I ignore him. “This man…he tells me to stay out of the woods. It’s almost like he…protects me.”
“Protects me,” I whisper as I stare at the cellar door.
“What’s so special about the salt?” Lily asks.
“The demon couldn’t get to me while I was in the circle. But not only that. I’ve seen the axe before. I remember now. It has a binding symbol carved into the handle.”
I dart across the room, run down the steps, and almost trip over my own two feet to reach the opening in the floor.
I kneel, but it’s too dark to see anything. I need a flashlight.
Lily’s dead eyes stare up at the ceiling while I search high and low, knocking over items. I finally find a flashlight and return to the opening.
The beam penetrates the oppressive darkness, and it takes me a few seconds for the skeletons to come into view. But the moment the beam lands on their rotten clothing, I jump into the hole.
I land with a thud, kicking up dust. “Jesus,” I choke, wafting the air as I wince in pain. There’s no room to stand, so I crawl forward. “Now I know why they call it crawl spaces,” I mutter.
It doesn’t take me long to find what I’m looking for. Camryn better be right about this.
Once I’m out of there, I return to the kitchen and stumble to a halt, clutching the axe. The demon is crouching on the floor, hissing at the salt.
What now? What am I supposed to do? Camryn trapped it in the salt ring. She can’t leave while the demon is inside of her, and the demon can’t leave. She’s stuck, and she’s not getting out alive.
Suddenly, the axe feels like lead in my hand. It weighs me down as much as the realization of what she’s asking of me.
She’s sacrificing herself.
I look down at the rusty blade. Why this axe? What’s so special about it?
“Nebri’hak can only be destroyed with their own magic. A weapon used on one of these demons infuses it with their magic, like a fingerprint or residual energy.”
I’m torn from my thoughts when the demon falls silent as though sensing my presence. It slowly turns over its shoulder, and anger rises inside me.
“Hi, baby… What have you got there?”
I tighten the grip on the axe when Camryn stands up. But it’s not her, and I can’t let myself forget.
“Why are you holding an axe, Dom?”
“Let her go,” I grit out through blurring tears. “Leave her alone.”
“Dom…” She sounds scared, and I almost buckle. “It’s me…”
“Yeah? Then why don’t you step out of the circle.”
“You know I can’t,” she says.
I follow the tears trailing down her cheeks.
“I’m stuck here. The demon won’t leave.”
I lower the axe when she looks down and wipes her cheeks. “Is it really you?”
“Yes,” she replies, nodding. When she peers up at me, I swallow hard.
“But how is it possible?”
“I’m strong, Dom. You said it yourself. The demon can only truly possess weak minds. That’s why it couldn’t enter me or my mother without a direct invitation. A willing heart.”
