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Her voice was harsh and barely recognizable as human, but I understood. She had come to claim me as hers.
“No more killing people,” I told her, my voice surprisingly steady considering the nerves bouncing around my stomach. “No one else gets hurt. You can have me.”
A triumphant look crossed her ugly face. Straightening her crooked knees, she stood up tall until we were face to face. Suddenly, she was beside me and I yelped in surprise. That didn’t stop her from taking a sharp talon to my neck, releasing a thin trail of blood that soaked my white t-shirt.
In another instant, she had me swept up in her arms and pressed to her chest. Her teeth clamped down on my shoulder and I suppressed a scream as she sucked on the blood that spilled from the bite mark. Her tongue lapped up the few drops she missed, and then trailed up my neck until she nipped painfully at my jawline.
“Mine,” she said again, more forcefully.
I reached for the dagger in my back pocket. With as little movement as I could muster, I closed my fingers around the hilt and slid it out of the sheath. Gabe had taught me the best places to stab a demon. I could go for her chest or her back. Or better yet, slip the dagger between the ribs under her armpit and pierce the heart. That was my target. With one swift movement, I yanked the dagger from my back and shoved it under Margaret Thatcher’s armpit.
Her unearthly scream nearly burst my eardrums. Dropping me hard to the ground, she backed up a few paces, black blood spilling from her side. Horror filled every part of me as she tore the dagger from her ribs and threw it to the ground. No cloud of smoke appeared. The ground didn’t suck her back to hell. I’d missed her heart. My only chance, and I’d blown it. The only thing to do now was surrender, and let her have me… for as long as I lived.
The steady cadence of hooves against the ground drew both of our attention. Out of the forest emerged a beautiful black horse and his rider. I nearly cried with joy as I recognized Clint and Gabe riding on his back. They galloped into the clearing and charged at the goddess, nearly trampling her before she scurried out of the way.
“Lizzy, hurry!” Gabe pulled Clint my way and stretched out his hand to me. “Let’s go.”
My fingertips skimmed his before something hurdled out of the trees and smashed against Gabe, nearly knocking him to the ground. Stephen and Dirk appeared above him, their faces set with a deadly intent. I ran forward to help, but with a single backhand from Dirk I lay flat on my back and blinking up at the light blue morning sky.
Gabe didn’t waste any time. He pulled the blade from his sheath and with one clean lunge from Clint’s back, drove the steel into Stephen’s heart. Yanking it free, he let Stephen’s body crumple to the ground. A black cloud like the ones I’d seen in the forest poured from Stephen’s mouth and leeched into the ground.
I didn’t need to see the glassy eyes or the bloodless color of his face to know Stephen was dead and the demon gone. The only way to destroy the demon was to kill the human host. Gabe had taught me that.
Dirk screamed beside him and wrenched Gabe off of Clint by his ankle, pinning him to the ground as he wrapped his hands around Gabe’s neck. The blade lay in the dirt, just out of their reach. By the time I got to my feet, Dirk was sitting on top of Gabe and squeezing the life out of him.
“No, stop!” I threw myself at the man who had too often terrorized my days.
It was the first time I moved as swiftly as the demons. The wind whistled in my ears as I hurled my shoulder into Dirk’s ribs. I knew it wasn’t really him, but I still felt an odd satisfaction at the crack of his bones. He rolled to the ground beside me and landed on his knees.
“Oh look, it’s the whore of Hanna.” Dirk’s face morphed into an ugly half-smile. He tilted his head to one side and sighed. “You’re just mad I didn’t get to finish what we started outside your Granny’s gas station. I still have the taste of your mouth on my lips. You wanted me, bad.”
I resisted the urge to spit out the sour taste that filled my mouth. The sound of his voice made me want to put on ten giant sweaters and hide under the covers of my bed. I stood and wiped off the dirt on my pants, pretending like he wasn’t getting to me.
“I never wanted you. All I wanted was for you to leave me alone.”
Dirk smiled again. This time, he looked at Gabe, who now stood beside me, and gave him a wink.
“Your girlfriend doesn’t want to tell you this, but she dreams of me at night, touching her in places only I can satisfy. She’s nothing more than a whore.”
Just like when Adam attacked me my first day at the manor, Gabe’s body went stiff. The air began to shimmer and spark around him. A blinding light shone through his skin, piercing the darkness of the early morning. Dirk’s cocky smile melted away into something that resembled fear. He took a step backwards, nearly tripping over a rock jutting from the ground.
With one swift movement, Gabe sped forward and buried the sword in Dirk’s chest all the way up to the hilt. He turned it and then yanked it back, spraying blood on his gray t-shirt. Dirk stumbled and landed face first in a bed of dried pine needles. Black smoke poured from his mouth and saturated the ground until nothing was left but a line of blood trailing from his open lips. I closed my eyes and breathed in, willing my erratic heartbeat to slow.
A rush of air past my face was the only sign we got of the goddess’ swift attack. She tackled Gabe to the ground and sank her teeth into his shoulder. His scream of pain tore at my ears. I watched helplessly as the goddess released him and bared her teeth next to his throat.
From just the small amount of blood she’d taken from me, she already looked more human. The hair was thicker on her scalp, her skin less sallow. Ribs no longer poked out of her skin. Luke was right. With a few more gulps from my open vein, she’d look like Margaret Thatcher once again.
Even with all of my work to avoid any more slaughter, Gabe was going to die. I could see the reality of the situation in the goddess’ dark and murderous eyes. He was the only thing standing between her and her prize. If I didn’t do something now, he would be lost forever.
The silver dagger I’d used to stab her was only a few feet away. I ran for it and snatched it from the ground. Clasping my fingers around the hilt, I did the only thing I could think of at that moment. I drove the blade deep into my stomach and fell to my knees as the pain ricocheted through my body.
An angry screech tore from the goddess’ throat. She crawled to my side in a flash, tearing the blade from my hands. There was no mistaking it. We both knew this was a mortal wound. I’d done too much damage to my organs to survive for much longer. All she had was one last chance to drain me for a temporary fix.
“Take me,” I whispered. It hurt to talk, but I managed to take in another breath. “Take me and leave him. I surrender. Please.”
Her lips curled into a deadly sneer as she peered down at me. Her breath reeked of rotten meat and dirt. Even with the darkness closing in, I could feel the blood from my gut pooling in my hands. If she didn’t hurry, I’d be dead soon.
Ripping my t-shirt open, she dropped her lips to my wound and tasted me. A shudder of ecstasy went through her thin torso and she dropped me unceremoniously to the ground. My head landed on a rock and threw tiny stars in front of my vision. I instantly wished that it had knocked me out, but no, I was going to live my last few moments in agonizing pain.
