41. Chapter Forty-One
Chapter Forty-One
Deimos
I t was fucking freezing. There was snow everywhere and I couldn’t feel my fingers. Maybe the dark haired psycho had been right after all. I blanched. How awful.
I could sense her nearby, her lavender scent travelling on the chilly breeze. My senses sharpened as I followed the trail she’d unwittingly left behind. It made me feel alive . I wanted to run, to hunt. To chase her through the woods and fuck her into the ground like a goddamn animal.
“Easy there, big guy. Isn’t that a bit much?” Casimir asked, concern lacing his tone.
“Nope. She wants it just as much as I do. You felt the quiver in her limbs when I pinned her to the door. Can’t deny that kind of reaction, love.”
He scoffed. “I am not your ‘love’”
I chuckled. The boy sounded so indignant. “We’re tied together by our very souls, if that’s not love, I don’t know what is.”
He settled back down then, his presence in my mind quietening into the background.
“It’s weird watching you talk to yourself,” Nox said as he fell into step beside me. He was, admittedly, intriguing. I think the fact that he was courting fear was interesting. Most people ran from me, but this guy, despite quaking a little, was curious enough to ask me questions.
“Then don’t watch.”
“Not possible,” he said, rubbing his hands together to keep away the cold.
I turned to him with an eyebrow raised, enjoying his little flinch as his eyes met mine. “You do know you don’t have to feel the cold?”
“Yeah, but there’s something about it that makes me feel alive in a way not much else does.”
Well, colour me surprised. The little psycho had depth.
“Stop distracting the bloodhound,” the Moroi growled as he caught up with us.
If he meant to insult me, he missed his mark. It was an apt description of the task I was currently engaged in.
The two lovebirds were following behind, and I always found Korbin interesting to watch. Made me wonder what he’d be like to chase.
I turned my attention back to my task and followed the scent of my little bird. It was getting stronger. “We’re close.”
I walked us to the edge of a clearing where a little house sat. It was pretty in a postcard sort of way. Like one of those retreats people go to in order to escape reality. In the middle of nowhere with no distractions.
Nox sprinted past me and the urge to chase him kicked into gear, but I held myself back. My senses were in overdrive because it had been so long since I’d had any real physical form. I’d been trapped in the cage of Casimir’s mind, occasionally breaking through but never enough to take control. Not like this. It was freeing. Thrilling. I wanted to incite fear, hear screams with my own ears and breathe nightmares into life. There was so much to do, but I didn’t know where to start.
Nox came out of the house, a pout on his lips. “She’s not here.”
I sniffed the air again, her scent still strong here. “She can’t have left long ago. Was there anything left in the cabin?”
Nox shook his head. “Not that I can see.”
I turned to Korbin and even he seemed to wilt beneath my gaze. “Perhaps you should take a look.”
“Perhaps,” was all he said. But he whispered something into Rook’s ear and the pair of them headed towards the house.
K orbin’s head was thrown back, his pale eyes seeing nothing as he stared up at the ceiling. His hands were planted firmly on the thick rug in the centre of the room, his anchor for finding a memory of something that Raevyn had left behind. Rook chewed on the edge of his thumb and Hawk lounged in the large armchair. I could still feel the warmth from the fire so they definitely couldn’t have left that long ago.
Suddenly, Korbin gasped and fell sideways.
“Paper,” he muttered as Rook caught him in his arms. “I need paper.”
Nox ransacked the drawers and came back triumphant with the items required. Korbin drew something on the page, I wasn’t sure what it was. The guy was blind, how could he draw anything?
“He can sometimes see but it’s an ether sight. ” Casimir spoke with a condescending tone, but it just made me smile. He never seemed to be scared of me. He just always seemed to be annoyed.
“What is it?” Nox asked as he looked over Korbin’s shoulder.
It was a mixture of symbols and shapes, and I recognised it instantly. Clever girl . “Infernal tongue.”
“What does it say?” Hawk asked, his amber eyes searching mine for the answers.
“It doesn’t say anything,” I said, and a little bit of their hope died. Gods, they were so fucking adorable. “It’s a map.”
Rook placed Korbin gently onto the sofa. “Can you read it?”
I nodded. “Of course.” Who did these people think I was? I was a fucking God . I could—
“Now, now, let’s not get too full of ourselves.” I could sense Casimir smirking as he spoke.
I took a deep breath and counted to ten before I started decapitating limbs. “It’s topside. In Witch Country.”
“Then let’s go,” Nox said, and I couldn’t agree more. I had some witches to murder. Man, it was good to be back.