The floor creaked and he jumped. Nothing stood behind him. It was only the old building settling around him.
Ciaran couldn’t accept the truth.
The demon had taken Samantha when he couldn’t take Ciaran. The heir of Imogen’s magic could do what the demon had wanted Ciaran’s feathers for. She had the same power, a magic that could rip holes between the worlds.
Just as he spread his wings to jump into the air, he heard the click of claws on the floor. Sulfur filled his senses. The hounds prowled into his vision. The demon had summoned two more while Ciaran and Samantha had been flirting.
He reached for his human form, but a hand closed around his neck. His body jerked. Before he knew what happened, bars surrounded him. A gate closed before him and the demon’s face entered his vision.
Ciaran fought to shift, but nothing happened. He knew changing forms would break the cage around him, but he couldn’t seem to reach the other part of himself. The demon smiled. His eyes glowed, all pretenses of humanity cast aside while they were alone.
“You were so easy to manipulate,” the demon said, voice tinged with laughter. He grinned, wide from ear to ear, as he lowered the cage and whistled at his hellhounds. “Now that this is over, we need to get moving forward with my plans. That witch you found will be useful, too. How about we pay her a visit?”
Ciaran slammed against the bars of the cage, but it was no use. All he did was shake the thing. He couldn’t break free. It somehow muted his power. Where once the curse granted him more, superhuman power, it now rendered him nothing more than a bird.
Ciaran had ruined everything.
All at once, he’d found something to protect, a reason to live, and he’d ruined it. The demon had followed him. Now, it would hurt her.
Chapter Eleven
She stopped dead in her tracks when she saw the broken doorframe. Carved wood, broken symbols, were scattered across the floor. A hand clenched around her heart, but she pushed herself forward.
For the first time, she summoned her darker power and let it wrap around her. There was no knowing if it would keep her safe from whatever had broken into her house, but she knew whatever waited for her deserved the things she could do. An unsettled feeling told her this wasn’t a normal break in. Whoever waited inside wanted Ciaran.
It couldn’t be a coincidence that her pumpkins had been smashed and her door busted after Ciaran arrived with hellhounds on his trail. She should have been mad at him. He’d brought hell to her doorstep, literally, but she couldn’t find it in her. Instead, she worried about the man that’d been missing since she woke.
In the kitchen, she found two cold cups of coffee and a bag of donuts on the counter. She refused to believe he’d gone and bought her breakfast and then shattered the door when she wasn’t home. Then, she saw the crumpled piece of paper on the floor.
Crouching, she unfolded it and saw the address. It was for a warehouse just outside of town. She only knew because of her teenage years, running around town and doing stupid things. More than once she and her friends had broken into the warehouse to smash windows or spray paint walls.
She couldn’t imagine why Ciaran would be there. She tried to replay what happened here, but she didn’t have all the pieces of the puzzle.
Samantha stood, her magic humming along her skin. She heard the crunching of broken wood underfoot and adrenaline filled her veins. Immediately, she lunged for the living room staircase. The day before, she’d sent Ciaran inside the crawlspace to help hook up a fog machine. Now, she darted inside and carefully closed the door behind her.
Holding her breath, she peered out from between the slats in the wall as someone entered. The man was tall and impossibly lean. His skin hugged his skull and revealed every dark hollow of the bones beneath it. The smell of sulfur crawled between the slats, as if reaching for her.
She reeled back and knocked into a forgotten bucket. Her heart lurched as she spun to catch it before it could make a noise. The dark shape on the other side of the wall paused. Samantha held her breath and drew a sigil in the dust. It was one she’d used to skip school, a make-shift invisibility cloak.
Her chest ached, begging for air, but she held it until the shape moved on. Once the demon left the room, she turned toward a nearby staircase. It was narrow and would most likely creak with every step. She almost didn’t want to go upstairs, but she knew she needed to get to Ciaran and this little passage didn’t connect to the kitchen.
