by T. F. Walsh
Thomas cleared his throat to get Levi’s attention. “There are side effects you should be aware of,” he said.
Cary’s cheeks paled as she leaned forward. “Give it to us.”
For a smidgen of a second, Levi actually had believed this all might work. Fat chance.
Thomas read from the book. “This spell changes the link dynamics between the demon and the one marked.”
“What does that mean?” Levi ran his hands up and down his thighs. Of course, nothing would go as predicted.
Thomas scratched his chin as he glanced at the passage. “I suspect it means the demon won’t need to possess you to know all your darkest secrets. It has a direct line to your thoughts. And it will use them against you.”
“Anything else?” Levi asked. He shivered at the idea that the monster could play around in his mind.
“If you don’t capture the demon and it escapes, then the spell will drag you both into Hell,” Thomas warned. “The demon will claim both your souls.”
“Oh, fuck.” Cary sounded panicked.
“So, we can’t fail.” Levi said, matter-of-factly. He slumped back into his seat, heaviness settling in his chest.
“And Levi,” Thomas continued. “As a human, there’s no guarantee this blood link won’t… How can I say this?”
“Give it to me straight.” His muscles tightened.
“Your scars from the link may never heal. There’s a chance your mind will never function normally again.”
Levi felt the blood drain from his face.
Thomas glanced at Levi, then Cary. “Are you both sure about this?”
She stared at Levi. He looked back at her and the green eyes he’d fantasized waking up to every morning. It was a wasteful fantasy, obviously not going to be their reality now.
“You should sit this one out,” she said. “I’ll do it.” She lifted her chin defiantly.
“Are you kidding? I sure as fuck am not going to let you face the demon alone.” For years, he’d promised himself that if he destroyed the beast that’d killed Marcos, then he could finally get on with life. And this was his chance to make right on his mistake and finish off the responsible beast. Except—he never expected the risks would be so high, or that Cary would face the same dangers.
“You saw how hard it was just getting here.” Levi used his uncompromising voice, the one he used on anyone who stood in his way. “What are we supposed to do for the rest of our lives? Drive across the U.S. until your car finally kicks the bucket? That’s not living, and I refuse to keep running. We do this together.”
Cary nodded. “Together.”
Chapter 31
The runes and protection symbols painted in goat’s blood on the walls seemed to glow in the candlelight set around the basement in Thomas’s house.
Thomas had said this was his spell room, and it sure looked like one. The stairs in front of them lead to a door locked from the outside. Cary gripped her knife and sweat trickled down her spine as she stared at the bottle needed for the spell. Based on the notes in the book, it was filled with rusty nails and razors, sea salt, and a black candle tied with a string.
No turning back now.
Levi stood next to her. The stiff expression on his face concealed the terror she knew must lay inside, which mirrored hers—tight, pained, and queasy.
Levi released a long breath. “Ready?”
“Yeah.” Cary looked at the pentagram drawn on the floor in front of them. Thomas had inscribed it using her and Levi's blood, then surrounded it with protection runes and a ring of salt, the same way he’d drawn on the walls. Her arm tingled: Thomas had used a lot of blood.
She had Levi’s extra lasso on her belt, along with vials of holy water and a pair of blessed handcuffs. Next to Levi’s feet, he had a sack of salt, a backup knife, a bible, and a torch—in case the situation turned sour. Yep, they were ready, despite the chill that refused to leave her.
“You think this’ll work?” Cary touched the lasso’s handle for the tenth time, comforted that it was where it was supposed to be.
“Our blood will call the son of a bitch,” Levi said. “Then we trap it and get it to remove our marks. Pretty straightforward.” His faint voice failed to show his fear, but she could tell it was there from the way he kept looking around the room, and the stiffness of his posture.
If anything, she would have preferred to keep Levi out of the action. Sure, he had his own personal vendetta toward the nightclub demon, but this was about her, and he simply got caught in her web. But one way or another, this rampage ended tonight.
