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I don't spend another second in the cemetery. Pushing to my feet, I race through the forest, ignoring the sharp branches that scrape along my bare thighs. I run as fast as I can, ignoring the laughs, the sounds of footsteps, and the sound of the train picking up behind me.
It doesn't make sense. None of it does, but it doesn't stop me this time. I run all the way back to the mansion, barely having enough sense to lock the back door behind me and run up to my room. I shut my door, flying into bed and pulling the sheets over my neck.
Sleep doesn't come easily. It takes long hours of listening to the creaking in the attic, and the feeling of cool air brushing across my skin, almost like a fingertip sliding down my cheek.
In the moments between consciousness and dreams, I realize I'm starting to fall for my stepbrother. But the biggest question is, am I falling for him, or am I falling for the demon inside him?
32
MALIK
Iblink, my eyes coming into focus as I stare down at the desk in front of me, my papers a mess and sprawled out across the dark wood. I glance up, looking around at the class. Sister Mora stands in front of the classroom, lecturing on about who the hell knows what. No one looks at me, but it doesn't stop the feeling of being watched in just about every direction.
I curl lower into the desk, feeling a sickness fill me from head to toe.
How did I get here?
I'm losing track of time.
I'm losing track of myself.
I know whatever is inside of me, it's consuming me. I figure I don't have much longer until I lose myself completely.
I spent days trying to figure out a solution. Trying to fix the mess Vera made.
But was it even her?
Or was it me, trapping her in the mausoleum with so much death it probably clung to every inch of clothing and slithered its way into my house.
I don't know what happened, and I don't know how it happened, but I need to figure out how to stop it. And fast.
My research got me nowhere. I even went down to Duluth, searching historic libraries in hopes of finding a method to rid the disease inside of me. There is nothing, only myths and fabrications of demonism and exorcisms.
Every time I feel like I'm about to get somewhere, I blink, and when I open my eyes, I'm somewhere else, and every inch of research I feel like I learned is wiped from my memory.
I know I only have one option at this point. I need to go to the church. I need to ask the priest, or one of the sisters if they can help me. But I can't do it. I tried, and then I lose track of time. What I should do is stand up now, demand Sister Mora listen to my problems and fix every single one of them.
But the thought puts a disturbing nausea in my gut, like the thought of speaking to anyone holy or godly will only send me into illness.
I squeeze the pen in my hand, having no idea how it got there in the first place.
Vera.
Is she here, at school? Is she sitting in class, wondering where I am? How long has passed since I ravaged her in the cemetery, her eyes a mixture of awe and horror?
The feel of her soft body beneath mine is unlike anything I've ever experienced. The hate in her eyes lights a fire in me. I want to wash it away and make it burn brighter.
Being with Thea was never like this. There was never any excitement, or savage need to be with her again. It was more of a chore, some inevitable task that felt good, but left nothing inside afterward.
With Vera, everything is different.
I detest her. I can't stand her naive thoughts and actions. Sometimes she acts so fucking stupid I want to wring her neck. And the way she treats me makes me want tape her mouth closed so I don't have to listen to her whining.
But it's also exciting. A breath of fresh air in the wasteland of Castle Pointe. Something that makes my black heart beat quicker in my chest.
Maybe Vera isn't supposed to be alive, but she is. She's alive, and she's here. She's in my town, she's in my home, and she's wiggling her way into my thoughts.
The problem is, I don't think I even want to be rid of her anymore.