Just as she lifted her foot to the first step, there was a knock on the door. The world seemed to stop. Dust motes that drifted through the air hung there, suspended. Then, the world jerked back into motion just as another knock rang out.
Samantha cringed. A town clerk was supposed to stop by to officiate her house for the contest. She looked around, weighing her options. Her magic could only do so much. As dark and warped as it was, she doubted it was any match against a demon.
A demon.
How she knew the man to be a demon was beyond her. It was instinctual, a punch to the gut that she couldn’t ignore. There were witches of old that had worked with demons. It never ended well, if the Salem Witch Trials were any indication. Samantha wanted nothing to do with his kind.
Footsteps rang out through the manor, growing louder with each footfall as if it were an alarm pushing Samantha into action. She turned away from the stair and squeezed into a narrow space around a corner, putting her in a wall in the parlor. From there, she watched the demon throw open the door.
The clerk, an older man, stumbled over his words when he looked up and found the gaunt man in Samantha’s house.
“May I speak to Ms. Carver? We have an appointment and if she doesn’t meet with me soon, then I’ll have to disqualify her from the competition.”
The demon cocked its head. It stretched, letting a hand run up the frame of the door, its body hiding the broken frame. “Oh, and what might that contest be? I’m sure I could help you while she’s out.”
The clerk sighed and nodded his head as if to say, whatever. He lifted his clipboard and the demon spun aside to let the man pass. Samantha caught the hellish flash of fire in the demon’s eyes as he watched the clerk go by. She needed to get the man out of the house before the demon ate him, or whatever demons did to mortal men.
“May I ask your relation to Ms. Carver?” The clerk was just out of view, standing in a dark zone as Samantha watched from between the slats. “Are you…her significant other?”
What? Hell, no. She wanted to kick the clerk in the shin for assuming Samantha would date a demon, even if he didn’t know it was a demon. The gaunt looking man was obviously sketchy. She couldn’t believe the town would think so little of her.
It was no wonder she’d hexed half the town at some point.
Maybe, she thought as she moved between the walls, they disliked her because they knew she was hexing them. It was a vicious circle, she realized.
***
Ciaran rattled the cage. He could hear voices in the other room, both male. He wanted to scream at the human to leave, to run in the other direction. Anyone could tell by looking at the demon that he was dangerous. It should have sent the man scurrying. Instead, he’d followed the demon into what was most likely a trap.
He looked around, scanning the kitchen where his cage had been dropped. When he saw the extra set of coffee and donuts on the counter beside him, a sharp panic hit him. He struggled against the restraint with a new fervor.
Samantha was somewhere inside the manor.
He needed to break free.
He needed to protect her.
Over and over, Ciaran invited danger into Carver manor. He’d killed a man in the topmost room. Now, he waited for another man to be killed in the parlor. It would stop before it took Samantha. He wouldn’t allow it.
Where was she, he wondered? Samantha was smart. He didn’t think she would try to face the demon head on. He trusted that she would try something sneakier, quieter. He only wished he knew where
she was.
It pained him, not knowing. The witch should have been off limits. She should have been an opposition in his life, and yet he couldn’t stand the thought of a world without her now. If the demon set one finger on his witch’s head, then Ciaran was damn sure he would find a way out of that cage.
As it was, the demon had not yet plucked any of his feathers. It made him think the magic needed to be fresh. Either he needed the feather right after Ciaran shifted, or it needed to be used right after it was plucked from his skin. Perhaps both.
Either way, the demon had Ciaran at his fingertips now. The magic in Imogen’s curse could tear holes in the veil, and it lived on through Ciaran’s raven form, through his curse. It was why he’d needed Samantha to remove it. Instead of pestering her, he’d fucked her.
It was not time wasted, but there had been so many other moments that he could have reminded her. He could have told her the truth. Instead, he’d swallowed it to keep from scaring her away. He’d let time pass them both and now they were paying for it.
