around on my heel, pushed the heavy storage door open, and practically sprinted back out into the bright, safe space of the main shop. 

I stood behind the glass counter, my hands gripping the edge so hard my knuckles turned white. I tried desperately to calm my racing heart and catch my shallow breath, but my entire body was shaking like a leaf.

Before I could even process what had just happened in the dark room, the brass bell above the front door jingled loudly again. The door flew open with violence. This time, it was not my dad returning early from his errand. 

It was Marcus Flint, and he had three massive varsity hockey players from school trailing right behind him. They did not look like they were here to browse for winter sports gear. They looked like a gang of wild animals looking for a bloody street fight.

"Where is our golden boy captain hiding?" Marcus asked, a nasty, arrogant smirk plastered across his face. He walked slowly up to the counter, his heavy boots clomping against the floor tiles. He tapped his fingers loudly against the glass display case, staring directly into my eyes.

"He is working in the back," I said, trying my absolute best to keep my voice steady and brave, though my knees felt like water. "You guys need to leave this shop right now. We are officially closed for the day."

Marcus laughed out loud, a harsh sound that filled the room. He leaned far over the counter, bringing his face dangerously close to mine. "You shouldn't protect that dangerous animal, sweet girl. Holden is a monster. He belongs in a heavy steel cage, not on a clean ice rink. He is going to hurt you."

Before I could tell him to back away, the back door clicked open. Holden walked out from the storage room, his face a completely frozen mask of absolute fury. His hands were clenched into tight fists at his sides.

"Marcus. Get your pathetic face out of this shop right now before I personally throw your body through the front window glass."

Marcus laughed again, taking a single step back but showing absolutely zero fear.

"You can't touch me, Holden. One more report of a violent fight and the university talent scouts will drop your name forever. You will lose your entire future. You will be stuck in this boring, pathetic little town forever with the ordinary girl next door."

To provoke him, Marcus reached out his hand suddenly, deliberately grabbing a high display row of expensive, customized carbon fiber hockey sticks. He yanked them forward, knocking them violently to the floor. They hit the hard floor tiles and shattered into sharp wooden and plastic pieces with a loud crash.

Holden let out a low, terrifying snarl from the absolute depths of his chest. It was that same non human sound from the locker room. He took a massive step forward to attack Marcus, but the moment his foot hit the floor, something truly horrific happened to his physical body. 

The skin on both of his hands suddenly began to turn a deep, pitch black color. Dark, smoky black veins started creeping rapidly up his arms from beneath his long sleeves like a spreading poison. He groaned out in pure, agonizing pain, dropping to his knees and gripping his head with both hands.

"Holden!" I gasped, my previous anger turning into instant, overwhelming worry.

Marcus smiled widely, his eyes gleaming with sick pleasure as he watched Holden's body contort on the floor.

"Look at you, captain. You can't even control your own pathetic body anymore. The ancient curse is finally taking over your pure bloodline. You are weak."

Marcus lunged forward suddenly, swinging a heavy fist directly at Holden's face. Holden was too disoriented, blinded, and weakened by the spreading black veins to dodge the incoming blow. 

The heavy punch hit him square in the jaw, sending his massive body crashing backward into a glass display case. The glass shattered everywhere, raining down on his body.

"Stop it! Leave him alone!" I screamed at the top of my lungs.

Without thinking about my own safety, I ran out from behind the counter and placed my own body directly between Marcus and Holden. I reached back blindly with my right hand and grabbed Holden's burning, black veined hand to try and pull him away from the broken glass.

The exact millisecond my fingers wrapped around his poisoned skin, a blinding flash of pure, brilliant white energy surged directly from my palm. 

The light was so bright it illuminated the entire store like a flash of lightning. The black veins on Holden's arm vanished instantly, swallowed whole by the warm, clean light. His skin returned to normal.

Marcus stopped dead in his tracks, his eyes widening to the size of saucers with complete horror and shock. He looked at my hands, then back at my face.

"What the hell was that light? What kind of a freak are you?"

Holden blinked his eyes slowly, his physical pain completely gone in an instant. 

But before he could even speak a single word to me, his eyes suddenly rolled back into his head. His heavy, muscular body collapsed forward, falling right into my arms and knocking us both down to the floor among the broken glass.

Marcus backed away quickly toward the exit door, his hands shaking.

"You are a freak, Lily. Both of you are disgusting, abnormal freaks."

He and his athletic friends turned around and sprinted out of the shop, slamming the heavy front door behind them so hard the remaining glass rattled.

I sat on the hard floor tiles, breathing heavily, holding Holden's unconscious head tightly in my lap.

I was trembling all over. I slowly looked up toward the large front window of the shop to see if they were gone. Outside in the dark, rainy street, a tall shadow was standing perfectly still beneath the glowing streetlamp.

The mysterious figure was wearing a dark cloak, watching me intently

through the glass, holding a jagged piece of a glowing black stone in his hand.