Muttering something unintelligible, Thim gave her a small shake. The animalistic look in his eyes made her blood run cold.
“Now, shall I leave you in Thim’s care while I find your wayward friend?”
Thim grabbed her hair and pulled her tightly against him. The muscles in his body were rigid and unyielding. He traced his teeth along her neck with a growl.
“No, you’ll be drained before I get back,” Itu said quietly. “Perhaps we should just end it now. You’ve almost been more trouble than you’re worth.”
Nathanial has to be nearby, Emma thought desperately. Keep him talking. “You won’t have anyone left if you kill me.”
“We will have your male friend. And what’s left of that one.” Itu nodded toward Paisley. “Perhaps I should make you watch while Thim feeds on the rest of her. It can be quite…entertaining, though he tends to lack self-control once the screaming begins.”
Emma struggled against her captor and managed to pull her arm free long enough to hit him with all her strength. The demon grabbed and twisted it behind her back. She cried out in pain.
“Put her in the cave until I get back. Do not drain her. We must pace ourselves, do you understand?”
After a long pause, Thim nodded.
Itu clutched the small bag around his neck. “When I find your friend, he will be very sorry indeed. He is full of grief and regret. I can smell it. We will have our fill.”
Much to Emma’s dismay, Itu left them. He walked slowly into the tree line, stopping every few feet to sniff the air like an animal. Thim turned her roughly to face him. Her gaze reluctantly connected with her captor’s.
The demon raised his eyebrow and continued to stare at her.
Fear gripped her insides. “Itu said not to drain me.”
A sneer touched his lips. He jerked his chin toward the tree line.
Emma started toward it. Her wet clothing stuck to her, and she shivered violently in the cold. She slowed, hoping to buy time. The demon gave her a shove that nearly sent her sprawling. I could try to run back to the boat. Her heart sped up.
Somehow sensing her excitement, Thim yanked her backward and peered into her face. His look told her all she needed to know. He wouldn’t think twice about killing her, in spite of what Itu had told him. Grabbing her arm roughly, he continued to march her through the woods.
They approached the cave’s entrance, and he gave her a shove. Emma lost her footing and fell into the opening, her fingers grasping at the rock on the way down. She landed with a thud on the cave’s floor. Blocking out the pain, she scrambled to her feet with the intent of escape.
Thim was on her before she made it halfway back up the crevice. Hauling her to her feet, a low growl escaped the back of his throat. He grabbed her hands and ran his mouth over them, his sharp teeth shredding her skin. The demon greedily suckled on her fingertips, translucent-eyed gaze never leaving hers. The look in his eyes changed.
Horrific images of the body on the boat and pile of bodies from her nightmare filled Emma’s thoughts. The cold realization that she was about to become one of those bodies left her immobile. She cried out in fear.
Thim backed her against the wall and ran his tongue along the blood that dripped from her wrist. Indecent sounds escaped his throat. His eyes were dilated, his breath heavy.
Emma struggled to no avail. There would be no reasoning or tricking him as she had with Itu. This is how it ends. His claws dug into her arms, and she closed her eyes. Suddenly, he bit into her collarbone with a snarl. Her scream echoed against the rocky walls.
“Let her go!” Nathanial’s voice sounded across the cave.
Emma opened her eyes. Nathanial stood at the cave’s entrance. Sunlight trailed from above, hitting the top of his head like a halo. It was fitting.
Thim turned from her, a crazed smile spreading across his face. Pushing Emma aside, he advanced toward Nathanial like a predator.
“You and I have a score to settle,” Nathanial bit out.
Emma watched in frozen horror as the two circled each other. The taller of the two, Thim, crouched like an animal, ready to spring. Before he had a chance, however, Nathanial tackled him to the ground. Thim clawed Nathanial across the chest and bit his arm.
Desperate, Emma searched her surroundings for a weapon of some kind. Spying a gnawed bone in the corner, she grabbed it and turned, ready to dive into the fight.
Nathanial staggered back as Thim head-butted him in the face. The demon lunged toward him again. Nathanial caught him in the jaw with a well-timed punch.
Seeing her moment, Emma jumped onto Thim’s back and plunged the bone into his side. Not breaking stride, he flung her off with a growl. She hit the cave wall and slid to the ground.
Taking the few seconds he was spared, Nathanial reached into his back pocket and pulled the mirror from it. The light overhead caught the glass-like obsidian. The reflection flashed across Thim’s face.
The energy around them seemed to shift. It was as if the cave became compressed and time slowed. Emma couldn’t breathe and felt dizzy. She felt a sharp pain inside, and experienced a moment of clarity. A connection was broken. She blacked out for a second and then…she could see again. Nathanial was in the cave, still holding the mirror. Her dizziness was gone. Thim had fallen in an unconscious heap, not several steps away.
“Oh, my god.” Emma sank to the floor.
“Emma?” Nathanial limped over to her. His arm was bleeding, and his sweater was shredded where Thim had clawed him. Blood ran down his chest. “Are you okay?”
Emma nodded. “I’m not connected to Thim anymore. I can feel it.” Tears of relief ran down her face.
“I lost the other one on the way here,” he said. “We need to get out. Can you walk?”
“Yes,” she said, determined. Giving Thim a wide berth, she crawled unsteadily up the shaft.
