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“This man is a goner,” Adam answered. There was no venom in his voice, yet, his answer still stung. “He’s dying.”
The priest began to struggle for breath, his chest rising and falling with desperation. Raquel took him by the arm and led him away. The remainder of us circled tightly around the dying demon, our hands on our weapons until the job was done. We couldn’t be too careful.
“My master...” the demon croaked. His eyes stared into empty space as he laid prone on his chest. “My Prince.”
I leaned down to watch the light go from his eyes. Despite the fact that we’d just fought this demon for our lives, we couldn’t forget there was a human soul within. He didn’t deserve to die alone.
With a surprising burst of speed, his arm reached out and grabbed my wrist in a clammy vice, searing my skin with an unbearable heat. I gasped and fell backwards, landing hard on my rear end. My ears rang as a result of the fall. Shaking my head, I waved off Gabe’s move to help me up. No harm done. By the time I glanced back at the demon, he’d breathed his last and gone rigid.
Another one dead.
It was at that moment that an explosive pain filled my head and threw me backwards. Darkness fell on me hard, like the weight of a large boulder. The sound of blood rushing through my ears was deafening.
Not again. It couldn’t be happening again.
Chapter Three
I could feel her there in the darkness with me. Watching, waiting, calculating. An immense feeling of rage, paired with the sour scent of fear, shot toward me. It forced me backwards, until I fumbled for a foothold in the rough corners of my mind. With a strong hold, I straightened and shot back a wave of my own power.
“We’ve got to stop meeting like this,” I mumbled under my breath.
She laughed, hollow and harsh.
“No, seriously. I’m done with this.”
The pain was still there, right between my eyebrows. I could sense my external body, although it felt miles away, lying on the hard floor of the sanctuary. Hands gripped mine. Another brushed the hair from my face and called my name.
Gabe. The worry in his voice was heartbreaking.
“I’ll stop when you concede,” the dark entity growled. Her voice came from all around me.
I looked up at the emptiness above me. “You’re never going to win.”
“And I’ll never stop causing you pain,” she hissed. “Face it. You’re growing weaker.”
Pressing my lips together, I clenched my jaw and my fists. Ever since I’d first made contact with my demon side last year, she’d been growing bolder. It was as if our brief tangles had awoken her to life beyond the dark recesses of my mind. No longer content to watch and listen, she wanted control.
She wanted me gone.
“That’s a lie,” I shot back, standing straight. “I’m stronger than I’ve ever been. Here, let me show you.”
Closing my eyes, I concentrated on a beam of light. Something bright and pure. The kind of thing that would send her running for the dark.
“Stop it!”
Panic coursed through our body and I smiled. She couldn’t hide it from me. She hated the light.
“Stop!”
A powerful blow hit me in my stomach, sending me toppling backwards head over heels. I looked up to see a dark shape materialize. It was as if someone had taken my shadow on a hot summer afternoon and given it life of its own. Flexing and groaning, it t
owered above me, rage emanating from its feminine shape.
“You can try and hurt me, but I know the truth.” I pushed myself off and brushed imaginary dirt off my knees. “What hurts me, hurts you. You can’t hide it from me. We share the same body.”
It shifted, as if lost for words.
“You won’t gain control, not as long as I’m alive. You can forget about it. And when I find a way to rid myself of your parasitic presence, you can bet you’ll be gone before you can say burn in Hell.”
