Chapter Nineteen
Daemon
FOUND HER
“Stay away from the red-haired girl,” I growled in a voice I had never heard from myself. “There are plenty of others.”
I punched Baen square in the jaw for good measure, nearly dislodging his mask.
I was more than tempted to kill him. I wanted to peel his flesh from his bones for even touching Vhaena, for what he had planned to do to her.
The idea of spilling his blood and watching it soak into the earth was almost irresistible in an unfamiliar, yet natural, way. Logic was Baen’s savior.
Even though there were no rules during the Hunt—as Draven had so kindly reminded me—I still needed to be mindful of the noise I made whilst here.
My purpose was to keep Vhaena safe and alive.
Leaving a trail of carnage in my wake would draw too much attention to myself and therefore her.
Killing other demons was technically allowed, but it didn’t mean there wouldn’t be repercussions for it.
If the other demons here learned I was killing them off, they wouldn’t just stand aside and let it go.
They’d come after me in any way they could.
So, against my demon’s wishes, I stifled the urge to shred Baen down to his bones.
I should have known it was him even before I was close enough to sense who he was. My father had told me of the other demons from past hunts so I would be aware of who I would hunt with in the future.
Vhaena ran for a long while, and whether she knew it or not, she certainly didn’t outrun him. He let her. She became his plaything. It was a game to him. Vhaena’s life was a game to him. Nothing but fucking sport.
Once I’d heard her screams, the sound filled with pure terror, I bolted toward her as fast as I could. Her whimpers of fear guided me through the trees as the raven followed her from above, urging me to go faster. And when I saw Baen on top of her, I lost all control. I wasn’t myself.
Or, I was, just…different, in a terrifying and exhilarating kind of way. Terrifying for how instinctive it felt…
“Because this is how we’re supposed to be.”
“You want the bitch all to yourself. I can respect that. But it won’t stop me,” Baen chuckled.
“I wasn’t asking. Find. Someone. Else.” My claws emerged, and I gripped his throat, digging them into his flesh hard enough to draw blood.
“But that makes hunting her all the more fun now.” Baen’s eyes flickered with wicked delight.
Fuck. Now I had to kill him.
The moment I accepted the thought, the restraints snapped, fully unleashing my demon.
He surged forward, and I wasn’t in control of my body anymore.
My clawed hands tore open Baen’s shirt, raking down his bare chest. His blood pulsed beneath my fingertips, and I craved it.
Without even thinking about it, my fangs pierced his flesh, and I filled my mouth with his blood, reveling in the warm, metallic flavor.
He slashed at me, tearing at my skin, and hit me over and over. He tackled me to the ground, and my head slammed against something hard, but I flipped him over onto his back as he buried his claws into my stomach. I hardly felt it, even as he shoved me back and rose from the ground.
I dug into his chest, ripping his skin like wet parchment until the bones caging his heart glistened beneath. His screams were muted, drowned by the intoxicating rush flowing through me. Roots began to snake up my legs as he used his ability in a last, desperate effort to stop me.
I didn’t need to use mine. I didn’t want to. I wanted to feel his life drain away beneath my bare, bloodstained hands. The sound of his ribs snapping as I pried them apart was glorious. I gripped the still-beating organ in my palm and tore it from his chest.
Baen collapsed to the ground.
I stood over him while I reveled in watching—feeling—his heart beat for the last time in my hand. Then, it was over. It took less than a second for me to register the warm liquid covering my body. I glanced down at myself, and my brows rose. So much of Baen’s blood was soaked into my clothes.
The quiet heart slipped from my fingers, thumping to the ground as numbness swept through me.
It wasn’t the blood or the body that so repulsed me.
It wasn’t my torn clothes or the gashes beneath them—not the motionless roots wrapped all the way up around my thighs.
It wasn’t the hum of satisfaction from my demon as I regained control and pushed him back.
I stood there in horror as I registered that I had been smiling the entire time.
Vhaena was shit at covering her tracks. I wasn’t even a great tracker, and I was easily able to follow her. Broken sticks, footprints in the soil, and red strands of hair caught in bushes. All leading the way to her, and—
I internally groaned.
