They retain the host memories, enough so to mimic the stolen life if they choose.
Maybe they retained more than memories from the host.
I had to try.
“Jessica.” I forced a smile to my rigid mouth. “It’s me. Sage. You’ve known me all my life.”
“Oh yes, I do know everything about you,” she said lightly. “Including those infernal protectors you always have buzzing around. Gideon Crest and Lexan Delacotte.” She crossed her arm at her waist to rest an elbow on. “But we needn’t concern ourselves about that. I’ve arranged a small diversion to keep them busy.”
My blood ran cold. “What did you do to Lex?”
“Nothing,” she simpered. “I haven’t yet decided how to deal with that one.” Her eyes went skyward, as if the answer lay there. “Perhaps another nasty collision on the interstate?”
Dear God. “Brendon. The Averly family.”
Mind control is their most dangerous weapon.
“That was you?”
“Don’t look so horrified, they barely suffered.” Her gaze came down on Haley and bounced to Grant, then to Kenzie. “There are worse things than a quick death.”
“Leave them alone!” I took a step toward Haley.
“Stop.”
My step landed with a thud and stuck.
“Let them go,” I pushed through gritted teeth.
“If you’re a good girl, I’ll give their fate into your hands,” Jessica said. “Would that make you happy?”
It was a start. Then we can move on to smashing in your face and vanquishing you back to the hell you crawled from. “I’ll do whatever you want.”
“Well that’s a given, but I’m feeling charitable today and since you’re so eager to trade for that favor, consider it granted.” She snapped her fingers. “Come to me.”
My legs carried me to her side without protest. She didn’t just control my body, she hijacked the impulses before they left my brain. As much as I wanted to run, I couldn’t form the thought to do so.
What I can do with compulsion is child’s play when compared to even the lowest ranked form of demon.
I had no doubt she could bend my mind as easily as she bent my body.
“So what should we do with your friends?” The smile on her mouth was warm, just like the real Jessica, as she turned her attention from me to them. “I can leave them like this. Someone’s sure to find them. It won’t be much of a life, of course, lived in a hospital bed with nutrient drips and catheters. Or I could devour their souls and set them free. Choose.”
Devour their souls. Because that’s what demons do, Sage. This was real. This wasn’t a blade I could dodge with elementary Krav Maga. This wasn’t Gideon pissing me off with his mind games.
This wasn’t life or death.
This was eternal.
The horror of it thread into the core of my being like black, sulfuric smoke.
“No, not their souls.”
“It’s not that bad.” She sauntered over to Kenzie and dipped to stroke her cheek. “I’ve already had a few bites of this one and look at her, she’s thriving. The whole blah blah soul missionary song is overrated if you ask me. It’s just a tasty snack, like a roasted chestnut or spicy chicken wing.”
“You’re sick,” I spat out.
She straightened, turning a shrewd look on me. “Don’t let it ever be said a demon goes back on their word.” One more glance across my friends, then she returned to stand at my side. “The choice is yours. Choose.”
I was less afraid, more embittered with a slow burning rage. I hadn’t spent much time on my spiritual wellbeing, but I did believe in the soul and eternal damnation—whatever form that took—and this bitch had just threatened my friends with it.
My jaw edged. “Leave them as they are.”
“Hmm.” She scratched her chin with a long fingernail. “Pity, I’m a little snackish. Oh, well, plenty of fish in the—oomph.”
That was the sound of my sidekick to her thigh. She staggered. That was the distraction I needed to dart forward and send a high back spinning kick. The heel of my sneaker cut under her throat with a powerful thrust and knocked up her chin. Her head lashed back violently and she went down cold.
Sweat coated my skin. My hands and teeth shivered with delayed nerves. I hadn’t had the time to worry while I’d raced the quickness of her mind and tongue.
But I’d done it.
I’d freaking done it.
Her body was just as human as the real Jessica Macleod.
I’d knocked her out before she could deliver a command.