Ciaran heard a creaking in the walls. The house was old. He thought, for a moment, that a pipe might burst. Maybe that would frighten the human man away.
Then, the creak sounded again. Creak. Creak. In the pattern of footfalls.
Ciaran’s bird heart stuttered, and his wings fluffed. He shook his head, in case she could see him. It wasn’t safe, he wanted to say. Not right now.
The panel in the wall never opened. Instead, he strained to listen. There was a slow sound of metal whining against metal. The walls began to groan in earnest. Pipes clanged all through the house. He wasn’t sure what Samantha had done, but the sound echoed up and down the manor as if ghosts were rising from every direction.
He would have claimed the souls of the Carver witches had returned to banish the demon if he didn’t know any better. The human man in the parlor grew wary, his voice pitching with fear. He startled when the demon led him into the kitchen and he caught sight of the giant, caged bird on the counter.
“This is all for the contest, you see. Its just a small show of what Samantha Carver has to offer the haunted house contest this year.” The demon crooned, one hand on the human’s shoulder.
“I’m not sure what the regulations are considering live animals. We could get sued by an animal rights organization if it gets out that you have a live crow.”
“Oh, that?” The demon broke away, hand falling back down by his side as he approached Ciaran’s cage. “This is an animatronic raven. It’s programed to shake the cage every now and then. An homage to one of history’s greatest horror writers.” The demon smiled with pride.
It was having fun weaving this web of lies around Samantha’s house. Considering the man was not yet dead, Ciaran knew the demon had something else planned. His feathers tingled, wondering what the demon might do next. They needed to get him out of the house as soon as possible.
Chapter Twelve
Samantha cursed. The trick with the pipes had not scared the clerk away. She listened to the demon explain every small sound in his suave voice. It was a trick, a spell from hell, that he wove through his voice. It nearly addled her mind. It might have gripped her, too, had she not known the cause of the sounds.
She sat in the wall and watched the Demon stand over Ciaran, trapped in a cage. The demon had forged her signature, using another glamour to convince the town clerk that everything was fine, before sending him off.
The demon grinned as he lowered himself to the counter and looked up at the caged bird. He crossed his arms and rested his chin on his hands. “This is going to be too much fun. Not only do I have you at last, I’m going to have a house full of blundering idiots to sacrifice. This is working out wonderfully.”
The demon stood. Its eyes flicked over the kitchen, making Samantha’s heart shudder when his gaze passed over her hiding spot. But, it seemed oblivious to her presence. The sigil she’d drawn earlier was still holding up. She didn’t know how much longer it would hide her.
When the demon turned to leave, a whistle on its lips and a bounce in its step, Samantha knew it was now or never.
She didn’t want to leave Carver manor. It was her home. It had belonged to her family for over a century. Almost two. Abandoning it was like plunging a knife through her own chest, but she knew she could not leave Ciaran in the demon’s hands.
It was clear that Ciaran played a crucial part in the demon’s plan. Not only would she save her…what was he to her? She wanted to call him her lover, but there had been no lines drawn.
Samantha shook her head to clear it. She would save Ciaran and stop the demon. Then they would talk about relationship titles.
One thing at a time.
She slid aside the panel in the wall and slowly crept out of the dusty passage. Ciaran saw her. He jumped nervously, beak opening. Thankfully he did not make a sound as she lifted his cage from the counter. The back door led into a small greenhouse. If she could get them both through that before the demon noticed, they would be free.
She had a plan for after. All that mattered was that they got out of the house first.
Ciaran was heavier than she thought he would be. She cradled the cage in her arms. He depended on her to get them out. Carefully, quietly, she turned toward the back door. The skin on the back of her neck prickled, but she told herself it was only nerves. She had not heard the demon approach.
The kitchen door closed behind her. The thick air of the greenhouse wrapped around them. The door stood ahead, only steps away. Her hand closed around the knob just as something jerked her back.