What is she doing with someone else?
Hells, this woman… She wasn’t making her survival any easier on herself by dragging someone else along. She had lost every friend in our hometown, but the moment she arrived on the island, she had suddenly attached herself to someone who could hardly walk.
At least laying my own eyes on her gave me some relief.
Leaning against a tree behind the two as they meandered through the forest, I ran a hand down my face. I was disappointed when I discovered earlier that Vhaena hadn’t made it farther inland, and now I knew why.
I had no idea where she and her friend were going, and I was certain they didn’t either.
Which was why I had the raven redirect them.
Regardless, the woman was slowing Vhaena down.
She was going to get her killed. Vhaena should have gone on her own, worried only about herself.
She was being stupid by keeping this woman around.
Her friend was dead the moment they got here.
“We could take care of that problem, you know…” my demon offered.
“I’m not going to kill her,” I snapped. “It’s bad enough I’ve killed two demons for her—one before I even got here. As much as you hate it, I’m not turning into the monster you want me to be.”
“Is it so monstrous if we were to give her a merciful death? You said so yourself; she’s already dead.
We might as well get it over with. She’s living on borrowed time.
At least if we do it, we can make it quick and painless.
It’s a courtesy the others wouldn’t extend.
Besides, it’ll alleviate the problem of her putting Vhaena in further danger.
That’s why we’re here, isn’t it? If it’s for Vhaena’s safety, then why prolong our issues and let her continue to live in fear longer than necessary? ”
He had a point…
“And it’ll allow us to finally live out our desires.”
Of course he had an ulterior motive. “Those are your desires. Not mine.”
“I am you. Remember? You’re just afraid you’ll like them once we finally and fully indulge in them. Which you will.”
“We killed Baen. You’ve had your fill,” I reminded.
“He was but a mere taste…”
And that was what terrified me. Baen’s death was brutal, and I knew it hardly scratched the surface of what I was capable of.
“We’re not killing Vhaena’s friend. End of discussion.”
I shoved him away, but not fully. I couldn’t do that on the island. It was as if he had truly awoken here and refused to back down any further. But at least he stayed quiet as I continued to follow Vhaena.
Their pace was painstakingly slow. Slugs probably moved faster. It only served to prove my point even further that Vhaena was better off without tagging along with someone else.
At first, I would dart from tree to tree, remaining mostly concealed.
Not that it was necessary. They were both completely unaware of their surroundings.
I was fully out in the open a couple of times, and they never noticed.
I even tested their awareness by intentionally stepping on a twig while hidden, throwing a rock off to the side, and shuffling my feet through leaves.
I peered around the tree trunk concealing me to see if they noticed.
Vhaena at least had the sense to glance around every now and then, but she wasn’t looking thoroughly enough for it to make a difference.
Faint whispers of Vhaena’s voice graced my ears from time to time while she and her friend chatted.
It was a welcome sound. Especially since the last time I heard it, it was a terror-filled scream tearing from her throat.
With the wind at our backs, I couldn’t make out what either of them were saying, which was unfortunate.
I was hoping I’d hear about their plans, strategies for surviving, or where they intended to go.
Thankfully, they stopped at dusk—the only smart thing they’d done so far.
But their idiocy continued when they chose nothing but a boulder to hide behind.
Any of the demons could have walked around and stumbled on them at any point—not that I’d let that happen.
They blinded themselves to their full surroundings.
It would have been better if they had rested on top of the boulder so they could see someone approaching from any direction.
Though, thinking about it, I doubted the other woman could have climbed the rock in the first place.
Now that they had stopped, I was able to see just how much the Hunt was affecting Vhaena after only two days.
Even though I had seen her up close earlier, I wasn’t concentrating on anything other than making sure she was alive and unharmed—with the exception of a few shallow cuts.
But now, I could see the dark circles under her eyes, eyes that were sunken.
Her usually full lips were dry and cracked, and her skin seemed paler than ever.
Her braid had come apart, and her dirt-caked hair was a tangled mess.
She wasn’t doing well. And she still had another five days to go…