Blood explodesfrom Dominic’s shoulder.
He falls back, which is the opening I need to scramble upright and hobble toward the exit.
I’m unable to put weight on my injured leg without blazing pain, so I balance my weight on the countertop to keep myself upright.
I can’t outrun the monster, but I have to fight somehow.
He laughs darkly behind me, still on his back, as I tear open the cupboards, glancing behind me to see him climbing to his feet. I’m out of bullets and options. There has to be something I can use. I rip out the contents until my fingers close around a salt packet.
That’s when it dawns on me what I need to do. I need to trap it. It’s a long shot, but I don’t have any other options.
I’m half-hidden behind the island, hurrying to pour a circle out of sight while the demon gathers strength across the room, feeding on the pain and misery palpable in the air. I don’t know how I know, but I can sense it.
“Hey,” I call out, hopping on one foot to balance myself, “I give up. You win.”
Those black eyes glide in my direction, and the moment they land on my face, a sudden chill raises the hairs on my arms. I grip the counter and raise my chin. “Take me. You can’t possess me without my permission. I’m giving it to you. Want to feed on my soul? My memories? Come and get me. I’m inviting you in.”
I swallow down the raging fear when he rounds the small table with purposeful, slow steps. Glancing down at the ring of salt behind me, I pray he won’t spot it or my plan will fail.
If I thought it would be fast, I was wrong. He savors this moment. Savors the fear in my eyes and my hammering heartbeat. Savors my whimper when he stops in front of me and brushes my hair away from my face before placing his fingers on my temple. It’s so hard not to flinch away. “I’ve waited such a long time for this,” he says as a strange sensation of something dark, menacing, and cruel enters my body, like a Baltic breeze at sea. I gasp, but I don’t fight it, even when Dominic collapses to the floor.
Dominic
I startle awake. It’s almost like I’ve been asleep, but also not. Like one of those fever dreams where you know you’re asleep, yet you can’t wake yourself up. I’m shirtless, with stinging gashes on my chest and waist and more on my arm. Looking up, I see Camryn stagger back, and I shoot to my feet.
She stares at me with black voids for eyes. “Camryn?” I ask when I see the ring of salt surrounding her, wishing and hoping that I’m wrong. “Please no…”
Tears well in her eyes. She extends her arm, points to the cellar, and then speaks in a strained but shaky voice. “Get the axe.”
“The axe,” I ask, confused, and step closer to check her over, but pause when she shakes her head. “What did you do?” It dawns on me, then. She knew the demon wouldn’t stop until it got what it wanted, and she knew there was no other way out.
“Please tell me you didn’t,” I whisper.
But she did. She gave the demon what it wanted and then she stepped into a ring of salt.
Her eyes fill with tears, but she doesn’t move. Somehow, I just fucking know it’s feeding on her soul. She’s slowly dying in front of my eyes, and there’s nothing I can do to stop it. I move forward, but the tears fall.
“Stay back.” Her voice breaks along with my heart.
“No… Tell me what to do. There must be something. Just tell me what to do.” I clench my jaw as an ache builds in my chest, and I reach up to swipe at my wet cheeks. I’m crying. “Camryn, tell me what to do.” I level my eyes on her, pleading. “Please…”
“The axe.” It’s a struggle for her to whisper those words, so I lean in closer to hear what she’s saying above the roaring in my head. “What axe?” I ask, my voice laced with desperation. “What fucking axe, Camryn?”
“Bodies…”
Her pink lips are wet with tears. She tries to say more, but no words come out. I see the moment she’s gone.
“No, no, no,” I beg, reaching out to touch her hand despite her asking me to stay away. “I’m here, Camryn. Look at me.” I palm her face and shake her. “Look at me, dammit. Don’t do this. You’ve got to fight. You’re stronger than anyone I know. Don’t let it take you. Please… Don’t leave me.”
Ice runs through my veins when an even chillier laugh dances on her lips. I stumble back and almost lose my footing. Camryn is gone. They say the eyes are the window to the soul, and I can’t see her anywhere in those dead eyes.
The demon is speaking now—taunting me—but I can’t make out its words. I pull on my hair.
What axe? What was she talking about? And what did she mean by bodies?
“I’ve seen visions of a man with an axe.”
“This just gets better and better,” Aron chuckles, rubbing his eyes.