Now what?
She was sprawled on her back. Eyes closed.
Not dead.
Should I kill her? The thought was there. I wished it wasn’t. It was a sour taste in the back of my throat. I’d never killed anyone. Obviously. I’d never even wished anyone dead. I knew death. It wasn’t a game. You didn’t come back.
And this woman? She looked like Jessica. Maybe she was still Jessica.
Until she regains consciousness and sucks out your soul.
My gaze strayed to Grant. My heart caught on his broken smile.
Would he remain trapped forever if I killed Demon Jessica?
Pulse hammering, my gaze swept to Haley. Their lives literally hung in the balance. Their lives and dreams and everything still to come.
Kenzie. Realization flooded me as I looked at her. I’ve already had a few bites of this one… The demon had already taken parts of her soul. So much of her recent behavior made sense now. She wasn’t to blame. She hadn’t asked for this.
Shit.
What was I supposed to do?
Lex.
He would know.
I fumbled for my phone, my hands shaking so much I dropped it twice. The second time I had to stoop to retrieve it, I stayed down.
That wasn’t well done, a voice said in my head, a hiss that slithered around inside my skull. We had a deal.
The damn phone slipped from my trembling fingers again as my eyes shot to Jessica. She was still out cold.
I was going mad.
I picked the phone out of my lap and shot to my feet. “I don’t do deals with the devil.”
You want to kill me.
“You can’t read my mind.” I stabbed a toe into her side. Nothing.
No I can’t, but you’re a silly little girl who doesn’t understand how this works.
“Shut up!” I focused on my phone and swiped the screen.
Do not make that call. Put your phone away.
I’d already tucked my phone into the back pocket of my jeans before the truth punched me in the gut. The voice inside my head wasn’t my psyche cracking down the middle. The demon was still in control.
“How are you doing that?”
I’m a demon. I’m not constrained by the weakness of this body.
I brought the heel of my sneaker down across her throat.
Go ahead, kill me, let’s see what happens. I won’t stop you. There’s nothing tastier than the consequences of free will.
My foot rested on her throat, undecided. “What happens if I kill you?” I demanded. “What happens to my friends?”
Now there’s a loaded question. You’d have to vanquish me to release them and you can’t. You don’t have the mojo. If you kill this body, I’d have to jump. Not the redhead, she’s already damaged. But I’m partial to the hunk of blonde.
Jump? I remembered that. Gideon had told me. Freak accidents. Suicide. That’s how the demon jumped. If I killed Jessica, I’d have to go on killing as the demon worked its way through all of us.
Which was just rhetoric anyway.
Jessica’s body was knocked out cold but the demon wasn’t.
It wasn’t like I’d get the chance to do anything the demon didn’t want.
I deflated, sagged cross-legged to the ground.
I hadn’t won. I hadn’t done anything except piss off a psychotic demon. “Why are you doing this? What do you want?”
>
What does any demon want? Peace, joy and harmony and the occasional soul to snack on.
I had no witty comeback. I felt myself drifting, drifting off into a dark place.
Oh, you were being serious. Forgive me, I’m in a frivolous mood, but with good reason. Today is the day I get out of this one horse town and you’re my ticket.
That pulled me back from my funk. I looked at her, saw her eyelids stirring. She was coming around. “Why don’t you just go? Release my friends and take off.”
Not while he lives. He’ll follow, snapping at my heels. She rolled onto an elbow, squinting at me a moment before she pulled herself up.
I pushed to my feet. “I’ll help you. I have a car. I’ll give you a ride anywhere.”
“You’ll bring Gideon Crest to me, that’s what you’ll do. His life in exchange for yours.” She cleared her throat with a cough and placed her hands either side my head. “Now there’s a bargain that makes this world a better place. Let it never be said a demon does no good. Hold still for me.”
The grip on my head was firm, but I couldn’t move anyway. I was holding still for her. As she’d commanded.
