“I didn’t crush half that old bastard’s body to be discredited like that. Fucking hell.”
I closed out the news site on my phone, chuckling at Zane’s disgust. It had been a few days since the Halloween party, and the local paper had finally blasted its headline:
“HEAD OF LOCAL HISTORICAL SOCIETY DEAD IN AN APPARENT SUICIDE.”
It was the first and only public mention I’d seen of Kent’s fate, and I had no doubt the remaining Hadleighs had made every effort to ensure that was the case.
“This is better for us,” I said. “The last thing we need is for everyone in Abelaum to be on edge because they think a murderer is on the loose. The Hadleighs have never liked the police snooping around. I guarantee you they paid someone off to make Kent’s death look exactly how they want it to.”
Zane snorted. “I was looking forward to all the chaos. Terrified humans scurrying inside the moment the sun begins to set, locking their doors, trusting no one. It’s fun.”
“Abelaum is already close enough to that anyway,” I said. “Everyone knows this place has monsters, they just don’t have names for them. And now, one of those monsters is finally dead.”
“I wonder if the family knows we did it.” Zane leaned against the counter, naked except for a tight pair of black briefs. “I didn’t notice any cameras around the house.”
I really appreciated his habit of walking around nearly nude. It was a distraction, but a pleasant one. Every time his large hands tightened their grip on the edge of the counter, my insides tightened too. The demon had Pavloved me into getting hot over hands.
Strong, veiny, choking hands.
“When Kent saw you, the first thing he suspected was Leon.” I shrugged. “Something tells me that’s where they’ll pin the blame, and probably a big reason they don’t want anyone looking into it too deeply. Can’t have some nosey journalist uncovering all the demon-summoning, human sacrificing, occult shit from Abelaum’s dear model family.”
Zane chuckled. “Leon is going to be jealous as hell that you got to kill Kent. He’s been talking about murdering that bastard for years.”
“He’s got his hands full with Rae. I doubt he needs the distraction of trying to murder the Hadleighs on top of that,” I said, stretching my arms above my head. “Hey, I’m gonna take the car and go get breakfast. I’m starving.”
He snatched me as I got up from the table, tugging me over against his chest and tracing his thumb along my lip. “Well, don’t take too long. I wanna see how that metal in your tongue feels on my cock.”
I stuck my tongue out at him teasingly. It was still tender, but the swelling had gone down and it looked like it would heal well. “I’m supposed to wait six to eight weeks, Zane. Weeks. That means no blowjobs.”
“Fucking hell,” he groaned dramatically. “You humans heal so slowly. Thank Lucifer I’m flexible enough to suck it myself.”
I laughed, disentangling myself from him to snatch up the car keys from the counter. “Okay, I’m going to hurry back just so I can watch you do that.”
The day was gray, a gentle mist drizzling as I drove down Main Street. I wasn’t entirely sure what it was, but I’d felt different since Halloween night. Killing Kent, claiming my power in that, then partying with demons, meeting so many others who didn’t balk at my past, letting Zane pierce me — it was a different kind of power than what I was used to.
Power had always simply meant survival: was I strong enough to make it through the day, strong enough to overcome whatever tried to kill me? But this power…the power I’d felt even when I’d relinquished control and let Zane pierce my tongue…that was something wholly different. I’d spoken the truth and been believed, I’d let down my mask without fear of retribution. I wasn’t used to that. It didn’t feel like the power of holding a weapon or taking a life.
It was a calm, quiet power. Like the sun rising in the morning, like the ocean eroding stone, like the strength of the oldest, tallest trees. It wasn’t power for fighting, it wasn’t power that could be stripped away. It was natural, inherent.
I stopped at a little cafe in town. Their breakfast sandwiches were pricey as hell, but they were the only place in Abelaum that would give me a sandwich with candied bacon on it. I’d pay anything they wanted for candied-fucking-bacon. With my sandwich and a cup of hot black tea, I sat in the car parked along the road and ate, enjoying the soft sounds of the rain.