“I don’t know how long that will work on him.” Nathanial said as he emerged after her. “We still need to get the other demon into the cave before we try to seal it.”
“How are we going to do that?”
“I don’t know.” His look was pained. “We can block the entrance with rocks for now. He won’t be completely secured, but it’ll slow him down.”
“Okay.” Emma pushed a rock across the opening. Her collarbone ached and her shredded fingertips bled with the effort. With Nathanial’s help, she pulled several more into place.
Nathanial pulled the charm from his back pocket, and Emma steadied herself against a wave of dizziness.
“Are you okay?”
She nodded. “It’s not as bad.”
The area was unnaturally silent. Several seconds went by before a furious roar could be heard coming from inside the cave. Dirt cascaded from the rocks covering the opening as Thim slammed against them.
Emma nervously scanned the tree line, waiting for Itu to show. The sudden blur of movement was unexpected.
Itu slammed Nathanial against a tree before either saw him coming. Emma tried to help, but was thrown onto her back. She stood just in time to see Itu pick up a rock and smash it against Nathanial’s head. He tossed it aside. A blur of dark hair and fury, Itu tackled her before she had a chance to run.
“You will not do this!” he yelled. “We will not be imprisoned again!”
Itu pressed his fingers against her brow, his empty eye sockets pulling her into their void. Emma began to black out.
Itu’s attention was distracted by the sound of Thim’s fury. He shoved her aside. Pulling the rocks away, the demon began to unearth his counterpart.
Emma crawled over to Nathanial and shook him gently. Her gaze fell upon the obsidian mirror, miraculously caught in a clump of ferns. Bracing herself against a wave of dizziness, she inched forward and grabbed it.
Itu turned. He caught the reflected light from the mirror full in the face.
A roaring like water filled her head. The air around Emma changed and her vision unfocused. There was a shift in the air. She felt Itu�
��s connection with her break. When she could see again, Thim’s screams had stopped and Itu had collapsed at the mouth of the cave.
Emma dragged herself to her feet, and limped over to him. Peering into the narrow opening, her heart leapt. Thim looked up at her. A trail of sunlight lit his translucent eyes, illuminating a combination of fear and fury that lurked within them. Determined, she held the mirror up. The light bounced off the surface and seemed to be pulled toward the demon like a magnet. The air around her changed again, but less so. Thim crumpled to the floor of the cave.
“That’s for Fae,” she murmured. Resolute, she gave Itu a shove with her foot, allowing the weight of his body to pull him in. He fell down the shaft and landed unceremoniously on top of the albino in a heap.
Emma pushed the rocks over the opening until it was completely covered again. Seal it. Not knowing what else to do, she murmured a prayer, placing all her intent in it. She willed the demons to be sealed within the cave. She willed their connection with her and Nathanial to be broken forever. Emma set the charm on top. Please work. Please, please, please.
Silence.
The adrenaline ran from her body like water. She slumped to the ground. “Nathanial?” she called across the clearing. Hauling herself to her feet, she limped over to him. “Please wake up!” His head was bleeding. Emma pulled off her t-shirt and pressed it to the wound.
Nathanial’s eyes flew open. His gaze traveled to her black bra. “Not that I’m complaining, but aren’t you cold?”
She gave him a small smile. “You’re bleeding.”
“Where are they?”
“In the cave. I think it worked.” She eyed the silent entrance. “Let’s get out of here.” Emma helped him up.
Supporting each other, they limped toward shore.
EPILOGUE
EMMA’S THOUGHTS OF THE ISLAND faded over the next few months until it felt like a distant memory. Sownipok remained uninhabited—one of many small islands that littered the coast. She and Nathanial married the following year. They had three children, lived a happy life together and eventually died of old age.
The island remained in the family with a trust fund and instructions never to sell nor visit, for any reason. It wasn’t until the fourth generation of Dumont-Kellers that those instructions became a little hazy as to why they existed at all.
* * *
Sarah tossed her white-blonde hair over her shoulder. “I don’t have any place else to go now that Mom and Dad have thrown me out.”
“Just talk to them,” Anthony pleaded with his younger sister. “Tell them you’ll go back to school. Tell them anything, Sarah. You’re too young to be out on your own.”
“I’m nineteen. I’m not too young.”
“How are you even going to live out there?”
“I have my kayak and fishing gear. And the survival skills it takes to live on a deserted island, thank you very much. It’s not rocket science.” She took in his doubtful look. “I packed food and I have some money. I can do odd jobs if I need more.”
“So you’re going to be a drifter. Just like Mom said.”
“No, I’m not. I just don’t see what the big hurry is to finish school and settle down.” She sighed. “I want to experience something. That stupid island is sitting there and has been for years. This will be an adventure.”
Anthony shook his head. “Always an adventure with you. I don’t know why you can’t be happy with a roof over your head and food on the table.”
“Now you sound like Dad,” Sarah said in disgust. “I’m going, Anthony. You can’t stop me.”
Anthony threw his hands into the air. “Fine. Go.” Guilt and worry nagged him as he watched his sister march down the pier. She has to make her own mistakes. Just like Mom and Dad said.
It was only when Sarah disappeared a month later that Anthony regretted his decision to let her go. Regretted it all the way out to the Sownipok Island to search for her.
Author Website:
http://www.clarissajohal.com
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Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Epilogue
Author Website
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