“We’re dealing with a major fucker of a demon here,” Cary said. “I just want to know you’re ready for it. We’re taking a huge gamble.” She cringed at the frailty in her tone.
“The greater risk is doing nothing.” He set his blade on the floor and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, turning her toward him.
She moved closer immediately, her body fitting perfectly against his. Warmth spread through her, reminding her of all the times she’d spent with him, the way her pulse accelerated in his presence. It was so much more than a simple attraction. She respected him for the dedication he put into his job. Plus, he’d waited for revenge all these years. It must have been terrifying to see his best friend killed in front of him, but he never gave up.
He rubbed her back. “I’ve got you covered.”
She broke their embrace, just a little, to look up into his eyes.
“You’re an amazing hunter, Cary, and the demon doesn’t stand a chance against us.” A tiny smile curled on the corners of his mouth.
“Just need to get myself together.” Shaking her head, she pulled hair off her face and into a ponytail. With her shoulders pushed back, she remembered her father’s words. Never give up, ever. Even when you think you’ve lost, kick your way out. That’s my girl.
“Hey, we’ll get through this.” When she met Levi’s gaze, he winked. “We’ll win this.”
She couldn’t ignore her unsettling fear. “What if there wasn’t an afterward?” she asked. What she really meant was: What if she never got to tell Levi how she really felt about him? Worse yet, what if she got him killed? If she hadn’t chased the demon that night at the club… Better yet, why hadn’t she stayed in Detroit? As much as she wanted to spill everything right now, her words refused to come at first, convinced he’d laugh at her. How could he ever love a monster? She tried anyway.
“Levi.” Her muscles tightened. “I’ve always liked you, maybe too much, and no matter what happens, I could never hate you.”
He looked back at her, still and so serious.
“I gave you my heart long ago,” he said quickly. She wanted to reply, to kiss him, to make everything better, but he dropped his gaze just as quick and turned to the pentagram in front of them.
And yet, he just declared to giving his heart away.
How was Cary supposed to deal with that? Sure, she’d wanted to hear those words for too long, but after all the stuff they’d gone through, it wasn’t what she expected.
Hell, Cary needed to focus. Nothing else mattered right now. Nothing.
She licked her lips and raised the knife to chest level. Holding her hands over the symbols, she placed the sharp edge of the blade to her palm. She pulled the blade back, the sharp bite stinging. Blood rolled down the side of her palm.
The moment the first blood splattered over hit the pentagram, the temperature in the room dropped sharply.
No turning back now.
Chapter 32
Levi began chanting the words of the spell, and Cary joined in, just as Thomas had taught them. His breath turned cold as it passed his lips, a misty fog drifting from his mouth with each word. Instead of floating down, it was channeled forward by the spell, into a cyclonic tornado, which moved toward the pentagram. The chill air rippled across his flesh, clawing down his back.
But no demon appeared.
Levi repeated the chant, louder.
The light abo
ve them flickered and in a sudden pop, the globe exploded, throwing glass across the room. He flicked the pieces off his arm, never easing back on his recitation.
Shadows from the candles inside the lidless mason jars cast disfigured monsters across the walls. Levi’s words flat-lined, and a deadly silence enveloped them. As did a sudden charge in the air.
A guttural growl belched around them, the sound pinching his flesh. Wind brushed along his neck in a room with no draft.
God, guide us.
When he glanced over to Cary, she was staring at him, worry behind her eyes. Her words about liking him repeated in his head. This was the damn wrong time for emotions, for showing weakness, for forgetting.
A sudden lashing of winds came from within the pentagram. Salt scattered from the circle, breaking the ring, but the symbols would hold the beast, or at least they should. Two mason jars blew over and shattered, the room dimming further when the candles snuffed.
Levi took Cary’s hand and squeezed it before retrieving Noose from his belt. Show time.
Snarls reverberated through the room. Empty threats.
