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"And then what will you do to him?"
So Carnage was another serial killer.
Remy and I traded glances. His fingers moved over the keys of his second laptop, and a second later, my phone chimed. Info about Carnage, an infamous serial killer.
"Whatever you want," Aurora said bleakly.
"I know what you're capable of," he said. "When you want to hurt someone."
She shuddered. "I don't want to hurt anyone. But to save my mother…"
"Don't," Aurora's mother spoke firmly, even though she was obviously terrified. "I'm ready to die, Aurora. But I don't want you to give in to darkness—to him. If I never see you again in this life, we'll find each other again in the next."
"Oh, forget the little angel on your shoulder," the Demon said, slapping a rag over her mouth. "That's not really you, Aurora. It never has been."
Aurora's mother struggled briefly against the chemical doused rag, then slumped helplessly in the Demon's arms.
“I’ve always seen your potential,” the Demon told Aurora. “You’re so much more interesting than the good girl you’ve tried to be. And it never really works, does it, Aurora? Do those men of yours know who you really are? What you’re really capable of?”
Aurora’s cheek ticked, as if she were on the verge of a complete nervous breakdown. “A life for a life. I give you Carnage, you give me back my mother.”
“You give me a death,” he corrected. “A beautiful, bloody one. And I’ll keep your mother alive until you come and find me, Aurora. And deep down…I know you will.”
Aurora shook her head, but he said, “That’s the best deal I can offer you, Aurora. You know we aren’t done with each other. And one more thing… to seal the deal.”
“What’s that?” she asked.
“I just want to hear you call me Dad one more time.”
Aurora stared at him. Then her eyes went hard and flat, a way I’d never seen them before. She was beautiful, her face a cold mask.
“Do you want Carnage flayed or buried alive, Dad?”
2
AURORA
Iknew one of the Demon's worst enemies too well. Carnage, a serial killer almost as notorious as my father. A former friend-—and hunting partner—turned rival.
My father had taken me on a hunting trip with his evil bestie. I'd been excited to go camping, and my father had made it magical...at first. I’d played DJ in the car on the way there, and my father sang along with me to my favorite songs on the radio. Those were the memories that hurt the most sometimes.
I’d been stupid to love him.
His friend had been waiting for us when we got there. It was drizzling slightly that gray spring afternoon, but he already had a fire going. I'd warmed my hands over the blazing campfire, excited to make s'mores. The Demon congratulated him on the fire, even in the rain. Carnage had said, with a wink, “I have my tricks.”
Now I realized it was probably human fat that made the fire burn so well.
He had helped us pitch a tent. I curled up inside with a blanket and the rain pattering on the canvas as I read my newest Nancy Drew book. The two men chatted outside.
Finally, Dad asked me if I wanted to go for a walk with them. I declined—I would always choose my book over exercise—and then I realized they were walking through the forest to a farmhouse nearby.
I couldn't read any more. I didn't want to think about what they were going to do to the people in that farmhouse.
"Aurora?" Remy prompted. When I looked at him, he had a worried look on his face, although he smiled, and I had a feeling I’d been so lost in my thoughts that I hadn’t heard him speak to me. "Care to share the plan with the rest of the class?"
"I've got to kill Carnage. It's no great loss—he's not exactly one of the good guys, as you may have guessed from the name." My voice came out breezy.
"Why would you trust the Demon?" Cain's eyes were cold and flat, as if he were angry at me or disappointed. But I knew Cain, and he didn't exactly mind a little light murder.
