HAVEN
I run blindly through the forest, dodging trees and slipping in the snow as my lungs burn and my legs scream in protest. Branches claw at my face and arms, and I barely feel it. I never made it to the SUV. There were too many vampires swarming the front of the cabin, dragging their injured from the blaze.
Behind me, the cabin is fully engulfed, fire devouring the last shred of safety I had. There was no choice left but this: to run on foot and pray the demon can’t find me.
I don’t know what happened to Ensley, but I cling to the hope that she’s all right.
Stumbling, I catch myself on a tree trunk, then force my legs to move again.
My heart slams against my ribs. And not just because of what’s hunting me, but because I can feel it now: the pull, the pressure, the thing inside me stirring awake. Whatever I locked away long ago is rattling the cage I built to contain it, pounding harder with every frantic step.
For the first time in my life, I actually consider letting it out.
I risk a glance up through a break in the branches. The moon hangs low and nearly red, and I know with terrifying certainty that my time is almost up.
My momentary distraction is a mistake. I miss the ground sloping away beneath my feet.
My next step lands on nothing.
The world tilts violently, my stomach lurching as I pitch forward. Snow gives way to loose dirt and rock and I go down hard. My scream rips free before I can stop it, torn straight from my chest as I slide, then tumble, then lose all sense of direction.
I slam into something solid—stone, maybe a tree—pain exploding through my shoulder. My legs twist uselessly as I roll again, branches and rocks battering me from every side. The cold burns, the air punches from my lungs, and I can’t tell up from down anymore.
I try to grab on to something, anything, but my fingers find only snow and bark and empty air.
Then I hit hard enough that the forest goes dark around the edges.
For a moment, there’s nothing.
Slowly, sensation creeps back in.
Cold. Pain. The rough bite of earth and snow beneath my palms.
I suck in a shallow breath, then another, and blink until the darkness recedes.
When my vision clears, I realize I’m no longer tumbling. I’m sprawled on my back in a small clearing, limbs splayed and chest heaving as I stare straight up at the sky. Trees ring the clearing like silent witnesses, their bare branches clawing at the edges of the night.
Above them, the moon hangs full and terrible.
Red.
Not shadowed. Not stained by cloud. Fully blooded, glowing with a violent intensity that makes my pulse thud in my ears.
Dread settles deep in my bones.
It’s time.
With effort, I shove myself to my feet, stumbling the first step. Something warm is running down the side of my face and I reach up to realize I’m bleeding. A cut high on my forehead. Drops of blood drip from my fingertips, sinking into the pristine white snow at my feet.
It doesn’t matter. My legs work, so I can still run.
Before I can take another step, though, I hear my name. It reaches me like a hiss through the trees, coming from all directions.
Fear like I’ve never experienced before descends on me, making my muscles quiver and icy numbness creep through my fingers and toes.
I spin in a circle, searching the darkness, knowing that the demon’s out there somewhere.
Stalking me.