I understood why people were drawn to Abelaum. Of course, with the university down the road, new people came and went all the time. But there was a quiet charm to this town that couldn’t be ignored, something that promised to be welcoming — even though that sweet welcome could turn deadly the moment one accepted it.
I wanted to leave Abelaum as soon as this was over, but I had no idea where to go. I’d never thought of myself as being able to settle anywhere: getting a house, a home, putting down roots. But maybe, when this was all over, maybe there was somewhere safe out there for me.
Maybe it would be somewhere Zane would like too.
I nearly choked on my tea, ducking low in my seat. Victoria Hadleigh was coming up the sidewalk, the hood of her raincoat pulled low over her face. She was on the phone, talking rapidly, glancing nervously over her shoulder every few steps. There were bags under her reddened eyes, and her face was pale.
She looked worse the closer she got. When she tucked her phone back into her pocket, I noticed several of her long acrylic nails were broken off. Those bags under her eyes weren’t just dark circles either.
They were bruises.
What the fuck had happened?
She was almost even with the car when she spotted me. Her eyes fell on me and she stopped, blinking slowly before her confusion cracked into open terror.
She ran, and there was no way in hell I was going to let her get away.
I followed in the car, keeping a distance but not giving her a chance to hide. I expected her to return to her vehicle, but she kept going on foot. She left Main Street, jogging down a winding road that curved around the new apartment buildings near the bay. She reached the park and sprinted across the lawn, so I couldn’t follow her in the car.
I had to make a choice: risk her telling the rest of her family she’d seen me or…
Or kill her. Here. Now. All I had on me was my knife, and when I fumbled around for my phone to call Zane, I realized I’d left it at the house.
Fuck. It was just me and the knife then.
But right as I was about to get out of the car, right as Victoria reached the far side of the park and was about to cross the street toward the beach, a black SUV pulled up alongside her.
I eased my door closed again, watching as she stopped and stared at the vehicle. Only when the passenger side door opened did she begin to back away, as none other than Jeremiah himself walked toward her.
So much for making sure she didn’t blab about seeing me.
But Jeremiah didn’t seem interested in what she was saying as she frantically pointed back in the direction she’d come. Her hands were moving wildly, and she was backing away faster, the closer Jeremiah got to her. The back door of the SUV opened, and two more men got out of the vehicle. The moment they did, Victoria tried to run. She didn’t get far.
Jeremiah grabbed her roughly and she managed one brief scream before he slapped his hand over her mouth. The other two men moved to help him, and she was fighting them hard — fighting them like she feared for her life.
Without Kent in charge, what the fuck had the Libiri become?
They dragged her into the SUV, shoved into the back with the two men as Jeremiah got back in the front. They began to drive, and I started the engine again. I had to see where they took her. But as I followed, doing my best to keep a distance from the vehicle, a cold, hard feeling settled in my stomach.
When the SUV drove out of Abelaum, heading north along the bay, I realized where they were taking her.
This was the road to White Pine.
I should have driven back to the house. This wasn’t something I should have gone near without Zane. But I didn’t want to risk losing them. I had a suspicion about what they were going to do, and if I was right…
If I was right, things were going to get very bad, very quickly.
Three lives spared, three souls given, and one of those souls was meant to be Jeremiah or Victoria. Jeremiah had already made it clear he had no intention of laying down his own life.
My trepidation grew, and I widened the distance between my car and theirs. Zane was soon going to wonder where I was, and with any luck, he’d track me out here by scent. If the Libiri sacrificed Victoria, there was no telling how strong the God would become, and in turn, how much more power the cult would have.
I’d never thought it would come to this, but I couldn’t let Victoria Hadleigh die. Not like this.
By the time I made it to the end of the narrow, twisting dirt road in the woods, the SUV was already parked and empty. It wasn’t the only vehicle there either. At least a dozen others were parked along the road, all of them empty.
I pressed my back against the seat, gripping the steering wheel. I had to stay calm. I couldn’t lose my nerve. My memories — those flashing, intrusive, painful bursts of memories — had to stay firmly in the past where they belonged.
Moving as quickly as I dared, I followed the path toward St. Thaddeus cathedral.