“Show your real form, coward,” he called out.
A hellish mist morphed into a figure—one Levi recognized too well.
Fire seethed inside him at what this monster had taken from him—Marcos, Levi’s childhood, and a normal life. Time for payback.
On Levi’s next breath, a demon flickered uncontrollably as if it were static on television, until it settled in full view so close that Levi could reach out and touch it.
The beast held its form even without a human body—a bony figure, claws for fingers, emaciated torso covered in festering scratches, and prominent pelvis bones.
Cary had her lasso extended.
The demon’s jagged mouth gaped open, revealing dual layers of sharp, shark-like teeth. A horrid screeching erupted as it threw itself against the invisible walls holding it inside the pentagram. The floor beneath Levi’s feet trembled.
“How long before it works out it’s not escaping?” Levi raised his voice.
“I don’t want to find out. Trap it in the spirit board.” Cary’s words had a dark tone he didn’t recognize.
“Agreed.” Levi flicked open Noose. With his other hand, he retrieved a vial and popped it open. He broke into a prayer and hurled the holy water at the frantic demon.
Hissing and crouching low, its mouth opened in a silent scream as its stub tongue wriggled. Someone had cut its tongue. Why? No matter how petrified it acted, Levi would never hold a slither of pity for the fucker.
“Time to finish this.” He hurled Noose’s loop into the circle, a perfect shot aiming for the demon’s head.
The fiend jerked a bony hand out and snatched the loop, fingers curled tight around the leather.
A vibration darted up Levi’s arm and through his body, icing him over. He lost feeling everywhere.
His pulse sped up. He gritted his teeth and fought against the invisible shackle locking his body on the spot. He might as well be trapped in cement.
“Release the lasso.” Cary’s hysterical voice wasn’t helping. “Levi! What are you doing?”
She hurled the loop into the circle, but the creature flung it away with a flick of its hand.
Levi’s voice refused to work. His gaze remained locked on the creature who lifted itself from a crouched position in a heartbeat.
Oh, fuck.
Cary threw vial after vial of holy water at the demon, but it didn’t move or even flinch at her attempts. Not even her fistfuls of salt hurled at the monster made a difference.
Its mouth curled into a hideous, toothy grin stretching the width of its head. Then the beast shattered into a billion pieces. Revealed within the pentagram, enlarging by the second, filling the circle was a black mass. It towered over Levi.
He couldn’t stop the panic melting though him, no matter how much he prayed.
Funneling forward, the blackness swirled upward along Noose as if it were a black snake constricting its prey.
Cary screamed in the background. Her hands kept slipping down his arm with each attempt to drag him away from the pentagram.
His mind convulsed as he stared at the demon slinking toward him.
Not like this, dear God. Not like this.
His heart hammered in his ears. He repeated the Lord’s prayer in his mind, still unable to use his vocal chords.
Cary reached for Noose. The moment she touched Levi’s weapon, she flew backward. A sickening thud sounded from somewhere behind him. Was she all right?
The black miasma now curled over his chest, the touch digging into his flesh like a thousand leeches.
Screams bubbled in his mind. His heart banged beneath his breastbone, and if there was ever a time when he’d wish for a heart attack, this was it.
The serpent slithered up Levi’s collarbone, over his chin, until it seeped into his mouth, invading him. Every nerve strangled Levi as his worst nightmare was coming true. Possession.
His body spasmed, and he blacked out.
Chapter 33
Cary scrambled to her feet, her back cramping up from smashing against the wall. Her knees refused to stop wobbling as she stared at Levi, standing in the center of the room, facing the pentagram. His body repeatedly twitched.
“Levi?” Cary’s voice trembled. No way a demon had crawled inside him. No fucking way.
The intense cold sunk its fangs into her flesh. Fear swirled in the pit of her stomach. If only she hadn’t followed Levi to the nightclub demon, then none of this would have happened, and they wouldn’t be in this predicament. But they were, and Levi seemed lost. What could she do?