I was so fucked.
And so was Demon Jessica, if she thought to use me for bait.
Gideon wouldn’t walk into a trap for me. He certainly wouldn’t trade his life for mine and let a demon walk free.
I would never expect it.
I wouldn’t ask for it.
I didn’t want it.
The cost was too high. Grant. Kenzie. Haley. And God knew how many others if this demon was set loose to roam.
Her plan was utterly flawed.
Oh, Gideon would come, but not for me.
He’d come for her.
That thought made the passing time more bearable as I stood there with her hands on me, screwing God only knew how with my mind.
When she was done, I glared at her. “What was that?”
“You belong to me now.” She smiled that warm Jessica smile, as if she’d just made everything right in my world. “Walk with me. Do not attempt to harm this body again.”
I fell into step beside her, casting one last look over my friends. Tears swelled my eyes. I wasn’t leaving them in this catatonic state. Not for long. But I wasn’t sure I’d ever see them again.
20
GIDEON
“Zero points for originality,” I remarked as I pulled up across the fenced lot and cut the engine. The demon had brought us back to the LPAX warehouse.
Lex reached for the door. He’d been on fire since that weepy call from Sage that delivered the instructions.
I stopped him with a hand on the shoulder. “How is your hip?”
“Fine.”
“How is your head?”
“My head is fucking fine.” He dipped an angry look at me. “Stop stalling.”
I wasn’t stalling.
I was second-guessing my gut.
There was only one way to do this: go in guns blazing and get the job done. The casualties of war was a number, not a list of names and faces. The longer a demon walked the earth, the larger that number.
My gut was open to other options, which was why Lex was riding shotgun and not hog-tied in the trunk. Forget he’d gone one too many rounds with a wildcard and lost. Forget his heart was where I needed his head to be. My gut was having a fucking midlife crisis and Sage Daniels was the shiny red sports car.
For the first time in my life, I decided to ignore it.
“Change of plans.” I nudged a look at the aluminum loading doors Jessica Macleod had kindly rolled up in invitation. “I’m going in the front door.”
“I’m not staying out here,” Lex made bitterly clear.
“No, you go around the back like we discussed.” Rescuing the damsel in distress was still a high priority and Lex could still be helpful. “Don’t do anything stupid. The widest range we have recorded is fifteen feet. Assume the worst and double it.”
He went for the door again. “I don’t need a history lesson.”
“Lex.” I waited for his eyes to meet mine. “You’re no damn good to Sage if the demon gets inside your head.”
He looked at me a long moment and I saw it in his eyes, the effort he made to settle the fire raging out of control inside him. “I know.”
“Then let’s go.” My grin slid out as we exited the car and stepped over the sagging portion of the fence.
Lex slipped off around the side of the brick building.
I rolled my shoulders back, the perfect storm brewing inside me as I cut across the cracked pavement with a loose-limbed stride: anticipation, acceptance and no regrets. I was ready to do what must be done.
I came in left of the raised loading door and pressed my back to the wall, not wasting any time but careful as I inched a look around the steel frame. It was midafternoon and the sun was high, flooding the cavity of the warehouse with daylight.
The stage was set was like a damn Broadway production. Jessica Macleod on a stack of crates, one hand down to rest on, an arm draped over a raised knee, her other leg swinging lazily. At her back, Sage Daniels stood partly in shadow on the grated platform that ringed the warehouse.
The good news? The gallery walkway was more than thirty feet above the ground, well beyond the demon’s range.
I looked again and noted Jessica had positioned herself comfortably near the foot of the rung-iron stairs, effectively guarding the only way up or down.
My magic had its own range limitations and I needed hands-on to vanquish the demon bitch, otherwise this would already be over.
I scanned the area restricted within the angle of my view. Scattered crates. The conveyor belt. No sign of anyone else around. I didn’t rule that out.
Jessica twitched. Her chin tilted toward the dim passageway that led to the office at the back. I hadn’t heard anything, but she had.
