AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He laughed at that. “Save the attitude, Clay. The elixir was designed to wear off by now, and those straps are stronger than Kevlar. Plus, I’ve already administered a sedative. You should feel the effects soon enough.”
“The one you gave to Kaleigh? Is that why she’s unconscious?”
“I need to clear her mind before I inject her with the new elixir. It will make accommodation easier for the new occupant.”
“And who won my body?” I hoped to lull him into a false sense of security and get all the answers before I smashed his face in and rendered his mouth useless.
He smirked. “No one yet. You intrigue me, Clay. I’d like to study you further before I decide your fate, although I must admit, the fervor at the auction made the decision difficult.”
“And how do you expect to…?” I broke off midsentence to yawn. Shit. So much for my plan of aggression. The sedative was starting to work. If I didn’t get out of this, I could end up a prisoner in my own mind. If another deity took up residence in my body, they wouldn’t be interested in restoring the Castle and enjoying a beer on the balcony. They’d want this resurrection in order to continue the destruction they didn’t get a chance to finish during their last go-round on earth. My body would carry on living without me, doing things I’d never do. Hurting people I’d never hurt. And the deity would likely benefit from my extra dose of power. I’d take Camryn’s serene coma any day of the week over this fresh hell.
My head nearly exploded at the thought of the coma victims.
The baku wasn’t in town because of me. I’d bet good goddess-auction money that Dr. Edmonds was responsible for the creature’s presence. He intended to use the baku to wipe the mind of his victim, to make room for the deity’s consciousness. The creature must’ve escaped from the lab earlier in the week and wreaked havoc on unsuspecting residents until they recaptured it, which was the reason it didn’t show up when I summoned it at the crossroads. The creature was already safely back at the compound by then, ready to devour the hopes and dreams of Magnarella’s victims.
I had to keep the baku from clearing Kaleigh’s mind. If Alakshmi took over, the whole town was in danger.
Struggling to remain semiconscious, I wiggled my fingers toward the lump in my pocket but to no avail. I was strapped down too tightly and too weak from the sedative to break free.
Then it occurred to me. The children didn’t hold the talismans as they slept to summon the baku. They kept them on their bedside tables. As long as the talisman was appurtenant to my body, it should still work.
I focused on the talisman as my body slipped further into a relaxed state. Shadows crept through my mind, multiplying and spreading like a plague. In the dark corner, a new silhouette took shape. The creature seemed to remember our last interaction. It stopped a safe distance away and contemplated me.
“Hi, honey. I’m home,” I said.And I’m not going anywhere.
The baku grunted. It wasn’t going to back down this time. It wanted the contents of my mind, and it wanted them badly.
“How does it feel to want?” I asked.
The baku lifted its trunk and started to suck. The pressure was more intense this time, likely because I was sedated. It would be more difficult to resist.
But not impossible.
I was, after all, Melinoe reborn. Goddess of nightmares and ghosts. Bringer of madness.
I conjured a typical human nightmare—someone being buried alive. Nails raked the inside of the coffin as the person realized their oxygen was running low. The baku devoured the image whole, so I switched to another one. A drowning. Kaleigh covered by spiders. Nana Pratt in a pit of snakes. Each horrific thought was another layer for the baku to chew through to get to me. Like any creature after a massive feast, eventually the baku would be forced to rest. Its defenses would be down; maybe by then I’d have enough energy to kill it.
I had to try. Lives depended on it.
I continued to conjure the old faithfuls. A car careening off a cliff and plunging into icy waters below. Hailey Jones naked in front of library patrons. Bodily mutilation. Falling from a building.
The baku ate them piece by horrible piece.
I felt my strength waning. If I didn’t act soon, I’d be god fodder, which would’ve made me laugh if the consequences weren’t so dire.
The baku lumbered toward the next nightmare. It seemed to be slowing down, taking longer to devour each obstacle. From the corner of my mind, I watched and waited.
Finally, the baku slowed to a halt. I sprang from a crouched position and attacked. The baku swung its trunk and smacked me to the ground. The impact rattled my teeth. As I crawled to my feet, the trunk wrapped around my body and attempted to squeeze the life out of me.
I gripped the trunk with both hands and squeezed. I wasn’t sure whether there were any bones to break. If it was only cartilage, I was in trouble.
The cracking sound was music to my ears. The creature let loose a high-pitched shriek and released its hold on me. I elbowed the baku in the eye, and it fell onto its hind legs. I climbed on its back and wrestled the creature the rest of the way to the ground. I wrapped my legs around its neck and attempted to use them as a vice. I had to give the baku credit, it was tough.
But I was tougher.
I heard the crack of bone, and the baku slumped over. People often say if you die in your dreams, you’ll die in real life, which isn’t necessarily true.
Unless you’re a baku.