Exorcisms rendered demons weak and flushed them back into Hell. Wouldn’t work, since it would leave her and Levi still marked.
“Levi, blank your mind, tense every muscle,” she cried, “flush it out!”
Several feet away lay the lasso. Give me strength. She retrieved her cellphone from her back pocket, thumbed to the Holy Mary track and tucked it into her bra. It hadn’t worked with the other demon. Would it work now? She had to try.
She slid along the wall, inching toward her weapon.
Levi’s head snapped in her direction, his body still convulsing from the possession. A toothy grin split his mouth.
The sickening reality that this wasn’t Levi anymore slowly dawned on her. The grimacing face wasn’t his. It contorted into a stranger, a monster, death.
“Cary, run.” Levi’s voice came through, croaky and wobbly.
He shook his head and suddenly Levi was gone, replaced by a wild expression she’d expect on a serial killer spotting his next victim. The demon rolled Levi’s shoulders and cracked his neck. A growl resonated through the room.
The hairs on her arms stood on end.
“Your lover is mine.” The sound of his voice was like metal scraping cement.
Cary lunged forward, scrambling for her lasso, but the demon was there, right beside her. A hand seized her neck and shoved her up against the wall, the back of her head smacking into the brick. She kicked the monster in the legs.
He released his grip, and she crumpled to the ground, a whimper tumbling from her mouth as she pushed herself to her feet and recoiled.
“He has so many secrets, so many.” His yellow pupils were encased by red discs. “He slayed a human! Oh, he will do well down below.”
He lied. Levi would never kill anyone. Never. He protected people. But… What if… Everyone made mistakes, right? Except her mistakes opened the door to Hell.
He broke into a gritty laughter. “He’ll never love you. He detests demons. You repulse him.”
“Shut up.” The truth raked down Cary’s back. Yeah, she knew it, but fuck that. She’d deal with the emotional crap later, and she sure as Hell wasn’t taking this from a piece of scum.
The demon tapped his temple, no… Levi’s temple. “All in here. Can’t hide from the truth.”
She dove forward, ducked under the monster’s swi
nging arm, and rolled under it, grabbing her lasso in the process.
Jumping up, she spun around, and clicked open the weapon. “Never mistook you for a drama queen, but now I can see why you’ve had your tongue cut. You talk too much bullshit.”
His face darkened, brow creased, lips deforming as they peeled back over sharp teeth. Good one, anger the blood-thirsty demon.
She flung the loop forward, but missed. The demon charged, shoving her off her feet. All the air spilled from her lungs. He jumped on her, straddling her hips. She threw a punch, but he caught it with a hand.
“You’ll be fun to break in,” the demon said.
“You’re the one getting broke today.” Didn’t come out as menacing as she’d hoped, but who cared? With the lasso just out of reach, she shuffled her upper body, her fingers crawling across the floor while holding the demon’s stare. But it was Levi’s eyes stared down at her. She didn’t want to hurt him.
A snarl seeped from his pasty lips, the yellow eyes returning.
“What’d you do to get the tongue chopped off? Been gossiping too much?”
He squeezed her hand.
She whimpered.
Smirking, he leaned closer, Levi’s tongue reaching out toward her.
She touched the lasso’s handle and scooped it up. In a second flat, she tossed the loop over his head and jerked the handle back.
He scrambled off her, and she leapt to her feet, gripping the handle tighter.
The demon’s head jarred upward, pulling backward. He shoved the handle behind his shoulder with impossible strength, almost sending Cary off her feet from the force. Then he rushed her, slamming himself into her.
She reeled back, but he snatched a handful of her hair and hauled her closer. Chest to chest, they were plastered together. His free hand whipped around her, fingers digging through her back right where her kidneys were, stinging like daggers.
Cries stung the back of her throat as he yanked on her hair, forcing her chin up to face him.