I swung around the frame and into the limelight at a running charge.
Her eyes flashed around and clashed with mine. My fist was up. My next stride brought me within range. I splashed my fingers to throw the threads, closing in on her with speed as the blue cords wrapped that dangling ankle and wound up the calf, anchoring her to me.
This was too easy.
I knew that.
“Step over the railing,” she sang out. “Jump. Wait, make that a swan dive.”
My gaze went high and I slammed to a halt six feet from the demon, the heels of my boots grinding cement. “Sage, stop! Stand back now.”
My command went ignored. Sage already had one leg over the protective barrier of the gallery. She brought her second leg over and turned to face outward, squaring her heels against the narrow strip of grated edge that stood out.
Thunder hammered at my chest. She was Claimed. That was the only explanation. The demon’s influence wasn’t limited by any paltry distance and mine was thoroughly negated. I still had to try. “Sage, step back.”
She let go with one hand and tipped forward, the grip of her other hand slipping away.
“Stop,” Jessica called out at the last millisecond. “Hold tight for now.”
Sage’s grip firmed, bringing her back against the barrier. Her hair fell across her face as she grappled and found purchase on the railing with her other hand, securing her on the wrong side of safety.
She’d be terrified. A Claimed mind wasn’t blind, zombified obedience. The demon stamped a command and she was compelled to act, but she still had her full wits and senses about her.
I wasn’t close enough to throw out a lifeline. If I moved, there’d be split seconds to catch her in a safety net and the demon had more ways than a swan dive to ensure Sage didn’t land in my lap.
Sage slanted her head and her eyes found mine. Hard to judge with the distance and shadows, but I’d swear there were no tears. There was something determined, defiant, about the steady look and the set of her jaw.
She was marvelous.
I ticked a slow nod at her and returned my attention t
o Jessica. She was a beautiful woman, classic bone structure framed with glossy lengths of ash blonde hair. Whatever mystical entity Arran Macleod was, no doubt he had the ability to see through all that to the rot beneath. He’d chosen to ignore it.
Her smile was sunshine and puppies. Her words were venom. “Take great care how you proceed. Your next mistake will be her last.”
Neither of us wanted that. She’d be down a hostage and I’d be down an Eclipse.
A shift of shadows registered in the corner of my eye. Lex, keeping out of sight in the recess of the passage. He wouldn’t have eyes on Sage, but he must have heard enough to understand. One false move and Sage was dead.
Jessica kicked her foot out. “Unleash me.”
“With pleasure.” I cocked a grin at her and stripped away the threads. I didn’t have a next move, true or false, but I could offer Lex some reassurance. “You went to a lot of trouble orchestrating that over-the-top distress call. Sage seems fighting strong and cheery to me.”
“Let it never be said a demon doesn’t enjoy theatrics.” She flicked her index finger at my fist. “Put that away.”
One bolt would turn Jessica Macleod to ash. I could do it. My draw was quicker than her tongue. Unfortunately that wouldn’t vanquish the demon. She couldn’t jump into me or Lex, which left Sage. No thanks. The situation was complex enough without me having to vanquish Lex’s girlfriend.
I flatted my palm against my thigh. “Now what?”
“So glad you asked.” She reached into the crate and tossed over a loosely coiled length of tarred rope. “You know what to do with that, I presume?”
I glanced down.
The tendons at my throat stiffened.
I was no coward, but fuck… I took a careful step back from the hell vine. It did resemble tarred rope, oil black and scarred with gnarled knots that looked like festered midnight wounds.
“Does Arran know you have that?” If the man had angel blood in him, he’d been living with a timing bomb.
“Every marriage needs its little secrets.” Jessica’s musical laughter scraped my spine. “I’ve heard it doesn’t take long. The torture will be over before you know it.”
Torment: Dark Paranormal Romance (Eclipse Warlocks Book 1) Page 23