The demon growled. His fingers gripped the bars of the cage as he snarled down at her. She fought, yanking the cage back, but it was no use. The demon was stronger. It tugged, and her feet slid along the floor. She couldn’t fight against it as it dragged her back into the house.
If she stayed, it would use her, too.
But, she refused to let go of Ciaran. Quickly, she looked around for something. Anything. Samantha refused to be defeated. She never knew she could be so stubborn. She blamed Ciaran. He’d blown into her life and become so much more than a man with a curse. He was the one to look past her lineage and see a woman.
Even if hell hunted him, she had to confess that she loved him.
Then, Samantha saw the sigils wrapping the kitchen door. The front set had been broken, but these still remained. Her plan from earlier came back. She’d wanted to be outside the house, to do this while the demon’s back was turned, but she would do whatever it took to break free of this monster.
Samantha took one hand away from the cage. The demon laughed at her. The bar of the cage cut into her hand as she held on. With the other hand and the pain flowing through her, she reached out and touched the circle of sigils.
They flared to life and the demon cried out as it inched away from her. The ward crippled the demon, but not enough to stop it. The demon snarled at her and jumped. She ducked and staggered away, but the demon hadn’t aimed for her.
Ciaran cried out in pain.
The demon grinned triumphantly as it fell back, a black feather raised in its hand. Samantha didn’t know what victory it had just won. All she could do was turn and run. She burst into the open, trading the hot and moist air for the cool autumn air. Ciaran cawed from inside his cage. She hushed him, grateful that they’d escaped.
The world kept spinning. Someone raked leaves into a pile for their kid to jump into. A woman jogged past, music blaring in her headphones and her dog’s tongue lolling out of the side of its mouth. No one knew a demon lurked inside Samantha’s house. She wanted to keep it that way.
She didn’t want to ruin their lives, to terrify them. Yet, as she moved, the weight of everything that happened got heavier and heavier until she dragged her feet. Samantha trudged down the sidewalk, cage in her arms. The scarecrow outside Mrs. Buchanan’s house grinned wildly at her. Magic flickered over it and disappeared as quickly as it came. She wasn’t in the mood to enjoy her little tricks
.
There was a demon squatting in Carver manor. Well, it was currently trapped there. She’d ignited what was left of the protection wards and used them as a cage, much like the demon had trapped Ciaran in the birdcage.
It couldn’t follow her, but it was still able to plot its next move. Samantha needed to find a way to free Ciaran from the cage as well as a way to banish the demon in Carver manor.
“Sammy!” Mrs. Buchanan shouted as she leaned out her front door. “What are you doing to that poor bird?”
“Shove it up your ass, old woman. This is my boyfriend!” Samantha was done with pretenses. It wasn’t like Mrs. Buchanan was going to believe a thing Samantha had just said. It was beyond belief, even if it was the truth.
The town would only think that Samantha had finally lost it.
She managed to find a gazebo in a small park, the rolling greens decked out with foam head stones. Names of donators were emblazoned on the fake grave markers, along with funny ways they ‘died.’ Corn husks were tied to the corners of the gazebo.
Samantha wanted nothing more than a dirty chai as she let herself collapse onto the gazebo bench. Ciaran made some small noises of concern and ruffled his feathers. Unable to tell him anything that would answer whatever questions he had, Samantha quietly set to work trying to unlock the cage.
The lock burned when she touched it, as if it had been rested in a mighty fire. She jerked back, hissing. All her salves were back in the manor. She could not go back and slather a healing ointment on her fingers. All she could do was glare at the lock. Ciaran made a whining sound, but she told him to hush while she thought.
Ciaran nibbled at the bars, obviously eager to be free. She threw her hands in the air. The situation was frustrating. Her entire life had been a smooth slide compared to this. Sure, people in town were rude and demeaning, but they never took her home from her. They didn’t threaten to sacrifice the other townspeople.
The Raven Curse Page 7